Baby Talk

Norah's trach makes audible talking near impossible right now. But I swear - if she could talk, her first word would already be "hi". When I tell her "hi", she gives me a big smile and I'm not exaggerating when I say that she mouths the word "hi" right back. She may have moderate hearing loss, but she sure responds to voices (and faces) when they are up close and personal.

As for Harper, I can't believe some of the things that comes out of that kid's mouth. Here's the deal: many of you know that I have a bit of a potty mouth, and often let one slip at the wrong time. I'm helpless to it during times of acute stress: when the dogs would escape and head for the hills, when I get close to video-game-death, or when some jerk driver does something to cause a near-miss. Where am I going with this? Well, I've been trying to be better about my language. I'll be honest: there are some words or phrases that I just don't consider to be curse words, though others might. And for that, I apologize to those that I offend. But really, proof of my efforts is with Harper. He's been repeating everything I say - and the worst I've heard so far was when he dropped a toy and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" It was pretty dang cute. Speaking of cute... Here he is with his cousins Logan and Emma. They made a Harper-Hug-Sandwich!