It's an Inside Joke...You Wouldn't Understand...

On Tuesday, I took what a former boss of mine would call a "Mental Health Day." I took the day off to spend time with Newmommy and Bud, and to take part in the activities I typically don't see (which included a trip to My Gym...no, not my gym, I'm not much of a workout guy, I mean My Gym.)

By the end of the day, I realized that Bud reserves certain words & phrases for me...as if they are our own little inside jokes. When I'm gone, Bud will repeat them, but then say "Daddy." Here's a few:

• "Yeeee-haaaa!" I think I said this once in passing, but you haven't lived until you've seen a seventeen month-old cowgirl.
  
• "Amazing!" When Bud started walking, I said, "Wow! That's Amaaaazing!" Now, whenever she does something she knows is right; she'll turn to me and say "Amazing!" I think that's a Mets catch-phrase, so we gotta get that in check before April. (Along with her mis-pronunciation of "Excuse Me", which sounds an awful lot like "Do Me." Who do you think you are, Bel Biv Devoe?)
• "Ball" Yes, I'm teaching Bud to throw a ball. It's never to early to learn the basics.
• "Chaoup" (a chomping sound). I pretended to eat her nose once, and she's been trying to get me back ever since.

She's also counting to ten now, and sort of spelling her name. She gets very excited when she gets to ten (as do we), but she won't count on cue. You just need to be there. As far as spelling her name, I think it's more our repetition than anything, but it's still cute to hear.

Oh, and there is one more thing she says to me often: "Daddy Home." It's cute, but then I realize that my being home is relatively unusual for her, considering I spend most of 5 days out of the week away from her. That's a bit depressing.