"Uh-Oh!"

As Annika rapidly approaches the one-year mark (only 11 days left to go!) we have marveled at the ways in which she appears less like a baby every day. We've heard her say a few words, for instance, but were never really able to reproduce them. Tonight, she said the first "official" word: "uh-oh." She repeated it countless times, clear as a bell, and seemed to really get a kick out of all of us (Ezra included) laughing and telling her to do it again. It was a real milestone. Of course, we're not entirely sure what to think about the fact that her first word was "uh-oh" since we rarely say it around the house; we hope, at least, that this does not foreshadow a clumsy or otherwise accident-prone child!

It also reminds us of that time, not so long ago(!) when Ezra said his first word. Of course, we were also worried about his word...which was, of course, "Ezra." What kid says their own name as their first word? What kind of narcissist were were raising? 

Anyway, it reminds me of something the linguist Steven Pinker said in his book "How the Mind Works." To paraphrase: we spend our lives worshiping the achievements of Shakespeare, or Darwin, Freud, Dickens, or countless others, for their ingenuity, perseverance, genius. But nothing they could ever do compares in the least to the average child's growth between the ages of zero and two. 

It's really true--to think that just one year ago, Annika was born without a clue how to identify the world around her or what to make of existence, and now, just a year later, she's mastered so many big parts of life. And speech is probably the greatest advance any child can make. It's extraordinary. 

Congrats, Annika!

(Oh, and by the way, here are some great pictures Christina's friend Kayli took of Annika when she was a wee little one. How cute!)