Words are starting to come

Cooper's favorite word (which is "good") is now being joined by other words that he seems to have figured out. "Mama" is starting to get said when he's on my lap, or otherwise playing with me, so I think he's actually figured out what that word means. He's also saying "water" when he is drinking water. He'll take a big sip, look at us, say "water," and then take another sip. It's pretty cool. His pronunciation of water is sometimes flawless, and other times quite creative. Cooper also has started showing that he likes something by making a kind of happy yummy sound. He'll be eating something really tasty (like barley lentil soup, inexplicably one of his very favorites) and start just saying "num-num-num-mmmmm-num." It is very cute.

For some reason, "doggie" is no longer being said around here. All of the doggie variants, like Dabney and Go-dee, have also disappeared. It is puzzling.

Of all the things he says, the most common one is totally baffling. He says, "Eh-deh" all the time, with the most meaningful and earnest look. He really, really means it. We just don't know what on earth he means. It is pretty different from his other utterances, and he's almost always making eye contact when he says it, so I really feel like he's trying to tell us something.

Nicole, the babysitter, can often be heard in this quasi-monologue.

Cooper: Eh-deh
Nicole: Who's Ed? Is he your friend?
Cooper: Eh-deh! Eh-deh. Eh-deh?
Nicole: Okay. Is your green car named Ed?
Cooper: Eh-deh!
Nicole: No? Hmm... well does Cooper want a stringbean?
Cooper: Ooo-dah! ("good")