Hi Dada!

For a little while now our boys have been saying "ba-ba-ba," "ma-ma-ma," and "da-da-da." They are at an age where they are starting to experiment with language but they don't really know what they're saying.

According to What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff with Sharon Mazel (which is the biggest help ever to first time parents who have no clue what milestones their children will reach when, i.e. Dave and me), babies usually don't start to mean what they say until at least 10 months, although it's hard to tell for sure when they transition from babbling to understanding, and every baby is different of course.

Patrick standing at the coffee table (something he loves to do lately!)

Well, this morning both Dave and I swear Patrick looked right at Dave and said "Hi Dada" as Dave was walking by. It was one of the coolest moments that has happened to date. We both just stopped and looked at each other. Wait a minute, did he just say what I think he said? It probably was a coincidence, and just his way of communicating without realizing he was calling his dada the right name, but just to hear your child say "Mama" or "Dada" is an indescribable feeling. Now I just can't wait for his brother and him to say "Hi Mama!"

Andrew likes books!

On a different note, we finally put the boys in their "Cool as a Moose" onesies! We got them when we went on our first trip to Acadia National Park as a family in August. It is a Swartz family tradition to always check out the store when in Bar Harbor, and buy something for those that may not have anything, so of course we had to introduce the boys to tie dye and their first "Cool as a Moose" shirt!

Andrew left, Patrick right