Did you say, "mama?"

Yes, there was a bit of a bittersweet moment for me this last week. For weeks now we have thought that maybe Anneka is saying, "hi," but we're not sure. It is really sweet to think that she is saying that and sometimes she will say it after we say, "hi," to her, but it certainly is not something she will do on demand. Well, that isn't the bittersweet moment. As papa, I get to take my turns with Anneka in things like comforting her to help her get to sleep when she is having trouble. The other night I was getting one of these turns and was happy for it as I had been away much of the day and was looking forward to a sweet moment like this with my daughter. Well, as I pull out my best soothing voice and gently massage Anneka's back, her cry got stronger and then she burst out with a full-lunged cry of, "mama-mama." Actually it was just a repeating of the sound, "ma," or maybe even, "am," I can't tell you for sure, but Jami heard this from the other room and is certain that it was, "mama." Of course she was very touched as our baby screamed out her "name". As her papa, I was excited to hear her say a word, but I have to say that as her papa trying to comfort her I felt a little bit sad. I asked her if she thought her papa was, "chopped liver," but she didn't answer the question other than continuing her crying with a few "mama-mama's" mixed in there. she has actually repeated this cry one or two times since so we feel like it's for real. It's okay though, I'm not overly sad as I've been trying to work on her first full sentence from the beginning--Papa, I love you! I mean it would be nice if she just said papa, but when I add the next part onto it I know it will just melt me. Keep checking and we'll continue to keep you updated on Anneka milestones.