>Daddy’s Boy

They say boys aren’t as verbal as girls, and that is certainly proving to be the case with Bruiser. He’s far more interested in walking, running, climbing, disassembling, poking, pulling, prodding, and twisting than he is in talking. (Unless you count screaming. Bruiser is very interested in screaming.)

What “they” didn’t say was that my 14-month-old son would choose one word to cover a myriad of feelings, thoughts, objects, and pronouns: Daddy.

Fortunately, his first word was “Mommy.” But “Daddy” followed soon after, and once he had mastered that, he pretty much abandoned all other attempts at language. Most of the time, “Daddy” translates to “I’m happy,” in Bruiserese. But “Daddy” also may refer to his 17-year-old sister. Variations of “Daddy” have taken on significance, as well. “Dee Dee” refers to Dipper, our dog. “Da DAH!” means he’s feeling sassy. “Daaah-Deeee” is his dancing mantra. “Dah!” means “dog” and sometimes, “Daddy” means, well, Daddy, if Daddy happens to be around.

We still get other words out from him a couple times a day, enough that I’m not obsessing about his language skills. But I can see the little gears turning in his mind and I know that as far as he’s concerned, “Daddy” really is all he needs to know. People respond to it. He gets his point across. What more could he ask for?

I know what I could ask for. A few more “Mah mee”s a day. I mean, I’m the one doing most of the work. Why does freaking Daddy get all the acclaim?

This post originally appeared on Parents.com.