Babble Babble Babble

Oh boy!

I should've known once the chatterbox (that is our son) has been opened, there's no shutting it (him) close (up). Kai talks ALL. THE. TIME. Even in his sleep, he sometimes chuckles or whimpers. He talks to everything and everyone. To the lamps, to the pillows, to the magnets on the fridge, to his toys, to the cycle elephants, to the XBox controller, to mommy's drawings, to the Washington license plate we have on the wall, to the clock, to the plants, to mommy, to daddy, to grandma, to the cleaning lady, to the neighborhood patrol guy, to himself, to himself in the mirror, to random people on the street, to those 7-11 clerks, to the guys at Starbucks. Lately, he started giggling and babbling when he sees pictures of him in the slide show on the digital photo frame.

We're talking a full-on monologue that exhibits the characteristics of a language. Each "sound unit" ('syllable' as we adults call it) can be expressed in different lengths, pitch, force, and volume to communicate different emotions. In addition, different sound combination are used in an array of intonation patterns. He has his own language! Now I wonder, given the fact that all babies are more or less on the same developmental timeline for vocal tract maturation, would we find that all 5-month-olds speak similar languages if we do a quantitative study?

I wish I had access to the thoughts behind those big brown eyes. Until Kai learns to express them in the languages we're familiar with, we can only continue to interpret and respond based on what we're accustomed to. Come to think of it, I might as well start learning to make peace with the fact that I may not always know what's going on in his head 'cause it is bound to happen sooner than I like it to be.

I'm so going to cherish every moment I have with him now while life is less complicated.