(Not So) Rhetorical Questions

Dear Delilah,

I'm not sure why it is, but from the moment babies are born, people love to ask them questions that they are unable to answer. Grandmas have a certain knack for this, but almost everyone does it to some degree. There's often a high-pitched, sing-song kind of lilt to the questions. Babies are inundated with questions like "Whose the most beautiful baby in the world?" or "Who loves her Grandma?" or "What should you wear today?" or "What's the square root of 257?" (Okay, so maybe that last one isn't as common.)

Well, your daddy and I are just as guilty of this as anyone. Ever since your closest sound to talking was a little un-controlled squeak or squawk, we've been quizzing you. Every time we hear a bit of 'thunder down under', we ask "Poop or toots?" before having a look into your diaper to see whether or not a prize awaits us.

Your squeaks and squawks have transformed into babbling, syllables, and actual words, but it was still surprising yesterday when you started actually answering the question "Poop or toots?" with "Pup!" Daddy and I looked at each other in disbelief. "Did she just say poop?" "She just said poop!"

Alas, we checked your diaper, and there was no "pup" to be found. We've been working on teaching you body parts, but I think we need to take a break from that to get clear on the difference between poop and toots. Y'know, something actually useful.

Love,

Mama

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