All daddy pride aside, C learned to talk at a very young age. Younger, in fact, than we realized. For example, he apparently learned to say "train video" (his favorite video) privately and in complete isolation.

This seems like a good thing, but it ended up working against us.

Even back then, C usually finished eating before we were ready for him to finish eating. Lacking real communication skills, however, he had to be more creative in his attempts to get away from the table (more creative than he is now).

One day we were sitting at dinner and he was babbling away in that pre-toddler gurgling that sounds so much like its own language. In the middle of all that nonsense, he made a noise that sounded like "train video". J and I were astonished. She looked at him "train video? train video?"

He smiled his big smile and said, clear as day. "Train video? Okay!"

Not quite realizing we’d been had, we put on the train video.

Over the next several months, he did the exact same thing with "Ice Cream", "M&Ms", "go swing", and many, many more. The pattern was always the same: babble, babble, babble, new word, babble, babble, babble. We repeat the new word, and he says "okay" like we’d suggested that was what we were going to do next.

He still does it today. If he can trick you into saying something that he wants, he’ll light up with a big smile and an "okay!"

I’ve tried this with my boss – mumble, mumble, mumble, big raise, mumble, mumble, mumble – but for some reason he won’t go for it.