First Word
Saturday, September 2nd, 2000
“Good morning!” Harry cooed as he rocked Sage, feeding them their bottle. “Today you are exactly three months old! Also, today, the kids going to Hogwarts are going to have their first full day there! But, they won't have their first classes until Monday. Lucky them. In my first year, September 1st was a Sunday, so I had classes the very next day.”
Sage really couldn't care less about what day of the week Harry started Hogwarts, they didn't even know what any of those words meant, yet. But, Harry told them anyway because one thing the majority of parents could agree on was that if you didn't talk to your baby they wouldn't be able to develop complete language skills. And that was true. Babies, and people in general, learn by mimicking. So, if they don't hear you talk, they won't.
Harry's efforts did, however, come to fruition later that day, at about 2:00 P.M..
Recently, Sage had been staying up for an hour at a time, but it still only took half-an-hour to feed and change them. So, Harry took to playing, reading, talking, and other things he heard boosted development during these times. Today, though, Sage beat him to the chase.
“Da....Da....Da....” Sage tried when Harry picked them up after changing their diaper, and romper as they spat up on it.
Harry felt like a thousand mini explosions were set off in his heart, he was so excited. Part of him wanted to jump and scream and squeal, but he didn't think that was the best course of action.
Instead, Harry took a deep, calming, breathe before beginning to speak. “Did you say dada, baby?” He made his voice calm and gentle, but also happy. Sage deserved praise for this.
“Da....Da....Da...da....Da-da....Dada.” Sage responded, flapping their arms a bit in excitement.
“Wow, Sage! You're really doing it. You said your first word! That is so amazing! I can't wait to hear what else you'll say! But, that'll come with time of course.” Harry praised as he packed Sage out of their room and down to the living room.
Sage babbled a bit happily, throwing a few 'dadas' in on occasion.
“I know, I know.” Harry responded, sitting down in the middle of the floor with Sage in his lap. “Now, kiddo. What shall we do?”
Sage just babbled and moved their body as much as possible, which wasn't really all that much at this age.
“Do you want a book?” Harry asked. “Dada can read to you.”
“Dada!”
“Yeah, alright, pumpkin. Dada will read to you. Just let me find a book first.”
“Dada!”
“Once upon a time....” Harry began the chosen book. He really didn't need the physical copy at this point, he had most of Sage's books memorized, but he used it anyway. It felt right.
Sage barely knew what 'dada' meant and they didn't understand much else. They couldn't say whether or not they wanted a book, or whether they liked that particular one. But, the way Sage smiled every time they saw Harry, ever time they heard his voice, every time they played or danced or cuddled, that was more than enough.
Harry couldn't think of anything better.