Can you say oh?

My new favorite sound is the sound of my sons voice. When he vocalizes even small sounds it is music to my ears and if he adds his sweet smile it is enough to make me the happiest mommy in the whole wide world. When he stirs during a nap I cannot wait until he wakes so we can have one of our post nap conversations. In his baby voice it goes something like this.

"Hello there Baby B. Who needs his diapie changed? Is it you?" I ask.
"oh goo oh", he says.
"Can you say oh?"
"oh oooh oh"
Can you say mamamama?"
"oh"
"Can you say dadadadada?"
"goo oh goo", he shrieks.
"Tell me a story B," I plead.
"oh oh ooooh oh," he responds.

According to my mother these conversations are very important to his development and tells me that when I was young I had a large vocabulary because she had such conversations with me.  She was intent that I would speak at an early age.  I did and I never stopped talking.  My first word was fringy. When I was one I exclaimed, "Mommy I need a cookie." I know these things about myself because she told me and I enjoy hearing these tales of my infancy and her young motherhood.

I see myself in her and I always have and now that we share another bond as mothers that is stronger. I know now that even though I was unaware of her methods of child rearing that I follow in her footsteps in many ways. I wonder if it is intrinsic to my nature to do this because she did.

My husband has these same chats with our son in his own words in his own way. I wonder if someday our son will have these same exchanges with his children, our grandchildren. Will he know that we spoke to him in the same way with the same inflections and repetition anxiously awaiting his response? Will he feel the same anticipation? I know he will because in some way or another we all do this with our children because they are the most exciting and intriguing creatures in our worlds.

I look forward to all of our conversations in the future just like those we have now when he wakes from his nap. At some point I will tell him about his first word and his first sentence just as my mother did with me. I can only hope he cherishes them as much as I will.