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Lately there has been a source of contention in my home, though it pains me to admit it. My wonderful husband and I are equally yoked when it comes to the virtue of strength (i.e. stubbornness) and so we have yet to resolve it. So, my blogging friends and family I would like to take our issue before you as a jury of our peers to see who's side you are on. To prevent any biases I will not disclose which of us is supporting which point of view. Please read through the following case and then vote for the side you are on in the poll to the right of this post.

Issue: Can River's use of the word light (or "ite" as he says it) be considered his first word?

Argument For: River LOVES to talk. Right now it is mostly baby talk with no rhyme or reason. However, in typical baby development he has started to mimic words and intonations in his regular gibberish and has started to use words though not for their intended meaning. For examples of his recent lingual developments see Exhibit A, B and C:

Exhibit A - For a while now River has said what sounds like, "Hi" when he first sees someone, when someone leaves the room and then returns shortly, and sometimes even randomly. It sounds more like the "h" sound followed by a high pitch mini scream but it was when he would use it that caused many to wonder if he was really using it as a salutation.

Exhibit B - Since he was around 8-9 months he has used the word "Mama" as an indicator that he wants to be picked up, wants you to hurry up fixing his bottle and/or food, is upset and is in need of reassurance, etc.

Exhibit C - Debbie, River's nanny told us that the other day when she walked by her refrigerator and a picture of her kids while holding River he said (filtered through baby speak), "Hi, kids!" Debbie said she usually says this when they walk by her refrigerator but on this particular day he decided to beat her to the punch and mimic the words she usually says.

Since he was a baby, River has LOVED lights. He reaches for them and stares at them often. Recently he has started saying, "ite" when pointing and staring at the light. He will also look and point at the nearest light when anyone says the word. His use and recognition of this word have been observed by myself, Cory and his nanny Debbie.

Therefore it is the argument of the party in favor of declaring this his first word that his use of the word and recognition of the word when used by others dictates that it go down in his records as his first word.

Argument Against: River LOVES to talk. On that there is no disagreement. Nor is there any disagreement on the fact that he has used words like "Mama" as indicator words or the fact that he does indeed recognize the word light when used by those around him and ocassionally uses the word himself. To call it his first word, however, is a bit premature. For evidence supporting this theory please see Exhibit D:

Exhibit D - River does not use the word light consistantly when pointing and looking at the light. Sometimes he will say, "A-da" or "Eeii" when pointing at the light. Also, he will not always repeat the word when asked to.

Therefore, it is the argument of the party against declaring this as his first word that his inconsistant use of the word, regardless of the fact that he recognizes it when spoken by others dictates that it is premature to call this his first word. Most likely it will be his first word but we need to wait until he uses it more regularly to dictate it so.

Thank you in advance for helping us to solve our issue!