Pat-Pat

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can!
Roll it, pat it, mark it with a "B", and...
THROW it in the oven!
For Baby and me.


This little nursery rhyme and game are a great love of Little Misters.  This boy loves to pat some cakes.  He also loves the book, "pat the bunny".  He loves to pat in general.
I guess, without realizing it, I have always tended to gently pat Him on the back when I pick Him up, when I rock Him, when I'm comforting Him.  He likes that.  It soothes Him when He's sleepy or upset, makes Him giggle when He's playful and happy.
Once He got old enough to start controlling His limbs a little, He began to spread the love by returning the favor to me.
When I pick Him up after He calls me, when He's feeling snuggly or sleepy, or silly and giggly, He reaches out and pat pat pats my back.  He's proud of this.
It is pretty sweet to see such a little thing patting His mother on the back, with a goofy grin.  My mom was enamored with the process.  And so She'd coo at Him, "are you patting mama?  Pat-pat! How sweet! Pat-pat!"  He ate up the attention and soon learned to put the words "pat-pat" together with the action, so that now He has a fun party trick!  We can say, "Little Mister! Can you give Sister a pat-pat?" And He will joyfully oblige.
In fact, not long after acquiring this fabulous skill, we noticed that He began to also mimic the sound.  Until it has become undeniable that Mister is not only doing His "pat-pat" party trick, He's saying it!
When He pats me on the back, or when anyone makes His day by initiating pat-a-cake so that He can clap His hands together, at the same time He burbles, "Pat-pat, pat-pat!" over and over.
Which means that (drumroll please.  Crashing cymbals.) He's said His first word!
It's kind of a random one.  But given the context, also sweet, I think.
I love that His first word began as affection and fun.  I love that it is so Little Mister's baby personality to have His first word be such an interactive one.  I think that when He says "pat-pat", clapping His hands together and looking up at me, He's really communicating.
Mister's other sounds are many and diverse, and while no others have materialized into decipherable English, I have a feeling that (as is typical for Him, we are learning) now that He's started, there will be no stopping Him!  I can't wait to hear what else He has to say!