Slightly Delayed

Liam’s girlfriend, Maggie, taught him to sign a bunch of words. Now he can say “eat,” “more,” “milk,” “water,” “ball,” “dog,” “car,” “please,” etc. He can say whatever he wants as long as someone is looking at him. Even though he’s basically a baby genius as far as his ASL skills go, his English skills are technically delayed because the only word that he actually speaks is “hot.”

He says “hot” (only he pronounces it more like “hotsssss”) when he hears the microwave beep, when he goes near a fireplace, and when I blow on his food. It’s clear that he knows the literal meaning of the word “hot.”

Today I found out that he also knows another meaning of the word “hot.” I got him up from his nap and walked over to the mirror in the hallway to show him how sweet he looked with his drowsy eyes and his freshly matted-down hair. He took one look at himself in the mirror and exclaimed, “HOTSSSS.”