The baby is learning to speak.

He’ll be a year old in a few weeks, and like most children his age, he keeps up a fairly constant stream of babbles and nonsense noises. His favorites include a sound remarkably similar to the quack of a duck and one in which he audibly sucks in air, making a high-pitched noise that sounds a bit like choking and sends adults into a panic (he finds this very funny).

He has a few real words under his belt. He’s discovered that “done” is a pretty efficient way to let us know he’s ready to get out of the high chair, bathtub or crib, and he is carefully trying to master “kitty.”