Daddy says...

Hyrum has a new favorite phrase. "Daddy says ..."

Daddy says, I the Tickle Monster! Once he started tickling me, I would ask, "Are you the Tickle Monster? Are YOU the Tickle Monster??" which he enjoyed immensely and Mommy didn't. I was relieved that the next day he changed his tune: Sometimes Hyrum reports that I say he is the Tickle Monster, sometimes that I am, sometimes that Mommy is. But Daddy clearly has the authority to say who is Tickle Monster and should commence tickling at once.

Hyrum's turns as Tickle Monster are very cute: first he gives us a beep, then with his hand already so conveniently placed, he gives our chins coochicoos while smiling broadly. Oh, it's cute! Tests have also confirmed that Hyrum knows he is not a monster, that he is a child of God and a big boy, so Daddy is out of the soup.

Daddy says, Play Family Feud. We found a Family Feud version on Facebook and Hyrum played it with us by laughing whenever we got an X. Today he tried to convince Mommy to play it with him by claiming I told him to.

Joy hypothesizes that Hyrum thinks whatever he wants is what Daddy wants too, so "Daddy says" is just a way to say he wants something. ... only cuter. It is true that he is picking up on things I have introduced to him.

Another possibility is that he's decided if he can't get what he wants by saying "I want," maybe he can get it by claiming that Daddy said it. If that's the case, he will eventually learn how a family runs, and it's not by playing "Simon says." Watch out when he discovers the power of "Mommy says," though!

Oh, and another wonderful breakthrough happened last week. Hyrum knows his name!

No, seriously. Up until last week, if asked his name, he would say something that resembled "Hammer." Now he's up to "Hy-um" or "Hywum." It'll be a while before he gets that R firmly in place, though. ... I wonder how long it took me to figure out Derrill.... Grandma, any ideas?

Maybe we need a website that will tell parents how long it will be before their child can pronounce its name. "Bob" comes before "Robert" comes before "Mahonrimoriancumer."