Paul's first crush.

I love hearing Paul's senseless babbling. It makes me feel so loved to see him focus his eyes on my face, then watch him break into big, smiley gurgles of happy noises. That must be how babies express their "love", right? Well, if that's the case, I'm starting to feel a little cheated.

Meet Aveeno. He's a bottle of lotion that sits on our bathroom counter (i.e. Paul's changing table). I started to get suspicious when Paul wasn't babbling to Blair and I quite as much as he used to. Then I started to really pay attention to Paul's eyes during diaper changes and I began to notice a pattern. Whenever he looked at Aveeno, he became extremely happy and started talking and talking. I was thinking that he has seen it so many times, it must be just as familiar to him as mommy and daddy's faces. 

We've even tested this theory. While I was changing his diaper at my parents' house, Blair found an identical Aveeno bottle and placed it on the counter next to Paul's head. Immediately, Paul went from being kind of fussy, to super happy and he let out an excited gurgle as if to say, "Oh, there you are! I've missed you!"

Yes, it's sad that I find myself feeling a little jealous of Aveeno, but it isn't all bad. In fact, Aveeno was the first object Paul felt motivated enough to reach out and touch with his hand. That led to his feeling the basket right next to it with his chubby little fingers. So I guess I have Aveeno to thank for Paul's new discovery: his hands.

If you've never heard Paul "talk", here's a little video of him babbling... until I ask him a question that renders him speechless. Maybe that's why he prefers talking to Aveeno. Aveeno is a an excellent listener and doesn't judge him at all.