Human communication never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes not saying anything at all says more than words. Other times words themselves bring conversation to a halt. Not to mention the nonverbal communication. And the emotions behind it all.
So I have to admit that it has been pretty interesting watching my little person develop a sense of language. Starting before he was born when he would kick my forever mom in the ribs. I think he was saying he wanted out. Then, for the first few months of his life, he has primarily cried to communicate all things.
That stopped today. Well, not exactly. The crying is still in the repertoire, but the vocabulary seems to be expanding. It’s been happening more frequently over a span of the last few weeks. But today I am sure of it. Dear baby Carter was, in his 3-month-old baby way, talking. To mom. He was looking her in the eyes and speaking. To which she would respond and he would respond and so on. Sure, mom’s words were coherent (and his were not), but that’s no matter.
Nonsense. From the ground up, that was my source of joy today. Which got me to thinking how nice it would be to find some sort of incoherent nonsense in all of our days. Some sort of absolute silliness that makes no sense at all other than that it is our daily dose of nonsense.
Suddenly I believed the words of Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein who said that “if people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.”
Because those precious moments made mom cry those same tears I used to lick off her face when she was pregnant. Tears of joy. My favorite kind. I much prefer those tears to the ones little Carter makes sometimes. I’ve even been known to hide under the bed sometimes when he cries.
So today when he chose to use what will one day become his primary source of communication, I too felt a small bit of relief. And pride. And joy. From the ground up, it didn’t matter that it was complete and utter nonsense. It was joy embodied in screeches and babbles. It was another example of the wonder of human communication. It was life.
For a sample of the new little conversationalist: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=573841715697&l=3886000390073174814
Wiley's Wisdom 
I love nonsense! Baby talk nonsense is the best kind! That guy, Ludwig nailed it. Silly is a good start to any project!
Love and licks and ga ga goo goo,
Cupcake
Hehe. You’re speaking baby, hey Cupcake? Of course you would be fluent in baby, in addition to your other vocabulary wisdom. 😉
Lots of love,
Wiles
I agree with Mr. Wittgenstein, without silly things and nonsense our life would be boring :o) The photo of you and Carter is suuuuuper cute, brother!
High paws for nonsense, brother! 🙂
So happy for your wee family 🙂
Aw, thanks friend! Long time no see! So nice to see you again! 🙂
Awww, that’s so cute Wiles.
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it. It was too good not to share.
Love the picture and love the video – it must be so exciting to watch the big and small changes in Carter. And communicating is so cool! I can’t wait to read about what happens when Carter says “Wiley” (some form of Wiley because after all, he is a baby) or “dog”!
It is indeed so fun watching my little person get bigger. He’s already so much bigger than he used to be. It makes mom a little sad sometimes, but it makes me so excited because I too can’t wait for us to be buddies. I know when he says Wiley or dog that will probably be one of my favorite days of my life. I can hardly wait, yet I know I need to enjoy this time too.
Lots of love to you,
Wiles
This is beautiful, and so heartwarming, certainly bringing lots of joy to all!
Yay! That is the goal of my life, so hearing I succeed in any little way brings the joy full circle!