New Baby New Baby New Baby YO!

Saw my newest nephew yesterday -- codename Hardball -- and had a good day hanging out with the proud parents, my brother Ed and sister-in-law Michelle. I'm trying to get the boy to say "samurai" as his first word.

This little project of mine has been going on throughout all newcomers to my side of the family. It started out with the D-Man, who I decided should learn to say "karate" as his first word. Because I thought it would be awesome. I repeated "karate" whenever I was around him.

Then D-Man got a little brother, named T-Bone. As D-Man hadn't made karate his first word (but I believe he could say it by then, which was something), I instructed T-Bone to say "Godzilla." This one.. well, it kinda took. I'd see him, and say Godzilla, and he's stare curiously at me. Then one day, I was over his house with his dad, and he was learning to walk, balancing against the sofa and then moving to the chair, just zipping around the room. I said "Godzilla!" and he repeated, "Gah-zizza!" Victory!

When his mom got home, I told her of T-Bone's triumph. She said, "I would have preferred if his first word was 'mom' or 'daddy'." But it was Godzilla, and don't let anyone tell you different.

Next came the first of my brother's kids, who really needs a nickname. At this point, I realized that the two points I'd already named defined a line, and decided I'd teach them Japanese words. (Okay, Godzilla is actually Gojira, but cut me some slack, I was winging it back then.) So with little M, I repeated "kabuki" whenever I saw her. Her little brother, the Bender, got "bushido."

And now little Hardball gets "samurai." He should count himself lucky: He nearly got "Roboto."

Rob