That is cool, isn't it? Childhood language acquisition fascinates me. It is so amazing to watch them pick things up - not that I have kids of my own, but I get a chance to observe once in a while. A guy in my department was just telling me today that his 1-year-old daughter was already to starting to make jokes!! He said she knows 'ma' and 'pa' and her own name but sometimes she'll point to dad and say 'ma' even though she knows it's wrong like she's teasing him. AMAZING! I wish I was a brainy scientist and could study stuff like that for a living!!

And I must say, at the end of day 1 of semester 7, I wish I still had that childhood sponge brain that just soaks everything up. I'm too old for this!!