"Artie, come here right now!"
At the sound of Quinn's voice, Artie threw down the book he'd grabbed off the bookshelf, and hurried into the kitchen.
"What? What's going on?" he said, wheeling through the doorway at top speed. "Is everything ok?"
"I think she just said her first word!" she said excitedly, grinning at Avery, who was sitting happily in her high chair, sticking her fingers in some cooked carrots.
"I thought she was choking or something!" Artie said, his eyes still wide with panic. "Wait, what? Her first word? Was it 'Daddy?'"
"Um...yes," Quinn said, grinning at him and sitting down.
Noticing the smirk on her face, he narrowed his eyes, trying to prevent a massive grin from spreading across his lips. "Liar! What was it really? Was it 'Mommy?'"
Quinn shook her head. "As much as I would like to say yes to that...it wasn't."
"Well, then what was it?" he asked, taking a cloth and wiping the carrots she'd been playing with off her fingers and face. "Can you say it again, Avery? Tell Daddy what you just told Mommy. Or...say Daddy's name. Yes...do that."
Quinn grinned, watching as Avery flung a piece of carrot at his face. "I don't think she wants to say Daddy's name," she said, as he glanced over at her.
"I've been working with her for weeks on saying that," he said, wiping a smear of carrot off his glasses. "Her first word is going to be 'Daddy.' I can feel it."
"Well, she already said her first word, and it wasn't that," Quinn said, standing up.
"Can't you just tell me?" he said, wiping his hands on his pants. "I can't believe I missed it. For a book!"
"Well, it's not like you can hover around her all the time, waiting for it," Quinn said, leaning down and kissing him on the cheek. "She'll say it again, just wait."
Fifteen minutes later, there they sat. Artie staring at Avery. Quinn staring at Artie. And Avery staring out the window.
"She's not going to say it," he said, looking dejected. "The most beautiful baby on the planet said her first word, and her father missed it because he was looking at books on a bookshelf."
"Artie," she said. "She's going to say it again. I have an idea. I'll be right back."
Moments later, Quinn returned, with Bailey in tow.
As soon as Avery saw the dog, her face lit up. "Baiiey! Baiiey!" she said, waving her arms up and down.
Artie stared at his daughter. "Bailey is her first word? Really?"
Quinn grinned, nodding her head. "I thought I didn't hear it right, and then she said it again, and I realized what she was talking about."
"Well, if it couldn't be 'Daddy,' then I'm glad it was Bailey, and not, like...toilet or something," Artie said, patting the dog on the head.
"Gee, thanks," Quinn said, throwing a towel at him. "It's nice to know that you think saying the dog's name is more important than saying my name."
"Well, they are BFFs," he said, grinning at her. "This actually doesn't surprise me at all."
She grinned back. "Yeah...me neither. But still, it would have been nice if she'd said your name. I know you've been trying to get her to do it for weeks."
He shrugged. "It'll come. I'm not too concerned about it. I kind of wish she'd said yours. Then, when I need stuff, she could have called you, and I wouldn't have to strain my delicate vocal cords."
"When you need 'stuff?'" she said, rolling her eyes and grinning. "I don't even want to know what that means."
His eyes widened. "No! I meant, like...a sandwich or something."
"Artie!" she said. "If you think you can just call me and I'll bring you a sandwich...you've clearly been sleeping for all four years of this marriage!"
"Not even if I said please? Or...if Avery called you and said I needed one?"
She grinned. "Ok, if Avery called me right now and said you needed a sandwich, I'd probably die of excitement, because that would mean she's gone from saying the dog's name to speaking in full sentences in under ten minutes."
He grinned back. "That's what I thought." Turning to Avery, he said, "And you, baby girl, will be saying 'Daddy' in no time. And, once you've got that down...sandwich is next. We'll get this, sooner or later."
Avery made some happy gurgling noises at him, and he reached up to grab her out of the high chair. He set her on his lap, and turned to head towards the living room.
Later that evening, their little family was sitting on the couch, watching a movie. Avery climbed off of Quinn, and crawled over to Artie. She put one of her tiny hands on his, looked into his face, and said, "Daddy."