First Words

"Just let me see it, Nick."

"We both know I'm the technologically advanced one here."

"What? No, you aren't! I had to show you how to turn on the oven the other day!"

"That wasn't–I couldn't figure it out!"

"Well, you can't figure this out either, so just let me see it."

With a groan, Nick handed over the instructions and remote to their brand new smart television. The day before, the TV that Nick had owned for years, an old box that barely worked to begin with, had officially given up. After consoling a very heart-broken Nick, Judy had decided a new, better, more reliable TV was needed in the Wilde Home. The couple had spent that morning arguing over the "perfect" TV for their living room, and had only come to a decision when Nick finally admitted they didn't need a wall-sized entertainment system.

After purchasing their new TV, they had brought it home, somehow managing to unload it and all four of the children – now just past six months old. The set-up process had proven to be no easy feat, though, and the couple had already spent almost two hours problem-solving.

The babies sat behind them on the floor of the living room, the coffee table moved off to the side in order to make room for a large play mat the kids had littered with toys.

Red was rolling around wrestling with his own foot as he attempted to tear his sock off – for the fifth time that day, Robin was tugging and even trying to chew on his sister's ears while Violet cuddled her favorite stuffed bunny named Holland, and Alan was building with several large wooden blocks.

"Good luck with those instructions, they look like they're in Latin," Nick sighed, running a paw over his ears as he watched Judy flip through the pages.

"It's actually French."

"Don't tell me you can read French now."

Judy ignored him.

"It says here that we should check to make sure the coax cable is firmly connected to the converter box and the cable outlet," she said, her eyes intently scanning the page.

"You know French. Of course, you know French," Nick muttered as he laid on the floor, face up, to examine the cable as he squirmed beneath the entertainment system.

"Mama!" a tiny Violet suddenly cried out.

"Yes, Baby?" Judy turned to the baby, who was gesturing to be picked up with gripped fists. Judy smiled, easily ready to comply to the baby's wishes, but then quickly froze in her tracks.

"You just talked," she gaped. "You just talked! Nick, Violet just talked!"

"What?" Nick asked before he let out a noise of surprise as he smacked his head on the glass base of the entertainment system in an attempt to sit up quickly.

"You said 'Mama!'" Judy cried, scooping the now giggling baby into her arms. "You said your first word!"

Nick quickly scrambled to his feet, rubbing his head. "Good job, Baby," he smiled as he tickled Violet's foot.

"You owe me ten dollars," Judy sang to the fox, an evil grin spreading across her face. "Don't think I forgot."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get your mon–"

"Dada!" Violet giggled.

"Ah-hah!" Nick shouted. "I don't owe you a thing, Rabbit!"

"She said 'Mama' first, Nick!"

"I don't care what you say, I'm opening a case of wine to celebrate my kid saying my name and you can't stop me."

"You laugh now, but watch them all say 'Mama' first! They know who feeds them!"

Nick didn't hear Judy's rebuttal, though, as he was too busy badly dancing into the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine.