To Build A Home

Chapter 21- Mama

      "What's this one?" Krolia asked her son, knowing she wouldn't get more than a few random vowels as an answer.
   In her hands, she held a book, one filled with different kinds of animals. Each page spread had the animal's name, the sound it made and a drawing equipped with the appropriate texture patch. Soft fluff for cats, dogs, horses, rabbits and cows. Scale like patches for fish, feathers for birds, and a rather odd plastic like texture for frogs. The pages were like roman slabs, thick and tough to avoid being ripped by childish hands. And of course, the lettering was huge to help the child learning to read and speak.
   Keith sat in her lap, resting his back against her stomach, legs folded like a pretzel. "Uuhh..!" He reached out for the soft fuzz on the page, smiling as his tiny fingers touched the soft texture. "Eeeaaaahh!" He squealed with delight, loving how the book felt just like Little Blue. But it wasn't his toy. He knew that. The soft touch was still something he loved.
   The mother stroked his hair before she pointed to the bolded words. "That's a dog, Keith. And do you know what sound a dog makes?"
   The child seemed to ignore his mother's words altogether, finding something much more entertaining to focus on... His own two feet. 
   "That's it? One page and you're already bored?" With a sigh, she looked down at her son, smiling lovingly at him when their eyes met. "What is it going to take for you to be more engaged in learning?" She asked, trying not to sound annoyed, although, after trying to grab his attention for more than a few seconds, it would be a little tiresome to try and fail repeatedly.
   "Why don't you let him watch tv?" Steven suggested, coming downstairs with a plastic bag of what Krolia assumed to be dirty diapers. The only logical thing it could be.
   "And let him see all of those commercials and advertisements with loud noises and flashes? Absolutely not."
   "You do know there is a channel for infants, right?"
   "He's twenty five weeks old, and hasn't watched television one bit. I'm pretty sure he's fine without it."
   "Suit yourself, but those books don't grab his attention at all." With that, Steven left to properly dispose of the trash created solely by smelly diapers.
   Krolia let out a long sigh, shaking her head as she did so. "I don't think Earth entertainment is any good... But maybe you will..."
   Keith saw his mother pick up the tv remote and instantly began grabbing for it.
   "No, no, Keith. You have Little Blue to hold." She told him, placing the plush in his lap. "Only Mama and Daddy get to touch the technology."
   Although he was upset that he couldn't investigate the remote on a physical, hands on—and possibly tasting— level, Keith was satisfied with Little Blue.
   She was careful to keep the volume at a low level, as she quickly skimmed through the cable channels until she found what she believed was the one appropriate for infants. It certainly seemed like it, warm colors, soft music, calming narration. It seemed okay for a child. Whatever it was, Keith was interested in it.
   "Uuuaaah...!" Keith reached out for the tv, somewhat mesmerized by what he saw.
   "Okay... I'll admit it... I was wrong about the television..." Krolia admitted quietly when Steven entered the house again.
   "He likes it, doesn't he?"
   "It's hard to tell. He looks engaged and interested... But you know how fast his attention shifts from object A to object B."
   Unsurprisingly, Keith, hearing his parents communicate, tilted his head up to see what was going on.
   "Told you."
   Taking a seat next to Krolia, Steven pulled the boy into his lap, wrapping his arms lovingly around the child. "You really can't stay focused, can ya', Keith?"
   Ignoring those around him, Keith began babbling to himself. Random consonants and vowels. None of it meant anything.
   "Well, we tried. TV didn't work, books don't work, we don't work." Krolia stroked her son's arm, successfully grabbing his attention. "You've just got a mind of your own don't you?"
   "Aaahhaaahhh...!" Keith smiled with joy, as always, loving the attention he was receiving.
   "We know one thing is for sure," Steven paused, turning the boy to face him. "Keith... Loves... Attention."
   "But don't touch lil' Keithy's feeties, or else he'll giggle...!" Krolia teased, slowly extending her index finger towards the soles of his feet.
   Keith was, in simple terms, a rather oblivious infant at times, and never saw his mother go for his feet. Once he felt her finger touch the soles of his feet, he pulled them in as fast as he could, but Krolia wouldn't give in. After a few more seconds of attempted tummy tickling, Keith couldn't say no anymore. He gave into the tickles, laughing adorably as he let his mother lightly tickled his stomach.
   "There we go..." Krolia slowly stopped, letting Keith settle down on his own. "That's much better than anything television or books can give you, isn't it?"
   "Keith has sensitive feet, and a very ticklish stomach... Thus we use those two facts for personal enjoyment."
   "You just singlehandedly ruined tickling children for everyone from now on. Thanks."
   Steven looked to Keith, ignoring Krolia entirely. "Mama is crazy, isn't she?"
   "Uuaah....." Keith looked to his mother, then back to his father, as though he recognized the word 'Mama' as a name and not just another sound.
   "Yeah. Mama."
   Again, Keith looked to his mother, smiling cherubically. "Aaah...! Aaah...!" He turned to face her, outstretching his arms to her. "Aaah...! Aaah..! Aaah!"
   "Alright, alright. Mama's got you.." Krolia carefully took her child into her arms, letting him sit comfortably in her lap. "Looks like someone is able to recognize words now..."
   "Keith, where's Mama?" Steven asked as a test question.
   Instantly, the boy looked up at his mother, leaning his full weight onto her for much wanted cuddles.
   "And where's Daddy...?" Krolia asked him, placing an arm on his little shoulder.
   "Aaahhh!" With utter happiness, Keith reached one hand out to his father, smiling when Steven did the action back to him.
   "Maybe he'll be sayin' 'Mama' or 'Daddy' in a few weeks. It'll certainly be quite early for 'im, but I suppose everything is normal for his standards."
   Krolia nodded in agreement. "My bet is that he'll be saying 'Dada' by the end of the week. It's simple and most closely related to the sounds he's made already."
   "Really? You think Dada? He has a much stronger connection to you than to me."
   "I'm going off of logic and human norms. 'Dada often comes before Mama in child development'. That's what every book you bought says."