Day 170 - "Bob"

I love myself a good comedy. Probably because I like to laugh. And I like to smile. If you don't like to laugh and/or smile, then you may have depression. If so, stop reading this blog and seek help immediately. I mean that legitimately. I hadn't intended to have a public service announcement within the confines of this blog post, but sometimes things happen naturally and I just roll with it. 

Where was I? Oh yes, I like to laugh and smile. Preferably at a good comedy. While he's not the greatest actor of all time, if I'm making a list of guys who make me laugh, Bill Murray might be near the top. Between 'Ghostbusters', 'Caddyshack', 'Groundhog Day', and 'What About Bob?', he's been in some great comedies. I didn't even mention his epic cameo in 'Zombieland'. While I'm more than aware of Bill Murray, I don't think I realized until today that Ellie is too.

Nope Bill, you can't. I intentionally left off 'Space Jam' for a reason.

In the past couple of weeks, Ellie has really enjoyed finding her voice. I will say that we're pretty sure she doesn't exactly know what she's saying yet. One of her favorites is saying something that kind of resembles "Ma". I actually refuse to admit she's saying it because I'm determined "ma" won't be her first word. While it's not a bad first word, I clearly have higher hopes for Ellie's vocabulary. If I have to guess based upon her context for using "ma", it actually seems like she's trying to say "more". As in, I'm hungry; stuff more food in my face immediately or I shall commence with additional whining/screaming.

Now, of course, there are other sounds that Ellie is making. One of her favorites is making a high-pitched squeal. If I'm being 100% honest, half of her sounds result in me looking around for R2-D2, the lovable astrotech droid from the 'Star Wars' films. Then there's something that resembles the chorus of "Poker Face". "Po-po-po-po".  I cannot claim to understand the significance of that one though. Maybe she just really likes Lady Gaga?

"How could you be mean to R2? He's like a puppy." **inside joke**

Ellie's newest word, for lack of a better term, showed up for the first time today. It just sounds like she's saying "Bob" with a Wisconsin accent. While I'm not certain why Ellie would have a Wisconsin accent (even though her aunt was born there), it's kind of what it sounds like. Although, if I'm being honest, most of my experience with Wisconsin accents came from watching "That '70's Show" and the character of Bob Pinciotti. 

Ellie's love of the word, "Bob", doesn't seem to be tied to any one thing in particular. She's an equal opportunity offender when it comes to "Bob". It doesn't matter if she's eating, playing, bathing, or trying to fall asleep. "Bob" is right there on her lips. It even had me thinking today just why she would learn to say "Bob". It's likely that she's just engaging in infant babble. However, that's not as much fun as me trying to come up with a certain reason behind its use.

The first thing to pop into my head is that she's just a huge Bill Murray fan and is honoring his role in "What About Bob?" . She could also be thinking of my high school janitor, Bob  Blair, who was immortalized by the Savannah choir at his retirement pep assembly (yes, you read that right) with a song set to the immortal tune of "Barbara Ann". My favorite conspiracy theory is this: Ellie is telling me the future. In other words, her future husband is named Bob and her first word is actually his name. That's some big-time romantic stuff on the level of The Notebook if I do say so myself. 

With that kind of special talent, I should really write a romance novel. Because that's a manly thing to do. Or I'll just watch 'What About Bob?' for the seventeenth time. I haven't decided yet but I'll let you know when I do. #DaddyWrite