Cake

At the same family barbecue at my uncle's place where Isaac got his nosebleed rough-housing on the lawn, Laurel impressed me with her ever-increasing levels of comprehension. Although now that I think about it, maybe I was expecting too little from her!

We had previously been at my uncle's place for a party on Independence Day, less than two weeks earlier, so it makes sense that Laurel remembered it. But I was still surprised when she began looking for my aunt's kitten: she went to the porch where we had seen the cat on our previous visit, pointed at the surrounding flowerbeds where it had hidden from her attention, and said, "Cat! Cat! Meow."

She hunted for the cat in the bushes for a while, but eventually from across the yard I heard my aunt announce that it was time for dessert. Not wanting to miss out on the cake, I wondered how I could lure Laurel away from the possibility of finding the cat.

First I tried the direct method by asking, "Laurel, do you want some cake?"

To my surprise she immediately stopped looking for the cat and said, "Me! Me!" And she toddled off across the yard, heading straight back to the party.

I hadn't even known she understood the word "cake"!