Babies Actually Learn To Talk

"Holy Crap!"
Max exclaimed as he fell out of his little car. Where did he learn that?

In teaching Max to talk, we practice the alphabet, important phrases and courtesies, but we've never focused on exclamations--let alone when to say them.
What I can't get over is that we've told/attempted to train Max to say "help me please" instead of just screaming when he needs something. I couldn't possibly count the number of times I've forced him to say "help me please" and it just doesn't seem to ever happen without one of us provoking him to say it.

I understand that children learn by hearing examples and repeating them. Obviously, either Ginna or I must have exclaimed "holy crap" one or more times in his presence so he could learn it. It is especially amazing that he was able to take that phrase and apply it to his own unique situation--falling out of his car--at exactly the right time. It's not like we are falling out of plastic cars all the time so he could learn a good time to express some explicative.

So, babies really do learn to talk. It's amazing and fun to watch. And I suppose it will always remain a mystery why kids can instantaneously learn what they want and don't learn things you want without a ton of work.