Something To Say

For some time now Kole has been able to identify things by word. If you say "where's your ball?" he'll go get a ball. Even if you ask for a hug or a kiss he will respond accordingly and affecitonately. But, he's been slow in getting the actual words out himself. As stated in previous posts around here, "Daddy" and "bye" have been the earliest first-words spoken, and been fairly exclusive ... until recently. In the last week we've noticed a couple of familiar words (or close affiliations) to certain objects. Most notable is "shoes" (or as he says with a heavy-tongued lisp: "Soos" almost "thooth"). He does this whenever you we put our shoes on, or when he sees his own shoes - which he instantly wants to put on. He probably spends a good hour or more a day attempting to put his shoes on, and will spend a good half-hour slogging around with a just his toes sticking inside a shoe.
The other word is "ball" ("Bah") which he now most frequently says when he has a balloon in his hands.
I know, I know, I know ... once he starts he'll never shut up again. But, for the time being we're anxious to see some verbal skills as some real cues to proper development and growth.