bye bye and ball

I was very proud of my son this weekend. As we were leaving our friends' house and were saying goodbye, Eddie waved bye bye. I know this is something that a lot of babies do way early, girls even at 10 months, but for Eddie this is a huge milestone. For the longest time I have been trying to get him to wave goodbye to people as they leave our house and he often will do nothing but smile until they actually leave. Once they have left he will often go to the window and stand on the chair to watch them and then wave, long after they have departed. So I knew that he could wave his hand, but was just waiting for him to do it at the appropriate time. I gave up several months ago. And then, bam, suddenly he just did it. He is totally this way about everything - he does things when HE wants to and at his own pace.

This is the sentiment I have been feeling about his language skills too. I called the pediatrician this week and left a message saying that I was still concerned as there had been no progress over the past two months in his speaking. And then suddenly this weekend he just seemed to bloom like a little flower. He is now saying "ball," even though the "l"s are sort of silent. He is not the type to just yell out the word when he sees it, but if you point to a ball or a picture of a ball and ask him "what's that?" he will say boisterously "BALL!" He is babbling even more now and making a lot of new sounds. He is becoming more emphatic with his "dada," "mama," "no," "oh no" and "yeah." And he is pointing to everything and showcasing that he knows what so many things are. For example, he will point to the lights on his trucks and then point up to the lights in the ceiling, as he utters sounds and looks with bright eyes for affirmation.