a picture is worth 1,000 words

Look at it, would you? It's as if he's possessed by the ball.

It won't be difficult to remember little e's first word. After all, he says it 8,000 times a day. BAWWWWLLLLLLL. Ball this, ball that. Ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball. It's often the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning -- and the last thing he says before he goes to sleep. We've even witnessed him saying it IN HIS SLEEP.

Usually after about the fifth or sixth time he says it, people in our class smile and say, "That's so cute, he must really like balls." I think that's just their polite way of saying, "Your child clearly needs help."

He takes every opportunity to seek and identify all balls and ball-like items -- anything circular in shape for that matter. The other day we went out to lunch at a Mexican sandwich shop, once inside he pointed and exclaimed "Ball." A ball in a Mexican sandwich shop? Highly unlikely! I thought. But there it was, a giant beach ball tucked snugly behind a plant.

And just so I don't forget, here are some of his other first words (none nearly as comprehensible as ball): Star. Dog. Spoon. Lights. Milk. Keys. Blue. Flower. Bird. He used to say "book," but apparently that's been phased out by the ball portion of his brain.