First word?

Last Friday, Elaine may have said her first word. I'm not an objective witness, but it seemed like she called me "dada." Elaine has been making the "dada" verbalization for a while now as an all purpose sound. It has seemed like she has used it in the last few weeks more frequently in my presence and when trying to get my attention. (See the December 10th post for a sample of her verbalization in the second video.)

On Friday, I pick her up after she awakes from her nap. Elaine is drowsy, but looks up at me. She looks up and down my face with an expression of assessment and then blurts out, mater-of-factly, while looking me in the eyes: "Dada!"

Since then, she hasn't done anything quite as clear; it does seem like she is using that verbalization for me with some consistency. We'll see in the coming weeks, but I'm thinking we can call that her first word.