Talking more and more!

It looks like Kimi's speech is finally beginning to pick up! A week ago, she handed me a wrapped gift given to her, and, signed the word for "open", and then very clearly said, "Open?" Then, this evening, she pointed to her new children's Bible and said, "Bah-bo", and kept saying it, over and over, while pointing to the Bible and giggling! Then, she pointed to a coloring book with Mickey Mouse on it and said, "Mih-Mo". She has also begun to say animal sounds! For example, if I ask her, "What does the lamb say?", she answers, "Ba-a-a-a-a-a". For a cow, she says, "Moooo", and for a dog, she says, in a high, bark-like way, "Arf-Arf-Arf"! What is especially significant to me, is that she is initiating speech more and more as well - something we were not sure she would be able to do without a LOT more speech therapy! She is also walking a little steadier, and more often.....although she still prefers to be carried around. Hmmmmm. And if anyone gets out a camera, she begins making this cheesy smile and says, "Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!" Here's a photo of her saying, "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!" for the camera! We are SO looking forward to celebrating Kimi's first Christmas!