he speaks

Cole is one of the most dynamic, animated and passionate little people with whom I've come in contact. He babbles incessantly, he screams in delight as well as in frustration, and he speaks volumes with his million dollar smile, contagious laughter and heart-wrenching tears. Yet, this little boy has not actually said anything since he emerged nearly a year ago. Not until now!

Shortly after Maya came into my room this morning, she discovered her Dadda's baseball cap on the dresser. Just as she beamed and proudly placed it on
her head, Cole appeared in the

doorway with a smile on his face.

"Hat," he said with his hands.

He repeated the sign a few times, when I finally realized what he was "saying."

"HAT? Do you see Dadda's hat?" I asked him with a shrill, excited tone.

His face lit up, and he clapped. "Hat," he signed again.

You would have thought the Red Sox won another World Series with the jubilation in my room this morning. We proudly paraded around little brother shrieking and squealing. "Hat, he said HAT!!!" Bedimpled Cole just kept clapping, signing and laughing at his mom and big sister.

Though he still hasn't used his voice to say many words to us just yet, in this short exchange, Cole's silence was broken. It was a great, GREAT moment.