Around seven months, strangers acknowledged that Opal said, "Hi," when she waved—we would have thought we were being overzealous to claim that as her first word, but I think it seems safe to say since so many impartial observers confirmed it! Around eleven months, Opal started saying, "hot!" and waving her hand in response to my morning coffee. She also said, "this! this!" and "yes!" a lot, often at appropriate times. At thirteen months, she's started saying, "ball," "bye-bye," and "baby," although they all sound pretty much the same! She knows what they mean and when to say them, though, so it counts. Coupled with real signs, her own invented signs, and ALL the animal sounds, she's got quite the vocabulary now!