First Words...?

I never realized how much ambiguity would go into deciphering when all the baby "firsts" take place. You'd think something like "first step" would be obvious, but its not. Usually there's a very gradual progression from awkward lunge to confident step. The same applies to everything! Even teeth. Again - seems obvious, but sometimes they're pushing through the gums partially for weeks. Anyways, that's where we are now with words. I'm confident that I can now claim Ethan has mastered the word "dog". He repeated it yesterday when I was reading him a book with a dog picture, and he said it again today multiple times when we pointed at stuffed dogs and pictures of dogs. If we ask where the dog is, he crawls over to his little fire truck and points to the picture of the dog. Yes, I realize he's a genius. The only problem I have here is that I can't say with surety that he's said mama. Sure, he says mama, and even sometimes directs it at me, but I don't know if he's actually made the connection. In time he'll have the opportunity to prove his love, but for now I'm in competition with the animals.