can you say "ball"?

i wonder if i can get Elodie (my cousin's 14 mth old daughter) to say "ball" if i point at my tummy? apparently her vocab is mostly made up of 2 words right now - ball and star. =) she likes to point to things and say in an inquiring tone of voice "ball??"

so yeah, my parents made it back from a golfing trip to surabaya last nite. am happy to announce that no volcanoes erupted during their trip (as earlier threatened) so that's good. my mom said that after not seeing me for only 3 days, my belly seems to have expanded considerably. usually, i'd think she's just exaggerating, but honestly, i'm feeling uncomfortable enough to think she's right and that it really has expanded over the past couple of days.

auntie reggie saw me at the airport and said that my stomach resembled a ball. and boy, does it. it's really ROUND. occasionally it's asymmetrical but usually, it's spherical and IN YOUR FACE.

so yeah, my tummy is getting bigger, and our little acrobat is punching and kicking away in there.

oh yah, thought i'd note this down for posterity. on thursday (or Friday nite, i forget which), the baby, whose head, up to that point had been on my left decided to do some serious tumbling. was lying in bed and realised that the usual horizontal-ish lump had become a vertical-ish lump and there was an immense pressure near my sternum. kale was rather amused. the baby had turned herself 90 degrees and we think she was upside down. she had rejigged herself by the morning and was back to being horizontal, but now i have no idea whether her head is on my left or on my right. no reference point. so when i feel bumps and pokes, i have no idea if she's kicking or punching. whatever it is, it's good entertainment and a good distraction when i'm bored studying. haha.