Communication...Jackson-style

I'll start by saying that the area of communication has been one of the distinct differences between Jackson and Lily at this age. Up to this point, Jackson's preferred method of communication has been grunting or growling. Depending on the request, he has varied versions of either. The sad thing is, I am the only one who can decipher them! Lily, on the other hand, has always been our chatterbox and quickly caught on to sign language and verbally communicating at an early age.
I introduced sign language to Jackson when he started eating solids- 6 months. Most of the time, he just stared at me in confusion, then proceeded to bang his hands on the tray for "more" or "all done". For the next few months, this became very frustrating for me. After talking to other moms and the doctor, I gathered that his gross motor skills were advancing quicker than his verbal. Therefore...in my interpretation...he just didn't care to sign! Obviously, the grunting and growling had been effective up to this point, so why change it?!
Well...I'm happy to report that he is now clapping for "more" and waving his arms up and down for "all done". He is also signing "milk" and "eat". Now, this doesn't happen all the time, but I'll take what I can get!
Verbally, he has also developed quite a bit in the past month. He is still chattering with different versions of "dada" and he does know how to say "mama" but it seems to be more challenging for him (or he realizes I respond to whatever he says, so why does he need to say it? :). As I have mentioned before, he has a slight obsession with balls (meaning he bounces up and down when he sees one...especially a larger one :). We have been working on "ball" and he has started saying "ba" for "ball". (funny how he can quickly identify a "ball" but doesn't want to say "mama"?! I see where I rank :-) And, along with signing "all done", he has begun saying "Ah da".
For some reason, the verbal communication is making me realize how quickly he is growing up. I know he has reached other milestones fairly quickly- crawling, walking, etc., but there is just something about verbally communicating with him that is making him seem more like a "toddler" to me. It's bittersweet.