To be or not to be

As Julian has been adding more proper grammar to his sentences, I notice that it's usually one step forward, two steps back before we get any new verb usage smoothed out.

"To be" started out very well for us a few months ago, in the form of the contraction "That's" (pronounced "dat's") so that he could say "Dat's mommy's iPod" or "Dat's a fire truck!" instead of the babyish excuse for a sentence, "Fire truck!"

Current usage of the verb "to be", however, includes predicting the future without the use of the helping verb "will":

Me: I'm going to turn off the lights now.
Julian: It be dark.

Me: I'll eat one of your orange slices.
Julian: Dey be all gone!

And, of course, simple descriptions of how things "be":

Me: Your doll has no shirt now!
Julian: She be cold!