Drew sat with the big girls in the big wagon this week, with a seat belt on. These pics make me giggle. So cute.
These pics were taken on his first birthday. You heard right: this little guy is officially 1 year old! We went to the library drop-in and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him at music circle time. (They also sang happy birthday to Maryam, whose birthday was the following day.)
He wasn't sure what we were going on about, but he DID enjoy that cupcake!
I know, cupcake doesn't go well with burgers and broccoli, but hey, he went for that cupcake and never looked back. ;)
Sweet baby Drew!
Now how handsome is this?
I am amazed at how much he understands, despite not yet having the language to express himself. If I say someone's name, or say the name of an object, without giving him any nonverbal cues (not even looking at the person or object), his attention will turn directly to what I have named. He has done this for words such as Maryam, Leila, Noah, light, balloon, ball, outside (will look out the window), eat (will go to his high chair, or hang around the kitchen expectantly.) If I mention Thomas (big brother), Mommy, or Daddy, he'll look to the door, expecting them to appear. Moral of the story: babies are so much smarter than you think they are! It amazes me. I also was blown away when I muttered a sentence to Leila, which included the word "balloons" in it, and he immediately looked up at the balloons. He sure picked out the key word!
The next day was Maryam's birthday, and we went all out. I wanted to make it extra special for Maryam because she was turning 2, and was far more aware of what a birthday is than Drew (though still so new to her). Drew is not old enough to know that that wasn't ALSO his birthday, so he enjoyed it just the same.
Maryam didn't arrive until lunch time, so Leila and I were busy decorating that morning. Leila especially wanted to set the table. Good work, Leila!
I took Leila and Drew for a walk outside, and Drew was babbling away, so happy!
She wore a beautiful party dress. She fit in right with our colour scheme. haha! She adores Minnie Mouse, so almost everything was Minnie.
Fill 'er up, lady.
We had little bracelets and necklaces that the kids loved.
Leila demanded to wear her light-up Cinderella dress when she heard that Maryam would be wearing a pretty dress.
Drew wanted to help with the photography of the event!
She's a princess doctor, I guess?
Leila loves when Maryam dances with her. She always yells to Maryam, "hands!" which of course, Maryam is supposed to interpret as "Hold my hands and dance with me!"
Elton, I mean Noah, returned from school for the remainder of the party.
Mac and Cheese for the little queen, or as she calls it, "nu-nu's" (noodles).
Wonder why Noah's not gobbling up that broccoli? He must have overlooked it. ;)
Pictures just weren't enough. I hope Maryam enjoys this video when she's all 'grow'd' up!
Yummy Smarties cake!
Time for a present!
A Minnie Mouse toy, of course!
Here she is letting Leila play with her new present.
xoxo!
Leila enjoys ripping the streamers down the next morning.
Leila did a number matching activity with Cheerios. I got her to actually count for me and she's up to 11 maybe (correctly counting and pointing). Her finger often moves faster than her mouth, so she often has to start over.
(Fake) snack time in the tent!
Well hello cute little guy! Come on in!
He realizes he has forgotten to ring the doorbell first. How rude of him. ;)
We decorated folders for Valentines Day. They actually aren't meant to be for Valentines cards (though they could be). They are for writing kind notes to one another. They need help putting their thoughts on paper, but it's a nice excuse to say kind things.
Drew discovers the glory of a foot rest.
Leila wanted to to the number line. Drew was very much into it. It was especially challenging for Leila when Maryam started changing all the numbers around! Most of the time, Maryam wasn't into the number line.
She was into doing this.
omg CUTE!!!!
Awww...the portion of the blog where I get to brag about my own kids' accomplishments. Leila just learned to skate last night! She didn't let go of my hand for a while, and, since this is exactly what she did with learning to walk (she didn't let go of my hand until she was almost 2 years old), I figured it could be a few winters before she let go. But....last night she was so brave! Yey Leila!!
