Yogurt Scalp Treatments & Facials...

I hear they are all the rage. Strawberry-banana is my personal preference.

First one is on the house!

Sensory Play: Cloud Dough Fun (aka Sand in Your Shorts)

Micah seems to be at the age where sensory play is just starting to be attractive. Well, it might have been attractive before but since he is making some improvement in the not-putting-everything-directly-in-my-mouth department, we can engage in sensory play a little more safely! I have also learned that it is wise to pull out the play dough, bucket of beans, shaving cream or cornmeal only if I'm willing to spend at least twice as long cleaning up as we spent playing - which I am genuinely okay with most days!

Cloud Dough: Flour & Cooking Oil but feels like wet sand

I may have had a little taste...

Me too

A Valentine Serenade

Micah man loooooves reading and one of his favorites is a book adaptation of Raffi's "Down By the Bay" probably because it involves some pretty sweet singing. I still remember learning the tune in elementary school but Jed gets the liberty of making up a new melody every time he sings it. I love listening in! When you ask Micah to sing a song, he generally sings something along the lines of "Dow by bee" and then it dissolves into some sort of baby babble. BUT, the other day in the car he was managing the whole first line with incredible precision. As soon as we were safely parked at the YMCA, I whipped out my phone to try and capture it on film. Hear it for yourself!



I truly think that language acquisition is one of the most fascinating developments to watch. Micah's vocabulary grows every day and he is now starting to group words. Not really making full sentences but he knows which words go together. For example:

Dadda Work Bicycle

and

Copley Vacuum Chew No

Other favorite words in use these days:
Shovel
Baby
Bulldodo (Bulldozer)
Boots
Orange

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Hope you have a day full of love and laughter!

When life gives you snow...make snow angels!

While we fared better than many in the great storm of 2013, ferociously called 'Nemo', we did get a pretty good dump of the white stuff. While the blizzard was a bit unpleasant in terms of wind and cold, the day after was absolutely gorgeous and we made it outside to enjoy some winter fun. One of the other highlights was our journey into the great outdoors on Saturday morning, braving the elements to enjoy the Augusta House of Pancakes. Little did we know, having never been there, that the AHOP is clearly a local joint. So, there was one family (us) and the entire rest of the restaurant was filled with grizzled Mainers just coming in off plowing for most the night and early morning hours. It. Was. Fabulous. Micah was the star of the show and had those burly, bearded truck drivers performing magic tricks and exclaiming, "Isn't he cunnin'?" as he buzzed around from table to table introducing himself. It was a pretty amazing scene.

Do you have any of these in my size?

I'll be honest, guys...I'm not 100% sure about this adventure

Whoa! Here we go!

 

See ya later Mom!

This snow is taller than me!

But it tastes delicious!

Um....a little help here?

Baby Club Reunited!

Hurrah for baby reunions! Two weekends ago we were able to get the whole Shock & Awe pre-birth class together again. It was so fun to watch all of our little ones play and interact together. Much different than those first few weeks where they would quietly sleep in their car seats while we sipped a much-needed coffee. There was plenty of 'note-trading' as our sweet little babes grow into independent, opinionated toddlers and we all navigate the new territory of sharing, manners and general awareness of others (it's going to be a while before we get there, folks). Long live those friends from the womb!   

Stirling, Letta, Nella, Micah & Annabelle (Ethan came late but missed the photo op)

Ethan, Stirling, Micah, Letta, Nella & Annabelle

Annabelle, Ethan, Stirling & Micah (Twinsies not pictured)

It's a Micah!

Two new posts for your blog viewing pleasure! Here is yet another fun-in-the-bath video. The other night, Micah noticed his reflection in the bathtub faucet and was cracking himself up making coy faces and smiling at himself. I would say he was his own biggest fan if it weren't for this lady. I'm pretty fond of him, I must say. You can also see his is starting to say his own name, which is pretty exciting!





(As a side note, I think I found a better way to post videos so hopefully they are a little less fuzzy than before - just let me know if you have any trouble viewing them! I also went back and fixed a few of the more recent videos I posted - much better quality! So feel free to watch them again...and again)

Spoonfed!

Micah's development has been off the charts this past week! While he has always been pretty verbal in the babbling sense, he is now learning new words (that actually sound like the real word) every single day. He will now repeat practically any word you ask of him but he is also starting to remember words and use them spontaneously and in context. It is truly thrilling to watch. Besides the basics - ball, milk, bike, apple, book - some of our favorites also include spatula, cinnamon, and vacuum.

He also loves looking through his books and will notice the tiniest little details and remember where they are the next time we look through them. His current favorite morning ritual (per his request) is to sit in the glider with his favorite bear, Bingo, and a blanket and read books - he even will show Bingo the pictures. It is so incredible to watch learning happen right before your eyes. He must have been on the cusp of talking and now he is ready to open his mouth and let the words fly. While we haven't been able to capture many of his words on video (still working on that) here is a clip that shows another huge development this week - eating with a spoon! He's been making attempts for a while now but it seems he is really grasping the concept. He is also doing some pretty incredible flavor mixing - noodles dipped in yogurt? Yum!

I know I may seem overly excited about these milestones but I just marvel at our little baby becoming such a big, independent spirit. An amazingly fun journey to witness.