Zoo Time

We met up with some friends at the zoo for their weekly music time, and David had fun. We hadn't been to the music time for a few years, so David was in pure heaven because it all felt new to him.

 He even took the karaoke challenge and sang "Yankee Doodle." 

 He broke away from the other crowd favorites of ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and sung another song, which I was proud of him for doing his own thing.

 David intentionally wore his wolf hat, so we had to visit the wolf den. They were on the prowl! Some of the little girls we were with have at thing where the three of them howl together until they get the wolves to howl back.

 It was only a matter of a few minutes before the entire pack answered their howls with their own.

 The howling went on for several minutes, and if it started to die down, the threesome of sisters would start it up again with their howls.

 It was very entertaining to watch (and piercing to listen to so up close!) and it brought the zoo visitors over from all the other exhibits to watch the wolves howl. 

 Of course the boy with the wolf hat couldn't have been more thrilled.

 And this sweet girl doesn't let a whole lot ruffle her world; even a pack of howling wolves didn't disturb her little catnap.

Introductions

Alina, meet food.

 Food, meet Alina.

The two sometimes agree, and sometimes they don't. All in all, Alina would rather stick with a bottle than bother with a spoon. 

But when a face like this greets my effort to introduce the two to each other, I am inclined to keep trying. 

One day they'll be friends.

And let's be honest--our baby girl is not lacking nutrition with those cheeks as her reserve!

Davidisms March 9

• Yesterday he had this conversation with his Dad:
• David: Dad, I need a car.
• Dad: You mean a toy car?
• David: No, a real car.
• Dad: Then you better save your money. Why do you need a real car? What would you do with it?
• David: I'd take out all the screws.
• David was unusually compliant during a time out, so I let him off his chair early. He ran over to me, threw his arms around my neck and said, "Thanks, Mom! I hope you have a good . . . forever! And when you get to heaven, I hope it's good for you there, too."
• Daddy and David were talking about David's future, and his prospects for college. Daddy asked David where he wanted to go to college, and this was the reply: "I want to go to BYU. BYU is as big as the world. I bet BYU has buckets and buckets and buckets and buckets and buckets of screws."
• David was talking non-stop about whatever he talks about, and he paused for drama and said, "Mom, this is the floor of the world. Do you know what we call the floor of the world?" Insert David holding his head still while his eyes looked side to side then back at me for emphasis, "We call it the grrrrrrroooooooouuuuunnnnnnd."

Crunches

Remember how I mentioned that Alina is quite strong? This is her position to try and see the world around her from the floor. She even does this while I'm changing her diaper. Apparently she doesn't want to miss a thing. In this photo, she's looking at the light streaming in from the window. This girl must have a serious set of abs under all that baby belly she carries.

 At ease.

But not for long--she'll take a short breather, then go right back to her "looking around" position.

One of Us

Alina has a slight whimper/whine if she feels like life is happening around her and she isn't being included. This has been especially common at dinner time, so for the last couple months, I have held Alina in one arm while eating with the other hand. She held still and was content through the entire meal. 

This past week I thought her back might be strong enough to try her again in the little high chair. I put her in the chair and wrapped a scarf around her middle to offer a little more support. She was happy as a lark, watching everything while I prepared dinner. She played with her toy, watched her brother with sparkles in her eyes, and was very happy to be "up" where she could see everything going on. She was feeling like she was one of us from her new perch.

When we all came to the table to sit down and eat dinner, this little girl started squealing like she was the luckiest girl alive. "Everyone is coming to join me!?!" Oh, how I love the way her eyes sparkle when she looks at those she loves.

And just for good measure, those legs tense up and stick out straight in front of her for emphasis. She shares her happiness from head to toe--with her whole body!

 It's official--we now have a dinner table with four family members around it.

 Alina has been watching food go from plate to mouth for a few weeks now. She intently watches the back and forth, up and down motion of my fork. One evening we were having applesauce, so I offered some to our wee one. She knew just what to do, she leaned in to the spoon and opened up wide. The applesauce went in. And it came right back out. I don't know if it was flavor, texture, temperature, or a combination of all three--but since then, she purses her lips tightly whenever a spoon comes near. She'll stick with that creamy bottle of Enfamil, thank you very much. 

Can't even say how happy I am that this little girl is elated to be at the table as one of us.

Cape Tails

I don't think this future concert pianist will have any trouble with figuring out how to properly place his coat tails before a performance.

We recently took David to see Piano Guys, which includes Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson as the main performers. David was definitely inspired by Jon. He wants to be just like him. He's more agreeable now to lesson time on the piano--whereas in the recent past, he has preferred free play instead of structured lesson. I just want a little lesson and a lot of exposure so this love of music can grow in my boy! Jon is an inspiring personality in our home. We've convinced David that Jon must have practiced a lot. Oh, and he obeyed his mother, too. David soaks it all in, turns himself upside down, and tries to play just like Jon.

Sharing is Caring

Sharing is caring.

 Especially when it comes to big brother's Superman hat.

 

Do you think she can feel the love?

I do.