Thursday, June 26, 2014

Time to relfect...

I owe you months of updates. Sure, there have been photos but you I rarely share whats actually going on.

So, what is new with the littles:
Zahra:

  • Her favorite book is hands down Grover Takes Care of Baby.
  • Zahra is, frankly, a genius. (I might be biased.) She can count to 11. Mostly, she just yells: 8,9,10 all day long but she has been counting to 10 or 11 for two weeks.
  • Zahra has a hitting problem. She freaking loves it. I am seeking advice on what to do with a little girl who is slap-happy, sobs through her quiet spot time and then hits you the second she gets out. I think we had 8 consecutive quiet spots one day last week.
  • We finally FINALLY got rid of the bottles at bedtime and GUESS WHAT? This little lady just slept through the night. So, after 17 months of getting up at least once a night, I am getting a full nights sleep again. All of the sleep is probably related to my sudden realization that we need a change. I am finally rested enough to start thinking AHEAD.
  • Zahra sings and it just melts my heart. Her favorites are "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and "Skidamarink". I thought about writing out the every other word method she uses for Bitsy Bitsy (as we call it) but it just isn't that cute in writing.
  • I have caught Zahra walking on the tops of her toes like a true ballerina. 
  • Zahra is a mountain goat. When I don't hear her yelling or feel her slapping me, I had better start looking, because she is certainly on top of something. She can climb out of her crib. She loves to leap from the back of rocking chair to the couch, about 18inches away. She enjoys pushing furniture up against other furniture to create impromptu stairs to wherever she is heading.



  • She is enamored with her own image, accessories, and picking out her own outfits which she then uses to dress herself. She has got the pants technique down but shirts are a fight every morning. It is easier to just let her try. Plus, its twenty minutes when she isn't hitting or climbing.


Zayd:
  • Zayd has become quite the little elocutionist. He likes to define words for me, tell me stories, and carry on with LONG directives to baby.
    • I love that nowadays when I am reading to him, he catches on words he doesn't know and always asks for the definition. I suggest you ask him what ridiculous means, he makes a unique silly voice and babbles incoherently. Adorbs.
  • He calls Zahra "Baby" pretty much exclusively.
  • At the gym last week, Zahra bumped her head and the gym daycare folks came over to soothe her. Zayd walked up and said, "I got this." to the adults. Then to baby, "Do you want a hug? OK, come here. It's OK." And she stopped crying. He tries it with us too, but I think i would like to maintain the parenting role at least inside the house.
  • Zayd can growl just like a tiger...and he prefers to do it right in your face. Zahra likes to slap him right across his tiger mouth and its one point where I really don't know what to do. He kinda asked for it.
  • He has really learned to love all things super heroes. Actually, it might just be good guys and bad guys. He and daddy have developed a great tradition of reading from a Marvel Comics anthology every night. It is one of the cutest things that happens in this house.
  • Zayd really is obsessed with animals. I took him to a daytime showing of Curious George last week, and he asked over and over again when George was going to go to the zoo. Apparently, one little monkey is not enough, he needs a whole zoo to be entertained.



Friday, June 13, 2014

Sunday Dirty Sunday

Sam made me the most amazing garden beds for mothers day and we just got around to filling them. There is really nothing more fun than dirt.





Tea is Sweet

The morning went something like this.
"Zayd come look at these pictures of your new baby cousin."
"He is so cute. Let's go see him and Bri Bri!"
"I was thinking about it but we'd have to go to Nani and Nana's house."
"I'm ready!"
"Well, let's make a plan. We need to pack, go to the gym, eat, and get a present."
"For who?" (Hoping it's for him.)
"For the new baby, Dominic. I was thinking we could go to the cloth diaper store and see what they have."
"He probably wants a toy."
"Babies don't really play with toys yet. I was thinking we could go to the store and look for something sweet."
"I know! We can get him some tea. Tea is sweet. I love tea. Let's go!"
"Its 7a.m., Zu. But soon."

I'm packing now while the kids entertain themselves. Can't wait to meet the new little Turner!! Congrats to David and Cindy and Brianna!! Welcome to a world filled with dinosaurs, excavators, and train tracks!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Ice Cream Sunday

My neighbor took some great photos of the lentil and lolly last Sunday during an ice cream photo shoot. In hindsight, food and Zayd are a really tough photo combination but I still ended up with dozens that I love. Help me figure out which to print!