I frequently hear a chorus of “Mommy, come and puz!” The girl loves working on her puzzles!
After doing this Very Hungry Caterpillar puzzle dozens of times with David and I (we always took a back seat though and only offered guidance to her; she always placed the pieces), she now can do it all (well, mostly) by herself. Hurray!
Miss Leyba is fascinated with the concept of babies, pregnant women, and big sisters. At our Mama Baby Yoga Class we encounter all of the above and Miss Leyba loves it. She talks about babies nursing, babies sleeping, babies needing their diapers changed. And, above all, how her dear friend Maitri is going to be a big sister (which I think she calls baby sister more often than not). We’ve been following along with this particular pregnancy for months and talking about it frequently. “Maitri big sister! Laura grow baby!” Miss Leyba informs me at least once a day.
We’ve been waiting.
Laura at 40 weeks with our girls — doesn’t she look fantastic?!
And Friday afternoon the big day finally arrived. We learned that Laura gave birth to a healthy baby girl and I immediately headed into the kitchen to bake and cook for them. As luck would have it, we were signed up to bring them dinner on Saturday! We would get to meet the new baby! SWOON!
I envisioned a leisurely activity of Miss Leyba and I baking together in the kitchen. Miss Leyba frequently helps me cook dinner, so I thought she’d be equally interesting in helping me measure ingredients, pour them in, and stir the bowl.
Miss Leyba and I gathered the ingredients for coconut macaroons. We laid them out on the counter. She kept me company as I started to break and separate the eggs; together we counted each one.
Then I loaded them into the stand mixer and warned her that it might be a little bit noisy.
I turned it on.
Pause
She ran screaming from the room.
And should wouldn’t venture into the kitchen again, even after I was done with the mixer and showed her that I unplugged it and promised that we wouldn’t use it again.
I was finally able to coax her into the far end of the room, where she insisted we do the rest of the baking as far from the counter (and that darn mixer) as possible, at the kitchen table instead.
And that worked out too.
First, a fear of the vacuum (evidently quite terrifying), the electric drill, and now this.
(When will this stage pass??)
But I digress.
We we talking about big sisters. And for those of you who made it to the end of my story, here’s a picture of Miss Leyba’s dear friend and BIG SISTER holding the newest addition to the Gilbert clan.
Welcome, sweet baby girl! We think you’re the bees knees and are so looking forward to getting to know you. xoxo
Please join us for story time!
Miss Leyba loves reading her books aloud! Not only does she like to sit in our laps for story time, but she frequently reads aloud to herself (and to anyone else who will listen!). She is especially partial to reading in bed, something David and I are quite fond of too.
Since we read to her every day, and often read the same books over and over again at her request, she has several favorites memorized (such as Goodnight Moon
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Video: Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? from Carrie on Vimeo.
Video: Where is Spot? from Carrie on Vimeo.
We could read and discuss books all day.
Oh, yeah, we frequently do.
What books are you enjoying right now?
What do you do when all of the kids in your play group have birthdays within three months of each other? (Yes, Miss Leyba is the youngest!)
Hold a group birthday party!
Thank you to Christina for the inspired idea, to Lien and her family for hosting the shin-dig, to Eveline for procuring the pastries and for the Melissa & Doug Cutting Food Box
Edited to add:
Here’s a video of the girls jumping on the trampoline. Unfortunately I missed the hysterical giggle-fest part, but it’s still cute nonetheless.
Video: Great End to a Great Party from Carrie on Vimeo.
It dawned on me that if I started working on my to-do list for Miss Leyba’s second birthday party now, then I might actually get it all done!
We’re planning a very small party: just Miss Leyba and her three closest friends (and their parents too!), and possibly some grandparents.
The theme?
Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar
She is completely obsessed with The Hungry Caterpillar, and with the entire concept of caterpillars turning into butterflies. (We have SO many books, both from the bookstore and the library, on the subject. Life Cycles are a big hit right now.)
We have so many wonderful Very Hungry Caterpillar related items that we can pull into the party too: a handmade caterpillar puppet, puzzles of the caterpillar and the butterfly, the pop-up version of the book, as well as the French translation!
I am planning on serving up the menu in the book, with punched holes in all of the food as well!
Stay tuned as I post more pictures and share more of my ideas. I hope it will be a fun and memorable day and, wow, I have 2 months, 1 week and three days to get cracking.
Read these posts:
– Birthday Party Preparations invitations and goody bags
– Party Decorations banners, coloring pages, and snacks
– Party Fun photos from the event!
