New in December

When ever I write a blog post I'm usually asking myself, "what's new?" Well, since last time I feel like there is a lot! Not a lot with Cambridge but so much with my little boy. Kids go through phases where they learn new things, practice them for a while, and then enter another new spurt of learning and development. Alyas has had some new first activities like...

Cutting out Christmas sugar cookies...

And seeing a first photo of his growing baby sister (shall we dare make that statement?).

He is growing in leaps and bounds with his comprehension of words and every few days says a new one or two. New recently is an understanding of color - a breakthrough that occured I think when I showed him how the crayon orange is the same color as the fruit orange (a word he already knew). He got it and would say orange all the time when he saw the crayon after that. Soon after yellow or "yea-woh" has followed. We can now ask him to point out many other colors and surprisingly he has amazing accuracy despite not knowing how to say them all by name. He can also sort out the common shapes and gets a ton of applause from Dad and I when he gets it right.

He loves making associations too. For example, when he hears a plane in the sky he runs to find his toy plane or when he sees a star in book he finds his wooden star and lays in on top of the picture. That's true for any toy whatchamacallit he has that he finds corresponding in a book.

Here he is using his Halloween pail as a hat. A few other things have become hats as well like bowls, pillows, and books.
Our little man also loves to color now and we always have crayons and paper scattered throughout the living room. He is attempting to learn the difference between coloring books and other books that you DO NOT color in....hard concept.

Something else kind of new is talking on the phone. Of course he's been imitating talking on the phone for a long time but when ever we used to give him the phone with someone really on the other end he would pull it away and look at it funny. Well now if you give him a call he chatters away telling you all sorts of things, but you might only make out "He-woh" "jess" and "no".

Here he is talking to Grandma on the cell phone. Getting him off the phone is probably just as hard as getting a teenage girl to hang up!

And finally another big 'new' is our new place. Jill and Peter went looking for more suitable accommodations for our living and found a much better place about 2 blocks away (and closer to the grocery store!) The place is bigger, more aesthetically pleasing, and much, much cleaner, AND we only pay 5 more pounds a month! The Swansons are in India for three weeks so we are breaking the place in on our own. Brandon and I figured this is the first time we have spent this much time alone as a couple, and now family, in about 4 years! This includes the first time having our own bathroom as well. We love community living, but we are enjoying the alone time for a spurt as well. We realize for most people this is "normal" life but we never have quite preferred the absolutely normal! We also have a good size room (with a king size bed?!) and the Swanson's have their own place that is separate from the house....a garage that was converted into a large room with it's own bath.

Here I am modeling our new kitchen, but I'm mostly posting this for the shot of my starting to emerge baby belly (particularly at the request of my mother). I'll take more photos of the house later.



Lastly, this is for the Grandma's and Grandpa's. Alyas, on his own accord, has been practicing saying their names and is getting better at pointing them out in our picture books. We love you "MaeMa" (not sure how to spell that) and "Papa"!!!