And the boy is 31 months old!
[[image:2014-adik31month-11.jpg:Happy boy:center:0]]
* Mouse over the pictures for captions
Like Yaya’s 6th birthday, we were in Minneapolis for Adik’s 31-month birthday. It has definitely been a busy and social month, despite it being Ramadan and me being in between projects (or unemployed) for almost 3 weeks. Adik is happily reading away, and his recognition of words is just amazing. When we read together, he wants to read to me and not the other way round. He will say “you read it” if he encounters a word that he doesn’t know. Then he will re-read the sentence and say the word again and be very pleased with himself. Chances are, when he comes across this word again later, he will recognize it. I think he is already starting to do what we all do, which is to say, he looks at a word’s beginning and ending letters, and mentally fills in the blank for the rest of the word. So sometimes I do have to ask him to read the word again because it’s not what he was expecting. But he very clearly knows the sounds of the letters and can sound out words when he has to. However, mathematically, he is definitely still a 2 year old. He can count but he hasn’t started doing any simple arithmetic to further impress us. 🙂 He knows shapes and colors and is just a happy, talkative little boy.
We are noticing that although Adik likes to use full sentences when he speaks, sometimes his words are contracted and run into each other because he wants to get his meaning across so quickly. It makes it sound as if he is skipping words, but he really isn’t. Also context is key to understanding him sometimes. He still adorably (and amusingly) speaks like Ming Ming, having trouble with his Rs and Ls, but it does not stop him from getting his meaning across. It is a little disconcerting when he reads more grown up book titles from books he pulls off the bookshelves (e.g., “Dawkness, Take My Hand” should really never be uttered by a two and a half year old).
Before we get to the photos of the actual birthday, I have a couple of fun photos from our trip. Here is Adik playing with the wrappers from Yaya’s birthday presents:
[[image:2014-adik31month-23.jpg:Let’s throw paper! Whee!!!:center:0]]
Also we visited Aeisha and Nelvin (twice) during our two weeks out there and Adik latched on to Uncle Nelvin:
[[image:2014-adik31month-22.jpg:Sit in Uncwe Newvin’s wap:center:0]]
And now, let’s get to the photos of how the boy spent his very busy birthday in Minneapolis. Starting with some fun at the hotel room (while Mama is at work):
[[image:2014-adik31month-02.jpg:Plotting something?:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-03.jpg:Naughty boy!:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-04.jpg:Look at his crazy hair!:center:0]]
And then Vin takes the kids to the playground for a good time:
[[image:2014-adik31month-05.jpg:Confidently playing:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-06.jpg:He’s wearing Yaya’s sunglasses:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-07.jpg:I wonder what he’s thinking about:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-08.jpg:Yaya pushes Adik on the baby swings:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-09.jpg:In a cyrillic bubble?:center:0]]
The writing seems to be names in cyrillic: David, Anya, Kristina, Domi-something (Dominic?), and then David again, I think. The bottom ones are a little distorted and illegible.
[[image:2014-adik31month-10.jpg:Sliiiiide:center:0]]
And then some shenanigans back at the hotel, waiting for me to come home from work:
[[image:2014-adik31month-24.jpg:Cheeky monkey:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-25.jpg:Funny face selfie with Papa:center:0]]
That evening, we went to Melissa’s (my co-worker) where we met her family. Adik and Yaya took to Maddie and Mason, Melissa’s children and wanted to do everything with them!
[[image:2014-adik31month-01.jpg:Mason cleared his sandbox and found cars for Adik to play with:center:0]]
And then they discover that Melissa and Mark have a trampoline!
[[image:2014-adik31month-12.jpg:Boing!:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-13.jpg:Having fun with Maddie and Mason:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-14.jpg:Loving the trampoline!:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-15.jpg:Mason shoots and scores!:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-16.jpg:I love this shot of Adik and Melissa!:center:0]]
The kids played on their swing set:
[[image:2014-adik31month-17.jpg:Whee!:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-18.jpg:Adik finds his way into a pretty girl’s arms:center:0]]
Clever boy! He does like the ladies. When it gets dark, we move inside.
[[image:2014-adik31month-19.jpg:Entertaining with the piano:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-20.jpg:Slobbery karaoke baby:center:0]]
[[image:2014-adik31month-21.jpg:Final cuddle with Maddie before we left:center:0]]
Thank you for having us over for a lovely dinner and welcoming us into your home, Melissa and Mark! We had an excellent time and the kids keep asking about you all :-). That concludes our day! Adik fell asleep in the car on the way home and was easily transferred into bed without waking up. Happy 31-month birthday, baby boy! We love you!!!
[[image:2014-adik31month-26.jpg:Love that dishevelled curly hair!:center:0]]
