Laughing and Learning

Lately Ava thinks Nash is so funny! She loves to watch him and she laughs when he does funny things. Of course Nash loves this because it means that his little sister is finally interacting with him. Here is a video of Ava laughing at Nash:

Nash is a smart kid. He always amazes us with how advanced he seems. He is an amazing speaker and has an incredible vocabulary. He is easy to talk to and understand and he remembers words really well and uses new words in appropriate ways well after he has heard them. He absolutely loves books (I probably read at least 10-15 books a day to him; it'd be more if I honored every request). Months ago, my mother-in-law started teaching him to read by learning sight words (words that are already in his vocabulary that he can "read" by looking at the word as opposed to sounding out the letters). We haven't done it in awhile, but picked up the cards the other day and were amazed that he remembered them! I added two new ones and took this video:

Sometimes he says really funny things as he's trying to figure out how to express himself with words. These are some that I've enjoyed recently:

Talking about a strainer: "This is a noodle basket."

Driving past a field: "Oh! Crops!"

When asked if he wanted teddy grahams: "I want teddy bears AND grahams."

As we were building a restaurant out of Duplos: "This is a rest-on-it [that's his word for restaurant]. It has rest food in it."

Eating a bowl of Chex cereal and holding up one of the pieces: "Daddy, look! It's a check."

Pointing to his shirt with a number on it: "This is a t-shirt." I respond, "You're right! It's a t-shirt." He says, "No, not a t-shirt, a team shirt. Go, team, go!

He also just started his first day of "playgroup." He is in this group with 3 other 2-3 year olds. He had a blast and didn't want to leave! It is for an hour and a half once a week. The moms are taking turns hosting it. When it is our turn, we sing an opening song, talk about the weather, provide a snack and a short activity. Then the rest of the time is for play or whatever else we choose to do. I like that it isn't too structured--it is just enough for a 2 year old. Here are some pictures of Nash before his first day of the playgroup:

Ava is an absolute doll. I have to admit that we are having issues with sleeping, but now that she is over a small sickness she had last week, we are fully dedicated to "sleep training." She is doing good, but is stubborn. I hope she learns to put herself to sleep soon and learns to sleep longer stretches, because I am in desperate need of a good night's sleep! She can now roll over both directions, but would rather stay in one place until someone comes to play with her. She has a great smile and a great laugh as evidenced in the first video. She loves to be outside and she loves to be held. She likes to grab her toes and she loves chewing on toys. We just started giving her rice cereal and she loves it. She focuses in on the spoon as it comes toward her mouth and swallows the cereal really well. Here are some pictures of Ava eating cereal: