Happy Birthday Nana!

Marius is getting so much more fun to play with these days. In the past few weeks, his ability to recognize what we're saying and his playing skills have really taken off. So, Marius has several of these That's not my ..... books with puppies, dinosaurs, or bears. In all of these books, there's a little white mouse on each page, and in addition to reading him the book and letting him feel the fuzzy/scratch/shiney part of the book, I always say "where's the mouse?" and then point to it. Well, now about 20% of the time when I say "where's the mouse?" Marius will point to the mouse! It was absolutely amazing the first time he did it, and at first I thought it was just dumb luck. But after several repeat performances I realized he knew what I was saying, or at least he knew what he should do after I said those familiar sounding words.

He's also started to play with toys. For months when he crawled up to a toy, he would invariably look at it, grab it, put it in his mouth, and then toss it aside and move on to the next item that caught his eye. But now, he can crawl up to his little wooden car, grab it, and move it around on the floor or table. He also likes to take his wooden blocks and bang them together. Sure it's rudamentary playing, but you've got to start somewhere right? It's just so satisfying to get on the floor with him and play with him now. He's finally getting that his toys are not just for putting in his mouth and chewing. In addition to a new car seat, Simon and I are super excited to get Marius some new birthday big boy toys like ones where he has to put different shapes into a container and building blocks. We won't go crazy like some parents, but he should have some things that challenge him a bit more. It's so amazingly rewarding to see his development.

So, it's my mom's birthday today! Happy Birthday Mom. Here's a little song for you!