Playing!

"Baby Turtles": Andrea and Kevin came up with a new game, where they crawl under empty laundry baskets and pretend to be my baby turtles (the baskets are their shells). We have to feed them "shrimp" as a snack, and we have to call them "Andrea Turtle" and "Kevin Turtle." They call me "Mommy Turtle." When it is time for the turtles' "bedtime," they turn their shells over, crawl in, and curl up in them with a pillow and blanket.



Dressing Up: It never gets old. Andrea, especially, is all about creating "styles" right now.


Kevin also likes to dress up now and then, so he can be included in the fun. I think he just wants to be a part of Andrea's games. However, Daddy won't let me take any pictures of his boy in a crown and high heels!

Fun with Ryan: Both Andrea and Kevin are starting to enjoy getting a reaction out of Ryan, now that Ryan's starting to coo a bit, and he gets excited when they play near/with him.


We were laughing yesterday because when Andrea was trying to show Ryan how to play with the hanging toys on his bouncer, she got a few little smiles and coos out of him.

Later in the day, Kevin sat down next to Ryan (who was in the aquarium-themed bouncer again)and was quietly saying to him: "Hi, Ryan! See your fishies?" Suddenly, Ryan started to cry, and Kevin said, "Oh, no! I just want to be your friend!" It was SO sweet. I went over and reassured Kevin that Ryan wasn't crying because he was mad at Kevin, but because he had a sore tummy!

Ryan's Expressions: In general, when I look back at videos of Andrea and Kevin when they were Ryan's age, it seems that they communicated much more than he does. They smiled earlier (and much more often), and both had a wide range of vocal coos and gurgles by this point. It concerns me a bit that Ryan is just starting to smile a bit, and he isn't as vocal as they were. Then, I have to take into consideration his adjusted age, and maybe, that's just his personality. Plus, we're still having some trouble with Ryan's belly bothering him. I know I have less desire to socialize when I'm not feeling well, so it's likely the same for Ryan.

However, when I was taking pictures of the kids on Friday (which happened to be Ryan's 3-month birthday), Ryan suddenly came out with several different facial expressions every time the camera flashed! I'm so glad I caught the moment on film. :))