Another month gone by . . . and Kevin's Walking!

I'm hoping now that I'm off for the summer, I'll have much more time to post about all our summer events. We do have a lot of upcoming events: birthday parties, weddings, Grama Marty's visit, etc.

For now, this update will focus on Kevin. He is officially a walker! He toddles all over the place now. Naturally, he still has the unsteady toddler gait, and he's had some pretty nasty falls. Yesterday at daycare, he tripped over a chair and hit his mouth on a table, so he's got a fat lip, swollen gums, and a bruise under his nose. He cried when he was eating this morning, because it still hurts. :(( I try to remember that it's part of learning to walk, but I feel so sad when he gets hurt. However, it certainly hasn't stopped his progress! He started taking steps in May, and by the start of June he was walking short distances between furniture. Now, he walks all over the place! So, for the record, I guess Kevin started walking at 22.5 months.

Here's the video that most of you have seen, from about 10 days ago, of Kevin really starting to walk on his own. He's already gotten much stronger and steadier, although Andrea and I have given him the nickname "Tipsy Walker!"

Kevin still laughs a lot when he walks. He also plays games where he tries to "chase" Andrea, and they both laugh and scream like crazies. Now, Kevin is even starting to dance! Usually he'll hold onto the TV or something to keep his balance, but sometimes he lets go and twists from side to side. It's too cute. I haven't been able to get video of that yet, but you can be assured I'll get it soon.

Kevin is also talking more, too. He imitates our words at the most surprising moments! Andrea had put on a pretty dress the other day, and I said she looked very nice. Kevin suddenly piped up, saying, "Ver nishe! Nishe!" He also imitated me when I was helping him play with some toys in the tub: "Mama opeh?" (Mama open) and "Mama cos" (Mama close). He is also starting to sing some words of his toddler songs, instead of just grunting, like "seem" (stream) and "eem" (dream) in Row, Row Your Boat. He also tires to sing the alphabet, although the only letters I can distinguish clearly are C, G, I, S, V, and X. His favourite song is Baa Baa Black Sheep, where he sings "Baa Baa," "seep" (sheep), "woo" (wool), and "esshir" (yes sir). He also tries to count, too. His clearest numbers, for some reason, are 6, 7, and 8 ("sees, seveh, eat"). I love hearing his little voice, even if it's not so clear at times.

Andrea's doing well, too. Her favourite question is "Why?" and she wants to know about everything! On July 2, she'll be moving into the Kindergarten Room at daycare. She also is having a lot of fun getting Kevin to repeat her words and gestures, since he's starting into the parrot stage now. The sibling rivalry is definitely still there, but I think she's beginning to see Kevin as more of a playmate now. :))