Our little gymnast

Saturday, Liam tumbled at his morning class and then we went for a playdate at Gymboree. It sounds excessive; ok, maybe it is. But he really likes his tumbling class. Liam and Daddy go while Mommy's teaching on Saturday mornings. There is a slide and a balance beam, and Liam's favorite, the foam pit. From what I understand, Liam likes to crawl around in the giant pool of foam blocks. At the end of class, they sing a song: One Baby Elephant went out to play/ over the hills and far away/ he had such enormous fun/ he called another elephant to come/ OH ELEPHANT!

In the evening, we went to Gymboree for the first time. If you are not familiar with the concept, Gymboree is a small brightly-colored gym set up with mats and slides, tunnels, bridges, etc. Some mommies pay for a monthly membership, but we do the gymnastics and swimming instead. It was nice for all three of us to go together. Liam really liked the structured format. It's nice to go once and a while, to let him play with the neighborhood kids in a productive way. We dropped in for $5. It was totally worth it.

Liam is also getting back into the swimming routine. We took a break due to Liam's ear tubes. But since Florida, he has wanted to go again. The best time to go is right after school. Liam jumps into the water (with help) and he kicks, blows bubbles and floats (reluctantly, with lots of help). Going to the gym, or swim class or anything is lots of work. It's worth it though, because he learns to do something new, and when he's proud of himself, his smile tells it all.

A busy day.

Today we had adventures. Mel had us over for a yummy German lunch. She's scheduled to have the baby on the 25th, and Liam is growing more excited by the day. He keeps saying, "Mel, baby, soon?"

You will have a new friend very soon, Liam.

We also visited another friend today... Suri. Liam went to Suri's house, and we played with a lot of toys he recognized. We also went for a walk around Suri's neighborhood. On the way home, he fell asleep in the car (and in fact is still sleeping). Even in his sleep though, he said, "Suri, Liam friend."

Too cute.

I was thinking about how we learn language. Liam uses mostly nouns, modifiers and verbs. Nouns are simple, verbs frequently in -ing form. He's getting pronouns and prepositions, but they are tricky. He rarely uses articles or prepositions, and they seem to be the hardest to learn. Perhaps it has to do with the way we learn language... pronouns and prepositions have complex, unexplained rules (ask any adult what a nominative case pronoun is, and they have no idea). Only with lots of practice and time, do we understand these rules.

Liam really is my very own experimental student when it comes to language. I think we must forget our first few years because we must be so confused during that time. I imagine going to Uruguay or Botswana, and not knowing a word of the language. To worsen the situation, everyone I know does know the language and they act like I do too. When I don't know a word, they tell me and expect me to remember and use the word properly in the future. Simply through context and some coaching, we memorize the use and meaning of every word used in daily conversation. It's amazing, really.

Monkey Party!

Happy Birthday Liam!

Yesterday Liam's friends came over for a party. A few of Liam's friends came over for cake and monkey fun. What is monkey fun? Start with five toddlers. Add sugar and spice. Then teach them to say 'monkey'. Shake it all up, and voila, a monkey party!

Liam loves the book Go Dog Go which is a psychedelic look at canine lifestyles of the rich and famous. At the end of this book, the dogs all race to the big tree, where a dog party is in full swing. So when I explained the concept of birthday party to Liam, he asked for a dog party. Knowing it would be hard to match the extravagance of the tree-top party, I found a similar theme: monkeys.

We made the choo-choo cake ourselves. Clearly the cake was the best part of the party. I explained how to blow out the number two candle (used by both Thomas and Amy for their 2nd birthdays!) and he did it by himself on the second try.

The defining attitude of the day was Liam's laid-back approach to opening presents. He'd open one and want to read it or play with it right away. It took a long time to get through the pile. In fact he was still opening gifts the next day.

At the end of his birthday, I asked what he liked best. "Bear present."

I thought and thought, but didn't remember a bear present. Shannon found a birthday card that roared like a bear. The card had a joke in it about not having to outrun the bear, only your friend. Devin picked out the card (so she says) and Liam couldn't put it down. He thought the best part of the day was the card that roared like a bear. Next year we will have to keep that in mind...