Happy 2nd Birthday, Yusuf!

today is yusuf's 2nd birthday. i can't believe my baby boy is two years old!

he just got off the phone with his kaka/kaki, and now he's on the phone with his other kaka/kaki and his dada/dadi- and in the background his cousins are singing happy birthday to him :)

i can't believe how much yusuf talks and understands these days- he is becoming a real kid and less of a toddler everyday. he sits in his carseat and points stuff out the window to nooriya, and talks to his little sister as though it's his job to educate her about the world.

i am so proud of my happy little boy. he makes our lives infinitely better and our world infinitely brighter, and i love him more than i can describe.

happy birthday, yusuf!

learning to juggle

we came home from the hospital 2 weeks ago today, and yesterday was my first day alone at home with both kids. it went smoothly because i figured out a schedule beforehand that would help me juggle yusuf's needs with nooriya's. it also went smoothly because nooriya takes a nice, long nap after each nursing session; this gives me a chance to spend a lot of alone time with yusuf.

since i took over yusuf's daytime schedule again (the past two weeks it's been taher or one of our four parents who have been doing most of yusuf's care, while i concentrated on nooriya and, secondarily, myself). even though today is only the second day that i have been the one to wake yusuf and dress him and do his diapers and his meals, etc etc, i can already see that he's feeling good about it. things are back to normal for him, since mummy is the one who is around all day with him. sure, there's a baby around also, but he's tolerating her presence for now. once she starts touching his toys, this may change.

anyway. right now the baby is sleeping and the toddler is eating raisins. they are making my 2nd solo day manageable, and i am beginning to think i can actually handle this in the long run! check back in a few months to see if i'm still sane :)

thank you, nooriya, for being a calm, content baby. you're awesome. and thank you, yusuf, for being dependable and routine-following. you're awesome as well.