i like how you are

yusuf loves elephants, school buses and nooriya. get on the floor and pretend you are an animal- any animal- and you will make his day. tell him what something is and he will answer, "that's right" and nod like a schoolmarm. catch him doing something he shouldn't be doing and he will give you a smile that is positively studded with mischief, but also so charming that you will choose to ignore the transgression. how did he learn to do that? i mean, seriously. also his new favorite thing is to not only wash his hands and face after a meal, but sneak his plate into the bathroom sink as well and give it a rinse. he thinks he's helping, but yesterday i found a soggy, empty raisin box in the sink.

nooriya loves taking ridiculously short naps, spitting up huge amounts of milk and laughing really loudly for almost any reason. tickle her face, bounce her up and down, bring yusuf into her line of sight, and you will be rewarded with giggles that sound like rainbows and butterflies and other summery, shimmery, yummy things. bring a mirror into her line of sight and she turns the charm on, trying to make friends with that baby in the mirror. man, she likes that baby.