Preparing to party

This weekend we attended the 1st birthday party of a playgroup friend.  Ben is the next in the group to turn 1, so this party was a nice warm up.  My friend Jenn got some great pictures and I thought I'd share.

Newly arrived, the boys are off playing, and Lyndee came straight to me for a big hug

Ben climbing up the slide:

Lyndee and Liam on the Gymboree rocking horse:

Liam doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider with Todd and Ryley Tate.  He stuck close to them all party, and seemed to think Todd (age 4) was super cool:

Ben and Liam have recently discovered how to annoy each other and sibling rivalry has started.  This captures it perfectly:

Ben showing off the new teeth:

I remember when Liam would have found a birthday party overwhelming, but now he can enjoy it, play, and take part.  When we got home, we ran into our neighbor, and Liam chattered away at him.  He was speaking in whole sentences and telling Bo all about how Bo's cat was on the fence and how he could hear Bo's dog barking.  Even I could only catch tidbits of Liam's speech, it was clear he was speaking sentences.  I love seeing the progress he has made.