James 2 Months, Claire 21 Months

We're getting settled back into a routine for the new year.  Matt has returned to work after a nice two weeks off and my weekly activities are starting up again.

James is doing better.  He's still pretty fussy but doesn't seem to have the reflux pain after eating anymore.  He has a few happy periods everyday where he coos and plays.  He will do a few minutes of tummy time but mostly enjoys being on his back on his activity mat looking at his toys.  His favorite is his new stuffed zebra.  He gives us several smiles everyday and smiles when we play peek-a-boo with him.  He was good this past week about taking a nap in his room every afternoon at the same time as Claire (nice for Mommy!)  He's eating about every 2 - 2.5 hours during the day and every 3.5 hours during the night.  We've had a few times where he's slept for 6 hours, so hopefully that will be the norm soon.  He sleeps swaddled in the Rock-n-Sleep which keeps him slightly elevated and also allows us to rock him to sleep without picking him up which would wake him up even more.  James got out of the habit of taking a bottle while we were out of town, so we worked this past weekend to get him to take one again.  He resisted quite a bit but eventually gave in.

Claire is having a little bit of jealousy of James, but it's not in an angry way--she just wants to be involved in everything he's doing.  If we say "Peek-a-boo James!" we hear her say "Peek-a-boo Claire!"  If we say "Smile James" we hear her say "Cheese!"  The other night, Matt said "James is smelly" and Claire chimed in with "Smelly Claire, Smelly Claire!"

I was singing James a lullaby the other night to comfort him.  Poor Claire must think it's a sad song because she started crying.  Matt took Claire to her room, and I was with James in his room.  Matt had a hard time calming her down because she could still hear me singing and eventually had to turn on her CD player to drown me out.  Two days later we wanted to see if she'd react the same way; I wasn't through with the first verse of the same song and Claire quickly had tears in her eyes. We're not sure why she gets upset over this particular song.

Claire is beginning to do more and more pretend play.  She likes to have a tea party for her stuffed animals and play with her dollhouse.  She still enjoys being read to and can finish sentences and phrases in most of her books.  Current favorites are "Little Kitten," "Llama Llama Mad at Mama," "Princess Party," "Tickle Me! My Name is Elmo" and "I Wish that I Had Duck Feet."  She also enjoys stories from her children's Bible.

When we arrived home from Bible Study last week, I asked Claire what she learned.  She said "Baby Jesus" and then said "Follow Me."  I checked her take home material, and sure enough, they had talked about Jesus inviting the disciples to follow him.  Usually when Claire tells me about something she did, I already know and am prompting certain responses with my questions, but this was the first time she told me something completely new that I understood.

We've been blessed with numerous friends bringing us meals over the past two months.  This had given Claire a chance to try lots of new foods.  She isn't a big meat-eater but does great with her fruits, veggies, grains and dairy foods.  She's drinking a few ounces of milk everyday.  She likes to dip things, but it's a big mess, so we save that for when she needs encouraging to finish something.

Claire gets a lot of booboos--or so she thinks she does.  It probably averages at least ten an hour.  We used to offer to kiss her booboos but she didn't want us to.  Now, she declares "Booboo!...Kiss it!"

Claire naps starting between 1:30 and 2:00.  It usually lasts about 2 hours.  She goes to bed around 8:00 PM and sleeps until 8:00 AM.  She doesn't fuss or cry when we put her down as long as she has her blanket.  Claire is in size 4 diapers and 24 month or 2T clothes.  James is in size 1 diapers and 3 month clothing.