James is a pretty happy little guy these days. He still wants my undivided attention when I'm around, but he can also be very happy to play and explore a bit on his own. He has learned how to stand up without having to pull up on something, so it's pretty rare to see him crawl anymore. Every day he is more and more stable on his feet and faster about getting across the room. We got him his first little pair of sneakers last month and he's always wearing shoes now. If he doesn't have shoes on, then he takes his socks off as fast as he can.
James has at least 15 words that he uses correctly, including several animal sounds and a recent addition of "thank you" whenever you give him something and often when he gives you something. It sounds like "dat do." Claire gets a kick out of the words and babbling.
James continues to baffle us with what he chooses to eat. He will only eat fruits and veggies if they are pureed and disguised between bites of yogurt. He will try most casseroles, breads, and meats. He's surprised us lately by eating some spicy Haitian spaghetti that Matt made and some spicy alligator sausage that Matt brought home for a recent trip to Mississippi. Claire took one bite of the sausage and started crying saying that her tongue was grumpy. James still has eight teeth.
We're back to frustrating sleep habits for the little guy. The first few nights in the new house were great, but ever since about Thanksgiving, he's been waking up two to three times a night. We're pretty tired and hopeful that this stage will end quickly. He usually naps for about an hour and a half each afternoon.
James' favorite toy is the rice and pasta box, but he's gotten quite messy lately. He tends to throw the rice or dump shovelfuls over his head. He also enjoys blocks and pushing around his toy cars, making a car sound or a siren sound for the fire truck. James wants to be involved in whatever Claire is doing. He spends several hours a week in the church childcare and does great there.
Claire is turning into an independent toddler who wants to do everything on her own and likes things to be a particular way. She is pretty quick to whining and throwing a tantrum when things aren't her way. Most of the time, she is very sweet. She loves to sing and often amuses us with her own version of songs. She's pretty much right on when it comes to singing the melodies of a tune--it's the lyrics that sometimes come out slightly altered.
Claire is potty trained except for nighttime. She's been doing great and we only have a few accidents a week now. She pointed to the nativity set the other day and said "Baby Jesus is wearing big girl panties!"
At mealtime, Claire has gotten more picky. Unlike her brother, she really just prefers plain fruits and veggies to any casseroles or other dishes. Claire naps most days and sleeps a solid twelve hours every night--also very unlike her brother.
Claire loves preschool and Bible study and Kindermusik. She and her little friends at Bible study came up on stage to sing their songs for the moms. She walked in with everyone but as soon as she got to the steps and turned around and saw everyone watching, she started crying and ran to me. She knows all the words and sings all the time but just wasn't up to the performance--oh well, maybe next year!
Claire has been much sweeter with James lately. She's moving away from screaming "NO JAMES NO" every time he looks in her direction and starting to interact and play with him. There have been several sweet moments where she will say "Come on James, let's..." and take him by the hand to go play together.
We are continuing to get settled in to the new house. Matt has been working hard around the clock to get things repaired. Hopefully soon, we can begin the fun part of painting and decorating and making it our own. We are in the paperwork process with some prospective tenants to rent our old house and hope to have them in there by the first of the year.
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