James 14 Months, Claire 33 Months

James loves animals, trains, cars and trucks.  He likes seeing animals in books, playing with toy animals, and making the sounds.  He has different sounds for trains, fire trucks, cars, and airplanes.  It's so funny to see him pushing a little car around while making buzzing noises with his lips.  He loves seeing cats and yells "Kitty!"

He seems to be getting more picky with his eating habits.  Getting him to eat fruits and veggies is a real challenge, but he loves meat and can manage to eat it very proficiently with his fork.  He also enjoys feeding himself oatmeal and yogurt, but they're quite a mess.  His favorite snacks are pretzels and raisins.

Sleeping has gotten a little better, but a recent trip to Tennessee has set us back again a little.  He goes down around 7:30 and usually wakes in the 7:00 hour.  Each night usually has at least one block of time where he screams (20-30 minutes), but I've gotten better about just waiting it out and not going in to see him.  He usually naps for an hour and a half each afternoon.  James still has eight teeth and hates having them brushed.

James has the cutest smile and laugh.  Today he was in the kitchen turning around in circles and then stopping to laugh at himself.  He is tickled by many things including peek-a-boo.  He is also pretty stubborn and gets very upset quickly when things don't go his way.  He throws his head back hard, and when he doesn't want to be put down he can practically touch his head to his heals by bending backwards and stiffening up.  He is quite strong.  He walks very well now--no more crawling for him!  He likes to "hug" Claire which comes across as more of a tackle and usually ends up with her falling and crying.  Also, James will give a kiss upon request.

Claire plays very well by herself usually acting out little scenarios with dolls.  She has learned how to switch out CDs in her room and likes turning on music and singing along.  She had a blast with Christmas music and continues to sing the songs everyday. Claire also enjoys the new train table, coloring, taking care of baby dolls, and playing dress up.

We are constantly amused by what comes out of Claire's mouth.  Recent favorites include "What are you guys talking about?" and "Can we talk about something different?"

We've had a few weeks off from our regular activities and are looking forward to resuming them next week.  We've all been fighting colds over Christmas break.  Matt's sister Dana had her baby, John, a few weeks early.  Matt flew to Massachusetts from December 26 through January 3 to help out.  I took the kids to Tennessee during this time to visit with family and celebrate Christmas.  We are excited to have a family renting our old home; they even signed a two year lease!  Matt spent many hours preparing that property to be rented.  Now that that is finished, he is working on projects in our new home.  We are hoping to install crown molding and paint the kids' bedrooms in the next few weeks.  Despite all the things we still have to do here, we really love the new house and feel very blessed.