James 16 Months, Claire 35 Months

Two weeks ago, James had his 15 month checkup.  He weighs 24 pounds, 4 ounces (50th percentile) and is 30 1/2 inches tall (25th percentile).  He is meeting and exceeding all the milestones for his age.  One medical change that we've had recently is that James is now getting breathing treatments with his nebulizer two times a day.  Since James had four incidents this winter that required seeing the doctor because he was struggling to breathe, we have started him on a preventative medicine.  We are hopeful that we can wean him off after winter ends.  Claire loves when James does "doggy medicine" (the nebulizer looks like a dog) because it means we turn on the tv.  Previously we only turned on the tv if someone was sick or for a long car ride.  Thankfully each treatment only lasts about 10 minutes.  James is distracted by the tv for about half of that time.  The other half requires holding him while he's kicking and screaming.

We get many laughs from the new words that James is learning and trying every day.  He is able to communicate much better and has the sweetest little voice.  We have started teaching him the capital letters in the bathtub and he has started to point them out when he sees them in other places.  We are up to "H" right now.  He has finally started calling me "mama!"

James loves to be outside.  He has a blast in the backyard or at a park.  He is pretty fearless and tries to follow Claire and climb everything.  He enjoys swinging for a short time but prefers to slide.  He is able to climb up and go down some of the playground slides all by himself now.  He also enjoys running off from me in public places.  He found this particularly humorous in the library and would stop and turn and wait for me to follow before he took off down the aisles again.

James is still a picky eater.  The most consistent things he will eat are raisins, yogurt and oatmeal, but even those are often pushed away.  He loves to drink milk.  We are working on using a real cup, but he usually walks around with his sippy cup.  Anytime he walks through the kitchen he signs and says "dink dink dink."

James sleeps from 8:00 pm until about 7:00 am and naps for about 90 minutes every afternoon.  He usually wakes up super grumpy and can be inconsolable for long stretches--especially after a nap.  He is wearing size 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.

Claire is really into pretend play.  She's been playing preschool at home, but gets frustrated when her student (James) doesn't cooperate.  She's been saying phrases like "James, it's time to do an art project!  James, do you hear your name?"  and "Sit right here on your bottom for circle time."  James is happy to play with her but doesn't quite follow her directions yet!  One day when she was frustrated, I suggested using stuffed animals as students but Claire said "But they can't talk!"  Claire has been spending a lot of time playing in her room with her dolls, animals, and play dishes.  She likes to throw herself birthday parties.

Claire's coloring has really progressed to coloring individual things in a coloring book and drawing people.  It is your typical head with arms and legs stick figure, but she is adding hair, hands, eyes, nose, mouth, and feet.  She loves to color with markers and has recently started painting with watercolors. 

Claire is a very good eater.  She's not always anxious to try casseroles or other dishes, but she does great with her fruits and vegetables.  She is outgrowing her 3T winter clothes.

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Catch Air and one of James doing his "doggy medicine."