June Update

It's summer.  The days are longer (not because of the sun, but because James and Ethan insist on waking up at 6:15 every morning), the pool is open (and we've already spent twice the amount of time there as last summer), the days are unstructured and memories are being made.  I was a little apprehensive heading into this summer.  Having all three to entertain constantly can be overwhelming at times.  Claire was only in preschool a few days a week, but it allowed me the opportunity to do things like grocery shop...because shopping with two is a breeze compared to shopping with three.  Ethan is no longer stationary but he's not walking yet and puts everything into his mouth, so outside playtime is very difficult with him.  All that said, summer is actually going quite well.  James and Claire are playing together better than ever before - bonding over silly games and repeating jokes that don't have punchlines (J to C: "Let me say a joke in you...why do sharks eat fish?"  Both laugh hysterically)  Ethan is into everything but cute as can be crawling all over the place.  Matt hasn't had to travel as much these past few weeks and has made a lot of progress around the house.  I was able to facilitate a six week Bible study at my church.  This was very new for me but it ended up going well.

It's hard to believe our little Ethan is just a few weeks from his first birthday, then again it's hard to remember what it was like before Ethan.  Though James and Claire get frustrated with him for taking toys and knocking down towers, they really adore him.  They take great pride in making him laugh or calm down.  They laugh with him and cheer on his little accomplishments.  He has five teeth now--still missing one front center tooth.  He pulls to standing on everything and cruises all around.  He can crawl very quickly and will make a quick break for steps (which he can now climb), an open door, or anything new that he hasn't gotten a chance to chew on before.  Ethan eats everything, in large quantities... quickly.  I usually put him in his highchair first and then finish putting food on the table and he has often finished his food before I can even sit down.  He just shovels in whatever is in front of him.  He is starting to show strong opinions about some things, mainly having something taken away from him or seeing food that he can't reach.  He can pretty cry hard and throws his head back in a loud wail; this is pretty much just an act though because he stops quickly if he gets what he wanted.  Ethan has been taking two naps every day and sleeps until about 5:00 am but goes down again until 6:15 or 6:30.  He's wearing 18 month size clothes (and a few 24 month size items) and size 4 diapers.

The biggest news with James is that he's potty trained!  I had picked out the week of Claire's first summer camp as the week I would try.  As the date approached, I became nervous because he hadn't shown any signs of being ready.  I was dreading the process, but it went so smoothly.  I can count his total of "accidents" on just one hand; most were in the first week and all have been at home.  He's pretty proud of himself and his big boy underwear with Thomas the Train.  He gets a big grin on his face when he's on the potty and exclaims "I'm making somefing!"

James' vocabulary is impressive.  People often comment on how well he speaks and how clearly.  There are still a few little things that he says wrong.  He says "force" instead of "horse"; "dump trunk"; and that he will do something "in a little bit while."  Anything that James is describing in the past tense happened "last night."  James likes blocks, trains, books, and playing with Claire.  James naps most afternoons, sleeps 11 hours at night, and wears size 3T clothes.

Night time potty training didn't come easily for Claire.  We started a sticker chart for her with the promise of a new toy when it was filled up.  It took about a year, but she finally finished it.  When we asked what toy she wanted, she wanted what every girl in America wants, an Elsa doll from the character in the movie Frozen.  Well we looked for Elsa but she is very difficult to find.  The worker in the toy store actually laughed when I asked.  They just can't keep them on the shelves.  People are buying them and marking up the prices and selling them on the internet.  It's crazy.  So we turned to ebay and bought knockoff dolls from China.  We surprised Claire with getting both of the girls from the movie, in part because we knew she'd love them, and in part to make up for the amount of time she had to wait for them to arrive.  Since their arrival, Claire has hardly put them down.  She loves them and plays hours at a time.  Lately, it's the first thing she says to someone she hasn't told yet: "I have an Anna AND and Elsa doll!"  She went along with Matt when he went to see a guy and buy an item he found on Craigslist; Claire asked: "can I bring my Anna and Elsa dolls to show to the man?"  Her elation is very sweet.

Otherwise no big news with Claire.  She loves swimming and swim lessons.  She can swim about 10 feet to a grownup and take one breath along the way but she's not quite swimming solo yet.  Her confidence at the pool edge is limitless and she'll tell you what a good swimmer she is, but she gets pretty nervous when paddling on her own. We're grateful that she's getting a lot of practice in-between lessons. She had fun at camp and Vacation Bible School.  She talks and/or sings all day long.  She is reading and writing better but just doesn't have the patience or desire to sit down and practice very often. When we sit down to practice her restlessness is overwhelming - it was a 6 minute exertion of energy to get all the way through the word "streetlight".  Claire loves to play the game "Cooties."  James can play well enough that the two will play by themselves--a big treat for me because they both enjoy it and get along for a few minutes!  Claire loves being read to and we've even done a few short chapter books with her at bedtime.  Claire sleeps 11 hours each night and wears size 5 or 6 clothing.