Our sweet little Ethan is turning out to be not such a little baby. At his two-month checkup, he was 24 inches long (75th percentile) and weighed 14 pounds (95th percentile). This makes him our biggest baby at this age (by a couple of pounds!). He's round and chubby and just as cute as can be. He has started smiling socially many times a day--especially when he first wakes up in the morning. He is working hard to make new baby sounds. He is very alert and looks all around.
Ethan is not a napper. With the exception of an occasional long nap that starts in the car, he only takes little catnaps during the day. He is also still waking up a few times each night. Ethan still uses his pacifier but not as much. I think there are times when he'd just rather make sounds and smile. The pacifier is still the most successful method for soothing him. Ethan really likes the activity mat with the toys that dangle down for him to see. He's not intentionally touching them yet, but likes to watch them, especially the mirror. There are times when Ethan is fussy being held but becomes happy when he is put down on the floor--not something Claire or James ever did. Ethan does well with both nursing and taking a bottle. He loves when James or Claire are nearby. He is quickly outgrowing the 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.
James is approaching his second birthday. He is a sweet, funny, and opinionated little guy. He laughs loud and easily. He uses "please" and "thank you" appropriately and gets excited about most everything including going outside, getting in the car, mealtime, playing, etc. He loves his brother and sister. James often goes up to Ethan and says "Hi E-fin!" James has a special high-pitched voice that he reserves for his little brother and he will show him different objects saying "See book?" or something similar. James thinks all Ethan's new sounds are funny. James laughs when Ethan touches something ("Touch arm!"). He also understands that Ethan is often taking my attention away and will say "E-fin down. E-fin bouncy seat." when he wants my undivided attention.
James loves to sing songs. In particular, he sings the ABCs many many times a day. Sometimes he amuses himself by singing quickly, slowly, loudly, or in a silly voice. James can count to 10 and sometimes a little beyond. In the way that most people count to 3 before jumping or throwing a ball, James counts to 7. Matt believes this is related to the number of steps we have going up to his bedroom because this is where we work on counting. James narrates his actions throughout the day but can also have periods where he's very quiet. James sometimes unintentionally sneaks up on me in the house. This has never been a problem with Claire because she talks nonstop. James does speak very well in short, fragmented sentences. Most of those funny, early-talker mistakes have been fixed, but he still calls the kitchen our "chicken." When he is successful at completing a difficult task, he will say "Dere ya go" to himself.
At Bible Study, James has learned his first little memory verse, "I trust in your word" and says it multiple times a day. He enjoys reading books. Recently we were reading a book that showed a capital F next to a lowercase f. I pointed to the lowercase one and said "Little f." Then I pointed to the capital one and said "What is that?" James replied "Mommy F!"
James and I attend a Kindermusik class together each week. He is still very clingy and particular about what he wants to do during class. He is not interested in playing the instruments as designed but instead goes around collecting extras and then lines them up on the floor. He is warming up to the teacher and friends slowly. Despite his frequent "NO"s in class, he does enjoy it and always asks "Music class?" after we drop Claire off at preschool to see if we're going that day.
James loves to color, wrestle, play outside, and play with anything that has wheels. He usually naps 6 days a week for about 2 hours and sleeps 11 hours at night. He is wearing size 24 month clothes and size 4 diapers.
Claire has hit the 3 1/2 year mark. Claire is smart, imaginative, stubborn, inquisitive, and sweet. She loves Ethan so much and wants to be involved in everything. She always wants to have him nearby at bedtime so that he can read books with her. She talks to him and earns more Ethan smiles than anyone else. When praying the other night, Claire thanked God that Ethan smiled at her. Claire enjoys playing with James. He's usually up for playing along with her latest imagined scenario, but doesn't always understand or follow her directions exactly how she likes. It's very amusing to listen in when they've been playing camping, picnics, birthday parties, haircuts, and a trip to the dentist (complete with James laying down on a pillow and getting to pick out a toothbrush). I've been letting them both "help" in the kitchen some lately. This started a few weeks ago when I heard Claire tell James that he could have a cookie if he put away a particular toy. Well, James put away the toy and then came to me looking for his cookie. I didn't have any cookies and felt sorry for him because he was pretty proud of himself for putting away the toy, so we all made cookies together.
Claire loves to talk. She will talk to anyone she sees and always tells "My name is Claire and I'm free." Then if she has time, she will proceed to tell them about her brothers. Everyone she talks with is always very good natured and responds appropriately. I had to fight back a smile when Claire was having a detailed conversation about favorite colors with the teenager at the grocery store bagging groceries. Claire's
favorite color is pink. Her
best color is purple.
Each week at preschool, there is a theme. So far these have included the five senses, healthy living. farm animals, apples, and leaves. Each week has a share day where the children bring in something related to the theme and/or letter of the week. Claire has a lot of fun picking out what she wants to take. She seems to really enjoy music class. She has started Spanish class and learned "hola" and "audios" (and hopefully more that she just hasn't passed along yet). Claire looks forward to her little dance class every week. She wears a little ballerina t-shirt and leggings with a built in skirt to school that day and stays after preschool for the class. I'm not exactly sure what they do, but she walks around showing us her twirling and has a little rhyme "____ go up. _____ go down. _____ go round and round." that she says for her toes, shoulders, arms, etc.
Claire is down to 2 or 3 naps a month. She has quiet playtime in her room every afternoon. She loves to play with her dollhouse, stuffed animals, and magnet dress up dolls during this time. She's wearing 4T fall clothes for the length, but they are all still a little big around the waist. She sleeps 11-12 hours every night in her toddler bed and never gets out on her own.
