March So Far

For a change, I'm adding a post before the end of the month. Here are some March photos to date. Claire had the ear infection in February. In March it was Evie's turn. Luckily, I have managed to stay well despite the rest of my family getting sick. That may sound selfish, but being pregnant, I'll take what breaks I can!

Speaking of pregnancy, it continues to go well. Other than insomnia, I have very little to complain about. It has been normal to the point of boring - very unlike my other pregnancies and for that I am grateful. We will have one extra ultrasound in the next few weeks just to make sure Buddy is still growing well and there are no placental problems, but other than that it should be smooth sailing to our May 31st c-section. Carrying a boy has been a little different than the girls. I feel much bigger, though that may just be my perception. And his movements are stronger - I feel a whole lot kicks and bumps and such and Claire loves it when Buddy kicks her. He will not be ignored!

At 14 months, Evie is a talker, walker, climber, and destroyer. Her favorite word (and thing) is "dog." She calls Claire "sister." She dropped her morning nap quite earlier than expected (usually closer to 18 months before this happens). This means you'll see many pictures below of her asleep in her high chair at lunch. She often starts to doze off as soon as she starts to eat. The nap has been a bit challenging since the girls share a room and Claire needs less of an afternoon nap than Evie. I put Claire down later than E and hope they get up at the same time. Sometimes it works. Evie's nickname is "Oogie." Not sure why, but there you have it. She seems to speak Chinese. When Claire gets to talking (which is nearly constantly), Evie chimes in with strings of words we don't recognize. She loves to be outside and cries when we drag her back in.

At 2 and a half, Claire is challenging our newly forming parenting ideas and skills. I have been reading a plethora of parenting books and trying to find my own style by combining the good ideas and leaving ones I'm not too sure about. Luckily, Claire is still my fairly easy sweet girl, so she makes it easier than perhaps another child would. Still, we have our challenges. It is not an exaggeration to say that Claire talks almost all the time. Much of it is intelligible too, though she still struggles with some of her consonants. She loves to read and points to words all the time saying "What that says?" She has started recognizing letters and can spell her name and the word "Tacky" (because it is one of her favorite stories, Tacky the Penguin). She has started to play pretend a bit - she likes to put her hooded blankie on and call herself "Super Claire" with the power of being "super nice." She tolerates being a big sister most of the time and is very excited about Buddy coming.

Okay, enough talk. Now for the pictures!