8 Months Old! and 3 1/4 Years Old!

At eight months old, Nathan weighs 22 lb 3 oz and is 29" tall.  He is well into his 12-18 months clothes, and we've really started to box up his 9-12 months clothes.  I find it's always deceiving how well they can fit into something...I thought the clothes I was trying on him this week were going to be way too big.  I was wrong.

We moved Nathan out of his infant carseat and into a rear-facing toddler carseat this month.  He proved that he was able to sit nicely in the kid section of the grocery cart, and so I made the switch.

Nathan understands how to play peek-a-boo, and knows how I do the actions with him to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and "If You're Happy and You Know It."  He can't do the actions himself, but guides my hands to doing them.

He usually only has his soother when he's sleeping, or if we're out in public or at a family function and he's being grumpy/whiny.

Nathan has really learned how to stand by toys/furniture.  He is also learning how to walk holding onto my hands.  He's improved quite a bit since he turned seven months as he used to only just stand.  He is aware of his ability to get around (with assistance) and is becoming less content with just sitting and playing toys.  Now, if he'd only learn to crawl.  Who am I kidding?  If he'd only learn to be content on his tummy... :)

He LOVES having a bath.  Bonus if Matthew and Kayla are bathing with him.  And don't take him out if he's not quite ready...he gets really angry.


MATTHEW - 3 1/4 YEARS OLD
At 39 months old, Matthew weighs 29.2 lb and is 3' 2.5" tall.  He has definitely had a growth spurt as all of his pants seem to be too short.  Every time he wears a different pair he asks me if I can see his ankles.

This past week, Matthew has been a great eater.  He finishes all of his food quickly, and without much assistance.  I hope he keeps it up!

He loves music, and has always loved the kids radio we received in a free bag of toys when they were super-young.  Jon gave him a pair of headphones to use with it, and now he has become OBSESSED with that radio.  He would listen to it all day long if I let him.  It's like having a teenager in the house!  Right now, as I type this, he is blowing a whistle and shaking a tambourine.

My favourite expression of his is his response to when you ask him if you can do something:  he responds saying, "You may can..." rather than just "you may" or "you can".  It's so cute.  He still tells me daily that he likes or loves me.

Matthew loves to try to figure out how things work, carefully inspecting toys that move or watching Jon/my Dad fix things.

Matthew has followed Kayla's lead with having invisible friends, and his social circle has expanded from just being Elmo to now including Big Bird.

I introduced Matthew to Candyland and Dominos (a simplified version) this month.  Some times he has the attention span for Candyland, sometimes not.

Matthew does well with playgrounds now.  He is tall enough and strong enough and confident enough to do most /all of the climbing features.  He's not quite able to do hopscotch yet because he can't jump while balancing on one foot.


KAYLA - 3 1/4 YEARS OLD
At 39 months old, Kayla weighs 34.2 lb and is 3' 3.5" tall.

When she's in a good mood, she talks ALL THE TIME and is very clear (for the most part).  The things she thinks about and comes up with are hilarious.  You can tell she is always thinking about everything, because it happens daily where she will say something out of the blue, always starting with "Mom, you know what?!?!?"  She then goes on to state something, with such confidence/determination/enthusiasm.  It's hilarious.  It's those moments that I would love to catch on video...but it would require me to have a video camera running 24/7.

She always makes sure that their toys are put away in the right spot, because it drives her nuts if they aren't.  I wonder who she gets that from?  If they aren't in the right spot she blames Jon's mom, because after they babysat for us once they cleaned up the toys, but of course, they didn't know where each thing went so it was done wrong.  I made the mistake of explaining that, "Oma doesn't know where each toy goes" and so now she blames Oma for everything.

She is great at staying up late because she knows how to sleep in.  This past Monday she went to bed at 9:30pm, and then slept until 9:30am.  She needs her sleep though, because when she's tired she starts having her huge meltdowns.  Last night, Jon thought she was going to pass out from crying so hysterically over who-knows-what.  Other than her occasional (every other week?) meltdowns, she is so easy to parent.

Kayla talks about and plays with "her friends" on a daily basis.  Her social circle has expanded to include Dora, Princess, and Tinkerbell.

I introduced Kayla to Candyland and Dominos (a simplified version) this month.

Kayla has really gained confidence on her balance bike, often lifting her feet to coast now.  I took her on her first official bike-ride to the Fruiticana yesterday and she did great.  She has also learned how to ride a tricycle.  I'm hoping that she'll get even better at both (pedaling and balancing) over this summer, and then maybe a "big kids" bike will be her Christmas present this year?

She does well with playgrounds now.  She is tall enough and strong enough and confident enough to do most /all of the climbing features.  She also learned how to do hopscotch, and has re-learned how to do a somersault (she had forgotten apparently!).