Episode 10: A quiet day

Today has been a very quiet and uneventful day.  Max had preschool this morning and Sam, Emily, and I came home to play.  Emily played for a long time on her play mat and Sam and I read books, played ball, and did the dishes.  We picked up Max from preschool and came home for lunch, more books, and rest time.  It's nice to have a quiet day and accomplish a few things around the house!

I'll take advantage of this quiet day to update on what everybody is up to:

Emily (2 1/2 months):
*Loves playing on her play mat
*Grabs objects
*Prefers quiet and cries during loud and chaotic times - startles easily (sorry sister, you're just going to have to get used to it!)
*Gives huge smiles
*Taking 3 hour naps during the day!
*Coos and is very conversational
*Settling down around 9 p.m. (THANK YOU!)
*Working on....sleeping on back, tummy time, sitting in Bumbo (she is not a fan on the floor)

Sam (21 months):
*Can count to 20 (I know!  We were surprised to!)
*Is singing songs (Twinkle, Twinkle, ABC's, Row Row)
*Loves, loves, loves to play ball
*Starting to mimc Max's meltdowns (ick)
*Sits on quiet step for a minute when not listening
*Starting to test more boundaries and tell mommy "no!"
*Loves to read books - he usually is persistant and has one book in mind but will pull all the books off the book shelf to find it
*Loves his daddy!
*Only 1 year old that can say "tarantula" and "Perry the Platypus"
*Working on....no pacis during the day, not screaming at meal times, sharing with Max

Max (4 1/2):
*Loves dramatic music
*Favorite game to play is Perry the Platypus
*More interested in reading books
*Wants to learn to read
*Loves doing projects that are self-led (his idea, not mine)
*Plays fierce cars
*Is starting to add in head (He took 5 bites of hotdog and I told him to take 5 more...without counting he said, "Mom, that would be 10 total bites!")
*Working on:  Quiet voices, not saying "no" to mom or dad, following directions first time, writing "Maxwell"

One of my favorite things is seeing Max and Sam's friendship blossom.  They are starting to play interactively now.  Sam likes to play fierce cars and follows Max's lead :)  They also love to stand by the windows and say "Ready, set, go!" and run together into the couch.  Sam follows Max when they play Perry the Platypus and they go through tunnels and pipes together. 

Emily's awake...there's my cue!!