what's new with the kids

 Here are some updates on Liam and Avery, and the things they've been up to recently.

We've been loving the summer weather around here! We spend a good chunk of every day outside and we are so appreciative of how our fence keeps the kids contained as well as giving us lots of privacy. The kids' favorite outside activities are the sandbox (which is really an under-the-bed bin filled with sand), water table, swinging, and digging with trucks.

Liam really loves the sandbox, especially when Avery is napping or playing with something else, because she makes a total mess. He is still very into his trains and trucks, and he makes up elaborate stories about them. Lately, he has been wanting to hear a story after reading books at bedtime. I'm really bad at this, but Bo can go on and on with characters, adventures, and a moral in his stories! It makes me laugh, and Liam loves it. He must be good at auditory comprehension, because he can repeat the story using every detail, name and adventure for days after he hears one.

He continues to be a pretty easy-going kid, and though there are still mini meltdowns here and there, he is generally polite and well-behaved. He loves playing with Maya and Lily, and I'm getting so excited for him to meet more friends and learn new things at preschool in the fall!

The other night, we put Avery to bed and let Liam stay up for a little and have a fire with us. He had SO much fun playing hide-and-seek in the (almost) dark, chasing lightning bugs, and making s'mores.

    

The Shaw kids and Liam having a picnic

                                       

Little Miss has been cranky lately, due to two teeth coming in, but when she is feeling good, she is cracking us up and surprising us with all of her words. 

Here is a list of her words, but she adds to it almost weekly!

Mommy, Daddy, Liam (either ee-um or mee-um), Avery, hi, bye, baby, "cheese" (for the camera), bottle (bob-ul), please, Bless you, thank you, bath, yucky, shoes, uh oh, blueberries, cracker, cookie, cup, night-night, ball, bear, book, fish, ouch, nose, eyes, belly, pool, beach, stinky, p.u., "happy happy", mine, no, yes, up, down, all done, binky, Elmo (mel-mo), apple (though it could be for lots of different produce), and I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. I remember making a list for Liam when he started really talking, and I wanted to record one here for Avery so I could remember it.

She will answer the animal sound for: elephant, cow, duck, kitty, dog, bird, pig.

She blows kisses, does the signs of Pat-a-cake and Wheels on the Bus, sings "ee-i-ee-i-o" in Old MacDonald, then follows with "ruff ruff" for the dog on the bus, tries to sing ABCs, sings "up-a-buh" during Twinkle Twinkle (for Up above the world so high..), makes the motion for brushing teeth and hair if you mention either. Says "ohhhhh!" when we brush her hair or put in a clip (a little vain!)

At her recent appointment (just before 16 months), she was a little over 20 lbs (25th percentile) and 31.5 inches (50th-75th percentile). She has 13 teeth. She is still allergic to milk, as we discovered when we tried to mix a little with her toddler soy formula, leading her to throw up numerous times. Hopefully she will outgrow it around age 2, though. She is still active and agile, climbing up on anything she can. She is still very loud when she wants to be, but aside from that, she's at a really fun stage!