James at Two-and-a-Half.

This boy. What can I say about him? He wants so badly to be independent. He is a comedian. He is very, very bright. He remembers everything. He is stubborn to the bottom of his toes. He loves his brother. He wants to be just like his daddy. He has a soft spot for a snuggle. He loves technology...and can work it better than some of his grandparents. *ahem* He has more energy than he knows what to do with. (He has WAY more energy than I know what to do with!) He is all boy.

At two he was 28 pounds, 34 inches. Today he is 31.8 pounds, 36 inches.

He wears a 2T on bottom and a 2T-3T on top. Little man has some short legs! :) Not sure how he inherited short legs from his long-legged mama!

We just bought him an 8.5 shoe. They're a little big, but not too much!

He's in a size 4 or 5 diaper. He can really wear both and it just depends on who buys them. (Eddie buys 4s because they're cheaper...I buy 5s because they aren't quite as short.)

He goes to bed between 8-9 pm (usually...as I write this he *may* still be awake at 10:45) and sleeps until around 6:45. I can still sometimes get him to nap twice a day for about an hour or once a day for 1.5-3 hours. I can always tell if it's naptime because the whininess increases by leaps and bounds.

He can count to 20 and beyond. Sometimes he still has trouble and we have to remind him of the beginning (thirty, etc.), but he's figuring out that the second part of the number (thirty-ONE) remains the same all the way up.

He sings the entirety of the alphabet all. the. time.

He's really ready for potty training. I just have to put my big girl panties on and DO IT.

He speaks not only in sentences, but in paragraphs as well. He told me an entire story about something that happened at school the other day.

He is a little caught up in body parts *ahem* and bodily functions right now. I blame it on the fact that I'm nursing and we talk a lot about going to the bathroom since we're sort of potty training. But it's incredibly embarrassing and I cannot wait for the day that he pulls out something he's learned and shares it with the church nursery girls. (Y'all just be aware...I am so sorry in advance!)

He loves, loves, loves Will. He wants to play with him all the time and cannot wait for the day that Will is big enough to wrestle on the floor with him. He's already trying to start that.

He still LOVES to go to school and counts the days until the next time.

Speaking of days, he's working very hard on learning his days of the week.

He does a pretty good job of feeding himself with a fork and spoon. We still have to remind him sometimes not to use his fingers, but overall, he's got it!


I mentioned yesterday that I sometimes wonder if we're living with a 12-year-old girl. Prime example: Last night Eddie put James in bed and he fell. to. pieces. He kicked and screamed and cried. When Eddie asked what was wrong he said he wanted to get into bed by himself. He then climbed out of bed, climbed back in bed, and went to sleep. Gracious.

He is such a little blessing (even in the challenges we know that!). We are so proud of him and learn from him every single day. I cannot wait to see what the next six months brings!