Another Update :)

While these updates might not be that exciting to most readers, I'm dedicated to doing them often for my own keepsakes. 

William:

• Sitting!  Just a couple days ago, William sat on his own for the first time.  I figured if he stayed up on his own long enough for me to take pictures like the paparizzi, then it was offical.  When Natalie first learned to sit, she was good right off.  But, William is a wiggle worm and that makes him loose this balance more.  Its still good though considering unsupported sitting is a 6 month skill.  
• Another big skill for William right now is raking his fingers over surfaces to feel the texture.  I really noticed it when he was trying to pick up the letters on the page of a book.  
• William has been doing very well sleeping in his crib at nap times.  It took longer for me to get Natalie to sleep as long as he does on her own in the crib during the day.  
• Another difference between William and Natalie is that Natalie loved hard plastic toys like rings, but William seems to like soft toys better.  
• William likes being read to during the day, but often doesn't like me reading to him during his bed time nursing.  He is often too wired and needs it to be quite to calm down.  
• As I may have mentioned, William seems to have entered the stage where he LOVES his mommy.  He is constantly touching my face (often roughly) and Mike says he follows me with his eyes.  And he has tons of smiles and laughs for me.  It makes up for some of the hard stuff.  But, it also makes me feel bad leaving Mike with him when William is grouchy (like I have right now). 

Natalie:

• Natalie isn't so much gaining new skills right now as she is showing us how creative, imaginative, smart, funny, perceptive and observant she is. 
• Favorite books right now are: Elephant and Piggie series, Curious George, Green Eggs and Ham.  
• A new favorite show is Super Why, which is great because its all about reading!
• She has a new interest in girlie things.  When I put a dress or skirt on her, she says she is a princess, ballerinia (like Angelina), or fairy.  She also is interested in superheroes, like Super Why.  Princess Presto on Super Why is the prefect cross of the two .  
• Natalie's favorite things to play are to make little figures, dolls, or stuffed animals be a family.  She'll even do this with cars.  She told me yesterday that her gloves loved each other.  
• Natalie loves snowmen.  She still asks me to sing Frosty the Snowman daily.  She loves any crafts involving snowmen and she likes helping make them outside, too.  
• One of the cooler things I've watched her do is to put her toy animals in and out of her barn and sing Old MacDonald while she does it.  
• She is always saying new words and phrases, so its hard to pin point them and remember them all.  But a couple of new ones she's been using a  lot are "maybe" and "a little bit."  She is also saying "sorry" or "I'm busy" more often when she doesn't want to do something.  
• I continue to be amazed at how polite she can be.  She says please and thank you without prompting often, and also saying you're welcome.  She occastionally says bless you.  No progress on getting her to cover for sneezing, though.  
• She has had a renewed interest in reading, coloring, and the potty recently.  
• Over the last week, I've asked to help me in the kitchen twice.  She's helped dry dishes and set the table.  
• Natalie also has some negative behaviors she's asserting.  She is very particular about how she wants things arranged in her room at bed time.  The other day, one tiny toy on the other side of the room had fallen over and it was a huge ordeal.  Another one is that she is eating very slowly at meals.  If I wait her out, she might eat a lot, but she also might just sit there holding the food in her mouth or hand.  She will do this even if she has requested the food and says she likes it.  
• Mike really loves how when she eats raspberries, she puts the on her finger tips to eat them. 
• Natalie is more likely to start laughing because we laugh at something.  
• Natalie continues to be an awesome big sister, even though sometimes she is obviously jealous of the attention he takes from her.  She gives him toys, rocks him when he cries, shares sticker with him, tries to engage him in games (like feeding him), says she misses him, and comments when he's "spit out."