Anyway, so for my own future benefit, here is an update...
First, Luke. At his 12-month check-up, he weighed in at 19 lbs., 11.2 oz., and his length was 28 1/2 in. That puts him in the 10th percentile for both on the regular growth chart, but closer to the 25th on charts for breast-fed baby boys. Not that it really matters, but I'm going with that :)
His pediatrician says he is the most pronounced "stair-step" grower she's ever seen. His growth chart looks like just that - stairs. He gained more than three pounds since his 9-month appointment in August. That's back when we thought something might be wrong since he hadn't gained an ounce since May. He definitely made up for it this fall!
And this baby who used to look just like his mama is looking a lot more like dada these days. He's also becoming more and more like his father in personality too. For example, Ryan makes duck sounds sometimes (don't ask) and now Luke does too! I'm guessing we're going to have two partners in crime in our home eventually ;)
He's such a little boy now. He's into everything, loves riding on his little car, loves that he can now drink milk in a sippy cup (he chooses it over me all the time!), and loves his big sister with all his heart.
Speaking of breastfeeding, we're still going strong, although some days he only nurses once or twice, while other days it's as many as 6 or 7 times.
He is saying more words every day, even though they mostly come out as grunts. But we know what he means.
The other day as Clara was jumping, and saying "jump" with each jump, he started to copy her. But his baby version of jumping was crouching down and grunting "juhh!" with each "jump". It was so cute!
While he took his first steps back in September, he is walking more and crawling less each day. Right now I'd say he walks more than he crawls, but he's still pretty wobbly.
I know everyone probably says their babies, but Luke is SUCH a sweet soul. He is just incredibly loving and happy and the only time he cries is when he doesn't want to sleep. He's never in a bad mood, is never crabby or looking to get into trouble (like another adorable baby we know!).
Speaking of that other baby, Clara is a full-fledged two year old. I can't begin to cram into this update all the new stuff she is doing. We can have conversations with her, tell her to do things, she tells us what she wants, and we finally know what she's thinking. It's great! She keeps us laughing constantly, and I have to give Ryan the daily report at the end of each day of what new, unbelievable things came out of her mouth.
Again, it's something everyone probably says about their babies, but this girl is SO smart! If there were any worries about being a ten-week-premature baby affecting her development, they are long gone. It constantly amazes me how much she knows.
Her favorite things to do are count, sing the alphabet (she doesn't have it all yet, but most on a good day), jingle bells, and the Bills' Shout song. Actually, I'll often hear her singing different songs that she hears a lot. I guess it's no surprise that she gets songs in her head just like we do!
She recently developed a love of colors and coloring. I have to admit, we don't do it often because we don't really have a good place for coloring (we're working on it) and it's kind of a pain when Luke's around. But now she asks me to color, and when she does she is so into it. It's like the part of her brain that is used for art kicks into high gear and affects speech somehow. She talks a mile a minute when she's coloring!
And I almost forgot - at her two-year check-up she weighed 26 lbs., 9.6 oz. Go, Clara! That's 50th percentile! That is truly amazing for a girl who wasn't even on the growth chart for so long. Her height was 32 1/2 in., which is the 25th percentile. She's definitely a little pipsqueak still, but she's caught up so much.
Her short stature has actually been nice in that she only recently began opening doors. She was beyond thrilled when she realized she had reached this milestone and I've been finding her hiding in closets ever since. She also thinks it's hysterical to lay on our bed, and yesterday I found her in there "reading" a Twilight book! I wish I had taken a picture.
We're actually lucky it took this long, since those baby-proof door knobs are the worst. But I'm not hesitating to put them on because I know Luke will follow her anywhere, including the bathroom, which wouldn't be good. Plus, I fear little baby fingers getting caught in doors. Ouch.
Okay, I could go on and on, but I won't! This is just such an incredibly fun time with our two babies. They're both growing and changing so quickly, and are just so much fun :)
