Just a little something

I have an etsy order to finish, but I wanted to put a few things down of what the kids have been up to lately.
Alex:
blowing kisses (randomly started doing it two days ago)
giving kisses
blowing raspberries, all the time, nonstop. He will blow raspberries at himself for 20 minutes straight in the car.
has started using a spoon, and wants to dip it in the food himself and put it in his mouth himself. He's actually pretty good.
trying so very hard to walk. He's up to about 5 unsupported steps. He really really wants to. He tries to walk pretty much every time he goes somewhere, then gets down and crawls.
has cut his two bottom teeth!!
is the sweetest kid I know.
can make marks on a paper with crayons (he was doing this today at a restaurant. Just grabbed the crayon and started marking away. Of course then he tried to eat it, but whatever.)
is still a mama's boy. He says "mama" now. And I swear sometimes he says other things to, but I may be imagining it.
is very patient with his big sister.
is extremely jealous of Grant (the newborn we watch). He does try to give him his binkie now, instead of trying to steal it like he did last week. I think he is recognizing that it isn't his now.
will steal and drink Grant's bottle if I don't watch out.
loves remotes. If he sees one, it's his.
recognizes his blankie, and is attached to it, but also loves Claire's blankie and cup. I don't know if he steals them more out of revenge or just because it is hers and he wants what she has.

Claire:
is speaking in sentences! Woot. I thought this day would never come! They are short, but they are mostly intelligible. And she will repeat long sentences back to me. We are making serious progress, and it seems like every day she gets better. She still gives me lots of babble, but is speaking english more.
has decided that she can dress herself. She picked out an entire outfit, down to the mismatched socks the other day. And then put it on all by herself. She is really good at shoes too.
is not ready to be potty trained. (Sigh.) We spent half a day in panties, went back to diapers, and she didn't even bat an eye. Two weeks, and we try again.
is constantly doing what Alex does. Crawling when he crawls, throwing things when he does, biting or hitting because he does. It's annoying. It's hard to explain that he doesn't know any better. She doesn't get it.
is turning into a good helper. She can sometimes be told to go get something and will go get it. Though sometimes, I ask her for something that's right in front of her face, and it's like playing hot or cold with a rock. Or a retarded dog.
loves band aids and wears them as fashion statements.
hates socks, and only wears them when wearing shoes.
has a new found fascination with "moneys" (aka coins).
is starting to count pretty well.
Knows that C is for cookie, and sometimes Claire.
loves to sing, and is starting to sing recognizable songs- "head, shoulders, knees and toes" is a favorite, as is spider and patty cake. (When we sing patty cake, we have to sing it for everybody in the room. One for Alex, one for Dad, one for Mom, one for Claire.)
is doing lots of physical things like opening the front door, climbing the ladder at the park, climbing in and out of the bathtub, and just generally scaring her mother to death.

I'm sure I've forgotten something I really wanted to mention, but like I said, I have to get that etsy order done with.