Catching Up!

James would like to apologize to everyone for his Daddy not keeping up with this scrapbook. James says he is doing so much more these days and it has been almost a month since Daddy last posted a story. So here is what's new in James' life.
James has begun counting! Previously, James had only been working on recognition of his numbers. Mostly 1 - 10. He would often point them out in the stores and along the highway as he saw them, but today, he was actually counting! This past Saturday, James went with Mommy and Daddy to Sam's Club and Daddy showed James the numbers 11 - 16. About 20 minutes later, out of the blue, Mommy heard James say "Seventeen" and sure enough we were standing under the sign for aisle 17.
James has also learned to say his name. When you ask James what his name is, he will tell you "James". Daddy had tried working with James on his name a few weeks ago, but he was successful at saying when he stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while Mommy and Daddy checked out a graduate school in North Carolina.
Although James can not actually "read" yet, he has begun reciting nursery rhymes when you turn to the appropriate page. James will "read" along with Mommy and Daddy as they read his books to him.
James is going through his second phase of separartion anxiety, which is common at this age. James' separation anxiety has been helped along by the frequent absence of Mommy and Daddy. For two weekends in May, Mommy and Daddy let James stay with Grandma and Grandpa so that they could get the house together for the realtor. Then Mommy and Daddy left over Memorial Day weekend to check out East Carolina University. James stayed with Grandma and Grandpa at that time too. Grandma and Grandpa have enjoyed having James each weekend, but he has really tired them out. They had to take a Caribbean Cruise this week in order to get some rest and recover. ;-) 
Because of the time away from Mommy and Daddy, James is not sleeping well. Mommy and Daddy think that James may be ready to transition from his crib to a toddler bed. He sleeps just fine on the bed in the spare bedroom, but someone has to stay with him to make sure he doesn't fall off. James is a very restless sleeper to begin with and Mommy and Daddy are wondering if the crib is too confining for James' constant movements during his sleep. Daddy plans to convert James' crib this weekend.
Yesterday, James got two new pairs of swim shorts for the summer, a pair of clogs (off-brand Crocs) for the pool, and a pair of sunglasses. Yeah for James.
James promises that Daddy will do a better job of keeping up the scrapbook. He understands Daddy has been very busy trying to figure out which graduate school is best for the whole family.