Some updates from the Duffy Family:


_ Daniel is back on the day shift! He has been back on the day shift for about 6 weeks and it has been wonderful having him home in the evening. James stays with Daddy on Mondays for Daddy/Jamer Day!

- Lauren's TAKS scores came back and the results were great! 91% of her students passed and 51% of them were commended. Commended means that the student missed 4 or fewer questions on a 44 question test. These are AMAZING results! So excited!

- We finished the playroom. It is great! We have rounded up most of the toys and it's such a cheerful room. We will post pictures soon!

- Lauren only has 18 days of school left and then she is off until November because of summer vacation and maternity leave.

- We are in the 27th week of pregnancy. Lauren is feeling baby kicking and it feels like he is running out of room in there. We are starting to see the kicks now and feel feet and elbows pressing outward.

- We have been buying lots of new stuff for baby and are ready to start the nursery.

- We found a new home for one of our cats. Maddox went to live with a new family since he was not handling life with a toddler very well. Poor Tucker seems a little lonesome for him, but is adjusting well.

- James is now 16 months old. He is really exploring his independence. The most amazing thing is that he has become so helpful and so able to do things on his own in such a short time. He has figured out how to climb up in the kitchen chairs like a big boy and enjoys sitting with us at the table. He blows kisses. He helps put his shoes on and take them off. He runs to answer the phone when it rings. Tonight he even helped me shuck corn. He puts his dirty dishes in the sink and throws trash away. When he is ready to get out of the bathtub, he puts his tub toys up and lets the water out, then throws his leg over the side of the tub and pulls his way out. He is trying so hard to talk and getting close to mimicking what we say. He has added 3 more words/phrases recently. They are "uh - oh", "ding-dong" and "Let's go!". There are a lot of times he says things that we swear sounds like he is totally answering us or just talking. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I told him to come eat. It sounded like he said, "Whatcha got?". We cracked up!

Here is a list of James' current favorites:
* foods: yogurt, bananas and pancakes
* toys: frog puppet, ball and stacking cups
* books: Biscuit's Pet and Play Halloween (still loves this one!), Little People Visit the Zoo and Jamberry
* things to do: take a bath, help clean up, go for walks or play outside, call Nana and Granddaddy on the phone