Monday, April 28, 2014

Monday: black or brown?

Scene: it's time to go to the store

Amanda: Isaac, can you bring your shoes over here?
Isaac brings one of Amanda's black shoes over.  This isn't uncommon and actually quite nice.
Amanda: Thanks.  Can you bring the other shoe over?
Isaac dawdles.  He finds an almost empty water bottle near the shoes and puts it in Amanda's shoe.  He takes the cap off the water bottle.
Amanda: Don't get water in my shoe!
Isaac gets a few drips of water in Amanda's shoe.
Isaac goes in time out and is not happy about it.  At all.

Amanda puts her brown shoes on while explaining why she isn't going to wear the black shoes.  Isaac continues to be inconsolable because she is wearing the brown shoes.  Isaac goes and puts Amanda's black shoe on the humidifier, his go-to drier.  (He puts it sole down, so it doesn't really help anything.)  He brings it back, expecting her to wear the black shoes.  When she doesn't, the crying gets more insistent.  Isaac tries to take off Amanda's brown shoes so the black shoes can go on.  This all takes place over about ten minutes.

Amanda finally gets her coat on and then Isaac's coat and carries him out to the car, shoeless and heartbroken.  She goes back in to get Isaac's shoes and gets one on him.  He says he doesn't want the other one on and as she starts to back out he immediately changes his mind.

Amanda gets in the car, feeling rather satisfied that 1) she won the battle and 2) they're finally on their way.  She even finds the whole thing a bit funny, although it would have been nice to understand why Isaac wanted her to wear the black shoes.


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Saturday: cutting

Today's main activity was cutting.  Something clicked with Isaac and Mr. Scissors and he was able to make some good cuts...and move the scissors along so that he actually made pieces, not just fringes along the outside.

This morning he made a mess in my area.

This afternoon he made a mess in Ben's area.

But considering that it kept him well occupied, we were happy to let him do it.

(Yes, it is a metal scissors but has a very blunt point and is not sharp.  It works a lot better than the "kid scissors" that we got him but I still don't think he'll hurt himself.)

Friday, April 25, 2014

Friday: an update

Hmm...I'm not really sure how the week got away from me without posting since Monday.

Tuesday I had some extra work to do at night.

Wednesday...I think I just skipped it.  The funniest thing that happened was I was putting Isaac in his car seat and he wanted to push the circles on the roof.  Needless to say, those two things don't work very well together.  So I told him to push his nose.  He said no.  But then he said, "Big push?"  "Sure" I responded.  So he extends his arm as far as it will go and then slaps his nose.  He didn't cry, so I think he managed to hold back a little bit.  And I was laughing hysterically, and that always helps the pain.

Thursday I gave a certification exam in the evening.  I don't have to do anything except be there, but it takes a while.  And I had a lot of grading to do.

And that brings us to today!  We joined Betsy and Ethan at the mall play place.  The two boys are starting to interact more now and it's pretty fun.  I rarely get to see him interact with other kids...either I'm not around or I am around so he wants to hang out with me more.

I'm 26 weeks pregnant today.  Less than 100 days to go!  Last week of the 2nd trimester!  ...everything I tell myself makes it still seem like a long time until the baby comes.

The boys had a great time in this boat.  They "rocked" it back and forth together.  Later Isaac made a circuit - go in the back, over the seat, sit in the bow, climb over the edge, get a hug from me.  Repeat.


P.S. I changed the background look of the blog because I discovered that if you have the page active for several minutes an audible ad would start.  I was not a fan.  At all.  The only thing I could think of was that the people that made the design put it in, so I changed the design.  I think it has stopped it, but we'll see.

P.S. update: it didn't work.  Does anyone else have this problem?  Have any ideas for fixing it?  It might be a virus but it seems weird that it only shows up in the blogger tab...never any other tabs.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Monday: bother

Today was going rather well...until I realized that I had listed an exam done for today in one place and Wednesday in another place. Of course, instead no one emailed me for clarification in time for me to do anything about it, but at least I had some warning.

After banging my head against the wall for my stupidity, I got down to solving this. Although I was expecting to give it today, if anyone wasn't ready I also wanted to give them the extra two days; it was my fault after all. The worst case scenario was if half the class was ready and half the class wasn't. I found room for that many people to take the exam if needed, but really hoped that wasn't the case.

Well, it turned out that only two people wanted to take the exam, so that was very doable. They went in the good room for test taking and I gave Wednesday's lecture to the rest of the class.

I feel rather silly about it, but my guess is the students barely cared. After all, they all get to take the exam when they're ready.

Sunday: Happy!

Happy Easter!

Today, around dinner time, Isaac came up to me and said, "Are you happy?"  I said, "Yes, I'm happy.  Are you happy?"  He said, "I'm haPPY!"  (Yeah, this is a word that really should have had a sound track to go with it.).  Then he said, "Is Dad happy?"  I told Isaac to go ask him.

"Dad, are you happy?"  "Yes, are you?"  "Yes, I'm haPPY!!"

It seems appropriate that he should figure out this word and be so excited about it on Easter, a very happy day!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Saturday: Isaac

Isaac had a rather cute morning, and we even got some pictures this time!

To start with, he found the keys that lock my desk drawers.  That kept him occupied for about two hours.


Isaac then decided to (literally) try and climb a wall.  In his words, "hard."  (This was rather hilarious.  Although he did have the good sense to try and climb a wall that was jutting out, so he was able to clamp his arms around it.)

Then we had a small Easter egg hunt.


He's figured out to say cheese for the camera, but closes his eyes when doing it.

Ben did his back exercises, and when Isaac noticed the roller was put away he was rather upset.  So Ben got it back out for him.  He has the right motions, he's just not big or coordinated enough to quite pull it off.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Friday: Good Friday

Good Friday.

It always seems like a weird day to me.  Either you do your normal things or you have the day off and you do relaxing things.  There are no family get togethers, no expectations of assorted activities.  Sometimes we go to church (we did today), but not always.

But yet it is one of the most important days of my faith.  Jesus died for me.  For me!  It was, as always, a day of remembrance, no matter what I end up doing.

Thursday: no watch me

Isaac has been saying "No touch me!" quite a bit lately.  This usually means that he doesn't want our help as he's trying to do something, like get off the bed.  Sometimes he'll say it while sitting on a lap, which usually makes us laugh.

Yesterday he came up with a new one.  "No watch me!"  He wanted Ben to watch me get him more food, as that is one of his favorite things lately.  When Ben refused, Isaac gave him a hilariously annoyed look.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Thursday: oh baby

This baby is a mover!  I feel like he's moving all the time...and while it might be very normal, I didn't feel Isaac this much.  (Isaac had an anterior placenta, which just means that I didn't feel him move as much.  I was kind of hoping for the same time.)  Last night the baby kept kicking Ben too.  I felt a little bad for him, but...not too much. :)

It is fun to watch my shirt ripple though.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Tuesday: keys

Last night Isaac was playing with one of my old purses. He's played with it a lot; I thought it was empty (except for the two cat toys in it). Anyway, he's shaking it trying to get something out and a key falls out!

Now, normally this would be really cool. However, last night it was super cool as he has been very into keys and locking and unlocking stuff the last few days. So finding a key was super cool! He spent a good part of today "locking" and "unlocking" doors; several times I had to wait to enter a room so that Isaac could unlock it for me first. He also learned how easy it can be to lose your keys as he spent quite a bit of time looking for a lost key. (I'm not sure where it is right now either...nor do I have an approximate idea of where it might be. We might be in trouble.)

I also keep meaning to post a monthly update for Isaac but just don't feel well enough or am too busy around the end of the month. Briefly, he also really likes zip up sweatshirts, watching me work in the kitchen, doing exercises with Dad, his stuffed animals: Frog, E-E, and Mama's E-E. (Yes, it's name seems to be Mama's E-E. When I'm around, I get to hug that monkey.) He likes to share with Ben and me. Potty training is a little rough lately, possibly due to the diarrhea last week. He's been waking up earlier lately, which is mostly just annoying...it's not so early that I can tell him to go back to sleep, but earlier than I want to get up. He often wants to know right away where Ben is. He likes going out, but is immediately curious when we're going to be going back home. He finally has 1,2,3 down pat (along with 7,8,9,10), but 4,5, and 6 are still a bit troublesome. It doesn't bother him though since you only need 1,2,3 to start a race. And he's still a very happy kid (unless I'm making him put on his own pants. He doesn't like that at all!)

Monday, April 14, 2014

Monday: baby

I had a baby appointment today.  The heartbeat was 145 and I'm measuring at 25.5 weeks.  A little large but not a big deal.  (I'll admit, I just hope it means that the baby will come early.  It probably means that I've carried a child before.)


Saturday night: dream

I had a dream that Isaac sued Ben and me for emotional ..uh, I forgot the word...problems due to taking away his pacifier.  A field agent swept in at day care and the workers couldn't protest because she was too high up.  She asked the kids if they wanted to sue and helped them write their name down.

Needless to say, I was rather upset.  And annoyed, as I would then have to go through the process of getting Isaac's name removed from the thing.  What kind of justice system would let a two year old sue his parents??

Friday, April 11, 2014

Friday: today

Although I missed a lot of sleep last night (Isaac woke up early with diarrhea again) I felt as though I was doing ok and being productive.  Then Isaac wanted to watch TV ("Watch Why?"...thanks Dusty...) and I usually try and interact with him while watching it.  But I feel asleep half way through it and through all of George.

After nap we took a walk and played outside a bit because the weather was lovely!  It also kept Isaac from messing up his room...while I feel that I was productive today the only way that you can currently tell is by looking at Isaac's clean room.

And now I'm exhausted again and seriously considering going to sleep.  But since it will take so much effort to get ready for bed I'll probably put it off.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Thursday: dear Isaac

Dear Isaac,

You were a wonderful kid today, entertaining yourself with random things or things I wanted to do too.  You also figured out how to get on the toilet by yourself today, so that's a huge step.  (Next time don't brag about how many treats you've given yourself for doing so though.  Tomorrow they will be rationed.)

However, I'd like to remind you that you need to chew and swallow your food so that you don't throw up as it sets off a chain reaction in this household right now.  Dad managed to stop the chain, but just barely.

Love,
Your still slightly sick Mom

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Tuesday: our day

Ahhh...today.  Good moments and not so good moments.

Isaac slept in, so that was rather nice since it took me a long while to get back to sleep last night.  He proceeded to empty the contents of his intestines into the toilet.  (He actually did a really good job today getting yucky stuff into to toilet...although by midmorning I'm not sure there was much left.)  I called the nurse and she gave us some advice, but it would mean a trip to the store.

At 9:30 we were about ready to go to the store and even had three of our four shoes on.  Then Isaac decided that his forth shoes should be put away.  I thought about life, and decided it would be much better if I lay down and rested...even if Isaac did only have one shoe on.  So it took us several additional minutes to get out the door, but we finally did.  We got all the recommended food and more diapers.

We got home and I was still exhausted.  Isaac watched some TV while I dozed.  Then lunch time!  Isaac still wasn't all that hungry and was happy to be done and take a nap.  He fell asleep almost right away and slept for 3.5 hours when I finally woke him up.

We played for a bit, the pile of "Dad's stuff" growing larger and larger by the door to the garage.  Dad got a giraffe, a piece of plain donut, several books, a sheep, and two blocks.  Isaac is big into sharing and taking turns with us lately, although I doubt that he feels the same way about kids his age.  At one point I said, "I need to get some medicine" and Isaac looked up at me and then ran off to get it for me without being asked.  What a nice kid.  He was also into locking and unlocking things, especially the flaps in one of his books.  The imaginary keys were in a different room though, so every time we wanted to open another flap it would take a few minutes.  I was ok with this plan though and enjoyed the rest.

Isaac did finally eat pretty well for dinner...the Crispex and yogurt hit the spot.  The end of the day involved a quick shower.  Isaac's intestines still don't seem to be working quite right so I didn't want to risk a bath, but he stank.  Throughout the day he was his normal happy self, so that was wonderful at least.

Monday: another first

We just had our first mid-night sheet changing experience. Isaac is having intestinal issues. But now I'm wide awake and can't get back to sleep.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Sunday: dinner

Usually we don't have a lot of trouble getting Isaac to eat, even if he does eat slowly.  Not so tonight. (We were watching Top Gear, but we usually eat with dinner.)

I told him what was on his plate and said, "Does that sound good?"  "No" was the respond.  "Too bad," I said.

I looked over at him a few minutes later to see that he had pulled out a chunk of hair and was licking it.  Yuck.  "Why don't you eat some food?"  Isaac eats one curd of cottage cheese.

A few minutes later..."Can you eat some food?"  Isaac eats one curd of cottage cheese.

A bit later...I see him lick a piece of pizza.

Ben says, "Can you take a big bite?"  Isaac eats about four curds of cottage cheese.

Isaac picks a microscopic something off his pizza and shows it to me.  "What's this?"
"Nothing."
"What's this?"
"Nothing."
"What's this?"
"Sausage.  Can you eat it?"

Isaac starts to bang his elbows on the tray.  "Ouch!  Belbow!  Kiss!"  After three kisses I tell him no more kisses.  Of course, he keeps banging.  I hide behind a pillow and blanket and pretend to sleep, letting Ben deal with it.

Ben gets him to eat his half banana by stopping the show every minute until he puts a banana piece in his mouth.

Sigh.  I don't mind if Isaac doesn't eat all his food, but it's nice when he eats some..especially when he didn't have a big lunch either.  He did however have plenty of energy after dinner, as he ran laps around the house for several minutes.  (Every time he passed his robot he would pause, pick him up, show him to Ben, put him down, and keep running.)

Friday, April 4, 2014

Friday: laughing

Tonight after Isaac's bath Isaac declared "Silly dada"  right out of the blue.  Since Ben was still upstairs, I brought Isaac over to see if we could figure out why Ben was silly.

Ben: Is Mom silly?
Isaac: No
B: Is Isaac silly?
I: No
B: Is Dad silly?
I: Yeah! (Laughter)
Amanda: Who's the silliest?
I: Mama's hair

Ben and I crack up at this, which causes Isaac to do a sort of fake laugh.  So Ben and I laugh harder which causes Isaac to do more fake laughing.  We haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Thursday: moving

This pregnancy is marked by a resistance to movement. Over and over again I don't feel well but get up for some reason ( tonight it was to turn off the lights) only to find myself throwing up 30 seconds later.

I had figured this out a while ago, but have been feeling well enough that I thought I could chance it...and I would have felt really dumb texting Ben to come upstairs and turn off the lights in the bedroom.

But...I should have asked him to turn off the lights.



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Wednesday: tantrum

For the most part, Isaac is a pretty laid back kid and easily distracted when he thinks something went wrong.  Today we probably had our longest tantrum to date and he would not be distracted.  It all started when we went to get the mail...

Isaac got distracted by the walk to the front door, so I went to get the mail myself.  He came down thirty seconds later and wanted to get the mail.  So we put it back in the mailbox and took it out again.  (It was a rather uncomfortable position to hold him in.)  But then he wanted to put it back in.  I said no, and so for the next fifteen minutes all I heard was "IN PLEASE".  At one point I thought he was going to give into the classic tantrum on the ground, but then he remembered what he was crying about and stuck the mail in the door, trying to get it as close to the mailbox as possible.

He finally stopped when he randomly decided to brush his teeth.