Monday: paino

Yesterday we were all on our bed and Isaac had way too much energy.  So we had him go back and forth to the paino to play different notes.  The highest note (a "peep"), the lowest note (a "doh"), a black key, a white key, etc.  He was still interested today, so he learned about C.  He can find middle C and maybe other Cs.  We'll see if he remembers tomorrow.

Also, boxes are fun.

Sunday: 13 months, 44 months

Joshua recently turned 13 months.

Sleeping: Joshua is sleeping from 8pm until 5am(ish) when he eats and then goes back to sleep for about two hours.  He usually still takes a morning nap, but it is often pretty short.  He takes an afternoon nap for at least 1.5 hours, sometimes longer.

Talking: He has a few words, notably "dada", "mama", and "hi".  There have been a few times where I've asked him what my name is and he'll say "mama."  He waves a lot.

Eating: Eating has gotten a bit less stressful since he now eats pretty much what we're eating.  He has all four molars, although I'm not sure if they're in all the way.  He loves bread products, eats meat easily, and likes many fruits.  I'm having a harder time with vegetables.  He is now drinking from a sippy cup.  We are still nursing often, but I'm not pumping.

Attitude: Still pretty happy, although he's had several clingy days.  Possibly due to the teeth.  He is often serious, although laughs regularly.  He is very content to play by himself.

Moving: He is still scooting.  He can stand on his own for up to about thirty seconds.  We have started to get the walker out and it works ok...not great yet.  Today he did make it all the way across the short dimension of the room though.

Isaac has turned 44 months.

Sleeping: he still naps sometimes.  We're finding that when he naps it takes him forever to fall asleep, but if he doesn't nap he gets cranky.  He goes to bed at 8ish and usually falls asleep by 9pm.  He is awake around 7am.

Eating: Still pretty good at eating, although slow.  He likes some vegetables and tolerates others.  Besides that it is rather hit-or-miss as to whether he'll eat something.  Unless it is a treat.  He loves his treats.

Attitude: Isaac is still super silly and laughs at anything.  He has been having some trouble listening lately, but at the same time we've noticed him being extra helpful the last few days.  He's taken care of things without being asked.

Learning: He can count up to 11 and then skips around with all the teen numbers.  He can recognize A-Z and 0-9.  (Ok, he's been able to do that for a while.)  He can spell his name but sometimes has a hard time remembering the S.  He knows it's there, but can't remember what it is.  He likes to read, but I've noticed that some days he wants to read all the time and other days he doesn't.  We don't have many in-the-middle days.

Fun: He still likes to run around and play with asssorted toys.  Duplos often, although with summer we haven't done as much.  Playdoh comes out on a regular basis.  He loves to go out.  If we only have one errand to do he sometimes gets a bit sad.  He loves Giraffe the Giraffe and Isaac the Monkey.  He has a wild imagination and it usually involves feeding someone something.

Saturday: car shopping

Ben and I went car shopping this afternoon.  Have I ever mentioned that we don't like shopping?  I don't like car shopping either.  We went to the Subaru dealership which is 40 minutes away.  Ugg.  I especially hate to drive to go shopping.

We came away a bit disappointed.  The selection that was on the lot or in the pipeline was slim.  And those cars had several extra options that we didn't want.  To order a car will take about three months.  Now, we liked the car, but aren't sure we like it that much.

So now we probably need to see if there is anything else that we like.  The good news is that everything else is in Holland.  However, it feels like we're on a bit of a timeline because if we wait too long we might miss the about three month window of Subaru deliveries and need to wait an extra month.

However, overall, we're not in dire straits.  As problems go, this isn't a bad one.  Just annoying.

Oh...I forgot to mention yesterday...Joshua did his first somersault by himself.  It was surprising.  But he's done it several times since then.

Friday: today

Well, let's start with last night.  I rocked Isaac to sleep while reading Anne of Green Gables, because I recently decided it was time to read it again.  He finally got to sleep around 11:30 and fine the rest of the night.

Today we did some errands and then went to the playground.  Isaac led everyone on a merry game of "going to the party!"  We got black balloons.  We got tickets.  We threw the tickets.  But we never actually got to the party.

This afternoon I decided that the house set-up wasn't working for us.  Joshua loves many of the toys in Isaac's room.  And frankly, many of the toys are more appropriate for Joshua anyway.  Isaac hates having Joshua in his room.  You see the problem.  Ben and I emailed once or twice and decided to convert the guest room into a temporary playroom.  At least until Joshua can do steps.  We swung the bed around 90 degrees to give more room.  If there are two guests one guest will have a tight trip to get to their side of the bed, but it is possible.  We're moving Isaac's current shelves into the the toy room and the dresser that is in the toy room into Isaac's room.  The duplo table will be moving too, at least while there are no guests staying with us.  We'll see how it works. :)

Isaac had "bad cough-es" again today, but it felt a little more like he was playing us.  He got two pillows.  I read to him a little bit again but decided he was too awake and left.  He finally fell asleep a bit before 10.

Thursday: still awake

It's 11.  Isaac is still awake because of "bad cough-es".  It's surprising to me because he's had a cough before and hasn't had a problem going to sleep.  But nevertheless, he's still awake and seems rather awake, which is also a problem.

I gave him some honey.  I'm not sure if it will help or make him more awake. :)

Wednesday: carrots, cleaners, and characters

I got the normal sized carrots at the grocery store last time because I haven't been very happy with the last several bags of baby carrots that we've gotten.  So when Isaac surprisingly said that he wanted carrots, I pulled them out.  He loved them!  I think the longness was a large factor, although I think they also tasted a lot better than baby carrots too.  Even Joshua got in on the carrot action, and I've had a hard time with vegetables for him.

The carpet cleaners came today.  After several accidents on the carpet lately we decided it was time.  Some items are still in the rooms, but the furniture that is still needed or takes a large footprint we moved out.

We also finally finished our last library activity...writing letters in playdoh.  Isaac liked Os because he could punch them out.  So add a few lines and you get poop.  And it was hilarious.  Speaking of which, Isaac read "off" in a different context and know how to spell it when we were writing.

Tuesday: first day of school

Today was our first day back at school.

 

Isaac said that he wasn't excited about school this morning because it wasn't going to be amazing.  But he went anyway.

Isaac was in the preschool class.  I think Isaac had a good time.  He told me a few things and when I went to pick him up he was playing with a parachute and balls...I actually left and went to pick Joshua up first.

Joshua also did really well in the Wobbler room.  They said he ate well and slept well and everything well.  Except that he doesn't walk and the care givers are a little worried for his safety with the "big walking" kids around.  So he's going to go back to the infant room on Thursday.  I'm a bit sad about that, because I think the Wobblers get to do more interesting things and I don't have to prepare his food.

I got quite a bit done.  The stuff that needs to be done has been completed, but to really get on top of things I have more to do.  I'm not sure it'll take all of Thursday, but we'll see how it's going.

And today's outtake...Isaac was trying to help Joshua stand up.  Really.

Monday: productive

I felt like it was a fairly productive day today, for once.  Maybe because of a new plan...

Last week I got so sick of waiting an hour for Isaac to get dressed.  Seriously.  I know I could go in there and help, but that isn't what I want to do.  And I couldn't threaten to not go out, because they weren't places that he really wanted to go.  So today he woke up and came to get me out of bed and I told him to go get dressed.  Joshua also slept in, and I got to sleep until about 7:45.  Wow!  It's been a while since I was able to sleep that long.  And Isaac was dressed by the end.  Bonus.

So then I didn't take a nap.  (A good thing, because it would have been a frustrating nap.)  I got some stuff taken care of that's been on the to-do list for a while.

Ben and I had a session with a trainer at the gym.  We realized that it would be good for us and I, at least, had no idea how to even start strength training.  It is such an odd feeling to be so tired after doing what feels like nothing.  We're not running.  We're barely walking.  And we are exhausted.

Sunday: Subaru

Today we sold our car.  It was time; things were going wrong with it.  But still sad.  It had treated us well.  It was so easy to pick out in parking lots.  It did a great job of hauling a lot of stuff.  Like a picnic table, three chairs, and three people.  Or a dryer.  A recliner.  A bassinet.  I'm not really sure there was ever a time we hoped to get something in the car and it didn't fit.

Saturday: hijacks

This scene played out several times during lunch time.  Joshua started with a slow get away, but quickly learned that he needed to high-tail it out of there.  (The slow one was hilarious...he doesn't exactly move quickly even at top speed.)  It was fun to see them play together.

Friday: sewing machine

I bought a new sewing machine today. :)

I've been thinking about it for a little while.  My Singer has been really good to me, and I wanted to make sure that I really "needed" a new one.  Yesterday I went to the local dealer to take a look, and there was one in my price range that had a bunch of cool features.  I went home to check out the reviews on line.

There was nothing terrible about the machine, although there were several other brands that seem more highly recommended.  That being said, two things helped make the decision.  1) The dealer is local.  I don't really want to drive to Grand Rapids to drop off and then pick up the machine for any servicing.  And I like Field's Fabrics...they've been really good in the past.  2) Several reviews said it was quiet.  Ben is often talking with friends in the room that I'm sewing and the Singer is loud.  He's been really nice about it, but...

So I picked it up today.  I also grabbed a new 1/4" foot to go with it.  It has an automatic thread cutter, a knee bar, and a button can start/stop the sewing instead of a foot pedal.  I'm still trying to decide when and how to use these features, but they're definitely nice.  And it is very quiet.  Oh, and one of the main reasons...it is strong.  The feed dogs on the Singer either stopped working or I just realized that they don't work well when going over bulky seams.  It is something that could have maybe been repaired.  But I decided to upgrade instead.

I'm keeping the Singer around, because who knows when I might need another machine.  (But if Isaac gets interested in sewing he'll want the new one because he likes to push the buttons.  He was so disappointed today at the store when I said we weren't going to do that today.)

Thursday: try again

Today was much better.  I was in a better mood, Isaac was in a better mood, and Joshua was still his mostly happy self.

I pulled out those containers that have a lid that are supposed to help contain food while still letting the child reach it and Joshua played with that and a spoon for quite a bit.  I have spoons all over the house because I moved the kids' plates/bowls/spoons/cups to a low drawer and Joshua really likes to take out the silverware.

Wednesday: birthday

Today was my birthday!  While I received many "happy birthdays" from people, I'm going to admit, it was a hard day.  I was feeling a bit grumpy (seriously, can't I keep a semi-clean house?) and Isaac has a cold and was also grumpy.  Let's review the reasons he cried today, because some of them are rather funny.  I did get a lot of cuddles from him though, and that was super nice.

1. Joshua hit him with a toy.  This might have been a valid reason; I wasn't in the room.
2. I stopped reading my book.
3. I wouldn't let him have my brown pillow and Ben didn't have a brown pillow.
4. Joshua hit him in the face.  A valid reason, but just a causality of playing.
5. I got the mail without him.  (He had come outside with me and then turned around because it was too bright.)
6. I wouldn't let him take a nap at 5:30pm.
7. I went outside without him to hang up one piece of laundry.

Those are the only ones I remember.  I feel like there should be at least one about not taking toys away from Joshua.

Tuesday: smart kids and ducks

Joshua has started giving fives all the time.  If your hand is turned over he'll move it so that he can reach the palm of your hand.  He has also gotten more consistent at waving.

Isaac read the word "off" in the car.  It's a word we've talked about before and I don't think we've talked about it in the context that he read it in, but I'm not 100% sure.  Anyway, I'm calling it a reading win.

Isaac also discovered a law of physics tonight.  He had a ball on the ground and would drop a rock on it (and it always hit a side of the ball).  He then said, "They always go in opposite directions!"

Today's fun activity was to feed the ducks.  We made a last minute call to some friends and they were able to join us!  I had a lot of bread (remember a week or two ago when the bread went moldy really fast?) and so it lasted about forty-five minutes.  It was a lot of fun!

This is just a small number of the ducks/seagulls/geese/sparrows that showed up.  This bridge is really the best place for feeding ducks.  There's always a bunch.

Monday: activities

This week doesn't have much lined up.  A huge contrast from last week, where it felt like every morning was a "keep moving" morning.

So we stayed at home all day.  We did some work.  It was about 11:00 and Isaac decided, "We should do an activity!!!"  So we pulled out the jars...clean the doorknobs and (after a few tries) make cookies.  We did the door knobs first...Isaac would do one side and I'd do the other, so it kept his attention.  Then we made almond bars.  Joshua was being rather clingy at this point and I wondered what was going on only to remember that we missed his nap time. Oops.

Nothing all that exciting the rest of the day.  Everyone took a nap.  We worked on finishing up the library summer reading program.  No one liked the new recipe that I tried today, but we need to try new things sometimes.

Sunday: another surprise

I had a finger in Joshua's mouth the other day, trying to get something out of it, and discovered a molar!  Surprise!  He's had several rather clingy days lately, but I was expecting more front teeth and looking there.  I don't think there are any others through yet, but the other side might be close.

Also, Isaac was super teary today.  I felt like he cried more than not before church, although I know that's an exaggeration.  I'm not really even sure what he was crying about half the time.  And I didn't really care.  Maybe it's because I was tired, maybe because it was his fake cry.

Saturday: racquetball

We brought Isaac into the racquetball court for a few minutes this morning.  He seemed rather in awe of how high the ball went and loved watching us hit it.  He tried hitting it, but was surprisingly ineffective...I think he saw the ball start to drop, swung and missed, then saw the ball go by the racket, swung and missed because it was too late, etc.  He eventually got a few hits in though.

Friday: yesterday

Yesterday I went to the quilt show in Grand Rapids.  I had an excellent time and had to hurry home because the babysitter's time was up.  You can see more pictures and such by going here.

Yesterday evening we got our new table!  It was a Christmas present.  It took us a while to decide on one, and then it took a long while to actually have it come in.

What Ben and I failed to consider when purchasing was the "tunnelness" of the table and chairs.  The boys, however, discovered it immediately.

This morning another tunnel was made.

Thursday: pop tarts

In our house, pop tarts are an adult-only food.  Because sometimes I want to enjoy them for breakfast while not feeling bad about giving my kids sugar for breakfast.  Sure, it's a double standard.  I'm willing to accept it.

Wednesday: zoo and gym

This morning we went to the zoo with some friends.  We had a very nice time; many of the animals were moving (including the large mammals), so that made it rather fun too.

 Here is Giraffe the giraffe, ready to see his friends at the zoo.  It was a special treat to bring Giraffe.  Unfortunately, Giraffe didn't have a great time because not all of his friends were at the zoo.  Giraffe is kind of clingy and sad lately.

Isaac enjoyed looking at the maps.

Here we all are (including Giraffe) with a chimp.

Joshua was extra smiley today.  Isaac was happy to help him smile.

Isaac loved playing on the train.  It was hard to get him to move on to the next thing.

A tiring day. :)

This morning Joshua also realized he could take all the plasticware out of the drawer at once.  It was rather cute.  What wasn't so cute is how ... much bigger Isaac is.  I quickly had to make a rule that it had to stay in the kitchen and that he couldn't put anything in his mouth and that he didn't need three cups full of water.

Today was the first day of a new gym routine...first strength training and then cardio.  You could tell we had worked by the time we got to racquetball.  I was a bit surprised, but it was good.  Strength training isn't as fun as racquetball, but still good.  Now I need to feel more comfortable doing it.

Tuesday: progession

Today I noticed that Joshua was doing several new(ish) things.

*He still has been standing.  There are a few times he'll stand for many seconds.

*He'll repeat "mama" to me.  So I asked him, "Do you like dada or mama better?"  No response.  A few hours later he clearly said, "I like dad better."  Hmm.

*We're not going to have any more night feedings.  (I.e., no feeding before bed).  Last night he was surprisingly understanding.  He cried a few times, but went back to sleep.  We'll see how tonight goes.

Monday: busy day

Today was a busy day!

It started with a mastitis follow-up.  Nothing unexpected there.  If it happens again I can request that they don't give me the antibiotic that is normally given first since it now hasn't worked two times.

Then we popped over to the daycare to officially register.  I think they're going to put Isaac in the preschool class.  They said the population has had a slight shift towards the younger kids, so everyone has been moved up a bit earlier than normal.  So the preschool class will be a young class and he'll know many of the kids in it.  (It was that or he would be the oldest of the kids in his other class, which isn't always fun either.)

A quick pop over to Meijer for bread, blueberries, and a different style sippy cup.  I bought two loaves last Monday and by Friday they were completely unusable.  It surprised and annoyed me.  Joshua needs to learn to drink from a sippy cup.  End of story.

Then to the gym were I had a meeting with an athletic trainer.  We found out that my right ankle is ...I'm not sure what the right word is...tight.  It doesn't bend as much, which sometimes makes my hips tilt.  We also went through some strength exercises to do.

Phew!  Four stops in the morning...I usually try to limit it to two, maybe three.

Then this afternoon I got sick of Isaac still trying to eat his hair and we went to the barbershop.  (They had an online checkin...it was awesome!)

The before picture (although without the curls).  The online check in was nice, but we still had to wait a bit.  Probably for the best, so we could talk about what to expect.

During the cut.  Isaac stayed nice and still.

Afterwards.  Quite short (the setting was a six.  I'm hoping it was short enough.)  It makes him look so grown up.  (And like a small Jacob.)

We went to "close beach" in the evening.

Here's hoping that it helps with the hair pulling!!

Sunday: friends

We had our Bible Study over after church for lunch.  It was a lot of fun; it's been a while since we've seen them.  How does life get so busy and go by so quickly??

Joshua did a lot more standing up...he has a sumo pose because his legs are often spread so far apart.

I cut off Isaac's curls tonight. :( :( Ben and I got sick of saying, "Don't eat your hair."  It's just something that he does without thinking.  He knows he shouldn't and never complains when we remind him not to, so that makes it hard too.  Maybe we'll try a buzz cut if this doesn't work.  I suppose it could work.  I just love his curls and how they bounced when he ran.  Good thing hair grows back.

Saturday: yesterday and today

First off, I realized I forgot two things from yesterday.

1) Joshua laughing.  When Isaac banged his cup or I banged the towels on the table, Joshua thought it was hilarious.  It's a long video, you can get the idea after the first little bit.



2) Joshua standing.  We were packing up water balloons when, in the middle of the deck with no supports, Joshua decided to stand up.  I was rather shocked.  He held it for a few seconds and then sat back down.  Right before bedtime at the park he kept doing it too...over and over.  Ben and I both thought that he would be doing it all day today, but it really took until right before bedtime again.  Of course, that was when he was in the bathtub. :p

On to today.

I got an early birthday present.

Two new monitors!  They seem gigantic compared to my old ones.  I'm loving them, and loving that the colors are the same between both.

While we were getting them set-up (which was super easy), Isaac cut around a monkey that had been printed out for coloring.  What what?  Last time I saw him cut all he could do was cut things in two.  There was no concept of cutting something out.  So I printed out some cutting pages for him and he cut out some shapes.  He chose the overalls this morning (black cords) and the monkey hat is to try and get him to stop eating his hair.

Friday: pictures

Flurry has found a new favorite spot in Joshua's chair.

It was a "dad day."  Joshua really only wanted Ben if he was around.  I just wasn't cutting it.

A friend got Joshua a "Little Brother" t-shirt that is really cute, so that meant we should take some pictures, right?

Isaac and Joshua.

Joshua

Everybody (at home)

Isaac and me.  Joshua is photobombing.

Joshua and me.

A hug.

Then we went to story time.  Isaac seemed very bored, but Joshua seemed more engaged than normal.  I've thought about going to the preschool story time, which would be better for Isaac, but I think I read less to Joshua than Isaac so it seems only fair that we should go to Joshua's story time.

Rest time.  We've been reading Richard Scary's "What do people do?"  He likes the "pipes" (building a house) and the "sharp cutter" (what do we do with wood) stories.  He did fall asleep.

The fun activity was water balloons.

Isaac did a good job of picking up the pieces after they popped.  He sorted them by color.

Popping it with his hands.

Stomping on it.

We had a picnic dinner with some friends.  It was slightly rainy but otherwise perfect.  It was nice to see them and let Isaac run around on the playground a bit.

Night time.  His new lamp came today so that he can read better at night.  We'll see how it goes.