Saturday: 52 months

Isaac turned 52 months old today.

The end of this past month has been marked by an increase in questions, sometimes about scenarios that wouldn't happen.  For example,

• "If sack-of-potatoes [Joshua] wanted to be held by you and by Dad and I needed help with something what would happen?"  
• "If you and Dad went to Florida and Joshua and I were still at home what would happen?"
• "Will Flurry die sometime?"  "Will we get a new cat?"  "What will we do with her body?"  

Puppy Dog still likes to run, often with assorted rockets attached to himself, but does not like to be chased by Joshua.  For that matter, he doesn't like to be touched by Joshua unless Isaac initiates it.  He will forcefully say, "NO THANK YOU JOSHUA!"  And while I think he could be nicer about it at least the words are polite.

Isaac has also been remembering things from long ago and bringing them back up.

"How are we going to get the heart magnet out [from under the cabinet]?"  This magnet was lost about 1.5 years ago and we are not getting it back.  (This, of course, prompted a ton of questions about why not.)  Hmm...there's been several other instances but I can't remember them exactly.

We're trying to get him to memorize Ben's phone number.  He really wants there to be a nine in it, but there isn't.  He can get the first four to five numbers by himself.  After one or two rounds he gets "quiet-nervous" which basically means he won't answer your questions anymore.  We're also working on him knowing his full name.  He knows it, but you have to ask the question in just the right way to get the correct response.  ("What is your full name?"  "What is your last name" doesn't work.)

  

When he grows up he's going to be an adult puppy dog.  Currently there is a non-zero chance that if he were to get lost and someone where to ask his name he would reply with "Puppy dog."  But he does understand that there are places where it's ok to be a puppy dog and places where he has to be Isaac, so that is nice.

Friday: 21 months

Joshua turned 21 months yesterday!

I had a hard time getting him to lay down on his quilt.  He really just wanted to do the self timer on the camera.

Sleep: we have transitioned from getting up once a night to getting up zero times per night.  (Yay!)  It really didn't take that long...it's nice to have monitors so that I can talk to him and that he also understands.  I'd tell him to go back to sleep and he would do it.

Eating: this seems a little bit better, but still not great.

Comprehension:  Joshua is in the weird stage where he can understand most of what you say to him, but can't talk much.  Today I gave him two pretzels and told him to give one to Isaac and he did it without any problem.  He will also go to time-out by himself when told.  He also definitely understands, "Do you want to be put down?"  as the answer is almost always no with a snuggle.

Talking: He has a bunch of new words this month and is starting to say words more clearly and even to say new words pretty well when asked.  He's latched onto "owl" really well, and Isaac is fun to hear too.  He knows when Isaac is supposed to be around and says his name if he's not.  Oh, and "Buzz".  He gets to look at Buzz Lightyear on the wipes box when getting his diaper changed.

(I think the picture above is my favorite.)

Playing: Joshua really likes to play in Isaac's room...it has all the cool toys.  (But he also understands when it is time to leave Isaac's room, which is rather nice.)  He is getting good at doing puzzles...he has the translating part down and if the pieces is rotated +/- 45 degrees he can get it in the hole.  If it's rotated more than that he can't quite do it yet.  He still loves dancing and running and will often start some toy with music, run or dance, and then run back to the toy to start a song again once it finishes.  Joshua has started to pat the floor next to him when he wants you to sit there and play or read with him.

(Do you see Isaac above?)

Hmm...what else?  Drop off at daycare has gotten a little bit better.  He still loves his loveies.  He is always interested in what Isaac is doing.  He still tells us when he has pooped by pushing his belly button but doesn't want to sit on the toilet.  He is always excited to go see Ben in the morning.  And at night.

Wednesday/Thursday: activity

Activity summer is just around the corner.  I told Isaac it would start in May, but with how swamped I'm feeling right now it might be mid-May.  However, we did do one little activity to get us started.

We made pea and toothpick sculptures.  You soak the peas for a while, stick toothpicks in them, and then let them dry.  It was probably a bit advanced for Isaac, but he was able to make several 2D things.

And then he wanted to put a toothpick in water.  He choose a sippy cup so the water wouldn't get out.  He wanted it up high.  So now I have a toothpick in a sippy cup by my sink.  (He did tell me that if we get thirsty we can take off the top, take out the toothpick, put the cap back on, and then drink.)

Also, good news!  Today I'm loved more than the Ipad.

Tuesday: quotes from Isaac

Isaac: Mom!  What's that building?
Amanda: It's a green house.
Isaac: It's not a green house!!  It's white!!



Amanda: I'm going to go get dressed.
Issac: You should wear pink.  You'd look gorgeous.



Amanda: "I love you Mom."
Isaac: I love you Mom.
Amanda: "I love you so much Mom"
Isaac: I love you so much Mom
Amanda: "I love you more than the Ipad"
Isaac: I love you more than you love me.
Amanda: "I love you more than the Ipad"
Isaac: I love you more than you love me.
Amanda: Isaac, I love you more than the Ipad.
Isaac: I love you more than you love me.

I am still not loved as much as the Ipad.

Monday: books and games

This morning Isaac really wanted to play games and Joshua really wanted to read books.  I like doing both of these things, but it felt a little crazy.  I attempted to fold laundry in between Joshua running back and forth to his room to get another book.

Sunday: visiting

Isaac has really wanted to go to Dad and Pat's house for a while.  (To be fair, I think he really wanted to play with the toys.  But he also wanted to eat peanut butter and jelly and a granola bar.  I'm not sure why he wanted those foods, but he did.)

Isaac had an excellent time playing and eating his PB&J.  Joshua enjoyed demanding that Pat lay down on a pillow and go to sleep.  He was surprisingly persistent, and every time she sat up he quickly told her to lay back down.  As Pat said, "It probably means he'll be a good parent."

Friday: bowling

We went bowling as part of a birthday party tonight.  Isaac and Joshua both loved it.  Joshua also enjoyed being with Ben.  He went over to other people a few times, but was back to Ben quickly.  And he wanted Ben to sit next to him while watching the bowling.

Wednesday: shopping

The boys and I went shopping with Cheryl today for some new clothes.  I told Isaac that he needed to help choose his own clothes.  He's getting old enough to know what he likes and doesn't like, and I'd like him to at least weigh in on the decision making process.

It was so cute.  Isaac had so many opinions in such a short time.  And he was so concerned about getting the right size.  He'd often find the right size and only then would he figure out what he was looking at.  For the most part we stuck to the list that I made, but he did get an extra shirt.  He went by it twice and really loved it a lot both times...and the second time Grandma was around. :)

He also ended up with sandals that light up.  He is over the moon about them.  Had I realized they were light up I probably would have put them back because I don't love light up shoes.  But we were already checking out and he was SO happy that they light up that I decided it really didn't matter.  I suppose that's why I made him help choose his own clothes, right?

Tuesday: lovie hiding

Joshua did this several times tonight.  He'd hide his lovies under his legs and then say "Where?"



I don't talk about his lovies much, but they are so often close to Joshua.  We have two - elephant and bear - and he loves them both but is fine with one.  It's nice because that doubles my chances of finding at least one when he goes to sleep.

Monday: almost a smile

Joshua does smile a lot; it just isn't capture in pictures much.  Of course, he was a bit grumpy today...he took a really long nap so I think he was tired.  (and maybe his mouth still hurt?  It looked a ton better but such things can be hard to know.)

I asked him to smile for this picture.  He really is understanding a lot of what we say now.

Sunday: bloody lips

Joshua took a tumble over something today.  He managed to cut his bottom lip and top lip.  Of course, he didn't want anything to touch his lips, even to clean off the blood.

We finally decided that it was only barely bleeding, so Ben took him out on the deck.  Ben started squirting his mouth with a squirt gun, which worked much better than the paper towel.  Then Ben gave him the squirt gun and he finished cleaning out his mouth.  It worked nicely.

Saturday: quiet

Today I had a bridal shower to go to in the morning.  It was very nice.  Ben had suggested that I just stay out the whole afternoon...I just needed a break from everything.  From the normal responsibilities.

I went to Cheryl's house.  She was there, but I never saw her.  I took a nap, read my book outside, and just enjoyed the quiet.  I enjoyed not feeling like there were a zillion things that I should be doing.  It was a lovely afternoon.

Thursday: tired

I'm tired.  Thursdays tend to be my most tired days.

I might be too tired to go to bed.

Wednesday: progress

Isaac and I were doing some subtracting tonight.  "If I have 10 treats and eat 3, how many do I have?"  says Isaac.  "Seven," I reply.  Basic stuff.  Then comes the loop.  "I have five apples and eat three-quarters of them.  How many are left?" asks Isaac.  Uhh.  Math.  I'm not really prepared to do math tonight.  It's been one of those days.  Why did he have to pick five apples?  Doesn't he know that this would be an easier problem with four apples???  "Go ask your dad."  He did.  Ben broke down the math for him ("You have 20 quarter apples and take away 15 quarter apples so you have 5 quarter apples left.")  But I'm not sure if it sank in or not.


Joshua now pushes his belly button after he poops.








(I know!  Isn't it hilarious!?  He's been doing it all week.  It's a nice way to know if he needs a diaper change and good that he is starting to realize what is going on.)

Tuesday: well, I thought we were healthy

I got called to daycare early today because Joshua has pink eye.  I'm not 100% sure since by the time I got to him his eyes didn't seem very red, but I do agree that they're goopier than normal.  It was earlier than I was hoping to leave work but I had gotten all the important stuff done at least.  Now I'm just hoping that no one else gets it; we were all in each other's bed this weekend.  The internet is being unsurprisingly unhelpful with the incubation time and whether or not it is contagious during that time.

Isaac keeps complaining of headaches.  I don't know if they're real or not.  They don't seem to affect his attitude much, but still...

Ben's back flared up over the weekend, but it is slowly getting better.

I have a black and blue lip from where Joshua hit me with a book.  (I know, not all that noteworthy.  But I wanted to be included in the list too.)

Monday: toy change

Today we brought up a bunch of the toys that had been in the basement for a while and put some new toys down there.  It was a good decision, but throughout the day I was reminded of why some of the toys went down there in the first place.  :)  However, one or two might disappear back down there before too long.

EE-OO the RC robot has made a popular reappearance.  Isaac has mastered driving him, and even Joshua is pretty good.  (I don't mind EE-OO, but he does run through batteries faster than I like.)

Sunday: a few minutes

Do you need a few minutes without worrying (too much) about the kids?

Put them both in a crib (probably the same crib), start the Roomba, and close the door.

I got about 20 minutes from it today.

Saturday: Jesusland

It's been 14 years since Mom died.  And while it was a sad day, it was also not too sad.  She's been on my mind lately for an assortment of reasons, and I don't feel as though not being very sad is forgetting.

But she's in heaven and what a great place that is.  Isaac is trying to wrap his head around it.  He calls it Jesusland - at one point he thought we were going there after after Disneyland and I'm pretty sure he thinks it'll be fun like Disney.  Since I don't know what it is like, I see no reason to interfere with this idea.

We tend to talk about it in the car.  One day he realized that he might go there by himself and without me.  He was almost in tears.  But I was able to tell him that Jesus and Grandma Julie would be there and that I'd come after him.  He calmed down.

And he asked why we got some flowers at the store.
A: To remember Grandma Julie
I: Did she die?
A: Yes.  She's in Jesusland.
I: Do you miss her?
A: Yes.
I: Are you sad?

The last question was hard to answer.  I think I said something like yes, but it usually isn't too bad.  It's hard to explain emotions associated with death to a four year old, let alone to explain how those emotions change over time.

But I do miss her a lot; that question was an easy one.

Thursday: an often held conversation

Isaac: if I finish my food do I get a treat?
Amanda: no, we don't have treats after breakfast.
Isaac: what can I have?
Amanda: Froot Loops.

I know...Froot loops are a treat! Aunt C got them for our trip to see Nathan; they aren't something I would normally get. But I have a long standing rule of no treats after breakfast, and I'm sticking to it.

Wednesday: big news

Last week we brought in a racket to get it restrung, and I let Isaac pick out the color for the strings - black, gold, or something else.  I thought black would be best, so letting him choose was a no-brainer.  However, he surprisingly chose gold.  Interesting.

We picked up the racket today and had the following conversation:
Amanda: How much do you love black?
Isaac: 100 much.
Amanda: How much do you love red?
Isaac: 0
Amanda: blue?
Isaac: 0
Amanda: green?
Isaac: 0
Amanda: gold?
Isaac: Infinity!
Amanda: silver?
Isaac: Infinity!

This was repeated at the fabric store when he wanted the gold fabric.  I vetoed it since it was for my project and I wanted blue, but he does seem to be gravitating towards gold.

Tuesday: happy white temperatures

Joshua was very happy tonight.  He probably spent about twenty minutes saying it.


Then I finally got the kitchen floor cleared and ran the rumba.  (Ants!  Yuck.)  So we spent ten minutes watching it.

Yesterday Isaac needed a wipe and asked me to get it.  I asked him where it was, and he said by the couch.  I asked him what color it was (black or white) and he replied with, "White.  The color you like the most."  Because he decided a while ago that it was my favorite color to oppose his favorite black.  I think he knows that blue is my favorite color, but it just doesn't sink in.

This morning he said, "Don't touch the ice!  It's very very cold."

Amanda: Oh, 28.35 degrees Kelvin.  That is very cold.
Isaac: The sun is warming it up now and it's melting.
Amanda: Oh, 28.35 degrees F.  Ok.
Isaac: it's zero degrees now and all melted.
Amanda thinks "and we hit the trifecta."

Tuesday: pictures on quilts

I was taking pictures today for my quilting blog.  I was doing it while Joshua was around.  Therefore, every quilt that I put on the floor also had a Joshua in it rather quickly.  Apparently he really takes to heart the "when your quilt goes on the floor it's time to get your picture taken" idea for his monthly pictures.

The orange vest is his favorite item of clothing.  Whenever it's out because I'm putting laundry away he wants to put it on.  (Yesterday he even tricked Ben into putting it on him for a few hours.)

Sunday: nursery

I was in nursery today.  I helped with check-in, realized that there weren't a ton of kids on the baby side, where I was officially supposed to be, and a ton of kids on the toddler side.  So I went over there and Joshua immediately starts crying.  He was being comforted by a helper from when I first put him over there and I think he would have been fine and playing in a few more minutes, but seeing me was just more than he could handle.

So I took him and we rocked.  And he was so nice and cuddly.  So we rocked some more.  The toddlers were behaving themselves very well and I wasn't needed...it even felt like there was an extra helper besides me...so we rocked some more.  Then Joshua fell asleep.  We had a weird schedule today with Bible Study, so I let him keep sleeping and rocked some more.

Church ended, I moved him to my shoulder, and we went upstairs to pick up Isaac.  He didn't really move much until I called, "Isaac," at which point it was exciting to see his brother.

I don't stop and cuddle with him like that very much.  Just sitting and enjoying, without one of us feeling like we should be doing something else.  It was wonderful.

Friday: April Fool's Day

Happy April Fool's!

It started out early this morning.  Joshua decided to sleep through the night (although he did need one monitor communication telling him to go back to sleep...I didn't have to get up).  But Isaac woke up.  I found him opening the gate to the downstairs.  When I asked him what was going on he said that his alarm clock told him his bed was dangerous and that he needed to get out of bed.  I'm glad I heard him, but I'd be interested in knowing what he would have done if I hadn't.

This morning I gave Isaac a glass of jello and said it was OJ.  He rarely gets orange juice, but loves it.  

I also made a pan of brown Es and told him he could have one after lunch.  That ended up going like this...
Isaac: can I have a brownie for my treat?
Amanda: sure
Amanda opens the pan with Isaac watching.

Isaac looks at the brown Es blankly.

Amanda: what are they?
Isaac: Es
Amanda: what color are they?
Isaac: brown
Amanda: so what are they?
Isaac: paper?
Amanda: brown Es!

Isaac puts it in his mouth to try it.

Amanda:  no,no. It's a trick!  April fools!

I asked him a few other times if he wanted brown Es.  He usually figured out what was going on right away.

Ben knocked on the slider door after getting home from work.  It took Isaac and I both a while to find him and figure out what was going on.  Isaac proceeded to give him some brown Es.