Wednesday: wacky Wednesday

The week of Halloween was spirit week and Isaac's school and he missed Wacky Wednesday.  He's been asking to do it for a long time now, so we finally did it.

He's wearing two shirts and shorts over his pants.  I also wore shorts over some leggings to show I was participating.  He didn't really want to do anything else wacky during the day, which was kind of nice and kind of sad.  I had some good ideas.

Acting wacky:

For our activity today Isaac choose the cooking option.  We ended up making curry, turkey corn soup, and chex mix.  They participated on and off throughout the morning as the spirit moved them.  Here Joshua is doing the very important job of chopping up one of the spices.  After this one he chopped one that was already loose and then I remembered I had another one that needed to be chopped.  Keeping them both busy can lead to some interesting jobs. :)

Tuesday: class

During my second class today my throat got a little tickle that I could not get rid of.  Coughing didn't help, drinking didn't help.  So for about 10 minutes I was raspy and coughy and it was terrible.

The evening was interesting also.  Ben's back was extra sore, I was extra tired/coughy, and Joshua was extra grumpy.  Isaac was extra puppy-y, but that was rather fun.  He also has these footy pajamas that have a dog on them and they make him look so cute.

Monday: 28 months

Joshua turned 28 months today.

He wanted to sit for his picture today.  And drag his quilt around.  I finally got him to lay down, but he was crying.  I took pictures and then comforted him.

Joshua's newest favorite word is "can't".  He uses this when he actually can't do something or when he just doesn't want to try.  I still make him try, and often he can do it.

He is still a rather picky eater, but crunchy beans are still a favorite so I at least get some sort of vegetable in him.  Sometimes he'll eat his fruit, sometimes not.  Same thing with the meat.  He often won't even try the food on his plate.  He gets very upset if he thinks it is time to eat and the food isn't immediately ready.

Sleeping  - we took the side off his crib and haven't had any trouble with him getting out of bed by himself.  He sleeps from about 8pm to 7am with a nap in the middle of the day.  However, he still wakes me up several times during the night because his blankets fell off.  We tried something new last night, because two nights ago was terrible, and it worked a bit better.  However, he had only had two slices of strawberry for dinner so he woke me up to remind me that he wanted to finish his donut for breakfast and that his blankets weren't quite right.

Joshua loves to run around, especially if he is being chased or running with Isaac.  Really, he enjoys doing anything with Isaac.  There are still frequently bears in/near the house, and this last month there were some ghosts too.  He likes to play with Duplos and SnapCircuits and likes to color.  He usually enjoys reading.  He is starting to enjoy doing stuff in the kitchen with me and can almost be trusted not to make a huge mess.  He also likes hiding with Ben and that is currently his go to game after dinner.  They hide in the corner of the couch and...something.  I'm not really sure what goes on.

Joshua is quite resilient and if something got hurt during playing usually just needs a quick hug and then any tears change to tears of annoyance because he wants to go play again.  He knows the phrase I seem to say the most: "rub it out" and has told me to do the same thing a few times.

Saturday/Sunday: happenings

Saturday Isaac got to go on a sleepover at Larry and Cheryl's with Scarlet and Autumn.  He was excited, but we did have the following odd conversation:

Isaac: Can you take a picture of yourself for me?

Amanda: Well, there were be lots of pictures of me at Grandma's house.

Isaac: But I want one from today.  So I can remember what you look like.

Joshua was very sad to have to come home with me, but it was good to have some one-on-one time with him.  He made a faucet for Ben to drink from.

Today I picked Isaac up and he was so sad to be leaving.  He stopped listening while we were getting ready to go and then was teary for a while.

We had a second Thanksgiving with some of Ben's coworkers and the turkey was delicious.  I think it was the best I've ever had.

Friday: cleaning

Amanda: ug.  The kitchen's a mess.  I'm not even sure where to start.
Isaac stands up from where he's eating.
Isaac: you should start with the toys.
Amanda: ok.  Is that what you do when you clean your room?
Isaac: I just start with something easy.  Let me know when you're done and I'll help you figure out the next step.

Thanksgiving

Ahh, it was a nice day today.

The boys and I went to church this morning.  Isaac made it through the whole service for the first time.  We were near the back, but not completely in the back; hopefully he didn't distract the people behind us too much.

Then we had dinner with Ben's family.  There was good food and a nap and we played some games.

Joshua didn't take a nap today and really did pretty well.  Near 6:30pm he started going a bit crazy, but I wasn't sure if it was normal crazy or tired crazy.  We went home for an early bedtime.  I did take the side off of his crib this morning; I figured that he would be so tired tonight that he wouldn't get out.  (I do have the side nearby though, in case it doesn't go as smoothly as I hope.)

"Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 100:4b-5

Wednesday: Thanksgiving prep

They both did an excellent job with their respective fruits.  I was rather impressed.

Tuesday: books

I've tried to buy three children's books in the past two months.  Two were out of print.

I don't know if I'm doing something right or something wrong.

image credit

Monday: not what I expected

This morning, if you asked me what we'd be doing from 7-8pm tonight, I'd probably guess chores.  That's not what we ended up doing.

We played Taker Monsters.  Isaac started by taking our slippers and running them to his room, and Joshua just ran behind Isaac.  Then Isaac took my socks.  Joshua got stuck on Ben's sock, but finally got it.  Ben and I suddenly had to find more things, since this was an easy game for us and the boys were happy.  Pillows...spare blankets...dirty clothes.  "Taker monsters, please don't take our dirty clothes," we would say as the boys happily took something and ran off with it.  We caught them at one point and tried changing them into bringer monsters, but it wasn't until it was time to be done did they change into Giver Monsters.

In other news, the stuffed animal from my childhood had an exciting day.  He visited Joshua a few nights ago to try and help with the wind scares, which didn't really help.  Today Joshua got him out of the crib though.

Saturday: scary wind

It's been rather windy here last night and today.  This wasn't really unexpected; the high yesterday was in the sixties and today was in the forties.

Needless to say, something about the wind at night scared Joshua.  Really scared him.  He was up several times last night before I gave up and brought him into bed with Ben and me.  (I really need to get sheets on the guest bed so that at least one adult can have a good night sleep on nights like these.)  Anyway, the three of us didn't get a great nights sleep.

It snowed today.

The boys were out for about two minutes before coming back in.  Then we went to the pool at the gym; I didn't really want to exercise or play "racquetball" with the boys, but we needed to get out of the house.

Ben and I had a date tonight and saw Dr. Strange.  It was a bit strange, but also interesting.

Joshua had a hard time going to sleep with the wind again tonight...it took three or four scares where he thought it was "thunder! lightning!" before he got to sleep.  I'm not sure why he's suddenly scared of thunder either.  We'll see how the rest of the night shapes up.

Friday: miscallaneous

After story time we went to the grocery store.  It was rather busy, but we still did ok.  At the end the boys get to ride the horse, as normal, but this time there was a snow globe set up behind it so I took a picture.  Isaac likes to get two rides.

Today the interesting thing in Isaac's room was a duplo tower.

It goes through the handle of the laundry basket, has a support on the other side, has some scotch tape on this side for support, and is taller than Isaac.  He was especially proud of that last part.

Thursday: leaves

It was a beautiful day outside today and I knew that we needed to rake, so the first thing we did when we got home was go down to rake.  Our neighbor offered us his leaf vaccuum.  I look at those things every year, and then every year decide not to get one.  It's just one more thing and the boys really love jumping in the leaves.

They really, really loved the leaves.  They love running through them, being buried in them, having leaves fall on their heads, going in the waste bin to stomp the leaves down, and jumping in them.  How could I deny them such a simple pleasure?  And to hear them laugh was wonderful.

So while my yard still has leaves, because there are more leaves coming and I'm not going to rake every single one, it also has a lot of laughter.

  (Picture from earlier this month...but still about the same today.)

Tuesday: videos

It's always interesting to go in Isaac's room and see what interesting thing he has thought to do.  Today it was put his puzzle pieces on the doorknob.  I was going to just take a picture but he decided to narrate it instead:




Then Isaac and Joshua were playing, pretty much as normal.  They've never done this exact thing before, but do tend to do things like this on a normal basis.  Especially the running and screaming. :)  And yes, I did think about stopping it at one point so I didn't have to deal with a cracked head but instead kept filming.  Everything ended up ok, so it was the right choice.

Tuesday: post crossings

A while ago I heard about PostCrossing.  You send some postcards and then you get some back between anywhere in the world.  We've now sent five and just received our first one back!

It's from India.  The other side of the world.  Isaac often has been asking if the other side of the world is sleeping when we're awake, so I had a nice example of it this time.  (He actually asks it a surprising amount right now.)

The idea is a pretty neat one.  You start by sending 1 to 5 postcards.  Once the person(s) receives it, your name goes on the list for someone to send one to you.  You can also send another once yours is received.  So really, you should always get as many postcards as you send.

Monday: gymnastics and a party

Gymnastics went rather well today.  Joshua just hit that sweet spot where he realized he's supposed to be doing whatever the teacher is doing...I saw it for the first time at story time on Friday.  He's delayed by about five seconds and can't do it all that well yet, but it is so cute and a step in the right direction.

Isaac had his first birthday party.  It was for someone from school at a nearby play area.  I had never realized this place existed before, but I expect we'll be back once in a while.  There was a large play structure, an area with toys, and a toddler area.  Isaac wore himself out, but was always smiling whenever I saw him.

Sunday: towers

Today ended up being rather busy, but it started off with the boys building towers with Ben.




In other news, Isaac cleaned his bedroom super fast today and it was awesome. For everyone.

Friday: outsmarted by our two-year-old

Circuits have been out the last few days. Isaac made one that he calls "the flashlight". It is two LEDs in parallel with a normal light and switch. When you turn the circuit on, the LEDs turn on. When you hold down the switch, the normal light also comes on.

Joshua was playing with it and, I think with only one jumper wire, managed to make it so that if you hold down the switch the normal light turns on and the LEDs turn off. I had tried to do this before, so I made a note of what he did and continued on my way.

Isaac thought it was cool, but then took it apart. He may have changed a few things, but not too much.

But then neither Ben nor I could recreate what Joshua did. I spent about five minutes working on it, Ben spent about 15. We were out-smarted, rather literally, by our two year old.

(Here is Joshua with his circuit. At one point it made an obnoxious sound, but then I disconnected one of the battery terminals and he just put the jumpers all over.)

Thursday: reasoning doesn't work

A: Joshua, can you please push those cords back under the stand?  They're not toys.
---
A: Joshua, don't touch that button [on the power strip]!  Push it back under the stand.
--- Joshua's little finger reaches for the button again.---
A: Joshua, no!  Push it under the stand!
---
---The little finger reaches out.---
A: ok, time out.
---We do time out.---
---We sit together by the cords.  I check to make sure they can easily be pushed back under the stand while Joshua throws a tantrum.---
A: ok Joshua, please push these under the stand.
J: no!
---
A: ok, please push them under the stand.
J: no!
A: ok, you have three choices.  You can push the cords under, throw a tantrum, or go to bed.
J: tantrum!
A: ok.
I: Joshua, you can push the cords in.  It's easy-peasy!
--Joshua slowly calms down, but still refuses to push the cords in.---
A: ok Joshua, do you want to push the cords in or go to bed?
J: bed.
A: ok.

After Joshua was in bed Isaac and I ate some cake.

Wednesday: raid love

I was raiding on WoW tonight and asked for someone to call their repair mount so that I could repair...and half the raid was suddenly mounted up.  I'm not really a great raider and don't talk much, so I was rather surprised at the large response.

Tuesday: voting

I voted today.  I brought the boys with me; they always love to get the stickers.  It was busy when I went at 8:20, but by the time I was ready to get into a voting spot one had just opened up.  So there was no wait.  I was number 172.

I'm also happy to report that God is in control.  No matter who is president.  

58 months

Isaac turned 58 months old several days back.

He has been extra wild and crazy this past month.

We've had several interesting what-if scenarios..."What if Clifford was as big as the universe?"  "What if rain was actually rocks on fire?"  The questions and commentary doesn't stop.

He now likes school...did I mention that last month?...because there are new toys.  He still loves to play.  He doesn't enjoy going to the gym but loves gymnastics.  He also likes bath time and can easily spend two hours in the bath now that we're doing it in the afternoon.

He and Joshua are still playing quite well together and really, it has made my life much easier.  I don't get asked to play as much, although that could also be a result of the other activities throughout the week.  He is also extremely caring of Joshua (although more often when we're out of the house and Joshua might need a little extra caring.)  The other day at the library story time was packed and he wound he way to the middle.  Then scarves were distributed, so he got one for Joshua too and wound his way back.  Joshua wanted to follow Isaac, so Isaac took him by the hand to make sure he got to the right place.  <3 p="">

He does not enjoy cleaning his room.  Some weeks it goes really quickly and some weeks he drags his heels.  The other chores he doesn't love, but tolerates much better.  We've also started doing PJs and teeth during chore time because Ben and I were getting frustrated trying to prod him to go faster.  Now he can take an unreasonable amount of time to put his pajamas on and it doesn't matter quite as much.

He does space out sometimes.  Tonight during putting on your pajama time he was undressed and then came out with his day pants back on.

Isaac seems to show love through food.  He's regularly giving/making treats to show us that he loves us or to help a hurt (such as a headache) go away.  The main problem is that he can't make his treats on his own...his current one is pretzels with nutella and mini m&ms.  (I liked the ones with raisins better.)

Sunday: family 2

Isaac and Evelyn both woke up before 7am (not surprising, due to the time change.)  Joshua and JJ were already up, but since Isaac's clock wasn't green the older two stayed in bed, laughing, talking, and shrieking.  Lots of shrieking.

Dad and Pat came over a bit later.

We went for a walk right before lunch.  The kids all held hands for a short bit of the walk, but when they did that they were rather slow.

We also blew out the sprinklers today...the last winterization thing to do.  So winter can come now!

Saturday: family

Nathan and his family came up to visit this weekend. We started with a trip to the critter barn.





We came home and hung out for the rest of the day. Dad and Pat were around quite a bit too, which was fun.

Isaac and Evelyn are having a sleep over in Isaac's room. It took them forever to go to sleep because they were talking and reading books. It was super cute.

Thursday: when Ben is running late...

Give your kids some frozen tasty water in bowls and tell them they can't use their hands and the bowls need to stay on the ground.

I got a good 20 minutes from it with minimal mess.  Although Joshua's face was stained rather red.

27 months

Joshua has turned 27 months a few days ago.

Attitude: most of the time he is much more happier than previous months.  Except when he's not happy, and then he's very not happy.  I think some of the happiness is being able to play with Isaac more.  Some of the unhappiness might be due to hunger.

Activities: he has been enjoying playing with Duplos, coloring, and running.  Er...dancing.  Which is running with music.  Periodically he likes putting people or baby night-night.

Potty training: Has been going really well, but doesn't go to the bathroom on his own.  This often results in about one messy accident a day.

Routine: he is starting to understand that we have a routine.  He often asks if it is a school day and sometimes if it is a gym day.

Talking: He has lots of words, but it isn't uncommon for him to whisper.  Apparently he does this a lot at school.  He does it sometimes at home, but usually he is normal or loud.  He doesn't like to count around Ben, but can sort of do 1-13.  I've never heard it all at once though.

People: He doesn't seem to favor one person more than another as much right now.  Ben and I tend to be pretty equal - sometimes he wants one, sometimes another.  He loves playing with Isaac.  He gets excited to see grandparents or CC.

Tuesday: reasons Joshua cries at night

1. He wants his blanket back on.  Understandable.
2. His wipe is 2" away from his hand.
3. He threw all his books out of his bed (for the second time) and wants more.
4. His pillowcase is messed up.