Friday: some pictures

They're not great pictures, but they still give you an idea of the day...

Isaac has been in charge of feeding Flurry lately and today found the catnip spray.  So I sprayed it on a cat toy.  After that Isaac was sure that Flurry should play with her mouse and ran around for about fifteen minutes trying to give it to her.  They finally settled on Flurry looking at it while on the banister.

Isaac helped me with the wash.  He actually pulled the basket to my room, picked up all the loose clothes on the floor, and had most of them in the washing machine by the time I was back to it with another basket full.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese.  It seems just right for his age...well, more or less.  He doesn't really get the games, but there are lots of rides that he enjoyed.  I couldn't get any pictures of him smiling, but he did...  (He also wanted to do the jump rope game.  Never mind that he can't even jump yet, let alone understand the game.  I tried jumping while holding him.  It was a hard game.)

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving...it was a very nice day.

We started out by shoveling the driveway.  I was hoping that we'd be able to make a snowman or something, but the snow wasn't good for that and Isaac wasn't that interested anyway.  But he can move in his snowsuit now (an improvement from last year).  I gave him a trowel but think he needs his own little shovel to help us in the future.

We had Thanksgiving dinner with the large family...the food was delicious and it was nice to see everyone.  Larry and Isaac did some synchronized drinking.  (Cap on, cap off, drink.  Cap on, cap off, drink...)

We ended the day by bowling.  I broke 100 both games (amazing) and beat Ben both times (practically impossible).  The last game I just barely pulled it off by getting two strikes and a 9 on the 10th frame.

Isaac was exhausted by this time, but I wanted to get a little more food in him.  We got home at 7:30 and gave him some leftovers.  At 8, his normal bedtime, we asked if he wanted to go to bed and he could barely shake his head yes he was so tired.  I actually thought he'd fall asleep while eating.

And even though I didn't mention it, there are so many things that I'm thankful to God for.  He has truly blessed me.

Wednesday: You can't see me

While Isaac was eating breakfast, I went behind his highchair to do some stuff.  He got a little restless and called, "Mama!"  I calmly called back, "I'm right here.  You just can't see me."

I immediately wondered how many times God has said that to me.  And smiled a bit, because I knew Isaac would be fine and taken care of...and that God would take care of me.

Tuesday: Happy Birthday!

It was Ben's birthday today.  I had fun playing with his age. :D

(The 13 was for our nephew...it was a shared birthday party.)

Blue and white

Isaac knows that blue is a color.  (In fact, it's the color of Ben's car.)  But now whenever you ask him what color something is, it is blue.

With the snow all around I'm trying to add white to his color list too.  Except that he was more excited to see himself on my phone. :)


Today we were talking about his white horse and he said "Snow!"  He's getting it...slowly.

Saturday: well, I thought Isaac was smart...

The toy of the day was a water bottle.  It was empty, but he's figured out how to make the cap go on and off (as long as it isn't on too tightly).

Several times today he was doing this and I hear an urgent, "Please, please!"  I look and see that he can't get the cap on...because his other hand was in the mouth of the bottle.  A problem he could easily figure out using touch or sight, but no, he needed to be told how to do so.

Friday: boots

Cheryl and I have been trying to find boots for Isaac (size 7).  Seems like it should be a simple thing, seeing as how we're in Michigan.  But no.

We stopped at the children's store downtown.  They had tons of girls boots, but only two styles of boys...it is was more of a work boot than a snow boot.  We stopped at several shoe places downtown, but they had all stopped carrying kids' shoes.

Today we went to Kohls...again, several girls boots.  There were two boys boots, but one was very ugly.  The nice one only had size 10.  We went to JCPennys.  They had some nice ones, but the smallest were size 11.   (They also had several girl boots.) We walked across the mall to Yonkers and were about to give up hope of finding any in the mall when we spotted a winter rack.  They had some!  And they were small!

I'll admit...I'm really surprised that it was so hard to find boots.  (I did hear there are some at Meijer, and we didn't check Target).  But hopefully it will snow this weekend now. :D

Thursday: meal names

For the life of me, I cannot name meals correctly lately.

8am: "Let's have lunch! Er, dinner!  Er, Breakfast!  Yeah, breakfast!"
11:30am: "Let's have breakfast!  Er, lunch!"
6:30pm: "Let's have lunch!  Er, dinner!"

It has been happening all the time.  I think I've got some wires crossed in that part of my brain.

Wednesday: out?

I had been planning on going to the grocery store this morning.  Isaac, however, had other ideas.  Every time he came over to me I said "shoes".  He would quickly shake his head and run into his bedroom, alone.  (I had just brought out some puzzles that had been put away for a while.)

Since I had several things that needed to be done without his help, I decided that Isaac was right...we didn't need to out this morning.

Tuesday: getting out of the house

Usually I can schedule my time pretty well.  Today, though, I miscalculated.  I needed to get out of the house (5-10 minutes), pick up a prescription (10 minutes), drop Isaac off at day care (15-20 minutes), and go to Bible Study (10 minutes).

Instead it went like this: get out of the house (5 minutes). Go back in the house because Isaac insists that he has to go to the bathroom, which involves taking off his coat, overalls, and shoes (and then putting them back on) (and he didn't go) (10 minutes).  Pick up the prescription (20 minutes).  Drop Isaac off (20 minutes) (and oh, it was picture day.  At least he was wearing something nice).  Go to Bible Study (10 minutes).  I often have about a five minute buffer.  This time I was fifteen minutes late.

Oh well.

Monday: doctor

I brought Isaac to the doctor.  We were kind of on the fence about it, but thought it would be better safe than sorry.  He ended up having a slight ear infection and slight case of brocolitis.  (Or however you spell it.)  If he had just one of them we would have been told to just weather it out, but with both of them we were given an antibiotic.

The exciting thing was that Isaac got to use the big person scale because he wasn't wearing a diaper!  It also meant I didn't have to undress him, which was nice.  All told, he was 25.6 lbs.

Saturday: barking

Isaac has a terrible barking cough.  He seems to be doing ok most of the time, but he is more snuggly than normal so we can tell that he doesn't feel great.

He woke up during the middle of his nap in rough shape, but we inclined his mattress tonight so hopefully that helps.

Poor guy.

Friday: firsts

Isaac took his first nap in his training pants and stayed dry!  He's been dry most days this week during his naps so I thought I'd try it.  I wasn't expecting to do this for another six months.

Isaac also got to bowl for the first time. :)  He enjoyed it, but was getting pretty tired near the end.

Wednesday: a cycle

Isaac has been putting toys in the toilet when he is sitting on it lately.  (Which is why I only give him plastic toys that float or very large items now.)  They've been accumulating, so I thought that I'd make Isaac wash them.  I put them in sudsy water in a bucket in the kitchen and let him enjoy.  (I didn't link the washing to the toys that had gone in the toilet.  It's enough that I know he's cleaning up after himself.)

He of course got everything wet, so I let him play without clothes for a little bit.  But I was happy because I didn't have to worry about accidents!  But that is because he is sitting on the toilet and then he puts toys in the toilet...

In other news, he had his second accident free day today.  He even woke up dry from his nap, which he did several days this week.

Tuesday: hand washing

Today, after dinner, Isaac did a great job washing his hands.

Too bad it was in pineapple juice.  I cringed so many times as I watched it drip down his elbows.  But I wanted to finish watching the show we were watching and it was bath night.

Monday: racquetball

Today during one of our games Ben and I managed to hit all the cool number pairings.  2-2, 10-4, and 7-11.  We've been close before but never quite managed to get them.

I'm pregnant!

I found out tonight that I'm pregnant again!

I've been feeling a little weird the last two days.  I was hoping to wait until tomorrow to take the test, but decided that it didn't really matter.

I told Ben by building a nursery in Minecraft.  Kind of cheesy, but more fun than just blurting it out.

It had two cribs. :D  It only took him a few seconds to catch on.

22 months - a little late

Once again, I finally got the 22 month pictures and finally looked through them.  My selection was worse than normal...we had several grey days, it was a busy time, and Isaac didn't sit still very well.  Oh well, there's still a few ok ones.

He has several new words this past month - notably light, up (up-up), monkey, magnet, rock, and eat.

He's gained an affection for the blue monkey.  It can help calm him down when he's about to go all crazy.  When we leave the house, the monkey gets to sit on the kitchen chair, gets a hug, a kiss, sometimes a pat on the head, and is told good-bye.  It's rather cute.

As you probably know, we started potty training this month.  It's going pretty well.  There are still daily accidents, but I can also tell that Isaac is starting to understand what he's supposed to do.  Everything goes best if he is put on the toilet every 60-90 minutes.

He has several favorite toys, but currently the Duplo dog, horse, goat, and gas pump are among the biggest favorites.  Random magnets come in second.  I've started having him help me make food a little bit more often and he usually enjoys that...although I'm quite sure it is a huge mess waiting to happen.

Friday: unexpected consequence

Last night, around 11:30, Isaac started to get restless.  Ben went in to calm him down, but it didn't really stick.  At 12:30, after we were asleep, Isaac started talking..."Pee!  Pee!"  Ben and I consulted each other...do we get up and let him go?  Would he go to go back to sleep?  Do we just let him go in his diaper?  With some hesitation, I got up.  Isaac went to the bathroom, although he wasn't happy about anything.  (The lights weren't on.  There were no toys.  It came to tears.)  But he settled right back down to sleep afterwards.

I'm not ready for him to understand his bathroom needs at night.  Can't it only be an awake thing?

Wednesday: a busy day

We had a busy day today!!

I made some yogurt.  I haven't tried it yet so I'm not sure if it is any good.  Isaac could eat about three large containers of yogurt a week...which seems kind of crazy to me and there are only three flavors in the large tubs.  Most of mine is vanilla for now, but there is one cherry.

Then we got our flu shots.  Isaac didn't cry - I was very proud of him.  I was not so proud of the mess he made with is lollipop though...I took it away before he was done.

Then we came home and made soup!  I put too much rice in, as normal, because it never seems like the recipe calls for enough and I like my soup to be ricey.  So I just had to add some liquids as the day went on.

After a nap (it rained all day...perferct nap weather!) we went to exchange the old i-pad at Target.  If you have old or unused i-devices you may want to check out the deal...it's pretty nice.  After a quick stop at the pet store we headed off to the gym.  Ben won all three matches, but I made him work for it.

Lastly, I cleaned the house...or tried to make a dent in the mess...while Isaac and Ben picked up a new i-pad.  It seems very nice!  The rest of the evening has been nice and relaxing.

Sunday: monkeys and celebrations

Here's a video of Isaac saying monkey.  You need to turn the volume up a bit to hear him.  And yes, his monkey currently sounds like "Di-dis."  I've told him that doesn't sound like monkey at all, but he continues to say Di-dis.



In other news, we had an accident free day today!!  Our first one!!

Saturday: potty training update

Things still continue to go pretty well with potty training, if you look at it as a whole.  There are still days that don't go so well, but most days are going pretty well.  We normally have only one or two accidents per day.

He is starting to give signs when he needs to go to the bathroom, and is very good about going if we put him on the toilet.  He's also starting to go on toilets in other places, like day care and the gym.

The bathroom, however, looks like a disaster area.  I cleaned it up a little bit after this picture, but it is becoming a toy magnet.

Friday: fabric

I brought up all my extra fabric (i.e., scraps and pieces that currently have no quilt destination) for a friend to look through today.  I realized I have a problem...

I have a poor storage solution.  :)



(Ok, ok...I have too much extra fabric too.  I better get working on that scrap quilt.)

Thursday: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

We didn't do much for the evening, really.  We did pass out candy, but didn't get a ton of people since it was raining.  We dressed Isaac up in his Winnie-the-Pooh costume...could he be any cuter??

Ben and Isaac visited four houses.  I'm pretty sure that the highlight of Isaac's evening was playing with the candy.  He put it in his bag.  He took it out of his bag.  He gave it to Ben.  He gave it to me.

By the end of the night he had also figured out that he could get candy too any time people came to the door.  He never really got the "trick or treat" part down, but he was good at please and thank you.

(Here he was last year...not even able to walk.  The costume fit much better this year.)

edit: I just found out that the highlight of the evening was actually when Ben would open the umbrella back up between houses.  The pop of the umbrella opening after Ben pushed the button was super funny.

Wednesday: Flurry and the counter

Flurry is not allowed on the kitchen counter.  I wouldn't say that it is the only rule that we have for her, but it is a high priority rule for us.  Lately we've been having trouble with her going on the counter a lot.  (I think it is because there is yogurt there in the morning.  She and Isaac share a passion for yogurt.)

So we finally got a spray bottle.  I got the bottle on Monday and was a little disappointed that she didn't misbehave until today.  I squirted her.  She looked at me with such surprise!  I squirted her again, perversely enjoying it.  She looked at me with disgust.  I squirted her again, barely able to contain my glee.  She jumped off the counter.  And didn't jump back on.

Also, things that we never expected to say:
"Apples don't belong in your hair."
"Don't hammer Flurry"

Tuesday: takeout and M&Ms

Today's dinner was pancakes.  The problem was that I forgot to look to see how much pancake mix we had prior to starting dinner.  I thought I could add some Bisquick, but they weren't really turning out correctly.

Cue Isaac.  He threw a tantrum.  I have no idea why.  Usually I can pinpoint something...I took something away, he wanted something...something.  I had no idea with this one.  Ben had no idea.  It kept going and going.

Ben offered to go get takeout.  I agreed.  Thank goodness for takeout.  Thank goodness for Ben.
*****************************************************
Today Isaac also thought that I should get M&Ms after going to the bathroom.  I thought, "he's right!  I should get M&Ms!"  But I didn't because 1) they're on the other side of the house and 2) they're a weird brand that we're actually giving him and don't quite taste right.

Monday: could have been better

Let's face it; today could have been better.  It could have been worse.  It was one of those days were all the little things annoyed me more than they should have.

*Flurry had a vet appointment and got a clean bill of health.  However, she had a stinky accident on the way home and it got all over her.
*I was expecting more training pants in the diaper delivery.  (But...Isaac only had one accident today!  That included an hour at the gym.  If he can keep that up we'll be fine.)
*The Subaru's license plate renewal went to the last address we lived at.  We did a change of address with the Secretary of State shortly after we moved.  The Toyota's license plate renewal worked fine.  I called them up, expecting something like "oh yeah, that's a known problem.  I can change it for you since I see that there is a discrepancy."  No, I got this: "yeah, that's a known problem.  You need to go into the nearest branch and fill out the paperwork.  You can't do it on-line.  And you can't do it for your husband unless you have a notarized paper saying you can."  Why are there two address databases for one government office?  I think I'm just going to put a yearly reminder on the calendar to renew the license plate.
*The dinner I decided to have didn't really sound good, but I wasn't sure what else to make.

Mostly little things, but it just wasn't working today.

Sunday: no nap

Mr. Isaac didn't take a nap today.  He happily talked in his crib...for an hour.  He must have been playing with his water bottle, because that's all that was in there.  He does love his water bottles.  Anyway, I heard him say "Pee!  Pee!"  and thought that maybe it was time to get up.

We proceeded to have a pretty rough afternoon and he feel asleep early while eating a late dinner.  Hooray!  I even manged to do a diaper change while he was sleeping.  Now I just need to hope that 1) he keeps the blankets on because he has no pants and 2) he doesn't wake up too early.

Friday: blowing

A few days ago Ben and Isaac were playing by blowing water bottles over.  Since then I've noticed Isaac trying to move all sorts of things by blowing on them.  The problem is that he's not a very good blower yet.  So this morning when he kept missing the little piece of paper that he was trying to blow his hand would sneak out and move it closer to the edge.  He would try blowing again, and it might move.  But if it didn't, his hand would sneak back out to help it along.

In other good news, Isaac managed to tell me that he needed to go to the bathroom before going to the bathroom for the first time today.  We still have lots of accidents, but we have lots of successes too.  And rarely needing to deal with dirty diapers has been a treat.

Thursday: snow!

It snowed last night...and this morning.  I wasn't expecting any accumulation, but when I woke up we had a small inch!

Surprisingly, it didn't melt during the day either.  It just snowed a little bit more and never got warm or sunny.  A lot of trees where in pretty rough shape since most leaves haven't fallen yet and the snow was just sticking to the leaves.

Wednesday: on-task

I had a really hard time keeping on any task today.  Between a cold that is knocking me out, continued potty training, and normal Isaac care it felt like just as I started something I was pulled in a different direction.  This wasn't too bad if all I was doing was a single step process (i.e. moving something from point A to point B) or something that is an on-going task (i.e., keeping the kitchen clean), but for anything else it felt like I was pulling teeth.  I was trying to get a package together to send out and it probably took me three times longer than it should have.

But...Isaac and I took a really nice nap this afternoon.

Monday: food

Isaac was funny with his food today.  During breakfast, he thought his oatmeal was too hot.  So I said, "drink some water."  A minute later I look back and he had poured the whole (small) cup of water into the bowl and was trying to mix it.  :)

Then for lunch I thought I'd try peas again.  He eats them at daycare; why not at home?  So I tried to get him involved...
Amanda: "Can you help me put some of the frozen peas in the bowl?"
Amanda: "Shall we warm them up?"
Isaac: "No."
Amanda: Uh..."Are you sure?"
Isaac: "Yes."
Ok...and he ate most of them.  So maybe the texture of frozen peas is nicer than that of cooked peas.  It's easier for me!!

Sunday: some sucess

Sick of potty training stories yet?  Well, it tends to be the big news around this household.

Today Isaac did really well.  There were still a few accidents, but he got a ton better about going to the bathroom when he was put on the toilet.  (And he often went promptly.  Sometimes within a minute!)  He still hasn't figured out how to get to the toilet if he needs to go though.

Saturday: kitty watering

Isaac has started to give water to animals in his books.  Last night he also tried to give Flurry water.  Never mind that they couldn't even see each other; Isaac would hold his sippy cup towards her.

Potty training continued to have ups and downs today.  Isaac went on the toilet several times, but hasn't quite figured out that he needs to tell us before he has an accident.  I still feel as though we're making a little bit of progress, so we'll keep at it.

Friday: potty training

We're trying to potty train again. There's been some success this week so we're persevering on.

What, you don't make pipe cleaner hats in the bathroom?

Thursday: ham and squash

It's that time of year again! Time for ham and squash. Isaac joined us this year and loved it! I expected he would enjoy the squash, but was rather surprised about the ham. I often have a hard time getting him to eat meat.

Wednesday: artwork

We got our first artwork from daycare yesterday.  It's a foot butterfly.  And it's on the fridge.

Tuesday: getting ready for bed

"Brush, brush, brush your teeth,
Brush them every day.
Up and down, around around
Keep cavities at bay."

That's the song I sing that the start of the bedtime routine.  Isaac proceeds to take out all three of his combs while I get his toothbrush ready.  Holding them seems to be the only way that he'll let me brush his teeth.  Then he has to put all of them back...this always seems like it takes longer than it should.  One comb at a time, and he often combs his hair with it before putting it in the drawer.

(The following story isn't part of the normal routine, but it was part of bed time which is why it got in this post.)  Today he put two of his whale toys together like they were kissing.  So I asked, "are they kissing?" and I got a bunch of kissing noises.  He did it a little bit later too, with two different whales.  I thought it was cute.

Monday: fruitflies

Fruit flies are annoying.  This weekend they came out in force, so I finally set a trap for them.  They're still around, but their numbers are dwindling.

It's annoying, but I guess I can't complain too loudly since it was my lack of cleanliness that allowed them to thrive.  The kitchen has been extra clean this weekend though, so that's been nice.

Weekend: more laughter due to Isaac

This morning's toy-du-joir was an easy puzzle...three pieces and something that Isaac can put together without any problems.  So when he was struggling with the bird, I finally said, "Isaac, the picture on the piece needs to match the direction of the picture on the puzzle."  Isaac looked up at me, slowly shook his head no, and went back to his puzzle.

And in things we never thought we'd have to say, Ben had this gem the other day, "Don't smash Flurry's tail between two rocks."  (No cats were harmed for this saying.  Isaac didn't have good enough aim.)

Thursday: VanKley musuem

Today Isaac and I dropped by the VanKley museum/zoo at Hope.  There was a chinchilla that was very happy to see us.  There was a guinea pig hiding in his plastic cave.

Isaac was more excited about the guinea pig than the chinchilla.

Wednesday: "Are you finished?"

I ask Isaac if he is finished eating about a million times a day (or so it feels).  Today was no exception, and he must have been feeling the same way.  So when I asked if he was finished, he turned to me and opened up his mouth widely.

"No Mom, I'm not finished.  Can't you see I'm still eating?"

Ben and I couldn't help but laugh.

Tuesday: rocks

This morning's toy-du-joir was two rocks.  Isaac came in the room, knocking them together.  He gave them to Ben, who knocked them together.  Isaac gave them to me, and I knocked them together.

"Shhh!"  Isaac immediately said after I knocked them together, with one finger to his lips.

I guess I was the only one not allowed to be noisy this morning.

Monday: clapping

Isaac likes to clap.  The other day I kept missing when I was trying to clap and he was like, "no mom, just put your hands together like this."

So then we've started clapping different ways.  The funniest is watching him try to clap vertically.  He thinks about it a second, and then his hands go together...but usually both palms are facing down.  He figures out that that is wrong, but after at only the top hand moves.

We've also tried clapping above our head and behind our backs, but his arms are rather short.  So he hits himself on his head or just fails his arms behind his back.

Saturday: funny conversations and nice people

Ben moves Isaac's play chair.
Isaac: "No"  (but it sounds like a Moo)
Ben moves Isaac's chair.
Isaac: "No" (but it sounds like a moo)
Ben: "Are you a cow?"
Isaac: "No" (but it sounds like a moo)

****************************
During our walk today a dog ran at us from across a busy street and several houses down.  After getting to us, it turned around.  A little scary, because I never like it when dogs run at me, but otherwise fine.  The two cars that saw it both found me down to make sure I was ok.  I found it incredibly nice.

***************************
Isaac was coloring on his sippy cup while we were out to eat this evening.
Amanda: "Isaac, only on your paper."
Isaac moved the sippy cup on the paper.  (But he also stopped coloring on it.)

***************************
Our dinner was paid for tonight by someone that I work with.  It was a wonderful surprise.

Friday: 21 months

Hey, I finally got the 21 month pictures.


Isaac has been reading a lot of books by himself.

He's been counting, although he really can only do two-three.  He usually skips one.

He loves my camera, so I finally gave him one of his own.  He goes around pointing the camera at you and saying "cheese" and then waiting for you to say it back.  (It's an old camera and doesn't have any batteries.)

Isaac has become a great mimic.  He will say words back (although I don't know if he completely understands what he's saying) and mimic motions.  He's picked up several new words that he can use appropriately in context.  Or at least mostly appropriately - blueberries, strawberries, and grapes are all called blueberries.

Isaac has started using real plastic cups (sometimes) and thinks they're the greatest thing ever.

I introduced colored pencils too and those have worked well.  They're a little easier than crayons, so we have some fun drawings around.

I always think of things that I want to add to these reports when I'm not at the computer and now can't remember most of them.  Oh well.  He's still a lot of fun!

Wednesday: nap

Guess who didn't take a nap today?

(The answer is both me and Isaac.)

But to be fair, Isaac behaved himself very well.

Tuesday: mamamama

Picking Isaac up from daycare today was a little chaotic.  I needed to pay the bill, there was a door issue, and a weird note on the daily slip that didn't end up applying to me.

Then I heard a loud "Mamamama!"  And Isaac came running up. :)

Sunday:stroller ride

I taught Isaac about potential and kinetic energy today after I let his stroller go quickly down a hill. Then I had to teach him about friction because the stroller stopped. :(

Saturday: one more thing I never expected to say

"No running in the bath tub."