Thursday: through the day

Today went better than yesterday, except for a short stint in the middle...

1) Breakfast
Isaac: I'm all done!
Amanda: do you want more toast?
Isaac looks at me like I'm dumb
Isaac; TTRREATT!
Amanda: no

2) We finally emptied our pop can box after three years.  It helps that Isaac is tall enough to help and enjoys putting them in.

3) It was so cold today!  We wore long sleeves, but probably should have worn coats.  Isaac insisted on wearing flip-flops.  I was too tired to care, but told him he couldn't whine if he was cold.

4) I got super grumpy at nap time when Joshua woke up 20 minutes after Isaac went to sleep and I realized at I might get 2.5 hours uninterrupted sleep once a day, if I'm a bit lucky.  (Last night Isaac woke me up crying because he couldn't find his water bottle, which was two inches from his hand.  I think it woke Joshua up too, which in some ways was nice.  I guess.)  I usually get one 30-45 minute nap, which isn't enough.  So I was complaining to God and trying to be thankful for other things, but it wasn't working and it was making me grumpier.  I needed a nap...but oh wait.  But then Joshua went back to sleep and I got a 75 minute nap.  I woke up feeling much better. Hooray!

5) Isaac took a good nap today too.  Afterwards we played baby marbles

6) Ben was taking a hard drive out of a computer.  Isaac really wanted to watch.

Tuesday: brotherly and motherly love

We got the toy pole out for Joshua today.  Isaac tried really hard to help Joshua use it.

Isaac also joined Joshua for some tummy time and gave him a hug.

And, unrelated to Joshua, I told Isaac we'd have to clean up the marbles tonight because a younger friend is coming over tomorrow and isn't old enough to play with them.  He was fine with that, but kept thinking about it and mentioned it once or twice more.  Then, while I was feeding Joshua he cleaned it all up!  By himself, without prompting.  I was proud of him.

Isaac likes to take pictures...so I get some interesting perspectives, but at least I'm getting some with Joshua.

Monday: six weeks

Joshua is six weeks old today!

I can tell he's getting bigger.

And I still get lots of smiles.

And a preview of what this future genius might learn...when he's only twice as long as the book.

But even geniuses need to sleep.  Maybe osmosis will work.

We spent some time outside.  The bouncy seat worked for the first time.  It's so nice and portable.

Isaac used watercolors for the first time.  He enjoyed them, but I'm not sure he loved them.  He liked black the best.

And today's quote: "When I run fast my fingernails turn blue and white."

Sunday: annoying

Do you know what's annoying?  Toys that make a sound when they turn off.  I'm usually glad that Isaac has moved on to something else and then his attention is diverted back to the noisy toy.

Saturday: children in media

I love how Isaac blows kisses.



Joshua didn't sleep well at all last night; it was probably his worst sleep ever.  But I made him be bright eyed and bushy tailed for a bit in the morning.

This onsie is almost too small. :(  I actually changed it half way through the day because I wondered if he was upset due to a too tight shirt...it would make me cranky.

We were getting dinner ready and Isaac came up to me with this strawberry and said it was his favorite.  I think he wanted to eat it right away, but I cut it up and put it on his plate instead.  The next five strawberries were also his favorite and he always picked the one on the top.  I'm not sure he understands what the word means.

Speaking of words, here are some of my favorites: underwear (which I only understand because it is always said in context), octopus, and caramel kiss.  Caramel kiss isn't always said in context, and sometimes he has to add the kissing noise for me to understand what he wants.



Isaac also told us tonight that the "wormy" tickles him but that the Tickle Monster doesn't tickle him.  Ah, the logic of a two year old.

Friday: this and that

We went to the playground again today. Isaac had an excellent time running around.  Joshua even was awake to enjoy himself a bit.

When we got home I put out the trash. It was a bit early due to the holiday weekend, but the garage door was open and I like getting it out when Ben isn't home. Well, garbage truck came today. I wasn't done putting trash in the can, and so am a bit peeved.  But very glad that I got it out in time.

We also got some mail from the homeowners association and there seems to be a coup going on.  Or I'm getting unnecessary mail.  Or both.  I won't go into details, but it's weird.  I also don't really care that much, but it has caught my attention since I don't even know who is in the right and who is doing the coup-ing and that it's just a homeowner's association.

Finally, Isaac seems to be developing his own sense of humor.  He came into Joshua's room one day with his pants on his head, clearly expecting it to be funny.  He also has started to say "I love you Dag"  (i.e., Dad) on purpose at night when I'm giving him a bedtime hug and finds it hilarious.

Thursday: limes

For dinner we were having coconut lime chicken.  It turned out pretty good!  Isaac refused to eat it.  I finally got him to eat a little bit by suggesting he dip his chicken on his lime wedge.  He does love to dip!  I felt like I had a parenting win.

Wednesday: water bottles

I woke up rather grumpy.  I finally put Isaac in front of the TV and took a 15 minute nap.  It was a smart move and I woke up feeling much better.

In other pictures, here is our current water bottle family.  It looks much different than 2.5 years ago, although some are still the same.  They don't all fit in the fridge at once, unless we're really low on food.

I also had the white background out and tried to get some pictures of Joshua.  He didn't want his picture taken.  (But he did finally give some smiles to Ben tonight!)

Tuesday: conversations

While at the playground this morning, Lion and Little Lion appeared.  They are basically Big Tickle Monster and Little Tickle Monster, but they roar.  After nap time Isaac was talking about Little Lion and how he needed to wear a shirt so that he wasn't brr.  (I'm not sure why brr is so often substituted for cold.  He drinks brr water too.)
**********
Isaac: Dad, don't eat me!
Ben: Why not?
Isaac: I'm old.
Isaac: Like Grandma.
Ben: oh, yeah?  How old is Grandma?
Isaac: two.
Ben: How old are you?
Isaac: two.
**********
Isaac: Dear God, thank you for dropping things from up high.
Ben: Anything else you want to thank God for?
Isaac: water bottles up high.

We thought the prayer was going downhill at that point.  The first part might have reference the marbles that he played today, so that was fine.  But water bottles up high??  No clue what was going on there.  Speaking of marbles, he wanted to play them today but I told him no because his bedroom still wasn't clean.  (It had gotten very messy over the weekend.)  So he started to clean it and did a really good job...the puzzles were put together and even in the right spot in his bookshelf.  I started to help a few minutes later and we got it very clean.  Only to get it messy with marble works immediately afterwards.  But that's fine with me.  It's at least a controlled mess.

Monday: 5 weeks and loud trucks

Joshua is five weeks old today!

I've seen a few smiles before that seemed real, but today seemed to be the day he really figured it out. I got a ton of smiles! Ben, sadly, only got worried looks.

He also did some tummy time. Isaac's trains did tummy time too.

Every Labor Day there is a truck parade from the nearby city to our city. If you go to the end it is busy and there is food and balloons and such. Or you can park along the route in a random parking lot and just watch from the side of the road.

We met up with some friends. Isaac was so excited that he fell and scrapped up his knees. It was the first time he got band aids. They seemed to help a lot. :)

I warned Isaac that loud trucks were coming, but he didn't really grasp how loud they'd be. We quickly ended up watching from inside the car, but that worked very well. (Another good reason to park along the route.). (Note from Tuesday: Isaac's been asking to watch the loud trucks all morning, so it didn't scare him too much.). I really liked listening to the different sounds/tones the truck horns made.

Extra: a tickle monster conundrum

As we were getting in the car to go to church Isaac starting telling the Big Tickle Monster (BTM) to go away. I promptly told him not to worry; BTM wasn't coming to church with us.

I instantly regretted saying that...after all, church is for everyone! Even BTMs. But at the same time, I want Isaac to run away from bad BTMs, especially since he's only two.

Our solution? Isaac told Little Tickle Monster a Jesus story. (Literally. "A Jesus story" is what he said.). I told BTM about Jesus. But I don't know if he was listening or not.

Sunday: 32 months

Isaac was 32 months yesterday. I know, a weird milestone. But it's easy to take his pictures when taking Joshua.

Potty training - he regressed when Joshua was about two weeks, but I think we're slowly getting back on track.  He likes to take his pants off and I've started to make him put there back on himself.  We've had many tears over it, even though he's really pretty good at it.

Pictures - Isaac likes to be in pictures, but crinkles his nose when smiling for a camera.  We've been working on relaxing his nose, but now he relaxes it while touching it, which isn't much better.  (see above photo.)

The tickle monster has evolved into two tickle monsters.  Big Tickle Monster is still mean, but Isaac knows to tell him to to go "far far away" and doesn't make his super scared face any more.  Little Tickle Monster is basically another Isaac that does the same things as he does.  The other day he was leaving his room and said, "come on Little Tickle Monster, come on!"

Talking - he is still hard to understand (for non-parents), but he has so many words.  He sometimes is getting some new sentence/tense construction which is fun to hear.

Toys - he really likes marbles (although we've been working really hard on getting them to stay in his room).  Duplos are still a lot of fun and marbles and duplos together are really fun.  Play-doh has also been a common toy.  Playing in the sand is always a hit, but we don't do it all that often.

And one last picture - he kept hiding in this Isaac sized box.  Oh, and he's tall enough to reach light switches now.  It's actually kind of nice.

Extra: sleep

When you're tired, what's worse?

1. Getting all comfortable in bed only to have to deal with a screaming baby five minutes later
2. Waiting five minutes to get in bed, only to have the baby calm down immediately. (And so you could have goe straight to bed.)

Of course, the worst is when both happen.

Saturday: pictures

Nothing to exciting today.  Isaac and I got groceries in the morning.  I needed quite a few things, so it took a while.

Flurry enjoyed a box.

Joshua was sleeping on his stomach on the couch and it was time to put Isaac in the bath, but Ben wanted to go in the basement.  I was a little afraid he'd push himself off if left alone so Ben decided to try and bring him downstairs on a Rubbermaid lid.  It didn't keep him asleep, but it does look funny.

Friday: this and that

First up, some pictures from the beach yesterday.  They turned out really well.

The boys chased this seagull for about five minutes.  That'll show seagulls not to come near our food.

Our plans today changed because of the weather.So we ended up doing errands instead of something fun.  One of the errands included going to Joann's...it was so busy.  I needed some fabric cut and we waited at least ten minutes.  Then we went to check out and waited another ten minutes.  But Isaac did a nice job of entertaining himself while not being destructive, so it ended up ok.

This evening Joshua and I had the hiccups together.  His were rapid, mine were slower.  But it was rather funny.

And finally, a conversation:
Amanda: One...two... (get over here and brush your teeth!)
Isaac: Mom say three?
Amanda: No, you don't want me to say three.  Then you'll get a punishment.
Isaac: A mint?? (Hopeful)
Amanda: No, a punishment.  It's not something you want.

Obviously, I don't get to three very often.  And when I do he usually quickly does whatever he's supposed to do and I let it slide.

Thursday: 1 month

Joshua is one month old today!  Usually I expect to combine the weekly and monthly photos together, but this time they were rather far apart (week-wise) and one month is a big milestone.

Joshua's puzzle has been started.  I like his tongue sticking out in the top picture.

And his largest stuffed animal is a bunny, so that's what we will be taking pictures with.  Isaac proceeded to run to his room and get his monkeys, but I thought I'd wait a few days to post them.  (Really, I need to figure out how many months he is and don't feel like doing it now.)

This morning we went to the beach.  Well, we went to the sand by the beach.  It was rather cool, but I took advantage of the temperature and dressed Joshua in a sleeper that I really like but might not fit for long.  Although if the weather stays this cool we will see more of the long sleeved items.

Isaac and Ethan took a while to warm up to each other, but then they were off running all over the place.  It is hilarious to see them playing together as they think they're so funny.  One person will do something so then the other person will do it too and they'll both laugh.

Extra: headache

Isaac: I have a headache.
Amanda: oh yeah? Where?
Isaac: on my toe.

Apparently I've had a lot of headaches lately and Isaac picked up on it.

Wednesday brotherly love

Isaac, unprompted: I love my baby brother
Isaac gives Joshua a hug.
Isaac pokes Joshua repeatedly.

Tuesday: and now for something totally unrelated...

...to children.  I know, hard to believe.

Ben and I were talking the other day and it turns out that he really likes the inside part of apples and only eats the skin because it's good for you.  I, on the other hand, love the skin and eat the inside because it's there.  (I love cooking with apples because I can just eat the skin.)

1. How did we not know this before?
2. We should really be taking advantage of this.
3. What part do you like best?