We cleaned the house on Sunday because some people were coming over. With a bit of help, it really didn't take all that long. And we do love a clean house...there's something so relaxing about it.
Anyway, I managed to keep it (mostly) clean on Monday. I managed to keep it (mostly) clean today. There are some toys that are creeping back into the main area, but the kitchen stayed clean.
And since the kitchen was clean, I was able to check off several of the random short items on my to-do list. I got my winter coat in the laundry basket. (Laundry is for tomorrow.) Joshua enjoyed playing with the shoes.
I glued the soles of Ben's shoes back on. We're not sure they'll stay, but it seems worth a try.
I finished putting away stakes from camping so that "clean up camping stuff" can be crossed off the list. I did one coat of water-proofing on the tent rainfly. I finished cleaning the bee nest out of the mailbox. I mostly cleaned off our dresser top. We did a few errands.
We got some new toys for outside. A few noodles, a few random toys, but of most note, squirters. We played with them for quite a while inside, but it was time for them to go outside.
We got big squirters. We got little squirters. Isaac played with them for over an hour.
Joshua took a bit before he'd go in the water. The water was nice and warm, so we sat in it together.
I also saw Joshua put the watering can into the bucket a few times. I'm excited for the "look! things go into things too!" stage.
This morning Isaac took two pictures of himself with the Ipad. I find the progression interestng.
First: what happens if I push this button?
Second: it takes a picture!
This afternoon Isaac had just gotten up from rest time when I heard Joshua wake up. Isaac wanted to play Ipad, so I said he could go get it in Joshua's room. Then Joshua was a bit quiet, with random squeals here and there. I looked at the monitor and saw this...Isaac was playing a game and letting Joshua watch, but Joshua was contained and so not bothering Isaac. Joshua was too loud for me to sleep more, but I was at least able to wake up on my own.
Today's fun activity was do watch a Magic School Bus episode and do an activity. Isaac chose one on smell. We watched the episode, although I'll admit I feel asleep about half way through it. Joshua is still getting up once in the night and then early in the morning and I haven't adjusted my night time sleeping at all.
Then we found a bunch of things to smell. I think Isaac was most excited about the blindfold.
This child doesn't seem to understand how to smell things. He always breathes out with his nose instead of in. (And when trying to blow his nose, breathes in.) It isn't exactly something that you can demonstrate well either, as I have often discovered.
Joshua got in on some smelling action too.
Isaac got onions correct, but everything else he either didn't know or guessed sugar.
We played in the basement a bit.
Isaac dressed himself today.
All day I was trying to get a video of Joshua doing his "pick me up" motion because it is super cute. I was giving up again when Isaac said, "take a picture of me!" So I did...and he said, "Pick me up" with a huge smile.
Joshua seemed to have an extra happy day today. Except for the few times I walked away from him, but that always seems to be rather traumatic.
He also seemed to deliberately sign "done" twice today. We'll see if it keeps up.
Our gym just transitioned from three racquetball courts down to one. We're pretty sad about it, since racquetball is the main reason that we go there. It felt like an odd set of games for me today...I either missed terribly or did an ok job of aiming.
Isaac's legs have been getting hiccups lately. It's hilarious to watch, as one might expect.
Joshua is 49 weeks old! I think the sun was a bit bright so we didn't get great pictures today.
He started giving kisses today.
Isaac wanted his picture taken too...183 weeks old.
Joshua came over and gave Isaac a hug. Sort of.
Zach and Jenny left around noon. It was an excellent visit. Then everyone except Ben took long naps. Lovely! I was rather tired. Joshua hasn't been sleeping well.
This morning we went for a little walk. Isaac brought his squirters and they helped motivate him to keep walking.
"I'm only squirting some of the weeds."
Ben played peek-a-boo with Joshua while he was in the carrier.
Joshua enjoyed being by Zach. He's apparently pretty silly.
Zach and Jenny made a cake. While Zach was making the frosting, Isaac was in the kitchen doing stuff. So Ben said, "Let me know if he's bothering you." Isaac said, "He's bothering me."
We went to the neighborhood picnic. They supply hot dogs and side dishes and ask everyone to bring a dessert. So there were lots of delicious desserts.
We took some 4th of July pictures. Mainly because both Ben and I remembered a picture from Isaac wearing the same outfit. Here's Joshua (11 months)...
And here's Isaac (6 months)...
...turns out I was wearing the same shirt too.
And one of the whole family.
After rest time we went outside with various squirters. The funniest was when Isaac had the hose and Ben had a tiny squirt bottle. But Isaac also enjoyed the sprinkler and squirting himself in the face.
Our fun activity was to go to DeGraaf Nature center.
He didn't understand how to use the binoculars. After trying to explain it, I gave up.
We did a fast walk through the trails. Isaac's hair bounced up and down and Joshua's legs bounced up and down.
Then we went to the quilt shop. Kelly said that he could play with the beach toys, but he just made himself at home in the pool.
Isaac also gave Joshua some of his "bread." Except it was cake. It was just crumbs so I let it go. But after so many times of saying "no cake for Joshua" I was thwarted by my three year old.
In the car on the way to the gym we learned the life cycle of a buttbow. Buttbows turn into puppies, which turn into peoples. We learned about life cycles at the nature center.
Zach and Jenny showed up! Here's to a fun weekend.
Eating: He enjoys his fruits, Cheerios, cottage cheese, yogurt, and sweet potato. He does not like green vegetables. While I'm trying to get him to sign, it is pretty obvious when he doesn't want anything because his hands go in front of his face and intercept the spoon. He still nurses well and we're still at six times per day. Some of those get interrupted if he finds anything else interesting.
Sleep: He sleeps at night from 7:30/8 until about 6am (with one feeding before I go to bed). I feed him once and he will sleep for another hour. He seems almost ready to drop his morning nap, but I usually encourage at least a short one. He then naps from about 1:30-3, although a bit longer if he didn't take a morning nap.
Playing: He loves balls and balloons (well, really anything that rolls). He also likes playing with anything in Isaac's room, especially the percussion instruments and the duplos.
Moving: His scoot has gotten pretty fast. He stood up (using my arm) two days ago and then let go, and stood for a few seconds all by himself. When he wants to be picked up he'll wiggle both arms and legs.
Attitude: he's still pretty serious with other people. He laughs regularly, but not all that frequently. He has a shriek that he's found recently to get attention. He is happy to play by himself.
Language: he clearly understands his name. (This might be old news. I can't remember). He also understands "no" and will often obey after one or two.
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Isaac is 42 months!
Attitude: Isaac is still excitable and laughs at everything. He loves playing. He getting teary when things don't go his way, but getting his wipe usually calms him down.
Playing: his favorite things right now are play-doh and duplos, but he also really likes playing in the sand and running around. Reading is considered a playing activity...some days there is a lot of reading and some days there is not.
Potty training: continues to go pretty well. There are still some accidents. For a while he was wearing underwear to bed, but he's been back in a pull-up lately. (Mainly because I don't do laundry fast enough and don't want an accident with no clean sheets.)
Choosing: When I give him options, he will often say, "I don't know, you choose." After I choose, he always chooses the opposite thing. This came back to bite him this afternoon when he didn't choose a vegetable for lunch. So I did. It was the wrong one, but had already been plated. Maybe he'll learn.
He was so excited about his paints yesterday. So he painted the fire engine today. Surprisingly, it wasn't all black, his favorite color.
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We popped the balloons today since we have guests coming this weekend.
Isaac fell asleep at about 10:45. At 6:30 we heard him, "My clock isn't green yet!" Sigh. Three more times he hollered until his clock turned green.
He went to the bathroom and immediately started playing Play-doh.
He played a few other things throughout the day, but hours were spent with the playdoh. And he took a nap.
Swimming lessons went really well for Joshua again. He is so calm. He kicks. He floats in his life jacket.
Isaac was having a hard time falling asleep again. So after about 30 minutes he called out "I can't fall asleep" and meant "I want some duplos!" He yelled a few times while trying to get to sleep and managed to wake up Joshua too. Yeah, I was not thrilled with that. He won't be having any special duplos in bed in the near future.
