Sunday: traps

Today Isaac seemed to be in an extra trappy mood.  I finally got some pictures.  Ben and I both usually play along, but if the trap takes too long to open we've been known to jump over them.

Closed trap:

Open trap (I forgot the flash...but you get the idea):

Saturday: resolutions

Last year's New Year's resolution was to have a baby.  Check.

I think this year it will be to not take more toilet paper than I really need.

Friday: the good and the bad

This morning was great!  First we had this conversation:
Amanda: Grandma won't be there.  She's on the other side of the world.
Isaac: When she goes out, will she fall down?

So we got out the globe.

Later in the morning the trains came out.  I'm rather proud of the track.

And Joshua decided to smile for a picture.

Then we got to the afternoon.  Trains might have messed up Joshua's schedule, because I couldn't get a decent nap out of him.  Isaac decided he couldn't do anything by himself, but wouldn't really concentrate on anything either.  I finally said that I had to do work.  (Which was true...the kitchen was a disaster.  But it is also an excuse I frequently use when I need a break.)  Isaac was whining about that, so I told him he could do his puzzle in the kitchen.  It's only 12 pieces; he is fully capable of doing that on his own.  However, he wouldn't even try.  Then Joshua woke up screaming from his short nap and I was about to pull my hair out.  We got through the next fifteen minutes by my rocking Joshua and handing one semi-random piece to Isaac at a time while I read the quilting blogs I follow.  Then Isaac was done with the puzzle and Joshua was screaming again.  Urg.  But I put Joshua down to blow my runny nose and he calmed down again.  Isaac invented some game that involved bouncing puzzle pieces on squishy blocks into a tub.  And then Ben came home...we made it.

Thursday: Happy New Year

It was a pretty low key day for us.  Isaac and Ben flew a lot of helicopters.  Isaac took a much needed nap.  Joshua almost managed to roll from back to front but didn't quite make it.  It snowed!

I'm all mixed up with what day it's supposed to be.  Having Ben home for a single day in the middle of a holiday week is just throwing me off.

Wednesday: last day of the year

Today went better than yesterday.  Isaac and I still had a few moments, but we do most days.  Isaac enjoyed playing with his new birthday toys, so that took up a nice amount of time.

Isaac also told Joshua the story of Jesus' birth.  It was so cute.

To celebrate the New Year, we watched the Netflix countdown at 7:45 and had sparkling grape juice.  Isaac said it tickled his tongue.

Wednesday: year in review

While thinking about this past year, I've sadly decided that it ties for second place in my list of worst years.*  Ben had several major health issues throughout the year.  I was sick while pregnant.  Ben had a really busy streak at work right after Joshua was born.  There were many days when Ben and I just looked at each other, so tired, and told each other that we'd make it.

To be honest, the year could have been much worse; I have not had to face many hardships or heartaches.  And there were several wonderful things that happened.  Joshua came into our lives.  Isaac is usually a lot of fun to be with.  We connected more with friends.  We spent time with family.  God showed himself to me in different ways.

So, over-all, I'm hoping for a better 2015 and am not very sad to say good-by to 2014.



*I couldn't decide what was worse: minor health problems, moving, selling a house remotely and a job I disliked or major health problems and a few very busy streaks at work.

Tuesday: 3 years old

Today was Isaac's 3rd birthday.  How time flies.  He quickly picked up on the fact that he could now tell people that he was three years old.

The "terrible twos" really weren't that terrible.  However, the first day of being three was rather rough.

Here's the normal setup on picture day lately.  I put Joshua out and Isaac runs to get his blanket.

Talking - Isaac is now much easier to understand and has a wide vocabulary, although some of the sounds are still wrong when he speaks.  The odd thing thing is that my name has become "mommy" instead of "mom".  And we even get a few "daddy"s once in a while.  I'm surprised that it went that way, but maybe mommy is easier to yell. :p

Eating - Isaac loves "peanut butter jelly".  It is what he wants every day for breakfast, and every day I tell him it is a lunch food.  For dinner his favorite is chicken nuggets and tater tots, with an emphasis on the tater tots.  He is still a pretty good eater, but is still picky sometimes.  

Photos - He still loves taking pictures of all of us and hasn't quite mastered how to smile and have it look nice.

Below is a set of three that were taken in sequence.  Isaac tooted right before the first one, which always causes laughter.

Comfort objects - Isaac still asks for "wipes" (or burp clothes) when crying and they often settle him down.  He often sleeps with one too.  He also needs EE.  I sometimes forget that EE is so important, but if he isn't in bed with Isaac we will hear about it before too long.

Questions - Isaac has been asking tons of questions lately.  Some why questions, but more how/what/who questions.  "Who made this?"  "How did you make peanut butter jelly?" "What is in carrots?"  (By the way, workers make a lot of things. It satisfies him.)

Lawyering - Isaac is still good at taking me very literally.   The other day I asked him to plug something into a wall.  (It was the first time for him to do it.)  I come in the room a moment later and he tells me that it isn't working...as he tries to put the plug in some random place on the wall.  He also has a new alarm clock that has a green cover and lights up green when he can get up.  So when I asked him today if his clock was green he happily said that it was!  I'll have to watch my wording next time.

Toilet training - we're still getting closer, although we're having a few more accidents than I expected we would be having a month ago.  The good news is that he goes to the bathroom by himself more often than not.  He also probably has four out of seven days a week accident free...I don't think that the holidays helped with all of that.  Today he had an accident and completely took care of it by himself.  I noticed about two hours later that he had different pants on, so while I wish he didn't have an accident I was glad that he just dealt with it.

Joshua - Isaac is still protective of or ignores Joshua.  He calls him "Josh-E-a".  If Joshua is crying Isaac will turn on a song for him.