Saturday: assorted pictures

Another one from Cheryl's birthday:

We got our worms yesterday.  Joshua seemed a bit squeamish and even though Isaac didn't flinch away he didn't want to touch them.  We put them in and they wiggled around.  I've checked them several times, and mostly can't tell they're doing anything.  I did find one group that had escaped through some holes in the bottom, so stuck them back inside.  They quickly went down into the dirt again.

Isaac wanted this picture taken of him.  It was a pajama day.  He also did an amazing job with Joshua Friday morning...sharing his new toys and helping him a few times without being asked.

A few days ago: 23 months

Joshua recently turned 23 months!

Family: The biggest news is that in the last month he switched allegiances.  Ben used to be the preferred parent, but now I am.  This has lessened a bit in the last week, but still hasn't changed back to Ben.  He and Isaac have also started interacting a lot more.  I won't say that they're playing together, but they're playing next to each other and laughing at each other.  Joshua keeps pretty close tabs on Isaac.  He's started to recognize extended family and be excited to see them.

Sleeping: We just got him an ok-to-wake alarm clock.  He was waking up a little bit early, and he really needs that last half hour of sleep.  I'm not sure it's helped a ton yet, but he does seem to not be so loud when it is time to wake up.  He's more or less sleeping 8pm-7am with at least a 1.5 hour nap, sometimes up to 2.5 hours.

Playing: he's been enjoying fiddling with stuff...the circuts, legos, duplos, etc.  He loves to read books and enjoys drawing.  He makes sure that he gets his allotted Ipad time every day.  He also really enjoyed this photo shoot, so there were lots of good pictures.  He's also started doing some games that he makes up.  It might take me a while to figure out the rules, but there is a pattern to them.

Eating: ug.  He'll eat carbs and some dairy.  And applesauce.  I haven't been able to get him to touch the veggie pouches or any fruits lately.  (But I keep putting them on his plate!)  Cheese and yogurt work sometimes.

Attitude: I feel like I always write these on days that weren't great.  I'd say overall things are getting a little bit better...and it's not as though they were that bad even at the worst.  There are a few small tantrums here and there.  But he still listens well and that's half the battle.

Speaking: he has many words/phrases.  It's still the odd stage that he can understand pretty much everything you say, even if he can't respond well.  Many of the phrases aren't very understandable, but since I've heard them in context so often I get them.  He knows to repeat the last word of phrases when we're praying and does a good job trying words he doesn't really know.

Overall, he's a very fun kid.

Flashback: Disney

Here are some of my favorite Disney pictures...it took a while to get them from everywhere.  And so, in no particular order...

Family picture in animal kingdom

Ben and Amanda in Magic Kingdom on date night.

Magic Kingdom with a fancy border.

Gear flowers.  Isaac is the one that wanted the picture here, and we happily obliged.  Besides the animals on safari, it was the only thing he asked for a picture of.  But the sun was bright, so both boys got some hand shades.

Goofy at breakfast.

Joshua.

Waiting for Jake to get to our table during a breakfast.

Finally!  Jake!

Storm troopers up close.

Giraffe on safari.

Date night again.

Playground after Disney.

With Mickey.

 Joshua, waiting for Ben and I to ride a ride.

With Mickey at breakfast.

This is one of my most favorite pictures.

More storm troopers

Thursday: Birthday party!

Today was birthday party day!  Isaac was so excited.

Joshua was pretty cute too.

Isaac got a Magna Doodle - well, a different brand, same thing.  We have a tiny one and both boys play with it a lot.  Joshua has already enjoyed Isaac's present.

Before the party Joshua was playing a game that involved opening a door, skipping to the bathroom, skipping back, repeat.  I enjoyed the rhythm his feet made.

Wednesday: this and that

This morning Joshua wanted to draw.  He drew on paper, then on the chair, then on himself.  Happily, we used ultra washable markers and everything cleaned up easily.

We decorated Isaac's cake.  Well, I frosted, Isaac sprinkled.  We're collecting quite a collection of sprinkles, since it seems we get a new bottle every birthday along with some at Christmas.

Joshua worked on his "circuit" for about a half hour.  He needed help getting the pieces on the board, but did a lot of the other connections and all of the designing.

We also got the birthday balloons today, which were a hit as normal.  However, at dinner Ben mentioned that Helium is actually a non-renewable resource and that at current usage we have a surprisingly small amount left.  (Some estimates put it around 15 years.  It was shorter, but they just found a large deposit.  Hence why he knew this.)  I thought it was renewable/easily made...I'm not sure if we'll get any more helium balloons.  Party balloons make up 5-7% of the current usage, but it was unclear if the balloon helium is left over from the purification process for important applications or if some of it is used directly for balloons.  I know it's a small statement in a large economy, and might not even matter, but we can find other fun ways to decorate.

Tuesday: bike, yesterday

Here's the family picture from yesterday. :)  I really like it.

Today we went to water the flowers by one of the association entrances.  Isaac rode his bike.  He did a pretty good job; he needed many pushes, but could keep his momentum pretty well.

On the way to the gym, we had the following conversation:
I: Will you be happy when you go to Jesusland?
A: Yes!  I'll see Jesus and Grandma Julie.
I: What if you and Dad die but Joshua and I are still here?
A: You'll live with Uncle Nathan and Aunt Liz.
I: In their house?
A: Yes, with Evelyn.
I: Someone else will be in our house?
A: Yes, it will be sold.
I: I won't have to go to the gym anymore?
A: Well, you might have to run and bike more.

...anything to get out of going to the gym.

Monday: ice cream

Today we started out with some light yard work.  I say light, but to Isaac it wasn't.

He didn't chop up the whole pile, but probably spent a good fifteen minutes cutting up the branches for me.  Joshua enjoyed playing.

The activity of the day was ice cream, so we went out for FroYo again, after the tree branches were all taken care of.

I told them it was time for ice cream, and after that about once every two minutes Joshua would say "Ice cream!"  ...just so that I didn't forget.  He also knows the sound of the ice cream truck, even though we've never gotten any from it, and likes to remind me about ice cream when he hears it.
The video is a bit hard to hear and understand, but then so is Joshua even when he says it "clearly"

Tonight the adults went out to celebrate Cheryl's birthday.  It was a lovely night.