Joshua has figured out that if he goes to the bathroom he gets a treat and has been taking advantage of it. I drew the line at getting another treat after one minute, but have still let it go for the most part. The up side is that we haven't had any accidents in three days.
Isaac decided that some of his toys are puppy dog treats and has happily been doing chores for them. I won't complain one bit, although I do wonder how long it will last.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Tuesday: this and that
We might need to work on his form for catching a ball. Isaac can catch it about once every three times or so. We started the catching thing since hitting the ball with a bat doesn't seem like a great option inside, but this has been working really well.
I also had one tantrum today because I cut Joshua's sandwich and wouldn't put it back together. I even asked him twice before I cut it, and he watched me cut it. Then reality set in. He ended up eating lunch on my lap because he couldn't quite calm himself down enough to eat in the booster seat.
I continued decluttering today. I cleaned up the bib drawer - Joshua isn't using bibs every meal any more, so I threw out the ones with non-working velcro and removed the smaller ones. There are a few left because we still use them with some meals, but it is much easier to open and close the drawer now. I also got rid of six rocks. I counted each one of them as an item because they have been in the house too long and weren't moving. I threw them back into the landscaping. So easy, but it took me so long.
I also had one tantrum today because I cut Joshua's sandwich and wouldn't put it back together. I even asked him twice before I cut it, and he watched me cut it. Then reality set in. He ended up eating lunch on my lap because he couldn't quite calm himself down enough to eat in the booster seat.
I continued decluttering today. I cleaned up the bib drawer - Joshua isn't using bibs every meal any more, so I threw out the ones with non-working velcro and removed the smaller ones. There are a few left because we still use them with some meals, but it is much easier to open and close the drawer now. I also got rid of six rocks. I counted each one of them as an item because they have been in the house too long and weren't moving. I threw them back into the landscaping. So easy, but it took me so long.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Monday: at home
Today we just hung around the house. We played some games, did some exercising, and took down most of the Christmas decor. Surprisingly, I was ready for it to come down. Usually I feel like I drag my heels and take a little down at a time, but today I was ready. The winter lights are still up and I kept a string that is half dead out...the half dead part is hidden.
Some friends are doing a challenge in which you remove 2017 items from your house throughout the year, trying to declutter. This comes out to about five or six items a day, and that is just too much for me right now. However, for the past year I have been thinking that some serious clean-up needs to be done as things are hanging around for too long. So I'm partially joining; I think I'll see how many things I can get rid of, but will not try to hit the 2017 mark. I'm currently at seven. I got rid of some Christmas stuff that hasn't gone up for years and is not going to go up again.
In other news, Joshua has started to call Isaac "Puppy" and it's really cute. I'm not sure if he'll understand that sometimes Isaac is Isaac and sometimes he's Puppy...we'll see how it goes.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
New Year's weekend
Nathan and his family came up for the weekend. We did Christmas presents and enjoyed being together.
Friday, Isaac's birthday, started out with a Clifford visit. Joshua was rather scared, but we took the picture anyway.
(They were twins. Grey shirts and black pants.)
Although stopped promptly, the older kids enjoyed bouncing on Dad and Pat's couch. :)
We went to the Noon Year's celebration on Saturday. Rather busy, but everything kept moving. A bit boring for the adults, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.
We opened presents after nap time.
The kids played together extremely well. Joshua was a bit worried about Jameson taking his toys, so he hid them in assorted obvious places. But at one point Jameson had Joshua's grabber as Joshua had been busy elsewhere. I told Joshua to wait. Joshua waited, even though you could see in his face that he was very worried about his grabber.
Friday, Isaac's birthday, started out with a Clifford visit. Joshua was rather scared, but we took the picture anyway.
(They were twins. Grey shirts and black pants.)
Although stopped promptly, the older kids enjoyed bouncing on Dad and Pat's couch. :)
We went to the Noon Year's celebration on Saturday. Rather busy, but everything kept moving. A bit boring for the adults, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.
We opened presents after nap time.
The kids played together extremely well. Joshua was a bit worried about Jameson taking his toys, so he hid them in assorted obvious places. But at one point Jameson had Joshua's grabber as Joshua had been busy elsewhere. I told Joshua to wait. Joshua waited, even though you could see in his face that he was very worried about his grabber.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Friday: 5 years old
Isaac is five years old today! Five! A whole hand.
Likes: building things (circuits, duplos, etc.), mazes, running, gymnastics, screen time, treats. He actually seems to like almost everything, really. When I ask him what the least favorite thing was of the day he often doesn't have one.
Growing up: Isaac still wants to be a Big Puppy Dog when he grows up, and this month he has been extra Puppy Doggy. He tends only to be a puppy at home or other places that don't have peers. If you call him the wrong name in the wrong place you will be corrected. Isaac still does a good job with his chores, although he does periodically tell me how much he doesn't really like them and in what order he doesn't like them. He does like the money though. I also feel comfortable that he will make the correct decisions in most situations...at least, any of the situations that he might find himself currently in. He also has a good sense of timing now and realizes that things might not happen right away, but that they will still happen.
Social: Isaac likes a ton of people. He enjoys playing with Ben. He plays with Joshua and understands that Joshua is littler and has different rules sometimes. He likes his grandmothers and CC. He can play alone with friends. He still seems to love me the most.
I'm super proud of the kid Isaac is turning out to be. He's a lot of fun, helpful, and loving. And silly. Don't forget that he's silly.
Likes: building things (circuits, duplos, etc.), mazes, running, gymnastics, screen time, treats. He actually seems to like almost everything, really. When I ask him what the least favorite thing was of the day he often doesn't have one.
Growing up: Isaac still wants to be a Big Puppy Dog when he grows up, and this month he has been extra Puppy Doggy. He tends only to be a puppy at home or other places that don't have peers. If you call him the wrong name in the wrong place you will be corrected. Isaac still does a good job with his chores, although he does periodically tell me how much he doesn't really like them and in what order he doesn't like them. He does like the money though. I also feel comfortable that he will make the correct decisions in most situations...at least, any of the situations that he might find himself currently in. He also has a good sense of timing now and realizes that things might not happen right away, but that they will still happen.
Social: Isaac likes a ton of people. He enjoys playing with Ben. He plays with Joshua and understands that Joshua is littler and has different rules sometimes. He likes his grandmothers and CC. He can play alone with friends. He still seems to love me the most.
I'm super proud of the kid Isaac is turning out to be. He's a lot of fun, helpful, and loving. And silly. Don't forget that he's silly.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
29 months
Joshua turned 29 months yesterday.
Attitude: oh, it's rough being two. Sometimes he's so happy and sometimes he's so sad. He can go back and forth so quickly. If he's hungry things tend to go poorly. During those times he wants to be picked up and carried still...it tends to be a bad time to want to be picked up because I'll be making food and it is easier with two hands. However, there hasn't been too much blatant misbehaving this month; he's only had time-out a few times. He is often very willing to help out with whatever task needs doing. When I make a decision for him (i.e., that he should put mittens on), he will often want the opposite. That's often ok with me, so I agree. He then changes his mind again to what I had originally said. That's fine too...but I wish he wouldn't be so dramatic about it. I agree with what he wants; there's no need to scream.
Likes: Joshua likes so many things! Bears, music, dancing, gymnastics, Duplos, coloring, robots, reading, putting people to bed, running, treats, and playing with Isaac. It is not hard to keep him occupied.
Sleeping: sleeping is going better than it was last month, but there are still days. Getting up once with him isn't uncommon, but isn't daily either.
Food: We're still having trouble with food. He likes strawberries and crunchy beans and bread products. Everything else is hit or miss...it's really annoying when he likes something one day but then won't touch it the next.
Potty training: it's still going well, and it could still use improvement. As expected. I ran out of the more absorbent underwear one day and gave him Mickey Mouse underwear, which is now his preferred underwear.
Talking: Joshua is communicating better and better each day. He's pretty good at counting and with minimal help can get to eleven. I've heard some letters come out of his mouth, but I haven't noticed that he can recognize them. He sometimes does nice complete sentences, but more often just does the minimum noun/verb combo.
People: Joshua recognizes and names a bunch of people, even out of context: mainly some friends from church, Ethan/Leah, and both sets of grandparents. He often will ask to see one grandparent or another. He loves Isaac and often copies whatever he's doing. (But not so much that he doesn't have plans of his own.) He will go back and forth between preferring Ben or me.
Time: Joshua likes to know what we're going to do any given day, but I've been trying not to tell him as often because if there is something fun at the end of the day I won't stop hearing about it for the rest of the day. Furthermore, there are usually tears because the activity isn't happening now. Yesterday I ordered some plane tickets and he was ready to go on an airplane for the next three hours, and rather nervous that we would go without him. Isaac and I told him repeatedly that it wasn't for a long time yet.
Praying: when asked what he would like to pray for, Joshua always thanks God for bears, airplanes, and rocket ships. Sometimes we'll get something else, but those three things come first.
Attitude: oh, it's rough being two. Sometimes he's so happy and sometimes he's so sad. He can go back and forth so quickly. If he's hungry things tend to go poorly. During those times he wants to be picked up and carried still...it tends to be a bad time to want to be picked up because I'll be making food and it is easier with two hands. However, there hasn't been too much blatant misbehaving this month; he's only had time-out a few times. He is often very willing to help out with whatever task needs doing. When I make a decision for him (i.e., that he should put mittens on), he will often want the opposite. That's often ok with me, so I agree. He then changes his mind again to what I had originally said. That's fine too...but I wish he wouldn't be so dramatic about it. I agree with what he wants; there's no need to scream.
Likes: Joshua likes so many things! Bears, music, dancing, gymnastics, Duplos, coloring, robots, reading, putting people to bed, running, treats, and playing with Isaac. It is not hard to keep him occupied.
Sleeping: sleeping is going better than it was last month, but there are still days. Getting up once with him isn't uncommon, but isn't daily either.
Food: We're still having trouble with food. He likes strawberries and crunchy beans and bread products. Everything else is hit or miss...it's really annoying when he likes something one day but then won't touch it the next.
Potty training: it's still going well, and it could still use improvement. As expected. I ran out of the more absorbent underwear one day and gave him Mickey Mouse underwear, which is now his preferred underwear.
Talking: Joshua is communicating better and better each day. He's pretty good at counting and with minimal help can get to eleven. I've heard some letters come out of his mouth, but I haven't noticed that he can recognize them. He sometimes does nice complete sentences, but more often just does the minimum noun/verb combo.
People: Joshua recognizes and names a bunch of people, even out of context: mainly some friends from church, Ethan/Leah, and both sets of grandparents. He often will ask to see one grandparent or another. He loves Isaac and often copies whatever he's doing. (But not so much that he doesn't have plans of his own.) He will go back and forth between preferring Ben or me.
Time: Joshua likes to know what we're going to do any given day, but I've been trying not to tell him as often because if there is something fun at the end of the day I won't stop hearing about it for the rest of the day. Furthermore, there are usually tears because the activity isn't happening now. Yesterday I ordered some plane tickets and he was ready to go on an airplane for the next three hours, and rather nervous that we would go without him. Isaac and I told him repeatedly that it wasn't for a long time yet.
Praying: when asked what he would like to pray for, Joshua always thanks God for bears, airplanes, and rocket ships. Sometimes we'll get something else, but those three things come first.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Wednesday: pop
After an experiment today, there was a half can of squirt remaining. I let the boys drink it. It's not their first time to have pop, but one of the first times. (Note: Isaac calls it 'soda' not because he's from the East, but because that's that the experiment called it.)
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