Sunday, December 12, 2010

28 month update






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































It is so awesome to watch how much Isaac learns each month. Even though he has spoken in full sentences at times, he is consistently speaking in full sentences now. I feel like I can talk to him like he's an adult and often have to remind myself that he is only a 2 1/2 year old. He definitely still enjoys making up words, along with his buddies at school. Some of his most consistently used made-up words are: Bodie, Joe, and Ka Paw. He will say a made up word and just laugh hysterically. I have to admit, many of his words are pretty creative. When he first learned to say "yes" he said the word properly. Then as a few months passed, he began saying "yeah." It would drive me crazy. Then I realized one day, while talking on the phone, that I repetitively used the word "yeah." No wonder he started saying "yeah" all the time. I love how my 2 year-old finds many of my flaws. Anyway, after me being conscious of saying "yes" rather than "yeah," Isaac has finally started saying "yes" again.

Isaac has some other phrases he has liked to say this month. When Daddy leaves for work, he always says "Where did my Daddy go? I don't see him." The cutest part is that he puts his hands out and shakes his head, showing that he is confused. Another thing he often says is "I don't like that noise" as he shakes his head no. He says this anytime he hears a random noise, such as the refrigerator, ice maker, washing machine buzzer, etc. Whenever Isaac falls or slides on the floor, he gets up and says "safe" as he makes the umpire's "safe" symbol with his arms. Finally, anytime Isaac falls or bumps himself on something, he says "kiss it, kiss my boo-boo."

Isaac had a busy 28th month. We had such a wonderful time with our families on Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone, even though the holiday seems to just fly by. Isaac was also in a Christmas play at his school this month. He sang some Christmas songs with his classmates and even had a speaking part. His part was "stripes that are red like the blood shed for me." I was impressed and a little surprised, but he went right up to the microphone and said his lines without crying or hesitation. I was very proud of him. One funny part about Isaac in the program, was something he said to his buddy, Tay. Tay started ringing his bells before the music started and Isaac said "not yet Tay." This is just one example of how our little man is getting a little bossy! Another really cool opportunity Isaac had this month was exploring Mammoth Cave. My friend Monica came to town to visit, and we took a tour of the cave. It was really neat, and Isaac was very well-behaved and seemed interested!

Isaac loves going to WKU football games. He is infatuated with Big Red; although, he still does not want to get too close. He always wants to wear his Big Red shirts, and goes around the house cheering "P-O-P-S, Tots, Tots, Tots" instead of "T-O-P-S, Tops, Tops, Tops." He even puts his little hands over his mouth trying to make a megaphone when he says this. He also likes to say, "Go Defense." Isaac not only likes Big Red, but also the UK Wildcat. Anytime I wear a UK or WKU shirt, he says "Ur have a wildcat shirt on?" He knows the difference and that one is blue and one is red. That is pretty observant for a 2 year-old.

Since Christmas is approaching, Isaac has enjoyed seeing all the Christmas decorations. He helped me decorate our tree this year, which was lots of fun! The main problem with having a Christmas tree and a 2 year-old, is that every time he walks by the tree, he just can't help but move the ornaments around. Isaac likes the nativity scene. He especially likes to grab the shepherd's staff and point out baby Jesus. His favorite Christmas decorations this year are people's outdoor blow-up decorations. He asks me many, many times a day to see Santa on skis, Santa on the motorcycle, or the penguins that pop up. These are all blow-out items in people's yards. Every time we get in the car, he requests to see them. He also likes to pull our stockings down and wear them like big socks. I have to admit, it's pretty funny!

Isaac has discovered where Grandmother Dot's piano is, and likes to sneak away to the piano room so he can "make some music." He loves to bang around on it! Another interest he has is watching "Thomas the Train," playing an animal match game, looking at Tot cards, and looking at family pictures on the I-phone. It amazes me how he can maneuver my phone! Isaac has realized this month that he really likes poptarts. Every morning, even though he only gets them on occasion, he asks for a "totcart." He also has taken more of an interest in stuffed animals, compared to in the past. He used to care less about his stuffed animals, unless they sing/dance. He has two stuffed puppy dogs, Patrick and Sophie, and he goes around carrying them or covering them up to let them go "nigh-night." He likes to point out that he has 2 dogs, because he is getting more interested in counting things.

We are still not making any further progress with potty training. He will go pee-pee when he is taken to the potty. However, he still won't tell us when he needs to go. He definitely won't tell us when he needs to poop, and always goes and hides to poop. He has learned, though, that he likes to stand up sometimes to pee-pee. Another struggle this month, besides lack of potty training progress, is that he likes to take his clothes off and play naked. I may have just put his clothes on, and then he may take off his pants. Thankfully, this phase only lasted a week or two!

Well, it's been a great month. Our little Isaac Bopper is so fun! I can't even hardly remember what life was like before he entered the world. I just love that little fella so much, and am so thankful the Lord blessed us with him!

A Time of Thankgiving






































































































































































































Thanksgiving was very enjoyable, but hectic this year! Isaac was 28 months this Thanksgiving. We were back and forth between families a lot, in order to spend quality time with everyone. Uncle G and Auntie M, and Uncle Eric and Aunt Steph, will not be in for Christmas. Therefore, it was important to spend as much time with both families at Thanksgiving, since we may not see them for a while.
We enjoyed spending time with our families and had delicious food at both homes! We even met a new cousin born just a couple of weeks ago, Jonathon David. He is precious and looks just like his big brother. Isaac enjoyed hanging out with his cousins Christopher, Katelyn, and Madison at one family gathering. At the other, he just enjoyed all attention he got from the adults. At the Coat's family gathering, he loved running around with his cousin and buddy Jenna.
This Thanksgiving, we also made an announcement to our immediate families about baby #2. We did this by having Isaac wear a T-shirt that said Big Brother Isaac. We are so excited about our growing family!
Overall, we had a great time, great food, and got to visit with a lot of our family, who we feel so blessed to have in our lives! We are so thankful for everything and everyone the Lord has blessed us with, and cannot thank Him enough for his provision and many blessings!

27 month update


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Our little guy is 27 months old, and boy has this month been full of both pleasures and challenges!

Isaac has many interests and likes such as: playing his drum, building "castles", praying "God Our Father", eating "a whole bunch of marshmellows", going to WKU football games (to see Big Red, fireworks, cheerleaders, and the band), singing ("Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", "Happy Birthday", "ABC's", and "Jesus Loves Me"), eating Daddy's cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch (what 2 year-old wouldn't love that), and looking at family pictures and pictures of himself (he says "I want to see a whole bunch of pictures of Isaac" or "I want to see Isaac". It amazes me on how well a 2 year-old can manuver an i-phone. He knows how to get to the pictures stored on the phone, and surf through them. He also enjoys coloring and drawing, getting stickers, riding his tricycle, playing with his cars and trains, and making tents with blankets. Anytime I am just laying to rest on the couch with a blanket over me, Isaac wants me to make a tent for him with the blanket. He loves it! Another new interest of Isaac is that he likes to pee standing up now. He wants to be like his Daddy! When he is playing in his room, he will cover up his trucks and stuffed animals (especially his puppy dogs) with a blanket and say that they went "night night."He also enjoys making up words, as I mentioned last month. He and his buddies at preschool have their own language as they use words like "ka paw and bodie." There are others, but I can't quite make out what they are saying. After he says "ka paw", I ask him "where's paw?" He will make up at answer such as "Paw's over there" or "Paw's up there" (as he replies with a huge smile... he likes when I play along). He and his friends also like to roar at each other, which he has decided to do a lot at home too. He is too little and too cute for his roar to be intimidating!

So what in the world could be challenging with a 2 year-old boy? Well, where do I start? First of all, he likes to jump off everything, and the higher the better. It is a miracle he has not broken any bones yet. Secondly, I can't take my eyes off him for a second. When I do, what happens? Well, this month, he colored all over the walls in his room with crayons. I guess I knew it was just a matter of time before that happened. He also pulled his pants down one day after pooping, threw his poop in the floor, then ate some. Nasty. While I am on this subject, Isaac also peed in the floor and on the couch this month. Like I said, it happens so quickly (I can't take my eyes off him for a second). He choked on hard candy this month (which he loves to get as we leave our favorite Mexican restaurant), which was a scare. Shopping is very difficult with him. At the grocery store, he will stand in the cart and insist on pushing it. Then as soon as I let him push the cart, he will slide on his belly on the nasty grocery floor. However, I have realized that he can be bribed with marshmellows while at the grocery store. When shopping at the mall, I can only keep him in his stroller for a limited amount of time. He likes to run away and hide from me in stores. He has even learned the trick of getting in the middle of the clothes racks. It scares me to death. At church on Wednesday night, Isaac was playing with a couple of girls about 6-7 year olds while I talked to some friends. He seemed to be having fun. Before I knew it, he was throwing a ceramic tiger figurine and breaking it on the floor. It was so embarrassing.

It has definitely becoming harder to keep Isaac in his bed, especially during naptime. He climbs out of his crib, without any problem, and plays with his toys. One day I went in his room during a "nap" and he had climbed in/out of his crib until he had a crib full of toys. He also has a new interest of turning on lights and fans. In his room, he cannot quite reach the switch, so he will move his little riding train toy under the switch, climb up on it, and turn on the light. He gets so proud after he does that too, as he always comes running to where we are to tell us about his accomplishment!

Isaac got to experience some fun Halloween and fall festivities this month. He first got to go to Jackson's Orchard with Daddy and Mommy. Uncle Eric and Aunt Steph came to visit for a weekend, which Isaac enjoyed! He even got to take a second trip to Jackson's Orchard while they were in town, where we met up with cousin's Adam and Carrie. Because of it being football season, he has gotten to spend more time with Grandad and Mimi, as well as the Joyce family (since they all have WKU season tickets). Since there was a game on Halloween, we all dressed up as Gilligan's Island to participate in a costume competition. While waiting at half-time to be announced, Isaac spotted a gorilla who was also in the competition. He was really intrigued by it, and would wave from a distance. However, the gorilla was going to come over to visit Isaac, and he was scared to death (crying hysterically). For weeks after the game, all he could talk about was the gorilla scaring him at the game.

Our church had a fall festival, at a farm. Isaac had the opportunity to go on a hay ride, help steer a tractor, and play in the hay. He loved it, and didn't want to leave all the fun! Isaac also seemed to enjoy Trick-or-Treating this year! He really liked seeing everyone walking in the neighborhood in their costumes. He said "there are lots of peoples trick-or-treating." I have to admit, he was the cutest little monkey I have ever seen (spoken by a proud momma)!

Isaac is always saying something new. He has recently decided that he likes to call Adam and I by our names, rather than Daddy and Mommy, at times. He especially will say "sarah" when I don't answer him on the first attempt of him calling me "mommy." Isaac can tell us where he lives now when asked. He has the city down pretty good, but says "Tucky" for the state. It's very cute! Isaac has trouble saying his "P" sound, so instead of staying words like "please" and "pillow", it comes out of his mouth as "fease" and "fillow." He really likes his "fillows." He likes to announce when he is going to bed ("I go to bed") and when he wakes up. He comes into our room in the mornings and says "I awake" or "it's wake up time." Anytime he gets a boo-boo, he looks at us with a pitiful face and says "kiss it." It does not matter how minor of a boo-boo he has, he wants it kissed; then it's all better! He has gotten in a bad habit of saying "yeah" all the time. Then I realized that I say it frequently when I talk to people, so I guess he gets it honestly! It is funny how your children can point out your own flaws. Isaac likes to says "that's funny" about everything. I have decided he is a social laugher. Finally, when I tell him to be quiet, he will either say "shhh, the babies are sleeping at school" or put his finger over my mouth and say "shhh." He must here that the babies are sleeping when he is at daycare, but it cracks me up how he always says this same phrase when I am trying to get him to not be so loud.

Isaac seems to be doing better with daycare and church activities now. He never cries now when I drop him off. I guess he has finally realized that he has fun, and that I will return to pick him up. He has enjoyed going to church on Wednesday nights for Mission Friends. This is partly because he likes crossing the train tracks on the way there, but he also seems to like being around all the people. We usually pick up Carrie for church on Wednesday nights. One Sunday when he realized we were headed to church, he said "get Carrie." It is sweet that he knew she rode with us some and did not want to leave her. His memory really surprises me. He does not forget anything!

Well, this month has definitely had some challenges, but so many joys too! Isaac is such a blessing to us, and I cannot even remember life without him. I am so thankful for my precious little boy!