Isaac 35 month update

I can't believe my little guy is almost 3! Where in the world does the time go? People have warned me of how quickly time flies, and it is so true! Even when life seems hectic, I want to embrace every moment I have with my boy!

Isaac has had an eventful month, full of fun times and events! First of all, Isaac went to Chaney's Dairy Barn with his daycare. He was excited because he got to eat red ice cream (which seems to be his current favorite color), and see cows. However, his teacher told me he liked the cows, but would not pet the cows. Isaac tends to like things, such as animals, only from a distance. Isaac went another time to the Dairy Barn this month to his church buddy's, John Thomas, birthday party. There is playground equipment, huge slides, sandboxes, and more, and Isaac chose to push around a Tonka truck the entire time at the party. They got to make their own ice cream sundaes. The entire time the kids were eating, Isaac kept asking me if he could get up to play with the Tonka truck.

One of two of the biggest events of the month for Isaac was his birthday party. Since baby brother was expected to arrive on July 8th, we decided to celebrate Isaac's 3rd birthday a little early (on the 4th). I do want to tell a couple stories from his party. He and Christopher were playing in a kiddie pool, with shorts on and no shirt. Isaac thought it was hilarious to be playing without a shirt on, so he ran around yelling, "we are naked boys!" Another cute thing he said when his guests were leaving was "you can come to my birthday tomorrow." His party highlights and pictures are covered in a separate blog entry, but he had a wonderful time!!! The second big event, which will be life-changing for him, is the birth of his brother, Eli! When Eli was first born, Isaac mostly just seemed curious...not really overjoyed or disappointed about it. He will randomly kiss or talk to "baby brother" as Isaac calls him, but does not really spend too much time with him. Needless to say, this month, has been full of fun and big events for the Isaac Bopper!

Since we had to celebrate Isaac's birthday early; we decided to do a couple special things for him after Eli arrived. First of all, Daddy and Isaac together put together a cool train table for his birthday! Isaac enjoyed helping to put it together, and absolutely loves playing with it! We also had a another mini celebration on his actual birthday, the 12th. We took Isaac to GiGi's cupcake shop and let him pick out his own cupcake. He wanted the "brown one with the star." We sang Happy Birthday to him and let him blow out the candles. This seemed to make him feel special during this transitional time in his life.

It amazes me how he remembers everything he hears and sees. Sometimes I don't even realize he knows things because I don't remember teaching him. Many times, he just picks up information by listening to other people's conversations. For instance, I have never told him what a grill cover was or it's purpose. One day Adam said he was going to go get the grill cover, and Isaac responded by saying "so it won't get rain on it." Another time, Daddy was driving us and he had his arms in a different driving position and Isaac said "not like that Daddy." Daddy then corrected his hand position, and Isaac said "yes, that's it." That is hilarious to me that he even noticed it! While driving one day, Isaac told me to stop because the light was red. Then when it turned green, he said "you can go." I asked him what a yellow light meant. He didn't know so I told him it meant to slow down and proceed with caution. He replied "I'll say that when I grow up." You just never know what kids this age will say. I am also amazed by all he remembers. We told him a story about Carrie falling off her bed when she was little, so he would be careful with his "big boy bed." Then weeks later, I was putting pillows between the bed and wall, and he said "so I won't fall off the bed like Carrie." I couldn't believe he remembered that, since it had been a while since we even discussed it. Even though he remembers everything, he still gets his time frames mixed up. He might be talking about something that happened when he was a baby or months ago, and he will say that it occurred last week or yesterday. It's cute how he tries to put a time line on events, even though he does not quite understand time lines exactly.

Isaac really likes to help me cook. He wants to be a "helper" and will help me crack eggs, stir things, and put spaghetti noodles in the pot. Isaac seems to be eating a little better this month, not so much a better variety, but more quantity. Maybe him assisting in the kitchen makes him more interested in eating. Even though I have mentioned this in previous posts, Isaac still really likes to play with and twist my hair. He only does this when he is sitting in my lap, relaxed. Each month, Isaac enjoys pretending more and more. Like last month, he still likes to bring us "chicken." At night when we are doing our bedtime routine, Isaac tells me he wants to read me a book. So, I lay next to him, and he says "once upon a time," then giggles. After that, he usually just flips through the pages. Isaac loves playing outside, and especially loves it when our neighbors are outside for him to play with (Caroline, Cade, and Savannah). He always talks about how he wants to go to Carolines (pronounced "Carowine"). Once he has been playing with them, it is extremely difficult to get him to come home without a complete meltdown.

Isaac has developed a fear of the dark. If it's close to getting dark outside, he wants to be indoors (even as much as he loves to play outside). Even though he was already a little scared of the dark, I think this fear really kicked in around 4th of July, when people in the neighborhood started shooting off fireworks. He doesn't want anything to do with fireworks. We first noticed this at Grampie's house. We thought he would want to see them, but he would not even look at them from inside the house. Then, when Adam and I were at the hospital when Eli was born, Mimi and Grandad said that there were fireworks on our street and really loud outside his window. Since then, he has been putting the sheets over his head at night when he is trying to fall asleep. At night, he tends to walk right by my side, even inside the house. If he hears a slight sound, he says "what was that noise?" I just reassure him that he is safe, the dark won't hurt him, and God created night-time, just like he created day-time. He also seems a little extra apprehensive when it is raining or lightening outside. The night of his friend's birthday party at the Dairy Barn, we had to leave the party early due to lightening. Daddy was mowing the yard when we got home, and Isaac was very concerned about Adam being out in the rain. Now, whenever it storms, Isaac brings up the night when Daddy was mowing and we had to leave the Dairy Barn because it was lightening. I hope him being scared is a phase he is just going through, and that he will learn not to fear these things. I hate to see him scared and worried about things that are out of his control.

Isaac has had a tough time when I drop him off and pick him up at daycare. He cries when I leave him. Then when I pick him up, he cries because he either doesn't want to leave or because of a "sucker" situation. The teachers have started giving the kids suckers on Fridays if they have been good for the whole week. Well, if Isaac doesn't have one, he has a melt down. If he gets the wrong color he has a melt down. One day, his teacher gave him a "red" sucker. Well, when he opened it up, it was pink. He went hysterical. As we walked out of the daycare, the teachers probably thought I had been beating him (that's how bad his crying and behavior was that afternoon). I wish his school never even started giving out suckers. It makes it hard on Mommy, when I pick him up. I want him to wait until after dinner, but all his buddies have already had their suckers. Now, he doesn't even run to me or say hi to me when I get to his school. He runs directly to his folder and tells me he wants his sucker. We are trying to teach Isaac a couple lessons from all this....1. He does not always get what he wants. 2. He needs to accept what is given to him, be appreciative of what he gets, and say thank you (even if it's not the "color" he prefers).

The only other negative challenge we have had recently with Isaac is that he likes to play with his private (what he calls his "tee-tee"). I think he is just trying to get attention. He likes to get naked before his bath and run around, and point to it and say "this is not a toy." He sometimes will come out of the bathroom after using the potty with it sticking up just over his underwear, with a huge smile on his face. He is doing very well with pooping in the potty still. I am thankful he has not regressed in this area since the baby's arrival (which was a fear I had). He must consider using the potty a private thing to do because he has started shutting the bathroom door when he has to poop. Using Starbursts as the reward for doing #2 on the potty has been a huge help for us. Isaac will poop by himself now, then yells at us to help wipe him. Then he says he would like his yellow or red starburst (depending on his favorite color at the time). We are still working on not peeing at night, so he still sleeps with a pull-up on. He may have 3 successful nights in a row, the a full pull-up the following morning. He is really thirsty at night, but I have encouraged him to drink less and just take little sips from his sippy cup. One morning when he had a dry pull-up, he had a big smile and said "I took little sips."

Isaac's favorite word seems to be "why?" I am trying to teach him to ask "who?," "where?," and "what?" too, not just "why?". I am glad he wants to understand things better though, and seems interested in learning! Isaac's other favorite thing to say is "I sad." He tends to say this when Mommy or Daddy leave, when he does not get his sucker, or when he has to come inside after playing outside. He has mastered the puppy dog face as he says "I sad." He knows how to tug at Mommy's heart!

Isaac really likes to say bye to his Daddy in a certain sequence, when Adam is going to work. Isaac wants a kiss, high five, and then knucks! It is really cute to watch them in action. Then after Daddy leaves, Isaac says, "did Daddy go to his patient work?" He hears Adam and I mention that he treats patients, so Isaac calls it his patient work. Daddy and Isaac have had some great bonding time lately, especially at night. Isaac really looks forward to Daddy getting home from work. It is sweet to see them interact! I love my boys!