25 month update

Isaac is 25 months old, and continues to keep us on our toes. He is learning, saying, and doing new things all the time! Isaac's vocabulary is growing daily. He is saying and forming many more sentences. It is so cute hearing how some of his phrases and sentences come out of his mouth...close but not exactly grammatically correct. For example, when he is finished eating he says "My done." instead of "I'm done." He says "My down" when he is being held and wants to be put down. He consistently says that he is two, when asked his age. The only problem is, "two" seems to be his answer to a lot of questions lately. What is your name? "Two." He is so excited to know his age, that he uses it to answer everything. Whenever he is asking where someone is, he says "Daddy Is?" This means, where is Daddy? He will ask this as Daddy is coming home from work. His daycare teachers say that he will ask them "Mommy Is?" I believe Isaac's favorite phrase is "do again." If he is being tickled, flipped, and played with in a way he likes, he always says "do again." Another one he likes to say is "sit here." We are working on incorporating the use of the word "please" after these commands so he does not sound so bossy.

Isaac is definitely using the word "no" frequently, which is causing him a lot of hardship. He is a strong-willed little fella, and says "no" if he is not getting his way. Therefore, we are having to step up our discipline. He has gotten in trouble at daycare more this month for hitting, shoving, and pushing his little friends. One day, we were meeting a friend at a restaurant. I opened the door let Isaac in, and he just walked up to a little girl (smaller than him) and pushed her to the ground. I felt really embarrassed as everyone standing in the food line witnessed this incident. Isaac has even been pushing Mommy a lot lately. I am hoping this is a terrible two phase that will quickly pass. When Isaac is pushed by someone else or runs into something he says "it hurt me." He starts crying, but as soon as he is mocked, he cracks up laughing instantly. So you know he cannot be hurt that badly.

Another one of our hardest challenges so far occurred this month. Usually Isaac is happy to see his Daddy and me when he has not seen us in a few hours. Well, one weekend he stayed at Grampie and Grandmama's house, and Daddy picked him up while he was asleep. When Isaac woke up, he was at home. It was so sad to me that he did not want to see me. He cried for an hour to go back to his grandparent's house. He kept saying "I want Grandmama's house." Similar situations have occurred after seeing Grandad and Mimi. This has been the first time Isaac has preferred others over me. Of course, I am glad he loves them, but it is taking some getting used to for me.

We did have a little scare this month. All of a sudden, Isaac's leg was swollen from his knee down to this ankle and his limped for several days. Fortunately, his leg healed itself. We are still 100% of the cause of his limp, but it appeared that he had a reaction to a mosquito bite in the bend of his knee. Whether this was the cause or not, we were so thankful that he was able to walk and run normal again after a few days!

Isaac went through a little phase where is was not as interested as books, as he was his other toys. It seems now he is regaining his interests in books, as he especially enjoys "The Foot Book" and "Dump Truck Dan." I had tried in the past to get him excited about the alphabet, but have realized that he is not going to learn anything until he is ready. Well, he is now interested in his A,B,C's. This probably has a lot to do with the face that he is learning a letter a week at daycare. We are working with him at home on whichever letter he is learning at his school. He goes around singing "A-B-C-D..." and just mumbles the parts he does not know yet. He is also getting very interested in learning his shapes and colors!

Isaac loves to work puzzles. He is really good with his hands, and is able to work a large 12 piece jigsaw puzzle with a little assistance from us. Isaac also loves Thomas the Train. He enjoys playing with his actual trains and watching the "Thomas the Train" show on our i-phones. He knows all the other trains, such as Percy, Toby, and Boose (which is what he calls the caboose). Not only does he like his trains, but anything with wheels. He rides his tricycle a lot, pushes his trucks around the house, and lines up his little cars/tractors in his room. He also enjoys taking baths and looking at pictures from the past (such as vacation pictures on the beach).

He is extremely active. He likes to hop around and say "hop, hop", get on the floor at jump like a frog as he says "ribbit, ribbit", and play outside. He enjoys playing on his swingset and hitting his tee-ball. He has recently learned to run the bases after he hits the ball, and he loves it! He just runs around like crazy! Isaac also like to walk on his tip toes for fun, as he says "tip toe, tip toe."

Because Isaac is so active, I was a little nervous about whether or not he would sit still while getting his pictures made this month. We went to get some professional pictures made, and Isaac did a great job cooperating. I even learned a little trick from the photographer. He would put a quarter on his head, have Isaac "blow it off," then put his head down to make the quarter fall into his hands. Isaac would blow then smile immediately once he saw the quarter drop. Isaac loved this trick, and it worked like a charm to get him to smile good for his pictures!

I have to admit, potty training is not going as well as I had hoped. We have recently regressed in this area. For the most part, he will pee in the potty when taken to the potty, but he still will not tell us when he needs to go. He has also had more accidents lately. Hopefully this will be like everything else...he will do it when he wants to. I am pleased, though, at how well he takes medicine. For many children, taking medicine is awful and can probably be as frustrating as potty training to the parents. Isaac on the other hand, does not mind to take medicine and is extremely cooperative with this.

Everything is about the same as far as Isaac's eating goes. He still loves peanut butter and jelly, Mexican food, and Chick Fila. We have met his buddy Tay at Chick Fila on a couple Saturday mornings, and they play in the kiddy area and love it! He is abscessed with fruit snacks. He wants fruit snacks for breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner. He obviously does not get them everytime he wants them, and this of course leads to little temper tantrums. Because he loves fruit snacks so much, he loves taking his Flintstone gummy vitamins. He asks me everyday for his "bitamin" (he pronounces his "v" as a "b." Some mornings when we are eating breakfast, Isaac will be very specific and tell me which spoon he wants to eat with. At the first of this month, he always wanted his white spoon, but now it is his green spoon he prefers.

Isaac went to Holiday World and Splashing Safari this month. We were sad that Daddy could not go because he had to work. Isaac and I met up with our friends from WKU and their little ones. We had a great time. Isaac was extremely well behaved on this trip, and did everything I told him to do. He held my hand as we walked around the park. He actually seemed a little intimidated at the water park because there were so many people there. Isaac also got to go to his buddy, Dhavid's, birthday party this month. He got to attempt hitting a pinata for the first time, but kept throwing the stick. He was not understanding the concept on holding onto the stick. It was pretty funny, but dangerous for the spectators.

It seems green is his favorite color. Like I previously mentioned, he prefers his green spoon while eating. While at Holiday World, Isaac wanted to rides the green rides when possible (i.e. green airplane, car, horse, etc). He played a game at the amusement park where he got to pick a prize. He was so excited because he won a big green ball. I took him to a cupcake shop one day, and when asked which cupcake he wanted, he replied "the green one." It was a white cupcake with about 6 inches of green icing on top. He was in heaven!!!

Isaac is always doing or saying something funny and keeping us entertained. He loves to try putting on his own shoes, but he always seems to manage to put them on the wrong feet. He is real particular too; he just wants to wear his "big shoes" which are his tennis shoes. He wants his tennis shoes on every waking hour. Another thing he is particular about is getting his nails cut. He wants to have his toenails cut before he has his fingernails cut. It is just his preference, I guess. Lately, when Isaac wakes up in the mornings, he says "Isaac awake." Although, on the days when he is still tired and not ready to get up (which of course our the days when I have to go to work), Isaac will says "nigh night in Isaac's bed" or "do it again." Both comments basically are saying "Mommy, I am still sleepy and do not want to wake up." Many morning after he wakes up he walks into the living area, looks on the mantle, sees a framed picture of himself, and says "hi Isaac." It is hilarious!

Having a 2-year old is full of challenges, but there is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful for my little Isaac. God has truly blessed us with the joy of our son!

24th month update

Isaac is officially 2 now, and I cannot believe how quickly times flies. He weighs 25 pounds and is 34 1/2 inches tall. I am praying that the "terrible two's" are not so terrible. Isaac had a great 2nd birthday and has been enjoying playing with all his new toys. He loves getting in his new rocket tent. He will pull a train of trucks through it's tunnel. He also loves building tall towers with blocks, and of course, then kicking the towers over. Whew, he is all boy! He enjoys hitting balls off his tee. He got a bowling set for his birthday, and not knowing the concept of the game yet, would take the bowling pin and try to it the bowling ball like a baseball. Since he had not been exposed to bowling yet, but has been exposed to baseball, that is just what he thought he was suppose to do. Some of Isaac's other big interests right now are: riding his tricycle, swinging and going down slides, playing in his sandbox, being chased, falling face first into a pile of pillows on the bed, playing with his train set, watching Thomas the Train and playing an animal match game on Daddy's I-pad, and working puzzles. Isaac really enjoys working puzzles right now. It is the first thing he wants to do when he wakes up. He is able to work a 9-piece puzzle by himself. He got what he calls "rooster book" for his birthday, and he really loves looking at it. It has buttons to push to hear animal sounds and has puzzles that make each animal. He loves it! Finally, Isaac has enjoyed going swimming and to water parks this summer! He is not scared to put his face in the water, and he does a pretty good job of kicking. Hopefully next summer he will be able to actually swim.

Isaac loves being outside. Any chance we get to go outside (when it's not too hot), we play outside. He spends a lot of time on his new swingset. We have taken several family bicycle rides, where Isaac rides in the bike trailor. I also recently purchases a jogging stroller. As soon as Isaac sees me grab my tennis shoes, he says "walk stroller?". Isaac likes to point out when it is hot or getting dark outside by saying "hot outside" or "dark outside." Since it has been too hot to go outside in the middle of the day, we often have to wait until later in the evening to go out and play. The major problem we have discovered with this is that Isaac gets eaten up by mosquitos, even with wearing bug spray. When he gets mosquito bites, his arms and legs just swell. Then he picks at them until they bleed, which has left little white scares all over his arms and legs. Even though those bites drive him crazy, there is no place he would rather be than outside!

Since I previously spoke of terrible twos, I might as well include our current challenges with the little man. First of all, he has picked up a several annoying habits at school....picking his nose, spitting, yelling out for no reason, and showing his food while he eats. He has also started potty training rebellion. He has completely stopped telling us when he needs to potty. Now we just have to take him when we anticipate that he needs to go. He still does well with peeing in the potty; however, pooping is a different story. He basically poops in his britches every day, and then says "pee-pee potty" after the damage is done. I am not sure how to get him to poop in the potty, but maybe he will get the hang of it in the near future. Another odd habit he has started holding my hair likes reigns of a horse and using his arm to roll my hair up (which is not comfortable). He has also started making grocery shopping more interesting. He will not sit in the front of the cart long because he wants to push it. So, he gets between me and the grocery cart, leans over, and pushes the bottom rack of the car, while I steer at the top. We get a lot of funny looks when I am not holding the cart because it looks as if the cart is magically moving by itself (since Isaac is so small people do not always see him at first). Finally, he has his occasional tantrums when he does not get his way as he stomps his feet and screams. Other than that, he is pretty well behaved. He likes to be Momma's helper, such as when I am carrying groceries into the house or when I am cleaning. He does a good job of holding my hand when instructed to do so, like if we were crossing a street or walking in a parking lot. He is even cooperative when I take his picture. He likes to say "cheese." I am also thankful that he no longer puts up a fight when I ask him to wear a hat or sandals. He actually likes wearing hats, especially backwards, and seems to prefer wearing his crocs (that our neighbor gave us) over other shoe options.

We have a lot of fun with our bedtime routine. Isaac loves his baths! I will ask him, "what time is it?" and he replies "bath time" with a huge smile. He enjoys the water, playing with his balls and boats, and dumpling water on himself with the big water scoop. Isaac and Daddy have started having some special moments during the bedtime routine. Isaac often asks for Daddy to read him his bedtime stories, so the two of them have started reading "The Bernstein Bears." Then before Adam leaves the room (after he lays Isaac in his bed), Isaac says "Love you Daddy." It is precious! Isaac's reading interest has recently grown. For the past few months, he has been too busy to sit and look at books a lot. I have started reading a children's Bible story book to him at night, and he really seems to enjoy it. However, I am having a hard time getting him to understand that every man and woman in the Bible stories are not Adam and Eve. It is amazing how a 2-year-old can keep an adult accountable. If we are about to eat a meal or go to bed, and I happen to forget to pray, Isaac is quick to remind me. It is amazing how God can use a 2-year-old to keep me accountable!

Isaac is continuing to say more and more. He often speaks full sentences, but the majority of the time, he says specific phrases. I am constantly surprised by how much and how quickly he learns things. Two of his favorite and most currently used phrases are "found it" and "I got it." He also says "turn around" a lot. He usually says this when we are in the car, and he wants to go somewhere specific, and he knows I am headed in the opposite direction. Many times he would say "turn around, church, railroad tracks." To go to church we have to cross some tracks, which Isaac loves to look for, so anytime we go anywhere, he is hoping to see the railroad tracks. After a fun and exciting week of vacation Bible school, Isaac would say "more more church." He had such a great time that he wanted to go to VBS every night. Another thing Isaac likes to say is "reach," as he stands far away from me and reaches out his hand (and he is way too far from me for me to actually reach him). It is so funny! When it comes to food, these are his requests: "cwackers and peanut bubba," "chips and salsa" (for Mexican food), and "Chick Fila." One time Isaac was in the car with his grandparents, and they were going the opposite way of Chick Fila, and Isaac said "turn around, Chick Fila." He loves Chick Fila, but now it is mostly for the play area, rather than the food. I can rarely get him to each chicken nuggets now, which has been something I could always could on before. Oh, the challenges of a 2-year old. Isaac is also becoming more interested in numbers and colors. When he counts he may say "1,2,4,8,9,10" and then smile because he is really proud of himself. He know all the numbers 1-10 plus some others, but just picks and chooses which ones he wants to use when he is counting. Recently too, anytime someone age Isaac his name (which he knows) or his age, his reply is "Two" (as he holds up about 8 fingers).

So far, Isaac being two has been lots of fun! He is smart, and is definitely testing his boundaries, so discipline is going to be such a key factor for us. I am having to read books on this topic and study child raising/ discipline, since this is new territory for me. I am sure this year will be full of challenges, but I am so thankful to be Isaac's mother. I am blessed that God entrusted me with Isaac and is giving Adam and I the opportunity to shepherd Isaac's heart, so that one day (I pray) his life will be honoring and glorifying to God!