Isaac

I love being the mom of two little boys!!! Lots of people told me how hard it would be at first, but I've been relieved to find that it's also a LOT of fun! Thomas has had three nights in a row of 7-10 hours of sleep, then eating briefly and going back down for 2-3 hours. It's a beautiful thing.

Isaac is a great big brother. He shares toys and sippy cups with Thomas (places them in Thomas's swing or on his stomach) and will often squat down by him and say "Hi Baby!" When Thomas cries for any reason Isaac is very concerned that "baby is sad" and wants me to take care of it. If I put Isaac in the car before Thomas, he gets worried that I've forgotten the baby and sometimes starts to cry.

I have to remind myself that Isaac is only 21 months. He's a little big for his age and so verbal that I sometimes expect too much of him and feel like I'm disciplining more than I should. The biggest challenge of motherhood for me so far is trying to figure out appropriate expectations for behavior, be consistent, and recognize when I've done too much or not enough. I assume I'm not alone in this. Overall we have a great time together. Isaac and I have a ritual that goes as follows:

Mommy: "Hey, are you my favorite Isaac?"
Isaac: "Uh huh!"
Mommy: "Am I your favorite mommy?"
Isaac: "Uh huh!"
Mommy: "We're each other's favorite!"

Several times throughout the day Isaac will say "Momma?" just to hear me say, "Yes?". He'll smile and go on doing whatever he was doing. Just checking in, I guess. Some of Isaac's favorite foods are hot dogs, yogurt, raisins, mashed potatoes, and scrambled eggs. He'll go get the frying pan out of the drawer and bring it to me saying, "Eggs? Please? Okay!" Sometimes he asks me to sit down and play the piano. On a couple of the more intense pieces he'll say, "Wow!" at the loud parts. He is obsessed with trucks! Especially Daddy's truck. If they are having male bonding time, Walt will take Isaac out to the truck in the garage and they'll be there for 15-20 minutes while Isaac turns on the lights, honks the horn, pulls down the visor, opens the glove box. And then there is the inevitable tantrum when it's time to come in. He could sit out there all day and be happy. Songs are a favorite thing, too. We'll sing "We Are A Happy Family" and I'll pause to let him fill in the name of someone. Daddy, Nanna, and Grandpa are favorite choices, but he also thinks it's hilarious to say Jocelyn (his cousin) over and over and over. Yesterday he said, "Blanket", and I informed him that unfortunately the blanket couldn't love him back. Good thing he didn't understand what I was saying - his little heart would have been broken! I'll keep those thoughts to myself from now on. :) He's also picking up on some of the expressions I use. He'll say, "Wow! Dump Truck! Cool." Or "Awesome!" This is such a fun age, and I'm loving it!


Daddy was in charge of dishing up dessert. Mommy is not so generous. But look at that smile! :)


Post-dessert blackmail picture. Pirate? Cowboy? Joker? You decide.



Taking a spin in Nanna Julz's antique baby buggy.