Archive for May, 2023

We’re three months out from officially entering the terrible two’s, but it seems our boy is ahead of the curve.  We’re IN IT.  Isaac is fiercely independent and helplessly needy all at once these days, desperate to do things on his own but lacking the skills to put on his own shoes.  Toddler-hood is hard.

But progress comes fast!  He’s finding more words, finding ways beyond crying or stomping his feet to tell us what he wants.   He’ll ask “wa-wa?” when he wants his water bottle, and I respond, “oh, do you want water?”, and he says, “YEAH!”, and it’s wonderful when communication works.

Other words include “cow!”, shouted at any animal with four legs, “peeeeease”, said as as a sweet plea while we’re getting his bedtime bottle prepared, “poopoo?”, muttered after a series of grunts, and a round of “nigh-nigh’s” for dad and sister before we head to his room for the evening.

He yuks it up a lot at mealtime and is the jolliest of dinner companions.  Except when he asks, “Mo? Mo? Mo?” and then swipes his extra helping to the floor the minute I put it on his tray.  I guess he’s got to remind us who’s boss.

Sleep.  SLEEP.  We’ve had a couple of bouts of sleep regression where Isaac was up four to five times a night several nights in a row, but I chalked those up to teething spells and they eventually passed.  Now if only we could get him to sleep in a little…he’s up between 5:00 and 5:30, jabbering, then whining, then jumping in his crib, which is my cue to start warming the morning bottle before all hell breaks loose.  Rise and shine, Mama!  We snuggle up on the couch or in our gray chair while he drinks his milk and the sweetness of that time almost makes up for the fact that I’m getting up with the sun.  And then I pull out books and toys and do my best to encourage “independent play” so that I can doze a bit more.  It usually works for about seven minutes.

I know, I know – we’re supposed to be done with the bottle thing by now.  But can you see why we’re not?!

There have been a handful of mornings when Isaac has woken up at 5am and I can see he’s totally tuckered a couple of hours later.  If I don’t have to commute into work, I occasionally use my extra time to take Buddy for a drive so he can grab a power nap in the car before I drop him at daycare.  I sip my coffee and catch up on my podcasts and enjoy the water view along Harbor Drive.  He catches some Z’s and is not an exhausted disaster when I eventually hand him off to his teachers.  Win-win!

Weekend naps are kind of a free-for-all; we try to just let him sleep when and where he’s tired.  Sometimes he falls asleep on the way to one of Juliette’s soccer games and then I sit with him in the car for an extra 30 minutes.  Sometimes we grab a 10 am chair doze.  I prefer the latter.

Isaac still tinkers with his toy cars, but his collection of balls are his greatest treasures.  He loves to play catch, but also loves to just tote them around like a favorite stuffy or a security blanket.

We find bouncy balls in the bathtub, in the car, in our shoes…I feel like they’re multiplying, like Gremlins in the night.

This stacking toy from Christmas is finally getting some play…

And our tried-and-true favorite books get pulled out every day.

I can’t say enough about how patient and kind and joyful Juliette is as a big sis.  Isaac has no clue how lucky he is.

Although if that’s not a thank you, I don’t know what is!

A mom at one of Juliette’s softball games a couple of week ago remarked over what a happy kid Isaac is, and I thought, “Is he?!”, and then I looked at him again and I thought, “HE IS”.

It’s easy (and normal) to be worn down by the hard stuff, by the whining and the early wake-ups and the constant strewing of toys on the floor.  But let’s not forget the utter delight.

You’re somethin’ special, Isaac Henry.

Keep on smiling, sweet boy!

Spring has sprung!  Feels like summer is springing this past week, actually – it’s 80 degrees and the cherry blossoms have long since fallen from the trees.  I have swept up the last of our magnolia petals and I bought a watermelon on Sunday!

But a backtrack to April, when Juliette was still wearing her fleece.

And Isaac sported his navy blue sweatsuit at Roxhill.

We discovered a new playground in the neighborhood recently and Juliette has been refining her hopscotch skills.

Isaac has some work to do.

I spent a Saturday morning out in Redmond with the kids while Shane played at a nearby pickleball tournament.  We roamed around Farrel-McWhirter Park and Isaac befriended a pig, a goat, and a cow.

Juliette loves to play hide and seek with her brother; the moment she darts out of sight, he throws his arms open and asks over and over, “Where go?!  Where go?!”

Found her.

Donuts, then another playground, because I love these kids that much.  And because Isaac is driving me peak crazy when cooped up indoors.

Our mornings start early, but Juliette has learned how to brew my coffee, bless her heart.

And sometimes we’ll pile back in bed at 8am on a Saturday morning for snuggles and shenanigans.

We’ve been mostly healthy these past few weeks, knock on wood, but there were a handful of days in April when Isaac stayed home with a fever.  We worked around it, literally, but oh, it was rough.

We were in Santa Monica on Easter Sunday, so we did our egg hunt and our reading of Luke the weekend after.  Juliette still loves a good game of “you’re getting warmer”…

I filled Isaac’s eggs with his own toy cars and bouncy balls, but he was still pretty enchanted by it all.

We spent much of the afternoon putting the eggs back together so that he could crack them back open and leave the remnants on the floor.

Is that all there is?  WHERE GO?!

After several days of travel and of not feeling our best, that particular Sunday at home felt extra sweet.

DJ Raphi dance party to burn off those jelly beans!

And then a brief moment of mellow.

Backyard weather has been such a boon.  Tee ball and bubbles and basketball, oh my!

Lots of neighborhood strolls to admire the corner tulip patch and our favorite cherry blossom lane…

And perhaps most notably, spring sports have begun!  Our weekends (and the the occasional weeknight) are consumed with Juliette’s soccer and softball games.  I’m not mad about it – I love watching this girl hone her talent and her team spirit.

Isaac is VP of her fan club.

Shane is assistant coach on both teams, which means I’m on Isaac watch, but occasionally Buddy hangs with Dad and I get a moment to focus on the field.

We have our short list of favorite softball venues – Lincoln Park is top notch because of the nearby woods to wander in.

This is the first year that Juliette has played kid-pitch softball and she’s spent hours doing target practice in the backyard.  A parent remarked at a game last week on Juliette’s intense focus when she pitches.  It’s like she’s willing the ball over the plate with equal parts arms and mind.

Get it, girl!

Juliette has the sweetest buddies that love to hang with Isaac between innings.

Ball boy is really falling down on the job…

Game over, but one last loop around the bases for Buddy, of course.

Seriously, though, SO MANY softball games.  I don’t know that we quite anticipated what we were signing up for.

Isaac goes to the evening games in his PJs and we usually split after the third inning.  It’s a lot, schlepping a toddler to the ball field a couple of times a week, but he’s a good sport about it.

And soccer!  I like watching Juliette play softball, but I love watching her play soccer.  Her team has come such a long way in the couple of years they’ve been together and she is fierce out on that field.

Go green!

(Plus Isaac.)

Now, let’s tuck that beanie away for awhile, huh?