In three short months our littlest guy will be TWO! While I stayed on top of blogging about his milestones for the first year, I have dropped the ball over the last 9 months. Better late than never, right?
They say you aren't supposed to compare your kids, but it is kind of impossible not to. Jack is the only kid I have to go by, so by default there is some comparing going on. But Daniel and I also acknowledge that while our boys have some similarities, we can also see big differences in them. I think (hope) their differences will serve them well as brothers.
It is kind of shocking to think back to Jack at this age. We were in a really different place (literally). From the time Jack was about 1.5 until shortly after his 2nd birthday, we were living out of suitcases four days a week and then home in Alabama for the weekend.
We were in a different hotel or vacation house every week until we finally settled in our current home. Jack slept in a pack-in-play for 6 months, and we learned to navigate eating out for almost every meal as well as a breakfast buffet every morning in a hotel. I honestly cannot imagine doing the same with Isaac – he would be into everything and trying to explore/run away at every opportunity!
Life has changed considerably in the last three years, mostly in the best possible of ways, and I am grateful that those 6 months of transitioning to a new place are over and that we feel settled and call our current house home.
I kind of like looking back and seeing what Jack was doing at this age. Per my blog post, he was loving bicycles (Isaac loves bikes), starting to color (Isaac loves to scribble when given the cance), sitting at the table in a booster (Isaac would if we let him), and a great traveler (both our kids are great travelers).
At this age, Isaac has proven himself to be a great communicator. But he rarely uses words. While Jack was stringing together short sentences at 21 months, Isaac is content to shout and grunt and point, and physically direct you to what he wants if necessary.
And we acquiesce, which hasn't helped him to grow his vocabulary. We are all working on this – encouraging him to use words to identify what he wants. I think he currently says around 30 words, but he seems to know that shouting can be more effective.
Speaking of shouting, Isaac has also discovered how to throw a tantrum. Where Jack would carefully lay down before throwing a fit, Isaac will just throw his whole body backwards. He doesn't seem to care that he might hurt himself. If he really doesn't want to do something, he will arch his back and lay down on the floor. It is comical but also quite trying at times – like when I am trying to strap him into his car seat when he has no desire to be put in said car seat.
While Jack has always been cautious, Isaac seems to throw caution to the wind. If we would let him, he would walk off the edge of high playground equipment without batting an eye.
Around 1.5 years he figured out how to climb to the upper slide on our local playground and slide down the big tube slide.
He also mastered walking up the curved slide at McDonalds. He is bent on being an independent explorer, regardless of what danger may exist.
Isaac is our little ham. In a family of pragmatic thinkers, he has a way of making us all laugh, all the time. He is also mischievous and inherently knows how to push his big brother's buttons. We had no idea that a child so small would programmed to annoy from such a young age. At times it is hard not to laugh at his antics and Jack's distress.
Isaac is our champion eater – we call him the garbage disposal. If he doesn't like something, there is a good chance that nobody actually likes it! We have had instances recently of more pickiness, but we always joke that we don't have to worry because he isn't exactly wasting away!
In the last year Isaac has had several firsts including: first time paddling, first camping trip, his first haircut, a first time experiencing fireworks, and a first trip to Canada.
According to the BabyCenter updates I get every month, 21 months is an age for obstinacy. And Isaac has this in spades. He likes things a certain way – whether how his sippy cups is placed on his tray or what container holds his cheerios.
I love seeing his little quirks appear as his personality develops. He wants so desperately to be a big boy and gets very sad when Daniel and Jack go do something without him (typically because he needs to go to bed or take a nap). Life is hard being the younger brother when you are a toddler!
Like his brother, Isaac is very mellow and easy going. He has a smile for everyone and never meets a stranger. Our two little guys have been a tremendous blessing to us and we treasure every moment we are given with them.
A look back at Jack as a toddler:
19 months │ 20 months │ 21 months │ 23 months │ 24 months
A look back at Isaac:
One Month │ Two Months │ Three Months │ Four Months │ Five Months │ Six Months │ Seven Months │ Eight Months │ Nine Months │ Ten Months │ Eleven Months │ Twelve Months
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