Isaac Milestone: First Trip to the Dentist

Isaac recently reached a milestone: he had his first visit to the dentist.

We just take our kids to our dentist and we lined up the appointments so they fell one after another.

Before we got there, I told Isaac that he would get to pick a toy from the treat box when we were done.

And then we had Jack go first so that Isaac could watch and know what to expect (with Jack, we had him watch Daniel before his turn).

At first our dental hygienist told Isaac she would just count his teeth. He did so well that she decided to clean his teeth too. He did surprisingly well!

Our dentist came back and checked both boys teeth. Both have 20 teeth and no cavities! And now Isaac knows what to expect for next time. We were relaxed about the experience, and so was he.

Oset Trials Bike

Jack has a friend who has a dirt bike that he has graciously let Jack learn how to ride. When Jack was four, he gave it a try but immediately dropped it and decided he would wait until he was five.

Don't watch this video (grandparents!) if you don't want to see your grandson's first crash...

When he was five, he actually rode it but it still made him nervous. Over the last month, he has finally gotten comfortable on it. So much so, that he actually managed to throw himself off of it because he loves going fast. Don't worry, he was wearing a helmet and he was in a grassy field.

Daniel has a love for dirt bikes and that love is quickly transferring to our boys. He has been taking Jack to a TKO race in the woods each fall, and also showing them YouTube videos of dirt bikes and also trials bikes.

Jack getting a little too comfortable with going fast on the dirt bike.

Jack has been talking about getting a trials bike for awhile, and Isaac has been telling us that when he was three he would be big enough to ride a motorcycle. So last week, thanks to Craigslist, Daniel made those dreams come true.

He bought a 12" Trials Bike, which is really perfect for Isaac and Jack ride it too, even though he is about too big for it. Daniel likes this bike for the kids because he can control how fast the boys ride it. For Isaac he can turn the regulator way down for Isaac so that it is almost a crawl. This allowed Isaac to get comfortable balancing on the bike before Daniel turned it up to allow him to go fast enough to put his feet on the pegs. Surprisingly, he did it!

For Jack, Daniel adjusts it to go much faster. Jack can manage to stand on the pegs and whip around the park on it, no problem. He has already asked about trying to climb over logs and learn tricks. On thing at a time, little one!

Daniel did let him make a small pile of branches to ride across, we were surprised when Isaac headed for it. He has just turned three and is already determined to ride over an obstacle!

If you missed it, or want to see more videos, here are some other firsts Isaac has had recently:
First Time at the Pump Track on a Balance Bike
First Time Riding a Bike with No Training Wheels

Isaac is TWO!

 

Another year has passed and Isaac is as endearing as ever. While Jack is a lot like Daniel and I in personality, Isaac has his own unique to him personality (Jack is unique too, just a lot more like us). And he really completes our family.

Isaac is full of laughter and personality. I know that he will grow into the comedian in our household. I can see him being the one who will tell the funniest stories, pull the biggest pranks, and keep us all on our toes.

He is incredibly lovable, but also seems to innately know how to be a little pest. A true little brother.

When he is going to do something he shouldn't or wants to annoy Jack, he will make sure whoever is on the receiving end of his pestering is paying attention. If we ignore him he won't follow through. For example, he likes to drop the remote control behind the couch, but only when we are watching.

Most of his pestering antics involve Jack. One time we watched Isaac walk over to a tower of blocks that Jack had been building. Isaac got a glint in his eye, marched up and put his hands on the tower, looked around, saw that Jack wasn't paying attention, and proceeded to walk away from the blocks. If Jack had been paying attention, the blocks would have been pushed over and Isaac would have gleefully run away.

It's a good thing he is cute because he knows how to push our buttons when he wants to! But he also has a sweet side and gives sweet hugs and kisses and wants to be with all of us. Even if that means wrestling with his big brother (a favorite past time in our home).

Isaac is a great climber and has mastered stairs and ladders and pretty much anything he thinks he can climb. He will be in the tops of trees with his brother as soon as he grows a bit more. With all of his climbing (and lack of caution), we have to keep a watchful eye on him (more than we ever had to with Jack)!

As a second child, Isaac is not particularly interested in language. He communicates just fine with us and hasn't made great strides to broaden his vocabulary. Though he does say about 40 words including:

Daddy/Dada, Mommy/Mama (also daddy's and mommy's), Jack, So (sophie), bike, ball, truck, dump truck, side (outside), shoe, boots, nana (banana), ap-ble (apple), oge (orange), doc (dog), WALMART! (translates to roll down the car window), dis (this), dat (that), mo (more), mel (milk), bear (he has a beloved stuffed bear that he carries around and sleeps with), read, book, ride bike, Y, buckle (he likes to help buckle his seat belt now), blocks, car, wa wa (water), bath, diaper, box (we get a lot of UPS deliveries), Baba (grandpa), Grammy, Nana, bible (any book that isn't a kid's book), bye bye, hi, night night, please, baby, teeth, eyes, mouth, ears, nose, belly, wipe (toilet paper/baby wipe), egg, Wow!, NO! He also points out squirrels and birds to us but we haven't figured out what his actual word is for these animals.

He recently quit sitting in his high chair and refuses a booster seat. This makes dinner time a bit more challenging because he likes to wander when he finishes. Interestingly, it is easiest for us to keep him at the table when we eat at a restaurant. Mexican is his favorite and he loves salsa. He uses the chips as a scoop to shovel in as much salsa as possible.

After meals he likes to clear his plate and will set it down on the floor for Sophie to lick. Speaking of Sophie, he loves her (and all dogs). He follows her around and laughs hysterically. Thankfully he is fairly respectful of her and they have a good relationship.

He loves to do whatever Jack is doing. Whether riding bikes, riding in the gator or just playing with whatever toys Jack wants to play with. He is great at independent play and will rarely sit in front of the television (though he recently discovered Elmo).

A recent thing is that he wants to help me cook, so he stands on a chair next to me, a safe distance from the stove, and "helps" or I put him on the ground with a bowl and spoon.

He is so ready to go to preschool. He is always sad when we drop Jack off, but loves to wear Jack's backpack home when I let him. He also loves to run around in just a diaper and wear this back pack! Unfortunately he had a recent (late) onset of separation anxiety. Thankfully it is mild and will hopefully resolve soon.

Isaac recently started showing interest in the potty. He wants to sit on it fully clothed and then practices wiping and throwing the TP away. I'm not ready to start potty training, but it may be sooner than later?

There is so much I could share, but I will close now. We are so blessed by our funny little guy who loves to pester his big brother, make messes, and sneak food from the pantry!

Isaac is 21 Months

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