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!
