Chats with Jack ⎮ October-December, 2015

 

Yesterday was an update about Isaac, today is a long overdue post on the things Jack says to us. His words are bolded.

 

I built a booby trap to catch bad guys. [he made a fort out of boxes that intentionally collapsed if you crawled under it]

I've got some al-a-gee [algae].

I tried to convince Jack that brushing my hair while I closed my eyes was a good game to play. He told me that wasn't a real game.

Do you want to see something really cool? [as he cuts pancakes with a plastic fork and knife] The fork keeps it stable.

Why's it [the TV] not internet-ing?

Rachel [college friend]: Can I have some of your energy?

Jack: No you have to eat your food and sleep to get your own energy. 

Superman Prayer

Thank you God food. 

Thank you God for giving us friends. 

For the food we eat, for the friends we meet.

Thank you God for everything.

Aw-man.  [refuses to say "Amen" always says "aw-man"]

Jack: You're ice, I'm lightning and daddy is fire. [Ninjago reference]

Me: Which ninja is Isaac?

Jack: He's the green ninja. 

[fitting since the other ninjas are responsible for protecting the green ninja]

Jack: Look, that new signs says "Walmart".

Us: How did you know that?

Jack: I read the sign... [evidently he already understands logos/branding]

I'm playing in my fortress [tent fort].

My food is powering me up. I have a generator on the inside.

Jack: Can I take a bath? [bedtime on his birthday party day]

Me: No.

Jack: I want everyone to go home now. So I can take a bath. 

I wanted this my whole life... what's inside inside?

Jack: I have a secret lab somewhere. 

Me: Where is it?

J: I don't remember, but I know what it looks like. 

I'm designing something cool. It's a surprise... It's a model. Here's what he looks like. 

I'm an expert at making stuff. 

When are kids going to teach the class? I know lots of stuff. 

A very upset Jack: I think I waited too long in the bathroom and now it's dark time. [dang daylight savings!]

Jack: Mommy, I smell something yummy!

Me: It's onions.

Jack: What?!???

Me: They're cooking in butter.

Jack: Oh, I love butter... [he hates onions]

I can do buttons, I'm very capable. 

Jack: What is patience?

Daniel: It's the stuff I'm out of...

You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit [he likes to share bits of wisdom that he learns at preschool]. 

I want to be a teacher... a preschool teacher, a church teacher, and a Y teacher. All of those.

I'm an expert at making something out of recycling. 

Jack: Let me see the constructions [instructions for Legos]. 

[brief pause] 

Daniel: Jack you have it right, do you want me to push it together for you? 

Jack: Let me focus for just a minute.

I'm out of focusing patience.

New-sagna [lasagna]

I'm going to the next location [vacation].

Late one night, Isaac is upstairs fussing and Jack is downstairs eating a snack. "He could be sad because I'm not up there." 

They stayed for four days, and that's enough days (Jack's comment went family went home after Thanksgiving). 

I'm coming out of my artist's room. 

Jack: Mommy, do you [and daddy] sometimes fight?

Me: Yes

Daniel: Do you sometimes fight?

Jack: Only with swords.

Daniel: I'm going hiking today. 

Jack: Make sure you take a gun so you can kill an animal. [this was after hearing my dad talk about hunting]

 

Nana: Be very careful, Jack. 

Jack: I'm always very careful, Nana!

Rudolf the red snowman.  

Don't get near my bucket, I'm doing some fabulous work. 

Mommy, do you want to be a princess? I'm a knife [knight] and I fight dragons. 

Daddy, you do rude things to mommy...You talk back to her. [poor Daniel getting the third degree from our 4yo about nothing]

When I don't get enough sleep, sometimes I make bad choices. I just get exhausted. 

I'm not enjoying being a little boy because little boys get consequences.

I still love you, even when you give me consequences. 

I'll have to think about that. [finger on chin while deciding what to tell Santa he wanted for Christmas]

Jack: Mommy, was God born?

Me: No, he's always existed. 

Jack: Mommy, is Jesus God?

Me: Yes. 

Jack: Mommy, was Jesus born?

Me: Yes. 

Jack: Is Jesus God's son?

Me: Yes. 

Jack: Then Jesus isn't God...

Me: It's complicated [chuckling].

Jack: Why are you laughing?

Me: Because you have very good reasoning skills for a four year old. 

That concludes are most recent chats with Jack. I hope to post a little more frequently because he says the funniest things and we like having this little record.

Isaac is Eight Months Old

 

The past month has been a busy one. Isaac celebrated his first Thanksgiving (getting to try a mini smorgasbord of different foods) as well as his baby dedication at our church, lots of Christmas celebrating and prep, and even his first trip to Gatlinburg. 

I feel like it isn't possible, but Isaac keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. He grins at every single person we encounter and goes to anyone willingly – even a visit to Santa did not phase him.

A couple of weeks ago, we took both boys Christmas shopping and Daniel had a taste of my daily life. He pushed Isaac around in a stroller while Jack and I picked out a daddy gift and just about every stranger they passed stopped to say hi to Isaac.

He is definitely getting more interactive, especially in regards to his big brother. Anything that Jack does will illicit huge belly laughs from our littlest guy and he watches Jack with great interest. We regularly talk to Jack about the responsibility of being the big brother and how Isaac will always look up to him and want to do whatever he does.

 

It terms of interacting with Jack, our two boys are starting to have great fun together. Jack makes Isaac laugh and now they also like to hold hands in the car. 

 

Bed times are interesting because Isaac wants to hold whatever book we are trying to read Jack. He also will grab Jack's hair or clothes (Jack is not a fan of this). I think they will enjoy playing together, but I also think Jack is in for a surprise regarding what it is like to have a little brother who can take all of your things!

This month was the first time Isaac actually played when we went to the Creative Discovery Museum (up until now he has been content to be in the Ergo or our stroller). Since he is good at sitting, I sat him on the ground and helped Jack build a tower out of blocks while Isaac kept busy on his own. I love that he is entering a more playful and curious stage.

Isaac still isn't moving a whole lot (I'm not in a hurry to have a mobile baby!) but he has started to roll over and scoot backwards. While he may not be an early crawler or walker, he has great core stability and can sit and play on the floor for extended periods of time. He also loves his jumparoo – the jumparoo allows me to do things like cook dinner!

I have been a bit lazy when it comes to food and Isaac. Food is so messy and I just haven't been ready to commit to the mess. He obviously isn't lacking from calories, so we just kind of do food at random intervals. I will have to get more consistent about this in the weeks and months to come. For now he has tried quite a bit of what we eat, but not a lot of quantity.

 

The week of Thanksgiving, Isaac's top two teeth came in. While trying to get a good look at the new teeth, we discovered that he had a pretty impressive lip tie. The week after Thanksgiving we were able to have a procedure done to correct it. 

 

The pediatrician we saw said it was the worst one she had seen and was impressed that he has continued to nurse all of this time. The tie is now fixed and his top teeth are starting to move closer together (I will share more about this experience in a future post).

Isaac is finally big enough to sit in the cart when grocery shopping. This is going to save my back since lugging him around is getting to be more taxing due to his hefty size.

 

Our littlest man discovered that he can splash during bath time and he thinks this is a riot. We still bathe him on the counter in the kitchen, but he is starting to make too big of a mess. We will probably have to bite the bullet and go ahead and move him to the big tub soon. He has also started playing peek-a-boo with us. He will cover his face with a burp cloth and pull it off and laugh hysterically. If I cover my face with my hands he will pull the hands away and then push them back in front of my face again. In addition to peek-a-boo, he has entered the stage where he is fascinated with phones, remotes and cords. If I hide my phone under my leg he will search until he finds it. And he also like to try to "sing" along with us at church or with the radio in the car.

For about 10 days this month Isaac slept through the night (8 hours at a time), but since our recent trip for our anniversary, he is back to waking up at night. I am beyond ready to be sleeping normally again. At least I know that this phase won't last forever, and really the middle of the night moments when I get to see the moon and the brightest stars are some of the sweetest times (even if they make me cranky and tired the next day!

 

End of month stats:

Eye Color: We have two blue-eyed boys (to match their blue-eyed parents.

Hair Color: Blond for now. Jack started out blond and now has a sandy brown color.

Height: ?

Weight: A healthy 23 lbs (and wearing size 5 diapers)

Foods: We are introducing lots of different foods (pretty much whatever we eat). He really likes salmon, trout and even had a taste of a wild boar burger and liked it. Thankfully no allergies as of now.

Words: Lots of different sounds, but no actual words. He often makes a "da da" and "ma ma" sound, mostly when he wants something. His dominant sounds when he is happy is a "fa" and "dis" sound.

Movement: Finally rolling over with great consistency – I find him in his bed on his tummy (and rolled around in all sorts of directions). He will scoot backward and if he really wants something he is working hard to scoot forward. He sits with great stability and LOVES to jump in his jumparoo.

Teeth: His top two teeth came in this month and we think a pre molar is trying to come in. Four total for now (top and bottom).

*Update: I forgot to include that Isaac seemed to start waving intentionally this month. It is really sweet to watch him start to communicate in this manner.

 

*As with Jack, I will be posting monthly updates of Isaac on a quilt (inherited from my Grandma), next to a yellow Tonka truck (a toy from Daniel's childhood). 
Isaac at One Month  |  Isaac at Two Months  |  Isaac at Three Months  |  Isaac at Four Months  |  Isaac at Five Months  | Isaac at Six Months  |  Isaac at Seven Months
 

 

A Look Back:
Jack at One Month  |  Jack at Two Months  |  Jack at Three Months  |  Jack at Four Months  |  Jack at Five Months  |  Jack at Six Months  |  Jack at Seven Months  |  Jack at Eight  
(We used a quilt from Daniel's family for the Jack photos, along wit the Tonka truck from Daniel's childhood).