Isaac at 18 months

 Isaac is 18 months!  These past three months have been eventful for Isaac.

1) Isaac has acquired a new nickname: The Little Prince.  This is mostly due to the way he sits in his high chair, hands wresting on the arm wrests, waiting for you to feed him-- which is hilarious because he mastered the use of fork and spoon ages ago!  In fact, half of the time, he scoops the food up on his spoon, then hands the spoon to you to put in his mouth.

He also gave Winky Blinkies (rapid eye blinking, accompanied by a smile) if he approved of your actions, or Evil Squintees (angry squinted eyes and general avoidance of your face) if he did not approve.

And he does not like dirty hands.  "Yuckies!" he says, holding up his dirty hand for me to clean.

2) Isaac has finally hit 20 lbs.  You made it, buddy!  (Your love of straight sour cream has not been in vain!)  This has postponed his need for an endoscopy, though he still has to stay on his acid medicine.  He also got in all his molars--finally! (he's still missing his canines) This has really helped him not to gag and choke on his food as much.

3) Isaac is my new Happy Helper. He loves to do whatever mom is doing.  But he especially loves to sweep with the broom.

And he is very meticulous about his work.

4) Isaac loves to play peek-a-boo.  Or should I just say, BOO! He still likes kitties and ducks.  He loves playing with his brothers.  Sometimes he stands at the top of the stairs and calls to his brothers and waves hello until they acknowledge him. 

And Isaac loves, loves, loves his Horsie. He even made up a song about his Hor-SIE.  The song consists of only one word--Horsie--broken up into sounds, and repeated--which makes it sound like a rap.

5) Isaac has learned several New Words.  His latest are "snuggle" and "hug."  He's basically a language sponge right now-- repeating every word he hears.  (Unfortunately his silly big brothers have discovered the entertainment value in this stage of development.)  

He is starting to say his prayers.  And gratefully, he can tell me why he is crying in the middle of the night.  "Owie.  Mowf."  "Owie. Belly."  "Owie.  Poo Poo." What a relief not to have to try and guess!

We love the way he says everyone's names: Dah-DEE, Mah-MEE, Maf-MEW, k-LUB, I-SICK.  We love the way he says, "Are You?" when he means "Where are you?" and "Hold It!" when he means "Hold me!"

And we're a little sad that he no longer argues with everyone (including the local eye doctor) that all birds are in fact, DUCKS.

6) Isaac started Nursery. We weren't sure how this was going to go.  We walked him down to Nursery and on the way, he fell asleep in Christopher's arms.  We went in anyway, and said, "Ummm....we'll be back."  He woke up at the end of 2nd hour and came right in time for snacks.  The cupcakes and Fishies (or "shish-SHEES" according to Isaac) were too good to pass up.  He sat right at the table and didn't look back.  When Chris picked him up, he was dancing and running around, popping bubbles.  And the teachers reported a Tear-Free First Day in Nursery.  Hopefully it will always be that easy!

7) Isaac has switched Parent Allegiance. For the first year of his life, he was clearly a Momma's Boy.  But lately, if Dad is home, Dad is the Parent of Choice.  But that doesn't mean Isaac doesn't get jealous if someone else is on Mom's lap.  No, he still pushes them, screams at them, and bites them, if necessary.  He's my only child to get jealous of lap time.  Is that a third child thing?

8) Isaac's Favorite Foods are: shish-SHEES (goldfish crackers), paw-PEE (poppy seed dressing), swr CREEM (sour cream), CHAWK-EE (chocolate), and may-dos (tomatoes).  And of course, he loves Sunday night "tweets" (treats).  He is also very good about sharing.  Tonight he had some M & M's from the treat bucket, and saw that neither Chris nor I had any treats.  He immediately gave us each one M & M-- a sweet surprise in more than one way.

One morning I was woken up by little Isaac, bouncing on my head, chanting: "WE WANT COOK-IES!!! WE WANT COOK-IES!!!" over and over again.  This is, of course, precisely what I  would have chosen for breakfast, but being the responsible parent that I am, told him we'd have to wait a few hours.

9) We love Isaac's desire to be Involved.  If there's music, he's dancing; if it's reading time, he picks out a book; if it's wrestle time, he flops right on top of the action; if it's play time, he wants to be on your lap or close enough to touch; and if he's got a plan, he holds up his hand and says, "Come!  Come!"

One of my favorite things Isaac is doing right now is Blowing Kisses.  Every night after bedtime routine, I stand at the door and blow a final kiss to each of the boys.  "Catch my Kisses!" I say.  Isaac picked up on it, and now when I stand at his door to blow kisses, he presses a dimpled hand to his mouth and makes blowing noises over and over again.

10) Isaac is a Cutie.  When other people tell me what they like about Isaac, they usually mention how small and cute he is.  They love his super long eyelashes. They like that he plays well with other kids and that as long as there are horsies and duckies around, he doesn't freak out when mom and dad aren't there.  They still love his chicky-fuzz hair and his sweet little voice.  And though he still gives Crusties of Distrust to anyone he thinks might be babysitting him, he warms up if you play with him.

Isaac, I feel like I'm still getting to know you and your personality, just like I'm still figuring out what your eye color will settle on.  But two things are certain: You love being in our family and we love having you in our family!