Our web site was down for a year, so I will attempt to catch us up in one post. Then again, how about I update everyone on the last week, and then we'll go from there.
Isaac is two now, and Evan just turned five. We have decided to keep them, and we're actually really fond of them. That said:
* They are currently lying on their bunk bed (bedtime: 1 hour ago) with Evan on the top; Isaac on bottom giggling and making strange noises. Just moments ago, they were scolded for pulling the stuffing out of Evan's pillow and dropping the cottonballs all over the floor.
* Before that, they were pulled out of bath early for continually splashing me and the floor. Jerry
hates when they get water on the floor, but it's as if they can't help themselves.
* Before that, they opened and received a package from Uncle Bob & Co., which had a Superman and Batman cape. They ran through the house at great speed with their arms out in front of them. After putting them to bed the first time, Jerry went to check on them and they were both standing in front of the large room fan so that their capes would blow back behind them.
* I took them to drop mail off at the box down the street, and it took 15 minutes because they had to stoop down to look at a crack in the sidewalk, then a dead bug, then the "stream" that ran along the gutter. It takes forever to get anything done.
Evan alternates between being his usual sweet self, and being very stubborn and, er, difficult. It's amazing how he can occupy both ends of the spectrum within a ten-minute period. If he gets in trouble for something, he'll refuse to go to time-out. I'll put him there and he'll come out screaming. I'll then put his toy in time-out and he has a huge meltdown. So, I'm not sure what the big deal is with the Terrible Two's, cuz those were actually pretty easy.
Isaac has his little tantrums (did that sound condescending? "Little" tantrums?) Anyway, we have a hard time not thinking they're sort of cute. We can't figure out if Isaac is more mild-mannered, or if we're just more experienced with him, so it doesn't seem as big of a deal. Or maybe we're just too tired to make a huge issue out of them.
I'll stop comparing them now.
Isaac is pretty laid back, though. He adores Evan more than anything in the world. For the first time, Evan seems to be viewing Isaac as more of a buddy and less of a baby. They play together really well. After 5:00, when all the daycare kids go home, they are off either playing Hungry Hippos or Star Wars or hide-and-seek under the couch cushions (each time, the new kid to hide hides in the same place where the last person hid).
Toward the end of quiet time today, I went to hang out with Evan upstairs. He's the only one who doesn't nap. We played Trouble (a board game, where the object is like every other one... to get around the board and into "home" first) and he was totally beating me. He kept saying things like, "That's Ok, mommy, you're almost winning," and, "I bet you're going to win soon," and, "That's OK mommy, I still love you" [even though you're losing bad].
Evan is so loyal. A few months ago, we were all eating dinner together, and, as usual, I needed a ton of catsup. Jerry make a remark like, "got enough catsup there?" We laughed and that was over. After dinner, Evan went up to me and said, "Mommy, I need to talk to you in the next room. You know when daddy said that thing about the catsup? I think that was just a joke. He was just kidding." I realized he must have been worried about my feelings through the whole meal.
Oh, and the other day, Evan told me this: "Mommy, Austin thinks you're fat, but I told him that you're really not fat. It's really just the baby. He didn't know that."
Isaac is a really cute talker. He says things like:
Mommy, build tower wit me?Daddy, pay game wit me?Evan, hide teek?Mommy, make coffee? (If we already made it, and I say no, he says):
Mommy, make coffee now!I watch two kids who are between 18-24 months, and Isaac "coaches" them. If one baby asks for food by screaching, Isaac will say (while doing the signs),
Want more? Say, [signing] 'more, pease'Tonight for dinner, Jerry made potatoes, and Isaac was refusing to consider eating them. I explained to him and Evan that
french fries come from potatoes, so therefore, they must be good. Evan and I talked about that for a bit, and Isaac ignored us. A while later, Jerry said, "Isaac, do you know what a potato is?" Without even pausing to think about it, he said, "wench wies." He still never tasted it.
Isaac thinks every building is a house. We go to the doctor at "doctor's house." We sometimes go out to eat at "McDonald's house." We drop our car off at "mechanic house."
* * * In other news, we are pregnant! This one was unplanned, but still exciting. We are due September 12, and it's a girl. This was a relief partly because Evan made it very clear that he only wanted a girl. Referring to the daycare baby who has been here for a year and a half, at the beginning of the pregnancy, he said, "I want a baby girl, and I want her to look like Baby Claire, and I want her to be named Baby Claire." Um, ok.
Here are the boys looking tough in their capes. Isaac hasn't yet mastered how to make a "mean face" yet.
