Isaac 21-Month Update

My Justin Bieber Baby at 18 months

There is so much about Isaac at this age that I want to capture in a bottle forever. Brent and I have loved being his parents. He is just so adorable and fun-- and this age especially has revealed a lot of his personality and sense of humor.

He is a good talker, I would say, particularly for a boy his age. I have no idea what his vocabulary is at right now, but he definitely knows more than 100 words. He is comfortable with 2-3 word phrases and is very good at making a wide range of consonant combinations. Some examples are "I got it!", "I see you!", "I fall," "More ______," "Dada work?", "Apple Juice," and "See Bandit?" (when we are doing FaceTime with my parents).

And some of the words he uses all the time are, "See?" (meaning pick me up, I want to see that), "Hold" (pick me up and hold me), "Side!" (Outside or I want to go outside.), "Hun-gy" (hungry), "Dump" (this could mean I'm about to dump my food on the floor or he will also say it while playing quite a bit), and "car", "truck", and "firetruck" are up there with the words that he says most often every day. 

Also, just yesterday, he was "flying" around the house pretending to be an airplane and kept saying, "Crash landing!" and would fall down. There is usually a pause between his words though, so it sounded like " Crash . . . land-ing!" I had no idea he knew how to say that. It was so cute! 

Isaac loves his gummy vitamins and asks for them every day. We have been giving him Calcium gummies for a while to supplement his diary-free diet, but recently I started giving him multi-vitamin gummies as well. When I first introduced the Calcium gummies, I gave them to him right after his nap with his snack. When he woke up from his nap, I would say, "Do you want your snack?" And so, he thought the vitamins were called "snack"-- because I guess he looked forward to them much more than his crackers or fruit.  

So every day he yells, " 'NACK?! 'NACK?!" until I respond and ask him if he would like his vitamin. But recently, when we started giving him the new vitamins, on his own, he noticed the different colored bottles of the two types of vitamins (blue and red). Now he says, "BUE 'NACK?! BUE 'NACK?!" And after he's had that, he says, "RED 'NACK?!" Haha! He is so funny! 

He has also started singing the ABCs --- or trying to. His different versions include, "A, B, double-awch, E." and "A, B, C, Double-P, Double-P, Double-P" He really likes doubling his letters. LOL

And he has a word he made up: dungle-pop. We think it might be a mutation of Jungle Book. But in any case, he uses it in place of something he doesn't know the name of. The other day an apartment manager knocked on the door, and when she walked away, he said loudly, "Bye, Dungle-pop!" Lol. I have to admit, felt just a tad embarrassed. And when Brent was playing a new game with him, swinging him in the air, he said, "More dungle-pop!" until Brent told him he could say, "More swing." Then, he started saying, "More swing."

Isaac is extremely observant. He will sit and look at each page of a book for a long time. And he notices small details in the pictures of his books that I have never noticed-- even after reading them to him dozens of times. He also has sharp ears-- especially for trucks, planes, and helicopters. If he hears and airplane fly over our house (we're not close to any airport, so they are not loud at all), he will stop what he's doing and look at the ceiling with a surprised face and say, "airplane?" 

He also has ears for the garbage truck. I now know our pickup schedule-- every Mon, Wed, and Friday morning. And we are at the bedroom window as soon as we hear it coming. When he first started watching it about three months ago, he would cry as it drove away, but now he's used to the idea that it will leave and come back again soon. :-)

One of his favorite activities is playing with clean laundry that is often piled on top of the armchair in my bedroom. He will seriously play independently for up to 45 minutes dragging laundry around. It's weird, but I don't mind at all. He also loves to play with random objects which he uses as tools to bang on walls or try to "fix" things. These objects include an old blush brush that I set aside for him to use, un-sharpened pencils, paint brushes, and really anything that is like a stick. He also loves playing with my OXO salad spinner and, of course, my iPhone, if he can get his hands on it. (I don't have any games on it for him, but he just likes to put in wrong passwords until my phone is disabled for 15 minutes.)

As far as conventional toys go, he likes his dump truck and firetruck the best. He also likes a small beanie baby teddy bear and his Teddy which he takes to bed at night. The rest of his toys-- duplos, train set, etc.-- he mostly likes to just dump on the ground and then that is the end of it. He will build towers for about 5-10 minutes, but nothing lasting yet. He much prefers for you to build something for him to destroy. Because of this we sing (to the tune of Bob the Builder), "Isaac the Destroyer! He can wreck it! Isaac the Destroyer! Yes, he can!" 

Here are some pictures of this cute kid over the last few months: 

With more of the Bieber look going on . . . (18 months)

Playing with Sydney --who he called "See-see" until just recently (20 months old)

Watching the gardeners: his favorite Monday morning activity (20 months)

Ready for Church! This boy loves Nursery! (20 months)

My Sweet 14-Month-Old

My friend, Olya, took these adorable pictures of Isaac. Isn't he a cutie? My favorites are the last two. But these raccoon ones melt my heart as well. :-) Actually, let's be honest: I love them all! 

I love this age! I think I've felt that way about every age, but it just keeps getting more fun. Isaac loves to read, and he will bring books to me throughout the day. His new thing is that he hands me a book and then runs to the couch because he knows that's where we sit to read. I love it when he sits on my lap and rests his head against my chest. It's our time to relax.

Isaac is a really good eater, but drinking has been a challenge for us. He is officially weaned, and really, it was the smoothest transition ever. I was the one that had been pushing nursing for the last 3 months because I was worried about his liquid intake and diet (due to his allergies). But my milk dried up, and nursing became a futile cause. So, we just stopped, and he hasn't even cared. Talk about an easy transition.

But getting him to drink enough has not been easy. I put sippy cups around the house, but if it were up to him, he would drink less than 8 oz a day. So, I offer, offer, offer. If I offer a lot and spoon feed him a bowl of cereal and oat milk, he can get around 20 oz down-- but that is still 4 oz shy of what is supposedly the absolute minimum he's supposed to be drinking. ACK! Any suggestions there? We did buy a straw cup, but I'm still not sure if he prefers that. We've tried Nesquick in the oat milk. I even blended up fresh strawberries to make a smoothie-like drink, and he wouldn't drink that. So the only things he drinks are watered-down juice and water. I'm hoping this is just a phase and that he will start liking chocolate oat milk. What kid doesn't like chocolate milk?

His new skills include walking backwards (he does it when he's trying to see what's on top of the counter), spinning in circles, crawling up the stairs (I let him climb all the staircases in our complex as we s-l-o-w-l-y make our way to the mail box), eating with a fork, and saying a few words! He is not a big talker and rarely says these words, but he has said all of them multiple times on his own:

dada
ba (ball)
teh-teh (Teddy)
buh (book)
buh-buh (bubble)
nuh-nuh (no no)
puh-puh (poke poke) -- This is what we tell him to do when he's eating with a fork.
ickle ickle (tickle)

The thing he says the most is "DUH!" Which is pretty much the equivalent of "THAT!" He points and says "duh!" to whatever he wants. It's cute, but I'm excited for him to become more verbal.

Life with a one-year-old is very sweet.

1 Year Old

Isaac turned one on December 15th, but we weren't able to celebrate it because we were all sick. Instead, we celebrated with his Uncle Bryan who turned 15 on the 29th. We were with the Sheranian family in California at Grandpa Sheranian's house. That was special to me because I celebrated each of my birthdays around that dinner table as a child. Grandma Sheranian always prepared any meal you requested (almost always her famous beef stroganoff (made with steak and fresh mushrooms-- none of that ground beef or boxed grossness)) and her equally famous chocolate cake. For my wedding, she gave me her cake plate-- the one that was used for all those birthdays-- which is a treasure to me.

For Isaac's birthday, I made a special dairy-free cake just for him to eat and destroy. (I took off his shirt and everything in case it got messy.) Except I forgot that Isaac isn't the destroying type. Instead, he just carefully poked at it. He didn't even try to eat it until I gave him a little bit. And even after that, he only had a few bites. So it was all kind of anti-climactic. I'm sure he would have eaten more if he had been hungry, but we had just finished eating his favorite dinner dish: elbow macaroni with marinara sauce. However, he still put on a cute show-- clapping and waiting for everyone to join him in applause.

What a year it has been with this little angel. He is the best part of our lives!

11 Months

Isaac took his first steps on November 4th. We were at church, where I let him crawl around the back of the Primary room when I'm not conducting or teaching sharing time. He stood up (like he's been doing for months now) and took two tiny steps towards a chair. Yay! Since then, he's been taking a few more steps each day. He's still crawling quite a bit-- and does his Mowgli crawl too. But the more he walks the more he seems like a grown-up boy. And this outfit makes him look even more grown-up! 

In the last month Isaac has also found a new friend-- who lives right across the street. They've been playing together quite a bit and are so cute. It's just been in the last month that I've noticed Isaac really interact with his friends. He'll crawl away and look back giggling, asking to be chased. And when a friend goes over to a box and starts hitting it, he'll crawl over to join in on the fun. It's so cute to watch his social skills just beginning to develop.

Because the weather is so great right now in Houston (in the 70s-- yay!), we've been spending a lot more time going to the park and going on walks. One of our favorite spots is the Tanglewood walking trail, just a block from our house. 

Isaac loves pulling books off the shelf, exploring the safe cupboards of the house, pointing at everything, and turning off light switches. He just barely learned how to clap, which is so cute. And he points to the picture of Jesus when I ask him "Where's Jesus?" He's very interested in animals now and will point at birds, cats, and dogs. Our neighbors have a porcelain bunny rabbit on their porch and Isaac points to it every day. I'm not sure if he thinks it's real or not. All-in-all, Isaac makes life pretty fun! 

Here are a couple videos of him. In the first one, he takes a few steps. In the second, he does his Mowgli crawl. 

Nine Months

Isaac (or Chunk, as we often call him) is a big busy body. But he never likes to be far from his mama. I can't leave the room without a sad baby crawling after me. It makes tidying up the house quite interesting. As I walk back and forth between rooms--our apartment is tiny, for heaven's sake---Isaac is always one step behind, crying. Today I seriously hurt his feelings when I went on our front porch without him to pick some fresh rosemary. I guess I won't be doing that again. :-)

This month he has learned to eat finger food and loves Cheerios. In fact, he now wants them with every single meal. I think I've created a Cheerio monster because he screams and will refuse to eat any baby food unless there are Cheerios on his tray. I'm working on helping him learn to like other finger foods. 

He pulls himself up on everything, and has started taking some side-steps, but no real cruising happening yet.  Crawling is definitely his preferred transportation mode, and he is good at it! In fact I think he could out crawl me. 

Here are some pictures of this cutie pie: 

                                     

                                     

                                              

Look at those cheeks! They are as soft and scrumptious as they look. I've realized I have an insatiable appetite for both good, dark chocolate and Isaac's cheeks. 

                                               

His eyes are brown/grey/green. We're still not sure how they're going to turn out. But they are definitely dark and handsome like his dad's. 

He always sucks on his upper lip like this:

 

Can you see his two teeth? They're the only ones he's got:

And his "I want something" or "This food is gross!" face: 

To give you a true sense of his cuteness, here's a little video I took today. He had crawled into the other room, thinking I was going to chase him. But instead I waited for him to come back. I think he thought I had gone into the other room, ha ha! 

                                   

My 8-Month-Old Monkey

This little chub is 8 months old! In the last month, he started crawling, pulled himself up to standing, cut his first tooth, and got his first cold. And, thankfully, the lachrymal duct in his right eye finally opened. No more teary, goopy eyes-- or worried mama. 

It's so cute to see him crawl to Dad when he comes through the door after work and stand by the tub while waiting for his bath to fill. He still kicks his heals into the ground to show any intense emotion (I'm sure our downstairs neighbors love that--- ha ha), and he has started crawling after me, crying, if I walk past him without picking him up.  

His favorite toys are things he's not allowed to play with: power cords, dirty shoes, and electronic devices of any kind. But his second-most-favorite toys are a truck a neighbor gave us and a toy alligator on wheels. He can sit for quite a while spinning those wheels with his chubby fingers. And recently, he's figured out how to push his cars around. It's so fun to watch him play! 

He greets life with his mouth wide open---literally rubbing his snot and saliva all over the edge of the couch and our ottoman. And has even tried to eat his friends . . . 

As far as eating real food, he hasn't figured out finger food yet and hasn't grasped the concept of a sippy cup either. But we're having fun playing with both in the mean time. He still prefers sweet potatoes, pears, and carrots over other foods, but he really is quite a good eater. It's amazing what concoctions of mine he will eat with no complaint: green beans with peaches and oatmeal . . . Trust me, it's actually not that bad (I always taste his food first). 

Life with Isaac is just wonderful. I've come a long way in my growth as a new mom. And I am having so much fun with this busy body! Here are a million pictures of him because I can't help but show him off: 

During our little photo shoot, he was much more interested in the cars passing by than the camera: 

But finally, he gave me some typical Isaac faces: 

 I'm so glad I get to play with this little guy every day. He is so fun! 

Seven Months-- Can You Believe It??

The first four months of Isaac's life were so slow. It felt like two years. And it was like two years-- in terms of my personal growth and the number of hours I have been awake. Ha ha. Anyway, the last three months have flown by in comparison. And I have a feeling, the pace of life isn't going to slow down from here. 


Isaac has become quite the mover. In Church, he likes to arch his back and flail himself from side to side. I think the chandeliers must look more interesting from upside down. He's not crawling yet, but he can get from being on his tummy to sitting and from sitting to being on his tummy. And he can usually roll over in any direction he wants. He also does the cute pre-crawl rock-- where he rocks his bum forward and back while on his hands and knees. But no true crawling yet. 


His favorite activities are tearing up the junk mail, playing with Dad, reading books, and now-- eating!! His favorite foods are sweet potatoes and carrots. And he doesn't mind peaches, pears, and squash. He'll tolerate green beans and apples when mixed with something else. And that's about all he's eaten so far. 


It's been a painstaking process to introduce foods because he has exhibited so many allergies, so we are taking things slow. He's shown allergic reactions to milk, rice cereal, bananas, and possibly peas. Anyone who knows me well can tell you two staples in my diet have always been yogurt and bananas, so it's a little bit strange that my baby is allergic to both. But hopefully the little chunk will grow out of them. 


Here are some cute pictures of him from the last month: 

Bath Time on His 7th Month Birthday

New Naptime Tricks: 

Tigger Tail

"Mom, why are you taking a picture instead of feeding me?"

  

A little blurry, but he always makes this face: