17 months old
Dear Isaac,
A few days ago you turned 17 months old. You have a strong, emerging personality now. You are a big goofball, and you love to make us laugh, and me laughing makes you start laughing even if you don't know why. You still love music and love to dance. Now that I am home with you, we sing songs all the time and when I am done singing a song you clap for me and scream "YAY!" really loud. I am openly flattered. You are pretty good at doing the hand signs for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" along with me, and can do all of "Pat-a-Cake" as I sing. For the first time today you also sang a song for me -- it sounded like you were singing your ABCs.
Suddenly you are a little finicky about your hands and feet getting dirty. While you dive into your cottage cheese or applesauce with your fingers, after a few minutes you look at them and then whine at me until I wipe them off. If you step in something that gets in your sandals, like sand or water, you won't walk in them anymore and say "Yucky! Yucky!" until I pick you up or take them off. It would appear that you think life is best without shoes anyway. That's the Seattle hippie coming out in you, we think.
You like helping me with chores. When I'm vacuuming, you always hang out in the same room, never averting your gaze, and occasionally reminding me that, indeed, that is the "vacuum". Dada bought you a pint-sized push broom to go with your pint-sized mop, and while you prefer to use the mop more as a ninja weapon, you appear to be the only one who likes sweeping in the house. I am more than happy to let you go to town with your push broom. You really like doing the laundry with me, especially helping (un)fold clothes. You like to decorate the living room with the towels and my underwear. Usually it takes a few days for me to find everything that needs to be put away, but you are so entertained I am certainly not stopping you.
Your words are pouring forth, and you are starting to make clear, intelligible statements. Your favorite verb is "see", which originated from our peekaboo game, "I See You". As soon as you learned to say "I see you", it was clear you understood what that meant, and now you say "See Wiggles" or "See Squirrel". You have so many words now that when you do start to get frustrated and upset, Dada and I can ask you to "use your words", and sometimes you will calm down enough to tell, or at least show, us what's wrong.
Right now, your favorite word is "No". You have two flavors of "No", though: there is a screaming "no", when you really mean NO, and there is an extended, quieter "noooooH", with a lift on the end, when you are just making conversation. For example, a dialogue between us today:
Mom: Did you just wake up from your nap?
Isaac (in crib): Nooooo.
Dada and I take this to mean that perhaps we are a little too liberal with OUR "no"s, and we will try to work on that.
You and I have had our tiffs recently, as you try to make it clear to me that you will be doing whatever you wish, and I try to show you that being civilized and not kicking people or throwing sand or dumping cat-brother's food on the floor can be fun. I grit my teeth and tell myself that this isn't just you being a butthead, and that it is programmed into your toddler brain to be this way for now. Eventually you will cave to my will, mwoo-hahahaha, but for now we struggle. Usually you win.
We are incredibly surprised that you know your name, can say it, and can even recognize and name yourself when you see your picture as my desktop background. This is mainly because we rarely call you Isaac, but instead make up terribly cute nicknames for you that seem to change by the month. My current favorite is Munchkin or Munchie-Munchkin, often shortened to just Munchie. We interchangeably use certain classics that have been around for a bit: Big Guy, Monkey, Buddy, Punkin, My Angel, Baby. When appropriate, you are also Fussy Buddy, Fussy Gus, Guster, Buster, Monster, or Baby Monster. One day we'll get our act together and learn your name.
Every day it amazes your Dada and I how much we love you, and how we could never ever do without you. Being home with you is the greatest thing that I have ever done, and I love being able to go for our explorer-walks together every day. Dada is ferociously jealous of me and has a hard time staying at work all day, knowing that a 5-minute-walk would bring him home to you. Every day we think about all the great things we'll teach you or do with you in the next day or week, and we realize the best part is just watching you to see your reaction to life. You are the coolest, Big Guy, and getting cooler every single day.
Love you,
Mommy
A few days ago you turned 17 months old. You have a strong, emerging personality now. You are a big goofball, and you love to make us laugh, and me laughing makes you start laughing even if you don't know why. You still love music and love to dance. Now that I am home with you, we sing songs all the time and when I am done singing a song you clap for me and scream "YAY!" really loud. I am openly flattered. You are pretty good at doing the hand signs for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" along with me, and can do all of "Pat-a-Cake" as I sing. For the first time today you also sang a song for me -- it sounded like you were singing your ABCs.
Suddenly you are a little finicky about your hands and feet getting dirty. While you dive into your cottage cheese or applesauce with your fingers, after a few minutes you look at them and then whine at me until I wipe them off. If you step in something that gets in your sandals, like sand or water, you won't walk in them anymore and say "Yucky! Yucky!" until I pick you up or take them off. It would appear that you think life is best without shoes anyway. That's the Seattle hippie coming out in you, we think.
You like helping me with chores. When I'm vacuuming, you always hang out in the same room, never averting your gaze, and occasionally reminding me that, indeed, that is the "vacuum". Dada bought you a pint-sized push broom to go with your pint-sized mop, and while you prefer to use the mop more as a ninja weapon, you appear to be the only one who likes sweeping in the house. I am more than happy to let you go to town with your push broom. You really like doing the laundry with me, especially helping (un)fold clothes. You like to decorate the living room with the towels and my underwear. Usually it takes a few days for me to find everything that needs to be put away, but you are so entertained I am certainly not stopping you.
Your words are pouring forth, and you are starting to make clear, intelligible statements. Your favorite verb is "see", which originated from our peekaboo game, "I See You". As soon as you learned to say "I see you", it was clear you understood what that meant, and now you say "See Wiggles" or "See Squirrel". You have so many words now that when you do start to get frustrated and upset, Dada and I can ask you to "use your words", and sometimes you will calm down enough to tell, or at least show, us what's wrong.
Right now, your favorite word is "No". You have two flavors of "No", though: there is a screaming "no", when you really mean NO, and there is an extended, quieter "noooooH", with a lift on the end, when you are just making conversation. For example, a dialogue between us today:
Mom: Did you just wake up from your nap?
Isaac (in crib): Nooooo.
Dada and I take this to mean that perhaps we are a little too liberal with OUR "no"s, and we will try to work on that.
You and I have had our tiffs recently, as you try to make it clear to me that you will be doing whatever you wish, and I try to show you that being civilized and not kicking people or throwing sand or dumping cat-brother's food on the floor can be fun. I grit my teeth and tell myself that this isn't just you being a butthead, and that it is programmed into your toddler brain to be this way for now. Eventually you will cave to my will, mwoo-hahahaha, but for now we struggle. Usually you win.
We are incredibly surprised that you know your name, can say it, and can even recognize and name yourself when you see your picture as my desktop background. This is mainly because we rarely call you Isaac, but instead make up terribly cute nicknames for you that seem to change by the month. My current favorite is Munchkin or Munchie-Munchkin, often shortened to just Munchie. We interchangeably use certain classics that have been around for a bit: Big Guy, Monkey, Buddy, Punkin, My Angel, Baby. When appropriate, you are also Fussy Buddy, Fussy Gus, Guster, Buster, Monster, or Baby Monster. One day we'll get our act together and learn your name.
Every day it amazes your Dada and I how much we love you, and how we could never ever do without you. Being home with you is the greatest thing that I have ever done, and I love being able to go for our explorer-walks together every day. Dada is ferociously jealous of me and has a hard time staying at work all day, knowing that a 5-minute-walk would bring him home to you. Every day we think about all the great things we'll teach you or do with you in the next day or week, and we realize the best part is just watching you to see your reaction to life. You are the coolest, Big Guy, and getting cooler every single day.
Love you,
Mommy
posted by Claire at 8:48 PM
3 Comments:
Happy 17 Months Isaac!
Happy 17 months Big Guy! At least your mom desn't call you "booger"! "boog" for short. Liam just today wnt at emptying a basket full of folded laundry. The more he pulled out, the more excited he got. My underwear was flying. What fun times!
Susie! Liam and Isaac must be kindred spirits -- for Isaac, the folded piles are the mostest fun, like, ever! I try to get upset at having to do everything over...but it's so cute and he has such a great time, how can I say no?
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