Isaac is growing up so quickly. In so many ways he wants to imitate us so it should have been no surprise when I found him playing with my spice rack, pretending to cook. He'd been exceptionally quiet, that should have been my clue, and I walked from the kitchen to the living room to find his cooking toys and the carpet filled in various states with oregano, rosemary, dill, thyme and chili pepper flakes. He was quietly singing to himself as he 'stirred' his pretend stew. The next few times I vacuumed I could distinctively smell chili pepper.
The carpet suffered another assault the following morning. The birds have a habit of cheerfully waking Isaac at 5:30 am so we try and get him to snuggle with us in bed or play quietly by in our room. While Kent was in the shower, my lotions offered a new source of amusement, particularly the thick tub of Eucerin. By the time Kent got out, Isaac's hands and feet were coated with it and a generous amount was rubbed into the carpet and in his pajamas. We rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the area over and over and over! Kent and I lament that at both those moments we were too shocked to have grabbed the camera and taken a memorable picture.
There were other milestones last week that left me speechless at his growing abilities. He spoke his first complete sentence while we were playing the other day. He has a favorite hand puppet we named Blue (I bought him for a dollar at Target) who he likes to talk to and 'teach' him how to play. We'd set up several small towers out of TP rolls that Isaac likes to run and kick down. On and off he'd yell, "Mama kick", "kick it down", etc. Finally he came up and held Blue, in a perfect imitation of us when we try hard to get his full attention, he looked Blue in the eyes and said, "Blue, now you go kick it down." He was not deterred when I pointed out that Blue had no legs but kept repeating the sentence over and over clear as a bell.
Potty training has also been going well and at home he stays in his training underwear and rarely has accidents so long as we prompt him to practice his potty. It's amazing how much less diapers we use already. Once a week he goes for 5 hours at a daycare so I can go to doctor appointments and have some 'me' time. While he enjoys it there, he struggle to use the potty and can't seem to get himself to relax. His frustration was very evident lately. The other day I went to pick him up and I found him sitting with a smug little smile on his face. The first thing he said was, "Mama, I potty!". Ms Danielle explained that as usual she'd set him down on the potty and went to get his diaper ready. A few minutes later he ran out with his bare bottom yelling, "Poo Poo, Poo Poo!" at the top of his lungs. From the way she put it Isaac was just as shocked as ever ... he'd succeed at a number one and a number two ... at 'big boy school' no less and was extremely proud of himself. We have a small reward system but I think he knew he earned more than just a small cookie so when we hugged, he stopped to look me in the eye and asked, "Mama, donut?" How could I resist. We went to special donut shop, something we've never done before and he happily picked out a chocolate creme filled one and sat down like a little gentleman to eat.
He's found another way to melt my heart. Lately when I do something for him that he really wants he is sure to say, "Thank you Mama." (Sounds more like fank oo Mama) Maybe because the service a Mom offers is often so mundane that we rarely think to offer gratitude for it, it makes this gesture so much more meaningful. The best part is it I never prompt it, and for that reason it has become so genuine and powerful.
There are no words to adequately describe motherhood. I am so grateful that God has given me Isaac to learn to laugh, love, cry and grow. Life is full indeed and I wonder at times with the another one to come how much fuller it will become. My pendulum swings pretty wide now with just one, how much more will come after August? ;0)
The following are pictures of Kent teaching Isaac how to fly a kite. While we never really got the thing off the ground, no little boy had more fun trying!
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