Playdough animals, Objects in a muffin tin, & Sand and Water play

Isaac loved playing with lots of different objects with his play dough.  We used beads, eyes and feathers and made different animals likes snakes, frogs and ducks.

Always a hit with Isaac.  Lots of objects to make a mess with! 

The neighbors gave us their old sand and water play table which Isaac absolutely loves!  It even had sand and some other toys to keep him busy all night!  What a hit!   I also am trying to learn more about my camera, so I was having fun this day. I love it because the pictures aren't even edited or cropped!

Isaac - 22 months

Isaac is continuing to learn and discover new things, which is such a thrill to watch! His speech has really picked up and he tries to repeat everything and tries to tell Daddy stories about his day. Levi's name has progressed from “dis” (as in this thing) into “I-I” for Levi. He enjoys “snacks” and asks for them from the minute he wakes up. This boy continues to LOVE to eat! His favorite shows at the time are “Team Umizoomi” and “The Notekins.” I'm interested to see if he will continue to enjoy math and music as that is the theme of these two shows. He loves to learn about new instruments and is getting better at counting objects up to 3. We have been working on letter sounds and reading although his attention span for this is not as long as other things. He will tell you that lions eat “meat” and sleep in “caves.” And that monkeys live in “trees.” He continues to sleep on the floor next to his bed and has lost any interest in sleeping back in his toddler bed. He goes to bed and takes a nap without any hesitation and grabs his blankets, Monkey, and any other toys he desires and gets all situated until he falls asleep. He enjoys following instructions in songs such as clapping, stomping, touching nose, or other commands such as “If You're Happy and You Know It.” WE have reverted backwards a little bit in potty training. He was doing really well, but more “intentional” accidents have been occurring and I'm not sure why. He would always tell us before when he needed to go. I don't know if its because he is playing and doesn't want to stop or if he is in his room after a nap and doesn't know that I can hear him or if he just wants to see what reaction he may get from us. He enjoys sitting on the potty chair and reading books, so I just make time for “potty breaks” and he goes just fine if I time it well. He doesn't really understand the sticker rewards and doesn't really care about putting a sticker on the chart, but he does enjoy getting “raisins” or a “fig newton” for a reward, so I plan to continue working on the whole potty training thing. He continues to get better at swimming in the pool and now will float/kick/swim with floaties and doesn't mind getting his face wet or going under. I would love to see if I could get him swimming by the end of the summer.

This boy gives the best hugs and the sweetest kisses in the world! He absolutely makes me melt! He continues to push his boundaries and is quick to say “I'm sorry” with a kiss.

Reading on the potty

Love this little man!

This picture cracks me up!

A smile to die for!

  

Levi - 4 months

Weight: 15 lbs. 9.5 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 26 in. (81st percentile)
Head Circumference: 15.94" (15th percentile)

Levi continues to be a very happy baby!  He smiles when he wakes up and loves to be talked to and played with.  He laughs and giggles when we make funny faces and sounds. He makes raspberry sounds and is starting to play with making other new sounds like a high pitches squeal.  He loves to grasp and reach for things, especially from your hands and off the table. He has also found his feet and loves to play with them.  He enjoys watching Isaac and to be taking in everything he's doing and saying.  He's already moving into 6-9 months clothes and I'll need to make a shopping trip for some summer stuff as all of Isaac's clothes in this size were long sleeves and pants!

A Visit from Kyle

My nephew, Kyle, flew in to visit us for a week. I LOVED seeing the boys get to play and interact with their cousin. Kyle is going to be a senior next year, and I wanted him to visit me for years, so I am so glad we were able to make it work before he graduates and moves on into his adult life! We swam in the pool, went to a few playgrounds, played games at Dave & Busters, saw the mountains, played disc golf (or as Kyle says, "frolfing"), and ran some other errands. He was a nice help loading boys and strollers in and out of cars, etc. I hope he will want to come back and visit us in the future. I'm sure I'll be able to convince him to come snowbarding some winter!

Walking to the park

Isaac and Kyle on tire swing

Playing at park

Time for popsicles

Levi and Kyle

The boys with their cousin Kyle

At Dave & Busters

Another day at a park

A little hike and a lot of mountains!

Trying on Kyle's new snowboarding equipment from Joe

"Frolfing"

Kyle thought it was funny I never heard of "Fruit Ninja" before.  I don't get out much I guess! lol!

Some day Isaac will be able to roll them far enough and not throw them into the other lane!

Vroom! Vroom!

Levi and Kyle

  

Toddler Activities with Isaac

Homemade finger paint - source

Stacking cups and pingpong balls (notice the "beer pong" box that turned into a toddler toy)

Water colors

Shaving cream paint - source

Salt dough - I used 1/2 cup each of flour and salt for Isaac (new activity and recipe here)

Baking soda and colored vinegar = BUBBLES! - source

Let's make soup - a more messy version of "Texture Soup" (our nasty version had anything Isaac wanted from the cupboard which included, dry pinto beans, cheerios, noodles, pepper, garlic powder, minced onions, oats, vegetable oil, and lovely smelling vinegar to top it off...YUCK!)