Happy Half-Birthday, Isaac!

Dear Isaac,

(SOOC)

You're two and a half today! 

You are sweet, love to give kisses and still have the best fat poochy wet kissy lips.  You also know how to make kiss smack noises, and try to make fishy faces too.  I love to give you kisses, and love that you still love getting them and giving them back.  You like to kiss Daddy on the nose, and have gotten upset if you didn't get or give a kiss on the nose or another specific location. 

You love to give hugs to me too.  Today your teacher mentioned that you don't much like when Noah tries to give you hugs, and don't even like when your teachers give you hugs.  Right then, you leaned over and gave me a big hug.  At least I get them! 

For discipline, sometimes all I have to ask is if you want me to be happy or sad.  Sometimes I change my question if you want to be happy or sad.  Of course you like to be happy.  Now if you sense me getting tense, or wanting to break up a fight with you and Dylan, you look up at me with a big cheesy grin and cling/hug my leg.  Nobody gets in trouble when you make us both happy:)

You have a sense of humor.  You like to laugh.  You know how to be funny and you crack yourself up.  Irritating as it may be to me, you sometimes bonk yourself on the side of your head while making a silly face.  It gets all of the uncles to laugh, but I just ask you to not hit my baby please while I kiss your bonked area on your head.  It is silly and slap happy, but not my kind of humor.  You also make spitting noises and alternate with Dylan until he has had enough and tattles.  It cracks you two up, and others, but again, maybe because I'm a girl, I'd rather you find another sense of humor.
You learn new words, like never mind, then use it in a sentence at the end.  I like that humor.  You get our attention, then say never mind.  I just don't like when you pair that with a jumping bonk to your own head or something, silly baby boy. 

You can understand anything I say, and you talk in the most astonishing complete sentences.  Sometimes I just laugh before answering your intriguing questions.  Of course you still have habits of saying certain words your way, like "Dee-un" for Dylan even when you know how to say the correct way.  Dylan did that too. 

Your favorite thing now is "Andre and the Bulls" which is an awesome slide show that Barbie made of their trip to Spain.  It includes street dancers, amazing places, and of course, Andre running with the Bulls!  It has catchy songs on it too, including the World Cup song my Shakira ("Waka Waka" I think) b/c they were also there for when Spain won the World Cup!  I have to cue that slide show up for you once a day.  You invented the word "more-again" or "more-'gain."  I love it.

You're not a picky eater.  Thank you for that.  You like cereal bars for breakfast, and any time you're hungry.  You call them "uuUUH bar," which is another Isaac-ism for granola bar.  You are not in a banana phase right now, but you wanted a big marshmallow, and ate an entire banana before bed to eat the marshmallow tonight!  I had told you that you could have the marshmallow in the morning after eating half of a banana.  You put the marshmallow on your table, then once I handed you the banana to put next to it for the morning, you pealed and ate it - all!  Silly baby, of course I gave you the marshmallow then brushed your teeth again. 

You're a good swimmer now!  You can swim to me, give me a high five, and can turn around and swim back to the wall by yourself.  You can jump in, you can dive/glide in, and you're not afraid of the deep end.  You can swim across our pool in one breath, not from jumping in with NO help.  You don't want to float, and if I weren't your mom, I would have you floating, but you have no motivation.  You can do big arms and kicks. 

You like to play (of course), and can play with Dylan or other friends. 

You started preschool, and cried and fought going once we were there even though you were excited up until the parking lot.  Now you don't cry!  Your teacher loves you and calls you and Noah "twins number two."  That's just the way she speaks.  You used to cry when Daddy would try to leave you in nursery, and he would end up staying with you for an hour then taking you home.  Since I do not have to go right to Primary, I drop you off and you don't cry!  I find a toy or friend for you, then say good bye and you look up (or don't) and reply aloud, "BYE MOM."  Interesting.  Maybe you should miss me more.  Oh well. 

You are potty trained, and have been for months now.  You still have an occasional accident, but I can usually make up a good excuse for you like if I put tight shorts on you (not your favorite gym shorts selection), or if you're playing too hard.  You still wear a pull up to bed, but it's often dry so we use it the next night. 

You fight going to bed some.  You go in your bed fine, but call for water, to be covered (your way with the fuzzy side to you and the silky side up), music, the door to be opened more, etc.  I know it's often b/c I'm not home at bed time, so you wait up for me and you're really overly tired.  I'm sorry.  I'd love for you to sleep with me every night, but that's just ridiculous.  I don't hear you cry when I'm asleep, but if I'm still up on the computer, I pick one of those things and ask if you need water, for example.  You say yes, I give it to you, and you go back to sleep.  Sometimes, if Daddy is so tired, he'll just bring you in bed with us sometime before I wake up.  I don't mind, but you should probably just stay in your bed and sleep 'til morning! 

You know how to hold up two fingers any time you hear your number.  You know that you are two, and know that Dylan is four (fingers.)  You also sign "I love you" with your hand.  You do the "more sign" and we go back and forth laughing at who loves who more:) 

You like to sing and dance.  Your favorite songs are the first Article of Faith, and "I Am A Child Of God." 

You like to say the prayer first, but you rush it and it comes out "uh uh uh Jesus Chris Amen."  Seriously, the shortest thing.  Even Dylan will look up now to remind you, "Dear. . ." to get you started.  When we prompt you with things you're thankful, you sometimes go into the other room to retrieve the item before you can finish your prayer. 

I love you and am going to miss you and your silly faces like CRAZY when I go to Uncle Stephen and Stepheni's wedding. 

Love,
Mommy