Isaac is Almost TWO!!!

Here's our Isaac Owen just a month away from turning two...

Isaac loves glasses (often called "goggles"). I think I'm down to one pair of my own... the rest have either one lens or are so mangled that they got trashed! :) He finally got a pair of his own... we'll see how long they last!

Daddy and Ike bear gazing out the window!

This is the typical Isaac "cheeze" these days! He's a hoot!

First try on the potty.... his own initiative. I'm not even beginning that battle until age 3, but if he figures out on his own beforehand then I'll be very encouraging!

Look at that sweetness!

Isaac LOVES "brother" or "baby". I think he likes his lil bro so much because Micah really fuels his fire.... Micah Jay laughs hysterically at Isaac and Ike just eats it up!

Isaac is very hands-on! I'm finally able to leave him in a room alone with Micah while I step out for a minute or two.... but I'll often find Isaac on top of Micah trying to wrestle when I return. Yikes! Micah seems to hold his own though.

Isaac has a very tender and sweet, compassionate heart as well. He "shhhhhhhs" Micah when he cries and tries to sit him back up when he falls over. He makes sure that we pray with Micah each night before bed.... It is pretty cute to see Isaac standing right in front of Micah's crib with his blanket in hand saying "Pay, Pay" (Pray!).... Melts my heart!

First try in the big boy (toddler) bed! This was definitely not by our initiative, but out of necessity! Isaac figured out how to get out of his crib one night while Joe was out of town. It was a very Looooooooooong night for us both. I guess a very short night is a better description. At some point we both tuckered out on the couch together!

We tried everything in hopes of keeping this boy in his crib, but the little Houdini found a way out each time. After a few sleepless nights and when all other attempts had failed, we decided it was time to make the closet his new room. Yep, we did it.......... we locked our son in the closet! I have to add that it's a pretty large closet. We put the crib mattress in there, put up some glow in the dark stars, bought him a turtle night light, cut and extra inch off the bottom of the door to create air flow..... There you have it, problem solved. Isaac was a happy camper (after a couple of kicks on the door!) and we were sleeping again. If you are a parent I know you totally understand......... you do what you've got to do to get a little shut-eye! :) Our little buddy still needs some definite boundaries and confinement. He's got the routine down now of locking the door himself (I must note that I got locked in with him one afternoon during naptime.... Wyatt eventually came to my rescue! Whew!), turning on his turtle night light, saying prayers, and off to sleep he goes... Fun Facts About our 23-Month-Old:

ISAAC....

-refers to most people as either "a girl" or "a guy".... no names, just their gender!

-used his first 3 word phrase this month, "Go bye-bye mama" :( It was really cute... he was wrestling with Daddy while I was getting ready to head out to the store, apparently my conversation with Joe was interrupting his tackle time with Daddy so he was ready for me to leave! :)

-refers to his brothers as "Wy Wy" and "Broter" or "Baby"

-cutest word he says is "walrus"

-now says "pease" So cute!!! Still does the sign language too!

-loves guns. I guess this goes along with having a big brother. He makes the cutest shooter sound

-gives lots of hugs and kisses

-understands everything..... He's very SMART!

-is so much FUN! He is my little sunshine! :)

Isaac Owen, I hope you always have the gift of making others smile and your passion and zeal never fade. I love you SOOooooo much! Thanks for making my days full of sunshine! Mommy

Micah at 8 Months!

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Fun Facts about our 8-Month-Old:

MICAH....

-added a top tooth this month for a total of 3!

-dances!!!!! It is soooooo cute.... he's got some good rhythm already!

-is starting to cry when Mommy leaves the room

-always looks like he's chewing bubble gum... I'm guessing he's got more teeth working there way down.

-loves to eat. He devours a jar of food and cries hysterically until you open the second!

is such a roly poly... he's got so many fat rolls that you can barely see his features... not sure who he looks like yet.

-many people say he resembles my dad! I guess he's got some Schulze blood! I think my dad is a very handsome guy so this is definitely a compliment to Micah!

-is really beginning to squeal and babble

Micah, I know our days of you just being a content little baby, happy to sit on the floor and observe all around you are drawing to an end. I know you'll be scooting and crawling, walking and running all too soon. SOOoooooo, I'm totally soaking up the sweet baby moments when you fall asleep in my arms or when you hang out, perfectly content to sit on my lap while I read a book. I so love these days and would just keep you here forever if I could....... but I suppose I'll have to let you just keep on growing and gaining independence... for this, I rejoice! Love you, my sweet Micah Jay!

Emergencies

"Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies!" -Ann Voskamp

First trip to the ER: We were having a calm morning (I realize that calm is a relative word... most of you would probably not consider our kind of calm to be your definition of the word!). I had gotten in a work out and a shower and was drying my hair while the boys were calmly playing together (I must admit that we were a bit out of routine this particular morning... I normally try to have all of the above done before my boys' feet first hit the floor in the morning! So maybe they were lacking a little parental attention) when Wyatt comes running into the bathroom screaming that Isaac hit him with a toy. Sure enough, blood dripping down the one side of Wy's face, was a pretty deep (small, but deep) battle wound. Well, the Lord in his Providence had provided me a way out... My sister was already planning to come over for a play date, so I was able to leave Isaac and Micah to take just Wy guy to the ER. Wyatt was all about the experience at the hospital while he got to watch TV in a treehouse and play with the ipad.... but it was another story once the doctor came in with gloves and a silver tray of tools. FREAK OUT!!! They had Wyatt wrapped like a mummy and a nurse's body weight pinning him down just to keep him somewhat controlled while (luckily) able to glue the wound...

Wyatt graciously reminded Isaac over and over and over the rest of the day that he was very disappointed in Isaac's behavior. About 24 hrs later right before we were supposed to be eating dinner and preparing to leave for small group, Wyatt decided to shove Isaac into the corner of a table. Now who is disappointed? All day long it seems that we talk about not repaying evil with evil, but boys will be boys... Now Isaac is screaming (and this boy is TOUGH, I tell ya) at the top of his lungs and won't even take a sucker to make the pain subside (that's when you know Ike is really hurt... he does not pass up candy). The pictures do not do it justice, he had a HUGE goose egg on his forehead. I can hardly stand to see my boys hurt! This is one time that I can feel my blood boiling...

A couple of days later Isaac got a very big, fat, bloody lip from jumping on Wyatt's bed and landing his mouth on the headboard. Ugh.... I can totally handle blood and guts UNLESS it involves my children, then I'm as squeamish as a little girl! Oh, and I've got to throw in the frog story. I thought I had caught a great deal by using $5 coupons at Hallmark that were about to expire toward 6 cute, little frogs for Christmas. (Note to self...when you buy living things prior to Christmas, you have to care for these living things until you gift them.) I came home with a cardboard box and went straight to my bathroom. Apparently Wyatt was curious.... something about an old cardboard box that in his mind must have read "There's something in there for me.... I can't wait for Christmas!" While I was unloading other things out of the car, my little help disappeared... right up to my bathroom. We crossed paths in the upstairs hallway and he had a look on his face that cause me to RUN to the bathroom.............. Much to my dismay, there were 3 overtuned frog tanks and 6 baby frogs bouncing all over my bathroom. Oh my! I screamed.... a squeamish little girl scream. I don't handle frogs in my bathroom well. Thankfully, Joe rushed in to the rescue of these frogs! There should have been a recording, it makes me laugh out loud to now replay the scenario in my mind. What a day and what a way to start out the Christmas season.... there's more to this story but I stop there!

Wyatt and Ellie finished the week with a little painting party--body, hair, tables, etc...anything but the paper they were supposed to be painting. I guess that's what you get for leaving 2, 3-year-olds alone with paintbrushes.... their creativity ran a bit wild! : ) But they were pretty stinkin' cute and very proud of their artwork!

I had been praying through a list of 10 points for joyful parenting and got stuck on #3 (the quote at the top of this post) during this very 'eventful' week. I don't know much about this author, but must initially wonder if she has boys?!! There seem to be many emergencies in our world. None that have been life-threatening, so I guess they haven't actually been real emergencies, but they were enough to get this momma's heart pumping! However, this quote has caused me to take time to stop and reflect on my responses during these sudden, unexpected events ........ am I able to rest and abide in the Sovereign One, even during the emergencies of life? He is Providence. And I'm thankful for all of the little ways he kindly and mercifully provided and cared for us during this events that seemed like emergencies to me.... all while being sifted through his very hands...under His control!

Isaac Owen is 22 months old!

Your smile makes my heart bounce!

-Winnie the Pooh I will probably be saying this same quote to Isaac when he is 22 YEARS old... His smile truly does make my heart bounce and is very good medicine for my soul!

I'm sure you recognize these lyrics, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let is shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!" This is Isaac's them song... we sing it a lot! Let your light keep on shinin', my son! We also like "this is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made... I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it!"

and another one we sing is, "I am so happy, so very happy, I've got the love of Jesus in my heart..." Isaac LOVES to SING and he's got a very beautiful little voice!!!! He certainly knows how to make a very joyful noise to the Lord!

He's got a serious side too.... and a meldown mode! More smiles than seriousness and tears, but he's got the full range of emotions like any healthy, almost-two-year-old does!

Isaac loves to be outdoors! We've decided to cough up the money for a fence (actually, we've got the gov't to thank for the fence fund...A little relo incentive last year! :) so these boys can have a little bit of freedom and some clear boundaries. They need a place to just run and play and just be boys! : )

Isaac doesn't miss a detail... below he's determined to grab the string off of his sleeve! It was pretty cute to watch him tackle the string! ; ) No help needed... this boy is very independent!

Oh, and he LOVES his brothers! He's the perfect middle brother... he loves to follow Wyatt (and sometimes Wyatt follows Isaac!) and he loves to lead Micah Jay...God gave him the perfect role in the middle!

A little indoor, creative fun... My house is pretty much always in progress of a disasterous mess, but my boys are not lacking for activity! : ) Sometimes I wonder why on earth I initiate the messes... but their smiles and laughter make the clean-up all worth it! : )

Wrestling with Daddy.... definitely on Isaac's top 5 list for favorite activities!

Ikey bear... We love you little cub!

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Other Fun Facts about our 22-month-old

ISAAC...

-is the same age Wyatt was when Isaac was born, but Ike has been a big brother for 7 months already!

-Says "Alright" instead of "Yes" to any question you ask him....it's super cute! "Do you want to go outside, Isaac?" His response, "Alright!" Love this!

-Always refers to himself as a "good guy"

-LOVES to "cook!" I try to have most of our dinner prep done by the time he wakes up from his nap, otherwise I know it will take 3 times as long to prepare. I always save Isaac a special job, though with dinner! : )

-picks up the phone and says "Hello" and "Bye-bye"

-refers to every book as a "Bible". I took him to a bookstore with me one day and he ran around the store saying "Bibles, Bibles, Bibles". We got lots of chuckles from other shoppers! : )

-Tell me I'm a "Good girl" when I give him fun treats like cookies

-has a thing for goggles and glasses. I'm always prepared for a meltdown when I put on my sunglasses because I know Isaac will want them and CANNOT have them or they'll be broken!

-calls his aunt and uncle (my sister and brother-in-law) "B" and "Bup" ... It's Auntie B and Uncle Trent so I'm not sure where "Bup" came from but Isaac knows exactly who he is referring to!

Fall Fun 2011!

We had lots of photo-shoot attempts and decided to just be pleased with the candidness of the season! ; ) Not a single shot was picture-perfect this fall, but they are all perfectly precious to me! Capturing true emotion... now this is what life is truly made of! These boys are the beat of my heart and the sweet little rhythm (or should I say non-rhythm?!) of my days! I'm learning to love even this non-rhythmic, crazy kind of life! ; ) I've completely given up on trying to figure out a perfect plan and schedule to keep us on beat, but rather to just be thankful for each moment and to maintain some kind of pulse (and sometimes this simply means survival! : )... what a priceless GIFT to be a mom! Here's a few snapshots from our Fall 2011...

even Micah loves to tackle now!

we definitely do not believe in bribing our children for pictures : )

Weapons. I'm getting used to weapons, lots and lots of weapons... I'm very well protected in this house!

Isaac loves to 'shoot the birds'

My boys have a thing for goggles, especially Isaac!

Here we are at our Harvest Party at church on the 31st!

Honk!

Here are my fellas grabbing a little candy in the neighborhood! The families in our neighborhood do hayrides around the neighborhood, dropping the kids off at a cul-de-sac for candy then hopping back on the tractor for a ride to the next cul-de-sac for more candy. Our boys were a bit too slow getting back to the tractor, but hopefully we'll speed up and join the wagon fun in the coming years! : )

Snoozin' lil lion cub!

We finished the fall with Daxton's 4th football-themed birthday party! It was a fun excuse for the boys to sport their Hawkeye jerseys. Ther was plenty of kicking and tackling, prizes and sugar... a perfect day to celebrate!