On your second birthday

Dear Isaiah,

I can’t believe it has been two years since you were born. You have filled the last two years with so much joy. You are such a blessing to me and your daddy! Your personality has blossomed so much from about 15 months to now. I can’t believe how charismatic and energetic you are. Your daddy and I wonder if you will be a politician one day!

The best way I can describe you these days is as a cartoon character! You are adorable, funny and full of life! You make us laugh so much! You love to dance and move and jump and play, your energy is unbounded. If I could only have 1/4th of your energy…

Just the other day we were at the dollar store, and I picked up a blue plastic piggy bank for your room. You were holding it sitting in the cart while we were standing in line and you started talking to just about anyone who would listen about your blue pig. “It’s BWUUUE PIG! See? Ears, eyes, nose, feet and tail! It’s for money! “ All of the sudden a small crowd of adults was gathered round talking to you about your blue pig and asking you questions. You were talking to them like you have known them all your life! One elder lady from another line even got out her wallet and put coins in your piggy bank! I said, “Isaiah, what do you say?” and you promptly say, “Thank you!” It’s like this everywhere we go, people love to talk to you and can’t believe how much you know. We left the store with you saying, “Bye bye, have a nice day!” Later that day you told daddy, “Isaiah go store, Grandma give you money.”

We were at Trader Joe’s grocery store checking out. You were turned around in your seat and you named out loud every single item the cashier loaded into the bags. “Eggs, yogurt, strawberries, waffles, juice, milk, zucchinis, kiwis, pasta, bread…” The cashier was so impressed, he told me you knew more than even the some of the employees there! He gave you practically a whole roll of stickers!

Your favorite songs are “You are my sunshine” and “Silent night”. We sing them both to you at bedtime, and you ask us to sing these songs all throughout the day. You are so cute, singing along. You love singing, and have since you were just an infant.

Your latest obsession is Thomas the Train. You know all the characters better than I do. You can never get enough train table time! You love all "boy" things like cars, trucks, tractors and airplanes. You also still love all kinds of animals. You have no fear of dogs and love to talk to them and pet them. You also love Play-doh. You ask “Mommy, pway pway doh?” almost every day. And when we do you can play for 2 hours and not get tired of it. Mostly it’s just you telling me what to make and you taking apart things and cutting with the plastic knife. But you LOVE it!

You are the MOST resilient toddler I know. It’s like you are almost indestructible. You don’t cry very often- you can fall, get hurt to the point of bleeding and be over it in two seconds. But only of course if mommy or daddy kisses your owwie. You always point it out, “Right here, mommy.” And after I kiss it, you say, “much better!” and you are on with whatever you were doing.

Lately you are so ATTACHED to your buddy. Your favorite security toy. It’s actually a Snoopy doll, but you call him buddy. You have to have him sitting next to you when you eat and you even feed him and make sure he drinks milk. He gets SO DIRTY from being dragged everywhere! But it’s adorable. I think you have become more attached since you’ve moved into the big boy bed a month ago. You wake up with him and go to sleep with him. He’s your best little pal, and even if he gets ragged and ripped to shreds, I promise, I will never throw him away.

We are working on your manners, and I have to say, so far I am very impressed. “Please” and “Thank you” come naturally most of the time now, and so does “bless you”. You say Thank you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After we pray you say "AMEN YAY, Thank Jesus!" We’re working on “May I…” but that’s a hard one and after you say “May I please” you get impatient and just say “OKAY!”. You love to be helpful and will help us with anything if we just ask you. The smile on your face when you accomplish something is priceless. Even if it is something simple like throwing something away or putting something back. You are just filled with pride, grinning from ear to ear! Most of the time, you are quite obedient. Daddy and I say, even when you are bad, you are still so good! But that is biased of course!

Did I mention, you are a genius? You know all your colors, numbers and animals. You know all your foods and all your body parts including armpits and elbows! You still love sign language and use it every day. You like saying big words like Wonderful! Fantastic! And Amazing! It is so entertaining!

Sometimes you call us by our first names and you get scolded for it (but secretly- it’s kinda funny). You call me “Ei-yeen” and your daddy “Dave.” Sometimes it will just come up in conversation, and you’ll insert our names instead of Mommy or Daddy. Like the other day we were at Costco in the freezing produce section and you said to daddy, “Ooh, it’s cold Dave!” I had to hide my laughter! Sometimes if you call me by mommy and I don’t hear you or I am ignoring you, you will yell, “EiYEEN!” You are constantly testing us, trying to straddle the line. How are you barely two and already doing this?!? I call you and daddy "honey" a lot soe sometimes you call me "honey mommy". I love it!

You are quite independent at times, but still sometimes cling to mommy like a little koala. And I can’t lie, I love that you still need me, because I know it won’t be long that you won’t want mommy for everything.

So this is you at two, and so much more. You are our little man. Headstrong, energetic, intelligent and hilarious. You are such a bright and happy little boy, and always have been since you were a baby. You are truly the sunshine of our lives and we love you SO MUCH!

Love,
Mommy (Eiyeen)

If you could have a secret power...

What would it be and why? Would you want to be invisible? Would you want xray vision? Would you want to be able to fly like Superman? Talk to animals like Hercules? Control the weather like Storm? You can only chose one!

Lately I have been fantasizing about being able to freeze time! Anyone remember the TV show Out of this World? I was so jealous that Evie had an alien father and I secretly wished my father was an alien with secret powers to pass down too. I wanted to be able to put my pointer fingers together and freeze time just like Evie. I even tried it. I even tried it TODAY (wishful thinking).

Oh, the life I could have. Oh the things I could do. In the morning, instead of getting up at 7 like usual, I would freeze time, sleep for another hour or so, workout, take a shower, SHAVE MY LEGS, brush my teeth, get dressed, and then after unfreezing time, go get Isaiah. I would be in the best mood! I would be so rested and put together! I would freeze time again to go downstairs and cook us a gourmet breakfast complete with fresh squeezed orange juice. After breakfast, I would freeze time again and completely clean the kitchen. Yes, this would be the life. Then in the afternoon, I would freeze time, take a nice, long luxurious bath while reading a magazine. Of course I would have to take a nap after that. In real time I would catch up on all my phone calls, emails and prayers. In frozen time, I would actually paint my nails and maybe even organize my closet. My scrapbook of Isaiah's first year would be complete and absolutely adorable with embellishments and all. I would put my sewing machine to good use and make precious handmade items for all of my friends. My garden (well, I'd have a garden) would be flourishing with fresh fruits and vegetables and the most beautiful plants and flowers. My house would be absolutely pristine. People would wonder, how does she do it? How could she be such an amazing mother, wife and friend? Nobody would know of my secret power. Ahh, the life could have...

Oh, well of course I would use my powers for the greater good too, every once in awhile I suppose! ;o)

The Big Boy Bedroom

All of the sudden, Isaiah refuses to sleep in his crib. He has moved himself to the big boy bed, and now occupies the guest bedroom as his own. He did this all on his own, in fact, I wasn't even ready (hopefully he'll decide he's too old for diapers and do that on his own too!). He wants nothing to do with his "old" bedroom! I guess he's trying to tell us that he's not a baby anymore. He looks so tiny in the big full size bed. Not to say that this new bedroom routine hasn't been a struggle. He doesn't like to be alone in his room when first going down, so we have to do the "Supernanny" walk out routine. This is no fun, but for the most part, it works! The first two nights were amazing, with Isaiah sleeping all the way through like a champ, and likewise at naptime. The third night and 4th day was a nightmare. Last night (the 3rd night) he woke up about 4 times, so we're a mess today! Today is the 4th day. He says,"Mommy sleep too!" wanting me to lay down next to him. It is so tempting, and I am so tired that I wish I could, he's so sweet and warm, but I want him to learn to sleep on his own. So I resist the temptation and sit on the edge of the bed. He says,"you and me are sleeping!" He's so cute and so happy. The relaxed breathing begins. I move to the floor, right next to the door. His head pops up, "Mommy? You and me are sleeping?" "Close your eyes and lay down." I say in a firm and calm voice (Supernanny would be proud). Then a few minutes later I leave. This is the part when he's supposed to fall asleep on his own, but he cries for 8 minutes before finally giving in. It breaks my heart, but still this is progress. Bye bye baby crib, crib bumpers and night light! My baby has moved on!

Your sentences

Talking to the dog, "Hi Oskee, how are you? Oskee's wearing socks Mommy." (Oscar has brown paws).

The other day after Dave pulled an all nighter and slept in the same clothes he worked in, Isaiah says to him the next morning,"Hey Daddy, I like your jammies Daddy."

Playing on his train table, "Thomas is pulling passengers. Thomas... fast-as-he-could."