Family Update

It's been a bit since I bragged on the kids and since it is finally Friday my brain doesn't want anything "deep" to process - so on with the bragging...

Every age with our three continues to be my favorite age. They are continually doing amazing things - some that make B and I laugh, some that make us want to pull out our hair, but amazing still.

Isaac has always been our talker. At eighteen months old he was having actual conversations with the five year old that lived next to us in our Jersey apartment complex. This didn't fully amaze us until Jack became eighteen months old and we realized how advanced Isaac was as a baby. He's brilliant and oh, so confident. He knows no stranger and has been known to strike up conversations with people in the aisles of Target...repeatedly. He loves to greet the neighbors when they arrive home in our cul-de-sac and is quick to share all with anyone and everyone. This week he's been flashing everyone the poison ivy spots across his chest - his latest and greatest information to share. In addition to freely telling all of what happens in our home to absolute strangers, he has also gained a new found love for knock-knock jokes. "Knock-knock? Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad to see me?!?"...and then he laughs all the way to the floor. He also likes creating his own jokes that are usually a stream of words that make no sense whatsoever..."Was that funny, Mama?!?"

Sophia is our princess. She's all about the color pink, dresses, and twirling in the middle of the family room..."I a princess!!!". She loves to sing - making up her own songs and her own dance movements. Though Soph will be turning three at the end of this summer when asked, "Sophie, how old are you?" she will respond "I four!". This drives Isaac nuts - since he is the big four year old. I think in part she has put her claim on four just to see Isaac's passionate reaction, "But, she's TWO!!!". She LOVES to torment the boy. This morning he ran from her bedroom in tears because "she kept saying the same words to me over and over!!!" I entered the room where she maintained the "Who, me?" facial expression. With the same intensity that she picks on Isaac, she is gentle and loving to Jack. She walks around the house holding his hand when he allows it and she often sits with Jack making him laugh over the silliest sounds she can conjure up. Sophie isn't always loving and gentle with her baby brother - thuds are heard periodically when she pushes Jack down with her hand square on his chest. She's strong so the slightest shove in this manner sends Jack right down on his diaper butt. Usually, the battle ensues over a baby doll or stuffed animal as Jack loves to carry babies and stuffed animals around the house. Sophia has claimed all babies and all plush animals in our house belong to her and her alone, after all, she's the "greel". And, a final note on Sophia - she is Dada's girl, melting Brian's heart with ease. Sophia still wakes up each morning in her singsong manner "Oh, Daaaaaaadaaaaa, I is awake...Daaaaaadaaaaa, come get meeeeeee!!!" What Dada could ignore such a request from his "baby girl"?

Jack is enjoying his last few months as our "Baby Jack". Little does he know, another baby boy is well on his way. I'm interested to know how Jack will respond to our new baby since he is such a Mama's boy - to the extreme! All through the day he finds me and runs to hug my legs, or places his head on my lap for a snuggle - then he continues on his way. I LOVE it!!! He's beginning to talk - adding to his running list of "Dada", "Mama", "No" and "Bobo". Jack now can say his own versions of lots of words - yes, "es", drink "gink", grandma "maaaama", Jack "ak", lollipop "popop", ball "baw". And, of course he has mastered "MINE!" - which started as a "Maaa" sound and has recently been perfected. "My baw!!!" is a personal favorite of his. Any form of bouncy ball is his toy of choice - and in the same manner that Sophia claims the babies and plush toys as her own, Jack has staked his claim on the balls. Big or small - they are all "My baw!!!".
Jack has a mainly sweet relationship with Sophie with her questioning his new language skills "What you said...what you said, Jack?!?!". And, with Isaac - it is nothing but boys being boys - running, wrestling, yelling. Jack walks around the house with his hand shoved down the back of his diaper nearly 24/7 - why? Your guess is as good as mine, but Isaac laughs and to my dismay, encourages Jack's hand-in-diaper stance. A bit ago I had all three kids just finished with a bath - all three were standing in the tub, dripping wet as the last of the bath water drained. Jack then discovered what his wewe (yes, we use technical terms in our house) was for as he peed a small stream into the bathtub. Seeing Jack shocked, looking at us with a "Did you see that?!?!?" expression struck Isaac as hilarious. He laughed so hard I had to yell at him to stay out of the pee making its way down the drain. Such young boys and already laughing about body functions. What am I going to do with THREE!

And, as for Brian - not a kid, but deserving of a little spotlight every now and then - is still doing glass work all over the area. The heat has arrived in the Midwest so he comes home looking rather worn, but always with some energy in reserve for the kids. Isaac, Sophia and Jack each run to the door with the slightest jingle of the front doorknob - "Dada's home" "Dada here!" "Dada!". Bri has big plans this summer to be out on his boat and smaller plans of fixing up the main level of the house - it is time to say good-bye to the big, red wall. Yeah!!!

So, that's the update on our little family. I'll add pictures at some point for all you distant family and friends - as the kids change a lot from day to day. Love you all - and Happy Friday!!!...and Happy Father's Day to all you other Dadas.