Tag Archives: Isaac

Maybe for Christmas

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I’ve got some strategies for avoiding the grocery store begging that plagues many 9.9.08 Isaac and Charlotte (1) mothers of young children.  First of all, my kids know that when I say no at the grocery store I never give in.  Although I’d like to claim that this is because I’ve mastered the element of consistency in parenting, I know that my sense of frugality is sometimes my driving force.   The other thing I do is use phrases like "maybe we can make a treat at home" or "we should ask Santa to get you that for Christmas."  So far these phrases have worked wonderfully and my kids forget about the desired item entirely by the time we get home!

I could tell Isaac was ready for lunch one day when he started eyeing and asking about the candy in the check-out isle.  When he asked me for a particular treat, I told him that perhaps we could make a treat when we got home.  He put the candy back and I felt proud of how easily I had avoided a tantrum.  He stared picking up candy bars, starbursts, and other impulse items one at a time and saying "maybe we can make something like this at home, " and luckily he put each one back without a fuss.  The lady behind me was stunned and commented that she’d never seen a kid so pleasantly accept his mom’s refusal to buy a treat.  One time I commented on how he seemed to want us to make our own check-out isle.  He liked this idea and regularly comments to me at the store about how our check-out isle should look.

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Snow Already?!

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Can you believe we just had our first snow of the year?P1030625  It seems way too early.  Isaac and Charlotte were thrilled and bugged me all morning to let them go out and play.  Once the baby fell asleep I took them out and let them run around and make snowballs while I attempted to take pictures.  I got very few pictures where you could see their faces since they spent most of the time looking down at the snow and didn’t want to be bothered to look up at my camera.  Charlotte’s favorite thing was to pick up a handful of snow, throw it on the sidewalk and then dance on it.  Isaac enjoyed making snowballs at first but then started picking up as much snow as he could and then offering to give it to his sister or his mom.

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The fun never ends. . .

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P1030601So here’s a few more comments from this morning to go with last night’s post:

"It’s snowing!  It’s snowing!  It’s Christmas!!" –Isaac said this as he excitedly danced around the house just after viewing snowflakes falling this morning.

"I want stinky underwear!!!"  Charlotte cried this over and over upon having her soiled underwear changed.  Given the choice of clean underwear or a diaper she again exclaimed "I want stinky underwear!"

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A fly on the wall in our house

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I’m sure it’s not often the wish of many to be a fly on the wall in our house (although  Zach and Isaac (1) there have been a few flies in the house entertaining cats, but my hand-held-battery-powered-tennis-racket-shaped-fly-zapper seems to have alleviated that problem).  Here are some of the things you might have heard if you were that unzapped fly:

"All our prayers are working!"   — Isaac, after praying to find things and then finding them.

"That’s a regular baby."  — Charlotte, in reference to Nicole (she needed to differentiate Nicole from her dolls).

"The mail man sent me something to send him some mail."  — Isaac, after opening some junk mail and finding a return envelope.  Later he decided we should put a chocolate bar in the envelope and send it to Ohio for his grandma Bunny.

"it IS a night time prayer!"  — Charlotte, after thanking Heavenly Father for the food and blessing it in her bedtime prayer.  Her mother told her that she said a dinner prayer, but she insisted it was a night time prayer and continued to bless the food for several more nights.

10.3.08 Charlotte (1)"So you don’t feel smelly?  If you feel smelly you won’t give anyone food?" — Isaac, after I told him I was going to go take a shower.

"It is funny to knock over Isaac’s building"  –Charlotte, after knocking over Isaac’s building.  Isaac cried and Charlotte laughed and ran into the living room where I told her that it wasn’t funny to knock over her brother’s buildings.  She repeated this phrase a few times with such insistence that it was hard not to laugh (which might have proved her point).

"That game is for Daddies when they don’t want to play with their kids?"  –Isaac asked this question to his father who was playing a game with "boomers" in it (refer to the toddler dictionary).

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Comments?

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Till now you’ve needed a login to comment on our blog entries which results in many sad comment-less entries.  Now the floodgates are open so feel free to leave us a note (I’d like to think someone is actually reading our blog).  Just know that I’ll be moderating the comments and my red teacher grading pen has been bored and lonely since I stopped teaching school.

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Prayer

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This morning Isaac told me he couldn’t find his water bottle and asked if we could pray to have Heavenly Father help him.  So we said a little prayer and almost as soon as we said ‘Amen,’ he found the water bottle.  Later when he was putting on his sandals he said "Should we pray for my old sandals?  Then I could have two pairs of sandals!"9.29.08 Isaac and CharlotteI know the picture has nothing to do with the post, but I love pictures so I can’t post without one.

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Chores Update

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9.23.08 Isaac, Charlotte, and Nicole (1)-1 I was initially disappointed by how quickly Isaac and Charlotte’s zest for chores dissipated, but things are improving now.  Understanding timing is important.  I’ve learned that they have no desire to do chores if they’re already doing something that they enjoy.  That seems like an obvious lesson, but I tried bribing them away from toys in order to do work and it didn’t work and just frustrated me.  If I really want to motivate my children, I must create a scarcity that can only be filled through chores.  I haven’t been willing to create much of a scarcity for play because they get into trouble if I don’t give them engaging play options.  There are two types of things that I am able to create a scarcity in and I have used those two things as my motivators.  One is treats/sweets and the other is one-on-one time with mom.  As you can see from the picture, they are required to complete four chores for a treat of their choosing.  The second part is trickier.  Each time t2008-09-28 002 hey fill a small treat strip, they get to add a picture of themselves to the outing progress cha rt.  After four pictures (16 chores) they get an outing with mom.  The other children go to Grandma’s house while the child who earned the outing spends time with mom.  Outings include things like a bicycle ride (which Isaac is currently working toward), swimming, a trip to the library, or a trip to the park.  This system has been rewarding in multiple ways.  It allows me to regulate treat intake better, the kids are enjoying doing chores, and I get to spend one on one time with each of them (Nicole gets her mom time at 2:00AM or 4:00AM ).

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Isaac

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I wrote about the girls, so I suppose I should write9.21.08 Isaac (1) something about my boy.  He is such a clever and curious boy.  He sometimes drives us nutty with his questions and regularly expresses what maybe inner desires by saying "what if the naughty guys. . ."  We actually convinced him to replace the words "naughty guys" with "democrats" for a day.  I found it much more amusing to hear him worry that the democrats would do bad things.  He had concerns like "what if the democrats came in and ate my dinner and they wouldn’t let me eat it." or "what if the democrats wouldn’t let me ride my bicycle."  Part of me worries about offending people, but then the other part of m e says "I don’t care if I’m politically correct or sensitive or whatever" and the second part wins because mostly I don’t really care.

Does he look like a wealthy (and therefore evil) oil tycoon in this picture?  Maybe Obama could use it to further his class warfare argument!

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Preschooler’s Dictionary

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Here are some definitions from my little ones:8.31.08 Isaac, Charlotte, and Nicole (5)

Hinges = elbows or knees   Context:  Just before dinner he told me that his tummy was full because elevators in his legs had carried salad up past his hinges to his tummy and filled him up.  When I told him we were having tacos, he said the elevators took the salad back down.

Mystery Symbol = question mark     Context:  While typing, Isaac asks “Mom, where’s my mystery symbol?”

The toilet’s esophagus = the part of the toilet directly below the bowl that leads down into the ground   Context:  “mom, is this the toilet’s esophagus?”

Shampoo for hands = soap  Context:  I sent Isaac in to wash his hands.  He came back  out and said “I have no shampoo for hands–that is soap.”

Crying when I’m swimming show = Olympic swimming  Context:  Charlotte has been 9.6.08 Isaac, Charlotte, and Nicole (1) enjoying the Olympics.  So far her favorite event is swimming which she called the “crying when I’m swimming show.”  As soon as they started playing the national anthem she told me that the men would start crying.

Die = kill  Context:  The light was peaking in through the blinds and making little spots of light on the ground.  Isaac started hitting the spots and saying “I’m going to die this light”

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Time for Chores!

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I’ve been frustrated at my lack of time lately and feeling like I’ll never have the time to do more than maintain the level that I have now.  It was in pondering this dilemma that I determined to try having my preschoolers help.  Today I had them try a variety of different chores so that I could determine which chores were best for each child and what I needed to teach each child to increase his or her repertoire of chores.  Most of my surveying was with Isaac, as he’s the older and more willing of the two.  We started off with the toilet.  He did ok, but needed direction on where and how to wipe all of the surfaces, how to hold the spray cleaner, and how to squirt the toilet cleaner into the toilet, but for some reason he enjoyed the task.  Later in the day he used the toilet and then reported that it needed to be cleaned again.  I taught him how to clean a mirror (using the one in his room).  At dinnertime I had him clear the table and rinse all of the dishes.  He did these chores well and with little need for direction.  Charlotte did the laundry and scooped the litter.  She switched clothes from the washer to the dryer and unloaded the dryer when it was done.  She did so well that I could actually walk away while she was working and she persisted through and finished.  The litter didn’t have much to scoop, so that lesson will have to be resumed later.

It was a successful trial.  I found a few chores that they could do independently that would actually help me.  I think I may spend some more time training them before implementing a chore chart and rewards system, but so far so good. 

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Tigers

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I’m not really sure why Isaac has chosen tigers as his main fimageear, but he has.  Each night he has to check all the locks before he goes to bed to make sure tigers can’t get in (because tigers don’t have keys).  He whispers so the tigers don’t hear him until the doors are locked then he talks in a normal voice.  Here are some of the things he has said about tigers:

6.30.08 (written by Zach) The boy worried that there were tigers outside trying to get in to "die" him.  They were using ladders to come in from the sidewalk to the window.  I told him that there were no tigers in Utah, but that if there were, and they tried to get in, I would boom them with my boomer.  He asked if that would knock them over and make them say "aaah!".
Luckily, Charlotte was the voice of reason.  She told Isaac that
tigers live in the jungle, not on the sidewalk.

8.20.08  Isaac asked Heavenly Father that "the cars that drive by that are too noisy will be bitten by the tigers" in his prayer tonight.

2807509666_28437acd52_b-1 8.31.08 Isaac said he wanted a family of dogs with a mommy, a daddy, an Isaac, a Charlotte, and a Nicole dog.  I told him that most people get just one dog.  I told him that some people get a family of dogs.  He said we are some people so we will get a family.  Then he corrected himself and said that we are some people and kids.  He continued by saying that the dogs would say "woof" and scare the tigers away so the dogs could keep the cats safe.  As he continued to talk and postulate chickens were added to the equasion and he said the chickens would keep the dogs safe from tigers.  When I asked him if he wanted a pet tiger, he said yes, but it would have to be in a cage and he used his hands to describe an inner cage and an outer cage and the outer cage would have a door but the inner cage would have no door.

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Seattle

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2806685685_19bf604e1e_b I think the death of my grandmother motivated us to plan a trip to visit our only surviving grandparent (Zach’s paternal grandmother) in Seattle and I’m glad it did because we had a great trip.

Zach, Isaac, Charlotte, and Zach’s parents left for Seattle at 5:00 AM on Saturday (8-23-08) and arrived in Seattle at about 7:20 PM (Utah time).  By all accounts the children did well and the trip up was uneventful.  I flew with Nicole that evening leaving Utah at about 9:20 and also had an uneventful trip.

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The Olympics through the eyes of Children

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8.14.08   Charlotte has been enjoying the Olympics.  So far her favorite event is swimming which she called the "crying when I’m swimming show."  As soon as they started playing the national anthem she told me that the men wo8.7.08 Nicole (1)-1uld start crying.  Today when she threw a tantrum during Zach’s lunch break he went in to help her through it.  He finally got her to stop crying by singing the national anthem.  When he finished the song she said she wanted to watch the "crying and swimming movie."

8.15.08 While watching the Olympics with us Isaac said "Now we feel good in our tummy because they win’d.  If they didn’t win our tummies would not feel good?"

8.16.08 Isaac watched the track events for the first time.  He ran with the athletes.  When they’d say "Mark. . .Set. . .<<gunshot>>" he ran down the hall.  He excitedly demonstrated how they jump hurdles to his father–it was quite an amusing display.

8.20.08 Today the kids played Olympics with aunt Krista.  She taught Isaac how to start a race with your feet on an imaginary starting block, they practiced shot put throws, and then created their own sports.  Isaac’s favorite was his own invention.  It involved throwing a ball into a tree and you win if leaves fall down.

(The picture of Nicole has nothing to do with the comments except that it looks like she might be watching the Olympics with great hope for team USA)

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Isaac and Charlotte Meet Some Animals

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Omniture gave us some passes to Thanksgiving Point as part of the company party we had last week, so we took the toads up.  Isaac was a little scared of the dinosaurs (I probably shouldn’t have told him they eat children), but Charlotte had no fear.  Isaac kept reminding us that the dinosaurs were dead, so they were not hungry.  I was pretty impressed at the displays; lots of good specimens.  We were a little rushed going through; on the one hand, the kids got a little bored, and on the other, Isaac would get a little scared sometimes.

After the dinosaurs, we went over to Farm Country.  This gave the kids a chance to see some goats, horses, llamas, cows, and chickens.  No pigs, though?  Some farm!  A cow licked Charlotte, and they both got to ride ponies.  Isaac cut a fine figure on his steed; maybe instead of building him a computer I should buy him some cows to herd.  Speaking of cows, Charlotte managed to get licked by one. 

Our last stop was the children’s garden, which was just ok.  They did have a couple of little fountains that the kids played in.  They’re the kind that sort of pop up from the ground randomly; Charlotte was looking at the hole for one, and got the whole thing right in the face.  She’s a trooper, though; she shook it right off.

Anyway, pictures below:


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

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The Musings of Mormon Toddlers

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My sister-in-law (Heidi) sent me an article about funny things kids say as they grow up in "the church" and I figured I had a few to add to that list, so here are some relevant musings from our log: 7.27.08 Isaac, Charlotte, and Nicole (1)

Not too long ago:  I had explained to Isaac that President Hinckley had died and that now we have a new prophet named President Monson.  He must have been pondering that one day when he came into the room and said "What time will we get a new Jesus?"

Zach has been encouraging Isaac to be more specific in his prayers.  One night as Isaac was saying his prayers and he said "thank thee for all the blessings" Zach prodded him by asking "which blessings" to which Isaac responded "Thank thee for blessing number 8 and blessing number 9."

7.13.08 Isaac, Charlotte, and Nicole (2) 7.24.08 It’s Pioneer Day Today.  We turned on the television to watch the parade and we saw a pre-recorded message from President Monson (the current prophet) so I asked Isaac if he knew who that was and responded confidently "Heavenly Father" I said no it’s president. . . and he responded correctly at that point by saying President Monson.

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Toddler Ingenuity!

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P1020801

Isaac started making circles with his train tracks, when he ran out of circular tracks he started using other pieces and discovered that he could make some letters.  First he decided that he wanted to write Costco with train tracks.  After some finagling we were able to make the word Costco.  As soon as we were finished he said "now let’s write Wal-Mart!" 

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Childrens at the Zoo

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We took the Toads to the zoo yesterday, and with the exception of a couple of solid tantrums, a good time was had by all.  Isaac finally saw his Penguins, and Charlotte enjoyed looking at pretty much everything.

They got to ride the little train as well; video below.  If you squint, you might be able to make out Kathleen, Isaac, Charlotte, and Heidi on the train.

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Children and Airplanes

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P1010321

I took the kids to the museum at Hill Air Force Base a couple of weeks ago.  It was an attempt to buy Kathleen some time to nap or do chores.  They behaved pretty well on the drive to Ogden, and then we had fun looking at all the planes.  This picture shows Isaac and Charlotte next to the wheel of a C-124 Globemaster, a decent-sized cargo plane.  Isaac liked the B-1 as well; he was fascinated by its bomb doors (of course).  The planes outside were getting a little weathered, and some of them were unique enough to justify a little more attention, if the budget could be spared.  The kids also enjoyed a nice F-89 Scorpion, a P1010320 fairly unusual plane and one of my favorites. 

We went inside to look at some of the excellent display aircraft, but the kids were getting a little restless by that point.  If you get a chance, there is a very rare P-38, recovered at great effort from the Alaska.  It’s been carefully restored and lovingly displayed.  When they’re a little older, I think they’ll have a little better sense for what these machines really represent.  Each plane is a lesson, and each plane has a story.  Take the P-47s and P-51s on New Year’s Day 1945, or the amazing and gutsy Doolittle Raid.

We have a lot to be grateful for in this country, not least of which is a history to be proud of.  I’m glad we live close to a place we can go remember these things.

Posted in Adventures, Kids
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