This boy...

We're 2 months away from having a 2 year old. I feel absolutely no fear for the terrible twos-we've been experiencing full scale temper tantrums (trust me I do not exaggerate this point) since Isaac was about 8 months or so. I feel like we're old pros now haha.

He weighs just over 24 lbs, but he sure feels a lot heavier when you're carrying him thrashing around with another baby in your other arm.

He uses 2-4 word sentences. It's like having a play by play of my life all day long. "Isaac awake!" "Mia eat bottle!" "Mummy driving van!". Sometimes you get more embarrassing things like "Mummy peed! Watch it!" or " I tooted!". And he says everything with such force, that it actually does require exclamation marks at the end. I can also employ him as my little spy on Mia, and he reports back to me whatever she is doing "Mia crawling!" "Mia climbing books!" (she likes to pull books off the shelf) "Mia sad, kiss!". Unfortunately...or fortunately, we have to be very careful about what we say around him, because he'll go repeating it.

Isaac's favourite thing in the world is hands down "Toy Story". No competition. He has a Buzz and a Woody stuffed toy, all 3 dvds, and even Toy Story underwear. He narrates the entire movie while watching it. I'm sure his birthday and our Halloween costumes will be a tribute to the movie.

**Now to quickly say a few words on a topic that drives me crazy- screen time. Specifically "experts recommend no screen time for kids under 2". Feel free to disagree, but I feel that a limited amount of screen time is hardly harmful when you're using it to interact in a positive way with your kids, and you're including lots of other activities in your day that stimulate them in different ways. Yes screen time can be harmful to ANYONE if it's consumed in excess amounts, or if what is consumed is just "junk media". Yes screen time can be harmful if parents use it only to babysit their kids or keep them from getting frustrated or impatient.

Truth is, they are growing up in a world steeped in technology. It will be in their school work, their careers.... My goal is to teach my children how to use it successfully and to their advantage. I want them to learn to be wise consumers. And like any other important lesson, you start young. Sometimes I put a show on for half an hour so that I can quickly get us ready to go out  somewhere-the park, the nature centre, the library. Sometimes we cuddle and watch it together, and I ask him questions about what he's watching. It's a privilege he gets. If he's not listening, throwing tantrums, or aggravating Mia, it gets turned off. He only gets to watch the movie once a day, and that's it, so we make the most of when he's watching it.

Again you can disagree. Your child is different than my child. Their needs are different than my child's needs. Both of us are doing our best to set our kids up for success right? We're both good parents.**

Isaac also loves being outside, talking on the phone "Heyoo, how's it going?", pretending to drive in the van or any other vehicle, and his family. He loves his grandmas and grampas, aunties and uncles and can say all their names. When we were visiting Gordon's family he would yell up the stairs "Unc Yiam. Where is he?!" (Uncle Liam. Where is he?").

"I in front, van!"

This kid loves food!

Loves his "smoovies"

We're in the throes of potty training again. I started in August and he was doing really well. He was in regular underwear, staying dry for naps and even over night. Then one day , two days before our big trip, he had a potty training rebellion. Poop on my leg, the bathroom wall, floor and door. Pee on the kitchen chairs, floor, cupboards... Normally he would stop himself or tell me if he had peed, but he would look at me and just start peeing....and keep peeing. Mia was upset about being neglected or whisked away from a new puddle of pee, only to be set down somewhere else out of the way so I could clean. I decided to take a break for everyone's sanity until we got back from vacation. He would still go in the potty, but he was in diapers, so we were both a little less motivated. Now we're back in the swing. He's bare bummed all morning, in a diaper over underwear when we go out (until we're close to being done), and in underwear when we get home. Hopefully I won't lose my motivation, and we'll just see this thing through!

Isaac can count to 6, knows his letters, shapes, and most of his colours. He's memorized a few of his books, so I'll start the sentence on the page and he'll finish it for me.

He loves singing primary songs with me at the piano. His favourites are "I God" (I Am a Child of God) and "Temple" (I Love to See the Temple).

Isaac is bright, stubborn, goofy, active and loving. He keeps everyone on their toes and laughing.