Productivity

I'm still supposed to be taking it 'easy,' but Greg is officially back to work (as of Monday of this week) and that puts me solely in charge of the welfare of four young children and the home they live in (and trash regularly).  I've been surprised at how great I've felt.  The baby sleeping 3 hour stretches almost all night is a big part of that, I'm getting more sleep and am more rested than I was when I was still pregnant!  A lot of my time is, rightfully, spent cuddling and nursing a newborn, but in between I've been happy to see how much a motivated Mom can get done.  Dishes, breakfast, kids ready for school and wipe down some counters and change the laundry before Annie's even left for school.  I don't think I was that productive before I had a newborn around.  I've been so pleased with how well I've felt, emotionally and physically, after having this baby.  I do not feel like I just had a baby two and a half weeks ago.  I'm way more rested than that :-)

Isaac's also quite productive.  Take for instance this afternoon.  Just while I was nursing the baby, he managed to get his hands on a red marker, write on the chairs in the kitchen, the walls in the hall, a couple doors, and then for his true masterpiece, he took that marker into the bathroom, and while repeatedly dipping it into the toilet, he managed to 'paint' nearly every surface of the bathroom (and most of his exposed skin) in red toilet water.  Floors, counters, cabinets, walls, the toilet lid (every single 'layer' of the toilet seat) and the potty chair.

Isaac's still talking a ton too.  Leaving my sister's house the other day, I said, "It's time to go home," to which Isaac responded by standing up and enthusiastically yelling, "Out to the van now,  guys!" ("Guys" is how he refers to his sisters as a group -- singularly, it's "Annie sisser Annie" and "Ellie sisser Ellie.")   I marvel at how much he 'gets' about how to use language for his age.  Ellie was two and a half years old and still referring to herself in third person ("That Lala's bear")  The other day I asked who wanted more grapes, and he yelled, "Me!!  I do, I do!"   Whenever he points something out, it's "That's a doggie," or "That's a ball."  Looking at a book last night, he saw a picture of a broken cookie jar and he shouted out, very concerned, "Oh no!  Broken!  Fall down on floor!  Broken, down!"  He's also my first real 'mimic' .  . . he repeats back whatever he hears, sometimes hitting up to 7 and 8 words from a particular sentence he heard.  On his own, unprompted, he talks in several word sentences throughout the day.  Not to mention his ongoing, indistinguishable, narrative of life.  Whole paragraphs of stuff we don't understand.  Greg mentioned the other day that between the strides Isaac's making in speaking, and with Greg staying home for two weeks with the kids, he's amazed at how much he understands of what Isaac has to say now.  He is pretty impressive at getting his point across -- a gift I still feel strongly that he was blessed with 'cause he'd have a new little brother around to be the 'baby' when Isaac was not even 18 months old. He is also very vocal about what he likes -- asking for specific foods, colors of blankets, books, songs, movies, youtube videos, people and games.  He asks about Owen all day long, and wants to hold him nearly constantly.  He seems a bit disturbed by how much the baby sleeps.