You Better Watch Out

When we decorated the tree, I made sure to put some Isaac-friendly ornaments on the bottom.  His favorite seems to be a thin crocheted Santa that reminds me of my dad's old Santa that always occupied a place of pride on our family tree.

Isaac's method of cherishing his Santa is a bit different:

Minding his own business when--out of the corner of his eye...

Come 'ere, Santa!

Let's get you off that tree.

This is right before Isaac stuffs him in his mouth.

I don't know if this constitutes being naughty or nice.

This is just to say

I haven't been ably to take any good videos of Isaac lately.  He's a total ham for the camera, and as soon as he notices that it's on, he goes for it.

Grunge or Lumberjack?

Being a first-time mom with a time-consuming job isn't exactly conducive to style (and I've never been fashionista--I'll leave that in the capable hands of my sister.).  But I was thrilled to see the comeback of the flannel shirt this season; it reminded me so much of the early 90s, when everyone in my middle-school wore Docs and flannel.  I snatched up shirts for me and the boys when I was at Target (told you I wasn't a fashionista), and I have to say my husband and son look completely adorable:

Then David pointed out to me that flannel never goes out of style in our current location--he thinks Isaac looks more like a woodsman or farmer than an 90s rocker.  

 
I agree--it's definitely ambiguous: I mean, is Isaac raising his fist here, ready to rock?  Or is he wielding an imaginary axe, ready to chop down trees?  Is it lumberjack chic or grunge?  Oh well, nevermind.

You'll Always Be My Baby

Don't laugh, but David and I have been lamenting the fact that Isaac doesn't seem like a baby anymore.  I know, he's only eight months old.  But Isaac's getting more and more independent, and as amazing as it is to see him grow up and develop, it feels a little bittersweet when, say, he doesn't really like to be held anymore.  It almost seems ludicrous to hold and rock him like a baby--look how big he is!

He's obviously not to thrilled to be in Mama's arms either.  Look at that expression; it generally precedes a bunch of squirming and twisting so that he can get on the floor and explore.

But that very night, I was pleasantly surprised when Isaac decided that cuddling with Mama might not be the worst thing ever--especially when she has fun hair to grab and pull! 

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Sandra Cisneros has this great story called "Eleven" (I promise, adoring fans in Texas, this will relate to Isaac), in which the young girl protagonist explains that "when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one."  It's a sad story from the girl's perspective--she wants to feel like she's growing up but instead is treated like a little kid--but from a parent's perspective I really appreciate the idea.  In some ways, Isaac will always be my little one-week old, who gazed up at me with wide eyes and softly, questioningly grunted for more milk.  He'll always be my four-month old who refused to nap except on my lap or Daddy's.  And I'm sure in a few months from now--let along decades from now--he's still be my sweet little eight-month old who's so eager for independence but crawls after me the second I leave his sight.  And there's something really comforting in that idea.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We've had a snowstorm the last two weekends--in fact, this weekend, we had blizzard-like conditions.  Despite my dislike of winter, I was excited to take Isaac outside and show him snow.  I dressed him in his bear suit--which was the warmest thing I could think of--and off we went, into the wilderness of the front yard.

Isaac was not impressed.  I don't know if you can tell in this photo, but his entire body is rigid--whether from the cold or out of hatred for the bear suit (which restricts his movements), I can't tell.  But his general unhappiness shines through.

We quickly went inside after being out for about five minutes (Daddy stayed out to clear off the car).  I thought we'd try a second time this weekend, and I dressed him in his new puffy coat, recently acquired at the nearby thrift store, which just so happens to match mine.  Isaac wasn't too enthusiastic.
 

 

The three of us went out into the snow, and Daddy held Isaac--I thought maybe laboring in the snow was a masculine activity.

You can see a hint of a smile in this last photo--Isaac's helpless to Daddy's tickle fingers.  However, we had to concede defeat: just like his mama, Isaac is not a fan of winter.

However, he is a fan of baths--with some hot water, we can make the bathroom a steamy, tropical getaway.  Here's our little shark baby.

Good thing he's a friendly, cuddly shark baby!

Oh Christmas Tree

Last week, Isaac and I went out to buy the best Christmas tree that Walmart had to offer.  David and I agreed that colored lights were more magical, but unfortunately in the process of trying to stuff a seven-foot tree, a car seat, and my child into an uncooperative cart (like one of those seventh-grade math problems come back to haunt me), I picked up the wrong one and was too exhausted to exchange it once we got home.  Nevertheless, Isaac was entranced by the tree.  When he woke up from his afternoon nap--Walmart is tiring!--we had a surprise waiting for him:

We turned off all the lights before lighting the Christmas tree in order to be even more dramatic.  Isaac was quite impressed by all the tiny, shiny, glowing lights.  He kept on wanting to grab them and stuff them in his mouth. 

I love how these photos turned out, but maybe favorite one is with the lights on and Isaac, with his red cheeks and open mouth, staring in awe at the top of the tree.

David and I are so excited to share the holiday season with our bouncing baby boy.  Happy thoughts to everyone during this magical time of year.

Blueberry Hill

I spent this past weekend cooking up some new batches of baby food--barley, apricots, chickpeas, etc.  One of Isaac's favorites is the superfood blueberries.  David thought it was cruel and unusual punishment for Isaac to have to wait until the food froze, so he took the spatula from the puree, much to our son's delight.

I predict dinnertime is going to get a bit messier...

David thinks that Isaac looks like a little baby Joker in this last photo.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

As Isaac's nearing eight months, I've been easing up on my food phobias for him.  I mean, it's not like I'm feeding him peanut butter or shellfish, but I've been more lenient about what he can eat--especially if he tries to take it off of my plate.  Some guidelines suggest waiting a minimum of four days to wait before introducing a new food or spice, but really--if I were to follow that, Isaac might not get to taste, say, tumeric until his teens.  So I threw caution to the wind over Thanksgiving--the holiday that celebrates over-indulging--and Isaac was delighted.

Here's his Thanksgiving dinner:

We have green beans (which he's eaten before in pureed form), mushroom and leek stuffing, squash gratin (he's had butternut but not acorn), mashed potatoes, and turkey--Isaac had never eaten meat before.  The smiley face wasn't intentional, but it sure did reflect Isaac's mood.  He was thrilled with everything--the gratin and mashed potatoes were a particular hit, and the next night, he kept on stealing squash from the leftovers I was eating. 

Isaac also really enjoyed eating bites of turkey from his auntie.  He's very proud of his three teeth and likes to dramatically chew his food.

Eventually, though, Isaac decided that he needed more control over his eating, so I sat him on my lap and gave him free reign.  That's a green bean in his tiny fist.  And in the next photo, he's happily sucking on the plate.

But by far his favorite thing to eat was pumpkin pie.  We just gave him the filling, and he went nuts.  Seriously nuts.  I guess it's the first time he's eaten anything very sweet (though I do add cinnamon and nutmeg to some of his fruit), and clearly Isaac shares my sweet tooth.  David was feeding him bites from his piece of pie when all of the sudden he crawled over to me and tried to grab my entire piece.

If this is any indication, I think I can understand why my parents had to hide desserts from my sister and I when we were kids.

Murphy's Law

When I spoke to my mom on Thanksgiving, I told her that Isaac was getting very good at pulling himself into a standing position.  She warned me that he would soon be trying to stand in his crib, but I laughed and replied that I thought we had a couple more weeks--Isaac was only pulling up on one chair and besides, Isaac wears a sleep sack (David calls him a bag of baby when he wears it), so I didn't think it would be happening soon.

And then I went to check on him during his afternoon nap and saw this:

Needless to say, David and I have lowered the mattress as far as it will go.  But this kid is a daredevil!  He loves to climb (he was trying to open dresser drawers and climb up them this afternoon), and I think we're in for some crazy hijinks in the future as he becomes more mobile.

Visit with Aunt Jen

Isaac was very lucky because he got to share his first Thanksgiving with his Aunt Jen.  Although we did some fun activities, the three adults mostly just bummed around the house and watched Isaac.  Since Isaac's a little unpredictable with strangers these days--sometimes he flirts outrageously with someone only to hysterically sob when that person waves at him in the next day, I was curious to see how he'd do with Jen.  But either her similarity to me (we are twins after all) or her entrancing presence (hair to pull!  necklaces to eat!) put him at ease.

New hair to pull!

Stop looking at the camera and feed me!

Why hello there.  Who's that green man sitting with you?

I love my Aunt Jen!

Isaac's favorite game to play with his auntie is to scream at her and wait until she screams back; he's become really good with mimicking.  In the morning when he gets up, while Auntie Jen's still in bed, he's been shrieking and then pausing expectantly.  So Jen awakens to his little baby shrieks of joy.  All in all, not a bad start to the day.

While we're of course thrilled that Jen's here, we really wish Isaac's other auntie was here to share the day with us.  Isaac obviously does too: when she sent us a card, he tried to absorb her presence by eating the envelope.  I'm really looking forward to winter break, when we can all be together--and in warmer climes!

The monkey sticker's for me 'cause I'm a little monkey!

Island of Misfit Toys

Several people have been asking us what Iaaac wants for Christmas, so I thought it would be helpful to show some pictures of his favorite toys.

Here he is  playing "drums" with a spatula and wooden bowl.

My little dog-baby also loves to eat shoes--the dirtier, the better.

Daddy's belt is another favorite.

And you can't imagine the almost endless amusement that one canister can produce:

In other words, I have no idea what to get him for Christmas.  David and I are stereotypical first-time parents and buy him all sorts of toys, but he seems to want to play only with things he's not supposed to have. 

I've Got Music

Here's a little equation even an English prof can do:

sick mama + too many papers + date night (!) = no blogging over the weekend.

For the first time in awhile, David and I went out by ourselves--and not just to dinner but to see a show by one of our new favorite musicians.  In theory I was excited, but I was also thinking, "I don't want to drive seventy-five miles to Small City and back again.  I'm too oooooooooold to go to a concert anyway; it's not like I'm going to be moshing."  But I knew David really wanted to go, so I stopped being a Debbie Downer and after I put my angel baby to bed, we left.

And we had a great time.  The drive turned out to be wonderful since it gave us lots of time to just talk and hang out.  We managed to get seats in the balcony, so we were able to listen to this amazing artist while sipping on vodka (or gin) tonics.  The evening turned out to be so relaxing and wonderful.  Honestly, sometimes I forget how amazing my husband is: we have so much to do now that it can be hard to take time out for our marriage.  But it was really great to take a night out just for us--even if I didn't get to sleep until 1:30 and Isaac woke up at five.

The next morning, David was inspired to pull out his guitar, much to Isaac's delight.

Here he is trying to help Daddy decipher the chords.  Look at the intense concentration on his face!

I love Isaac's huge string of drool while he's trying to take the camera away from David. 

Here's Isaac watching me play the one song I know on guitar--"A Horse with No Name."

And here's Isaac showing his daddy the proper technique.  I think we're raising a budding musician: these photos probably will end up being on one of VH1's Behind the Music episodes.

No Evidence

So I don't have any photographic evidence, but yesterday, Isaac pulled himself up to a standing position!  I was sitting on the floor, playing with him while talking on the phone to my mom (a witness!) and all of the sudden, he used my body to pull himself up to a standing position.  Once there, Isaac used my body for support, gnawed on my collar bone for a little bit, and then calmly plopped back down on the floor.

Every day there's something new.  It's a good life.

Daddy and Me

Isaac said his first word this week--mama!  Of course, he doesn't actually know what that means--he says mama to me, David, Amanda, his bottle--but it's been very exciting. 

Except...

Babies are supposed to say dada first: typically they progress from baba to dada to mama.  Isaac started with mama, then baba, and then...nothing so far.  So David hasn't had the joy of hearing Isaac say dada yet.   I mean, we know that Isaac doesn't know what it means; the order of his consonants doesn't symbolically represent anything.  But I still thought this might be a good time to share another Isaac and Daddy post.

Mornings are a special time for Isaac and David.  While I'm at work, they like to hang out, listen to Bob Dylan, and dance.

Daddy also gives the best spiderman kisses.

And Isaac loooooves to be tossed around by Daddy.

Can you believe how much he looks like David here?

P.S.  Sorry I've been bad about posting lately.  Isaac has a little cold right now, which morphed into a terrible flu-like cold when we got it.  So Isaac's very sunny and happy, and David and I are pretty sick.

The Seductive Pumpkin

We got to celebrate Isaac's first Halloween last weekend!  We didn't have to put much thought into his costume this year since my mom had bought him a pumpkin suit last year, when he was still living happily in my belly. 

Now, although a pumpkin outfit might seem perfectly innocuous, as my family knows, it's not a neutral choice.  There's a whole backstory here, tied to a photograph in my office of two little girls standing a living room, ready to go trick-or-treating.  One of them, dressed as a ballerina princess, beams while she shakes her wand gleefully.  The other, dressed as a pumpkin, smiles weakly at the camera. 

You see, one year when my sister and I were kids, my mom decided to make our Halloween costumes (which is probably something I'll never do for Isaac).  She told us that we could be whatever we wanted, and she would make us a costume for it.  Jen decided to be a ballerina princess, probably so she could lord it over all the other ballerinas. 

I wanted to be a triceratops--which, coincidentally, I had also recently chosen as my future career.

 My mom, probably thinking of how impossible it would be to make a triceratops costume, told me that, actually, what I really wanted to be was a pumpkin.  Fast forward more than twenty years later, and now my son is also a pumpkin.  And  I have to say, he pulls it off much better than I ever did.

Look at him, in one of his new favorite poses!  Have you ever seem a seductively posed pumpkin before?

But next year?  He'll probably be a triceratops.