Cooler than James Dean

Isaac might become a terribly spoiled kid.  When Grandma Ferne was here, she tried to explain why Isaac really needed a gold leather jacket that she had found for him.  David was able to talk her down to a faux leather jacket.  She wisely got it in an 18-24 month, so it's a little big on him (but not that big, considering he's only seven months).  Needless to say, he looks completely adorable in it.

So here's our moral dilemma: how do you not spoil a baby who's cooler than James Dean, sweeter than Mother Teresa, smarter than Albert Eistein, and has the wit of a young Oscar Wilde?  It's a quandry we'll be working on for awhile.

Visit With Grandma, Part II

When we last saw him, our Isaac-bear wasn't being so great to his Grandma Ferne.  But as the weekend progressed, he started getting more accustomed to her; even when he was playing with me, he would constantly turn to look to make sure Grandma was watching him.  Ferne accompanied us to our swim lessons, where Isaac greatly enjoyed showing off (his new favorite thing is to splash the water at the edge of the pool and soak all the bystanders.

 
Finally, Isaac was ready to get up close and personal with Grandma--especially when he spotted something shiny and sparkling.  Apparently he's part racoon.

Why, hello there.  How you doing?

I'll take that.

Mmmm....looks tasty!

What?  I'm not doing anything.

Leave us alone, Mommy!  Grandma and I are bonding.

  So all's well that ends well. 

Adventures in Eating

 Now that Isaac's getting older, we've been encouraging him to eat solid foods.  Sometimes he's very excited, but at others he can take it or leave it.  One aspect of solids that really appeals to him, though, is the prospect of feeding himself: he nearly always grabs the spoon away from me or David and insists upon feeding himself.
 

Of course this means that dinner time is a little messier...


Isaac's now tried several different foods, from sweet potatoes and peas to bananas and avocados.  While he's a veggie fan, he's not so into fruits, except for bananas (he actually ate about 2/3 of a banana the other night...and then chugged eight ounces of formula).  I had hoped he'd go for avocados--I craved them when I was pregnant--but nope.  Apples--a favorite of his daddy's when he was a baby?  Not so much.  And don't even mention pears to him.

Isaac thinks pears are disgusting.  And I thought babies were supposed to like fruit?

Visit with Grandma, Part I

Isaac was very lucky this past weekend: his Grandma Ferne came to visit him!  While all three of us were very excited, the first day with his grandma was, well, a pretty fussy one.  Murphy's law was in effect--you know, everything that can go wrong will.  First of all, I had to wake him when we got to the airport, and like his daddy, Isaac's a little slow to really wake up.  He then started manifesting signs of both separation and stranger anxiety, deciding that the only thing he wanted was to be held by Mama--which is fine, but it's illegal for me to hold Isaac while driving, not that he cared.  I then exacerbated things by doing something really terrible--going to the bathroom without him.  I could have taken him with me but apparently the only thing Isaac's truly afraid of is the flushing of a toilet seat, making bathroom breaks a tragedy waiting to happen. 

By the time we got to Trader Joe's (like I'm going to Madison without going to Trader Joe's), Isaac was pretty much inconsolable even when I was holding him.  Now that a week has lapsed, I can laugh about it, but picture the scene: Ferne's patiently wheeling the cart around while I'm holding a very loud, screaming Isaac-bear and simultaneously trying to make crucial decisions like how may bottles of three-buck chuck or frozen tikka masala paneer to get.  Pretty much every Trader Joe's employee come around to try to help us out and console/buy Isaac's love through stickers, balloons, etc--as if I needed another reason to love Trader Joe's--but he wasn't having any of it. 

Finally, Isaac fell asleep on the way home and returned to being an angel baby (or at least, not a demon-pig baby) when we got home.  He was still a little wary about Grandma, but he happily accepted the tasty stacking cups she brought him as a gift.  So I decided that Ferne should feed him his dinner; the boy's mad about food, so what problem could there be?

Well, the main problem turned out to be that Isaac pretty much refused to take food from his grandma.  Now, I understand--Isaac only sees three people on an everyday basis--Mama, Daddy, and Amanda, his babysitter.  (He also sees our friend Amy pretty regularly, and he's totally in love with her.  But I digress.) So naturally, he's wary of people whom he doesn't know very well.  But it's not just that Isaac wouldn't take food from grandma; it's that he would refuse to open his mouth for grandma (or, if he did, he would then stare at her and refuse to swallow it) and then giggle and open his mouth wide for me.  Really, did he have to be such a little sh!t?

Now, I have to brag about my mother-in-law because Ferne was such a good sport about everything.  Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to fly out to see your grandchild--especially when you hate flying--and then have him act like this?  I felt so bad about Isaac's epic fussiness.  Ferne just took it in stride, though, and kindly said that she was impressed with how much personality Isaac has.

That's where I'll leave us for now--in a cliffhanger like a serialized nineteenth-century novel.  Will Isaac ever be sweet angel baby to his grandma?  Will grandson and Grandma be reconciled?  Will all four of us succumb to the manure smell of rural Wisconsin?  To be continued... 

Orange You Glad to See Me?

Even though we've been enjoying an Indian summer lately, it's officially fall here.  Fall is my favorite season and one advantage to living in Wisconsin is that we get to enjoy the beautiful turning of the leaves.  Fall might be Isaac's favorite season too, judging by his reaction when David took outside a couple weeks ago.

 He was particularly entranced by the leaves, especially when Daddy twirled one for him.  Mmmm...so crinkly and (probably) so tasty!  If only mean Daddy would let him eat one.

Fortunately Isaac's dining options have expanded--he's now started eating sweet potatoes.  I was excited to make a new batch of baby food and see what his reaction to it was.  He was a bit skeptical at first, but eventually he decided it was good.

 I'm backed up on photos to post but we have some exciting things coming up!

Ready, set...

We have a really exciting development here--Isaac's now able to go on all fours!  He just started doing this last night, and while we're highly impressed, Isaac's incredibly frustrated.  He really wants to crawl, but it's taking all of his energy just to hold himself up.  And he wants to get up on his hands and knees all the time, so he's super-tired but very motivated: he was trying out his new skill in his crib this morning when we got him and during his nap.  It's normal for babies to have sleep problems when they're working on a developmental milestone, but I feel bad--we get all the fun, and he gets all the work.  At the same time, I really want to savor this moment in his development--all too soon, he'll be crawling, and life as we know it will be officially over.


David shot this amazing video, so you can see Isaac's amazing prowess for yourselves:

Mother's Little Helper

Isaac is already such a thoughtful, helpful boy.  Whether I'm checking my email, typing up lesson plans, or grading student papers, he's always willing to lend a hand (or a mouth).  Lately he's become fascinated with the laptop.  I can't tell if he's imitating me typing or if he just likes the sound of his hands slapping against the laptop--he's recently discovered the joys of banging things together, much to the pleasure of our fellow diners during a recent evening out.  Either way, it's incredibly cute--distracting, but cute.

The Elephant in the Room

One of Isaac's toys was actually his daddy's first--an adorable and extremely well-made elephant.  When we first tried to interest Isaac in the elephant, he was a little too small to play with it.  But now, he really likes it!

I think his favorite part is the ears--just the right size to nibble on.  What's that joke about the elephant ear sandwich?

Sippin' on Milk and Juice

We got the green light to go ahead and start using the sippy cup with Isaac!  Like eating solids, I think it will take some time before we master this skill...

Isaac at Six Months!

Isaac had his six-month birthday last weekend.  Can you believe how little he used to be?  And look at him now!  (Ironically I'm wearing the same shirt in both photos).

We tried to take a family photo that day, but since we were simultaneously trying to take and be in the photo caused some problems...David thinks the first one looks like an Ingmar Bergman; sadly the second one is the best we took.

Isaac also had his six-month doctor's visit: he's in the 75% for weight now and continues to be in the 95% for length and 25% for head circumference.   So he's pretty big for his age--really, he's wearing almost all twelve-month clothing.

The doctor chuckled because Isaac was totally adorable and reached up for him--mostly to eat his stethoscope but still.  He said somewhat wistfully that Isaac probably would be afraid of him at the next visit (nine months) since he'll be in the midst of separation anxiety by then.  Isaac also screamed bloody murder when the doctor was doing a routine check-up and settled down immediately when I picked him up--giving the doctor a triumphant look once he was in my arms.  Too cute!

Swim Lessons, Part II

When I first registered Isaac for swim lessons, I was a bit worried: was I pushing him into it just because I loved the water?  Was I, God forbid, one of those parents who just want their kids to replicate (and validate) their own experiences?

Thankfully, Isaac put my mind at ease from the very first moment of our swim lessons, when he shrieked in delight at the sight of the pool.  You can imagine, then, how exited he was to actually get in the water.  Actually, you don't have to imagine:

Our basic swim class teaches all sorts of swim fundamentals, like kicking, splashing, and Isaac's really pretty good, if I do say so myself.  He's more interested in grabbing my face when I blow bubbles than actually making bubbles so himself.

And ironically, the skill he has the most trouble with was my best stroke in college: Isaac just hasn't figured out that he needs to lay flat when floating on his back.