Like Father, Like Son

 Hey folks, just a quick post tonight: we're busy bees right now packing for our trip to Cinci and then Texas.  Isaac's also had his first fever in the last couple days (don't worry--it's low-grade and under control).  Anyway, these photos are from this weekend; I was going through Isaac's closet and found an old outfit of David's that his grandma passed down to us.  It's a little big but he still looks completely adorable in it.

Mad as Hell

So--clearly I haven't fixed the video-posting problem.  I'm still working on it, but speaking of mad...

Isaac woke up cranky from his (abbreviated) nap and is having a no-good, terrible, very bad day.  Can you blame him?  After all, he's the blog's biggest fan.

Now he can't watch videos of the cute baby on the blog (i.e. himself)!  He's not going to take it anymore!

We've been having difficulties posting videos and images on blogger, but I think I might have fixed the problem. I hope so, because this is the most adorable video of Isaac ever.

One of Isaac's favorite games is hide and go seek; he'll hide behind the curtains and David and I act completely puzzled and worried about where Isaac is (despite the happy giggling from his location). Then he dramatically sweep the curtain aside to reveal himself. We probably play this game half and dozen times a day and I never get tired of it.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Lately the only way I've been able to cook is to have Isaac "cook" along with me.  I'll give him a couple bowl--saying, "Mama needs a mixing bowl.  Does Isaac need a mixing bowl?"--and various "ingredients" like soapy water or flour.  Here's the master chef at work:

We've decided to share the fruits of our labor, though.  This morning, this little piggy ate two whole blueberry muffins (I think it was the struesel  topping) while I cleaned the floor.

Food Fights

Although last week I was bragging about how well Isaac eats, he also reinforces the toddler stereotype of picking eating.  Sometimes he isn't the greatest eater...his favorite food right now is whole-wheat goldfish, and my cooking doesn't always hit that gold standard. 

But the tricky thing is that Isaac's foodie tastes are completely fickle.  Take last night: we had ravioli (a toddler fave!) with asparagus, spinach, and peas.  Isaac likes and has eaten all those things.   But apparently last night, everything but the peas were disgusting.

Sometimes Isaac is too lazy to actually feed himself and will eat if we feed him.  But last night, he "turned the other cheek" when Daddy attempted to give him a bite.

When he decides that he's not eating, Isaac makes these hilariously scrunchy faces, complete with disbelieving (and disapproving) snorts.  I'm so glad I captured this on camera.  This is a true Isaac moment.

Storytime!

On Wednesday we'll be starting a story time with Isaac at our local library.  But the bear baby already likes to read--it just depends on who's doing the reading.

Here's a video of me reading one of Isaac's favorite's, Baby Talk.

It's hard to be sad because Isaac's expression is just so awesomely bored.  He's clearly total id.  Anyway, here's David's dramatic rendition of the same story:

Now, ever since I've known him, David's always had a reputation for  great voice: professors used to ask him to read for the class; he even read part of The Odyssey in the campus quad at UM to widespread critical acclaim and applause to his listeners (and getting undergrads to appreciate Homer?  That's a feat unto itself).  I guess what I'm trying to say is that David is a superior opponent.

At the same time, I sometimes wish that David wouldn't get so into his interpretations of Isaac's books.  There's no need for an existential reading of Duck and Goose 1 2 3 (sample page:  "4 friends--trying to deny the meaningless of their lives.  5 flowers--which bloom for only a brief moment before they wither.)  Probably the continental philosophy can wait until the terrible twos.

Portrait of the Artist

A few weeks ago, I bought Isaac some finger paints.  I’ve been dying to get some baby art and even bought a frame at Target so that I could display his masterpieces.  One afternoon this week when Isaac was sleepy but it wasn’t naptime yet, I decided to get our art supplies down.  Here’s a view into the bear’s artistic process.

First we tried an actual paint/stain brush I had lying around: clearly at fourteen months, Isaac’s ready, right?

 

 

That would be a big no: after promptly eating some paint (it’s nontoxic) and giving himself a red mustache, I took it away.  But suffering is part of the creative process--think of Van Gogh!

Then Isaac decided to take things into his own hands.  This method proved to be more productive—for at least as long as it took me to get a couple good shots.

 

We then added some water so that he could “texturize” his canvas.  Clearly, Isaac’s creative process is complex and labor intensive.   But he was happy to keep dipping his fingers in the water and paints until he decided that keeping the finger paints on the page was too conformist.

 

Thus the creation of his instillation art.  I promise, I did not do anything but document this image after Isaac threw the plate ‘o paints to the ground.  If you turn it upside down, doesn’t this look creepily like the signature of the villain Red John on that show, The Mentalist?

After about fifteen minutes, Isaac’s genius could not be contained by the high chair, which he let me know by ear-piercing shrieks and pointing to the ground.  But at least I got a couple works of art.  Should I start the bidding at $500?

While I was cleaning everything up, I noticed that the finger paints have a suggested age range quite a bit older than Isaac.  So perhaps we’ll put up the paints for a few months. 

Three Fun, Random Things

We've been operating without a digital camera over the last few days: someone in our household stole the camera out of David's hands and threw it on the hard, cement-like ground.  Our camera was completely ruined and we're currently waiting on its replacement.  So to keep Isaac's eager audience pacified, here's a couple fun things about our baby boy:

1.)  Isaac's really taken to pointing lately.  When he wants something--random person at Walmart, Daddy's coffee mug, etc.--Isaac enthusiastically jabs at it.  All this pointing might seem rude, but to be polite he also waves hello at the desired object.   So it looks like he's wagging his finger at everything and everyone.

2.)  Isaac continues to be a physical kid.  To show his frustration at the baby-proof lock on the cabinet of diaper supplies (which he likes to play with), he bent it in half.

3.)  He's really, really enjoying books lately.  One of Isaac's favorite things to do is read.  He'll grab a book, hand it to you, and plop down on your lap expectantly.  It's incredibly sweet--but David is clearly Isaac's favorite reader.  Sometimes he'll bring me a couple books to read, listen to me and then grab them away and give them to Daddy.

Hopefully we'll have some photos to post in th near future!

Some Like It Hot

Isaac has a pretty sophisticated palate for a fourteen-month old.  He adores guacamole, which we order for him whenever we go out for Mexican food and he's an adventurous eater at home too: his two favorite meals are probably palak paneer with nan and cumin and parika spiced lentils.

But one thing that surprises us is Isaac's love of spicy food.  Seriously--his tastebuds are the opposite of his Gram's (who sometimes finds the mild salsa too hot).  Isaac loves spicy buffalo wings and sometimes refuses to eat unless we "kick it up a notch," to steal Emeril's catchphrase.  Recently David made a mild chicken and broccoli stir fry so that we could all eat it and then the grown-ups added hot mustard to ours.  Isaac-bear wouldn't touch his until we added some to his too.  And just tonight, he wouldn't eat his grilled chicken without the addition of some spicy, smoky BBQ sauce.    This kid's a trip.

But for an after-dinner treat, he prefers to blandly sweet taste of graham crackers.  It's a miraculous food: did you know you can hold a piece in each hand? 

And you can just keep cramming them in your mouth?  

Our cute little cookie monster.

School's Out For Summer

So...it's been awhile.  My apologies--life and work have been a bit hectic, so the blog's been on the back burner for the last couple months.  but the good news is that school's out, so we should be resuming a more regular posting schedule.

One of the things I've been preoccupied with lately is making a fun play area for Isaac outside.  Here are the fruits of my--and our very generous neighbor Linda's--labor:

Isaac just loves being outside, and we have lots of (cheap) toys to encourage his activity.  He seems to walk more and more every day--that's the subject of an upcoming post--but he really walks a lot when we're outside, whether he's putting things away in his "workbench" or causing havoc at his water table.

Perhaps his favorite toy is the water table.  This boy is a water baby: he cries when I take him out of the bath and tries to break into the bathroom when David and I are showering.  Needless to say, he loves to splash around outside. 

Okay, so this photo might not be the best evidence of his love for the water table, but I adore his hilariously somber expression.  Linda had the audacity to be in her yard and not be looking at Isaac.  Cue the heartache.

We've also moved Isaac's tricycle (birthday gift from Gram and Gramps!) outside.  David calls this Isaac's beefcake photo.

I finished the play area outside a couple weeks ago, but on Memorial Day, I noticed those big plastic pools at Walmart and had to get one.  Isaac had started climbing into his water table and using it as a pool, so really I had no choice.  David and I were so excited--we set it up while Isaac was taking his afternoon nap and couldn't wait for him to wake it.  When he did, he was a little more wary that we thought he'd be...

 We didn't realize it, but the water from the hose was freezing!  Isaac decided that he was content to stand and splash but refused to sit.  Nevertheless, a good time was had by all:

The last part of the play area is for David and I--as well as any friends that stop by.  We wanted to have premium seats while watching Isaac play.  And there's really nothing better than watching your child play happily while drinking sparkling white wine and eating cherry pie with your spouse.

Especially when your beloved baby comes to steal pie from you.

We're looking forward to creating lots more summer memories.  Stay tuned!