Milestone # 5, First Skiing. Milestone # 6, First Santa Experience.

Milestone # 5, First Skiing.

With Dave as a father, and Jiri, Andrew, Nate and Ben as uncles, there is no way that Isaac wasn’t going to be hitting the powder before his second birthday. All of these men are superior at the sport (either skiing, snowboarding, or both.) Some of them have taught it for a living, some of them do hardcore backcountry, and they all love it.

Nate babysits Isaac almost every Tuesday and Wednesday. At Alta you can ski free on the tow rope line (which is beginner) and after 3? there is a lift that you can take for free. Nate took Isaac a few weeks ago. Isaac did not do the actual skiing, but he was in the baby backpack while Nate skied. Nate has an awesome helmet cam, and he turned it around so you could see Isaac’s face the entire trip down the mountain. He was having so much fun!!! At the end of the run you could hear Nate ask Isaac if he liked it, and Isaac shook his head and said “like it!”

Then Dave and Nate took Isaac to Alta together about a week ago. They did the same thing, only this time we documented it with still photos (the video is too big to post here – doh!) And for those of you who are worriers, don’t worry TOO much. They only do the beginner runs, and Isaac has goggles and a helmet now!

Adrenalin junkies…all of them.

Milestone # 6, First Santa Experience.

Isaac was only 8 months last year, and although he loved all the decorations and lights, he obviously didn’t get what was going on. This year, however, he was super excited. We took him to the zoo lights to see Santa, and despite his fascination with Santa, and his insistence that “Santa Cos, cool,” he was terrified when he sat on his lap. Once he was safely in Dave’s lap next to Santa, however, he was down with the whole thing. He gave Santa five, and they were on good terms again.

We discussed, quite a few times, that Santa would be coming and leaving Isaac presents under the tree if he was nice, especially if he was nice to Day-Z. When we would ask him what Santa was going leave him under the tree if he is nice, he always said “clippo and books.” So, without further adieu…

Just what he ordered. Books. Clippo. He was so excited about Clippo, that after he used the potty he simply had NO time to choose buttons, or even get dressed. It was straight back to Clippo and his new yellow Clippo table.

Milestones Series #4: First time puking.

Is that even a milestone? Well, in our house it is! Isaac caught the flu (from me, mind you! Damn.) a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t had it in years (probably over ten years!) and my first thought was SHIT! I think I’m pregnant (we’re not trying…) Pregnancy test? NEGATIVE. PHEW… It was bittersweet because I was elated that it wasn’t positive, and on the same token SUPER bummed that I’d come to the realization that for 6 out of the 9 months that I had been pregnant with Isaac, what I’d been feeling was as horrible as the flu! A six month flu! Damn pregnancy sickness! I then started feeling grateful that the real flu only lasts a couple days.

Isaac came down with it a few days after I did. In fact, my mom and dad both had it, and Dave eventually got it, too. Isaac woke up at night and started wimpering. He’d had no signs of sickness so we thought he’d put himself back to sleep. After five minutes, Dave went to check on him and sure enough, puke all over his crib, his animals, his PJ’s, and his hair. All he could say was “puke. scared.” We washed him off, then came the unusual part. He was in the BEST MOOD EVER after that. He wanted to laugh, play, chat, learn new words, etc. He even asked if we could dance, and we had to tell him it was too late. I decided to get a Tupperware “bucket” to teach him what to do if he had to puke again. I told him if he had to puke, to say “bucket!” and then I showed him what he would do in the bucket (sans the actual puke.) We practiced a few times. He puked once more on Dave about 20 minutes later, and a third time he was able to ask for the bucket. Each time, he was jollier than the last. SO bizarre. After that he went to sleep and didn’t have any puking incidents again.

This was almost three weeks ago, and the quirkiest part is, he still shows us daily where he puked and tells us that he was scared. Then he goes through a puke drill. He tells us what he will do if he has to puke, then acts it out with the bucket, puking noises and all. Although he has little experience, he is a puking expert. On Christmas Eve at my parents’ house, he wanted to show everyone what he knew about puking, so my mom went and found the bucket we used as kids to puke in. He showed everyone, then he took the bucket around the room, stating each person’s name, and gestured them to show off their puke drill skills. I love this kid.

Here are a series of photos from Christmas Eve that include "the puke bucket."

My bro Nate and the bucket

My bro Andrew, Isaac and the bucket.

My bro Ben, Isaac and the bucket.

Milestone Series: #2 and #3. Finding It Hard to be a Gentleman

First Lyrics.
Isaac gets pretty obsessed with certain songs. I have my IPOD hooked into my car stereo, and it’s usually on shuffle. When a song comes on that he’s particularly fond of, he says “again” when he knows there is only a few seconds left of it. Some of his favorites have been:

We Will Rock You – Queen

Mahnamana – Cake

And most recently:

I’m Finding it Hard to be a Gentleman Everyday – White Stripes.

We have had the same White Stripes song going for the last 6 days. He throws an absolute FIT if we don’t restart it, and when you are driving with a screaming child, sometimes it’s just easier to listen to the same song over and over. We’ve taken trips back and forth to Bountiful, as well as trips around town, all the while rocking out to this song. He moves his head to the beat and when the line “have a doctor come and visit us . . . tell us which one is sane!” comes on, he does his best to sing along. It’s more like “doctor….visit….sane.” It’s adorable, but I am afraid the lyrics are rubbing off on the wee lass. He has not been as much of a gentleman lately with his throwing of toys and his meltdowns…hmmm… is there some kind of correlation here?

First Time Out

Speaking of meltdowns – that’s Isaac in his timeout chair. I’ve read that time out isn’t effective until a child is 2 or 3. I beg to differ. I bought this chair about a month ago out of desperation, fear and sympathy for Day-Z , and Isaac totally understands how time-out operates. He knows that if he hits dogs (or people for that matter,) or throws toys or food, that he will have to go to the time out chair. He stays there until the timer goes off, then he comes and tells us why he was in the time-out chair, says sorry, then gets a hug. The first few times were incredibly difficult to keep a straight face. Dave or I would stand next to him (on his level) and count to thirty before he could get out of the chair. The problem was that he would repeat each number after us, all the while kicking his legs gleefully and looking so proud of himself. We soon learned that we had to go to the kitchen and set the timer for a couple minutes and when he heard the beep, he could get off. He wimpers for two minutes, which I for one am elated about, because hopefully he’s learning that he can’t be Mr. kicky pants and grabby McGee!

Just look at him. Increasingly surly by the day. And he doesn't even know about the great Cornholio! He did this on his own.

Series of Milestones with Flair

Isaac never ceases to amaze us…or send us into hysterics. He is 20 months old and full of personality. Over the next several days, I intend to document some of his abnormally normal milestones. We'll begin with:

1 PPPooping for buttons. That’s right. We’ve had a kid’s potty in our bathroom since Isaac was about 15 months old. We’ve always been pretty blunt with him about what the toilet is for, letting him see what the dogs are doing outside, reading books about going potty and pooping, etc. Despite our asking him if he wanted to try sitting on the potty now and again, he did not show interest, and we did not push it. We did, however, empty his poopy diapers into the toilet, showing him that is where poop belongs. One day in November, he simply said “potty.” He sat down, peed, and when he finished we celebrated. The next day Julie was watching him and he told her “poop.” He then proceeded to poop on the potty. The next few days, praising him was enough to keep him going, but he soon lost interest. He’s always enjoyed carrying small items in his hands. I know I sound like a horrible parent when I tell you about the choking hazards we allow him to tote around, but he never puts his little treasures in his mouth. If he finds a marble, button, mini-bouncy ball, etc, he will carry them around ALL DAY LONG, nap with them in his hand, and multi-task with them. He can carry those things with a two finger hold, while eating, chasing the dogs, playing, etc. Anyway, back to the story. We started to pique Isaac’s interest in going on the potty again by filling a tin full of buttons. Each time he poops or pees, he is rewarded with his choice of a button. It’s the best thing ever for everyone involved. He’d prefer a button over costly toys or sugar, and we get to save money and not fill his gullet with candy! WIN WIN! He is a little obsessive about his buttons, though. If he does happen to lose one, he will call out the color of the button over and over until we find it. More on colors next time...

Beard. Gone.

Isaac has been saying those words over the past few days. Dave participated in No Shave November at the school he teaches at. He surprised himself, his family, and me by growing this:

The students at his school said he was more intimidating with the beard. I told him from day one that I reserved the right to make jokes about his beard every step of the way. But as it started to grow, I quickly decided that I liked it. I'm even going to say it was a little sexy! Maybe it would have been even sexier if he'd shaved the neck-beard portion. Isaac loved his beard, except that he wondered why Dad suddenly grew a beard, but mom didn't.
Here is a photo from Dec. 1, when he got rid of the beard. He does look younger without the beard, I think.

Isaac is looking upset in this one because he wants to know where his dad's beard has gone.

Habits

Isaac has habits - some new, some old. Some endearing, some frustrating, some hilarious. He's a creature of habit, so there are DOZENS upon DOZENs, but here are a couple of my favorite.

The before and after - same habit, different chairs, photos taken 9 months apart.


Popcorn. This has become a major habit for Isaac. When he's grumpy, and all else fails, we ask him if he wants to make popcorn. We have an air popper, and just give it to him plain (I know, some say don't feed kids popcorn because of the kernals but guess what? We do.) He is ravenous for popcorn! He'll eat it in a boat with a goat, in a house with a mouse, or in a box with a fox. Isaac woke up at an ungodly hour the other night after Dave and I hadn't gone to bed until after midnight. He was very sad and whiny and we were trying everything to get him back to sleep, so that we could sleep too! After trying all of our usual tricks, Dave asked Isaac in a very sleep deprived voice "are you hungry? Do you want some nuts? Do you want popcorn?" Isaac BOLTED up and practically sprinted toward the bedroom door yelling "popk popk!" He must have the route memorized, because it was still pitch black in our room. I couldn't help but laugh as Dave dragged himself out of bed and headed to the kitchen. A minute later I heard the popcorn popper going. 15 minutes later they were back in bed and Isaac was ready to sleep again. The best part was all Dave said when they returned was "I buttered the popcorn, but I haven't salted it yet." HAHA! I thought it was hilarious that despite it being the weeeeeeeee hours of the morning, that Dave melted butter, poured some on the popcorn before coming back to bed. Popcorn may be one of Isaac's favorite habits, but I hope midnight popcorn snacks do not become habit!
Here is Isaac with a bowl of popcorn, cuddling with one of his favorite blankets, and some good old Sesame Street. Ah, bliss.

Firsts

I present: a Photo Blog of More Halloween firsts (and seconds, in some cases - stubborn little boy!)

First time to Gardner Village to see the witches display. He loved it...loved seeing all the kids, loved patting the pumpkins, and loved to point out the witches' boots and hats. He was pretty fond of it, except that he wouldn't stand/sit still for photos.


Except for this photo. He only sat still because he thought that the miniature steps that he was able to sit/climb on were the coolest thing ever. It was an empty brochure stand at Gardner Village. Go figure.
First time trick-or-treating. These were out trick or treat peeps. The three on the left are some of the Congolese family that my mom has been helping since they arrived in the country almost two years ago. Julie and Tim came to help with the kids, too. We stopped at a house on our street for soup and scones, and to keep dry. Once the rain stopped, these kids experienced the right of passage called Trick or Treat!

This was not Isaac's FIRST time being a turtle. Oh no, it was his SECOND year being a turtle. He's two for two. He would not wear the dragon because it had long sleeves, and that really pissed him off. I think that they thought it was magical that you could knock on a door and people would open the door bearing gifts of candy. I hope they understood that this is just one night a year! :-)
Our sweet neighbors are part of a local Presbyterian church. They invited us to the Halloween carnival at their church on Sunday, which was nice because we got to do something Halloween-y on HALLOWEEN! Isaac LOVED watching all the kids, dancing, bouncing in the bouncy house, and playing with Natalilly and Izzy. This is Natalilly above. She loves Isaac and vice versa. She is only in third grade, but we've already established that she is our future babysitter. She's a sweetheart and a half.
Isaac getting help from one of the kids at the carnival with the apple peeling/cutting machine thingy.
And it was fun to eat. Their version of dessert was a great idea. Everyone got an apple, and they had things like yogurt, peanut butter and raisins to put in your bowl. I liked this idea especially because kids already got enough candy the night before. This would be a fun project to do at school on Halloween with my students next year :) Anyone have 5 apple peel/cut things laying around?
First time wearing this hat. Okay, that was a stretch. I just included this photo because I like it. It makes him look like a little boy, no more baby face - awwwww......

First Carve

Halloween might be my favorite holiday. Now that we have a child, we must start some Halloween traditions. First on the list, carving pumpkins. Second? costumes of course. Duh. Last year Isaac was a dog, and a turtle. This year...he'll be a dragon. Thanks for the costume, Holli! Photos to come.

Isaac was already mildly obsessed with pumpkins. Last Halloween, when he was only 6 months old, my mom taught him to "pat the pumpkin," each time she brought him inside her house during that month. He remembered that all year long, and the minute he started seeing pumpkins this year, he would run up to them and yell "pat punk!" then pat the pumpkin three times. He was ecstatic to see what was inside a pumpkin when we carved it a couple nights ago. The photos will tell the rest of the story.Isaac patting the pumpkin.
Isaac "helping."
Isaac feeding the guts to Abbie (she really did enjoy them.) On a side note, he thinks it's HILARIOUS to call Abbie "Abba Dabba."
If Abbie likes them, maybe I will too. Nope.
Perhaps Dad will enjoy pumpkin guts. Dave says they taste better than pumpkin pie (he doesn't like pumpkin pie - blasphemy!)
The finished pumpkin. Looks much better with the lights off.

And on a side note, Isaac had been on a 9 month haitus of not smiling for the camera. Well, we captured plenty of smiles, but he would not pose for the camera EVER. He recently began giving us the cheese again - smiling and making goofy faces on cue. Here are a couple photos - he's baaaaaaack!

Fall photos

I took Isaac across the street to our friends' house to play with pumpkins and jump in the leaves with Natalilie and Izzy. He wasn't as keen on jumping in the leaves, as watching. Amy took these beautiful photos of Isaac while we were over there, so of course I stole them off facebook and am posting them here!