Attachment

As we are racing two the 2 year birthday, Isaac has hit a MAJOR mommy attachment phase, one I thought we might bypass. None such luck.

And it's a pretty bad attachment. I saw it starting before Christmas, right when he got sick. We pretty much camped out on my bed and watched "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas" and napped for 3 days straight. He got a bit anxious and whiney when I would get up to get food, a refill on his drink (or mine for that matter), or to go to the bathroom. If my phone wasn't in the room with me, forget it, most likely I wasn't answering calls (which I didn't anyway). I attributed this to being sick. I mean, everyone wants their mommy when they don't feel good right?

Well, then he got better. But the attachment got worse. It's gotten to the point where I can't be more than 2 feet away from him, if that. And that is a generous estimate.

Let me clarify. When he is at daycare, he's fine. When he is with his dad, fine. When I am around, not fine. Seriously, it gets ugly and really fast. Most times, he wants to be ON me. On my lap, on my hip, doesn't matter. He wants me to hold him and carry him around. Now the list of things I can do one-handed since having a child is quite extensive and impressive. However, this list grew when Isaac was itty bitty, NOT pushing 30lbs and wasn't so tall...meaning...he's cumbersome to lug around after 2 minutes. If I don't pick him up, he screams. Like throws himself onto the floor and SCREAMS.

I don't give in all the time. I know it's not good for him, and I know (PRAY) that he will outgrow this and soonish. If I am on the couch, he has to sit on my lap or right next to me. If I am in the kitchen, he's in the kitchen. If I am in the bathroom, yep...he's in the bathroom. The other night when Ben was home, I just wanted 2 minutes of peace and I went in the bathroom and shut the door. Within seconds of realizing that I was no longer in the same room as him, Isaac raced to to closed door and began screaming for me. He pounded on the door, and wouldn't let Ben pick him up. Upon coming out, I found a snot-dripping, red faced, tear streaked little boy. Another night, I was literally walking around my (give it large-mongous) bed to put clothes away in the closet and he FREAKED because again, more than 2 feet away.

Sooooo....any suggestions on how I can hurry this phase along? I won't lie, sometimes it is nice. Like the other night when we were watching Toy Story 3 and he cuddled up next to me. But those times when I just can't get  him, and I have to walk into another room? Those are the times I need advice.

We Made A Deal

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I haven't been blogging. I haven't known how to say what I really wanted to say, I guess. I dont' even know what I really want to say half the time. There are many frustrations in my life right now, and I am trying to work through them. I just feel..blah... We are all fine, work is fine, just blah. In that rut, so to speak. Now onto my real post
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When I went back to work and Isaac began daycare, I knew that inevitably I would miss out on the first time he did things. I was fully prepared to go back to work. I had my pumping schedule down, eating schedule, and was mentally prepared as much as I could be. I always knew that I would have to go back to work after a few months. I was always fine with that. Sure, I would miss my baby boy. But I struck a deal with Ben and Miss K.

If Isaac did anything that seemed like it was the first time he had done said action, say sit up, walk, talk, etc, they were strictly forbidden to tell me that he had performed said action. That way, when he did it for me, I would think it was the first time he had done it, and not feel the stab of guilt and longing for missing said first time action. It has worked remarkably well, and no one has ruined it.

Except Isaac.

He is too old for that deal now. He is doing things for me that he has clearly been practicing with his dad and Miss C and Miss S, that I think are incredible and am so proud and excited. And then I realize there is no way he hasn't done this before. I am missing it.

Like, he can identify numbers from 0-9. Ben holds up one of his blocks and asks him what number is written on it and he answers, correctly. I was so excited. But apparently he has been doing this awhile. Same with his letters. He gets A-F. And I am so proud, and then I realize that these are those that have been practiced and worked out. So my pride is still very valid, I am watching my boy learn and grow. That makes me deliriously happy, that he is making progress and becoming such a big boy. But the disappointment is there. The disappointment that I missed some things. That I will miss more things.

Apparently the person I should have made the deal with, was Isaac.

Mish Mash

My delightful co-worker A so delicately pointed out that I haven't blogged in a week. Sorry, over a week. So here, I am stuck with writer's block, big time, throwing together a post of updates, I guess. Let's start with a visual aid. :)

Isaac likes swings again! We discovered a new park, where ducks swim semi-free in an enclosed pond that also contains mutant koi. Whew, the "IHATESWINGSGETMEOUTOFTHISTHINGRIGHTNOWORIWILLSCREAMANDSCREAMANDMAYBEEVENBITEYOU" phase is over, seemingly. And he is so over the little play structures that are age appropriate. He wants to be on the big kid ones. And we, uh...kinda let him. He's an adventurous, fearless little boy. The way this kid climbs, you would like he was part monkey. We follow him and make sure he isn't leaping off things. He pretty much just wants to climb and go down the big slides. He knows to sit down at the top and not lean over the side. He makes it sound as though the climbing is alot of effort because with every single step, we usually get an exertionous grunt (is that a word, hmmmm I hope so). We don't let him go on said structures if there are big kids who actually belong on the big equipment there, and I wouldn't get pissed (assumably) if he injured (knock on wood) himself on them because I let him on there. I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY HERE!

Speaking of the little man (still my baby boy), he has developed an affinity for Lady Gaga and Glee. TRUE STORY. He is partial to "Bad Romance" but he will also sing along to "Telephone." I think it's adorable that he will sing "el-o, el-o bay-be" and I am pretty sure he likes the singing on Glee.

And he counts to 10! He can get to 6 unassisted, and needs a bit of coaxing past 7 and 8, but definately gets the 9, 10. :)

So, the 3 week great stash reduction of 2010...I am happy to say that I have only spent $7.48 of my $10 budget. And to be honest $2.50 was on accident. I am so accustomed to impulse buying, that last weekend at Target, I threw 100-calorie cupcakes into the cart without even thinking about it. I didn't even realize I had bought a grocery until I got home. Anyway, Other than that, I have only bought milk for me and Isaac. I have used several canned goods, two boxes of pasta, and several things from the freezer. We have had fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, turkey chili, potato crunch fish, pizza, and mac and cheese. And to be honest, I am not seeing any dent made in the stash. Maybe because it is the first week? Or maybe because I just have THAT MUCH STUFF.

There are several professional opportunities looming on the horizon for me and hubs. Hopefully (fingers crossed, please please PUH-LEASE), something will pan out successfully for one of us, providing us with the opportunity for change. We are feeling a bit stuck right now. Like, that inbetween phase, where you know you have to move forward, but you need that little kick start in that direction.

No more decision has been made on whether or not the IUD is actually coming out in November either. :( Much trepidation though. I think it depends on how the aforementioned pans out.

Tomorrow we are going to the SF Zoo, with a friend and her two kids that I haven't seen in AGES. I haven't seen her son since he was an itty bitty baby, and I have never met her daughter, nor has she met Isaac. I am deliriously excited.

Ok, that is seriously all I have now. I am suffering serious writer's block. Hopefully it will vanish soon. I apologize. :(

Toddler Idol

***First, before I write anything about what I actually want to write about, I need to say that I orginally typed baby instead of toddler in the title of this post. Because to me, no matter how old he gets, that is always what Isaac will be. Even when he is 70 and (hopefully) I am 98. My BABY. But alas, he is definately a full blown TODDLER.***

Occasionally, Isaac sings. He will fill in the EIEIO of me singing "Isaac Lahman Has a Farm" and anythign that has one-word type lines, like "Hey Soul Sister" 's Ay Ay, AY yay ay yay yay, and "Buffalo Solider" 's Oye yoy yoy. However, on the trip to GG Park to see the aunties, he recently busted out "we're rough!" in NKOTB's "Hangin' Tough" (dont' judge. You know that still sing it too) as we were rocking out in the car. It was ADORABLE as it came out "we ruuuuuuuuttttt!" with a huge smile and gigles. We are working on the Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh arm waving.

The other night, Isaac continued to demonstrate his passion for vocals and a career as a mega idol. We were sitting on the couch, enjoying pre-bedtime milk and looking at books. I was finishing up the last 15 minutes of "Glee" which I had ashamedly fallen asleep during. During "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Isaac starts to full on belt out nonsensical words and swaying back and forth on the couch.

He sang for the 3 minute duration of the song. I have no idea what he was singing, but it was hilarious.

My heart swelled as my baby, ok, my TODDLER, broke into a new milestones, demostrating his love of music. Now I try to get him to sing all the time, which of course he bashfully laughs and runs away. I will catch it on video and send it immediately to Sony or at least Ryan Seacrest because this type of talent should not be ignored. :)

Duckies

Yesterday Isaac and I spent the day with Auntie Karen and Auntie Gail. We started with our usual date at Olive Garden (ooohhh have you tried the zeppoli?!) and did some shopping (correction, I did some returns, they did some shopping. Oh, water, water everywhere....) before leaving the mall and heading to Golden Gate Park. We usually end up somewhere where little boo can run around like a crazy fool, his reward for watching us shop without causing too much disruption and damage. I specifically packed some bread so he could feed the ducks and let's be honest. The bread sticks from Olive Garden are too good to save for the waterfowl. :)

Anyway, Isaac clearly had a blast. He's such a curious and adventurous little boy, I don't even try to hold him back from the dirt and falling down anymore. He loves to climb and run and shreik. And he got plenty of all three!

By the end of the day, he was screaming for the "dah keees" and quacking. :) He fell asleep on the car ride home.

Half of My Heart

This morning, Isaac woke up on his own. He has been so tired lately, he is going to bed earlier. I wanted him to be in a good mood for as much of the day as possible, so I put him down at 7:45. He was rubbing his baby blues and saying he was "sweepy" around 6.

He woke up in such a good mood. I can always hear him wake up. He plays in his bed for a while, mostly ripping stuffing out of the big blue bunny that I keep forgetting to sew up. When he is ready to get up he starts to call us. "Mom! Maaaaaaa-ma! Helllooooo! Mom! Daddddddddeeeeeee! Hellooooo! Kit-teee!"

He was all smiles and excited when he sat down for his breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese, mini pancakes, and blueberries. We don't usually eat breakfast at home on daycare days, but this new daycare doesn't serve breakfast and doesn't open until 8. We have extra time now. He even got to play a little. We brushed our teeth together. I am positive he was thinking this was going to be a mommy day.

I told him it was time to go bye-bye. He said no and ran away from me. I turned off Ma-mo and he turned it back on. I turned it off again and held out his coat. He threw himself on the floor and cried. I scooped him up and got his coat on. We cuddled for a minute. He walked himself to the car, maybe now thinking that we were just going to the store like we do some mornings.

We drove the minute (seriously, it was one minute, if that) to the new daycare center. I parked the car and watched a little red haired girl get out of the car with her mommy. She was younger than Isaac, maybe only 9 months old. I turned in the car to look at him, he was also watching the little girl, being carried in by her mommy. He looked at me with sad eyes, seeming to realize what was going on.

I got him out of the car, and gathered his bag, blankie, and papers. We went inside the sunny house and said hi to everyone there. We sat down and took off his shoes. He climbed all over me like a monkey. Everytime I put him down, he climbed back up. We played with the office setup for a few minutes. We looked at the fishies. And then...then, I had to hand him over and leave for work. And then, the screaming began. The thrashing. The tears.

I choked back my own tears as I walked from the house to my car, watching him screaming in the window, Miss S waveing goodbye. I cried all the way to Starbucks and then for about 20 minutes in the parking lot before I finally was able to wipe my eyes and go in for my Dark Cherry Mocha.

I cried because I left half of my heart behind, sad and scared.

I know Isaac will be happy at the new daycare. I know he will love it and learn and make new friends. He will have fun. I know it is the best decision for him, for me, for all of us. I didn't cry because of those things. I didn't cry because I was leaving him somewhere where I didn't think he belonged.

I called a few hours later. He was fine, Miss S said. He fed the fish and played with the Guinea pig. He unpacked his things into his cubby. He stood by the door, watching for mommy before starting to play.

I have to go pick up the other half of my heart now.

The End of the Pup-as as We Know It

Isaac loooooooves dogs. Loooooooooves them. He loves Dozer, my BIL's dog. He loves any dog, anytime, anywhere. And for the longest time, he would call them "Pup-as" because he couldn't really say "puppy." We all knew what he meant. He would scream it in delight whenever a dog was in sight or even when he heard barking. He thought the sea lions at Pier 39 were "pup-as" because they were barking (insert science lesson from Mommy here). He can pick them out on TV and plastic ones in the store, photos in books, drawings. He loves the "pup-as."

Last weekend, I heard something that made me very proud and broke my heart at the same time.

"Pup-pee! pup-pee!"

Somewhere, some time, my son had learned to say "Puppy." Gone are the days of "pup-as." We are strictly a "Pup-pee" family now. Like I said, I am very proud of him, and the progess he is making in his development and learning. But at the same time, I cling to these relics that make him my little baby, and uniquely him.

When he stops calling Mickey Mouse "Ma-Mo" I think I will cry for days. Seriously, he knows how to say "Day-zee," "Goo-fee," "Meeen-eee," "Down-ol," and "Plew-tooo." So I know my days are limited, and I am busting out the video camera every single chance I get to record these precious moments.

Sometimes I think he still says "Ma Mo" because he knows we love it, kinda like kids saying they still believe in Santa Claus to humor their parents (or to mooch extra gifts for a few years). It works, because Isaac is swimming in Mickey paraphenalia and is going to Disneyland for Christmas.

Ah, my sweet baby boy. Can't you stay itty bitty a few days more? Why must you grow up so quickly?

In the Middle of the Night

I am a troubled sleeper. I can NEVER fall asleep on my own. And I never sleep undisturbed, even the slightest noise wakes me up (Note: After about 10 years, my husband's snoring no longer wakes me up even though he sounds like a drunken bear with a chainsaw). I long ago turned off the baby monitor. Seriously, Isaac is in the next room over, and I hear him. I hear EVERYTHING. I hear the cats jump on and off the bed. I hear stuff fall in the kitchen. I hear animals outside. I hear the toilet make funny noises.

Isaac very rarely wakes during the night. I will hear him stir, and sometimes whimper a bit. But he seldom wakes up in the middle of the night unless he is RAVENOUS or has a diaper blowout or one of the @$%hat cats has managed to get into his room and jump in the crib (Another Note: I long since took down the crib tent prevent said @$%hat cats from leaping into the crib. Isaac is big enough now to sense when one of them is in his bed. And half the time he thinks it is hilarious).

Or he has a nightmare. Like last night.

At about 3am, I hear him SCREAMING. No precursor whimpers. No small cries. FULL BLOWN SCREAMS.

Thinking some crazed kidnapper or axe murder has busted through the wonky Dr. Suess windows in his room, I rocketed out of bed so fast, the cat sleeping on my head flew across the room. Flinging open his bedroom door and adjusting the dimmer on the overhead light, I see my baby laying face down, clutching his big blue bunny pillow. SCREAMING.

No axe murders, child molesters, or crazed maniacs were in sight. Nor was the other cat.

He didn't lift his head when I came in. He didn't look up when I spoke to him. He laid there and screamed.

Immediately I am thinking he has watched too much Air Jaws and I have passed onto the MomFail side.

I rubbed his back, and finally he looked up at me, or squinted at me and lifted his arms up. He laid his head on my shoulder and SCREAMED. I sat on the floor with him, only to have him start writhing and screaming louder. We stood up and rocked back and forth. We went to the recliner and rocked, still SCREAMING. My husband woke up and came out to see what was happening. Isaac reached for him and I went to get his milk, thinking it might help. He grabbed the cup and clutched it to his chest, still screaming. My husband took him to our bed and turned the TV on for a little light. SCREAMING. We laid next to him, thrashing and SCREAMING. At about 330, he was calming down, so I put him back in his crib. A few minutes later, he was back to snoring softly, screaming subsided and I was looking down at my peacefully slumbering angel.

When I returned to bed, Ben commented that it didn't seem like Isaac was ever really awake, but stuck in his nightmare or whatever he was screaming about.

I have known parents who have kids that have night terrors.

Is this what is happening to Isaac? This episode was not the first...I would say it happens about once a month, maybe less. And if so, should I just be leaving him in his crib to cry it out? I didn't really try to wake him up. Just to soothe him.

It kills me to hear him scream that way. Especially that I can't get him to stop. What should I be doing?

Mommy's Little Science Geek

I am a science geek. I have been for many, many years...pretty much since freshman Biology in High School. I went to undergrad and got my degree in Biology, concentrating in Marine Biology and then onto grad school where I got my Master's in Biology concentrating in behavioral physiology and conservation genetics. Now I work as an environmental biologist and water quality specialist for an environmental consulting firm and I am pursuing a professional certification in Wetland Science. This means every few months, I get to take more classes. I occassionally do peer reviews and my journal articles are finally getting published (knock on wood, fingers crossed, holding my breath). I read Scien.tific Amer.ican for FUN. I love, love, love do stats.


See? Totally science geek.


I also love Shark Week. Sharks are just seriously cool. One day I would love to go shark diving. Sans cage. Anyhoo, this week was Shark Week on Discovery Channel. HEAVEN!

Early in the week I was folding laundry while Isaac was taking his nap. I was folding it in the living room because the TV out there is so much better and sharks are always better in HiDef. Isaac woke up and I turned the TV off, and went to get him. We did our after-nap routine, and I put him loose to run around the house while I put the laundry away.

One of Isaac's many talents is turning on the TV (and ordering movies, but that's another story), which he did once he made it into the living room (he pretty much checks out every room of the house after his nap, I think to make sure everything is still the same. And maybe to scout the cats, again another story for another day.) Almost instantly, I hear him start exclaiming.

"Mama! Mama! Ooooohhhh! Big fishie! fishie! Oh wow! Oh my! Mama! Do you see him? I see him! Mama! Whoa!"

I run into the living room to see him watching "Air Jaws" and there is a massive Great White flying through the air with a seal in it's mouth. And of course they have those killer slow motion cameras, so Isaac can really take in the action. He was laughing and smiling, not realizing that when the water turned red, that meant the seal was um...sleeping. Eh, well.

It was one of the proudest moments I have had as a mother, watching my baby love something that I love. He's going to be a little science geek like his mommy. This is a sign. :)

Sticky Fingers

The end of last week (Thursday and Friday) and on Saturday, I was in Wetland Science class that I am taking to get my PWS certification. I am such a science geek, I know. :) Anyway, the point is that I barely got to see Isaac over those three days. He was in good hands, but I may have left him stay up a little late and have some extra fruit snacks and Mickey Mouse time in order to win him over again when I got home.

It didn't work. He rebelled.

Yesterday, I met friends G and K in the City for some lunch, shopping, and Pi.er 39 fun. We took Isaac to see the sea lions and the boats and to get some sea food (for us, he had a hot dog). They had a kite store between the Pier and the Wharf (where the seafood markets are) and I wanted to get Isaac a kite and some more windup toys. Why kite stores always have those little windup toys, I don't know. But they do. And Isaac loves them, so much, in fact, that he leaves them in odd places, like under the recliner so that when we rock in it....CRUNCH. We went in the store, and I got him an AWESOME monkey kite where the bottom half of the monkey and his tail actually compose the kite tail. He wowed G and K with his animal identification skills (fishie! ooh-ooh-ah! pup-a!). I chose a few wind up toys and left him with G and K while I paid, happily playing with the vast array of wind up toys. I will say here that one of the toys he has at home is a small seal that spins a ball. He LOVES it.

We left the store and happily continued toward the wafting aromas of delicious fresh seafood. Suddenly, G says "Um, I think Isaac stole a seal...." Sure enough, there in his little sticky fingers is a seal exactly like the one he has at home. Sigh. I distracted him, took the seal away and put in a safe place to avoid breaking of stolen property that needed to be returned. In all fairness, I was convinced that Isaac just thought it was his toy from home. I can forgive that. He is little and doesn't understand that when companies make toys, they make more than one.

I happily continued on, brushing off my son's petty crime. I bought him his hot dog. I ate a crabcake. K got attacked by a rogue seagull who stole a fish stick right out of her hand. As I was cleaning the stray hot dog bun bits, crackers, and raisins from Isaac's stroller, I felt behind his back.

THERE WAS A CONCEALED WIND UP TOY BEHIND HIS BACK.

And this time I couldn't justify that he thought it was his toy from home, because it was this black fish one. And it wasn't even cool. Not the point, I know. But if you're going to steal toys, Isaac, at least steal cool ones.

Anyway, now I had two stolen toys to return. On our way back to the car, I popped back into the kite and in one breath said "MY-SON-AND-I-WERE-JUST-IN-HERE-TO-BUY-A-KITE-AND-HE-HAD-THESE-IN-HIS-STROLLER-HE-IS-ONLY-17-MONTHS-I-DON'T-THINK-HE-MEANT-IT-SO-HERE-THEY-ARE-I'M-SO-VERY-SORRY-THANKS-BYE!" The clerk yelled after me that it was sweet of me to bring them back and thanks for my honesty. Mmmm, yeah, bad juju toys aren't really my style. I am a firm believe in what goes around comes around. And I remember when I was little, I went to the grocery store with my grandma and I discovered the bulk candy aisle. I seriously thought the store was just being nice to kids, so I ate some. My grandma was MORTIFIED when she discovered candy wrappers in my fist and made me apologize to the manager of the store. I remember crying and being afraid I was going to jail. The manager was completely understanding. I never stole anything again.

So Isaac is just to little to understand that we have to pay for things before we take them home right?

Hmmmm....

I think back to some shopping trips to Tar.get when I had my massive diaper bag that I would throw into the cart. When I would pick up a small item, say an eyeliner, I would give it to Isaac because he got a kick out of throwing into the back of the cart and hearing me say how helpful he was being! And then when I would get home and unload the diaper bag, THERE WAS THE EYELINER. Strange coincidence? Or strategic throwing?

After this weekend, I have to wonder....

:)

Batter Up!

Isaac is destined to a life of baseball. Or at least until he is really old enough to truly object. His daddy played baseball, and is fully intending to live vicariously through his son, since his baseball career was cut short by a torn rotator cuff or something.

Isaac has had baseball themed toys since he was old enough to play with them (and maybe a bit before). He swings the bat really well, and he has quite the arm (in my opinion) for a toddler. Right now, he throws with each arm equally, which has Ben hoping for a left-handed pitcher. Apparently they are few and far between, and bank quite the sum in pro ball.

It doesn't matter that he can't hold the bat very well. It doesn't matter that he stands right up close. All that matters is this moment is how his little face lights up when he hits the ball off his new T-ball stand, and hears the cheers and applause from Mommy and Daddy. :)

Crash Bandicoot

Well, I hope not. :)

Isaac got his first bike helmet yesterday! He screamed when I tried to put it on him last night, but apparently Daddy had the magic touch. I love this picture, even though it is of poor quality due to my husband taking it on his cell phone and Isaac not wanting to stop long enough for a picture. :)

Potty Progress

Isaac has had his potty for about a month and a half now. He does pretty well with it. He sits on it every night before his bath, and uses it about 7 times out of 10. I would say that of the other 3 times, he only pees in the bath 1 time, the other 2 doesn't pee in the potty or the bath at all. I will take it.

I didn't think he understood what the potty was for. During the day when he gets into the bathroom, he dismantles it and plays with the cushion. He throws bath toys into the stand. To get him to associate his potty with the peeing sensation, we do things to make him pee, like putting his hand into warm water and tickling him and startling him (not scary like, peekaboo like). He climbs off the potty by himself alot.

The other night he climbed off the potty and ran towards the tub, naked mind you. I have had issues with running, naked baby, namely because of my husband letting him think it is ok to run around naked before his bath. He pees on things, like my floor, his rug and BOOKS. :( So as the naked baby is running around the bathroom, having not peed in his potty yet, I was preparing for an incident....

HOWEVER!

Isaac stopped in his tracks, turned around and ran back to his potty, climbed on it (which I have never seen him do) and PEED IN HIS POTTY before hopping off again and running back to the tub!

This is a good thing, right?! Like my training is working?! :)

Mmmmmmm....Apple!

Every night after he has (mostly) eaten his dinner, Isaac gets fruit for dessert. Once I have inspected his tray (and the surrounding floor) and have deemed he has eaten enough, I tell him it is time for dessert fruit. He immediately shouts "Na-Na" and reaches toward the bowl that I keep bananas in. My little monkey loves his bananas. He gets a banana fairly often. We used to do half bananas, which he quickly scarffed down and asked for more (By asking, I mean he shouts "Mo! Mo!" and pounds on the tray). Now he gets whole bananas.

Yesterday, he had a banana for breakfast and lunch. 2 bananas. So for dessert, I gave him an apple. I peeled it and chopped it into like, eighths or something. He loved it! It was the closest to a whole apple he has eaten. He likes applesauce, he likes small diced apple.

Mmmmm....apple! He seemed rather confused at first and looked at the pieces. He stared at me and said "Na na?" I corrected him and soon enough....

"Ah ple! Ah ple!"

He is a talker! And he asked for more apple for breakfast. :)

It Was Bound to Happen Sometime...So Better To Get It Over With....

No mother likes it when her child gets injured. I can't think of one person that I know who would stand over a screaming, bleeding child and say "well, you brought it upon yourself, you know." Maybe that is because I would not be friends with those people.

Anyway, Isaac is all boy. He likes dirt. He likes bugs. He likes to be outside. He likes to be active. He's curious about everything.

And he likes to pound on the screen door. Remember how I live in a Dr. Suess house with crooked doorways and windows that are painted shut? Well, the screen door that is in the sliding door doesn't look. And it is old. We are constantly telling him not to push on the door and not to bang on the screen. I mean, the cats have almost knocked it out a few times. See where I am going with this?

Last night before we went to dinner, Ben was standing outside. I was in the kitchen. And Isaac got a RUNNING START from across the room, full spead ahead toward the screen door. I guess he wanted to be outside as well.

The next thing I know, Isaac and the screen door are both laying on the patio, and he is screaming.

I picked him up and cuddled him. There is a decent scrape/bruise/bump on his forehead and a smaller one on his nose.

This was bound to happen. He's a baby. And he is learning. I am pretty sure that based on the fall he took last night, and the tentativeness he had around the screen door after Ben put it back into the frame, he won't be as rough with it. And he did figure out how to get outside, the little problem solver.

Still, it was not so much fun for me to hear my baby howl from fear and pain.

So he got a lollipop. :) (See the bump above his left eye?)

A New Best Friend

Isaac is very clear on what he likes and doesn't like these days. One of the things he likes, I mean LOVES is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (come inside, it's fun inside...you know you know it!). He loves the characters and the music. He dances to the opening song and the Hot Dog Dance. When he hears the music come on, he runs from wherever he is in the house to the family room to see it on TV.

Last weekend, we were at the mall doing some returns, and we passed by the Disney Store. On a whim, I turned the stroller in to check out the pjs (I am itching to get him some Handy Manny and Mickey footies). We found the pjs, and I decided against them...I mean, one of these days, California is going to decide that it is indeed time to stop raining and stay warm. Anyway, Isaac was clearly focused on the "Squirrels in My Pants" video on the big screen. I pushed him over closer to it, and it just so happens that the screen is above the mountain of plush characters.

Isaac saw the Mickey Mouse plush toy.

"Ma Mo! Ma Mo! Ma Mo!"

(That's what he calls Mickey)

He was practically jumping out of the stroller. I mean, had there not been straps fastening him in, I would have been digging my child out of the mountain of plush. I grabbed one of the Mickey's and handed it to him.

Oooohhhh, the smile on that kid's face...it didn't matter how much that toy cost me, Isaac was going home with a Mickey. I would have paid any amount of money to see that smile on that kid's face like that. Plus, Mickey was in his vise grip arms, and there was no way I would get him free. I had to tear the tag off him to give to the checkout lady.

He carried Mickey out of the store, to the car and around for the rest of the afternoon. Now Mickey sleeps in his crib with him and is carried around the house and required for long car trips. Isaac gets mad when I tell him that Mickey can't go to daycare.

Mickey is his new best friend. And he is almost the same size as Isaac. That sure doesn't impede the friendship though. He talks to him and hugs him and kisses him. I can't wait to take Isaac to Disney World. :)

Isaac's First Kiss

My son is going to be a heartbreaker. Really. Isaac has a way with the ladies.

Last night after dinner, I took him to the park to run off some energy and get him some fresh air. There is an enclosed toddler area that has age appropriate playground structures, and he loves running around and swinging. On this particular evening there were about 4 toddler age girls there. I put Isaac in the swing and pushed him for a while. While he was laughing and smiling, I noticed he was watching the girls run around. When I got him out, he went down the slide a few times, then he clearly wanted to run around.

I put him down and told him to go. He stood there for a good 2 minutes and was totally scoping out where the girls were. He looked at each and every one of them.

Then he took off toward a little girl with brown curly hair who I would guess was about 2. Once he got up next to her, he "fake fell", like he threw himself down and the "fake cried." The little girl said "awww" and reached her hand out to help him, which Isaac eagerly grabbed. He stood up and I brushed him off. The little girl gave him a hug and then KISSED HIM ON THE MOUTH! Isaac smiled and then ran off.

Seriously. My son is 15 months and already had his first kiss and is macking on the ladies!

When I got over the instant fear of "Oh my god is this child clean do I need to be worried about hepatitis," it was pretty cute and I kinda wished I had taken a video. The parents of the little girl were thrilled because they are expecting a baby boy later this year were anxious to see how their daughter reacted to a boy. Apparently that is not an issue. :) And yeah, it was pretty cute. Isaac totally knew what he was doing.

Sigh. I thought I didn't have to worry about this for at least another, oh....13 years?! ;)

Of course, his father is beaming with pride.

Memories

I like to expose Isaac to alot of different things. I like to take him places and get him out of the house. I like him to play with different things and learn to be imaginative. I like him to meet new people and be in social situations as well as be around things and people who are familiar.

My husband is at his annual convention, so it's just me and Isaac this weekend. Yesterday, I took him to the Bod.ega Bay Fish.erman's Festival to see the Pet Parade. There were dogs EVERYWHERE and he loved it. The parade itself was kind of short, but there were llamas and alot of people let him pet their dogs. The festival was on the bay and it was a beautiful day. We browsed the booths, bought him a pinwheel and some windup toys, ate fried fish and donuts, and watched the boats. It was a really fun time for the both of us.

As he was watching the boats and barking at the dogs, I was wondering to myself if he would remember this day.

My first memory as a child is a bit fuzzy. I remember being in my crib at my grandparents big house in the town where my family grew up. The crib was in the landing of the upstairs, between the bathroom and where the laundry shoot was located. I remember standing up in the crib and crying because the angel projection mobile I had had turned off. And I remember my mom coming out of her room and walking over to the crib. I have certain images in my mind quite clearly.

I don't know how old I was at the time. Still in a crib, implies maybe 2?

It makes me wonder what Isaac's first memory is going to be. Will it be the day his Mommy took him to the festival on the bay and he saw llamas and got a pinwheel? Will it be walking through the parks, feeding ducks? Will it be the swings? Dozer? Something from our NC vacation or trips to Ohio?

He's growing up so fast, too fast. I am trying to make each day a good one for him, so he has many happy memories of his childhood. Regardless of what day he has in his first memory, I really hope its a great one!

Potty Like A Rockstar

Isaac is a quick learner. He watches us do things and stares very intently. You can tell he is trying to figure things out in his head. Sometimes when he is playing with his blocks or something, he is concentrating so hard and trying to figure out why the smaller ones don't hold up the bigger ones, etc.

He thrives on routine. His schedule is what makes our days work out so well, and he knows what time of day it is by what we are doing. He knows that after Mickey Mouse is over he gets a bottle and then a nap. He knows that after dinner he gets to play, but when the music from Jeopardy starts, it's time for his bath.

Because of these two things, we made a decision this weekend.

We bought Isaac a potty chair.

Every night, every single night, Isaac pees in the bathtub. And what's funny is he will be playing and then he will stand up and pee, then sit back down and resume playing. Or try to resume playing, anyway. I don't really like the idea of my son swimming around in his urine, even though I know it is sterile. I pull him out of the tub, and he usually gets pretty mad at me. Anyway, we thought maybe if we got the potty chair and put him on it every night before putting him in the tub, it would establish a potty routine for him. It would plant the seed.

So last night, my little naked baby got plopped down on his little green and blue potty chair, and stared at us blankly while we waited. We coached him and talked about the potty and going potty. He sat there for about 3 minutes before he got fussy. So we pulled him off and lo and behold....

HE HAD PEED IN HIS POTTY! :)

It was a small victory, but still a victory! And he didn't pee in the bath!

Whether he understands what happened, and what he did, I don't know. I know he likes it when we applaud him and cheer. So we will see what happens as we continuously enforce this part of the routine and add it into other places. He goes potty pretty regularly, so we have a good idea of when to sit him down for a bit.

For now, I am so proud of my little boy for using his potty like a little rockstar! :)

And the No's Have It!

Isaac has learned a new word.

"No!"

And he says it all. the. TIME. I first heard it last night at dinner. He was happily eating his carrots and spaghetti. I was cutting up some pears for him when I heard "Mama! No! No! Noooooooo!" I looked over to see him smiling right at me and tossing the rest of the carrots on the floor.

I asked if he was done.

"No!"

I asked if he wanted pears.

"No!"

I asked if he wanted to get down.

"No!"

This continued for the rest of the night as he toddled through the house saying "no, no, no!"

I know he has a good idea of what it means. He has definately heard us say it enough. :)

And on the other hand, he also learned to nod his head. It's cute. He sticks he neck forward a bit and does it really slow and delibrately. And we have to say "yeeeeees!" After a few times he resorts to shaking his head, which he has known for months means "no."

So in the Lahman house, the No's definately have it right now. :)

He has also started putting words together like "yay! baba!", "mama/dada baba", "baba ni-night", "hi mama/dada/kitty/pupa (puppy)!", and "no" with any of the above words. And then we have the looonnnnng babbling sentences, sometimes ending with inquisitive inflections. He looks at me like I should just know what he is saying to me. And he has been singing alot more in the car.

I love that he communicates and is trying so hard. I have been recording so many videos of his sweet little voice. He is growing up so fast!