Thursday, July 28, 2011

take a deep breath

Food for thought for all the mamas, and daddies too:

Oh give me patience when wee hands, 
tug at me with their small demands. 
And give me gentle and smiling eyes. 
Keep my lips from hasty replies. 
And let not weariness, confusion, or noise,
obscure my vision of life's fleeting joys. 
So when, in years to come my house is still- 
No bitter memories it's room may fill.


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Shame

Shame. It's a funny thing, isn't it? Babies don't feel shame, but as adults we feel it all the time. Sometimes it just shows up as self-consciousness.

Yesterday was the first time I've seen Isaac feel self-conscious in a major way. We were at the North Market with my mom and Ken, and Isaac and I had been upstairs eating while they got their food. When my mom opened the small container of Greek food to reveal something fried that looked like a large hushpuppy, Isaac got very excited and yelled "Wow!". We were definitely not expecting that and started cracking up at how adorable it was.

The thing is, Isaac didn't think it was funny. He didn't mean for "Wow!" to be a joke---just an exclamation of joy that maybe he thought we would share. He stuck out his lower lip and began to pout. Big time. He laid his head on the table, lip quivering, and began to cry. A shoulder-shaking, silent cry...and then looked up, lip still out, tears running down his face. He tried to get out of his high chair. To run away. To hide.

Apparently this is the age when kids start to develop the ability to feel shame. Which of course is a normal part of development and not something I can stop. But can I react differently when Isaac shares his joy? Sure. I can share it with him. Show him that he may be little, but he has big opinions, and they are just as valid as anyone else's.

Nothing to be ashamed of.


Sent from my iPhone

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Is this thing on?

*dusts off the blog*

Yes, I realize its been a while. You all need to join facebook, you'll see a lot more that way. 

But until you do that, I'll catch you up. The past two months can be summed up in one word: tired. Of being sick, and also of well, not getting enough sleep. Tim and I have both had strep throat twice, and Isaac has had two (post ear tube) ear infections, which means he hasn't always been sleeping well. Sometimes hardly at all. I spent more than one night driving him around at 3 am to try to get him back to sleep. We were tired of cold and dark, and now we're tired of rain. We did get a few nice days of sunshine in there, but now the highs have been setting new records for being so low. Yesterday's high was 49. In mid-May. Ugh. 

Isaac turned 18 months old on Saturday and is such a big guy now. He is saying all kinds of things, including some 2 word phrases from time to time. A couple weeks ago he pointed to a blanket and asked "what's that?". Pretty darn cute. He loves to color, he loves to watch Shaun the Sheep, and he loves to brush his teeth (we'll see how long that lasts). He loves to be naked, so getting dressed can be a struggle. He loves loves loves to be outside, so much that he often tries to go for a walk as soon as we get out of the car. I reach for my purse and when I turn around, he's at the end of the driveway already. His curly hair gets noticeably thicker and longer by the day, but there are no plans to cut it just yet.....even if strangers do usually think he's a girl. 

no pictures today, we don't have a lot of them lately. He moves so fast that most of them are just a blur...

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Big guy

Eating breakfast at the table

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Little white bumps

"It's a sensitivity rash" (A what? So vague) "I know, that's the least helpful thing I can say, since we don't know what's causing it" (At least he's honest, lol).
 
Isaac has these little white bumps that have emerged all over his legs and arms in the past 2 weeks. Actually, since his ear tubes, but I don't think there could be any correlation there. Just a coincidence. They aren't red, they don't itch, but they have definitely spread. At first it was just a few bumps on the inside of his knee, now they are all up and down both legs and both arms.
 
The trick is finding out what's causing it. It could be outside (i.e. pollen), it could be a food allergy, it could be something new in our house. Or, it could be several things together....i.e., sensitivity to one type of pollen + another type of pollen + exposure to a food that he's sensitive too (but might not normally cause a reaction) = bumps. In the past few weeks, he has acquired a new blanket (made by me with fabric and ribbon from Joann's), new pillowcases, and the possible biggest culprit...a new area rug in his room. Really hoping it's not the rug, since I love it, but it would be an easy fix I suppose.

Friday, March 4, 2011

He's a dancing machine

Rockin' out to "Old Scarecrow".

Sunday, February 13, 2011

This kid will sleep anywhere

Isaac asleep on his changing table yesterday, after I tried to wake him to go to grandma's house.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A break from routine

I hate winter. Hate it. It's dark when I leave the house, and dark when I get home. The only weekday that I get any sunlight is on Wednesdays when I don't work until 1. I wouldn't mind working every evening, if just to get that extra sunlight, but there's the whole problem of daycare not being open past 6:30 that throws a wrench in things.
 
We took Isaac to Firefly Play Cafe this morning and I think he liked it. He is a little young for some of the activities (i.e. bouncy house), but he loved the slide. LOVED it. I cannot emphasis this enough. I didn't get a picture of him on the slide because he was moving too fast. As soon as he slid down, he started trying to climb back up. (Before someone yells at me, I should note that he wasn't going down by himself. We were holding him under the arms). He also rode around on these little scooters a bit. The only problem being, that he kept steering himself in a circle and then tumbling off. We only stayed about 45 minutes and I'd say it was worth the $3.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

I want to know the story behind this

When I picked him up from daycare, he had a feather tied in his hair

Saturday, January 1, 2011