Isaac: the ever-endearing little rascal… Funny and affectionate and irresistibly round-bellied, but into everything. He’s learned how to open doors and cabinets and drawers and constantly rummaging, like a little raccoon in a field of garbage bins. Toys, clothes, shampoo bottles, markers, measuring cups – he’s a human tornado. He can’t resist the mystery of a closed door, so I’ve lost all vestiges of privacy (locked doors will drive this boy to sheer madness!). Shut him out of the bathroom, and he will bang the damn door down. Shut him in, and suddenly we’re in a game of hallway peek-a-boo.
He likes making a racket almost as much as he likes making a mess – favorite toys are anything that can be rung (xylophone), tooted (recorder), or banged on (recorder on xylophone!). Â
Baby boy is consistently sleeping through the night, snoozing solidly from 7pm to 6am, but when he wakes at 6am (or even 5:30), he is UP. Bottles and nursing and rocking be damned, he is UP. I’ve stopped fighting it and scoop him out of his crib, pausing with him in the rocking chair just long enough to free him from his sleep sack before he wriggles out of my lap and beelines for the hallway. I shuffle along behind him and we set up our living room nest, laying out our thickest blanket on the floor and turning on the fire. Toy bins are pulled out from under the couch, milk is poured into a bottle and warmed, a snack cup is filled with Cheerios. And then we settle in – I’ll lay down with a book or with nothing, if I’m especially tired, and Isaac will play with his toys or fidget with my Kindle and life is warm and quiet and cozy. Maybe only for 20 minutes, and then he’s into the kitchen cabinets or tearing back down the hallway to see if sister or dad are ready to play (they aren’t), but that 20 minutes is awfully good.
I wish I could report extended daytime sleep as well, but he continues to insist on sub-hour naps. Whether it’s a one-nap day or a two-nap day, he caps out at about 55 minutes. He’s got doors to open and messes to make, I guess.
Isaac has more and more opinions about what he eats – we’ll offer meat most dinnertimes with mixed results, but yogurt is a surefire staple any time of day. Plain yogurt with bananas and a bit of granola for breakfast, strawberry yogurt if I really want to blow his mind. His spoon skills are on point!
The two words in his repertoire are “Mo? Mo?” (More) for when said yogurt is gone, and “Uh-Ohhhh…”, said softly as he prepares for the lecture he knows he’ll get from me when he throws his cup and spoon on the floor.
I saw a message somewhere recently from a mom of older kids speaking to moms of young kids, saying “Remember, bathtime is a gift…” I’m prone to rolling my eyes at those kinds of “treasure-these-moments” notes, because Lady, have you seen what a mess my house is?!, but I’m kind of leaning into this one. It’s pretty sweet, the evenings I sit back and watch Isaac roll his cars along the edge of the tub or squish bubbles in his little hands. Juliette sometimes joins him in the tub and that’s my favorite, listening to the two of them laugh and splash while I fold clothes in Isaac’s room across the hall.
Plus, what’s better than a naked baby in a hooded towel?
And Sister. Sister, sister! She continues to be such a great playmate for Isaac – the two of them get huge kicks out of games of airplane or hide and seek. She’ll crouch behind the chair in his bedroom while he runs up and down the hallway looking for her; to expedite the game, she’ll call Isaaaaaac several times over and finally he finds her and they both squeal in delight. Â
Snuggles are harder to come by, but she’ll take them when she can get them!
Backseat shenanigans…they often crack each other up.
Oh, and when he’s not rummaging, he’s climbing! Â
He loves the sound of the coffee grinder (again, anything loud) and starts running in circles while clapping his hands the minute I fire it up. Life is so exciting when you’re one!
Bluey’s on!
I think this was a sick day – I can see that fevery puff to his eyes. He can be a cheery little patient, though!
This kid looks ready to make some messes…
A rare moment of focus:
And back to the races!
His favorite song as of late is Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero – the minute it comes on, he claps his hands and spins in circles until he’s so dizzy he can’t stand. He’ll “jump†to the beat, which is really just squatting and then quickly standing up straight, his feet never leaving the floor. But extra points for exuberance – his face scrunches tight as he kneels down low and then his eyes pop wide open as he reaches full height and we all laugh until our sides hurt.
Isaac, you are mischievous as all get-out, but truly, you are joy personified.
