Isaac's Handiwork

Empty bookshelf!  Pile of books!

Note the ease of composition

All done by two small smooth chubby hands.

First "Real" Dinner Eaten Well!, + Recipe

Isaac has eaten many dinners before this, but they have all taken a spin in the Cuisinart first.
This dinner was intead whittled into small chunks by only my sticky fingers, and then put gently into Isaac's hungry maw.  He chewed like a champ, and only gagged once when I surprised him with an after dinner chunk of strawberry.

A "before" shot

It was so easy, yummy, healthy, and pretty (my four favorite qualities of dinner) that I feel I must dish (ha!) the recipe:

Pasta with Spinach, Goat Cheese and Salmon
serves perhaps 2 hungry adults, 1 kid, 1 baby, or 4 middling adults, or ?

3 cups dry tri-color spiral pasta (spirals are nice because the yumminess gets inside the ridges, but perhaps you already knew that!?)
1 package of frozen spinch (I am usually much more into fresh, but I love frozen spinach. It seems like a brick of green-goodness to me)
2 smallish salmon filets
Big chunk of goat cheese, (however creamy you like)
Olive Oil
Parmesan (that way you can make it not too salty for the wee one, and then put it all over yours)

Boil the pasta (I accidentally overcooked mine, but that made it more baby-mouth friendly), drain, toss with olive oil and set aside.
While the pasta is boiling, sprinkle salt on, and then bake the salmon filets (nice to put a few lemon slices on top) in the oven at 375ish for about 10 minutes.
Put the (hopefully already thawed) frozen spinach in the pan you used to boil the pasta (the less dishes the better!), and heat on medium flame with a little olive oil.
When the spinach is warm add the pasta and goat cheese, and stir gently until the goat cheese becomes melty and mixes into the pasta.
Cut the salmon into cubes, (or however it flakes is fine) and toss into the pasta.
Grate Parmesan cheese on the fine side of the box grater (I like it to look like snow), and sprinkle liberally!

Enjoy, Mama-chefs (and baby-chefs too)!

Fleeting Moment of Serenity

Isaac was up for A LOT of last night. It felt like newborn times all over again, except that waltzing him around the living room had an extra measure of willpower and strength involved. 25lbs of willpower and strength!

The thing is, amidst this tiredness, confusion, muscle fatigue and un-amusement, there was a fleeting moment of serenity, a small pocket in the big fabric of the night (2am-ish to 5am-ish). I remember thinking, there is perfection here, I can feel it!

Sadly, it was so fleeting, I'm not sure where it went. Like the smell of bread baking: distinctive and delicious, and then blown away by the wind.

I think it had something to do with moving slowly, but I'm not sure.  I'm going to do a little more research.

No Longer Relaxing to Take a Bath with the Little Guy

It used to be a dreamy and horizontal way to end the day; 7pm Isaac and I would retire to the tub for a wee bit of splashing, swooshing, washing, and finally reclining, Isaac's head resting on my tummy, and my head in blissed out momma-land.
My goodness, bath time has changed! Now 7pm finds a combination of jumping practice (I'm hoping the quick in and out creates an old fashioned washing machine effect for his bum), grabbing practice (today he turned on the overhead shower to both of our shrieks!), and slippery fish holding practice (that's my practice).
It's fun, but I'm tired.

Isaac, clean as a whistle

Crawling is Imminent!

We're thinking its going to happen any day now.  Today we had a little park-practice time:

Do I really have to crawl?

No sweetie!, but its sure fun to try!

Ok, let me focus for a moment.  I'm gathering my strength.

Take your time chickie boo!

I'm up!!

Woohoo!  Yayy you!

Crawling will make my arms even more shapely?

Perhaps, but we think your arms are perfect just as they are.

I worked up a serious appetite!

Good holding of the (sprouted grain) bagel sweetie!

Is that what this is?  I thought it was a donut.

No sweetie, its a yummy fancy bagel!

If its so good, you want it?

Oh, such a generous sport you are sweetie. 

Maybe Isaac needs more enthusiastic compliments from his momma?

Sick-day

Poor Isaac!
He is so very unhappy and warm, and he threw up all his father's day French Toast.
This virus has given him his highest temperature yet, last night 101.9 under the armpit, which is at least a degree cooler than how he actually feels (like a small hot potato).
The doctor told us to get Pedialite, which seems like a scam - $4.50 for a liter!
Ah, but we bought it anyway because doctor's words are very scary to disobey.
She said the fever will last 3 - 4 days, and that the diarrhea should begin tomorrow.
Now, that's something to look forward to!  Oy!

A healthier and inquisitive moment

Update:  I think he's all better!  It was a mysterious illness, it didn't take too long, the dreaded diarrhea never came out, and now he's back to health, inquisitiveness, and a copious amount of drool!

At the coop

I talked to a little girl at the coop on Friday, and though she is not Isaac, she was cute enough to inspire a blog post. I wish my camera had been with me, but since it was not, I will give you a mental photo.

On the check-out counter, there were 4 wooden boxes of baby strawberries, 3 bosc pears, and a bunch of organic lemons. The man buying the fruits had gone to find a box, and a little girl wearing a big pink round bicycle helmet pops up from where he had just been.  The helmet comes far down, almost to her brown and smiley eyes. She plops a 4 pack of juice boxes on the counter next to the fruits and says to me, with a voice full of pride,

"I'm here with my dad." (I didn't realize the man was her dad)
"Well, that's good." (my unoriginal answer)
"And my mom." (with even more pride, and fairness)
"That's nice" (very boring again, I know.)
"They watched my actee-vee-teees (activities)" (Is that so!?)
Oooh, I started to laugh! (Her pronunciation cracked me up) 
"Not funny." she answered (very serious)

That was pretty much it. But it certainly made an impression!

Father's Day, One Week Early

I'm so confused!
First I thought it was last Sunday and I was wrong. Then I thought it was today, and I was wrong again!
Arghh. I gave this papa his present anyway. Couldn't wait!

On the card are two green dinosaurs. The big one is Jeremy, the little one is Isaac.

I learned I was wrong in a sort of embarrassing way:  At a cafe this morning, buying bread for my baby-daddy's French toast, I called out enthusiastically, "Happy Father's Day!" to a daddy whose little boy was sitting on the counter eating something sticky.  Both Daddy and kiddie looked at me like I was nuts and said, "Isn't it next weekend?"
Oops!

Little Guy is a Whopping 9 Months Old!

Isaac's 9 month birthday means many things:
He's been without as long as he was within! This gives me a funny feeling, but I'm trying not to focus on it.
He can feed himself (melty puffs, advises the pediatrician)
Plank poses and bottom up in the air maneuvers. Maybe even crawling!
Because of the aforementioned maneuvers, he may slim down, ("all those baby rolls, they will just melt away!" they say) but seeing is believing, I say.

The good times before all the shots

It also means the 9 month pediatrician appointment.
He has a new one: A tall, upright, South African-accented doctor. I think I like him, but I am not completely positive. He seems very smart, friendly, silly, and he was the pediatrician for The Dave Mathew's Band's kids. I know this because there was a plaque in his office, dedicated to him, from when their record sold a lot of copies. This gives me confidence in that "ooh, he treated famous people!" sort of way.  I liked how he was with Isaac, he gave him a tongue depressor to play with!
I didn't like how he shushed my worries about metals going into Isaac's small *plunchy thighs. And he wants us to give him baby vitamins in a dropper that "taste vile, but that's okay because babies don't really taste, its more about texture." (Is that true?  I thought some had taste-buds in their cheeks!) Not so good, since Jeremy and I are not vitamin takers. 
The thing is, when Isaac looks at me with his huge brown 9 month old eyes, it drives me nuts. I don't want them to be deficient in anything, that's for sure.
At 9 months, I feel I must make the right decisions, but I'm not sure what they are!

*Plunchy is a word I made up to describe my cat Goose, meaning delightfully squish-able.

Isaac takes on the Newsroom!

Isaac visited his papa's workplace for the very first time yesterday and created quite a stir!

I've got a lot to do here.

He worked very hard,

You need something?

keeping a keen eye on CNBC for breaking news,

Ok, I'm on it.

 and coming up with some very catchy headlines:

Stocks Down, Send in a Clown!

Our visit's end found our intrepid little hack somewhat tired, but still very photogenic!

Yes, that was me at the controls.

If you notice the birdcage painting in the background, it is my copycat version of Kiki Smith's birdcages from the Brooklyn Art Museum.  You can't quite see, but in mine the little birdie is wearing a reporter's homburg hat.

Here's a close-up:

Here is Kiki Smith's original:

We all like them a lot.

.

June Feet

In June's honor I present to you green grass and bare feet.

feet salad

The feet belong to Isaac (chubby center little foot) and Aunt Peg (expressive long toes).
They rest upon the green grass and delicate clover of Fort Greene park.
Hello Summertime!

A one diaper day!

I never thought this would happen.
Well, I knew it would happen someday, but today?  No way!

One loner diaper, 7:30 pm

Woohoo potty!
Yaay Isaac!
And the combination of the two?
Magic, pure magic :)

He is not a happy baby today

I want to understand why!
This is communication in a foreign country.  Both of us are using hand signals and emphatic pronunciation of vowels.
"Whaats wrooong, little guy?",
"Baaaa, Baaaa, aaaaaah"
"Whhyyyy you so maaad?",
"mmmmmnnaaaaaa"
"C'mooon, buck up, little bukcaroo!"
"Daaaa-daaaaa"
and on, and on, and on.
Right now he's continuing on in his crib, "ih, ih, eh-eh, and aa-aaaaaaa".
If I peek in, I'll see him pushed all the way to the back of the crib since that is his latest trick: the backwards scoot.
I think he's tired.  But that is pretty much always my excuse when I can't figure anything else out.  Shoot, I'm tired too, and if he naps then both of us will get to nap, and that will be a beautiful thing.

unhappy baby and middling cat

Update:  one big poop later, he's sitting on my lap as I type, eating his daddy's business card.  You'd never know he was such a crab-apple 15 minutes ago.
Isaac, you are as mercurial as the sky!  You are ever changing into interesting and sometimes exasperating formations.

Happy Baby Pose

Besides being a momma, I am also a teacher of yoga.  In the past few days, there has been a very exciting confluence of both! Isaac has begun to practice "happy baby pose" (see below) whenever there is no diaper on to cramp his style.

"I have a foot!"

His version is very different from the Happy Baby Pose that I teach to my students.  With them it is very organized.  It can look like an upside down lunge, or a squat, depending if one knee is drawn in, or both.  The hips end up with a galloping strong stretch, and the femur (thigh) bones get snuggled into their sockets. 

Zeroing in on one pink toe

Isaac's Happy Baby pose (with no detailed instructions from me, thank goodness), is not about stretching the hips. Those are already very stretchy!  Instead the pose centers around noticing the toes, and wanting to inspect them.

multi-tasking

Or in another incarnation, the pose becomes about moving his arms and legs really fast while trying to get the toes, all the while looking at me trying to capture the whole scenario on camera.  A sort of baby multi-tasking.
I wonder how my students would feel if I taught them that one!?