Perspective

 

We stayed in Hartford on Sunday night and Isaiah had a great time, first gettting a horsey ride from Chet Brodnicki (he made Chet repeat the fun three times) and then chasing tops as we spun them on the floor.

On Monday, we went to the ESPN picnic, where I tried to take him on every ride. Who was more interested in the rides? Play where's Isaih in the pic below if you don't know that answer.

 

From the game, I'm wearing the hat/you're wearing the hat. If you haven't played, you should.

I scream, you scream ...

We all scream for ice cream, especially Isaiah, celebrating his birthday for the third time on Sunday with the New York grandparents. Let me be first to say that multiple birthdays is a bad precedent. Please don't tell him about this when he's old enough to make demands.

He also found the spinning freezer intriguing. I had to pull his hands out when I realized he was touching the spinning cannister, not the ice.

Houston, we have a toddler.

Who's ready for cake?

Isaiah sure likes it, and I think we're going to have some more on Sunday with the New York party (how many 1-year-olds get a multistate birthday celebration, anyway?).

Ah, a Boy and His Shopping Cart...

Sometimes the world is frustrating

Isaiah doesn't want to sit still. So he pushes whatever he can get his hands on around the apartment (cool video coming soon). In this instance yesterday morning, the mobile cooler escaped.

On a separate note, the most difficult part of my life right now is getting shoes on a 1-year-old's feet. They don't want to go in, and he doesn't want to sit still.

Everybody but Mort

And there was even air conditioning.

Boys and their toys

Isaiah was on of four boys 2 and younger who flocked to the pedal tractor at the wedding reception. They would have ridden all night if there were adults with enough energy to push them.

Isaiah also really liked riding on Grandpa's tractor.

After the Wedding

Three New Yorkers hang out with two Kansans on their native turf. Note that Isaiah is ready to walk/run/play. Anything not involving sitting still and being held while people in front of him talk in a formal manner.

One Year Old

Isaiah James Friedrichs, born one year ago in the early hours of Aug. 9. And now he has the cake smears to prove he's 1. Good job by Marian on the nine months leading up to the birth and in the raising of Isaiah since. 

Guess who has a swing ...

Grandpa Friedrichs hung this swing, and Isaiah has spent about 40 percent of his waking hours in Kansas dangling and swinging (OK, maybe an hour a day). He's enjoying the outdoors and going barefoot and other fun farm activities.

Reunited

Isaiah, hair styled by hanging upside down, enjoys time with Aunt Liz in Kansas City (Missouri) on Monday morning at a nice breakfast place on 39th Street. After brief skepticism, he quickly recognized Paul and Liz, and has been enjoying lots of games and improvised songs during his Midwestern tour.

Birthday Suits

Isaiah and Caleb enjoyed the water on a hot, humid Wednesday afternoon. It being a family affair, the boys just got stripped down (Daniel, too) and really enjoyed themselves.  

Flight Plans

Yet another example of trouble parents with digital cameras can get into. Isaiah was leaning on the outside of the box trying to reach the sign, so I set him in. Then I realized the awesome photographic opportunity. He fit, so we didn't have to check him.  And he got to ride on our laps, not in the overhead bin.

Facing the future

I was all excited about Isaiah's first trip in the new, forward-facing carseat tonight, and then I pinched his leg in the buckle while strapping him. He recovered quickly, though. 

Energy

Last night, sometime after 9, Marian asked, "Is there an off switch?"

She went to bed. Young Isaiah and I continued to play. At 10:45, I noted the time and an untired youngster. 

I guess we need to climb more stairs in the evening.

Baseball

So far Isaiah's best pitch is the spitball.

Sleepy time

After being nursed into submission at 60 mph, Isaiah finally fell asleep last night on the way home from Danbury. He was worn out enough that he barely cracked his eyes on the way in and went right back to sleep once he had his diaper changed.

Summer in the city

Isaiah looks like he had fun a week ago with Marian and Grandma Tascio.

Keep on moving

Wheels or no wheels, Isaiah keeps Grandpa Tascio moving.

Remember a summer night, air flying past your face as you swooped back and forth, leaning back to look at the sky, hoping to go higher? Having a kid transports me back to so many memories of childhood.

Don't we all?

Marian and Isaiah stop by an interesting decal in New York.

Cycling through

Grandpa Tascio helped Isaiah play with another of the great contraptions at the DiDonas. He can't reach the pedals, but Isaiah's definitely interested in this trike.

He saw a couple of moms pushing kids in plastic cars when he and I went for a walk Monday night, and he wanted to kick the little girls out and take over the wheel. He's definitely remembering things he liked.

Give me the keys

Isaiah did a little driving in New Jersey on Saturday at the DiDonas. Robby and Becky have three girls, which meant new-to-Isaiah toys for the little guy to chew on. After I pushed the girls around him a few times (more, faster, etc.), he was ready for a ride. Since he didn't understand when I told him to pick up his feet, we mostly went in reverse.

This morning in church, he demonstrated a new trick. There was plenty of applause leading into the service because Archbishop Dolan visited with all the requisite welcomes and formalities. When the congregation clapped for something said or during one of the songs, Isaiah put his hands together, too.

The Friedrichs Cousins

Daniel and Isaiah get a little lap time with Grandma and Grandpa Friedrichs in Massachusetts.

Pool party

The water wasn't too cool to splash around the pool at Grandpa Tascio's on Sunday.

Click to enlarge and look at Isaiah staring at this new, fun activity.

Fun with Liz

I'm pretty sure Isaiah asked, "when can I visit Aunt Liz" last night. I might have been mistaken because I don't understand gurgled throat noises too well, but that's my translation.

Swinging with Grandma

Among the current things Isaiah finds very interesting: Swinging, watching the carousel (a little more exciting than riding), anything he can get in his mouth, bushes, trees, drainage grates he can stand on, elevator buttons, screws that hold metal plates in place, most people he meets, bicycles, brooms, fruit, whatever his parents are eating, books he can chew on, throwing things. 

With the Tascios

Magda, Clare, Liz and Marian in Fleetwood, June, 2009.

With the Friedrichses

Marian, Lisa and Martha hang out in the kitchen in Massachusetts.

The Cousins

Daniel seems to have lost interest in his ice cream cone, but Isaiah is intrigued by the possibilities. Paul also seems to be eyeing the leftover snack.

More fun at the beach

Isaiah plays with his water bottle.

Reading in the kitchen

Cousin Sarah reads "Playful Puppy Peek-a-boo" while Isaiah checks out the tactile aspects of the book from Aunt Val's lap. 

Oceanography

Isaiah surveys the beach for the first time, not realizing the sand is hot, the water is cold and the granules are not sugar. This time he only dipped his toes (and Marian avoided all sea monsters), but in no time, he'll want to be in the water.

Gloucester (Gloster ...)

Matt, Isaiah, Matthew, Daniel and Karl climb the rock picnic table overlooking the harbor. 

Balancing Act

Aunt Lisa holds cousins Daniel and Isaiah at the Menke family reunion (2009) in Mass.

Father's Day

Matt, Isaiah, Grandpa Tascio and Rex Stout celebrated Father's Day (along with Marian and Clare) at the diner in Brewster. I got a new hat. Isaiah got to ride in the car for 4+ hours and Grandpa got to take the hardcover Stout home. Everyone (except Isaiah after he woke up in Mass.) felt they got a great gift.

Can I eat the camera?

It's hard to get a candid pic of Isaia these days because the red-eye function warns him a picture is going to be taken and he starts moving toward the yummy looking camera.

A Day at the Zoo

Among Isaiah's favorite sights at the Bronx Zoo, which he visited for the first time yesterday with Mama and Aunt Magda, were the fish swimming around two crocodiles, the monkeys who decided to be in a playful mood, and his own reflection in a mirror.  The sea lions were all right.  Earning Isaiah's indifference were the bison (their chain-link fence was too fascinating to look up from), the crocs themselves (asleep), the tigers (ditto), and the monkeys who just felt like sitting on their branches being cute.  Isaiah did appreciate the deer's hospitality as we sat outside their fence for a nursing session and short nap.

The carnage

Isaiah's toys tend to be strewn about the living room. In this pic, the toy box has also been upended.

Garage sale!

Liz and I were driving to the farmers' market on Saturday when we spotted a sale, noted the location and said we'd stop on the way home. Good thing we did. Sandals, shirts, shoes and more for only $1 each. And Liz picked up some great kitchen utensils (which I'm hiding in my truck until she forgets and moves to another city).

Isaiah Fights the Power

On Tuesday, Isaiah and Mama went to the Stand for Marriage rally outside the State Capitol building in Albany.  Isaiah was his usual flirtatious self with the nuns on our bus, and when we got to the rally, we were happy and surprised to see Great-grandpa Carr, who had traveled with the same group but on the other bus!  When the rally ended and our group went into the Capitol to remind our senators in person that all families need a mommy and a daddy, Isaiah launched his own protest against the crowded lobby and the slow security line.  So he and Mama ended up having a picnic on the lawn and taking a walk around Albany instead.  Isaiah slept the whole way home, worn out from his first day in politics.

On top of spaghetti

No meatballs, yet, but Isaiah liked the spaghetti Marian cooked and I chopped up for him last week.

Nuns have the coolest toys

We went to a baptism and confirmation party at a convent in New York on Sunday, and Isaiah had a ball with the toys provided by the nuns (despite the plethora of babies, he got plenty of attention, too).

Of bumps and heads

Tonight, I arrived home to a baby with a purple lump above his eye. I had to run through the reasons why I thought he didn't have a concussion for his not-too-worried but slightly-guilty-feeling mother. Then I repeated my thought about bumps: Just wait until the inevitable blood. 

A little crawling footage

We've advanced quite a bit since this was shot a couple of weeks ago.

Nap time

The raucous baby shower at the neighboring tables and badminton playing kids couldn't keep Isaiah from power napping at the park. Peter and Magda relax alongside him.

Saturday in the park with Isaiah

He liked the sun and the shade. He liked walking with his aunts and uncles and Grandma Tascio. He liked the leaves and sticks and fiery grill. It was a fun time all-around.

Notes

Funniest word ever, according to Isaiah: Gesundheit. He sneezed and the word drew a giggle, which turned into a paroxysm of laughter when repeated multiple times in quick succession.

He likes dropping/trying to throw things now. Everything he gets his hands on at the table ends up on the floor (except for the tiny bit of food that makes it into the mouth).

He's exploring space, dropping the toy he's holding through the bars of the folding chair and then reaching around the legs or past the bars to try to pick it up again.

He's said Momma a couple of times.

Muffin man

Early experiments with solid food. Pumpkin muffin.

Who needs TV?

Between dryers and ceiling fans, we should be able to entertain Isaiah until he's at least 3.

Bubble Trouble

By which we mean the bubbles really aren't trouble, but newfound crawling (and in a few weeks walking, according to the pediatrician) mean that everything that used to be out of reach is now findable and imminently more interesting than the simple toys provided by the parents.