Out for a walk

Current fun: kicking through dry fallen leaves and trying to get the gloves on. Give the cooler evening, Isaiah was in favor of putting them on after we had been outside for a spell. He jammed his hand in, and then we both started giggling after I spent minutes trying to line up fingers with the correct space in the gloves.

Reading

While Isaiah prefers books about trucks, he's interested in a variety of topics. He'll grab them from the shelves and bring them to us to read on the bed or couch or floor. It is fun to sit with him leaning up against me. Sometimes he'll listen, and sometimes he wants to page through. Many times he wants the book repeated.

Still chasing Tuesday

Cats and kids are such fun.

Scanning through the photos below, I begin to realize that some of you might question whether we live in Pete and Magda's apartment. The short answer is only part-time.

Chasing Tuesday

Isaiah searches for Tuesday the cat (not the day of the week). Oh to be of the size where many spaces were easy to reach as long as the steps leading to them weren't too tall.

Tunnel vision

Exploring the playground at the East end of McLean Avenue. Isaiah did great until he ran under one of the play structures and whacked his head on a metal bridge. Ice cream made him feel better.

Decades party

Three generations of Tascios and Friedrichses gathered in assorted garb to celebrate birthdays. What fun.

Truck drivin' man

Step 1: Teach Isaiah to transport coffee mug.
Step 2: Teach Isaiah how to change filter and add water and grounds to coffee maker.
Step 3: Breakfast in bed.

Spooning...and other sweet things

Isaiah has recently discovered one of life's loveliest pleasures: sleeping like spoons.  His habit from birth has been to fall asleep while nursing and either continue to sleep facing me or roll over onto his back.  During the last few weeks, his pattern has changed.  After nursing himself just to the edge of sleep, he unlatches, pushes his little body up with his hands, and flips himself around so his back is pressed into my tummy (he snuggles closer if necessary).  Then, he's out within seconds.  Interestingly, he only does this at night, not when I put him down for naps.  I wonder if he knows that it's at night when I stay in bed with him, so that's the time to get cozy.

Isaiah has also decided that he will no longer tolerate his dad staying up past bedtime (i.e., Isaiah's bedtime).  If Matt is reading or doing something on the computer, Isaiah can be dead tired, and I can pull out all the stops to get him to sleep, but he is not staying in bed.  He'll go along with my efforts for a while, but sooner or later he'll pull away, scoot off the bed, and go find out what Dad is up to.  We've had to adjust our nighttime routine so that we turn all the lights out and pile into bed together when Isaiah is ready to sleep.  I have to admit, I feel bad that Matt has lost some of his only "alone" time, but going to bed as a family is pretty darn nice.  Smart kid.

Fall abstraction

KU pumpkin

Driving

This ride outside a store in Harlem was a little wilder than I expected but cheap at 25 cents. After the first ride, I thought Isaiah might be scared. Nope. Two quarters later when the rain picked up and I picked up Isaiah, there was some complaining that I had ended the fun too soon.

Some Dudes reading the paper

Matt, Isaiah and Pete check out the Sunday New York Times.

Friday night

5 minutes: walk hallways of building with Isaiah

5 minutes: chase running child on wet sidewalk 

3 minutes: kick wet leaves 

12 minutes: watch trucks from overpass, wave at bus 

5 minutes: play "catch me" in hallway 

10 minutes: read book, leafing through boring pages looking for more pictures of trucks and tractors 

15 minutes: make assorted truck noises while Isaiah drives truck and tractor across couch, my stomach, legs and chest 

5 minutes: truck and tractor noises on the floor 

2 minutes: perch tractor on back of dump truck and alternate truck noises with mooing

2 minutes: stack blocks so they can be knocked over 

7 minutes: watch tractor videos on Youtube 

5 minutes: perch stuffed toy lobster on head, make it fall off, repeat 

5 minutes: animate various stuffed animals with voices and wind hanging music box with rotating animals 

10 minutes: juggle balls and stuffed animals of assorted sizes 

3 minutes: bounce ball into crib onto prone, silly boy 

3 minutes: laugh punchily along with said prone, silly boy 

3 minutes: change diaper while distracting prone, silly boy with stuffed baby bird, diaper-changing patter 

5 minutes: Dad brushes teeth, Isaiah brushes teeth 

10 minutes: read bedtime books 

2 minutes: Boy's bottom lip starts to protrude, face turns red 

2 minutes: Balance yelling boy, turn off lights closest to bed, turn down covers  

Mom returns at just the right time  

15 minutes: nurse, try to go to sleep (Dad has no involvement) 

10 minutes: Young novelist pounds on keyboard in imitation of Mom and Dad, interrupting evening blog in progress and stopping tractor videos  

Back to bed and more nursing (again, no Dad)

Addendum

5 a.m., Isaiah wakes up, thrashes around, won't go back to sleep with nursing, cuddling, diaper change, new clothes. Finally I set him on the floor. He walks into the living room and says "TRUCKS." I dozed on the couch while he played and eventually he went back to mom and sleep.

Dancing

Isaiah dances, much to the amusement of the less talented adults.

Walking in the park

Isaiah gets a hand from Pete and Magda on a fall day.

Italian food and wine

Marian enjoys a little family, food and wine at Peter and Magda's during Liz's visit Sunday.

Happy Birthday Clare!

Marian delivers the birtday brownies as we sing for Clare.

New skills

Isaiah has started dancing. His move consists of feet wider than shoulder width apart, slightly bent knees and butt wiggling.

Hard to swallow

Isaiah likes to eat and seems willing to try about anything that won't burn his mouth. This was just a funny shot in the high chair. Lately he's been chewing or sucking on food and then spitting it out when he gets the next morsel to put in his mouth. We're thinking about asking restaurants if they'll pay to keep us away.

Locomotive at rest

Isaiah does sleep. He wears himself out. It's not always when we'd like him to, but we can't complain.

Fall in New York

It was cooler yesterday, but not too cold for a barbecue with Peter and Magda and then a walk. Isaiah fell and scraped his nose (about the fourth time in the past week), but recovered nicely. You'll note the tractor, which is his new favorite toy.

Personality

As somebody noted this weekend, you can tell from Isaiah's face that he's no longer a baby. He's a little boy.

Fantasy team or blogging?

Which activity that glues Dad to the computer do you think Isaiah is copying here?

Fall shadows

The days are getting shorter as our shadows get longer. Right now, Isaiah's words are like those of a writer whose fingers are typing on the wrong keys.

Sunday morning

Isaiah ready for church (I'm sure he'd prefer to go barefoot) with some things he wants to express. He copies everything we do. Time to start behaving.

Face time

Isaiah and I share a little Sunday morning paper time at the breakfast table.

Cart before the horse

Isaiah lent a helping hand during the La Leche League walk in Tibbets Brook Park in Yonkers.

Reading

Marian captured this picture of the young scholar rummaging through his reference materials. More and more stuff is strewn about the apartment as he explores with various items, then moves on to the next toy.

Last night I pointed out the moon and Isaiah reached for it.

Anything with wheels

Isaiah says truck. He did a full circuit of the fire engine and enjoyed the other trucks and tractors on display when we stopped to see Pete in Larchmont on Saturday. He tries to make siren noises when I give him his fire truck to play with.

Trucks!

Isaiah knows the word. He knows the real thing. He knows the toys. And he can't get enough trucks. Here he is puzzling over the packaging at FAO Schwartz that keeps the expensive toy from rolling across the floor.

Keyboards

Fun at FAO Schwartz in New York. 

Hanging With Uncle Pete

Pete has been forgiven for disappearing into the ocean for several weeks. Of course, it took Pete a few minutes of hitting himself in the face to convince our young skeptic that he really is a funny guy and not a scary pirate.

Saturday, PT, Isaiah and I wandered around New York while Marian attended a conference. We saw a marching band (some German parade), used the swings in Central Park, stomped on the FAO Schwartz keyboard, tried to grab trucks from the shelves, ate chicken and garnered plenty of attention from Isaiah lovers everywhere.

Last tastes of summer

Isaiah beckoned for Uncle Pete's corn, and so, like many of his requests, he got his chance. He attacked and enjoyed. 

Kicking The Tires

Isaiah instinctively did an inspection when I pulled the truck off the shelf. Then he took off down the aisle with his new wheels, now stored at Grandma Tascio's house.

Strolling

Rain didn't stop Isaiah, Paul and I from exploring the new High Line park in lower Manhattan on Friday. It's built on the elevated bed of a rail line that once served the warehouses near the Hudson.

Heavy Equipment

Friday I bought him a truck at the thrift store. Today we went to a new park stocked with toys. Does life get any better than this?  

I believe at the end of the video he's saying, "Time to go find Galen."

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.