Down By The Seashore

Crawling on a sculpture near the water in Norwalk.

The Young Literary Critic

This morning, after we finished reading (well, singing) a picture book version of Home on the Range, Isaiah commented, "That's a lovely tale." (I guess it could have been "tail." There were lots of pictures of animals with tails.)

Getting ready to leave the house...

Matt: Should we put your shoes on?

Isaiah: I need to find my watch.

He hands me rocks he has collected in our forays. When he's not looking, I toss them into the landscaping outside the building. Fleetingly I wonder whether this is a betrayal, this casual discarding of something precious he has entrusted to me. Of course, he doesn't appear to remember these stones and pebbles moments later when we enter the building and push the button for the elevator, nor does he ever ask what became of them. Someday, though, he'll hand me a treasure or utter a short, golden phrase when heading out and expect it to be there when he returns.

Wheels

He really is getting the hang of going downhill and definitely recognizes it is more fun than going uphill. Also stopped to pick up rocks and watch a sprinkler watering a lawn during our cruise tonight after we had "awfuls" for supper.

Reading

Audio isn't the greatest, but you don't need the dialogue to love this. Last night when we were reading this book, he kept saying, "That's funny."

Resting

You might not know it from looking at his parents these days, but Isaiah does sleep. And after the disappointed ice cream face, I thought people might enjoy a peaceful image.

Menagerie

Checking out the animals at Green Chimneys with Aunt Therese and Grandma.

Two notes

Midwife tells us Twosie is being a good girl and has her head down.

Isaiah took his sandals off in the car . When they got to the park, Marian said, "We can't go play without your sandals." Isaiah said, "I play with my toes.

No More Ice Cream?

Among the greater tragedies of Isaiah's young life: His parents limited him to one bowl of ice cream on Monday.

Marian Said It

"He must be tired. He's putting his head down and reciting poetry."

Bathed in Fun

Isaiah, impatient with his slow moving parents, just hopped into the bath with diaper and shirt on.

Steam Train in Thomaston

'Sticks' and Balls

Rhubarb stalk immediately became a stick/boat. Ball is self-explanatory.

Around the house

Marian took these pics of Isaiah mugging and trying on new shoes.

Fire Engine!

In a park near our house.

Dialogue

Marilyn: Are you wearing your mother out?

Isaiah: I'm wearing sandals.

A quick note on Twosie

Everyone is encouraged to talk to Marian's bellybutton until Twosie gets curious and turns herself upside down.

Pancakes

Yep, they were tasty.

Sweeping Cuteness

We recently attended a pancake breakfast, and half of Isaiah's food ended up on the floor. I borrowed a broom, and he immediately wanted to play with it.

Walking

From a couple of weeks ago. While circling the West Hartford reservoir with Chet, we saw a lot of rocks, picked some flowers, looked for turtles and watched a swimming snake (plus one in the bushes on the bank.

Of Streams, Rocks and Boats

Note the wet, right side. He fell in almost immediately. That's why I bought the water sandals. He recovered nicely, though, when given sticks to toss in. They turn into boats, you know.

Dig-Dug

Fun with diggers.

Raisins

Last Sunday morning, Marian set Isaiah up with a bowl of Cheerios. He wandered back into the kitchen and asked for raisins.

"We don't have any more raisins, sweety," said Marian.

"Raisins," said Isaiah.

"We can get more," I said from the couch.

Isaiah ran out and said, to me, "More raisins."

"We have to go to the store," I said. "After church."

"More raisins," said Isaiah.

"After church," I said.

"Get some raisins," Isaiah said.

"How about Cheerios," I said.

"How about raisins," Isaiah said.

Driving

Among the new activities popular with Isaiah: Driving the car. He loves to mess with the radio and heat/ac buttons and dials, as well as the steering wheel.

Happy Mother's Day!

Cockpit View

An amusing few minutes over the weekend.

Recent notes

Isaiah is too mobile, speedy and agile to be called a toddler anymore. What's the next stage? Darter? Dasher? Runner?

We sprinkled some laughing child on New Haven tonight.

The great things about rocks when you're almost two: 1. They're ubiquitous and waiting to be discovered. 2. Rocks are really fun to show to other people once picked up. 3. You can stick them in your mouth.

Park

Back to rock throwing tonight. Isaiah instinctively recognizes the need to load up on stones on the way to the stream. And he's not afraid to use dad as a reloader so he can stay perched on a rock right by the water. The brook, by the way, doesn't seem to mind, greeting each toss with a satisfying plunk.

Watched high school baseball for almost an inning. Isaiah's attention span and the pretzel lasted about the same amount of time. He was talking about the pitcher, though, during play, so maybe something settled in.

Blueberries

Which picture do you like best?

Lit ...

Morning novel title, courtesy of Isaiah: "I carry your grapes," or "I carry grapes for you."

Wednesday night

Tonight Isaiah resumed the task which we all failed to complete when we were younger: Making sure every stone and pebble within tossing distance is properly thrown into a stream. There is work yet to be done, but we accomplished something tonight.

I suspect there will be great fascination and a close watch needed for the stream at the wedding in July.

At play

Isaiah is now cruising up this playground structure in the park across the street from the house en route to the twisty slide, which he really likes. He also fell out of the adult swing the other night, but recovered quickly.

Near the playground is a small rise with rocks poking through the grass, and he likes to scramble up there. The other night as we walked down from the rocks, we stepped onto cedar stumps just down the hill.

"Stumps," I said.

"Rocks," Isaiah said.

"Stumps," I said. "Stump speech."

"Do it again," Isaiah said.

"Stump speech," said, and then proceeded to provide an example.

"Do it again," Isaiah said.

Is it wrong to be highly amused by my own attempts to embed history and linguistic roots into his brain?

April showers

And April flowers. Exploring Elizabeth Park on a cool, rainy April Saturday.

Always Pushing

Isaiah disappeared around the front of the car in the lot outsider our building. When I walked to where I could see him, he was perched between the curb and bumper. (Don't worry, the car is still moving on its own).

A fun bulldozer we saw in New Britain.

Our Young Man Of Letters

Just a little playful evening action at the Friedrichs house.

Chucks

We really want to avoid brands with our kids, but I do love these shoes (mine were on sale; Isaiah's were second-hand).

The New Building

No doorman, but we left at 8:12 a.m. this morning, took a brief detour and still arrived in the office by 8:30 a.m.

Spotted In The Bronx

Isaiah works his way through a tunnel on the playground next to Arthur Avenue. He didn't want to walk across the bridge because, I think, of the holes in the metal, so he scooted on his butt.

Easter 2010

The eggs.

The sunny afternoon in Putnam Lake.

The Easter outfits (I did not take any pictures of the hats at church, but there were some stunning examples of fashion).

Dona nobis pacem

The young 'un was spouting Latin on our way home in the early hours after the Easter Vigil mass. He learned it from one of the music CDs Marian plays for him. He also has smattering of Spanish he drops now and then to impress the folks around us.

We're not moving ...

We're creating an ever-changing obstacle course for Isaiah. Or, at least, that's what he thinks. For the concerned grandparents, he did not fall down. He climbed back down after I told him to, although some mischievous glances were thrown my way.