Grandma one of Isaiah's favorite people

If you were to ask Isaiah who his favorite people are, he probably wouldn't say anything because he'd probably sleeping. If he were awake, he'd still pretty much ignore the syntax of your comment, although he might follow your voice, especially if you made motorcycle noises. Nonetheless, I can tell you that Grandma Anne is one of his favorite people. She took Isaiah and Marian out for a well-needed break this week and apparently showed off a little while Marian was taking care of errands.

Growing

The lactation consultant at Phelps told Marian that she deserved a gold medal an Academy Award for breast feeding. We stopped in there Thursday for our followup visit. Isaiah has gained 2 pounds since he left the hospital and grown almost 2 inches. I think he's trying to catch up with his cousin Daniel.

I can sleep through anything.

Another funny face.

Mom must be reading a very boring book.

Explain to me again why we needed a bigger mattress.

Oh, that's why we needed a bigger mattress.

Is this Isaiah after his bath tonight ...

or

Emperor Palpatine?

And the Star Wars nerdiness begins. I'm sure he'll be a benign emperor who only uses the lightning bolts he shoots from his fingers for good, like cooking marshmallows for s'mores and soldering electronics.

Faces

Big yawn and quizzical response to redeye light.

Watching and (fake?) smiling.

Books say Isaiah doesn't know he's smiling. He's just moving his face around. But it is cute when he does it except when he does the creepy one eye open, one closed, tongue out smile.

Today (pics are from a couple of days ago) he was watching us and listening. He moved his head between my voice and Marian's voice.

Ribs

Grilled some ribs Sunday in Putnam Lake. Since we don't have a smoker, I braised them in advance. This is the spicy slab with a beer-based sauce. Also made a sweet slab with Coca Cola-based sauce.

Uncle Pete Learns About Babies

Isaiah provides his best punk impression while Pete critiques his singing form.

Aunt Magda Meets Isaiah

Isaiah welcomes his Polish reality. Aunt Magda is also going to be a sponsor.

Isaiah meets Great Grandma and Grandpa Carr

Isaiah met Grandma and Granpa Carr on Sunday during a weekend sojourn in the Tascio country compound in Putnam Lake (otherwise known as upstate). He seems to get bigger every day, has more hair and is keeping his eyes open and looking around a lot.

First Bath

I gave Isaiah his first bath Thursday before we went to the doctor. He seemed to enjoy the warm washcloth and peeing over the side of his bath cradle. Marian clipped his fingernails later in the day with only a little wailing (by both mom and Isaiah).

Isaiah gained a pound in the week between doctor's visits and now is 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Doctor said he is doing well. His favorite things right now are mom, eating, mom, sleeping, eating, pooping, eating and sleeping. Sometimes he yells. He also hiccups a lot. He's looking around more, although it's hard to tell what he sees because he often looks past a face or at a light or slightly unfocused.

Sleeping

One of the final days on the pillow top mattress. Oh how we loved it. But now we have a new, firmer, bigger mattress and everyone will sleep more soundly knowing it is safer.

He's doing better at sleeping at night as long as he can be close to mom. Thus the new mattress.

The Friedrichs talent for sleeping is strong in young Isaiah. Can't wait until he doesn't want to get up to go to school.

More ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs

He was sacked out in his carseat on the way to the doctor's the other day. I can't figure out which way to orient this pic because there is no natural alignment, no matter which way I turn it.

Friedrichs Training Camp

Isaiah intercepts a pass from K-State quarterback Noah Luppen and runs it back for a touchdown.

Jayhawks guard Isaiah Friedrichs dribbles upcourt and throws and alley-oop to Spencer Weishaar.

Isaiah signals touchdown Kansas City!

Fall Bashion

Wanted to give you a look at fall bashion (baby fashion) in case you were wondering how to spot little Isaiah in crowd when you're out when the temperatures drop. The two distinctive caps above come from an exclusive line produced secretly in the dorms of Lake Forest College north of Chicago by Jen Lindsay (disclaimer: some production may also be done during her travels to visit family and the young twins) (disclaimer 2: I have no idea where Jen produced these). We expect Uncle Pete to provide some guitar licks suitable for the Rastafarian look in the foreground.

Here are some details of the birth, as I described it to PT. I'm sure Marian's version is a little different.

After Peter and Magda left for the airport the morning after we went to the hospital, the plot thickened. Secret agents who had infiltrated Phelps Memorial Hospital began walking the halls disguised as medical personnel. For a while, I wasn’t sure who was a doctor or nurse. I started drinking Marian’s water to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. And then shots rang out …

Actually nothing quite so noirish happened. Marian continued to be confined to bed. They moved us to the room next door since we wouldn’t need the hot tub (nobody asked me if I wanted to work through the labor in the tub!). Marian started to fantasize about cheeseburgers and other food she’d eat when they allowed her to have food again. In the meanwhile, she subsisted on lollipops and water. If only we could all be so lucky.

Liz and Mom and Clare came down to hang out with us. We watched a movies as they upped the labor-inducing drugs. Late in the evening Marian started having some very hard contractions but the baby’s pulse went down again and they had to do the C-section.

In the operating room when they delivered him at 12:53 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2008, the 7-pound, 10-ounce, 19-inch Isaiah gurgled once and went into a full-throated roar that I’ve been translating like this: “Where’s my mom? I liked it in there. It’s cold out here. Where’s my mom? I want my mom.”

They cleaned him up, measured him and made prints of his feet (Paul astutely noted that apparently he only has four toes on each foot). He yelled the whole time. They swaddled him, brought him over to me and kicked us out of the hospital. OK, that last statement is untrue. He seemed to maybe recognize my voice but kept on yelling until I held him where Marian could touch his face. Then he was quiet because he knew his mom was there.

I got to hold him in the room for a few minutes and then they brought Marian back. The midwife and Mom helped Marian and Isaiah nurse for the first time. He crawled around on her chest until he figured it out.

Then he went to the nursery to be tortured, I mean measured, by the nurses. Marian was pretty worn out and did not like the trip back to the room. Maybe it was because she did not feel like using her numchuk skills on the secret agents after having abdominal surgery.

About 5 a.m. they brought Isaiah back to our room from the nursery. I put him on Marian’s chest and watched them for about an hour until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I thought I might have to take him back to the nursery but I saw Marian’s eyes starting to open so I dozed and looked up every time I heard movement. When I saw Marian was awake, I went to sleep.

In the next episode: Will our baby super hero escape the agents of evil? Will His super mom ever eat solid food again or be forced to eat Jello until the end of time? Can Matt change a diaper without a biohazard suit?

Auntie Pics

Aunt Liz helps Isaiah refine his palate, although he currently favors warmed hints of pasture with a slightly sweet and cheesey bouquet.

Isaiah wears his frilly coat from Aunt Liz on his way to church Sunday. There are no measurable signs of trauma, yet. I'm sure that will change when a "date" in high school "accidentally" sees the picture.

Isaiah's 1 week old

I can't believe it's only been a week since Isaiah was born. We celebrated with cheeseburgers tonight. That was one of the foods Marian said she couldn't wait to eat again when she was confined to bed and not allowed to eat while laboring last Friday.

Time is flying by, and Isaiah's showing more personality every day. In addition to all the great noises he makes, he's looking at things and waving his arms about. Sometimes when he has his mittens on, he holds both hands up by his face like he's signalling a touchdown. Marian could use more sleep because he's been taking long afternoon naps in preparation for his 2 a.m. revels.

Just in case there's not enough stimulation in the house, we received more new books today. I need to get out the saw and build the extra braces into the shelves before they collapse.

You're not in Marshall County

Mom, Dad and I gave Marian a break this afternoon and drove down to Brooklyn to look at the Waterfalls, the summer art installation on the waterfront visible from Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. You can see one pouring onto Dad's head and another in the distance across the water. It was noted that this project might not work in Marysville. We walked along the East River and explored the park between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. There was plenty of sculptures for Dad to check out as he looked for the perfect artist to use at Lincoln Center. It was a beautiful day, partly cloudy and breezy.

Farmers' market food samples. (Liz and I went to the Bronxville farmers' market this morning and foraged.)

Brooklyn waterfront boat pullout.

Sailboat tour of the Waterfalls.

Northernmost waterfall and tugboat.

Grandma Friedrichs

Isaiah didn't show any interest in reading the new books Grandma Friedrichs brought him today, and he yelled when she changed his diaper. That's normal for a diaper change, though, and he really enjoyed being held. Other than nursing and cuddling with mom, that's his favorite thing right now. Funny how all four grandparents seem to grasp this intuitively and naturally adapt to his desires.

Grandpa Friedrichs

Isaiah seemed nonplussed by the many child development notes and theories that arrived with Grandpa Friedrichs today, but he didn't mind being held. On a side note, Grandpa has already been to two Italian delis to sample new sausage and other products and had the chance to observe fascinating New York traffic patterns.

Swinging and Slinging

Time for a little product placement in case the big companies want to get in on this lucrative advertising opportunity. Isaiah took his first ride in the swing today. The first attempt was greeted with disdain by an upset little guy, but later in the afternoon when he was calmer he rode quietly. I suspect he was dreaming of roller coasters and other things that will make his mom cringe in years to come. Thanks DiDonas.

Look ma, no hands. Marian can talk on the phone and hold the baby in the sling from Great Grandma Carr. Another baby device/aid that was greeted with trepidation the first time Isaiah saw it but with acquiescence and a scrunched sleepy face this evening.

Looking

There's a lot to see out in the world. We came home Tuesday afternoon (this pic was taken at the hospital a day or two earlier). He's had his eyes open and has been looking around a lot today. He especially likes to look at mom.

I hope he's ready for the invasion by Grandma and Grandpa Friedrichs tomorrow afternoon. I warned him that plenty of child development theories will be shared, but he seemed more interested in the motorcycle noises I was making. Marian promised to injure me if this results in him requesting a motorcycle later on.