Just Crawling Around

If Isaac is in the playroom and I step away for a moment, I know right where to find him when I get back...

He knows he's not supposed to put his hands in Emma's empty food and water bowls.  He crawls up close to it and gets a glimmer in his eye.  Then he looks around to see if I'm watching.  If I'm watching, he'll smile and do a mad dash for the bowls before I scoop him up to wash his hands.  If I have stepped out of the room, he'll crawl close to the bowls and wait for me to say "No, Isaac" before he makes the mad dash.  It's very interesting to see these little insights into his personality!

Perfect Summer Day

We had the perfect summer day yesterday. Here's what we did:

* Wake up, eat breakfast and play
* Watch SuperWhy while Isaac takes his morning nap
* Go to the pool and swim from 10:30-1:00, taking a break for lunch. Noah easily swam the length of the pool countless times and learned how to use the ladder to get out. He also learned to jump into the pool and go completely under water.  Isaac also loved sitting on the side of the pool and "jumping" in.  He has a strong kicking reflex and he loves "swimming" on his belly.
* Home for afternoon naps
* Get pizza and garlic knots from Brooklyn South
* Bring pizza to the pool. Eat and wait for Daddy to join us
* Go swimming with Daddy until the pool closes at 8pm. Noah had fun showing Daddy all his new "tricks."  Mommy and Isaac splashed on the side of the pool.
* Home for bed

The perfect summer day! There weren't even any dishes to clean up in the kitchen!
Here's some more pool pictures.

Muffins for Daddy

Noah still loves making muffins for Daddy every week.  We make whole wheat muffins with yogurt instead of oil, and we add strawberries or blueberries (Noah's choice).  We've made the recipe so many times that Noah can tell me all the ingredients we need and I put them on the counter, and he can do all the measuring by himself.  He absolutely loves working in the kitchen.

Matt and Noah make pancakes every Saturday morning, and this last Saturday, Matt unloaded the dishwasher while Noah measured all the ingredients himself without a word of help from Matt.  Isn't that cool?  I don't think I can do that for any recipes!

Noah gets really excited when a new issue of Everyday Food comes to our house.

Yesterday we made a quick trip to the grocery store.  When we got home, I needed to feed Isaac and I sat and watched Noah put away all our groceries in the right places - refrigerator or pantry.  He even wadded up the grocery bags and put them in our baggie holder.  I never said a word and certainly wouldn't ask our 3-year-old to put away our groceries.

If I had to make a prediction, I'd guess that Noah is going to be a chef when he grows up, and for his "side job" he'll also be a worship leader at a church.  Matt says that he would support Noah becoming a chef only if he gets his MBA first and learns how to run a business.  That sounds like a plan.

Picture Perfect

Ooohh!  This is my new favorite picture!  This was taken at Jetton playground after we ate a picnic lunch.  Don't you just love it?

Isaac is Eight Months Old!

This has been the month of crawling! You are the master of your own universe now. You can go anywhere you want!

The best way to describe your crawling is "inchworming." You pull yourself along on your elbows then bring your knees up to your belly. You're fast. Surprisingly fast.

Your favorite things to get into are anything that is forbidden: Emma's water bowl, electrical cords, any toy of Noah's that has small pieces, drum sticks, houseplants, dust bunnies of Emma's hair, important pieces of paper, the list goes on...

The most often overheard phrase around the house this month was, "No! Get away baby! That's mine!" Your brother's world was rocked by your new mobility. He still likes having you around, but he liked it a little better when you stayed in one spot and he could have all his toys to himself. It's very hard for him to understand that all these toys he's had to himself are now supposed to be shared with you (well, he's supposed to share the big toys that aren't dangerous to you, not the other ones). If Noah is playing with five firetrucks, I try to convince him to let you play with two of them. The problem is that the two he shares with you are never the ones that you wanted. Well, I guess this is the beginning of figuring out how to really play together. I love watching you two interact.

What will the next month bring?

We love you, Isaac!

Two Mr. Cools

Pure Happiness

Pure happiness is...your big brother pushing you in a swing as you laugh and laugh!