Maria

Here are some wonderful shots of Isa with Maria.  We’re so grateful for how well she cares for Isa while we’re at work.

Personality

Serious

Strong-minded

Thoughtful

Carefully Observant

These are some of the words I would use to describe Isa’s budding personality. He’s a pretty intense little dude. He knows what he wants and he’s very vocal about letting you know when he’s not happy. He can sure scream. He had a visit to the cardiologist last week to check on his murmur (which is absolutely fine) and he screamed through the entire exam as if they were sticking him with pins and all the poor Dr. was trying to do was get an ultrasound of Isa’s heart while he laid on the table. But Isa was not having it. He has a very strong temper.

Here’s a list of Isa’s Like/Dislikes at Age One

Likes:

• Falafel & Humus
• Artichoke
• Pizza
• Elmo & Sesame Street
• Walking out the front door
• Going up and down stairs
• Playing with all the tuperware
• Looking for dogs out the window
• Cheese
• Other Babies
• Playing in the bathroom, especially around the bathtub—bathing in it and throwing toys into it
• Music, bongos
• Nursing
• Anything that’s mechanical with moving parts to investigate
• Grabbing Mommy & Dad’s glasses
• Drinking out of a glass
• Taking all the books off the bookshelf
• Taking the Cable Access card out of the cable box (rendering the TV unwatchable)
• Putting our shoes in the recycling bin
• Seltzer
• Reading

Dislikes:

• Getting changed
• Going to bed
• Waking up
• Getting in and out of the car seat
• When the bathroom door is shut
• Being prevented from anything he is determined to do
• Taking medicine
• Other Babies
• When Mom or Dad leaves for work
• Most green vegetables, except Artichoke
• Taking the Cable Access card away from him once he’s removed it from the cable box

 

 

Remarkable

Last night Isa took all of the shoes that we keep lined up by the door and one by one he plopped them into the recycling bin, even Eduardo’s Tiberland boots!  It was hysterical to watch the expression of single-minded determination on his face as he figured out how to maneuver standing up with his hands full. I’ve noticed that Isa has been playing differently with many of his toys lately too.  The main activity of banging things is still a favorite, but he’s also taking time for more careful manipulation of smaller details.  For example, while we were playing this morning, Isa was able to put the circle through the shape sorter for the first time and he was so proud of himself when it went through.   And boy oh boy does Isa LOVE music.  Well, really any sound for that matter.  Isa dances all the time now—to the alarm clock (Picture our little chunky man sitting up in bed swinging his arms back and forth across his chubby torso to Abba’s Dancing Queen), to all the music on Sesame Street, to the sounds he hears outside.  He even dances to the news on the radio!  But if there’s one thing that grabs his attention more than anything else, it’s swing and big band music.  He really responds to the sound of a full band or orchestra playing a catchy rhythm.  It must be genetic since his Pop Pop has been a professional trombonist and conductor of big bands for close to 70 years, performing and recording with some of the greatest talents of the era.   

A Big B’day Thank You from IsaBaby

Obama gets influential IsaBaby endorsement–part of the Elmo Lobby

This past weekend I set up our camera on a tripod to film a typical weekend morning breakfast with the family and caught on video Isa’s clear endorsement of Barack Obama. 

The Yucks

Isa’s had the yucks for a month now. He got sick on New Year’s Eve and never really got better. The Dr. saw him 3 weeks ago and said it was just a little cold, nothing to do but wait it out. But it’s been weeks of a runny nose, coughs, near to no appetite and vomiting sometimes twice a day, which consequently means little sleep for Mama and Dada. I took him to the Dr. again yesterday and it turns out Isa has a double ear infection which was causing excessive mucus production, especially at night, with a post-nasal drip filling his belly, killing his appetite and causing him to gag and vomit every time he coughed. He actually lost a pound of weight. So he’s on antibiotics and now we wait for the improvement. But I can hear him in the other room coughing his head off as Eduardo tries to put him down to sleep, poor thing. I dare not nurse him in bed either, because that pretty much ensures he’ll throw it all up in a few minutes. Hopefully he’ll be feeling better soon.

Snuggle Fortress

There’s a new game we like to play called Snuggle Fortress. This is usually a late night activity when Isa is clearly tired and it’s past his bed time, but he’s still not unwinding. I gather all the pillows, blankets and stuffed animals and pile them into the middle of the room and Isa does the rest. He loves to throw himself into the pile and nuzzle his face on anything soft. It’s very high on the ultra-cute scale too!

Granny Dani Visit

Isa and Granny Dani chillin’ on a Sunday afternoon.

Isa and Dad catching up on their reading.

Early Childhood Education

This short video probes some of the difficulties parents face when making choices about their child’s early education.

Isa’s Birthday Brunch

Wake up you sleepy head. Put on some clothes, shake up your bed. . .

Isa had a BIG day today! It started with a some quality snuggle time in bed, followed by a quick breakfast then off to our first swim class. He loved it. He’s the youngest one in the group, but he took to the water like a fish. We practiced putting our head under water, paddling forward and floating on our back. After 1/2 an hour, we were both exhausted. Isa was asleep again as soon as his head touched the car seat. But that was just a disco nap for the big afternoon we had ahead of us.

We met up with friends and family for a Birthday brunch in Brooklyn. It was so much fun. Isa got some lovely gifts from everyone, including an incredible pair of bongos from Granny Dani. You can see for yourself just how excited Isa was to play them.

We got to see folks we hadn’t seen in a long while. Cousin Jesse and Melinda brought little Cole. Here’s a picture of him with his grandma, Barrie.

Uncle Bernardo & Yamini got to catch up with Isa too.

Here’s Melissa with her daughter Kiera who turns one on Feb 2nd.

Unfortunately, with my hands occupied with Isa I didn’t get photos of everyone there, but here’s some of the gang that came out to celebrate today: Melissa, Pete, Adam & Dan.