Best part about being a Dad…

Jonas’ baby announcement e-card.

Created with Photogene on my iPhone, which explains why I didn’t catch that spelling error. Doh!

Jonas Isaac!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!

Is it always this way with youngins’?  Do they just pick up a new task and run with it?  In the past few months, Izzy’s capabilities for learning new things has dramatically increased.  She learned clapping in moments along with what “ouch” means.  Not only does she learn through repetition and teaching, but she now shows that she can absorb via osmosis.

If music is playing in the office, she comes by and turns the volume knob (she won’t do it if music isn’t playing.).  She does the same to my beloved Yamaha Receiver downstairs, she enjoys listening to the music in “Jazz Mode,” I know this because the next time I turn it on it is set to this mode.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, peeps.  The little friggin’ twerp is walking.  Yes.  It’s a brave new world for all that dwell under this roof.  No longer are we in the baby stages (at least until Jonas graces us with his presence) and we are now well into the Toddler era. It wasn’t something that she gradually learned, either.  Two days ago, she decided to take her first four steps from the receiver to the coffee table.  Today, nothing is safe.  She still prefers crawling just because she’s quicker and more experienced at it, but if she’s standing, she’ll walk to her destination without fear or hesitation.

Ciri says this is a good thing. Ha. Ha, I say.  When Jonas is born, Izzy will be able to move on her own without help from Mom.  That’s helpful when you have a little baby blob that needs food every few hours.  But I can see that whole deal getting really old when Izzy demands the attention she feels is deserved.  Hmm.  We’ll see if it’s still a good thing then!

Oh. Hai.

Another great behavior she’s learned in the recent weeks is climbing into things.  Boxes, buckets, drawers, and bins oh my.  Seriously, she climbs into things and sits in them or stands in them or dances in them.  That last one has me a bit worried.  I’m sitting on the couch watching her climb into the drawer and I can’t help but wonder what goes on in that cute little brain of hers.

“Let’s see, if the drawer’s volume is X and my volume is also X, than I should be able to fit in the drawer. Volume is a measurement mainly used for liquids, but for arguments sake, we’ll go with that statement.  Now, if I take into account that my bone structure is mostly comprised of cartilage, then I should… uh oh.  He’s staring at me.  I should do something cute.”

And there she goes dancing again… seriously. Should I be worried?

An Introduction

I’ve never considered myself a writer. When pressed, I can usually turn out a well written assignment. Writing for fun? Never. However, I’ve realized that our little nuclear family has been separated from the rest of our extended family for almost five years. Weekly phone calls aren’t much of a connection. Izzy is almost 15 months old, and her grandparents haven’t seen her since Thanksgiving. So, in an effort to keep everyone in the loop, I’m taking up this blogging thing. We’ll see how it goes. Even if no one reads these, I will at least have chronicled some of the small stuff that is so easily forgotten. I am going to begin with the present (why not?) and wander through memories or past things as I remember them.

Right now, Izzy is just waking up from her morning nap. After changing her diaper, she likes to stand on her changing table and play with the dimmer switch. She’ll pull the switch up or down and look at the light when she does. What makes it really cute is that she whispers, “Wow” in a serious voice as she does this. As we move into her playroom, there are toys galore scattered everywhere. She plays with some of them, but really likes the adult things. The car charger for one of our old cell phones is a particular favorite. Don’t ask me why. She’ll crawl around with that in her hand forever. The remote control for the TV and Juan’s old TiVo unit. She can turn both things on and mess with settings I can’t even access! However, when she wants to watch a movie, fix whatever she messed up, or demand something in general, out comes the Tim Allen impression. You know, the ,”Huh?” that he made famous? Well, imaging that about three octaves higher in pitch coming from a 15 month old dictator.

The “huh?” coming out of her mouth is a request (demand). It is up to us, her minions to figure out what it is and cater to her. She graciously gives us about five seconds to figure whatever she wants from us out. Than the “huh?”s become louder, higher pitched, and closer together; “Huh? HUH? HUH? HUH?!!!!” No pressure or anything. Right.

Speaking of the Baby Dictator, some pretty insistent “huh?”s are paging me to her room that she has been quietly destroying for the last five minutes. She probably wants me to open the closet door because she’s pulled everything out of the drawers and needs new order to destroy. Until the next installment. . .

Ciri

Five minutes later: Quick update: I actually found her in our bedroom. She had pulled the clean laundry to be folded out of the basket, climbed in, and was awaiting transportation in the Royal Chariot. Obviously, I should have used my mind reading powers to deduce that she was expecting me to shuttle her around.  Oy. The Royal Chariot(s) deserves its own post though. I’ll make it the subject of the next update.