During his last nap, we typically either bring him into our room and cuddle with him on the bed or lay on the couch. Sometimes he doesn't really sleep but is just chillaxing. During these quiet times he has started to track things intently. Being a flashaholic, I took this opportunity to introduce him to the wonders of a flashlight. I would move the light very slowly across the ceiling and he would track it with his eyes. I could move it pretty quick and he'd still hang in there. Eventually I put a light in his hand. He didn't exactly get it, but he was having fun (as evidenced by his wildly pumping legs). It was too dark to catch it on video, so I waited until this morning (it was still pretty dark) and shot this video:



While the effect is not the same as at night, he still liked it. Hopefully he will share my love for all things flashlight and get me a Spy 007 for my 50th birthday. It will probably have to be my 50th birthday because the light costs $1,000.

In an effort to parrot the language of advertisers (SIZZLING SUMMER SAVINGS! SUPER SPRING SALE!) which seems to require alliteration (as opposed to assonance) we arrived at the title for this post.

It is has been downright chilly in Fitchburg, hovering around the mid to low 60s in the day and down to the 50s at night. Our pool is closer to a hockey rink than a swimming hole. It doesn't really matter all that much to me as I still am on medicine for an ear infection.

But the change in the weather has prompted us to bust out some different, non-onesy clothes (did you know that Onesy and onesies are a registered trademark of Gerber?; I am using the term in the purely genericized way because "infant bodysuit," as the Gerber lawyers would like, sounds ridiculous.)

Here is a full on big boy outfit, pants, socks, everything a 5 or 10 year old would wear (other than the diaper):



He seems pretty content in his baby bucket. We had to do some fall shopping yesterday and he wore this to the mall. He was an excellent kid getting fussy only once and for understandable reasons (remember: my kid is not irrational). At the mall, the air inside was a bit warmer than the air outside, so eventually Isaac got cranky and overheated, much as his Dad would in the same situation. Probably once a trip, Bianca will have to remind me to take my jacket off as I sit sweltering in the heated mall in November.

The mall was beebopping with people doing back to school shopping. Dad got a sports jacket (on sale) for work and Mom got some jeans and a rugby shirt. Dad also got a non-iron shirt, which brings up two points. First, why have they not always had these kinds of shirts? Second, now that the non-iron thing is everywhere and the shirts are the same price as the non-non-iron (aka iron required shirts) why would you purchase a shirt other than a non-iron one? Are their people out there who are fans of wasting time ironing their shirts? Sorry for the aside.

When we got home it was still chilly but Isaac has a way of wearing out clothes (i.e. spit up and poop). So he got a new outfit. Here it is:



Oh feety pajamas (I wonder if those too are trademarked) how we love you. Everyone seems to have a good, nostalgic memory of feety pajamas. The reality is a little less pleasant. Their feet get all tangled in the bottoms and changing a diaper is a Houdini worthy act, especially when he is squiggly pigging around. But they are friggin cute.

Finally, here is a picture of Isaac and Mom cuddling. It is an all time great:



That boy sure does love his Mama.

I will spare you the details, but suffice to say we had the true poopocalypse today, making us redefine what that word means. Five diapers were ruined, two changing pads were finished, and over a dozen wipes were required. He pooped, peed (while exposed to the air), and spit up three times. It was the diaper equivalent of a four alarm fire. Click that link, wikipedia is just awesome.

In all of the preaching and advice giving and reading associated with being a new parent there are lot of things they forget to mention, truly great things. Often these are little moments. Here are few things I really love:

1. I love unwrapping Isaac from his swaddle in the morning and taking a huge whiff of his smell. He doesn't poop during the night, so it is pure Isaac essence, like real perfume v. diluted perfume (for those craving the right terms: eau de parfum v. eau de toilette).

2. I am enthralled by just holding my ear near his nose and listening to him breathing. There is something so vital, so life affirming about hearing his short little intakes that reminds in a definitive way that this is new life.

3. Bianca and I could probably draw his body, all of the creases and pieces, from memory, but finding his two birth marks was super cool. Both are on his thigh.

4. Baby hair. It is like the head of a dandelion, so fine it is almost a mist. I love blowing on it and watching it sway.

5. Isaac is a curious kid, so watching him watch the world yields constant reward. His little mouth makes expressions of awe and wonder at things that we just pass by. I really loved watching him look at the bubbles in Concord. But it could be anything, the ceiling fan, a flashlight, anything. Here is a sample:



6. Chubby feet are too cool. It is not like the chubby feet are just chubby on the bottom, there is even TOP OF THE FOOT chub. How cool is that?

7. The few seconds after a bath he is just so mellow and so cuddly. It is great. Here he is (though he is still curious):



All of this close inspection though, leaves Isaac a little tired. So tired of the attention, in fact, that he covers his face like a celebrity being chased by photographers. See here: