Bianca's birthday was this past weekend and on Sunday we went shopping so she could spend some b-day cash and get the right size jacket (Dad's fault, Isaac warned me about it).  We went to an LL Bean store and Isaac and Dad played around while Mom shopped.  We walked around and looked at the fish in the fish tank.  We played with all of the outdoor gadgets.  We checked out the flashlights and pocket knives (of course).  Then Isaac found a changing room.  He motioned for me to get in and then he shut the door.  He giggled on the outside of the changing room and even held the door shut.  Then he let me out.  He motioned for us to switch places and I let him in careful not to let the door shut.  He giggled a bit and then reached up and shut the door.

It locked from the inside, automatically.

Oh crap.

I looked around for an employee and saw a person.  I waved her down and she came over.  Unfortunately she did not have the key.  A few minutes and one incredibly loud page later, the manager had the door open.  Isaac walked out and looked at everyone staring at him like "What's wrong peeps?"

Whew!  That kid is a handful.  And fortunately the store was big enough that mom didn't hear the page.  I told her afterwords but still I had a mini heart attack.

Its hard for Nanna's to live so far away from their little guys, even with the wonders of Skype.  And even though he is not yet two years old, Isaac, intuitively knows this.  So, when his Nanna got a little choked up he decided, without prompting, to cheer her up on his own.

When Nanna and G-Daddy were here last, they did a lot of playing with the I-man and one of the games Nanna and Isaac played was a chase game where Nanna would start chasing him when he showed her his belly by lifting up his shirt.  He would squeal, flash that plump little bell-bell, and they take off.  Nanna would pursue and they would end up in a pile, laughing, tickling, and hooting.  After a few seconds of calm, the process would start over.

This morning, during the Sunday Skype session, Nanna got a little choked up, and so Isaac flashed her a little bell-bell.  It worked wonders.  He even had a mischievous grin on his face, once he saw that his little move had its intended effect.

Here is another thing to cheer up those faraway Nannas:

I think I have referenced this before here, but in case I haven't, Stephen Jay Gould, a famous Harvard biologist, long believed that evolution was not as gradual a process as we think it is, but is a stutter step kind of thing where huge leaps happen rapidly.  His theory is called punctuated equilibrium. 

I now believe that kids develop that way too.  Isaac's grandparents were here this past weekend and he was especially chatty, saying "Yes" and "No" on a regular basis.  But yesterday, and only since yesterday, he is now answering ALL questions with a distinct "Yes" and "No."  There is no more head shake without a sound.  He is giving verbal answers to every question (that is, if he can be bothered to answer).

He is a little amazing learning machine and it is a joy to watch him do his thing.