So Isaac recently learned that he can get out of things he does not want to do by asking his mommy to hold him.  He might be on the changing table, taking an involuntary break in his play, when he will call out with all the yearning a two year old can muster: "Hold me."  For a while it worked like a charm.  We were afraid something spooked him or something like that and we'd rush in grab him and hold him tight. 

Then we realized we were being duped.  So the "Hold Me!" trick was not so effective anymore.  Isaac is a smart kid, though, one never to let a little think like his parents slow but persistent uptake to stand in his way, so he upped the ante.

On the street we are super careful.  We teach him very strictly about cars because they are like the little guy apocalypse.  So when a car comes all of our alarms go off and he rushes to the side of the street and practically jumps into our arms.  We yell out "CAR COMING!"

Isaac knows this routine well and he combined the two things in a new trick.  Last night he did not want to go upstairs but Bianca and I were heading that way.  Feeling left behind at the bottom of the stair case he yells out "CAR COMING! HOLD ME!" 

We both about die laughing and pick up the little guy.  Five minutes later we go upstairs.  Now you might think that he was trying to trick us into thinking a car was coming, but something tells me that clever little devil knew that the first layer trick, Car Coming, was not enough, but the humor, that would work as a stall tactic because, well, it did.

two year old could use it.

Well, we have known for a while that Isaac is pretty good with technology.  He loves pushing buttons.  He is a really good product tester for my flashlights.  And if it has both buttons and lights he is all over it.  On the Maine vacation he started up the iPad all by himself, while we all watched in amazement.  But here is some proof that he not only can start it up, but use it all by himself:

 
We are riding home on the train and Isaac is playing with his animals app (tech and animals, all we need now is some beep beeps and Isaac would be in heaven; though we are on a choo choo). Obviously, this photo means that we are all three using an iDevice at the same time--Mom is checking her email, Dad is snapping this picture, and Isaac is making his animals roar, yelp, and howl.

Sorry, Auntie Monica and Uncle Rob. 

I am not going to film this or take a picture because it is a time when Isaac is in distress, but I think it is worth commenting on, if for no other reason than commiseration. 

Isaac is normally a happy and curious kid.  He is pleased by simple things--his Mommy's cooking, in particular Chickie, Chickie, Chickie, throwing rocks, and being around unusual beep beeps.  He is more than willing to give out hugs and kisses, even sometimes without solicitation.  He is also quite smart, recently figuring out that Isaac, the pronoun "I" and the pronoun "me" all refer to the same thing (that was an amazing two or three day transition to watch). 

But when he is angry or upset, he can be difficult to control.  He enters a mode Bianca and I have dubbed "World Trade Organization" protestor.  Here is how it usually happens.

1.  Isaac is doing something he really wants to do OR Isaac is trying to do something he really wants to do and can't;

2.  He displays all of the signs of either joy or frustration;

3.  We try to either end what he wants to do (for reasons like: time to go to bed or dinner's ready) or we try to help;

4.  He starts going into "No Mode" where he says no repeatedly, "No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!";

5.  He then wrinkles up his face and starts to howl like a banshee; and

6.  At this point one of us intercedes.  This is when the fit hits the shan.

He does an uncanny impersonation of a WTO protestor.  Remember when they were in Seattle?  Remember pictures of people just flopping around going limp, screaming and yelling as the police tried to gain control of the situation (this was before they started looting and police started using pepper spray).  They were impossible to hang on to and impossible to control. 

Isaac does this to a T.  We can't get him to budge and flops around like a fish out of water.  Then he does this move, where his little arms shoot straight up in the air and it seems as if his has no shoulders at all, becoming a squirmy, slick little eel.  We are trying to calm him down, but he is already gone.  Then, as of recently, he starts kicking his legs.  He is now long enough that those kicks are significantly more potent to me than Bianca and more potent than they were, say, six months ago.  The No Mode is re-engaged and at this point we are usually walking away from a beep beep (most likely a HUGE beep beep). 

But then the tender moments start, the thing that reaffirms how much I love him and how amazing he is.  Bianca has her little soothing moments, she sings him a song and hold him tight and wipes away a few tears.  He starts to calm down almost immediately.  I do some of that too, but I also love to talk to him.  I usually lean in close to one of his ears, and whisper, ever so quietly something like "Hey Buddy, its gonna be okay.  Mom and Dad love you.  We can come back tomorrow night and see the beep beep again.  Can you calm down so we can see the beep beep again?"  At this point he will almost immediately stop thrashing and crying and just look at me with pools of tears hanging on his lower eye lids and shake his head, slightly, ever so slightly, indicating a brave little "yes".  A stiff upper lip comes out and all of sudden the WTO protestor is gone, replaced by an amazingly rational 2 year old. 

This whole process usually takes about five minutes from start to finish.  Finish includes a few "sniff, sniff, sighs" and a hug from Isaac.  Being a parent is tough, but it is worth it.  Kids learn from you.  You behave in a certain way, and most of the time, they will do the same.  Its a simple push-pull kind of thing and an amazing bonding experience.