"What you talkin' 'bout?"
"That's what I am talkin' 'bout."
"Is that what I am talkin' 'bout?"

He is two and half and he has a catchphrase.  It is pretty clear what it is, but just in case you missed it here is video proof:


Let's be honest, sometimes things come out of nowhere.  I have no idea where he picked this up from, but whatever the source it is hilarious.

At dinner a couple of nights ago he asked for some "crispy" asparagus (grilled asparagus).  We gave him one but it was too mushy.  We gave him another and again it was too mushy.  Then he got a third and it was perfectly crispy, so much so that he told us: "That's what I am talkin' 'bout."

The catchphrase appeared again this morning.  We were looking for a cereal and he wanted his chocolatey cereal.  He grabbed a box and looked at the picture trying to figure out from the image alone if it was the right box.  He proclaimed, mostly to himself, "Is that what I am talkin' 'bout?"  It was.

So the next time someone says something at work you just don't understand ask them:

WHAT YOU TALKIN' 'BOUT?!?!?

Its been a long, long, LONG winter.  Massive snowstorms in late March and early April made it feel like the Narnian Ice Queen had arrived in Boston.  But spring has finally sprung and with it a return to our favorite local hike--Flat Rock Sanctuary.  It is a really beautiful place with good trails of moderate difficulty and a big reservoir (or five) for excellent rock chucking.

Isaac has stomped through the hills of Flat Rock for three years now, but this is the first hike that he was able to hang with us.  There are really four parts--a march up the hill, a long walk down a dry river bed (though it was not so dry today) called Flat Rock Road, and then the reverse.  At the end of Flat Rock Road there is a large reservoir.  Isaac made it all the way up the hill before he requested a shoulder ride.  We made our way down the long slippery river bed with no issues, and then we found the reservoir.  It is still cold out, but we are spring delusional, meaning we think it is 70 when it is actually 50.  Even I-man joined in, occasionally telling us "The Sun is coming out."

At the reservoir Dad brought some plastic baggies from the grocery for rock hunting.  Isaac and Mom then depleted the bags and chucked the rocks in the reservoir.  We saw our first bit of wildlife, probably a bowfin, as it was up on the shore (bowfin can both breathe air and take oxygen out of water).  Isaac threw a big plopper and it flipped into the water.  It was pretty long, probably about 10 inches.  After a few 'stachios and orange slices, we started to make our way back, but not before I snapped a picture of I-man and his best girl:

 

On the way back, Isaac sat on Dad's shoulders and we tapped every single yellow dot trailmarker on the 3 mile trail.  One fun pitstop along the way was a pee break where both Dad and Isaac peed outside, while Mom looked on green with envy and yellow with something else.

We came home and had smoothies, carrots, and popcorn for lunch and warmed up, even though, yes the sun was out.  It was an amazing spring day and a great preview of what is to come this summer.

Last night Isaac was having some trouble falling asleep. Bianca took her turn and then I took my turn. Isaac was being a very good boy, laying in his bed, trying to fall asleep, even closing his eyes and pretend snoring. He wanted me to sing to him and seeing as no one can resist him, I tried.

We started out with his favorite, Wheels on the Bus. Then we switched to This Old Man. I was running out of songs that I knew the lyrics to and could sing for a long time, and then I remembered an old classic--99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. We got to the 80s with ease. Around 50 I tried to go, but he didn't want me to leave. He told me that he would like to have just a little beer tomorrow, but not a lot because it is yucky. We kept going and the whole time he would squeeze my finger through the rails of his big boy bed. Around 30 I told him I would be leaving at 0 and that he needed to be a big boy. He said okay, and I continued.

At 0 he let go of my finger and said good night. It was one of probably three times in my entire life I had sung the whole 99 Bottles of Beer song and without question the most memorable. I-man was asleep with in ten minutes of me leaving.