As you might have noticed, Peanut's Gallery had ended.  Or more accurately it has transformed.  This matches what's happening in our family.  You see, well, we are having another baby.  We found out we were pregnant recently and it has been a tremendous joy to share this experience with Isaac.  As you can guess, the name is thematic as Isaac was Peanut when he was in the womb, and so the new baby (or as Isaac calls him, and yes, its a him, "my baby") is going by Pistachio until he is born. 

We are so overjoyed, so thrilled that we will have another little guy in our life that words don't convey the feeling.  When we had Isaac we were excited, but we didn't know how awesome it would be.  And while I am sure there will be surprises with the new baby, we know all of the amazing things that are in store and better yet we get to share them with our favorite person in the world--I-man. 

New genetic screenings that were not readily available when Isaac was born, called the panorama test, let us know much sooner that our baby was a healthy baby boy.   I found out I was having a second son when I saw this on the front door when I came home from work one recent day:

We even have an article of clothing for the new baby, thanks to the wonderful Sarah Petty:

 Even better, Isaac is prepared for his big brother duties.  Here he is with the shirt telling you so:

So, please keep reading.  Unlike with movies and books, the sequel is going to be just as good as the first. 

Kids, sports, and parents seem to be always headed towards a disastrous ending.  For some people sports are deadly serious, the modern equivalent of Spartan child rearing.  These people are seriously pissed that they can no longer leave their kids in the woods for a week to see if they can survive, so instead they foist upon their off spring a notion that sports matter beyond exercise, having fun, learning to play with others, and the value of team work and sportsmanship.  I feel like someone needs to tell them that the notion that their child will become wealthy, especially playing soccer in the US, is preposterous and that it is time and energy better spent helping them with homework.

Fortunately most of those parents are far from Isaac's soccer field.  He had his first practice and game today and he did great.  It was 92 degrees at 9 when the thirty minute amoebae ball game started, and Isaac played 20 of those thirty minutes.  His cherry red cheeks told us he had fun.

One issue Isaac had at the beginning was a little speech his P-Pa gave him during Guys Day (post coming soon).  He told Isaac that unlike other kids, he needed to stay in his position and NEVER run after the ball unless and until it came to his position.  Well, when the kids are 4 and 5, there are no positions and so for the first 10 minutes Isaac stood stock still in the field waiting and waiting as the crowd of children roamed all over the fields of Coolidge Park.  He didn't pick a daisy.  He didn't run or even move.  He just watched and waited.  I could almost see his mind's eye recalling what his P-Pa told him.  Finally, around minute 10 both his coach Paul and I told him there were no positions and he started running and kicking the ball like a gazelle/Pele hybrid.

Here is video 1 of Isaac at practice:

 
Here is video 2 of Isaac during the game (pre-moving around):

Maine is known for its blueberries and Tawney Cottage had an amazing, fully loaded bush just around the corner from the front door.  Isaac and P-Pa would go out every day and pick a few handfuls and just like Sal from the eponymously named book, Isaac would pick and eat in equal portions.  Here is the video: