Look out! Here comes the Isaac Man.

Isaac turned six months old a couple of days ago, so it seems time for an Isaac update. He is certainly turning into his own little person. Little Man has been walking (with our help, of course) for over a month now and I think it's mitigated the fussing. When frustration hits we just set him on the floor and he shows us where he wants to go. Half the time he just wants to GO - the destination is secondary.

Other Isaac turn ons include sitting (supervision required), eating solids, chewing, feeling different textures, music (loves loves loves the keyboard), babbling and singing, playing ball, and banging tables. Turn offs include spending time on his back (hence his inability to roll back to front), getting changed (see prior point), and sleeping more than 3 hours at a stretch. One quirk is that he is extraordinarily right handed - we say he has a propeller for an arm. The left, while not flaccid, is decidedly the second fiddle. I'm actually going to ask the doctor about this, since I remember Anna being much more ambidextrous. Overall, Isaac is a happy baby. His favorite person is Anna, and when she deigns to show interest in him, he just glows. Such a smiler.

"So how's Anna doing with her little brother?" This is the common question, and a good one. After all, I was less than cordial to my own little brother back in the day. But I'm happy to report that she does quite well. She likes to hold him and kiss him. She does NOT like it when he touches her stuff. There will be some issues with sharing in the near future, I think.
As for her general interests, they include dress up (they mostly include dress up), make up, pretending to be a princess or Mary Poppins, "spooky" things, jewelry, climbing up and jumping off, the occasional art project, and eating.
Turn offs include doing anything - ANYTHING - by herself, and getting to the potty on time. We're working on it.

--------------------------------
We arrived home yesterday to a winter wonderland. Lots of snow, coupled with the purchase of mandarin oranges, makes it feel Christmas-y here. It does not make it feel Thanksgiving-y. I've lived in the States for over a decade now and still can't quite wrap my brain around the November Thanksgiving thing. It always takes me a bit by surprise.

Anyway, our last week in Canada was marked by a couple of interesting things. The first was a visit from a friend from high school. She lives with her husband in the town I grew up in, and was kind enough video tape a bit of the area for me. Turn out that many of the places I remember haven't changed. At all. If she can, she'll send a copy here so that Jon can see the area, too. (I mentioned in my last post why this is a big deal for me.) Beyond that, it was just nice to see her and catch up a bit.

The second event was that we all got the H1N1 vaccine. H1N1 is still getting big play in the Canadian media, especially since a healthy 13 year old boy recently died within 2 days from the flu (and less than 24 hours after a doctor examined him and declared his lungs clear). With Anna's asthma, I decided that standing in line for 2 1/2 hours was worth it. I am very grateful to Alberta Health for allowing us non-residents to receive the vaccine. I'm not sure when it will be available in Colorado - next week, perhaps? And that's just for the kids. Jon and I are considered low priorities here, so who knows when people like us will even be eligible?

I guess that's it. Will be carving more pumpkins today (we have one that weighs 100 pounds this year!! Got it from Jon's co-worker), and trick-or-treating later. Candy Candy Candy!