More Nebraska

Isaac and I are still in Nebraska, where he spends almost every morning and lots of afternoons hanging out with Grandpa while I work on my dissertation. They go for coffee, visit Grandma at work, walk around town with the stroller, and play in Grandma and Grandpa's long living room. He also loves performing for his Grandma and charming her with a new smile where he squints his eyes, tilts his face up, and shows his four teeth. At dinner last weekend, Grandma gave him some Cool Whip. Isaac liked it, so she gave him some more. I said, "Okay, that's enough." She put the Cool Whip down. Isaac was disappointed. No problem, though--when I turned away, Grandpa gave him some. Isaac's life in Nebraska is pretty good. While we've been here, Isaac has learned to climb inside cabinets, move down the stairs (though he never goes more than a couple steps down before he starts back up them again), throw a ball (his dad has already taught him to kick), and bounce his body up and down when asked to shake his booty. He's not walking on his own yet, but his skill at moving along furniture is increasingly impressive, and he has conquered his fear of the vacuum cleaner (though I won't be totally convinced until we return to Idaho and run our vacuum cleaner at home). Uncle Justin has been here both weekends, and Isaac often leans toward him with his arms out. Justin is pretty tall and when he's holding him, Isaac looks around with this sort of calm, "I am king of the world," sort of look on his face. When Isaac and I skype with his dad at night, Isaac likes to stand up on my lap and lean on his hands against the computer screen, getting his own face as close to Ricci's as he can. He also likes to play with the computer keyboard which isn't as entertaining for me as it is for him. His first birthday is now just two days away, so we've been singing Happy Birthday to him occasionally. At church on Sunday, my parents' congregation sang to him (and two other people with birthdays this week) and he was pretty entertained, so he should handle his birthday party with no problem at all. I still have pictures from our trip to Arizona to add, but it turns out the cord for my camera didn't make it into my suitcase, so I'm limited to the pics on my cellphone. I'll post the AZ pics when we get home.

Doing some rearranging...

conquering fear....

and being adorable.