Little Bear

Isaac dressed as a bear for Hallowe'en and cruised the neighbourhood trick-or-treating. Our neighbours across the street have a fabulous Hallowe'en display, and this year they projected a scary movie on the side of our house to add to the creepy ambiance. We stopped in at Jenn and Elska's, where the bear was quite comfy in the company of the spiky-haired creature (Elska).

The Bees Are Covered In Next Week's Lesson

Isaac sure enjoys his books. At the moment, black & white shapes really grab his attention.

Here I am explaining to Isaac all he needs to know about the birds...

Grampa is A-OK

My Dad was up to visit this past Thanksgiving and it was his first encounter with Isaac.

Isaac (shown granting his approval) says his technique shows no signs of rust. Must be like riding a bike or something...

Congrats, Gramps!

Vacation in Mississauga

We spent the week of October 15-20 in Mississauga while the electrical wiring in our house was being updated. We stayed with Isaac's great-grandmother, Nonni, and had lots of visits from family members who also live in Mississauga. Great-uncle Bob was over every day (he lives within walking distance of Nonni's) and grandma McKay also made daily appearances, including bolting over on her lunch hour from work. She didn't want to eat lunch, instead opting to use every minute holding and reading to Isaac. We celebrated Aunty Carlene's birthday with cousin Jayla, and also visited with Great-great Uncle Calisto, Nonni's older brother. What a lovely week, embraced by family!

Cautious Bunny

Thumper, long rabbit ears twitching, pauses after detecting a rustling of the bushes and readies for flight.

Actually, Isaac is really having his nappy changed in a coffee shop but is similarly alarmed :-)

happy !SLEEPY! baby

Isaac is sleeping peacefully right now after a somewhat fussy night. It's not quite as pictured, given the time of night, but you get the idea.

A friend (Thanks, Drew!) dropped off the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and we watched it while we took a break from the Ontario provincial election coverage. It seems that some of the things we have tried will actually work or work much better if used in combination. Dr. Harp's approach using the 5 S's might just turn the trick. After a good swaddle, swing, and side Isaac drifted off quite nicely.

Sassy in front of Sassafraz

For those of you that are familiar with Toronto, Yorkville is the chi-chi part of town where the stars hang out during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Isaac went on a walk to Yorkville on Thanksgiving Day and needed a diaper change outside of one of the most trendy restaurants in the area - Sassafraz. So sassy, Isaac!

Namesake

This Thanksgiving Sunday found Isaac Albert Allan Smith face to face with Alan Shaw. Al is a former neighbour of Jen's and she long ago adopted him as a grandfatherly type. Despite our spelling mistake (now a permanent fixture on his official records), Isaac is named after Al through his second middle name.

At the spritely age of 86, he had apparently never held a baby before. Upon hearing this, Isaac promptly assumed the crash position :-)

Surviving Thanksgiving

Don't worry, Isaac. At 12 pounds or so you are not yet in the same weight class as that 14 pound turkey. It's him we are after :-)

Next year you'll have a whole lot more meat on your bones so it might be a different story...