Little Rascal

Isaac is one.
At 14 and a half months, he began to walk. I thought I wanted that. I even encouraged it. I cheered him on and video taped his first steps. What was I thinking? Over the past few weeks, I've OFTEN found myself exasperated by his antics, exhausted by the constant bending over and picking things up. He seems to have a keen eye for mischief and has some super-human ability to be in sixteen places at once. He is truly, a little rascal. Even though during the day I sometimes want to sell him to the Gypsies, every night I wrap him up in a cozy blanket and we snuggle for a few minutes in his rocking chair. No matter how awful he's been during the day, he knows all he has to do is rest his head on my shoulder, softly stroke my hair with his right hand and serenade me with the soft-sweet sound of him rhythmically slurping on his left thumb and he is instantly forgiven. It was during one such moment last Thursday night when I decided instead of getting mad, I would document his naughtiness for future blackmailing.

Friday morning, 10:00 AM: Caught in the act.
(I must explain, Isaac had already pulled all the books off his sister's bookshelf and sent a good majority of the contents of my soup-cupboard sailing down the stairs before I remembered my blackmail deal and got out the camera.)

I pulled him out of the toilet, sanitized his little hands, arms, face, etc. and changed the shirt. Before I could get the shirt into the hamper, he was back in the bathroom, chucking Q-tips all over the floor. Time to go outside. We had some friends over for lunch and our neighbor brought over a bag of the "Best Cookies in the Whole Wide World" that the kids went nuts over. Isaac innocently ate his, waited for the other kids to clear the table, and then snuck in for the swipe. Here he is checking out the abandoned plates.
A Ha! He found what he was looking for: Alison's cookie. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of proudly flaunting it to Alison's mommy before he had the chance to take a bite. Not the smartest theif in the world...
Once he'd had his fill of cookies, he decided to help mommy clean up by throwing his sippy cup down the window well.
Now that he can walk, he thinks himself invincible. He has absolutely no fear. He thinks he's old enough to climb onto the trampoline unassisted...
...jump on top of tables...
...and find anything remotely dangerous on which he can prove his bravery.
Finally, he had settled down on the "baby trampoline" and was looking darling. He had the perfect little smile on his face and was happliy bouncing on his knees...until I tried to take a photo. He laughed a sneaky little laugh just as I snapped the shot, and took off across the lawn...
...straight to play in the mossy water of our little stone fountain and throw the stones into the bushes.

Back inside the kitchen, one of Isaac's favorite activities is to re-arrange the sippy cup drawer.
Of course, he has to suck on every single one first.
He prefers the easy-access organizational method. Everything out where you can see it, much easier.
And, the finale: Little Isaac insists that Abby's small bookshelf must always be on the floor, books strewn everywhere. I love this photo - I swear it my camera is not just super slow - he really can move that fast.

Anybody know any good gypsies? Just in case...