Thus read the headline of the imaginary newspaper article I composed yesterday afternoon while I used my shirt to wipe away the blood and tears from Isaac's face.
In order to take off my sweater, I had put Isaac down on the couch. Mistake. Big mistake. I even knew it was a mistake while I was doing it. "But, I'll take off my sweater really fast. He won't have time to fall," I thought. Well, in the time that my eyes were covered by the inside of my sweater, Isaac moved to the edge of the cushion. Through the neck hole in my shirt, I watched him to do a swan dive directly onto the living room floor, his head snapping back. There was a momentary pause followed by the loudest, saddest, most accusatory (well, not really, but he would certainly have been justified) cry I've ever heard.
Immediately I picked him up and pressed him to my chest, holding his head, feeling his neck and the top of his spine, wondering if I would be able to feel the cracked vertebrae with my fingers. Lifting him up to look at his eyes, all I saw was the blood. In Isaac's mouth. On his chin. It was everywhere, all over the front of my white t-shirt. It was several seconds before I realized that he'd bitten his lower lip. His two perfect front teeth--thankfully, still in place--had left two tiny indents in the flesh of his lip, which was ever so slightly beginning to swell.
At this point, I started to cry too. Then I called Anique. She was on her way home, and I tried to sound calm when she picked up the phone. "Isaac fell off the couch. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. He bit his lip and there's blood, but I think he's ok. I'm so sorry. Will you be home soon? I can't believe I let this happen." On the other end of phone, Anique was calm. In my arms, Isaac had stopped crying and was using his fingers to inspect his wounds. I pulled his hands away and he looked up at me and wailed. "Fly's in the sugar bowl, What'll I do?" Undisturbed by recent events, from our computer speakers, Pete Seeger continued to sing. I opened the outside door and Isaac stopped crying as we watched the cars drive by and waited for Anique to get home.
Well, as veteran parents know, Isaac was fine. "He's already forgiven you," Anique said, after arriving home. From her lap, nursing lazily, Isaac looked at me. There was no hint of outrage, no plans for revenge, in his beautiful brown eyes. But, even now, I can still see him falling. Such a scary image. I know that this kind of thing, and much worse--a fall off the swing, a slip on the stairs--happens and that it will happen again, no matter how vigilant I am. And, in an effort to learn from my son's compassion, I have forgiven myself.
But, next time I want to take off my sweater, I will place Isaac on the floor. Or maybe I'll just be hot.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Masons visit in Feb
Bob and Tirzah visited with us for the weekend and Isaac loved it. To show it, he started clapping! He also has started (finally) sleeping through the night--Josh and I are actually sleepier because of the extra sleep. Enjoy the photos below of us walking in Arlington and eating snacks at the local coffee shop there.
One Little Penguin
Here's a fun song that Josh wrote for our little penguin. Enjoy! (I copied the lyrics below.)
One little penguin on the ice
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a better day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Two little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a more fun day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Three little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a sunnier day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Four little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a sillier day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Five little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a crazier day?
A hundred more penguins here to play.
A 105 penguins on the ice
Crashing all around, asking is this nice?!
What could make for an easier day?
A few less penguins I should say.
One little penguin on the ice
Skating all around, thinking this is nice
But what could make for a friendlier day?
My best friend here to laugh and play.
Two little penguins on the ice
Skating all around, thinking this is nice
We little penguins love to play--
What a fun time we've had today.
One little penguin on the ice
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a better day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Two little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a more fun day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Three little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a sunnier day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Four little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a sillier day?
Another little penguin here to play.
Five little penguins ...
Skating all around, thinking this is nice.
But what could make for a crazier day?
A hundred more penguins here to play.
A 105 penguins on the ice
Crashing all around, asking is this nice?!
What could make for an easier day?
A few less penguins I should say.
One little penguin on the ice
Skating all around, thinking this is nice
But what could make for a friendlier day?
My best friend here to laugh and play.
Two little penguins on the ice
Skating all around, thinking this is nice
We little penguins love to play--
What a fun time we've had today.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Isaac learns about the ups and downs of football fandom
After a fun family Sunday spent celebrating Cole (6), Tavi (4), and Seth (10)'s birthdays in Manchester-by-the-sea, the OMs headed home so that Josh and Isaac could prepare for the big AFC Championship Game b/t the Steelers and the Jets.
With Isaac asleep in his crib, and Anique at Brandeis working late, I watched the Pittsburgh run up a 24-3 halftime lead. Feeling pretty confident, I settled in for what I hoped would be a victory lap of a second half. Here's a running diary of the second half
8:15: Jets cut the lead to 24-10. They look like a new team, and the Steelers look flustered.
8:45: As if suddenly aware that the outcome of the game is now in question, Isaac wakes up screaming.
8:50: No. Poopy diaper.
8:55: While I'm changing Isaac's diaper, the Jets sack Roethlisberger for a safety, cutting the lead to 24-12. Isaac reacts by pooping in my hand.
9:25: Jets score a touchdown. It's now 24-19, with a little more than 3 minutes left. Trying to remaining calm, I bounce Isaac up and down while singing "Waters of Babylon." We can't lose this game, can we?
9:45: We can't! Big Ben makes two clutch first downs, and the Steelers run out the clock. Isaac, worn out from all the excitement, is asleep in my arms. All is right with the world.
With Isaac asleep in his crib, and Anique at Brandeis working late, I watched the Pittsburgh run up a 24-3 halftime lead. Feeling pretty confident, I settled in for what I hoped would be a victory lap of a second half. Here's a running diary of the second half
8:15: Jets cut the lead to 24-10. They look like a new team, and the Steelers look flustered.
8:45: As if suddenly aware that the outcome of the game is now in question, Isaac wakes up screaming.
8:50: No. Poopy diaper.
8:55: While I'm changing Isaac's diaper, the Jets sack Roethlisberger for a safety, cutting the lead to 24-12. Isaac reacts by pooping in my hand.
9:25: Jets score a touchdown. It's now 24-19, with a little more than 3 minutes left. Trying to remaining calm, I bounce Isaac up and down while singing "Waters of Babylon." We can't lose this game, can we?
9:45: We can't! Big Ben makes two clutch first downs, and the Steelers run out the clock. Isaac, worn out from all the excitement, is asleep in my arms. All is right with the world.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
The very Hungry Catapillar
| Isaac has discovered his appetite! If he was a little finicky about food before, he's not anymore. He loves to eat now- especially when he feeds himself. In addition to Cheerios, I now give him pieces of toast/English muffin/pizza, cut-up frozen mango, frozen blueberries (see pictures below), peas, beans, and cooked carrot pieces all on his tray. I just monitor him very closely and don't put out too many pieces on his tray at one time. Right now I'm trying to get the size of the pieces just right because if they are too small, his new pincer grasp can't pick them up, but if they are too big, he could choke. Eating with Isaac is messy and a lot of fun. After every meal, he's a complete mess and we have to sweep the floor, but he's so happy and (I think) proud of himself. Why call this post "The Hungry Catapillar"? Because at lunch and dinner today I found myself feeding him one thing and then another and another. For example, it was homemade pureed green beans for lunch. After demolishing that, he was clearly still starving so I heated up a portion of sweet-potato-squash-barley that we made last week. Still hungry!--some of Josh's pizza... and Cheerios... and then finally he seemed satisfied. A similar thing happened at dinner too--I ended up running out of options for him then (unless I gave him foods that I gave him at lunch) so I fed him garlic mashed potatoes that I made for dinner last week for me and Josh. It was a little crazy. What's he eating for?--he's already our butterfly!  |
| From Hungry Catapillar January 2011 |
 |
| From Hungry Catapillar January 2011 |
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
New car??
For his entire life, Isaac has patiently let twist him into his car seat in our two-door car. Things may be changing soon.
This afternoon, I drove to a 2:30 yoga class and afterward wanted to drop off some Salvation Army stuff at the bin at Shaw's. I turned off Trapello onto Rt 60 when the car suddenly... died(!!). I was practically in the intersection, but safely made it to the side of the street and put on my hazards. Stupidly, I had forgotten my cell phone before leaving home so I couldn't call AAA myself. I jumped outside the car with my face still red from exertion and waved down a car. The woman inside the car let me use her cell to call Josh to have him call AAA. Soon after a police car drove by and I waved him down too. The officer said that if I was cold I could join him in his car. I said, "I'm so hot from yoga, I'll be fine" because Josh said it would only be 20 minutes before the tow truck showed up.
55 minutes later(!), and after exhausting every conversation topic I could think of with the officer (yes, I got in his car), the tow truck finally showed up. We had Pat, Cole and Owen visiting at our house waiting to eat dinner. I was so happy to be home, but now we have to deal with our stupid car.
Could this be our moment to get a luxurious four-door vehicle??
______________________________________________________________________________
On a completely different topic, here's a shout-out to babysitting exchanges: we swapped babysitting nights with Margot and Mike and had our date-night on Friday. Josh and I went back to our old haunting grounds in Waltham to see the film "The King's Speech." It's a great movie and made even better knowing that Isaac was home safe with our friend. This weekend, we return the favor. Babysitters can be so expensive so this is a nice way to keep our romance alive without breaking the bank.
This afternoon, I drove to a 2:30 yoga class and afterward wanted to drop off some Salvation Army stuff at the bin at Shaw's. I turned off Trapello onto Rt 60 when the car suddenly... died(!!). I was practically in the intersection, but safely made it to the side of the street and put on my hazards. Stupidly, I had forgotten my cell phone before leaving home so I couldn't call AAA myself. I jumped outside the car with my face still red from exertion and waved down a car. The woman inside the car let me use her cell to call Josh to have him call AAA. Soon after a police car drove by and I waved him down too. The officer said that if I was cold I could join him in his car. I said, "I'm so hot from yoga, I'll be fine" because Josh said it would only be 20 minutes before the tow truck showed up.
55 minutes later(!), and after exhausting every conversation topic I could think of with the officer (yes, I got in his car), the tow truck finally showed up. We had Pat, Cole and Owen visiting at our house waiting to eat dinner. I was so happy to be home, but now we have to deal with our stupid car.
Could this be our moment to get a luxurious four-door vehicle??
______________________________________________________________________________
On a completely different topic, here's a shout-out to babysitting exchanges: we swapped babysitting nights with Margot and Mike and had our date-night on Friday. Josh and I went back to our old haunting grounds in Waltham to see the film "The King's Speech." It's a great movie and made even better knowing that Isaac was home safe with our friend. This weekend, we return the favor. Babysitters can be so expensive so this is a nice way to keep our romance alive without breaking the bank.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)