A BOY AND HIS CULINARY EDUCATION

so maybe it's because todd and i just finished reading a slew of books about food and cooking (kitchen confidential, heat, the making of a chef), or maybe it's because my parents are in town and we all feel like celebrating, or maybe it's simply because parents of toddlers tell parents of newborns to go out to eat while you can. either way, we have been venturing out to a lot of restaurants lately. really good ones too, like paley's place, nostrana, il piatto, caffe mingo, petite provence, lorenzo's, and toro bravo. and at each one, huckleberry has been a real champ, burrowing his head in the crook of our arms and falling asleep. so we're definitely trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

OUR FIRST DOCTOR'S VISIT

because huckleberry is two weeks old today, we took him to see his doctor, jen, for a check up. although we were interested in hearing about his health, we were mostly just excited to see jen again. todd and i are so impressed with her and how she was at our birth, that we can't stop telling her how much we like her. todd even asked her to come to huck's first birthday party today. she, of course, was more than obliged. and actually, she said that she and huck are going to be great friends. which made todd and i kind of jealous.

TALIA'S BABY SHOWER

today we went to a baby shower for todd's sister, talia. she is due to have a baby girl at the end of january, which is very exciting because huckleberry will have a cousin that is almost exactly his own age. tami, another one of todd's sisters, is also pregnant and she is due to have her baby at the end of march. these little cousins will certainly be a trio to be reckoned with.

here are some photos showing the beautiful isaacs girls, huck getting his ever-so-special uncle tj fix, and the individual panels that todd and i made as part of talia's baby shower flag. all-in-all, it was a lovely way to celebrate talia and her little baby, jayde.

X-MAS DAY

christmas here was a simple, cozy day of opening gifts, eating breakfast, watching movies, cooking dinner, and just enjoying each other's company.

X-MAS EVE

after our new guests settled in, we all made our way over to grandpa ted's house (todd's dad) for a christmas eve celebration. it was the first time that many of todd's relatives met the baby, and as you can see, he got lots of love and attention.

p.s. in the first two images you can see grandpa lew sitting next to tj. this is todd's grandfather and huck's great-grandfather, and we chose the name 'finn lewis' because of him.

INTRODUCING . . . POP-POP AND AUNT TRICIA

yeehaw! it is christmas eve and the final two members of my family have arrived: pop-pop and aunt tricia. although vovo has to share her little lover, we are all so happy to be together. huckleberry is my parents' first grandchild (he is no. 9 for todd's parents, to be joined by no. 10 in january and no. 11 in march!), which makes him the perfect christmas present for all of us.*


*good thing because todd and i haven't yet gotten to any of the hand-made gifts we have planned. wait, doesn't a baby count as homemade? yes! i think we just might be in the clear on this one.

VOVO'S HERE!

well, his vovo finally made it and she and finn could not be happier. like a good little 'neto', he fell for her fast. and as you can see, they are both over the moon about it.

WHERE'S VOVO?

you know how much we've been loving the snow -- really a whole lot -- but the wintery conditions have presented one major drawback. huck's vovo (the word for 'grandmother' in portuguese) was supposed to arrive today. she was scheduled to fly from newark, nj this morning but because of the weather conditions, she didn't make it. she and pop-pop (my dad) stood in the curbside check-in line for over an hour in 20 degree weather and when they got to the front of the line the skycap told them that they had to check in inside. argh! i suppose this was when my father told the skycap that he was 'pitiful' (which we laughed about for close to a week because it is such a hilarious -- read: degrading -- insult) and escorted my mom inside. by the time vovo got to the front of this line, however, she was too late. the plane was already boarding. so even though her original flight was for december 17th and she postponed it to december 22nd because huck was so late, she will not arrive in portland until tomorrow, december 23rd. what a trooper she is. we are eagerly awaiting her arrival.

SNOWBERRY STRIKES AGAIN

so portland has seen more snow lately than it has in forty years, and we are absolutely loving it. actually, more than that, we think we are kind of responsible for it. well, not us exactly, but huckleberry. don't you think he could be a little bit magic? don't you think he could have caused all of this so that we would welcome him to the world in a winter wonderland? actually, don't answer that. you may break his little spell.

PACKIN' HEAT

this pack was made by todd's mom, barbara (a.k.a. grandma b). we also have one that she made for us out of a pair of dickies jeans. i love that one so much. while other packs are good for when kids get older and you want to carry them on your back, these packs are perfect for newborns, babies, and young toddlers. todd was excited to get our little guy into one because this is where the isaacs' feel most comfortable. with eight kids in the family, they all spent a lot of time with a younger sibling nestled against their chest. kind of like kangaroos. cute, paternal kangaroos. much like the one you see here.