So Much to Tell
So much to tell about his royal unholy terrorness.

Oh yes, the tantrum last night. Last night Noelle was cooking, and had already been carrying around Isaac for nearly three hours as we shopped (more on that later), and Isaac started his usual mantra of "Mommy, pick up!"

"No." was the unusually stern reply, and he didn't like it, no siree, not one bit.

So he starts howling, and I take him and go and cuddle on the couch.

"I want mommy pick up!" he howls through enourmous crocodile tears.
"Sorry, Isaac, no. She's cooking, she will pick you up in a minute."

Then the clincher:
"You don't like me!" he howls. "I don't like you."

I know it's a terrible thing to say, but I started laughing. I had to put my hand over my mouth so he wouldn't see me, because I knew that would REALLY piss him off. So I cuddled him close to my chest while he continued to a) cry, and b) not get his way.

It was really funny though. I hadn't expected him to trot out THAT little chestnut until he was at least 4 or 5, or ideally 14 or so, but he seems to have discovered the joy of emotional blackmail early in life.

Also, the other morning I got up early with him, and gave him his morning sippy cup of watered down juice. He guzzled it, as he tends to, and promptly asked for another.

"Sorry Isaac, you'll have to wait for breakfast. You can have some water."

He fussed for a minute or two, but oddly didn't pursue it.

Then about 20 minutes later I hear Noelle waking up upstairs, and Isaac trundles off.

"Mommy!" he calls from the bottom of the stairs. "Can I have some juice?"
There is a long, very careful pause from Noelle. "What did daddy say?" she asks.
"He says yes."
At that point I had to step in. It had gone too far.

So not only is he very very smart, he is learning the value of parental manipulation and emotional blackmail early. I'm getting my attorney lined up NOW.

On the plus side - he continues to bend the needle on the cute-o-meter. He is obsessed by owls, and we have, as many of you know: A bird clock. Yes, a clock with the sound of a different bird chirping for every hour. He is crazy about the owl, and asks about it roughly every 15 minutes, when we are within sight of the clock.
"Owl hoo-ing?" he asks. Very cute.
Also, today he helped with every facet of baking some gingerbread cookies, including adding the flour, kneading the dough, cutting the cookies, and dumping a whole jar of sprinkles on the floor. It was a masterful job, and we now have a whole plate of gingerbread angels, men, and trains (yes, Thomas still reigns) that look like - well, they look like they've been decorated by a two year old with a love of sprinkles.

Finally he is learning the art of playing pirates from his dad. Dad has now taught him to say "Arrrr", "Ahoy Matey", and I'm working on "Avast!" Give me time. He has the infamous pirate little people ship, and the other day discovered that cannons are for more than shooting just cannonballs. Other options include Matchbox Cars, Little People Horses, and indeed, the pirates themselves. All of this was very very funny to him, and kept him giggling for some time - until he discovered that if he put the toy dumptruck at just the right place, the cannon would shoot the car into the dumper part, which he could then drive away and make car noises with.

Oh, did I mention that he goes "beep beep beep" every time he backs up? And he puts his fingers to his lips and makes a "twee twee" noise every time we cross the street (we have crossing guards in Ontario).

So that's that. I still haven't told you how much fun it is shopping for Christmas gifts with a two year old, but suffice it to say, if your gifts come after New Years, you know who to blame!