A few weeks ago we went to Sears with a coupon for a sitting-fee-free deal for $8.99, where they give you quite a few pictures (one shot). We went through the whole photo session, which didn't take long, since Isaiah was getting tired and cranky. In addition, he knocked his head on the chair in the studio so the last few shots have a nice red egg forming on his forehead (this actually appears in the one shot that I chose too--I like his 'natural' appearance). I had told the lady that I just wanted the one-shot deal for $8.99, thinking that even then, I could probably take better shots of him at home in the kitchen sink or out in the backyard. Still, I think it's part of their job that they make up these cool-looking sepia and black and white photo collages and try to reel you in and buy those for only an extra $25 dollars or whatever it is. I stood firm and just bought the one shot, because he's not that cute anyway (just kidding). Today Isaiah and I went to pick them up, and lo and behold, what emerged from the photo package was our one shot (several sizes, etc.) AND (wonder of all wonders) a nice sepia 11x13, a black and white 8x10, and yet another 5x7plus several wallet sized pictures--a $100 deal, but they were going to allow us to have them for only $25 more! Wow!! Yeah, I turned that down as well. Not that I didn't like the pictures--they were all very nice and cute and all, but the principle of it all kind of bugs me, especially since I had gone through the whole "no, I just want the deal that is on the coupon" shpiel with the other lady prior to this. I was tempted to tell her, "No, honestly, he's really not cute enough that I would want more pictures to splay on our wall." Next time...

Isaiah is in full walking mode, and likes to pace in our living room from one wall to the other. He's getting very good at walking by himself, and walked almost the whole length of the mall today, with frequent stops to satisfy his raccoon-tendencies (examining the gold plates on the mall floor). He had a blast yodeling all the way, since the mall echoes so nicely. He has adopted a "lodi lodi lodi lodi" cadence in the last few days and it cracks me up, so there was no way I was going to try to make him stop.

Yesterday we had a bit of a battle of wits at lunch. I had given Isaiah a banana to eat after he finished a large bowl of soup. I made the mistake of bringing out some bread after breaking off two decent-sized banana pieces for him. When he saw the bread, he was no longer interested in the bananas (primarily because I was eating the bread), and immediately started "to to to"ing (that means "more" or "eat" in Isaiah's version of Japanese...for now...the whole word would be "motto"). I told him he needed to eat some banana first, then I would give him some bread. I thought I was winning the battle and standing firm, especially when he finally shoved one of the banana pieces in his mouth. "Good job, Isaiah" I naively praised him as I broke off a piece of bread and put it on his tray. A nanosecond later, the banana slid out of his mouth (into his lap) and in went the bread. And would you know it, he tricked me again just 5 minutes later! Punk. I am determined to outsmart him one of these days. Perhaps this is why God willed me to get a Ph.D...how humbling is that?