Things Isaac likes

• A camo blanket his Grandpa gave him. He likes it so much Grandpa bought him a spare so we don't have to be so careful to make sure it's out of the wash by bedtime.
• Drawing. On paper, especially when Rachel unrolls butcher paper across the entire width of the table, but also on himself.
• Riding on the Roomba.
  
• Pizza ("issa!"). This is the only food he calls by name, or the only one we recognize at least. The trick is to cut it into bites for him, otherwise he will just rip the cheese and toppings off and consume that, discarding the rest. About a week ago at lunchtime Isaac started calling hopefully, "issa! issa!" Rachel was so amused that she made him pizza. Isaac was a very happy boy.
  
• Apples and applesauce.
• Any soda Daddy drinks. Daddy never gets more than 2/3 of a can when Isaac is around. This is a problem when Daddy is drinking something caffeinated.
• Climbing on Daddy's back and going for a ride, especially when chasing the other kids. He got on my back recently and started making roar noises the way the Daddy Monster does, and calling "'ere wissa?" [where's melissa] He understands that being chased is part of the fun but when it is his turn he mostly just runs straight towards me and tries to climb on my back again, and giggles with delight when I take off with him aboard.
• Blues Clues, Kipper, Pingu, and most Disney movies. The movies we watch in French. He does _not_ like The Hunchback of Notre Dame; he wanders off after a couple minutes when I put that one on. He sometimes tolerates Kim Possible or Gundam 00 but mostly to humor his father.
  
• Nerf darts. I got him a nerf crossbow like the one Matthew had at his age but Isaac is not quite coordinated enough to cock it with his feet. Nor has he entirely outgrown eating the darts. Not sure what the attraction is there, personally.
• Dark chocolate. Takes after his mom and sister that way.
• Climbing. I was shocked that he can wiggle his toes into the cracks between the drawers in the kitchen to climb onto the counter. Babyproofing doesn't work anymore; we've moved to teaching him that "just because you can get into something doesn't mean you should."
• Playing outside, especially with The Big Kids. Riding toys, balls, "painting" the minivan with a bucket of water, chalk on the driveway, or just running around, he loves it. But his favorite is probably when Mom or Dad turn on the water and let him have the hose. He ends up soaked and I think that's part of the fun.
• Bathtime. I'm pretty sure that when he smears cupcake all over his face, then grins and says "buh buh baa!" happily that he made the mess on purpose.
• Chicken. Thai satay, wendy's nuggets, texas barbecue, rotisserie from the grocery store, he likes it all. The other meat he likes is bacon.
• Green beans, corn, peas, carrots, pretty much any finger-food vegetable. But not potatoes.
• Ice cream and popsicles. You have to be careful with these: he has sharp ears. The other night I spelled out, "too bad we don't have any i c e c r e a m." Matthew: "You mean ice cream?" Isaac was out of his seat like a shot to the freezer where he stood expectantly. He was a very disappointed little boy.
• Matthew and Melissa coming home from school.
• All crackers, but animal crackers and wheat thins are his favorites.
• Cracklin' Oat Bran and Oatmeal Squares.
• "Reading" with Mommy. Mostly he just wants to turn the pages.
• Sneezing. "Achoo!" he says, and tries to do it again.

It is fun to have this happy little boy.