no folks, we're not in paris

we just returned from vegas, and both david and i question if we ever will return. i have always felt that it is one of those places that is great for about 30 minutes, and then you are ready to get the heck out of there. this trip was special because we were celebrating bubie and papa's 60th wedding anniversary. the entire family, or at least the majority, flew in from around the country to celebrate. having only been married two and a half years, i have a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for their journey together, and wouldn't have missed the weekend for anything. with that being said, it was more challenging than i expected in every single way. lets just say that vegas isn't a great place to bring a baby - ever.
the weekend started with a complete bag search at the airport (the baby food throws them every time) followed by a two hour check in a the hotel. there was an enormous line up, and we then proceeded to have an hour argument with the manager of the hotel because our rooms we're screwed up. by this point isaac was several hours overtired. we rushed him up for a nap, and then out to dinner at b&b ristorante (which is the one thing i would recommend from our weekend. mario does it again. delicious, simple, and wonderful. david and i went to see 'o' at the bellagio after dinner. we both had been wanting to see a cirquedusoliel performance for a while, so we thought we would check one out. perhaps it was the six guys behind us screaming profanities like "holy sh** balls" , and whistling at every topless dancer on stage (ok, i could write an entire blog entry on these guys. it started as humorous, and then became very grating. the slightest dive into the water by any of the performers caused all of then to scream 'unbelievable' in unison. there was constant shushing from those around us) , or the fact that we were exhausted... , but neither of us were too impressed. saturday we checked out the bellagio's water show, and took a dip with isaac prior to meeting at the buffet at 5pm. luckily seniors and babies are on the same schedule. david and i crashed at 8:45. oh, i haven't mentioned that we had isaac sleeping in a crib in our bathroom, so david took several middle of the night bathroom trips down to the hotel lobby any time he needed to pee. i on the otherhand held it because i was too darn tired to get up. it made for very uncomfortable sleeps as my bladder was dying to be relived. today david and i had massages at qua, caesars new spa. the facility was amazing, my treatment not so much. david really enjoyed his, and the hour or so away was so nice. we met my parents and jamie and allie for lunch at mesa grill. i wasn't so impressed with bobby's brunch, but it was fun to see what he had to offer. the margarita i had was the best part, and drinking at lunch is mandatory when on 'vacation' (in quotes. there really aren't any vacations when traveling with baby. they are now trips) the las vegas experience ended with a delayed flight, four hours in the airport, a very tired baby, and a cranky mom and dad.
later las vegas.
the end.

toot toot ... he he

Yes, its exactly as it sounds. I was feeding Isaac his dinner of lentils, tofu, green beans, and spinach (probably cause for the toot toot part of the story) but anyway, he proceeded to toot toot, and then laugh hysterically. This happened twice during the meal. Needless to say, I was laughing too... and then made toot toot noises with my mouth which got yet another deep belly laugh out of him.
It is so fun to watch his sense of humor develop.
On a side note, Jessica Seinfeld just released a new book, "Deceptively Delicious". I want to kick myself in the butt for not putting this out first considering it is the way I have always done things around here. Anyway, maybe I will start compiling some of my recipes for a Soren Family Version in stores soon.

four front teeth

I have been waiting until I could get a shot of his new (not so new) top teeth before I posted this. About two months ago they showed up, ant it has taken a while for them to drop down. I have to say, that despite everyones warnings that the top teeth were more painful and caused more teething distress than the bottom, I really didn't notice Isaac in any discomfort. Granted their arrival was paired with his first cold.
I am adoring his little toothy grin and his new sense of humor. He is now laughing because something is actually funny whereas he used to laugh as only a reflection to very silly expressions in our faces. Now you can get him to chuckle with a good game of peek-a-boo, bouncing a ball of his head, or even his devious new discovery of 'lets rip mom's magazine while she is reading it'. He finds all these things hilarious, and unfortunately for my discipline strategy, so do I.

knit wit

Prior to Isaac's birth I was knitting like a crazy person finishing project after project. Post Isaac... it has slowed down. He is such a handful that I have had a hard time getting into a project. With the start of his new two hour morning naps, I have finally found a little time to do something creative with my hands again, and I am having so much fun. This is a little two day project that I used to brush up on my skills. I haven't made clothes before, so it has been a great challange. Upon its completion I started a cable knit sweater. Stay tuned for some photos... probably next month.