Isaac turned 7 on August 30th; here he is wearing his new hoodie. Isaac is an extremely sporty and active little guy. I am not exaggerating when I write that, with the exception of sleep, he literally does not stop moving. And when he sleeps, he sleeps hard. He often falls asleep in the midst of a family evening crashed out on the couch. Noise and lights do not bother him and he is out for the count. When the other boys head to bed, Jacob carries him down the basement stairs and into his bottom bunk where he wakes up in the morning surprised to find that he has made his way to bed.
He is aptly named (Isaac means joy or laughter) and he is one happy little guy. I keep referring to him as little because he is rather slight which undoubtedly contributes to his running prowess. He is the whitest African that I have ever seen. He recently won his cross country race by a full 30 seconds. I filmed the race and had to wait an awful long time until another child appeared near the finishing chute. His race technique is very simple - get to the front and stay there for as long and as hard as need be. He also competed in the Open 3000 metre race. He was by far the youngest kid (by at least 3-4 grades) and he finished 6th. He ran this race back-to-back with his previous race and simply found his older brothers in the pack and followed them.
Joe made him an axe for his birthday and was his very best friend for the whole day. This is highly unusual behaviour and had far more to do with Isaac's new walkie-talkies than with brotherly love.
My parents moved to town at the beginning of August and Mom seems to have taken over making birthday cakes for us. I hope. The Smarties spell Isaac.
That smile. I have loved that smile since the moment it appeared a few weeks into his life. His eyes light up each and every time he smiles and the left side of his mouth droops ever so much. Far too cute.
We can't forget this guy. Dave's birthday is September 1st and has been eclipsed by that of his fifth child. This really doesn't bother him as he is a man with few and very difficult to discern needs. Birthday gifts are excruciating and I have officially thrown in the towel. As he says, "The gift will only appear on my Mastercard anyway." Touche. The nanaimo bar cake looked like a good idea at the grocery store, but was more of a gag-you-with-sweetness with a side of wax sort of cake.
Isaac moving into eclipse mode.
