David Bier Photography » Personal

Three into four

drpbier — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:34:55 +0000

Hello Isaac. I just thought I’d drop you a quick note since we’re now in our last few days as a threesome. Your little brother’s going to be arriving very soon and I wanted to say a few things.

Firstly, Mummy and I have had huge fun helping you through your first 3 years. We certainly felt the impact of your arrival, but our change from couple to family has been heavily peppered with belly laughs and ‘no, there’s just something in my eye’ moments. I still want to munch various parts of you. And sorry for being so tickly, but your full on giggle is more addictive than crack cocaine (although possibly less than Disney, which has a bigger marketing budget).

Secondly, we both hope you love your brother when he comes. Or as soon as possible afterward, ideally. You deserve a partner in crime. And he is so lucky to have a big brother who already knows what he likes (but how?) and seems so excited about his arrival.

Most of all I wanted to thank you. In your short existence you’ve opened my eyes to new possibilities, new priorities and the chance of a better life for all of us than we might otherwise have dared to try for. No, you can’t watch The Lion King again.

Love,

Daddy

Down the road

drpbier — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:18:39 +0000

Recently I’ve started taking Isaac to nursery on the bus. Big news – we’re moving away from the buggy! A while ago I posted about how much I enjoyed the first quiet moments of the day, giving Isaac his morning bottle. He’s a big boy now, in big boy pants and everything, and these days the routine has morphed into this:

A little walk to the bus stop
The wait for the bus, including the discussion of what to do when we see the bus (hold out our hand and yell STOP!!! that probably causes any bus within a 2 mile radius to come screeching to a halt)
Getting on the bus, with just enough time for a quick story while we wait for our turn to press the DING button
Saying “thank you bus, bye bye”
Walking round to nursery and sitting down for a well earned bowl of whatever Isabelle’s having.

I love this. Walking down the road, feeling his little hand flexing in mine, listening to his repertoire of excited random chatter “We don’t need our car or our buggy! That car’s got a flag! That doggy isn’t going to nursery! I can’t fly because I’m not a birdy!”. He’s evolving so fast, and it feels good to notice how the pattern of our lives are evolving with him.

Through new eyes

drpbier — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:57:23 +0000

Isaac is working his way through the Disney classics I grew up with. He’s had Dumbo (we heard about Dumbo, and Mrs Jumbo, and Timothy the mouse, every day for months), Bambi and most recently he’s been into The Jungle Book. A good chunk of the conversations in our house currently revolve around Bagheera, Baloo, Mowgli, Shere Khan and the rest (we also have to sing ‘Baloo song’and ‘King Louie song’).

Now The Jungle Book is interesting because it’s not an original Disney creation; it’s based on the Rudyard Kipling stories. Disney gave it their usual treatment, making it cute and sugary. It’s an iconic piece of cinema, and I think some of the songs still sound great. But if you’ve read the original stories you’ll know they have a much darker tone.

After watching the Disney version a few times with Isaac, I decided to re-read the Kipling version, which I vaguely remembered from years ago. I downloaded the Kindle version (which is free on Amazon) and wow! The stories feel much more as though they’re about real animals with claws, that kill for food. There’s no comedy fight with Shere Khan at the end, where he runs off because he’s afraid of fire. In the original, Mowgli causes a cattle stampede and Shere Khan is trampled to death…and then Mowgli skins him. Which probably wouldn’t go down so well with Disney’s core demographic.

All of that is just an example of how being a parent is about re-experiencing the world. I would probably never have re-read those stories if it wasn’t for Isaac. I would probably never have started a children’s photography business either, if it wasn’t for him. I’m sure there are also loads of fantastic things I’m NOT doing because of Isaac too, but you pays your money and takes your choice. What I do know is that for such a small person with such a limited horizon, Isaac has had a major impact on how I understand the world. And in the good days, I’m profoundly grateful to him for that. Not that he cares.

And now, here’s a snap of Isaac with his newly painted nails.

Pretty colours...

Flavours of random

drpbier — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 20:49:10 +0000

Sometimes I think Isaac’s got a screw loose. He keeps coming out with bizarre, and yet impressive, phrases, seemingly from nowhere. Recent examples include:

Me: “What’s that called?” (it was a sculpture we’d passed an hour before and practiced the word ‘sculpture’, which was the word I was expecting). Isaac: ” A bullfight.”
Me: “Which book shall I read you?” Isaac hands me a book called You Choose and says: “This one. It’s called Which One Do You Like”
Isaac: “Let me hide in the eggy” (which means hiding in our bed, under the duvet)

Funny little beast.

Quotable

drpbier — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:14:50 +0000

Weird things Isaac has said over the past few days:

Cockerel mackerel
Don’t smile like that Daddy, just go to sleep
I go to nursery on a flying pink elephant

Does anyone know if they ever put LSD in the tap water?

Ch ch ch changes

drpbier — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:28:25 +0000

We seem to have crossed another threshold with Isaac. I’m not sure how to define it, because he’s doing pretty much the same things he was doing before. It’s just that now he’s doing them even more so. So he’s still chatty, but now he almost never stops talking. He was pretty keen on the word ‘no’, but now he really shouts it. He’s always had an opinion, but now you really have to negotiate with him.

He just seems to have become a proper little boy, if that makes sense – still sweet underneath, but there are a few more spiky layers of boy on top. Jenny’s not mad keen on this development, but I find it quite funny. Then again, I find it easier than she does to wrestle him down when it’s time to change his nappy/give him lunch/put him in his car seat.

Book It

drpbier — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:58:37 +0000

I’m just putting a book together of the snaps from Isaac’s second year. I thought you might like to see the cover:

Isaac's second year

Pushing boundaries

drpbier — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:37:49 +0000

I’ve noticed recently that Isaac’s making me re-evaluate my assumptions about what he understands and what he’ll go along with. He’s been on a bit of an accelerated stretch for the last few weeks, constantly doing new things. Putting on his own shoes, singing all the words to his favourite songs (the Ace of Spades is still beyond him), asking for specific foods (notably cake), that kind of thing.
And he’s also started linking concepts in a more advanced way, often referring to things that happened days or weeks in the past. Basically he’s become much harder to fool!
Is this the core of being a good parent? Constantly reassessing your child’s capabilities and needs, and making sure you don’t fall back on easy assumptions? Maybe this is the start of the journey that ends in a proper relationship with my son. Maybe Isaac’s helping me grow into a ‘proper’ dad? Nice to reflect on this stuff every so often. Now, back to nappies, cups of milk and reading to my little boy…

Birthday. Bike. Brilliant!

drpbier — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:20:09 +0000

Your first wheels, little man. There really isn’t a trace of baby left, is there? Happy 2nd birthday, Isaac.

Lost In translation

drpbier — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:06:45 +0000

An excerpt from the Isaac – English dictionary we maintain in our heads:
Hitamopanus – hippopotamus
Ephant – Elephant
Gam – Jam
Icey keem – Ice cream
No – No/yes/maybe, depending on context
Yeah – I agree (but I don’t necessarily understand)
Red – My first guess at the colour of the specified item
Geen – My second guess at the colour of the specified item
Purple – My third guess at the colour of the specified item
Red – My fourth guess at the colour of the specified item
Donwanit – No thank you
Donwanit Mickey Mouse – Actually I do want Mickey Mouse; you’ll figure it out if I keep saying it long enough
Cuddle – I’m pretending I want to give you some affection and hopefully you’ll forget to make me brush my teeth/walk down the stairs/sit in my high chair