Mutts 'R Us

Oh, yeah... we have dogs. Just kidding. Otto and Soph are still very much a part of our lives. When they came home from the boarder's last weekend, we smothered with them with treats and kisses. They are doing well... enjoying all the nice play time outside this spring. Every once in awhile, they get annoying (ie. Otto barking at an elderly lady going for a walk- just as Isaac drifts off for a nap.).

"I know, my nose is big."

"But, I'm still your sweet Sophagirl, right?"
"Ooooh! Now that I've got your attention, wanna' play?"
Yeah, Sophie's a crazy dog. She hasn't outgrown her "puppiness" yet and is still big with kissing people to death. That can be pretty interesting due to her size. She loves to visit Isaac while he's his Jumperoo. He smiles at her and she kisses his hands.
"Why me? Won't that baby stop crying?"
"I'm serious. Can't you make him stop?"
"That's better. Now, all eyes on ME. I'm Otto and I want all of your attention."
Otto is still jealous of Isaac... mostly around Josh. When Josh comes home, Otto wants him to play and love on him, not the baby. He's not mean to the baby or anything, he's just kind of indifferent.... whereas, Sophie loves him. He'l try and get Josh to pay attention to him instead of the baby and he sighs/pouts when Isaac is fussy.

"Ahh! That little thing is crying again!" LOL

More Pink

Yesterday, Josh's brother Dan and his wife Kristi had their big ultrasound and found out they are expecting a little girl this September! Little Aveline will have a baby sister! This also means that we'll have six nieces... Isaac is still the only boy! LOL

Look!

Lots of new pictures of of Isaac to share!

Full of giggles
Just a sweet smile
Lounger
"Huh?"
Loving his Jumperoo
"What? I'm a kangeroo, I know."
Taking a break to eat his hands during tummy time
Looks like the beginning of an army crawl...oh, no!
"You want me to hold that football for a picture?"
"How about I just eat it instead?" Everything and anything he can get his hands on goes in his mouth these days.
I don't know... this looks like an ornery face to me!
"Yep, I'm trouble."
Beginning to get cranky...
and then REALLY cranky. LOL Lastly, two adorable pictures from last night's bath!
Josh and I think he looks like a baby model in this picture. He's such a ham for the camera.

Not Yet

Lately, I've gotten the following question A LOT:

"When are you going to start Isaac on solids?"

The answer: Not yet. I want to try and wait until he's 6 months old if I can. I plan to primarily nurse until then. Studies show that babies do not need any outside nutrition up until that point. I know that everyone seems to have their own opinion on this topic and if you know me, you know that I've talked to a lot of people and read a lot of books/studies to come to my decision.

My biggest concern about starting solids too soon is Isaac's sensitive stomach. Babies' digestive systems take awhile to mature and adding solids may not be right for him this early. He has shown mild allergic reactions to a few foods that I've eaten and has always had mild reflux (spitting up and gas). The AAP suggests waiting to add solids until 6 months of age due to studies that link starting too early to diabetes and obesity. Is that really true? I don't know. I do know that I'm going to hold out as long as I can. Yes, Isaac has shown interest in food. He watches us eat with fascination. We've given him little tastes of things like applesauce and bananas on our fingers. But, because he's exclusively bottlefed, he won't be getting cereal mixed with a bottle. We'll be feeding him with a spoon. Isaac's doctor said that if he nurses and then still acts hungry, then we should start him on rice cereal. Isaac is obviously not lacking in the weight department. He's in the 75-90 percentile for his age! LOL

Soooooo, for now, we'll wait and see. I hope to wait until Isaac is 6 months old. I know that every baby is different. But, this is the choice I've made as Isaac's mom.

19 Weeks

Isaac is now 19 weeks old!

News this week:

* Found his thumb! He'll stare at his hand and move his fingers back and forth as if he's thinking, "Hmm, which finger should I stick in my mouth this time?"

* Started whining. I think he's having a bit of separation anxiety. He whines and wants to be held constantly... when he's tired, that is. Whenever Josh or I hold him, he holds on (to our shirts, to my hair, etc.). Josh calls him a "little clinger-onner."

* Definitely drooling... yuck. He blows spit bubbles, too. His face and hands are constantly getting wiped.

* Loving his stuffed animals. He'll smoosh them in his face and "eat them."

* Still pretty happy most of the time. We love to get him laughing by making silly noises or tickling him! Otto and Sophie entertain him, too. He giggles as he watches them play.

* Moving into more 6-9 month clothing, but still mostly in 3-6. He's officially past the safety requirement for his infant carseat. So, we strictly use his big boy carseat and only use the infant carseat as a carrier (ie. in the shopping cart).

* Showing his temper a little more often. When he's mad, he'll clench his fists, stomp his one foot, get red in the face, and cry. Oh, boy!

* Still a horrible napper, but wonderful night-time sleeper. I'm still reading the book I mentioned last week about solving this problem and hope to have a plan in action soon. Yesterday, it took me 45 minutes to get him down for his morning nap and then the little booger only slept 45 minutes. It was a draw. I can laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny yesterday.

* Not rolling over yet, but has "almost" made it.

* Is a HUGE fan of his Jumperoo toy. He's really gotten the hang of it. When we smile at him, he smiles back and jumps even faster.

Trip to Findlay & Carey

We stayed overnight at Heather's house on Saturday! Isaac slept well at night, but was a horrible napper (not much different from his sleeping habits here). Anyway, Josh's mom got to finally meet him and spoil him with tons of attention!

Isaac & his Grandma J
She loved making him smile and laugh!
She had two grandkids to play with! Josh & Isaac wore blue hawaiian shirts... hee, hee!
Uncle AJ let Isaac try on his hat. I think it was a bit too big.
Josh and I got to spend lots of time playing with Izzy. She is such a funny and sweet little girl! Here, she kept asking Josh to go higher as he threw her around. LOL
We all enjoyed lots of time outside on Saturday in their backyard.... especially on the swing.
On Sunday, we headed to Carey for lunch. Isaac's Great Grandma & Grandpa H welcomed us into their home.
He got to meet lots of new people there... including his Grandpa J,
Great Grandma F,
and Great Aunt Mary! (Plus Great Grandpa F and Great Uncle Jim)
He got sleepy a bit early (from the lack of napping) and so we tried keeping him up as long as possible. Thankfully, that meant he slept the whole way home! We had such a nice visit and look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Isaac & Izzy

Isaac had tons of fun visiting his cousin Isabella ("Izzy") this past weekend!
Isn't this just the sweetest picture of them together?
We had put the baby down on the floor on his blanket and Izzy wanted to lay next to him. She then got her princess blanket to cover them up.
The whole weekend, she wanted to lay with him whenever he was on the floor.
It was a big deal to get them both in the same picture... I couldn't get them smiling at the same time, though. Here's Izzy's adorable smile...
and Isaac's. I love this picture, too. The two of them really were checking eachother out a lot. Izzy "held" Isaac a few times and enjoyed playing with his toys. She also did her best to "Shh! Be quiet." when he was napping.

The Conservatory

Last Saturday, my family and I headed to The Franklin Park Conservatory. Very cool place!
Here I am with my sisters in one of an artist's installation pieces... he builds these huge installations with sticks.
This is in the lobby.
The Conservatory has lots of beautiful plants and a few animals, too.


Chrissy and my mom in the "desert" area.
Bonsai!!
Isaac got stripped down to his onesie in the "rainforest" area. It was HOT! He was enthralled by this waterfall. LOL
Probably the coolest part of the day was checking out the butterflies.


They release a bunch of them everyday and we happened to be there at the right time.

Isaac found the butterflies very interesting!
"Wait, where did it go?"

At lunch, he had fun with his butterfly puppet... Grandma A tickled his toes with it.
This is the hilarious way he decided to relax while we ate. Hee, hee!
The Convservatory has these installations from a glass artist named Chihuly as well.
I though this picture turned out really well. These were really pretty... glass blown flowers.

Look how BIG they really are!