Sneak Peek

Okay, I don't really have the time or more importantly, the energy, to post right now. Joel, Jamie, and Cheyanna's visit went very well! We're all pretty tired from all the excitement, though.

Here's a peek at the two munchkins together:
We will be NW Ohio with Josh's family all weekend. Check back for a crazy amount of pictures soon!

28 Weeks

Isaac is now 28 weeks old! Almost 6 1/2 months old!

Updates on the cutie patootie:

* Wearing size 4 diapers and almost 100% 6-9 month clothing. Some 6-9 month clothing he's already outgrown, depending on the brand.

* Not crawing quite yet, but has started to roll and spin himself around to reach toys. Sometimes he'll just yank on the blanket he's laying on in order ot pull toys towards him. LOL

* Enjoying his exersaucer toy a lot more. He has figured out almost all of the toys and even walked in it this week. It spins in a circle. One leg stays put and the other two have wheels.

* Finally feeling better after his nasty cold.

* Reaching out to get picked up a lot more now. It's so cute when Josh comes home. He kicks his legs in excitement, smiles really big, and reaches out to him. :)

* Sitting up on his own really well. He's getting better at reaching and playing with toys while balancing (He used to flop over whenever he tried to do anything while sitting).

Enjoy the pictures!!
Some days, ALL he wants to do is eat his feet. LOL
A visit from Sophie girl...
Trouble #1 and Trouble #2
What are those two up to now? ;)
"What?"
"Oooooh... I'm going to eat your nose, daddy!"
Thanks for checking in!

Tomorrow's THE Day!

There's LOTS of excitement in our house! We've been counting down the days until Josh's brother Joel, his wife Jamie, and their daughter Cheyanna come to visit! Cheyanna is just two months older than Isaac and we haven't met her yet! They live in Arizona and we, obviously, live on the other side of the country in Ohio. Tomorrow afternoon, they fly into Columbus and will be here for two weeks visiting all their friends and family. We're the lucky ones to get them first! They will be staying with us Wednesday and Thursday night. Josh took a vacation day on Thursday so we could do something fun... most likely the zoo, depending on weather. We'll get to see them again this weekend up in NW Ohio with the rest of the fam (including Sarah, Dave, and Rachel flying in from FL). Then, they'll stay with us for the last night of their trip.

We are SOOO anxious to meet our little niece and they are SOOO anxious to meet their nephew! I'm sure the two babies will be just as happy to meet eachother, too!

Isaac's reaction when I told him his cousin Chey is coming to visit:
Oooh! Isn't she just adorable? Can't wait to meet her in person!!

Chopped

I got SIX inches of hair chopped off! It feels great... I really needed a haircut! I wasn't sure I wanted to go this short, but Josh convinced me to. My hair grows really fast... so, it won't take long if I want to grow it out again. Hopefully, Isaac tugging on my hair won't hurt as badly, I'll have less to clean out of the shower drain (still shedding!), and I'll stay cooler out in the summer heat. What do you think?

Hurry, Hurry!

Guess what we did this weekend? Pulled up 616 sq. feet of carpet in our living room and entryway! We exposed our oak hardwood floors by tearing out our stained and very cheap carpet. It looks SO much better! We ordered a 8x10 foot area for our main living space. Josh worked his butt off to pull all the tack strip and staples, shuffle around the furniture, and clean the floors. Our garbage man will not be happy with us today. There's a massive pile of carpet out on our front lawn for him to pick up. ;) We need to HURRY, though... the house needs to be put back together. In two days, we are having company from out of state! I know... this wasn't the best timing ever. But, I couldn't stand the thought of babies crawling around on our nasty carpet. I have been wanting to rip the carpet out for two years now!

I still can't believe Josh actually pulled it all off all in one weekend! It looks great! I'll try and post pictures later this week. :)

Darn

It's STILL raining. I'm so sick of these thunderstorms. Two big dogs inside the house all day long can get old. Isaac and I miss our walks in the neighborhood, too. (sigh) Maybe if we sing the song, "Mr. Sun, Mr. Golden Sun" or "Rain, Rain, Go Away." ;)

My family was supposed to visit this weekend, but my sister is sick. They obviously don't want to get Isaac sick with something else. So, they are postponing their trip until sometime next month.

We are both still sick, but are slowly getting better. It's really annoying how long this cold is sticking around. We've gone through a ton of Kleenex. I know Isaac is starting to feel a little more like himself today because he fought me for his nap. I tried getting him down all morning and finally succeeded on the fourth try (at one in the afternoon!!).

Edited to add: He only slept a half an hour and is now sitting on my lap. The dogs are looking out the windows, longing for some outside time. Sorry to be such a downer.

Edited to add: Okay, okay... so, it cleared up for awhile and I shoved the mutts outside. Let's just hope they don't get caught out in a downpour (It's happened before.). Isaac finally fell back asleep, too! I was able to get in the kitchen and make two huge containers of italian pasta salad for a church luncheon tomorrow... enough to serve 35-40 people! :)

Not Too Shabby

The results are in. Actually, they've been in for awhile and I'm just getting around to post about them. The Social Security Popular Baby Names List for 2005 is out and "Isaac" is at #50. "Joshua" is at #3 and my name? #145! Oh, well. It was #19 the year I was born, at least.

In Ohio, Isaac is the 60th most popular name for boys. The name wasn't listed at in the top 100 in states like Utah, Idaho, or Kentucky. Interestingly enough, Utah had the crazy names Braxton, Cooper, Jace, Kyler, and Ryker on their top 100 list. The two states where "Isaac" is most popular are N. Dakota and Hawaii. #15 there! I don't know. I couldn't figure out the Hawaii one either. It was listed more popular than common names like Andrew, Christopher, Joseph, and David! LOL Westcoast states like California, Washington, and Montana seem to like the name a lot. It's even at #37 in Texas with all those Angel's Diego's, Jose's, and Juan's.

So, I'm happy with our name choice. Not too popular, yet not unheard of. Maybe if we moved to Hawaii, Isaac would have to write "Isaac W." on all of his papers in kindergarten. But, it looks like he's safe in Ohio. ;) If you'd like to check out your name, here's the link.

Three Questions

1) How many times have you heard Minnie Mouse say, "Oh, hello! How are you today?" (Isaac's been playing with his Disney telephone toy all morning.)

2) Have you ever had a baby throw up in your hair? (Eww, happened to me last night.)

3) What do you do if your baby smiles and rolls over whenever you place him on his tummy? (How is he going to learn to crawl if he's so stubborn and rolls over everytime? LOL, at least I know he can roll over well!)

27 Weeks

Isaac is now 27 weeks old~ 6 months and 1 week!

Updates on the little rascal:

* Says "da da" now, much to Josh's amusement. I have been coaching Isaac and told him it's be nice if he could say it in time for Father's Day... and he did! He can frequently be heard saying, "da da da da daaaaaa."

* Really into his FEET lately. He loves to grab at them and try to get them in his mouth (He's managed that a few times, but I think he chubby thighs hinder him most of the time, lol).

* Reaches and grabs for anything thing put before him. He really loves to reach out and pet Sophie.

* Starting to get interested in crawling... although, he'd much rather just reach and and stretch to get toys instead (or bury his head on the blanket and get frustrated). He has pulled himself up on his feet without bending his knees. I have a feeling he's going to create his own way of getting around instead of the typical crawl.

* Tried a sippy cup for the first time and just wanted to play with it. We give him drinks out of cups and our water bottles and he does well with that. He thinks water bottles are the best thing ever these days... cheap toys, I guess. ;)

* Getting out of his 6 month vaccinations this week. We're postponing them because he's been sick all week. It would be just cruel to make him get shots, too.

* Hasn't slept through the night since last Wednesday. He is slowly getting better... but, there's still lots of snot to wipe. He has this pitiful raspy laugh and voice that makes him sound like a smoker. As long as we keep him on Motrin, he manages okay.

Enjoy the pictures!

"Yum, feet!"
"Oooh, a sippy cup!"
He does know how to turn himself around his exersaucer. It spins so he can move to the toy he wants. Yesterday, he must have forgotten. After whining for me to spin him, he decided he'd just reach the toy another way. LOL
Poor sick boy. Keep in mind this is day 5 of his cold. I didn't even take any pictures at his worst. :(
Thankfully, he still gives us smiles throughout the day. Here he is in his swing this morning.
I'm sure he'll be back to his old silly self soon!

The Great Outdoors

I know there wasn't much interest in the tree pics I posted last time... but, I thought I'd post some more outdoor pics anyway. LOL

The two teeny pine trees Josh planted... blocked off from the crazy mutts who just had to be in the picture, too.
The two cherry trees
My new lilac tree!
It's doing really well and is blossoming right now. It smells SO good!
Ferns... they grow along the one side of the house. Aren't they tropical-looking? ;)
The Maple tree out front. Isaac loves to touch the leaves.
Barberry hedge up front.
The hostas I plantted up front... this is where we plan to do the cream brick border.
Roses!!
And more roses! Pretty, huh?

Josh's Grill

Here you go, Joel...

Still Sick

Isaac is still sick. We had a very rough weekend with very little sleep. Isaac has a runny nose, sore throat, congestion, and a cough. I'm also assuming he has a headache like I do. His whining and crying is just so sad... we'll both be much happier once I have to stop suctioning out his nose all day long. We've gone through a million and one tissues between the two of us.

This morning, he threw up on Josh. Yuck! And, speaking of Josh, we spent all day yesterday taking care of our sicky lawicky kiddo. I hope we can have a "do over" for Father's Day because we never even got out of the house. :(

Anyway, I just wanted to update you all. Isaac and are sick and not happy. All he wants to do is be held and all I want to do is sleep all day. He's napping now, thank goodness. Last night was his best night with sleeping. He was only up 3 times. Hopefully, this cold/flu is gone soon! Until then, I'm off to the couch to lay down. :(

Josh's First

I wanted to wish Josh a HAPPY 1st FATHER'S DAY!!!

Isaac is so blessed to have such a great daddy! For his gift, Josh picked out a new BBQ grill (He made chicken today for lunch, yum!)! Isaac gave him a card with a picture of the two of them. He even signed it with his handprints. :) I made Josh a video montage as a surprise and he loved it! You can view it, too...


Happy Father's Day!

Josh received his gifts early because we were all kind of down in the dumps today... spent the whole day wishing our little boy wasn't so miserably sick. We are all grumpy and sleep-deprived at this point.

Can't forget to add...
Happy Father's Day to Mike, Josh's dad and to my "Daddy-o" in heaven. :)

Sick, Sick, Sick

So, I was wrong about the growth spurt. Isaac is sick as a dog. The poor little guy had us up ALL night long with pitiful whining, crying, coughing, and a runny nose. He barely slept at all. To make matters worse, I am starting to feel sick, too. My throat is all scratchy and I have a headache. Josh was not feeling well earlier this week, but we assumed it was allergies. Cross your fingers that everyone in this sick house is feeling better soon.

Growth Spurt?

Oh, boy! Last night, Isaac woke me up twice (12:45 a.m. and 4:45 a.m.) to eat. What?! This is the baby who has been sleeping through the night for months! Nope, he wouldn't go back to sleep with rocking. He was simply hungry! So, I had to nurse him. He's been wanting to eat ALL day long today. I checked my handy dandy baby books and found out that this is a typical age for a growth spurt. D'oh! I'm supposed to just tough it out and feed Isaac on demand. Hopefully, this crazy growth spurt will only last a couple of days.... he's growing too quickly as it is! ;)

* Edited to add: He now has a runny nose and is drooling. Hmm... a cold coming on? Teething? Reaction to solids? I dunno. Gotta' go get my crying baby. :(

Want To Smile?

This is the last video collection I have to share with you, blog readers (I had tons to upload this time around!). It shows lots of fun stuff, like Isaac eating cereal for the first time, sitting up, showing off in his Jumperoo, and my favorite... laughing at the dogs! Hope it makes you smile!


Fun Times

P.S. Isaac watched it and he liked it a lot. :)

6 Months Old!

Isaac is now 6 months old!!

Today is his "half birthday."

Updates on the kiddo:

* Weighs 19 lbs. 6 oz. (My guess is that he had just eaten when I tried weighing him awhile ago, lol) and is 28 inches long! Both measurements are in the 90th percentile for his age and his head circumference is in the 75%. He cried his little head off when the nurse placed him on the cold weight scale.

* "Talking" up a storm and even "sung" when ever he heard the organ music at church on Sunday. It was too cute.

* Loves to look at other babies and kids. He smiles and laughs at them.

* Kissed Josh a few times this weekend! He put his puckered little lips right on Josh's cheek... no kisses for mommy yet. :(

* Working on sitting up more by himself. He balances by putting his hands down in front of him. When he reachs for a toy, he usually flops over.

* Becoming very, very curious and just wants to grab anything and everything... to touch it, eat it, etc.

* Tasted rice cereal for the first time this morning. He wasn't really a fan (I'll share a video sometime soon)... and so, (shhh, don't tell his doctor. He wants us to do plain rice cereal for like ever until other foods) I added some "no sugar added" applesauce. My theory is that he's already had applesauce quite a few times. I've let him taste it when I've been eating a bowl. If I had started him on solids at 4 months, he'd be having two or more jars of baby food a day by now. Anyway, he liked the spruced up cereal a lot better... he even used his hands to guide the spoon towards his mouth. I was surprised that he didn't eat very much, though. I'll make sure to not mix up so much next time.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Guess where our little stinkaroo likes to nap these days? In his stroller, not his crib. The doctor doesn't seem worried at all about his lack of naps. It seems that his daughters were even worse. He says we should be thrilled that Isaac is sleeping 8-9 hours a night!
Dr. M said it looks like Isaac will be built like Josh... and they were pondering what football position he'd play. ;)
Sittin' up like a big boy!
"Um. Did you know there's another baby in here with us?"
Enjoying his exersaucer
"I'm ready mom! Bring on the cereal!"
"Oooooh."
"Yummmy!" This was after I added the apples. LOL
What a cutie pie!

Tomorrow's A Big Day

It's so hard to believe that Isaac will be 6 months old tomorrow, half a year old! He'll get his first taste of rice cereal in the morning for breakfast! I'm glad we held out this long in starting solids. We have let him taste-test a lot of yummy food during the last month or so, but he has yet to actually eat a meal. We'll start with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. Chances are, he might not like it. It will be pretty bland compared to the yummy stuff (applesauce, strawberries, ice cream, potatoes, etc.) we've let him eat already. If that's the case,
I'll keep trying the plain cereal for awhile. If he continues to not like it, we'll simply mix in a pureed fruit or veggie! Oatmeal will be next after rice cereal.

I plan to do a mix of homemade food (pureed and then frozen fruits and veggies) along with a line of baby food w/out preservatives (Del Monte's Nature's Goodness). Due to waiting so long to start solids, it won't be too long before Isaac is really just eating whatever we have for meals. He's already a begger... above is the sad puppy dog face he gives us if wants to try what we are eating! LOL

Isaac also goes for his 6 month well-baby check-up tomorrow. We'll get his measurements then! I hope he's still on the chart! :)

Listen Up

Lately... Isaac has turned from a once-in- awhile babbler into a noisy boy! He's all about discovering new sounds and is very vocal. Josh jokingly will ask, "Is that your kid?" when the baby is just going on and on with his "talking" (Hey! I think that comes from both of us!). Most of Isaac's talking happens when he's playing with toys on the floor or while he's in his Jumperoo. Sunday at church, he babbled just as loud as he could whenver he heard the music, though... so, I think he will like to sing as well!

I've got some clips to share of Isaac's infamous "growling" and also of his first couple of times saying, "mama." Enjoy!


Noisy Boy

Boy, Does He Laugh

I've been working on uploading our videos and finally have the first set ready for viewers! It's a whole lot of baby laughs... four minutes long. In the video, you can see our extremely ticklish baby boy who definitely likes to giggle. While waiting to get Isaac's pictures taken this weekend, we met a 2 year old named Isaac. His mom asked us if our Isaac laughed a lot... because her's did! See yourself in the video below!


Perfect Name

More videos to come soon...