Thursday, April 28, 2011

Half a Year

Can it really be? My baby is 6 months old?!

For those first few months when everyone said "Appreciate it while you can, they grow up so fast," I always thought "Yeah right. Time seems to be moving so slowly." But once we hit 3 months old there was a time warp and every day Isaac seems older and bigger. Both physically and developmentally.

I guess it's true. They do grow up fast.

But I also must admit that these past two months, and especially this past month, have been my favorite stage so far. As soon as those teeth came in my happy boy was back. He is seriously so fun! His smiles are killer and his laugh is even better. He is learning new things so quickly and has such a fun personality. Fun and challenging. There are some characteristics that I know are good and I will be grateful for later on, but right now it makes things interesting. Isaac is so independent...or wants to be. He is also stubborn and does things on his own time and in his own way no matter how consistent in a schedule I try to be. He is so curious and busy. He wants to touch and explore everything in sight. He certainly won't sit still on your lap...not when he can stand, turn circles, and then squirm his way off your lap all together. Such a busy boy! I also get so many compliments on what a happy baby he is. He gives out the smiles pretty readily. And I am lovin' it. Is it vain to like all the compliments on how cute and happy he is? Because I kinda love when random people tell me how cute he is.

This has also been a busy month in learning and trying new things. Isaac has had rice cereal a few times (despite my doctor wanting us to wait until after his six month visit in a week) and he loves it! He tries real hard to feed himself. He grabbed the spoon pretty much as soon as he realized what was going on.


He also got to practice drinking from a sippy cup. Just once. And I'm pretty sure he didn't get it at all. But he thought it was the coolest toy ever.

He still tries to suck and chew on everything. Windows, his crib, you name it. There are actual teeth marks on one of the slats on his crib. I had to purchase a mesh bumper to save my crib...

He loves to sit. He especially thought he was cool when we were eating dinner and put him in a chair all his own. And yes, that is Jacob's belt strapping him to the chair. Who needs a highchair or booster seat? Okay, maybe we do.

For his half birthday, Jacob bought Isaac a sock monkey. It's almost as big as he is and he thinks it's the bees knees.



But mostly he enjoys sucking on the tags of all his toys. He is a weirdy. But an adorable one at that.


And though there are no pictures of it, he (and I) reached a huge milestone this past month. He now sleeps exclusively in his crib. Nap time and all night long. And mostly on his stomach. It's wonderful. It would just be more wonderful if he could manage sleeping through the night. Heck, I'd be thrilled for just consistent 5 hour stretches. His sleep has been difficult since the teething. He's been up every three hours and can't seem to get back to consistent longer stretches. I know the day will come when I have to let him cry it out. But I'm not ready for it yet. It's sometimes just easier to get up and feed him and then we can all go back to sleep. Maybe I'm a lazy parent, but for now that's okay.

Happy Six Months Mr. Magoo!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Little More Easter

We had a fun Easter this year. We started a new tradition of reading the "Easter story" of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful dinner with Sarah, Kevin, and Maxwell. Jacob and I made chicken cordon blue...sort of. We also enjoyed the Brunson family recipe for strawberry shortcake. I don't think I've ever had actual strawberry shortcake. We were more of the angel food cake and strawberries kind of a family. I did like it though.

We also gave Maxwell and Isaac little Easter pails. Isaac's had flashcards (words and a picture) and bubbles and Maxwell's had flashcards and gold fish crackers. I swapped out the bubbles and cards for some plastic eggs just to get a few photos. Isaac loved his bucket.


And here are some more Easter hat photos. Jacob thought this hat was ridiculous, but I think it made for some pretty cute photos.


Hope you had a wonderful Easter. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the resurrection and that I get to live with this boy (and Jacob) for eternity! What a gift.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Monday, April 18, 2011

A Random Sunday Afternoon

I've been wanting more pictures of me with Isaac. So yesterday Jacob snapped a few.

And though it may seem Isaac is being supported by those pillows, in actuality he is sitting totally unsupported. He can last a few minutes and then he either falls to the sides, faceplants or throws his body back, hence the pillows...

He's quite pleased with himself...

And grateful for the pillows.

PS...I love his toothy grin! Click on that picture to get a real good look. He's adorable!

Friday, April 15, 2011

A Love Hate Relationship

This post is going to be about breastfeeding. Stop reading now if that subject matter doesn't interest you or weirds you out for whatever reason.

As the title of this post indicates, breastfeeding and I have had our ups and downs. We certainly had a rocky start with several visits to the lactation specialists here in town. Lets just say Isaac was not a "natural" and neither was I. There were many frustrating moments when I debated giving up.

To be honest, I still have those moments. Regularly.

But I stick with it because I think the "love" part of the relationship is stronger.

The "hate" part is plenty strong too...

The "Hate" list:

-Mastitis, clogged ducts, and other infections and pains for which I will spare you the details.

- I'm pretty "tied down" when it comes to time away from the baby. He's not great with a bottle and I'm not great at pumping...

- I'm the only one able to feed him at night.

- Isaac has become much more active while eating and pulls at everything he can get his hand to. My shirt collars are his favorite and they are all getting stretched out. If I try to move his hand he gets frustrated and pulls off, and that's just not cool. He also grabs at my hair, lips, and tries to get at my glasses. It drives me nuts.

The "Love" List:

-I'm currently at my lowest weight since before coming to graduate school. I can fit into my "skinny" jeans (though I still prefer my stretchy pants...).

-It's a sure fire way to calm him or put him to sleep. (Don't judge me. I sometimes/often nurse Isaac to sleep. Sometimes it's the best thing for all of us.)

- I love the bonding factor...he is really cute when he looks up at me or when he falls asleep with his hand across my chest. It's sometimes the closest thing I get to snuggling with my baby who is less keen on sitting peacefully and cuddling into his momma.

Lists aside, I'm still looking forward to the entry of solid food and the time when nursing is less frequent. Especially during the night!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

A Day at a Park

Jacob, Isaac, Sarah, Kevin, Maxwell and I all went to the park a week and a little bit ago to celebrate Maxwell's 1st Birthday. It's funny to be posting these beautiful sunny pictures (granted it was windy) while now we are enjoying (?) snow.

This was Isaac's first time playing at a park and I think he liked it. We'll have to make it a more regular outing as soon as it is warm enough. He especially like the swings. I'm not so sure he was crazy about the slides....but he's a little young yet.




I didn't post any pictures of Maxwell because I'm not sure how Sarah feels about me flaunting her cute son. But he is a cute little bugger toddling around. He was definitely not crazy about the slides though! Especially the enclosed one. Not his favorite thing.

It sure was a fun outing though. Thanks Sarah and Kevin for lunch and fun!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Look What Isaac Found


This actually happened a few days ago. But I'm slow at posting I guess. His new found "toys" make nap time a little more difficult. I guess he is just learning so much so quickly he has a harder time sleeping. He's too busy rolling and playing with those cute feet. What's a mom to do? Mostly I just watch him in his crib as he rolls and plays because it's so funny to see him try and squirm all around and get to his blanket and such.

He's at a pretty fun age, lack of sleep and all.