7 Months Old in Pictures

I took these of Isaac this afternoon. He's a pretty cute 7 month old, if you ask me.

7 Months

The other night Jacob and I were talking about Isaac and he mentioned wanting to freeze time at this age for just a little longer. And I totally agree. And then yesterday my mom mentioned that Isaac was on the downward slope to a year old now. And again, I wanted to freeze time. I just can't believe how fast he is changing and growing.

So, in honor of his 7 months I give you the top 7 list of things about Isaac (both good and bad):

7- Isaac still doesn't sleep through the night. He has nights that are better (waking only once or twice) and nights (like last night) where he is up every three hours. Granted, he is teething. But I would really like to see 8 consecutive hours of sleep. On the plus side of these night wakings, he is way more cuddly and I get to snuggle my otherwise very active baby.

6- Isaac has 3 teeth and is working on the 4th. He recently acquired his top left tooth and is working on the right. And within 8 hours of the tooth cutting through the gums Isaac learned how to grind his lower and upper tooth together. He does it all the time. It's both cute and disturbing all at the same time.

5- Isaac loves to eat! He likes everything we give him and I'm sure would love to have all the regular food we eat too. He also loves to drink out of cups (with some assistance of course). He is eating the pureed baby food. How do I know he's ready for cheerios or other finger foods?

4- Isaac has become proficient at rolling. He has masted the roll-to-whatever-I-want skill. Needless to say, I am getting way less done when he is awake. I have to constantly watch him. He's already had some injuries from rolling into things he shouldn't. And he is fascinated by the fireplace which happens to have a raised hearth with very sharp edges and corners. TROUBLE! And he is so stinkin' fast. He can cover the area of our living room in seconds. I am in for it when he actually crawls and walks. He is going to keep me on my toes for sure.

Which leads to 3- Isaac is as close as you can be to crawling without actually doing it. He can get up on all fours, sometimes toes, and rocks back and forth. He also tries to figure out the movements but isn't quit there yet. He'll move his feet without moving his hands and faceplant into the carpet. It is very fun to watch.

2- Isaac is a talker. He loves to make noises and especially "raspberries" or spitting noises. (Less fun while feeding him...) He mostly says "bwaaa bwaaa bwaaa" but can also do "ma ma ma." I'm trying to get him to mimic "da da da" but he mostly just looks at me. He also is starting to do little high pitched squeals that border on screams. Mostly cute but I can see the potential for annoyance. I especially love when he is in his crib going to sleep or having just woken and I can hear the chatter. I love that he mostly wakes happy and sometimes falls asleep talking instead of crying.

1- The number one thing about Isaac is his smile and laugh. He is such a happy baby. People compliment and comment all the time about how good he is and how smiley he is. And I think he knows a little bit how to work it too. He flashes smiles at any stranger who talks to him. It's pretty adorable.

I certainly am loving this stage of babyhood and hope I am enjoying and appreciating it enough while I am able. I am grateful and lucky to be Isaac's mom!

Isaac and His Parents

Sunday was perfect picture taking weather. And so we did. I mentioned before wanting more pictures with Isaac and I. I think I have a few now. :) And I love them.

We also included Daddy in the photo taking fun. Isaac sure loves his dad!

The feeling is mutual.

I'm pretty sure I love both of these boys!

A Quick Trip to Utah

My little family and I made our second road trip as a family of three. I was somewhat nervous about how Isaac would do since the last time we went to Utah he was only two months old. Now he is a big 6.5 months and that, my friends, is a big difference. But, he traveled fabulously. In fact I am more encouraged about our future travels having this little trip under our belt. Isaac even slept pretty well at my parent's house. Especially considering he is teething again.

We mostly went to Utah so I could check out the International Quilt Market. It is a trade show for quilting shops to come choose what they will carry in their stores. My mother-in-law designs patterns (check her out here) so she was able to get me a badge. It was really fun to see all the pattern and fabric booths. The sheer number of booths was impressive. They filled the Salt Palace Convention Center. It took me two hours just to walk the isles. I didn't stop much, just walked and looked. I can't imagine the time it would take if you were a shop looking to place orders. Crazy! I didn't take too many pictures because I wasn't sure if I could. But I did snap a few.

We also enjoyed time with my family. But again, the pictures are sparse. I only took a few of Isaac with his cute cousin Hannah. It was fun showing Isaac off. He has changed a lot since my family has seen him. He took some time warming up and then he was all smiles. He was fine to be held by others (unless he was hungry or tired, of course).

We also enjoyed some time with Jacob's mom. Not a lot of time, but some. We went out to dinner after market on Saturday. Again, I didn't get pictures. Isaac was exhausted from Jacob taking him around Temple Square and Isaac not napping so much. So I mostly spent dinner trying to wrangle a tired, hungry baby.

Jacob has an Uncle and family in Taylorsville that he has been wanting me to meet. So Sunday afternoon we went for lunch. It was so fun to meet them. His cousin's kids are adorable. And they thought Isaac was the coolest thing ever. It was funny to watch all the little kids huddled around Isaac and laughing at him, and gushing "he's soooo cute." Isaac was also lucky enough to taste his first cheezit. One of Jacob's cousin's kids was kind enough to share with Isaac. Isaac was not happy when Jacob fished it out of his mouth. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's ready for that kind of food though I am certain he is not.

On the way home we got stopped just 10 minutes outside of Fort Collins. We were held up for about an hour due to an accident between a truck hauling molasses and another vehicle. Apparently there was a lot of molasses on the highway that had to be cleared before we could move on. The corny jokes were in abundance. "Getting home was slow as molasses..." "We got caught in a sticky situation..." Ha, ha, ha!

Upon arriving home I told Jacob it is probably a good thing when I am equally happy to be back home as I was to be visiting my family. I think Fort Collins is starting to feel more like home than visiting my childhood home. But, there is still nothing like seeing the Utah mountains as you approach Orem.

Thanks to my parents for having us! And thanks to Jacob's mom for the pass into quilt market!

Photos will follow in separate posts...I'm uploading straight from picassa and I can't figure out how to combine it all into one so...deal with it I guess.

Isaac Takes Temple Square

Cousin Time

Jacob and Isaac and Molasses

I just love this picture of Jacob and Isaac as we were waiting for the molasses spill clean-up.

Bonus

This has nothing to do with our trip to Utah but had to be shared just the same.

Sick House

Everyone is sick at my house today.

Just colds, thankfully, but still makes for a bummer of a day. Especially with the continued drizzle of rain, and sometimes full on down pour.

But today has nothing on last night.

I don't think any of us got much sleep.

Poor baby Isaac is still teething and has a cold on top of that. He fell asleep fine at about 8pm but woke three hours later, nursed, and didn't go back to sleep. I have a hard time letting him just cry when I know he is not well. So I went back to his room, gave him some Tylenol, and tried rocking and pacing with him. Eventually I put him back in his crib and he fell asleep while I patted his back and sang to him.

But he was awake again not even an hour later. And this time he wouldn't go back to sleep despite all my efforts. I finally gave in and nursed him back to sleep at 3 am.

I'm not writing this post for sympathy. In fact, quite the opposite.

It's funny to me that when the nights are long and my baby is so sad, I feel a greater sense of fulfillment in mothering. As I was singing and rocking and pacing the floors, I couldn't help but feel gratitude for the chance I have to be Isaac's mom. I guess it's partly because I feel more compassion and love when I know my poor son is not feeling well. I just want to take it all away and make things all better for him. I love him so much. And I love holding him close and trying to comfort him.

So am I exhausted? Yes.

Exhausted and grateful to be a mom.

Crying It Out

Lately I have been letting Isaac "cry it out" a little more in the hopes that both he and I will get more sleep.

Tonight it has become a little more difficult for me.

The weather is warm which means our upstairs bedrooms are even warmer. But I'm not ready to turn on air conditioning when the nights get so cool and we have a whole house fan that is pretty effective.

The problem is the open window in Isaac's room and my concern about what neighbors may say when they hear my crying son.

He's been crying now for 15 minutes. The longest 15 minutes of my life.

Is it bad to be so worried about what the neighbors may say? I can just see DHS showing up at my door wondering what all the crying is about. That would be awesome. And by awesome I mean not at all awesome.

Happy Mother's Day!

Some Saturday Cuteness

Yes, it was warm enough for shorts today. And yes, my son is adorable.

Happy Saturday!

Girls Night Out

Yesterday Jacob attended the "Aaronic Priesthood Commemorative Campout" which is just a fancy name for the fathers and sons camping trip. I tried to convince him to take Isaac but he seemed to think with Isaac still breastfeeding (way too many times) at night that it wouldn't be a good idea. Whatever... :)

So Isaac and I took the opportunity to go out to dinner with Heather and Lori. A girls nigh out, plus one. It was a lot of fun for me. I finally went to The Star of India to sample their Indian fare. The Bombay House in Provo kinda sets the bar for me as far as Indian food is concerned. I've had plenty of good Indian food but nothing as great as the good old Bombay. But last night's chicken saag did not disappoint. It was certainly on par with the Bombay house version. Heather's tikka masala looked a little too bright red for my liking but she said it was delicious. I also really enjoyed the naan I ordered. Is was naan with cheese in it. Really good.

And, as a special bonus, Isaac was really well behaved. He sat in one of the wooden restaurant high chairs and basically entertained himself while we ate. He did get a little squirmy towards the end of the evening but he was getting tired so who can blame him.

Plus, I was getting a little squirmy too. What's the deal with really slow service at Indian restaurants? It took them a full 45 minutes after we were done eating to bring us our check.

But, I'd probably go again anyway. The food was gooooooood!.