10 Years of Marriage.

July 12, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ 1 Comment

Last weekend, Todd and I celebrated our first 10 years of marriage! It was interesting because it doesn’t feel like we should be old enough to have been married for that long. 😛 Apparently, we are.

We had a wonderful anniversary on Friday. Todd took the day off work and we spent some time together as a family. Todd put his house projects on hold for the day. We went to Kerbey Lane Cafe for breakfast – which was good because they are open 24 hours and we were there well before 9:00! We also had a late lunch at Chuy’s to celebrate. It was a gorgeous day, so we ate and had margaritas outside.

A *few* highlights of the last 10 years:
Isaac!
Elaine!
Jackson
Honeymoon cruise
2 trips to the UK
1 trip to Paris, France
1 trip to Munich, Germany
1 trip to Florence, Italy
1 trip to Cozumel, Mexico
1 trip for Grandma Gosser’s 90th Birthday in Florida
1 trip to Yough in Pennsylvania
1 trip to San Francisco & Napa Valley
Purchased our new home
Completely remodeled interior of the home
Amazing front porch added to home
Jeep Liberty for H
Chevy truck for T
Ford Flex for H
Countless visits to Virginia/Maryland to see family

We started a list of things we’d like to do within the next decade of marriage. So far, we have:
Visit Chicago (with kids)
Visit Big Bend (with kids)
Leave kids with grandparents for a weekend and go away just the 2 of us. (This one is still a couple of years off, I think!)

Isaac’s 2-Year Photos

July 2, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

I asked my friend Jennifer to take pictures of Isaac for his second birthday. She came over one day back in late April/early May and got some AMAZING photos. She began editing and sent me several via email. I shared those with a few people. Then, Jennifer got very sick. She’s been in and out of the hospital in Houston (she lives in Austin) while she continues to baffle some of the doctors there. They have run lots of tests and have gotten some, but not all, of the answers. I don’t want to post more about it here because, frankly, it’s her business. I will, however, ask you to pray for her that she will regain her health and be back home in Austin, for GOOD, soon. She’s been through a lot…

Anyway, she dropped off a CD of photos of Isaac for me over the weekend. They are absolutely breath-taking. I wanted to share just a few of my favorites with you. We are hopeful that Jennifer will be able to take some family photos of us, as well, but are waiting for her to feel better.

We decided not to try for posed pictures, so Jennifer captured Isaac being himself and playing and having fun in the back yard.

Laine sleeping on Nana (less than 2 months old):

Mommy and Daughter:

Laine is 3 Months Old!

July 2, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

I wrote this post last week, since Laine hit 3 months last Monday. Then, I couldn’t get our computer to boot up, so I couldn’t upload a photo. Sorry for the delay…

Our baby girl has already been with us for 3 months! She didn’t have to go to the doctor for a 3-month well-check, so I don’t have any new size stats on her, but I wanted to give you a personality update.

Elaine is a WONDERFUL baby! She is a very smily, sweet little girl. She loves to interact with us and has been busy cooing and gurgling at us all. She makes good eye contact and smiles whenever she looks at anyone. She seems very interested in Isaac and actually seems to like his attempts to snuggle on her. She has been sleeping through the night for over a month now, but has relapsed a bit in the last week or so. She is still an outstanding sleeper and sleeps from about 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., then wakes again around 5:00 and 7:00, but gets up for the day around 8:00 or so (long after her brother is up and running [literally]). She was sleeping from 11:00 to 5:00, but I haven’t been quite as consistent with nursing her at bedtime. I was going to bed at about 8:30 and nursing until about 10:00 so she could just snuggle to sleep for the night.

Laine has fallen asleep in her crib a couple of times when I’ve laid her in it while putting Isaac down for a nap. She doesn’t fuss very often and I check on her when she seems to be awakening because she’ll actually lie there for 5 minutes or more without crying if I’m busy wrangling Isaac when she awakes. Her latest “development” has been learning to suck on her fingers. She seems to prefer her right hand, but can now get either hand to her mouth. She will suck on her fingers to soothe herself. The sound of her sucking on her fingers through the monitor is usually what cues me that she is waking up. She can also use this to soothe herself back to sleep during nap time if she’s not ready to get up yet. It is FANTASTIC!!!

She continues to *thrive* and is soon going to outgrow even the 3-6-Month-sized clothes she’s been wearing. That works out well for me because it means I get to go look for NEW cute dresses. 🙂 I am feeling amazingly blessed by this sweet new soul in my life If every baby were as easy as this one – eats well, sleeps GREAT, and smiles the whole time she is awake – I would have 12 more. Just don’t tell Todd. LOL

Just in case you feel like I’m leaving someone out of this post…

Dentist

June 28, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Isaac had his first dental appointment on Monday. It went pretty well, I thought. Isaac wasn’t a huge fan of the experience, but is probably still infinitely easier than their usual unhappy patient. Our young friend Zoe likes the dentist at Groovy Molar. It is definitely NOT your typical dentist’s office.

Our visit started with a technician brushing Isaac’s teeth. He initially sat on my lap, but he wouldn’t open his mouth enough for her to brush, so we moved on to plan B. This meant Isaac sat on my lap, facing me, but his head was in the technician’s lap. He loathes being on his back in an unfamiliar place (can you blame him?) so this caused a few small tears. It also made him open his mouth to cry, however, so the tech was able to brush pretty well.

The dentist, Dr. Singleton, was outstanding. He was very patient with Isaac and gave the little man time to warm up to him a bit before trying to look in his mouth. Once Isaac had a little time with him, he was made to lie back down in the same position while the dentist looked around and then brushed a sticky fluoride treatment on his teeth. Dr. Singleton said he was happy with the spacing of Isaac’s teeth, so there should be plenty of room for permanent teeth when the time comes. He was also okay with the paci…for now. Isaac has four new molars coming in within the next couple of months, so he’s already getting irritable as a result. Dr. Singleton said not to worry about trying to get rid of the paci until after the teeth are in. He clearly knows kids… On the bright side, Isaac is getting terrific about handing over the paci. It’s only in at nap times and bed time. He will hand it to me if I forget to pick it up and will give it to me with no whining if I ask. This is huge progress, but we’re going to baby-step it.

Anyway, it was a good experience and we’ll go back again. I am glad to have found a good dentist after some of the scary stories from other mommy friends in town.

Update on the Kids

June 24, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Elaine is the perfect baby. She fell asleep (again!) while I was putting Isaac down for his nap. I take pictures to document that this can actually happen because I still don’t believe it. 🙂

She is just as cute, however, when she’s awake:

Isaac in the yard with some of his trucks:

Isaac and his new bubble maker. Jackson in tow to chase the bubbles:

Trucks in the dirt! There is still dirt around the garage side of the house. Isaac is very relieved.

As you can see:

Nana (my mom) is visiting for a week. Todd is going to Europe again. He’ll only be gone for a week this time, but I’m glad to have the company and the help…

Finally, this is how Isaac decided to rearrange our living room today… by taking every single toy out of the toy box:

Grass

June 24, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Our yard looks SO much better! I was so excited that I literally did cartwheels in the backyard. Thankfully, no one but Isaac saw me. 🙂

The sod installers arrived at about 8:15 a.m. on Thursday. They were really pleased at how “accessible” our lot was. The fork truck was able to put pallets right where they were needed; even in the backyard.

Back yard progress:

Sprinklers make rainbows:

Front yard progress:

Tank full of water rolled across sod to insure minimal air between soil and sod:

Front yard looks good!

So does the back:

Todd has been working on the sprinkler system for a few weeks now and is busy doing some final tweaks to it this weekend. They put out a LOT of water, but we want to be sure that the soil can actually absorb all of the water it’s getting. The new grass has to be watered twice daily for at least the first week (you know, the one where Todd’s in Europe?). He’s trying to idiot-proof the sprinkler set-up so that even I will be able to operate it.

Isaac is still asking for “dirt” every time we go in the back yard. I think he’s a little disappointed that we have all of this fluffy new grass. Todd and I are elated, however, and Isaac is finding little oases of dirt in other areas of the yard now. In other news, Nana (my Mom) arrived yesterday. I will try to post some updates while Todd is out of the country, but please continue to bear with me. I know some of you would appreciate more regular updates, but it’s tricky when I need to entertain 2 kids at the same time. Especially when one of them wants to be outside all-the-live-long day. I’ll let you determine which child that is. 🙂

Last Day in the Dirt

June 21, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Sod was delivered this morning. Photos on that to follow in a post later. Maybe today. Maybe next week. LOL

This was yesterday. Playing bus:

Mom sitting on one of Isaac’s trucks:

Trucks on the pool:

I was excited about this, even though it seems like a small thing. Isaac carried 3 toys. He has one in the crook of his arm. That’s the first time I’ve seen him do that. I have done it a few zillion times, so it was neat to see him learn he could do it, too.

Laine stayed inside and snoozed. She’s not much for hot weather…

My view while sitting on the truck:

Bubbles!

Arves brought us a super-cool bubble maker gun from Malaysia. Isaac and Jackson love it.

Helping Daddy dig in the front yard.

Todd installing a sprinkler head:

The sprinkler head:

Updating the Blog

June 20, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

I am having a tough time with this blog. I am trying to update the picture at the very top. While it is an adorable picture of Isaac, I’d like it to show both kids. Does anyone know how I can change it? When I tried to add a new photo, I got this:

I thought maybe I should just buy some storage space, but when I went to do that, I saw this:

I think I should have PLENTY of room for a new photo, don’t you? 🙂 If anyone knows how to fix this, please tell me. I’ve tried to update it a few times without success. There’s no way to contact Google to get help with it. I have “Sent Feedback,” but it basically says that I shouldn’t expect a response. Thanks for any suggestions!!!

Mini Man & Li’l Miss

June 20, 2012January 23, 2019 ~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Most of this update is just going to be of the Kodak variety… A few things to note, however. Isaac is beginning to put words together and speak in short sentences. Yesterday’s most common phrases were “concrete mixer” and “up and down.” I recognize that these aren’t examples of sentences, but they were the things I heard most yesterday. Isaac’s latest favorite game is “choo choo,” where he is the head of the train and I, sometimes carrying Laine, follow him around the train table over and over. He LOVES this game. He has learned to climb onto his changing table and wants to climb down. In short, he’s very busy. 🙂

Laine is an angel. She has been sleeping through the night since before her 2-month appointment. She is still a good little eater and has had no reflux or colic. I feel like we’ve won the lottery! She makes very sweet cooing noises at us and is becoming more and more alert. She is more interested in Isaac every day because he is always moving and doing something. It’s hard to get her to nurse when he’s in the room.

Dad reading to Isaac, Spot, and Monkey: