Growing Isaac

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, Isaac’s new potty arrived (thanks, Amazon)!! So far, he has carried it through every room in the house, stood on it (and fallen off) and then sat on it. I am glad I bought it a few weeks before I was actually planning to start the toilet teaching process. Once it is no longer so novel that the potty has to go into every room with Isaac, I think it will be easier.


I am not planning to start working on teaching Isaac how to use the potty until Todd gets back from Malaysia at the end of September. Until then, Isaac can get used to the potty being around and I will get him back into cloth diapers so he can feel when he is wet.

“I can sit backwards!”

“I can stand up on my own!”


Exploring…

Laundry Room

~ Heather Walter ~ 1 Comment

As you may or may not be aware, we have finally moved on to finishing the laundry room. I painted it yellow a few weeks ago. The color is called Woodlawn Music Room. I can only imagine that the room for which this paint is named is mostly windows. LOL! It’s a bright, cheery yellow, though. I wasn’t sure I would like it until Todd gave me the idea of red cabinets.

Todd prepped the cabinets and then painted them white. I went back over the fronts with a color called Classic Red. It was just what I envisioned!


Now I just need some fun door pulls and they will be all finished!

5 Months for Laine!

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My goodness. I feel like I just posted about Laine’s 4-month birthday last week! She is growing so quickly! Laine is a very sweet little one. She is SO HAPPY! She is also completely fascinated by everything Isaac does. She is eager to get moving so she can follow him around. Then things are *really* going to get interesting! LOL

As you have seen from videos this month, Laine is mastering rolling from her back to her belly. She is usually content on her belly for a few minutes after she rolls over, but then I have to go rescue her. Within the past month, she has also learned that she can turn up the volume! She loves to “sing” at me while I am eating.. We will begin introducing pureed foods to her in a month or so. It looks like I am still providing her enough to eat, so I would prefer to delay a little longer. We could technically start at any time, but it looks like there may be fewer chances of allergies if we delay until the 6-month mark (which we did with Isaac).

Laine seems to be getting over some of her trepidation about the camera, as well. I took 3 pics for this month and they all turned out well! 🙂 Enjoy!


Wedding

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The Walter crew attended a wedding this past weekend. Here are a few pics from the blessed event.

Mom, this sweet little smocked, blue dress is the one from Elaine. It was perfect for the occasion!

This one is blurry because Todd was bouncing Isaac on his knee, but I still thought it was cute.

The whole family.

Thriving

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

I am about to publish proof that I do that thing that parents aren’t supposed to do. You know… comparing my kids.  My daughter is just about outgrowing her 6-9M clothes. While I am thrilled that she is so healthy, I was hoping she would stay tiny and snuggly for another 5 years or so. 😛

Anyway, just to give you an idea of how they are different in size, Laine now weighs more at 4 1/2 months than Isaac did at 1 year! Here is a more “apples to apples” comparison:

Isaac at 5 months old (wearing a slightly bulkier cloth diaper):


Laine at 4 1/2 months:

They are both super-extra cute, aren’t they?

Even if she is growing like a little weed, our girl is just as sweet as she can be. She is more awake and alert during the day, so my Moby wrap is getting a workout. I don’t like leaving her in the bouncy seat and it’s nice to have both hands free to do some things. She doesn’t like it when I sit down, though, so I might be in really great shape in the near future. LOL! 

Within the past few days, Isaac has hit me with both barrels. The first time, it was “no kisses” when I was playing with him. Then, he threw “no snuggles” at me. (Did I really want him to learn to talk?) He still wants mommy to snuggle at nap time and before bed, but he is otherwise rough and tumble. Something is going on with him, though, because he’s been a little crankier and out-of-sorts lately. I took him for a chiropractic adjustment on Thursday and that evening he was in a better mood than he has been for about a week and a half. I know he should have a couple of molars coming in, but I haven’t noticed any extra drool, so I’m not sure if that’s what is bothering him. The chiropractor said it looked as though he’d recently had some fluid in his ears, so I what I thought was an ear infection may have been.

Mini Update

~ Heather Walter ~ 1 Comment

I got Isaac added to a wait-list at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School yesterday. Their program for 2-year-olds is a 2-morning/week class from 9-12 (noon). I like that it is only 3 hours at a time, so I don’t have to adjust quite so quickly to having him gone. There are a couple of names above his, but they have been on the list for quite some time. Apparently that is a good sign if they do end up going to the wait-list for some reason. People who have been on the list for a long time often have made other arrangements by the time they are called. I am not overly eager to get Isaac into school just yet, but I don’t think I am challenging him enough. I am currently not sure how he’d do in school, however. At the office yesterday, he spent the entire 5-minute visit informing the 2 nice ladies in the office that he “no like it.” LOL!!! He doesn’t like to leave the house much of-late. When I tell him we are going to go somewhere, he immediately starts his “home” chant and tries to run away from me when I get ready to put him in the car. I am sure this is just another phase, but it is surprising because he’s always been eager to go out before. I am worried he’s watching too much television, but it is ALL he wants to do, so I have let it slide a bit for the last 2 weeks. Todd was working Sales Conference and NIWeek, so I’ve been doing more than a little single-parenting lately… It’s easier to take Laine upstairs to nurse if Fireman Sam entertains Isaac for 15 minutes.

Anyway, I am tired and grumpy today, so that’s all I’ve got. Here are some fun videos from the last couple of weeks:



Laine Meg is 4 Months Old!

~ Heather Walter ~ 3 Comments

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I posted an update on our baby girl. She continues to “thrive!” I took her in for her 4-month appointment today. She has definitely grown. She is only 1 ounce shy of a whopping 18 pounds! Isaac didn’t weigh this much at 7 months. I guess we will be buying her a new car seat soon. It’s just too heavy to keep putting her in the car seat carrier. With her inside, it weighs close to 25 (very awkward) pounds. Here are the stats from Laine’s pediatrician’s appointment today:
Weight: 17 lbs. 15 oz. (> 95th percentile)
Height:  25″ (85th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 1/2″ (80th percentile)


For the Baby Mamas, Laine’s growth is tracking right about where Henry’s was. LOL


Laine is a very happy baby. She is smiling at everyone these days and makes some very sweet, happy, chirping noises when she gets excited. She is quite a little wiggler – I have had to start belting her into the bouncy chairs so she won’t fall out. She is learning how to use her hands. It’s been adorable to watch her hold her two hands in front of her while she looks at them. This week, she successfully grabbed the mushroom on one of our bouncy seats (a feat that was momentous for Isaac and I still remember). She has been able to grasp the umbrella dangling on the other bouncy seat in order to start the music. She routinely grabs the two little “entertainers” hanging from the car seat handle as we are driving. She delights in almost everything Isaac does. 



As you can see, my helper was ready to spring into action while I took pictures yesterday. Here they are playing together today:


Summer Storms

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

After last summer’s ridiculous drought, we are all in favor of some good rain around here. We have had 3 days of rain, so far. The storms on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were very different. Tuesday’s was more like a short hurricane. Candy, who lives maybe 5 miles from here, is close to a weather station. The station picked up winds of 90 mph! As I was watching out the window during the storm, I have no trouble believing that at all. Bark was literally flying off the Crape Myrtle tree as I was watching. The rain chain on the driveway side was floating off the ground and hovering in front of the window nearest the stairs as I watched. I didn’t video that day because I was carrying the baby around and it makes for a wobbly video.


Yesterday, Isaac napped through the storm, so I was able to set Laine down and do some video and still photos. There was no major wind yesterday, but WOW!! There was a lot of rain.


This is the rain chain outside my bedroom window. See how hard it is to view the house across the street through the rain?

Listen to this:

The river, I mean street, into the park next door.

Flooding along the front of the house:

There is a river running through my front yard. You can see the small patch of green between the water and the street on the other side.

Picnic table is drowning!


Isaac the Helper

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Isaac has become quite the little helper of late. He always tries to help, but he’s just amazed us with a few things in particular over the last week or so. 


The other day, after he finished eating his cereal, he got down from the table. He got his bowl and spoon, took them to the dishwasher, and put them in! He did it again when he finished breakfast this morning. 


A couple of nights ago, I took Laine upstairs immediately after dinner. Todd and Isaac stayed downstairs to clean up the kitchen. As Todd was washing dishes, he heard a sound in the pantry. Isaac had opened the dog’s food container, set the lid aside, and scooped out half of a cup of food to feed Jackson. Todd helped him to fill the cup the rest of the way, but then let Isaac feed the dog and release Jackson to eat. He usually helps feed Jackson, but it’s because Todd says, “I am going to feed Jackson. Do you want to help me?” This time, Isaac proactively started on his own! 


Yesterday, I went upstairs to get Laine after her nap. Isaac stayed downstairs. He apparently got his milk cup off the kitchen table and was carrying it around. It spilled in the front hallway. He came back into the kitchen, got the paper towels down, pulled a few (okay, a bunch) off the roll, and tried to clean up the spilled milk! I am so excited about how helpful he’s genuinely been the last few days. If only I could make it last for another 18 years or so…


Isaac has been helping Daddy with projects in the yard for a few weeks now. He wants the drill whenever Todd is using it, so I took him his own drill and he got right to work! A few pics of Isaac and his drill hard at work last weekend in the truck bed: