Tag: Isaac

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:



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:


Isaac’s 2-Year Photos

~ 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:


Dentist

~ 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

~ 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:

Last Day in the Dirt

~ 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:

Mini Man & Li’l Miss

~ 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:

White noise app on the phone? Check. Comfy Daddy to snuggle on? Check.

Isaac doesn’t understand why someone would ever close a door to go to the bathroom…

Helping Mommy vacuum in the kitchen:



Action!



Outtakes from Laine’s 2-month photo:

In case you don’t get the idea from the above pictures, here’s a video from last week. I am SO glad Isaac loves his baby sister.



Mom’s shoes:

Peeking through the old back fence to where Dad is working:

Isaac has started arranging his chairs in the living room:

Kids together for July calendar photo:


Yard Update

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment
I know I have been remiss in posting. Here’s the yard.

The weekend we had the excavator:

Isaac helping to shovel:

Imagine you are a two-year-old boy. Define Heaven:

Todd had been running pipes to install sprinklers all day on Sunday. Our friend Brent came by that afternoon to help:

In the middle of the night on Sunday:

New weekend, new equipment. This handy machine had all sorts of attachments. Todd used a bucket and a flat metal piece to do some leveling. He and Brent shared the equipment from Memorial Day weekend through the following Saturday. Brent used a trenching attachment (so did Todd) and he used some of the drill attachments. I should have photographed the trailer. It was very well-designed to hold the dozen or so various attachments.

Sprinklers! In the back yard. You can see that the dirt is more level:

Front yard:

Side yard (by the neighbors’ house):

New section of fence:



 Isaac helping Todd build the gate:

Workers tearing up the sidewalk last Tuesday:

Pouring new sidewalk Tuesday afternoon:

Todd rented a tiller this weekend. Todd also raked up all of the debris and we dumped it into the creek bed behind the house. The trailer he rented to haul the tiller was able to dump, which was a HUGE help.



Sod is supposed to be installed on Thursday, so I will try to update then.