Tag: Isaac

School of Hard Knocks

~ Heather Walter ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday we had quite an adventure. Isaac had been in the yard playing for a few hours and we were having a good time. He was, as he often is, playing on and around the lawn tractor. He loves to sit on the seat and then climb down. He does it over and over again. He had gotten down off the mower and was chasing Jackson. He then ran back to the mower, tripped, and banged himself up on the front, steel bumper. It’s a plain metal pipe about 1.5 inches around. He started screaming before I could even pick him up, although I was less than 2 steps away when it happened. He gave both of us a pretty good scare. He buried his head in my shoulder, so I wasn’t initially able to see the damage. When I finally could see it, it had been bleeding for a few minutes and he had gotten it on his hands. I was afraid he would need stitches, but it appears to be pretty shallow.  Unfortunately, he never seems to get completely over the scratches he gets, so hopefully this won’t leave a permanent mark.  I can still see where he had a severe diaper rash 2 months ago and where the back of his hand was scratched weeks ago…  😦  Fair skin…


This is how he looked once I got him cleaned up yesterday afternoon.



First thing this morning:

Later this afternoon…

It doesn’t seem to be bothering him too much:



The black eye has gotten darker and darker as the day has worn on, but the swelling seems to be subsiding.  Poor kid.  I took him to HEB and was worried that someone was going to call Child Protective Services, but a couple of parents ended up telling me their “black eye” stories, instead.  LOL  I guess I am not the first parent to have done this!

Be My Valentine

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

The Walters had a terrific Valentine’s Day!  Isaac got to play in the yard, naturally, and he loved it.  We try to maximize our outdoor time these days.  Here are a few photos from yesterday:


“No, I’m not eating sand.  Why do you ask?”

“I’m standing on the picnic table and you can’t catch me!”



A demonstration of the photo above:



Snuggling boy:

Mmmmilk…

What’s that camera doing over there?

Standing on the swing

Playing on the swing:




We also baked some little surprises for Daddy.  Hershey Kiss Pies:



Isaac got an awesome gift from Grandma and Grandpa.  They sent a photo book with pages of all of his family members.  He really loved it and has asked to “read” it several times today.  This was a GREAT idea!!!



Finding his favorite page in his new book:

Big blue eyes!!!



Chatterbox

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Isaac is using all sorts of words to communicate now.  Here are a few we hear often:
Dad
Mom
Milk (along with the ASL sign)
More (along with the ASL sign) – this does not necessarily mean “more” of something he currently has, however.
Shoes (along with the ASL sign) – this is by far his favorite word.  It’s the first thing he says every morning.
Socks
Go – said as “Go go GO!!!”
No (of course)
Yeah (thank goodness) – usually accompanied by a vigorous nod
Cat
Dog
Woof Woof – whenever he sees a dog, including Jackson
Meow – not used nearly as often as “Woof Woof”
Choo Choo – relates to anything with trains, whether they are in a book or at the train table (Dave and Judy, this is what he says when he wants to read Dog Train)
Cheers – complete with toasting with his milk, something that I STILL haven’t been able to capture on camera
Uh Oh – whenever he drops something
Car – multiple cars warrant a “Car Car”
Cark – this either means Truck or Honk (the sound a truck makes).  We aren’t sure which.
Bath – he tries to say this one, but he absolutely knows what it means.
‘Na (along with the ASL sign) – this means banana
He signs “Eat”, but he still doesn’t say the word


He clearly understands more than this.  If I mention “Daddy” and “home” in the same sentence before Todd arrives home from work, Isaac will immediately go to the front door and begin pounding on it.  He understands the word “outside” and MOST days he understands “walk.”  Sometimes he just wants to go outside and selectively forgets the word walk…  He is saying something that sounds like “swing,” which is one of his favorite things outside, along with the sandbox, which he also understands.  At night, we will say either “Do you want a bath?” or “Ready to go to bed?”, both of which means he heads to the bottom of the stairs and starts climbing.  He gets a bath at least every other night, but he tries to get one every night.  Tonight, for example, however, he was WAY too tired to bathe him…


He is getting better with “gentle touches” and he recognizes the phrase, but still gets a bit carried away sometimes.  The biggest challenge with this is keeping him from hitting/throwing things at Jackson when he gets excited.  He just *loves* the dog and wants to play with him ALL of the time.  Jackson, not so much.  🙂  He’s a very patient pet.


There are probably another 50+ words he understands, but I can’t think of them just now.  Meanwhile, here’s a short clip of Daddy coming home in the evening.  I was too late grabbing the camera to capture all of the squealing that preceded Isaac looking out the window, but I think you’ll get the general idea.  🙂


December and Christmas

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

A few photos to update you on Isaac, who had a fantastic Christmas!


Trying to fit two pacis into one mouth:



Our tree!



Helping to decorate:



Re-arranging the ornaments:



Coloring a snowflake ornament.



Inspecting the box from our tree:



GrandDad (my dad) came to visit us the weekend prior to Christmas.  Before he arrived, he shipped a gift to our house.  It got here a few days before GrandDad did.  Isaac had a blast with the box:



Isaac and Jackson both made sure GrandDad knew he was welcome at our house:



He got Isaac a Power Wheels that goes an “exciting 2 miles an hour!”  Isaac has had a lot of fun with it so far.



The men assembling the Power Wheels:



Isaac was eager to help:



Daddy teaching Isaac how to make it go:



Isaac is learning to ride more often than pushing, but this was his preference for the first couple of days:



“What does this button do?”



Figuring out how to get it going:



The Thursday before Christmas, Isaac and I hosted our friends from the Baby Mamas for “brunch” in the afternoon.  Allison and her son, Anderson, had great fun with the swings.



Isaac really wanted to climb this tree:



Henry played on the swings while Candy pushed:



Stephanie and Cash also played on the swings, but I don’t have any great photos of this because Steph and Candy were chatting about Steph’s new neighborhood.  Sorry, Steph!


Isaac doesn’t sit on the swings for more than a second or two.  Unless, of course, there’s an incentive:



Hair!  Isaac’s hair is getting long.  I took this picture shortly after nap-time on Friday.  Fun, right?!



Although I completely forgot to take pictures, my good friend Tracey and her family (4 kids!) came to see us on Christmas Eve.  Her son, Wesley, asked if he could play with the Hess truck that Grandpa (Todd’s dad) got Isaac for Christmas last year.  Todd agreed and Wesley had fun.  After they left, Isaac decided he wanted to play with the truck, too.



This is pretty neat!




Christmas morning was a ton of fun at our house!  Isaac got just shy of a billion gifts and had fun playing with each one before he was ready to move on to the next.  He got a Glockenspiel, which has been fun:



My aunt, Elaine, sent Isaac a new book.



Jackson is critical to all gift-opening…



Reading the book from Aunt Elaine.



Sharing the love – the same book with Daddy:



Opening a wooden train from Nana:



I am glad we have this photo of the train before it was broken down into all of the little pieces that make it up.  Now, should I happen to locate all of the pieces in the same room (ha!) I can re-create it.  LOL



Polar Express on Blu-Ray!  How the heck do I play with this?  He actually watched nearly the entire movie sitting still.



Decor for our new front porch:



Jackson for the assist:



The beginning of the tearing-apart of the train:



He also got this neat-o truck that comes almost completely apart.  I still haven’t found all of the pieces since this first photo was taken…



Trying to combine pieces from the truck and the train…



“Hi, Elmo!”



Aunt Kristin (my sister), Uncle Dave, Montana, Rylie, and Piper recorded Twas the Night Before Christmas for Isaac.  I was genuinely touched.



Isaac tested his Hokie Bird Pillow Pet:



Fridge Phonics!  They have been on the fridge for a grand total of under 5 minutes because he likes to carry it around the house.  🙂  Mommy and Daddy sing along with it…



After gifts, our friends Christian, Elke, and Milena came over for brunch.  Milena sat in Isaac’s chair while he napped for a bit.  She was a very happy girl playing with all of our new toys and eating breakfast.



Isaac and Milena “sharing” the work bench we received from Aunt Shannon (Todd’s sister), Uncle Scott, Kyle, and Kaitlin.



Elke supervising to facilitate sharing…



The train table from Grandma and Grandpa!  Christian had fun helping with the assembly.  I think it went together infinitely faster than it would have if he hadn’t been there.  4 parents to 2 kids is a much easier ratio than 2 parents to 1 child!!!



Everyone gathered around the train table.  I especially love Milena’s happy face on the right:



Milena with the train:



Before Isaac began re-configuring the track:

The train table has been *fantastic* indoor fun, especially because we had a few days of rainy weather and I didn’t have to try to convince Isaac to stay inside.  He wanted to play with all of his new toys.  It’s easy to tell when he has a new favorite because he brings it to the train table to incorporate it into the game.  So cute!!!


Sunny days and mild temps have us back outside again:



Our little rider:


He has figured out how to ride it!

There are, of course, more updates since this last round of pictures was taken, but the camera is downstairs.  I will try to post again over the weekend…

England, Scotland, and In Between

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

We had an amazing trip to the U.K. to visit our friends Kyle, Maureen (Mo), and Zoe.  We left last Wednesday and arrived late Thursday morning at Heathrow.  Our flight left Austin at 6:00 p.m. and from there we flew from Dallas to Heathrow (about an 8-hour flight).  Isaac was great on the plane.  He was awake for the first couple of hours, but then slept for about the last 6.  He had a tough time waking up when we actually landed in Heathrow, which made for an interesting de-boarding process.  From the airport, we got through customs and immigration fairly quickly, which was a nice surprise because there had been a strike of customs/immigration employees the previous day and there had been warnings of 12-hour waits which, thankfully, never materialized.  We then caught a bus from the airport to Reading and a train from Reading to Newbury followed by a taxi to the Voosens’ house.  🙂  Isaac was a great traveler and even took a short snooze on Todd on the bus.


Thursday, we walked around Newbury a bit and Mo and Zoe kept us as awake as possible so that we would be able to sleep that night.  Isaac went to bed super early that evening, he even fell asleep in the stroller as we walked to dinner and didn’t wake up until we were leaving the restaurant!  Todd and Kyle went out to a local pub to see one of their coworkers play in a band.  Mo and I stayed up too late and chatted.


Friday, we decided to stay in Newbury again and we walked up to Donnington Castle, which is about a 2-mile walk from Kyle & Mo’s house.  It is really fun to be able to walk across town to see where a castle once stood!



Isaac enjoyed stretching his legs once we got to the castle and was eager to explore.


He didn’t want to be still for a family picture!

Zoe showed Isaac some new places to check out:

…and of COURSE he enjoyed climbing on the rocks!

He is much more sure-footed upon returning to Austin after all of his practice climbing.





After our castle exploration, we walked down to a little pub where we all had an outstanding lunch.


Saturday, we packed quickly and left for the train station.  Off to Scotland!  It was a long train ride up on 3 separate trains.  The kids were both terrific.  Mo was a saint and actually walked a restless Isaac up and down the train a number of times.  We were all glad to finally arrive in Edinburgh.


The first day in Edinburgh, we walked up to the castle.  It was snowing when we woke up, but warmed up to be a wonderful day for walking.  The stroller we borrowed for Isaac had a plastic rain cover, which worked well for keeping him warm as we walked.  He was a trooper for being in the stroller as much as he was.


One of the many beautiful, snowy buildings we encountered in Edinburgh.  I can’t remember whether this was part of the university…

Family photo as we climbed up one of the hills in Edinburgh:

Amazing view!  You can just see the ocean in the distance.  It’s the patch of blue in the very center of the photo.

Zoe, Maureen, Kyle, and Todd all climbing up to the castle.  Todd is pushing Isaac in the stroller:

View of the city and the mountains in the distance as seen from the castle grounds:

Statue of the real (non-Mel Gibson) Braveheart:

Chilling, quite literally, in his stroller:

Checking out the snow:

Stretching his legs after the stroller ride up to the castle:

Father and son looking out towards the ocean:



Checking out the view through one of the cannon holes:



The view they saw:



In spite of the amazing views, Scottish crown jewels, and fascinating history, this was Isaac’s favorite part of the castle:


Other sights around Edinburgh:

I loved this clock.  It’s at least tall enough for a person to walk into it.

After a long day, we went back to relax at the apartment.  I love this picture of Zoe, Maureen, and Kyle!



Mo also played with Isaac quite a bit when the menfolk went to check out a local brew pub…


After our time in Edinburgh, we took the trains back to England.  We left just in time.  The following day, there were winds measuring 165 mph at the top of the castle in Edinburgh!  They stopped running all of the electric trains and had only diesels.

On Wednesday, the Voosens and Walters (Team Texas, as Kyle dubbed us) headed to Bath.  I somehow managed not to take a single photo as we walked through!  The city has a fascinating history, which we learned on one of the free walking tours they offered.  I didn’t realize Jane Austen had lived there.  We also learned some interesting things about a “window” tax that was once in effect.  Homes were taxed based on the number of windows.  The residents ended up either bricking over windows or moving them closer together in some cases (if they were less that 1′ apart, they could be treated as one window).  It was really amazing and I’d love to go back some day.

While in Bath, Mo wanted to check out this really neat light installation that was done near one of the local restaurants.  I don’t know that the photos do it justice, but it was just stunning.  They had used fiber optic cables to connect all of the bulbs, so the lights changed colors and so did the cords connecting them.

On our last day in England, Todd, Isaac, and I headed out on our own.  We toured Salisbury Cathedral, which I again forgot to photograph.  The history there was also pretty amazing.  We got to see the Magna Carta and hear some facts about what its original purpose was (hint: it was NOT to help the common man). There was a pretty nifty display within the cathedral showing how it was built in only 38 years.  Given that it was built in the 1200s, that is pretty impressive!  It was originally intended to have a modest spire.  About 100 years afterwards, they added a new, huge spire.  Apparently no one did the math to be sure the current structure could support the new spire.  It couldn’t!  Even though they have since braced the original supports, the spire still tilts 2 1/2 feet.


Finally, we toured Stonehenge.  It was interesting to see, but I was surprised to find that I already knew most of what we learned on the audio tour.  It is mostly speculation about who used the stones, how, and why.  I did enjoy hearing some of the theories on how they got the upper stones into place.  The answer is apparently not giants…  🙂



It was INCREDIBLY windy at Stonehenge.  Todd carried Isaac about half-way around in the Ergo.  We then let him stretch his legs and run a little bit.  He got blown over a number of times, though he seemed to think that was just part of the fun.  We got in the car to head “home” just before the rain started.  Perfect timing!



We had an outstanding trip and I can’t wait for our next adventure.  It wasn’t too hard to say goodbye to Kyle, Mo, and Zoe because they’ll be staying at our house in another 3 weeks or so.  I am eager to see them again!

Christmas Cards

~ Heather Walter ~ 2 Comments

I tried to get some photos of Isaac in a Santa suit to include in this year’s Christmas cards.  Here’s a sneak preview:



I promise to post updates on the house and everything else ASAP.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving and are now in the throes of prepping for international travel, however, so it may not happen very quickly.

Isaac: Halloween, Grandparents, and General Goofiness

~ Heather Walter ~ 1 Comment

Todd’s parents have been in town, so I have been busy having non-computer-related fun for the last week+ and haven’t bothered with much blogging.  Since I know you would like to know what Isaac has been up to, here are a few shots from Halloween, Wurst Fest, visits with Grandma and Grandpa, and some general tom-foolery.  We have had a great few weeks!!!


Isaac dressed as a Hokie Bird for Halloween.  I tried to get photos.  I call this, “I’m not looking at you…”

“I’m still not looking at you…”


Gotcha!

Oreos:  it’s what’s for Halloween dinner.  🙂

Silly boy on the stairs

Isaac has found a new fun toy.  My shoes.  

All of them…



A demonstration:



Grandma and Grandpa brought a drill that was once Todd’s when he was a little boy.  It has been a HIT with Isaac.  After all of those months watching Daddy with his drill working on projects, now Isaac can work on his own.

Does this fit here?

Yes!  It does!  Now how do I pull the trigger?

Thanks, Grandma!

A little help from Daddy…

Figuring out the drill:



He loves this toy (and Grandpa is giving Mom a hard time, as you can hear in the “background”) LOL



Fixing his rocking chair…

He actually did get the drill piece into the hole where the screw is holding the chair together.

Playing with Grandpa, Jackson, and, of course, the drill set.  I guess I am going to have to face facts that my son is probably going to want to be an engineer.  Or a contractor.  LOL

Mr. Fix-It


Trying to figure out Grandpa’s creation with the drill set pieces:

Playing with Grandpa and Jackson:

Rivets on the couch!

Jackson and Grandma are fun!

Sneak attack headed for the dog:

Tackle!  (Yes, we have the best dog EVER)


Showing off his climbing skills:

Walking around Wurst Fest with Daddy:

Having lots of fun!

Up close and personal with a member of the band:

Mommy sandwich!

My parents love me:

Sleepy boy at the condo (day after Wurst Fest):

Bagel for breakfast:

Isaac wants YOU!

Sweet, sweet boy…

Shopping with Daddy:

…Avoiding shopping with Grandpa:

Cutie in the high chair:

A total ham:

Breakfast!

Playing at the park with Grandma:

Dancing with Daddy in Walburg, TX on a Friday night:

Little charmer (one of my favorite pictures):

One of the few shots of Isaac standing still in our back yard.  I love this picture!



Back yard fun with Jackson:

1 1/2-Year-Old Explorer

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

Started this post yesterday and then got tired of waiting for YouTube to upload my videos…
I decided to just follow Isaac around with the camera on a gorgeous, sunny afternoon Sunday.  He had great fun…


We started in the front yard…


Walking around, looking like a big boy!



Short video, but nice to see his smiling face…



Checking out the progress on the front porch…



And then quickly moved to the back yard, where most of the construction equipment is being stored.  This little gem in his hand is a magnet to pick up loose nails and screws.



He LOVED it because the handle had been lowered to just his height.



Then we moved over to the sand table, where some nails were stacked on top.  Isaac sorted some of them into the bird house.



S-t-r-e-t-c-h!



Which nail is next?



In action:



Electrical outlet around the side of the garage



Dad’s lawn mower



Gate on the other side of the yard…



Before heading back to the porch to sit for a second and a half…



Then he decided to carry around this half-full paint can and Jackson came to investigate



I can do it, Mom!



Measuring how high the grill is



Wow!  That’s way up there!



Stephanie, this toy reminds me of the tractor at the Kathy Caraway place.  I thought he was going to fall over pushing it…


Just before Daddy got home and we went back inside…

Isaac worked up quite an appetite.  Here he is enjoying some sweet potatoes with dinner:

Windows and Posts

~ Heather Walter ~ Leave a comment

All of the windows have been installed!  We have one small snag that will be fixed next week, but it’s nothing major.  The window company sent us a window with regular glass for our upstairs bathroom and they will replace the sashes next week with obscure glass.  There isn’t really a view in or out of the window, so it probably doesn’t matter, but I will feel more secure knowing no one is going to see me stepping out of the shower unless they are standing on the roof looking through the sky light.  😉


Here are the updated photos from late yesterday and today:


Father and son checking out the house at the end of the day on Wednesday:



New kitchen window.  I can’t tell you how much I love this.  It’s my new favorite window!



Let there be light!  Finally a usable window in the laundry room!



All new windows across the back.



The lower posts have been “stained” with a clear coat.  They are stunning.  I didn’t realize what a difference it would make and I couldn’t be happier.



The stonework started at the other side of the porch, so you can see what the bases of the columns are going to look like now.  Getting closer!!!



Finally, one more picture of the kiddo.  Still working on self-feeding.  He’s making a mess, but he loves it.  🙂  This was peach/squash yogurt with dinner.