My friend Amalia had to make a book trailer for a children’s book. The kids and I helped. Hollywood, get ready for the Walters! Click here to see the video.
Tag: Just Me
6 Weeks for Laine!
Yeah, yeah. I’m behind. I intended to post an update after Laine’s 1-month appointment almost 2 weeks ago… I am finally getting 8 seconds to sit at the computer. 🙂 Todd left last Monday and Mom’s been staying with us. She left yesterday. She’s been helping to take care of Laine and Isaac. Thank goodness she was here! Todd will be back late tomorrow night and we’re all looking forward to it. Isaac is *definitely* missing his daddy!
Laine’s 1-month appointment went well. She gained FOUR POUNDS in one month!!! She was 7 lbs. 14 oz. at birth and was 11 lbs. 14 oz. at the doctor visit. She is growing and growing! She is almost out of her 0-3 month sized clothes. It’s hard for me to believe since Isaac was so much smaller. She weighed more at one month than Isaac did at 2 months. 🙂 We’ve also discovered that Laine looked exactly like her daddy did when he was born. When I get some free time (hardy-har-har), I’ll try to scan in a few of Todd’s baby pics for a comparison. It’s uncanny! She’s a good eater and sometimes a good sleeper. It doesn’t look like she’s going to have all of the reflux issues poor Isaac had, which is great news. I went to see my midwife yesterday, who said I look like I melted. Then she saw Laine and said, “Oh my gosh, it’s because she ate you!” LOL
Isaac is getting used to having a little sister. He dotes on her, which is very sweet. I have to be careful, though. I can’t leave him alone with her at all because he’s constantly touching her and he’s not yet mastered the “gentle” touch yet. He’s been VERY sweet and it makes my heart melt to watch him with her.
OK. On to the part you’re actually interested in; the camera dump.
For some reason, it won’t let me rotate these… Hopefully you’ll still enjoy the outtakes from the calendar photo:
Wearing Daddy’s hat:
Our Busy Boy!
I wanted to capture the look of terror on Todd’s face just seconds before this. His first time to hold both of his kids at once. 🙂
Nana and Baby Laine:
Still can’t rotate… Laine and her CPK. I will use this doll for size comparisons month-to-month. Isaac, apparently, will also be participating. LOL
Todd’s been working on the laundry room. Here he has been taping and floating the walls. You can see where the old window used to be.
Showing off the now-textured walls.
Elke reading a book to Isaac and Milena:
Henry exploring:
Easy rider:
Alan and Cash exploring:
Alan, Cash, and Henry explore:
Henry pushing Isaac’s tricycle:
Music makes the boys dance!
Nana and her grandbabies:
Baby Celebration
I haven’t mentioned this on the blog in a while, so I will do so now. I LOVE my Baby Mama friends. It’s such a simple name for us, but it means a lot. It’s unfathomable that I didn’t know these women 2 years ago. They are such a vital part of my world! Our little group started when Isaac (and Cash) were less than a month old. A few of the mamas who joined later weren’t even official mamas yet! One of the mamas has had her second child since the group started and THREE of us are pregnant! It’s a little wild how quickly the little group is growing!
Mamas, I love you. From the very bottom of my heart, I love you. Thank you for being in my life. Each of you brings something special and is an irreplaceable part of my life. Most of you have seen me at some of my worst and you have loved me, anyway.
We had a baby celebration on Sunday for brunch. We went to Kerbey Lane Cafe to celebrate the 3 anticipated arrivals. Isaac’s sister is due in March (one month from today!), Henry’s brother is due July 4, and Christopher’s sibling is due in August.
Expectant mommies: Marielk (Christopher’s mom), me, and Candy (Henry’s mom)
Baby bumps!
The mamas: Karen, Allison, Stephanie, Bethany, Marielk, me, Candy (Julia & Valeria were with us in spirit)
Last year, for Isaac’s first birthday, there was a joint celebration for 4 of the boys of Baby Mamas (they were all born within 2 weeks of each other). This year, we are going to have another joint party! It’s so great to be able to do this instead of going to 4 of the same party… We have started planning and are all getting excited. Except for the part where the boys actually have to turn 2. I think there are 4 mamas in denial about that part!
We had another OB appointment this morning. My blood pressure is still behaving itself, so everyone is happy about that. Andrea (Dr. C) let Isaac hold the speaker for the fetal heart monitor, so he and Daddy got to listen to Baby Girl’s heartbeat. I wish I’d had a camera to capture the sweet moment… I will be back next week for my next appointment. At that point, I will be 37 weeks, which is technically FULL TERM!!! I am so eager to meet our daughter that I can hardly stand it. I know I am boring the pants off everyone I know because it is about my only topic of conversation these days. Her crib bedding arrived last week, so we are ready to start setting up the nursery. How wonderful to be prepared a whole month in advance! We certainly didn’t have that luxury the last time. We will be reusing Isaac’s crib and moving the changing table into the new nursery. I am sure Isaac is going to wonder why his furniture is moving down the hall. Nestle and Jackson are going to be a little more savvy this time, though, I think!
Todd’s parents are RVing up to Kerrville this week. They are planning to be there for about 2 weeks before joining us here in Austin (unless we call them sooner). They have been down in the valley since January. Kerrville is about 3 hours from Austin, so it will be easier for them to pick up and head to Austin should the need arise. I don’t think we’re going to meet our little angel before March 15, though, so we’ll let them enjoy a couple more weeks of vacation. 🙂
Haven
I have been meaning to post about this all week. What have I been doing with all of my time?! 🙂
I am really interested in a challenge that my friend Nickole posted to her FB page. I have decided I am going to join her in the 31-day challenge this month to “make my home a haven.” I know – you’re laughing because my “haven” is having itself ripped apart and put back together this month… I am not deterred so easily.
Anyway, the challenge is pretty self-explanatory. If you’d like to join me, check this out!
Vacation
I decided to take my flight with Isaac all by myself. Stupid? Probably. But it all worked out really well. Isaac is a traveling champ! Isaac and I flew to Baltimore/Washington on Saturday, May 14. Isaac did not cry, or even fuss, once on the plane. Our flight was super-early, so he slept through most of it before proceeding to charm our seatmates for the last 45 minutes or so… My college roommate, Gail, came to the airport to pick us up. We spent the night at her house where she and I had a chance to catch up while Isaac played with her kids’ toys.
The next day, Gail dropped me off and my friend Amy picked us up. We spent the night at her house on Sunday and had an awesome time with Amy, Sebastian, and the boys. Amy’s son, Nicholas, and Isaac had a great time building things with foam blocks and knocking them down.
That was before Isaac discovered that the blocks would float in the dog’s water…
Isaac loved Sebastian, who let him get away with murder…
Amy’s sister (and my FB friend), Jessica, brought her daughter over. Juliana and Isaac were due within about a week of each other, but were born nearly a month apart! They babies were so cute together!
I could have spent a week at the Fonss house! :o) But… Monday, Amy and her sons drove into DC to take Isaac and me to Union Station. We took a train to Williamsburg. It took about 4 hours and Isaac was, again, a great traveler. I got someone to help me load my ridiculously heavy suitcase and the car seat on the train. Then Isaac and I found a seat with a woman who spends her days working with 1- to 2-year-olds. Perfect!!! She was fascinating because she has lived, literally, all over the world. She was great to talk to on our journey and Isaac even managed to relax enough to take a little snooze while we chatted.
We spent the work week in Williamsburg at my sister’s house. Nana, Aunt Kristin, and Uncle Dave all lavished plenty of affection on Isaac. Unfortunately, I have very few pictures of the week spent at their house… Isaac practiced his walking skills and had great fun losing Aunt Kristin’s markers for her.
Friday, we drove back up to Northern Virginia. Isaac was really good in the car and napped much of the way. As Kristin pointed out, he was actually less cranky than she and I were while sitting in traffic.
We had a wonderful roommate reunion at Michele’s apartment. We spent the day at National Harbor and then retired to Michele’s apartment again for milkshakes, sushi, and relaxing.
Todd flew in on Saturday evening. After dinner with a friend, he came down to NoVa and met up with us. The next day, we drove up to Maryland, where we had a family gathering for our nephew, Kyle’s, seventh birthday. Would you believe that I didn’t take a single photo of Kyle’s party??? We did get a good family photo of all of us, though.
Tuesday, we drove up to the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania. We were in a technology blackout – no phones, no email, NO FACEBOOK!!! for the rest of the week. It was glorious! Isaac had already traveled by planes, trains, and automobiles, and once we reached Yough, he got to experience a boat. He wasn’t a big fan of the bulky life preserver, but he wore it. The river was beautiful and peaceful before the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We took advantage of it.
Back at the A-frame (river house), Isaac worked on his stair-climbing mastery… Mom wasn’t terribly thrilled, but sometimes you have to pick your battles.
Isaac practiced walking with PopPop, as well as with both grandparents. Grandma thinks he’ll be walking on his own within the week, but I think it’s going to be a few more weeks. I’m fine with letting him take his time – I can still sort of keep up with him while he’s still crawling.
After a thoroughly relaxing few days on the river, Todd, Isaac, and I went to Lower Burrell, PA to see Todd’s grandmother. She was so surprised that she got to meet Isaac!!!
We finally returned home on Sunday evening. We had a day to get used to being back in Austin before Todd had to return to work today. Isaac was an amazing traveler and never complained on our trip. We had a great time seeing so much extended family. I think we’ll try to do it again next month. :o)
9 Months!
OK, so this post is a little late…
I took Isaac to the doctor yesterday for his 9-month checkup. He actually weighs less than he did at Thanksgiving. I guess he’s burning a heck of a lot more calories with all of his crawling. The doctor wants me to feed him 3 meals (each a full jar) per day, in addition to as much nursing as he might want. He weighed in at 17 pounds 2 ounces, but was 17 pounds 12 ounces back in November. (He’s now 27 3/4 inches long, so he’s over an inch taller than he was back at his 6-month appointment). She assured me that she wasn’t too worried, but she wants to check him again in one month. So, we began our new feeding regimen today and, so far, Isaac seems quite content. He has been really hungry for the last few days and I’ve been doing a lot of nursing, but I wasn’t increasing his “solid food” intake as much as I apparently should have. He did eat quite a bit yesterday, though not really on a schedule. He only woke twice to eat during the night, which was a vast improvement over the previous night. I fed him breakfast this morning, but he didn’t eat a whole container of food. Judy (Grandma) fed him lunch and he ate most of the jar of sweet potatoes and an entire jar of apples!!! I think he probably already weighs 10 ounces more than he did yesterday morning!
We are all having a wonderful visit with Todd’s parents this week. They arrived on Sunday and we got to celebrate Christmas one more time. Isaac got lots of fun new toys and a bunch of new chew toys (books). He is happily showing off all of his new crawling skills and has been pulling to a stand any chance he can. I am wowed by how much stronger he is this week compared to last. He can crawl all the way across the room now, which he certainly couldn’t have done last week. He is really moving now!
Here’s a little video of Isaac when he finally sat still for a few moments a couple of days ago…
Judy babysat Isaac for an hour this afternoon and I was able to get out for a pedicure. I can’t even remember my last one – it may have been last Christmas. I know it was with Kristin, but I don’t know how long ago it was.
Green Beans
There are two different schools of thought on green beans between the adults in our house.
Todd will eat them now, but there’s a story from his youth that bears repeating. When Todd grew up, there was a rule in there house that you had to meet as many veggies as you were old. For example, a 3-year-old had to eat 3 green beans. One night, as Todd was procrastinating eating his green beans, he looked at his dad and said, “Dad, what does ROT taste like?”
Green beans are, however, my favorite vegetable. I love them.
What did Isaac think?
Not Much To Tell
…But I get calls from Nana if I don’t post anything for too long. LOL
This was taken a couple of days ago when Isaac was feeling a little better. He is normally very vocal, but is apparently camera-shy. He seems to have a good day, then a bad day, then a good day with the sickies… He feels a little warm to me today, but that could just be because my hands are little blocks of ice. Thank God I live in Texas! It’s in the 50’s and I am a popsicle.
Unfortunately, even though Isaac seems to be feeling better, I’ve gotten a cold. I’m hopeful that it’s the same thing Isaac (and Todd) had. Otherwise, I’m probably going to get the poor little guy sick again… Today, in an attempt to get out of the house and not have to *do* anything, we went to another Baby Day showing of Harry Potter. We went with our friend, Maureen, last week, but I loved it and decided to go again today. Isaac mostly napped through the movie both times, which is wonderful when I’m the entertainment committee.
In other news, my cousin Elisabeth is being induced tomorrow and is already in the hospital this evening. They are starting her on Cervidil tonight – this sounds a lot like how we got to meet our sweet Isaac nearly 8 months ago! My thoughts and prayers are with her and her husband, Matt. I hope things go very smoothly for them and little Miss Bailey makes an entrance sooner, rather than later.
Ford GT (AKA: a Car I will Never Own)
When we went to Rudy’s for breakfast, this amazing car was parked in the parking lot.
Todd and I looked it over and saw that it was signed in several places by different people. Suffice it to say that I’m unlikely to ever own a car that people want to sign…
As we ate breakfast, Todd and I speculated on the owner. Todd guessed it would be a man in his 50’s. I decided he would be divorced with no children.
On our way out of Rudy’s, I stopped to take this picture. The owner of the car, who was exactly the person Todd and I expected him to be, saw me and told me it would cost $1.00. I laughed and told him it was a nice looking ride. He told me I needed to sit in it. !!! I didn’t need much convincing! He asked if I had anything sharp in my pockets. Apparently the seats are $7,000/each. That’s more than the value of my entire car. LOL
It was definitely an experience! The car sits really low, which made it interesting to get in and out. The doors actually open half of the roof at a time, but it makes it easier to get a picture taken. LOL The guy said he’d just driven down to San Antonio and written a check for the car when he bought it 5 years ago. They were originally listed at $300K, but he waited until the prices became “more reasonable.” It still cost more than our house… It was fun to sit in the car and I will remember it for a long time to come!
Visit from "Aunt" Chel
My college roommate, Michele, has been with us for about the last 5 days. We’ve had an awesome time together! She got to meet Isaac for the first time. (She also spent a great deal of time petting on Jackson, who was very smitten with her).
Chel spent lots of time playing with Isaac. I am so glad she got to meet him! I am so used to being Isaac’s only company during the day that it was a little challenging for me to realize that sometimes someone else can play with him or hold him, too. I’m just used to being the one he relies on for everything most of the time. It was good to have someone else entertain him a little:
After all, I’m not always a good influence:
Sunday, we all went to Six Flags. It was the scene of this year’s National Instruments company picnic. We had a great time! Since there were 3 of us, we rotated who rode the coasters and who stayed with Isaac. It worked out really well. Isaac got to meet lots of Todd’s coworkers, and we got to see their little ones. Michele was really a champ and seemed to have a lot of fun just holding Isaac and playing with him.
On the way home, we stopped at Freetail for some microbrews and a good dinner. We joined our friends the Voosens. Mo had fun keeping Isaac entertained while her little girl played with some of the “big kids.”
Leavin' for Leuven 