Wednesday, October 31, 2007

9 month checkup

isaac and i just got back from his 9 month checkup. this is a no-shot appointment, thankfully. the boy weighed in at 21 lbs 3 oz and has stretched out to 30 inches in length. he's a giant.

in other news, we're going trick or treating this evening, to a couple of houses anyways. it is madness in our neighborhood on halloween. apparently, parents ship their kids over here. i guess we give good candy or something.

isaac has been getting a little bit adventurous with his walking lately. i've caught him a few times in the act of letting go of what he's holding onto and taking a couple wobbly steps before collapsing. exciting...

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Tricks

We "discovered" that Isaac has two new tricks up his sleeve.

1. The other day, Derek looked over at Isaac, who had managed to climb up onto the coffee table and was quickly racing towards the other end. We suspect that a conveniently placed toy had aided in his ascent, but it was an impressive feat, nonetheless.

2. Isaac is prone to hurling himself off furniture in order to get down. He often takes head first dives off the couch and practically jumps from his high chair and car seat when he is sprung free of the restraining mechanisms. Most recently, he has learned how to hurl himself over the side of the bathtub. Fortunately, there has been an adult present and waiting to catch a wet, slippery, naked baby during these events. I wonder if he just assumes that will happen every time. I guess we probably shouldn't introduce him to tough love just yet...

In other (unrelated) news, we go to the doctor tomorrow for a 9 month check-up. That is, if our doctor doesn't have jury duty, which they called to warn us about on Thursday.
Also, after recovering quickly from my blah-sickness on Thursday and Friday, I have now found myself heading towards a cold. The runny nose began last night and is really gaining momentum as I type.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

"Shalloween" Party

Derek and I took Isaac to a Halloween Party in "downtown" Lewisville. The event, located in Shallowford Square was cleverly named Shalloween. There wasn't much for a baby to do, but it was a good excuse to dress the boy up. The fact that he's a happy camper whenever he's outdoors was an added bonus.

He was a very cute Baby Chick. Or Duck. Or whatever his costume is. He even won first prize in the costume contest for 6 and under Boys.

All set to go:

Cute Chick/Duck closeup:

Playing the one and only baby friendly game:


Waiting...

Walking in the parade:


Pretty exciting....
Also.... here's a link to the picasa album of all the pictures.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Sick. :(

I'm sick.
It's miserable.
It's not a cold sick, but a sore body, headache, intestinal discomfort, clammy, not quite the flu-type sick.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Nine Months

That is how old the boy is today.
He's been on the outside for as long as he was on the inside.
He's getting quite big. I expect he'll be walking soon. I hope he walks soon, because he's getting to be a little bit heavy. He "talks" all day long, although the only thing he consistently says is "bye bye", but I'm pretty sure he has no idea what it means.
Anyhow, here's the slideshow of the last month in the life of Mr. Isaac.

As always, if you don't feel like watching it, but you'd like to see the pictures at your own speed, here's a link to the picasa album.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Morning Routine

Here is a video of the first thing Isaac does every morning.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Kernel Kustard


After five visits to the newly opened Kernel Kustard restaurant, Isaac and I would like to publicly give rave reviews. This message was unsolicited.

So far, I have tried the following:
1. Vanilla Kustard with Butterfinger mixin.
2. Lick the Bowl Jumble (Vanilla w/ pb cookie dough, brownie batter, and chocolate chip cookie dough)
3. Brew Nerd's Mocha Almond something or other Kustard.
4. Turtle Cheesecake Kustard (my favorite, so far).
5. Southern Apple Pie Kustard
6. Italian Sausage sandwich.

So far, Isaac has tried all of the above Kustards, although his favorite thing about KK's isn't on the menu. He loves loves loves the fountain on the patio.

So, on top of having delicious food, it's a good escape for a stay at home mom and her adventurous baby. Kudos to the McKies. Word.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

bored..........

the boy and i are very bored, lately.
if anyone has any ideas for us, we would appreciate them.

thank you.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Almost Fully Mobile

Isaac is just about ready to take off. Here's a video of his current mobility status:

Bubblehead

Special thanks to the folks at Mr. Bubble, Inc.


Three Waking Hours

Since Thursday night at 6:30, Isaac has been awake for 3 hours.

Yesterday (Friday) he didn't wake up until 1:30 pm. Then, he ate and played and displayed an overall crankiness. When he began to suck his thumb an hour later, Derek put him back to bed and he went back to sleep.

He woke up about an hour later, around 3:30, and we tried to run some errands, but he screamed for the entire trip. We came home, he took a bath, got rubbed down with some Vicks and Desitin, had a bottle and was off to dreamland by 5:30 pm. It's now 7:00ish am on Saturday morning and he's still snoozing away.

Either he's developing a severe case of narcolepsy or he's catching up on all the sleep he's missed out on in his first 8 1/2 months.

Or he's fighting off this nasty cold that he's had.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Florida Pictures

Isaac liked to sit in Patty's (my Gram's dog) basket to watch tv:

Chillin' with Gramps:

Playing with my Dad:

Gramps and Grams at dinner:

Belated Fair Pictures

Trying out some Fair food. I think this was fried dough. Mmmmm...


Josiah getting some treats from Lorena.


Feeding the goats!


Relaxing and enjoying some bluegrass music.


Isaac and Dad, intently watching the performance.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Sunshine State and Snot Filled Noses

We're back!

Isaac and I rolled in safely around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. Following our the details of our trip:

On Saturday, we packed up all the supplies and hung out with Derek, who would soon be family-less for 3 days. Our first flight was short and Isaac slept for most of it (with the help of some Benadryl). We barely had enough time during our layover in Charlotte to get a diaper change and get to the next gate. This was compounded by the fact that all the lazy man's walking belt escalator things were broken. We boarded and we on our way. Isaac did ok during the second leg, but it was definitely a full time job to keep him entertained (and not screaming). We arrived on time, got our stuff, met my Dad and headed to St. Pete to my Grams and Gramps home. By the time we arrived, Isaac was ready to go to bed, so he said goodnight, and we ordered pizza.

Sunday brought lots of visitors, eager to meet the newest family member. My Aunt Sharon, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Nick, Cousin Nick, and his kids Nicholas and Alexis all stopped by. We also ventured out to see Terry's (my stepdad, Isaac's StepGramps) Mom, Dad, Sister and her family. On the way back, we stopped at one of my Dad's friend's house. Isaac got to take a dip in the pool (a welcome cool treat). We finally headed home. Isaac took a bath and hit the sack.

And then it hit.

Isaac woke up and screamed for the better portion of the night. I didn't know if he was teething, or if the pudding I let him have for dessert gave him an upset stomach, or if he was coming down with the same thing Derek had informed me had put him out of commission for two days. Either way, it was a rough night.

In the morning, the boy had a runny nose and was very crabby. We had a low key morning, but headed to Amy's (my Dad's ex-wife), to visit briefly, in the afternoon. On Monday evening, my Gramps and Grams and Dad, me and Isaac went out to a nice dinner. The boy went to bed as soon as we got home, but screamed his little head off. I gave him some Benadryl and he nodded off. A little while later, I crawled into bed and was just dozing off when the screaming began. There was NO consoling him. I walked and bounced and patted and sang, and nothing worked. After about an hour, I think he tired himself out and we slept for awhile in a chair, so I could keep him upright (and able to breathe). I couldn't sleep, so I moved to the bed. He slept very fitfully, waking up crying every hour or so.

Yesterday morning, it was time to pack up and get back on a plane... Yay. I got all ready while the boy played with the family. I had a grand plan that while he napped, I would shower, pack the car and when he awakened, we'd load him up and speed away. Except that he wouldn't nap. Not even for a second. So, we spent the rest of the morning trying to keep the screaming minimized and around 10:00, we loaded a tired, snotty, groggy boy into the car. He fell asleep in about 2 minutes.

At the airport, I had to wake him up to go through security and he was unhappy about this. Our first flight was the long one this time and it seemed like it would never end. I pulled out all the stops to entertain him. Suckers, dvds, water bottle, formula bottle, food, toys, getting out of his seat, and holding my cell phone. We finally made it. In Charlotte this time, I had more time to get to my gate, so we ate, had a diaper change, used the working walking escalators and relaxed a little. When we boarded the second flight, Isaac screamed from the second we sat down until we pulled away from the gate. Then (again, thanks to Benadryl) he slept the rest of the trip.

We met Derek at the baggage claim and headed home. Home, sweet home.
Isaac slept 13 hours last night and seems to be relatively chipper, even if his face is crusted over with thick, yellow snot. :)

Friday, October 5, 2007

Leavin'.... On a Jet Plane

...except I do know when I'll be back again.

Isaac and I are making the long journey to Florida tomorrow. We leave from Greensboro around 2:30ish, layover in Charlotte and then arrive in Tampa around 6:30ish. We come back on Tuesday.

I'm not really sure how I think flying on a plane will go. Everything with Isaac has always been a little bit stressful. He hates riding in a car seat. He hated his stroller at first, then he liked it, but he currently isn't exceptionally fond of it. He certainly doesn't like to sit still on any laps. So, all of this points to a potentially dreadful trip.

However, he does like to watch Baby Einstein and we'll be bringing a DVD player. He also does a little better in car seats when someone (mostly me) rides next to him. And the flights are short. I can probably kill most of it with a bottle and/or feeding.

So, unless I squeeze in a quick post tomorrow, I will be gone from the bloggy world until Tuesday night (possibly Wednesday morning). Happy Weekend to all, and to all a Happy Weekend!!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Dixie Classic Fair

It's Dixie Classic Fair week!
We tried to go on Saturday, but had a long (and frustrating) encounter at Bank of America that left us a little strapped for time. So, Derek came home early yesterday and we headed there yesterday afternoon. We have some pictures, but they're on Derek's camera, so they'll have to wait.

Yesterday was Lowe's Foods Can Day, so we brought 5 cans each and got in for "free" - compared to the normal $7 fee. We found Steve, Lorena and Josiah and the fun began. First, we went to the petting zoo. Isaac and Josiah fed some goats. And Isaac pulled on some goat fur. He was more interested in trying to climb the railing than the goats, so he wound up back in his stroller. After a scrub down, we headed to "Yesterday Town".

There was a musical act setting up and we watched a chainsaw sculptor work his magic. The boys walked around a little and showed off for the crowd, and then we headed for the food. Derek and Isaac and I would come back later for some of the music.

I had an elephant ear (fried dough) with powdered sugar, although after seeing Steve's cinnamon, sugar and BUTTER topping, I am regretting my decision. :) I later indulged in a frozen lemonade and we got the obligatory cotton candy and candy apples for the road. (I ate them later, after dinner and I still feel sick from it!)
Derek had a polish sausage sandwich and a funnel cake and some frozen lemonade, as well. The eating was good. I had high hopes to get a fried Snickers, but it just wasn't going to happen after the elephant ear.

We walked around for awhile, so Isaac could check things out and then headed home. The boy was worn out! He went to bed early and slept a little bit late and then went down for a semi-early nap.

And that's the story of the fair.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Isaac and Cora

Pictures from Friday:



Pictures from today:

Adventures in the Triangle

On Sunday, Isaac and I made the long trek to the Raleigh/Durham region. We just came back last night and we're both still recovering from our wild adventure.

We got in around 7:30 pm and went to my old church and visited some old pals there. Then, we went over to the Minors to visit some more (and have pizza and cinna-stixs). We were there until about 9:45. Then, we cruised into downtown Raleigh to stay with SarahPowers and see her new home. Isaac finally nodded off around 10:30 or so.

Yesterday, as usual, Isaac was up and ready to go at 6:00 am. We got up and tip toed around the house until Sarah and Jack awakened. We played a little and then Isaac took a nap. When he woke up, he and I took off for Gilmore Global, my former place of employment, to visit some ex-coworkers. After that, we headed to the Pittman residence to visit Rachel, Kirby and Bennett. Kirby roughed up Isaac a little and I roughed up Kirby a little and then we headed back to the Powers residence. Isaac took a good long nap and I watched daytime television.

Sarah came home from lunch plans and when Isaac woke up, we went to walk around the greenway near the art museum to see some outdoor sculptures. Some of them were flippin' sweet. There was a GIANT stack of newspapers tucked away in the woods.

There was a big rock sculpture that at first seemed like giant Indian Corn, but I finally decided looked like a big corn poop.

We stopped in a little hut with a pinhole on top that when you closed the doors projected shadows of the surrounded trees into the hut.



(our viewing wasn't as awesome as these pictures - they're all from the art museum website).

The boy got crabby after a bit, so we headed out. We hit Char-grill for some Pepsi Colas and then headed to dinner at Buffalo's Cafe, another of my former places of employment. Our meal was very sub-par, but Isaac made sure it was entertaining. He "dipped" his fingers in Sarah's salad dressing and managed to dump a side of ranch all over himself and the table and the bench. We finally let him crawl around on the floor, so that we could eat our (not very tasty) meals in peace.

After that, we headed back to Sarah's, packed up, said our goodbyes and hit the road. Isaac screamed most of the way. That was not enjoyable.

Today, we are watching baby Cora again. Both kids are fast asleep, right now.
Tomorrow, we are going to the Dixie Classic Fair.
And on Saturday, we head to Florida for a few days. Exciting times ahead....