Saturday, June 25, 2011

Pregnancy Pics....The Bump is Growing
























39 weeks....morning of C-section














































38 weeks, 2 days














37 weeks








































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































35 weeks


















34 weeks
































33 weeks


















31 weeks












30 weeks











26 weeks




















22 weeks































20 weeks

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Isaac 34 month update

This month in Isaac's life had some emotional highs and lows for my family. First of all, we are excited to announce that Isaac has a new cousin! Baby Anna Katherine was born on May 12th. As we did add a family member, we also lost our Gran (as Isaac calls her, Grandmother Dot). Even though we lost her, we know she is with our Savior in heaven! She passed away peacefully, in a hospital room full of loved ones (including all three of her daughters) on June 4th. Gran was a wonderful grandmother, mother, wife, and friend, and impacted everyone in her family in a positive way. Her love for others and persistence to serve will always be qualities that I will never forget! I feel so blessed to have had her in my life for 31 years and thankful that Isaac got the opportunity to meet her and be loved by her. Adam and I actually took Isaac to see Gran in the hospital (long-term care) a week before she passed away. When she saw Isaac, her face just lit up with joy! She loved Isaac very much! As for me, I got to see her on the day she died. I knew when I walked out of her hospital room that it would probably be the last time I saw her. It was a bittersweet moment. I was grateful that she would no longer have to struggle for every breath and that she would experience God's glory in full! However, I selfishly miss her as she was such a huge part of my life growing up. I cannot imagine driving by her home and her not being there. I also wish she could have met the 4 new great grandchildren (Anna Katherine and 3 on the way). I will miss her dearly, but am thankful for the time I had her in my life. Her funeral, even though had some mourning, was such a celebration of the good life she lived! Isaac knew Dot was sick and sometimes still talks about how she's at the hospital. We did not have him go to the funeral; however, when he asked I explained that she is no longer here and living in heaven. Of course, he does not grasp it all, but he seemed to enjoy the time he spent with all the family while everyone was in town for the visitation and funeral. I know he will miss going to visit at Dot's house too!

We made a trip to St. Louis to see baby Anna Katherine and to watch Uncle Eric graduate from seminary! Isaac seemed to like baby Anna, but he was too busy to want to be with her a lot. He was curious about her, but this would just last for a minute then he was on to his next task. Isaac really enjoyed Uncle Eric's graduation. I have to admit, Isaac behaved pretty well overall, especially considering he had to sit in one place for a long time. I did take him out a time or two to go to the potty and just to walk around a little. It was funny, because out in the lobby, there were tons of parents walking around their "toddlers." Isaac was very interested though to keep his eye on Uncle Eric. He wanted to make sure he saw him walk across the stage as he got his diploma, then waved at him as he walked back to his seat. Another really cool thing about our St. Louis trip was the Magic House. Grandad and I took Isaac one day to the Magic House. Isaac loved it! There were so many neat things he got to do there. It is like an interactive museum, made for kids! There was a bubble area (where he actually got to be inside of a bubble), a construction zone where he got to work, a giant beanstock (between the stair cases) that he got to climb, slides that he got to go down, areas to learn about shapes and the alphabet, a music area, a train exhibit, the Oval office, and so much more. I was so impressed at all the fun exhibits they had for kids his age! There was a huge outdoor sand exhibit (like a mini beach) and so much more that we did not even see. You could literally be there the entire day and not get to see everything there. Isaac had a great time!!!

Adam's dad's side of the family had a big cookout this month for all the May birthdays, since there are at least 5-6 people with May birthdays. It was especially to celebrate cousin Chris's 40th birthday, so we made the party specifically for him (even though he thought it was for all the May birthdays). We all went over to Amie and Chris's house. The food was delicious, and it was great to spend time with everyone! Isaac had a blast with his cousins Jenna and Kaydon! It was so funny watching the girls follow him around the house as they played, and he seemed to like it! Another fun outing we had with the Coats' family was going boat riding out on the lake. Isaac and Jenna loved the boat and watching the men water ski! It was a great time with family.

Isaac got to do a few other fun things this month. Isaac went to a friend's (Avery's) softball game with Carrie and me. He loved being outside, watching the girls play ball, and drinking his Gatorade. He is all about some Gatorade, because he likes the color (and always request red). Isaac also went to his first two weddings this month, and he seemed to enjoy all the action. Isaac also went to his friend Brennen's birthday party. It was an outdoor party with water activities for the kids. He had a fun time!

We are making some progress in some different areas this month. First off all, Coach Dee at swim lessons recommended that I get Isaac some goggles. I let Isaac pick out his own goggles (which he chose some with dolphins on them), and wearing goggles has really helped Isaac feel more confident in putting his face in the water. He finally seems to enjoy going to swim lessons. Every time we are driving near the pool, he talks about wanting to go to swim lessons. Thank goodness he is participating and enjoying himself now. Isaac is also continuing to make good progress when it comes to using the potty. He is pooping in the potty on his own initiation now, and also gets out of the bathtub when he needs to pee (rather than just peeing in the tub).

Isaac's favorite word is "why?". I am very glad he wants to learn new things and the reasoning for why things happen. However, he probably asks "why?" a hundred times a day. He will ask "why?", I will give an explanation, then he asks "why?" again (wanting me to further expand on my previous explanation). I am thankful he is curious and wants to learn; although, I may not be smart enough to always answer his "why?". Another thing he asks a lot is "yes or no?" He will ask to do something then follow the request with "yes or no." Sometimes he even says "say yes." I am not sure where he picked this one up...who knows, it's probably something I say. He tends to point out things I say and do. He keeps me accountable at times. It's amazing how God uses a 2 year-old to remind us of things. For example, one time I started eating without praying first, and Isaac said "mommy, say God is great." This meant he was reminding me to say his prayer. Another good example was when I was trying to sing him a song that his Mimi sings him. I got a few lyrics messed up, but just kept singing. He insisted that I stop singing and told me that I sang the wrong song and that it wasn't Mimi's song. Isaac still likes to make up words with his little buddies at school. Although he still says noodle, he has started saying "mote" a lot. He typically seems to say "mote" when he is pointing to moles on someone. He also likes to point out when people are not fully clothed, such as when boys have their shirts off. We were in a parking lot one afternoon, and Isaac pointed at two boys on bikes who had their shirts off, and said "look Mom, naked boys." Isaac also likes to say that he is a naked boy when he gets out of the bath tub.

Isaac has said several funny things this month that seem to stand out. One day he was sitting on his little potty and passed gas. He laughed and said "I burped out my bottom." It still makes me laugh thinking about it! Another incident occurred when we were pulling into a gas station and a police man (state trooper) pulled up behind me with flashing lights. I had not yet put on my yearly sticker on my license plate. He was very nice to me, but of course, I was extremely nervous. As soon as he left, Isaac said, "I want to see the man with the hat again." When I ask him what he wants for lunch, he has started saying "I want peanut butter, on the side." By this, he means that he does not want a sandwich. He is requesting peanut butter to eat with a spoon with some crackers on his plate too. Another funny thing occurred while I was driving Isaac home from daycare. I asked him a yes or no question, but did not get a verbal response from him. When I asked the question again, he replied "I shook my head," meaning that he already answered me. I had to explain to him that when I'm driving, I cannot see him shake his head, and that I need to hear his response. Isaac's buddy Dhavid's mother offered to sign Isaac out of daycare one afternoon and wait with him in the parking lot until I got there (because I was running late). She told me that Isaac told her "you don't have a car seat." He recognized that he could not go with her because she did not have an extra car seat for him. That seems to be a pretty good observation made by a youngster. Finally, I find it funny that whenever I talk on the phone to Adam, Isaac has started asking "is that Daddy or voicemail?" How in the world does he know what voicemail is? I guess he's heard us mention it.

Isaac has been a little extra clingy to Mommy lately. I certainly don't mind that he wants to be with me, but it worries me a little on how he will adjust once his baby brother arrives. He knows there is a baby in my belly, but I'm unsure of how much of this concept he actually grasps. Although, I think him seeing Auntie M and Aunt Steph pregnant and now seeing them with babies has helped him get a better understanding of what is about to happen with Mommy. He is noticing when things around him are changing. We were changing some things around in his room, and he started crying. He also has done some things to get extra attention, which I feel is a result of him sensing change (well, and being a typical 2 year-old). He has started spitting a lot, biting some, and saying poopy or butt. Since he knows he can't say "butt," he has begun saying to me "we don't say butt, we say bottom." I think he just says that so he can say "butt." He constantly wants me to hold him. I know it's probably not the best to be carrying around a 28# kid all the time while pregnant, but it's important for me to make Isaac feel loved right now. He has been really sweet. At night, he always says "will you sleep (pronounced sweep) with me for a second?". Then in the mornings, he hugs me and says "I love (pronounced wuv) you Mommy." We went to a cousin's wedding this month. I was going to go dance a father-daughter dance with "Grandad," and Isaac just broke down crying because he didn't want me to leave his side. Even though Isaac has been clingy to Mommy, he has also really wanted his Daddy at times too. One day we were in the car driving home, and it started to pour down rain. The rain was hitting very hard against the windshield, and was very loud. Isaac just started crying, and said repetitively "I want my Daddy." It's funny how kids know early on that their Daddy's are the protector!

Isaac is very active and has lots of interests! Of course, he still loves being outside anytime he gets the opportunity. He absolutely loves to play in his sandbox. Isaac enjoys riding his bike, inside or outside. He has recently started to pretend play more. I am glad because I enjoy watching him use his imagination. His favorite way to pretend is to bring us "chicken," and he likes to watch us pretend to eat the chicken. He also likes to point out numbers and letters in books. He knows his capital letters pretty well, but still needs to better learn his lowercase letters and numbers. I am just glad he is interested in learning! He also enjoys working puzzles. One day I got really frustrated because he emptied out 6 different puzzle boxes so all the pieces were all mixed up in the floor. We have been working on the concept of putting up a toy before he gets out the next one. Obviously, he was not quite getting the idea of this. We started putting the puzzle pieces back into the proper boxes, and to my amazement, it did not take that long. I thought it would take forever to do this, but Isaac was able to sort the pieces as good as me. I was very impressed by his ability to look at an individual piece, among a mixture of six puzzles, and put it in the correct box. Finally, Isaac likes to dance. He will get out his toy guitar and dance to the music. As I mentioned earlier, we went to a wedding this month. He was excited to go out onto the dance floor at the reception with cousin Carrie and Aunt Jenny. The DJ was playing the chicken dance, which Isaac is familiar with from daycare. Once he got out there, he would not dance. Even though he enjoys dancing, maybe he just likes to do it in the privacy of his home.

Isaac is such a blessing! He is an active little guy, who's energy is contagious. He loves being around people and seems to enjoy learning new things! We love him so much!!!