The Hartin Family

6 Weeks & Preschool updates

2011-10-21T17:47:00.003-05:00

Piper is 6 weeks old now. She's filling out nicely. As of a few days ago, she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz, and is now 22" long. That's up 4 lbs and 2" in 6 weeks. She's starting to smile more often. I haven't caught one on camera yet, but I hope to soon. She's also finding her voice. Up until this week, she's done nothing but grunt and groan (mostly in response to those mean ol' gas pains). Now she's starting to "ah!" and "oh". And, she was born with two little bottom tooth buds, and I think those are going to start being an issue soon, as she's just today started drooling.

Isaac is learning lots of great things at school. He's got an incredible memory - much better than mine ever will be! This month he has learned the days of the week, the months of the year, 3 of the 10 commandments (in kids terms), and three nursery rhymes (Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty, and Little Miss Muffet). He's learned lots of new songs, too. Every once in a while, I'll hear him humming or singing them around the house. (I'm so glad he has a love for music like I do). :)

Isaac gets to go on a field trip with his school next week to a pumpkin patch out near Greenville (Kadee Farms), and then there's Halloween after that. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures (and I'll do my best to get them posted soon after).

4 weeks old

2011-10-05T17:21:00.003-05:00

Piper is 4 weeks old today - one month old on Friday. She's eating very well, so she's gaining lots of weight. She was born at 6 lbs 11 oz, came home from the hospital 2 days later at 6 lbs 5 oz. By the following week she was up to 7 lbs 14 oz! Last week she weighed 9 lbs 2 oz.

She's also getting good at holding her head up. Still working on balancing the head, but she can hold it up for several seconds at a time now.

As some of you have heard, she's had some mucus issues since we came home from the hospital. At one point we even had to take her to the ER because of it. She had lots of mucus stuck at the back of her throat and was having trouble getting it up. We just have to suction it out if she starts gagging on it, and we now keep a humidifier on at all times. Turns out it's a very normal situation, it just didn't happen with Isaac, so it was very scary for us. She's much better now, and hasn't had any gagging in a couple weeks.

Pretty in pink.

Looks like she's going to have her Daddy's hazel eyes. So pretty.

So sweet!

I don't have a home studio, or set with the right lighting and backdrops, but I like to take some of the classic pics anyway. And Isaac wanted in on the picture taking, so this is his big feet and her little feet. :)

She's here!!!

2011-09-17T14:08:00.004-05:00

Introducing....

Piper Jo Hartin
September 7, 2011
@ 2:38am
6 lbs 11 oz, 20" long

Welcome to the world my sweet baby girl!

What a sweet angel!

Isaac's first time to meet his little sister.

Cutest little sister

"Bodyguard for my baby sister"

All dressed and ready to go home from the hospital. Don't you just love the carseat cover! Aunt Julie bought that for Piper. And the flower going up the side is a gift from big brother Isaac.

The longest labor....

2011-09-17T11:16:00.007-05:00

Well, this pregnancy wasn't at all like Isaac's and the labor & delivery certainly wasn't either. For those interested, here's the full story of Piper's birth...

Labor started about 6pm Monday, Sept 5 - Labor Day. Contractions were coming regularly about 4.5 minutes apart. I took a warm bath, thinking they might be more Braxton Hicks but it didn't help. By 9:30pm the contractions were getting stronger and were steady at 3.5 minutes apart. So, I told Ben it was time to load up and head to the hospital. After packing up the last few things we each needed for a hospital stay, we left home, thinking it wouldn't be long before we met our little girl. We were wrong.

We arrived at the hospital about 11pm, where I was taken to a room and checked for signs of labor. I was still at 1cm, and Piper was still very high, but my contractions were still steady and regular, so they decided to check me every 2 hours until my doctor came in the following morning.

When my doc came in about 8:15am Tuesday morning, I was still at only 1cm, so she decided it would be best to induce me that day. She started the Pitocin about 9am. Pitocin is supposed to help make the contractions stronger so that labor progresses faster. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way for me.

I will say that the epidural I received this time worked like a charm. My right leg had some feeling, enough to move it around as needed, but my left leg was completely numb. I mean it felt like a huge dead log that would not move no matter how much I willed it to. It was nice to feel no pain, however a little embarrassing to have to ask everyone in the room to help me move my leg each time I needed to roll over. :)

By 3pm, I was still only at 1-2cm, so the doc broke my water, thinking surely that would help move things along. Once again, it didn't do as planned.

By 2am Wednesday morning, Sept. 7, after 32 hours of labor, I was only at 4-5 cm, and Piper was starting to show signs of distress. So, my doctor said a C-Section was necessary. Although that is NOT the way I wanted things to go, it was in the best interest of me and Piper.

Ben posing in his surgical wear.

The surgery went fairly well. I had to have both horizontal and vertical incisions, which makes VBAC impossible for any future pregnancies. We also found out the reason Piper was so reluctant to come naturally. It was impossible. For the life of me I cannot remember the technical term for how her placenta developed, but essentially, her umbilical cord attached to the placenta, then made a huge web of blood vessels around it which is why she could not drop. The doctor said, after showing me what the placenta looked like, that if she had nicked one of those blood vessels when breaking my water, that we would have had to do an emergency C-Section the day before due to hemorrhaging.

So, while I don't remember large parts of Isaac's delivery, and his was very painful due to two failed epidurals and back labor, Piper's labor lasted 32 hours and ended in C-Section, but I remember every single second of it, and I wasn't in any pain.

4 years old!

2011-09-17T10:09:00.004-05:00

I can't believe my boy is 4! He has grown into such a sweet, smart big boy. He makes me laugh every day. He's also becoming his Daddy's clone. :)

He's really been into superhero's lately, so his cake has Super Grover 2.0 on it and says "Happy Birthday Super Isaac 2.0".

Making his sock pirate talk. Cute face!

He got lots of fun pretend play things from Papa and G. Here he's fighting with two pirate swords against Daddy armed only with a shield.

Captain Isaac Hook.

Granny got him his first baseball set, so she was the first to attempt to play baseball with him.

Super Isaac 2.0! Happy birthday bud! We love you lots.

First day of PK4

2011-08-31T16:04:00.004-05:00

Isaac's first day of PreK-4 (Preschool for 4 year olds) was yesterday. I didn't count the cubbies, but I'm guessing there are about 10 - 12 in his class. His birthday actually falls 2 days after the cut-off, but they were nice enough to let him in anyway, so he's the youngest in his class.

His cubby with his school stuff.

He was so ready and excited to start school. He didn't want to get out of bed so early that morning, but once he realized it was the day he would actually get to go to school instead of just talk about going, he shot out of bed and was quick to get ready.

This year, he's going to a day school program at Emory Baptist Church, just about 10 minutes from home. Much closer than Sulphur Springs last year, which will be a blessing once sister arrives. It also allows him to get to know and make friends with other kids his age that he will end up going to "big school" with later. His teacher this year is Mrs. Stephanie. I think he'll have a good year, and will learn lots of good things. Getting ready for the great adventure called Kindergarten next year!

38 weeks

2011-08-31T15:56:00.003-05:00

Well, tomorrow marks 38 weeks. 38 long, and sometimes eventful, weeks. My doctor this morning moved up my induction date by two days to next Wednesday, Sept 7. So, if she holds out until then, we go to the hospital at 7am next Wed. and will meet our little girl sometime later that day. I can't tell you how ready I am. I would actually be happy if she came today! The heat this summer has been unbearable alone, not to mention when paired with this precious internal heater. I wouldn't trade her for anything though! :)

Braxton Hicks...so deceptive

2011-08-25T17:18:00.002-05:00

Today marks 37 weeks. But a few days ago I didn't think I was going to make it to 37 weeks.

Monday night, about 5:15pm, I started having some very regular contractions. I'm talking every 4-5 minutes lasting 45-60 seconds each. This went on for a solid hour, making me wonder if this was THE day. After that hour, the contractions became more irregular, anywhere from 4 minutes to 15 minutes apart, and they never got any worse, but even this continued for the next several hours.

We're lucky in that we have friends who work in the medical field, one specifically works in the maternity department of the hospital in Sulphur Springs. So we texted her (it was after 10pm at this point) to find out if we should be concerned or not. Her advise: take a Tylenol, take a warm bath, and drink lots of water. So after taking Tylenol, a warm bath (then a hot shower) and drinking as much water as I could stand, I laid down to try and sleep some. Alas, laying down was the only thing that made the contractions stop.

Stupid Braxton Hicks! I had let myself get excited at the prospect of having my little girl that night.

So, after going to my regular doctor's visit on Wednesday, she tells me I'm still at 1cm, and Piper is still pretty high. No baby this week, I guess. But the doctor did go ahead and schedule an induction for me for September 9. That's two weeks from tomorrow. I can make it two more weeks (though I'm secretly hoping she doesn't wait that long to meet us!).

BTW - when I ask Isaac if he thinks Piper will be born before, on or after his birthday, he always responds with ON his birthday. He seems to think that that would be big fun. Not sure how he'd feel about that a few years from now. :)

36 Weeks

2011-08-18T09:26:00.003-05:00

Today marks 36 weeks of pregnancy. Just 4 weeks to go. I don't think Piper will wait that long, but that's technically how long I have left. I had my OB appt yesterday, and was told that I'm at 1cm, but that Piper is still really high. So it could still be a couple weeks, or it could be today. You just never know. :)

We can't wait though. I'm so ready to meet our little girl, and for Isaac to meet his sister. Even Ben is ready to have her home.

Although, the thought of delivery is starting to make me a tad nervous. I know this is my second, and I sort of know how things work, but it's different every time. I had a very painful delivery with Isaac, one I do not wish to repeat, but everything happened while I was already in the hospital. My thoughts this time are, what if my water breaks at home during the day, and I have to load up Isaac and drive to the hospital by myself, or what if things progress so fast that I don't have enough time to get to the hospital. I'm sure these sound like stupid questions to most of you, but it's what I've been thinking about. I guess I just have to trust that everything will be just fine. Stupid me worrying about stupid stuff. :)

Sono's 6 & 7

2011-08-05T10:46:00.003-05:00

We are so thankful, and relieved, that Piper suffered no ill effects from the 5th Disease. She was a trouper. Because she has done so well, and since each one of these sonograms has cost us $100 a pop, we have decided to skip the last one. While I'll miss getting to see her each week on that 12" black and white screen, it really won't be long until I get to see her every waking moment in living color, Lord willing. :)

She continues to stay on the above average growth curve, at about 85%, and is still measuring about a week early. We've just about got everything ready for her at the house. Once the last couple things are done, I'll be more relaxed, knowing we're ready for her when she's ready for us.

Isaac says he's ready for sister to come, but I don't think he knows what he's in for. Each time I go in Piper's room to hang more washed clothes, or put away more diapers, he goes in there with me and either reads her books or plays with the baby toys that used to be his. I can't wait to see how he reacts to having a baby in the house.

He's also super ready for school to start. His first day is Aug. 30. At some point every day, he comes up to me and says "you know what? I get to go to school tomorrow!" I've got the date marked on our wall calendar so we can count down the days. I think he's more excited about school starting than he is about his birthday coming up (just 4 weeks from today)!

Isaac's weekend at Grandma's

2011-07-24T20:47:00.005-05:00

Isaac gets to spend two long weekends each summer with his Grandma. This weekend was his second this year. He loves getting to hang out with her. She usually will do something special with him while he's there. This time, they went to Chuck E Cheese.

Mom said he had no problem with the small slide, but when he tried to get to the big slide (through the tunnels above the room) he got scared. He's a little afraid of heights, so I guess the tunnels were a bit too much.

He was so excited that he got to go to Chuck E Cheese. They called me that night and he just had to tell me all about it.

He also got to go to In Sync Exotic Cat Rescue in Wylie. There they saw lions, tigers, leopards, bobcats, and several other big cats. He couldn't decide which was his favorite, so he says they were all his faves.

I'm so glad he had fun. He loves his Grandma and getting to spend time with her. Thanks Mom, for giving us a weekend alone before little sister arrives!

Piper's baby shower

2011-07-24T20:27:00.005-05:00

My Mom and my very best friend, Robin, gave me a baby shower for Piper. I was so excited to celebrate the fun of having our little girl.

The gorgeous (and delicious) cake that a friend of mine from high school made (thanks Cheri!).

There were lots of friends and family that were able to make it, and showered us with tons of great things for Piper. Among them were a handmade doll, Piper's bedding set, and lots of adorable clothes.

For those of you who haven't seen the big belly yet, here's a glimpse. I feel HUGE!

Thank you to all who came. We love and appreciate every single one of you.

Sono 5 of 8

2011-07-24T20:11:00.003-05:00

Everything is still looking really great. I'm so thankful that there have been no complications from the 5th Disease. God has been good to me and Piper!

She's still measuring about a week early. The doctor says she's not opposed to inducing a week early, but we'll wait a little while to schedule that. I still think she'll come on her own before that. As of today, my due date is 7-1/2 weeks away, but I'm counting on her arriving in about 5-1/2 weeks. 5-1/2 WEEKS! Wow! We'll just have to see if she's just as anxious as her brother was, or as stubborn as her cousin was. :)

I've been having trouble sleeping some lately. Just can't seem to get comfortable. Heartburn has gotten worse, but manageable with Zantac. I try to stay in out of the heat as much as possible, so my feet and hands don't swell up. The swelling situation is MUCH better this time around than with Isaac. Some of you might remember that I essentially had elephant feet and ankles the last couple months with Isaac. No fun. But this time around it's not near as bad. Not yet anyway.

Lots of good things happening. Can't wait to meet my sweet baby girl!

Sono 4 of 8

2011-07-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

Once again, this sonogram showed everything is perfectly fine with me and Piper. Same song, fourth week - but as long as God keeps providing good results, I'll take them!

This time the doctor was able to tell me that Piper currently weighs approximately 3lbs 11oz, and that her new adjusted arrival date is 9/8. That's up one day from last week. She's getting closer and closer to being born on Labor Day just like Isaac was, but I really think she's hoping to share a birthday with her big brother!

She was doing a few acrobatics today while being filmed. Because I'm having all of these sono's for a medical reason, the doctor has to do a full anatomy survey each week, which means he has to measure and check everything: head, brain, abdomen, heart, bladder, kidneys, stomach, femur, arms, feet, and girl/boy parts. Well, while trying to find each of her feet, he found the left foot immediately (so cute by the way), but had to search a little to find the right foot. After a few seconds of hunting, he found it...up by her head! Her toes were literally touching her head! Ha! Then while trying to get good pics of her arms and hands, he noticed that she was laying on her right arm, and had her hand hiding her girl parts. Guess she didn't want us looking there this week! He also said he could see a little bit of hair on her head. Not a lot just yet, but a little. She's still got 2 months to grow some more. :)

Until next week.........

Sono's 2 & 3 of 8

2011-07-08T15:12:00.003-05:00

God has been good to us. Sono's 2 & 3 have shown no excess fluids or abnormalities for myself or Piper. Everything is looking great. My stack of pictures of little Miss is growing by leaps and bounds and she's not even made her grand entrance yet! I love them though.

During my last visit to the doctor, they mentioned that she is already in the 85% for her growth, which means she's averaging a week ahead of schedule. So, sometime in the next month or so, my doctor will discuss inducing a week early. That would put her due somewhere around Sept 9, just one week after Isaac's birthday!

Isaac is having a great summer. He's already gotten to spend one weekend with Grandma, and he'll have another weekend there in a few weeks. Unfortunately, it's been so hot that I can't stand to be outside, so we haven't done much playing in the yard. I'm hoping to make it out to the lake at least a couple more times this summer, so he can have more fun on the tubes. As long as I'm in the cool water, I'm good. :)

Sonogram 1 of 8

2011-06-23T11:34:00.004-05:00

Piper at 27.5 weeks.

I'm so thankful that the first sonogram showed us that Piper is doing well. No excess fluids or abnormalities from the Fifth Disease. She's measuring right on target. I'm doing good too. So now it's a watch and wait game. They said that sometimes it takes a while for the symptoms to show up, which is why I have to go back every week for 8 weeks.

Just 12 more weeks until her due date of Sept. 16. Here's a funny coincidence for you: Isaac was due 9/14/07. He came 11 days early on 9/3/07, which also happened to be Labor Day. Piper is due 9/16/11. If she comes 11 days early, she'll be born on 9/5/11, which also happens to be Labor Day. Ha! Highly unlikely it will work out that way, but wouldn't that be strange!

Lots going on...

2011-06-17T18:00:00.004-05:00

Wow, lots has been happening since my last post.

Isaac finished his first year at PDO, and he was terribly sad to be done for the summer. He really loved his teacher, Mrs. Christie, and all his friends there. Mrs. Christie made a scrapbook for me of his year at school. In it, she asks him what he wants to be when he grows up, and he replied "a doctor...no, a cowboy...no, a doctor AND a cowboy!" :)

We're having a fun summer so far. Isaac is getting to ride the tube this year with Daddy. He LOVES it! He ain't skeered! We started him off riding lying down, but as soon as he saw someone else riding sitting up, he wanted to try that. Now he doesn't even want to hold on! Ben says he might even let him try tandem wakeboarding this year. Isaac may not be skeered, but Momma is!!!

Our baby girl, Piper Jo, is growing and beginning to kick more and more. Ben likes to poke and prod at my belly at night to try and make her kick. Early last month, I had an appendicitis scare (turns out it was just a pulled muscle from coughing for a few days). Didn't seem to bother her at all.

Now, I've got another health issue to overcome. Isaac got Fifth Disease about a month ago, probably from school. He had what I thought was a 24 hour bug back then, with fever and vomiting. A few days later, I came down with a fever that lasted for 3 days. Then suddenly last week, Isaac popped up with a severe rash that, thankfully, didn't bother him or itch, just looked really bad. After 3 days of it getting progressively worse and worse, and having that signature "slapped cheek" look, I took him to the doctor to confirm. He had Fifth Disease. It's really harmless, just an infection that's contagious, which turns into a rash about 3-4 weeks later.

Well, once he was diagnosed, I had to call my doctor about me and Piper, because it can have implications for her. I had a blood test done last week, and got the results today. I am positive for having Fifth Disease recently. If I had had it sometime when I was a kid, there would be nothing to worry about. But apparently I've never had it until recently when Isaac must have given it to me. So, they have decided I need to come in for weekly ultrasounds for 8 weeks to monitor little Miss Piper. From what I understand (from things I've read online), they will be checking her fluid levels, my amniotic fluid levels, as well as checking her for anemia. I, recently, was told my Iron levels are low, so I know I am somewhat anemic. I'm now taking Iron supplements to help correct that problem.

All that to say that, we'll be keeping a close eye on her to make sure it is not adversely affecting her. I am a worry-wort, just like my Granny was, so I tend to think about it more than I probably should. I know without a doubt that God has me and her in His hands, and that we both will be fine. I would appreciate your prayers as well, though. I'll be sure to update as we have each ultrasound.

On a positive note - I get to see my angel every week! And I've only got 14 weeks to go before I get to meet her!!!!

Welcome Carson Derek Quinn

2011-05-13T16:59:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the world, Carson Derek Quinn. This is my brothers' new baby. Carson was born May 11, at 6:13pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs even, and was 21-1/4" long. He has very fine strawberry blonde hair, but not much. Julie had a really rough day and delivery, but after all was said and done, mom and baby are doing great.

Carson, day 2.

Proud Daddy!

Isaac was giving his new cousin kisses. So sweet. Can't wait for him to be a big brother!

Grandma Quinn...

Papa...

and G...all getting our turn holding the precious cutie. Julie is the only one I didn't get a picture of! Bad Sheila! :) I'll just have to go back to Garland soon to take more pics (and get in a little more loving on that sweet baby)!

2011-05-09T11:54:00.004-05:00

Here is the very first picture of our little girl (well, besides the one sono when she was just a little seedling). In case you need explanation, her head is on the left of the picture tilted sideways facing towards the right, as if you're looking down at her face. The black circle is her brain. Just to the right of her head is the belly, then to the far right is the left knee and part of the right leg. Can't see her arms in this image, but they're there.

So far, she is quite different than her big brother, Isaac. When I was pregnant with Isaac, I could always feel him moving. Constantly wiggling, squirming, and kicking. This little angel hardly moves or kicks at all, and when she does, they aren't jabs they're light taps. Isaac has kept up his constant wiggling and squirming to date, so maybe this means she'll continue to be quiet and calm once she's born. One can hope, right!

Baby #2 is a......

2011-04-27T18:11:00.003-05:00

GIRL!!!!!

We had our sonogram just a few hours ago and the doctor showed us our precious little girl. She was all curled up so we couldn't get a good photo of her face or profile, from what I can see, she'll be gorgeous! Hehe... I'm so giddy I can hardly stand it. Ben is happy too, I think. He doesn't get too excited about much, but I know he's happy I got what I wanted. Isaac on the other hand, says he doesn't want a sister, he wants a brother. Good thing we have plenty of time to convince him that girls are fun too. :) Now comes the fun part (for me anyway). I get to shop for all the pretty little girl things!

Latest news

2011-04-15T18:27:00.006-05:00

Not much news to report this time, so I'll just give a quick update. My doctors appointment this week went well. I'm at 18 weeks, and baby sounds good. Our sonogram is officially scheduled for April 27 at 4pm. We can't wait to find out what we're having! I'm finally feeling the baby move and wiggle some, though I don't feel much during the day when I'm busy with work and Isaac. Heartburn has become my greatest enemy these days. It fires up most, of course, when I eat tomato saucy stuff, or spicy things. But it fires up sometimes with no reason. Thanks to Dad, I'm now keeping a jar of pickle juice in the fridge at all times for relief. I'll probably post a belly pic in the next week or two, since I haven't done that yet.

Isaac gets to have his Easter party and egg hunt at school next week, so I'll post pics from it next weekend. I'm so glad he's in a PDO program at a church. I wasn't certain how to explain that Easter is the time when Jesus died on a cross, rose from the dead, and is in Heaven waiting for us to come join Him. I mean, how does a 3 year old understand rising from the dead? So we'll see how they explain it this next week, and I'll just go with that. Maybe he understands more than I think he can.

Growing up too fast...

2011-04-04T09:32:00.003-05:00

Our little Isaac isn't so little anymore. I'm realizing this more and more every day. Not only is he growing like a weed, he's impressing me nearly daily with all the things he knows.

Watering the weed...ha! It's been pretty warm lately, so one day a couple weeks ago I got out the sprinkler and let him play in it. He still doesn't like to be sprayed in the face, so he avoided walking right through it, but he had a blast playing in the water. We'll have to do more of that as it starts getting really hot. I might actually have to join him myself!

This is a picture taken of Isaac's PDO class. It was taken sometime in September. As you can see, he's nearly a full head taller than some of the others in his class. He hasn't had a growth spurt since last summer, but the way he's been eating lately, I fully expect another one soon.

This is one of Isaac's first attempts to write his name. The first couple times, the A's looked more like A's instead of H's, but he's got plenty of time to perfect it. I love how he ran out of room, so he put the C on top, with a practice C on the bottom (both backwards, of course)!

Update

2011-03-22T16:06:00.003-05:00

Well, the first three months of this pregnancy have gone by, and none too soon if you ask me. It really seems like this pregnancy is crawling by. With Isaac it felt like time was flying and I was trying to catch up, but this time I'm the one saying "hurry up!" I want to get past the point where I just look fat and feel sluggish and sick, to the part where I have my energy back and can feel my baby kicking. Now that the first trimester is over, maybe things will start to move a little faster. We should find out the gender sometime the end of April.

Isaac has been quite the helper to me too. Each time I get sick, he pats me on the back and tells me he's sorry I feel bad, and that it will be okay. :) Such a sweet boy. He's still loving school, and now that it's getting warmer, maybe he won't miss so much due to being sick. We're looking forward to this summer when we can get out to the lake for some fun in the sun!

First Sonogram of Baby #2

2011-02-03T20:47:00.004-06:00

Here's the first look at our newest little baby. Now if you're like me, all you see is a white blob inside a black blob. Well, my Mom sees more. She actually sees the whole face, one arm, legs and tummy. After looking really closely, I think I can too.

The head is at the far left, looking up. The middle is where the heart was beating. And the far right is the butt/legs. I can kinda make out one eye and the start of a nose, but beyond that not much. It's only 1/2" long this week, but everything is starting to form so it doesn't look like a tadpole anymore.

Cute, isn't he/she!

I showed Isaac the picture of his little brother/sister, and he said "it's really little." And tonight, as he was getting ready for bed, he gave me a kiss on the cheek, then wanted to "kiss the baby too" so he kissed my tummy! I love it!

7 weeks & Proud Momma moment

2011-01-27T20:40:00.004-06:00

Today marks 7 weeks along in pregnancy #2. I looked back at my blog archives a couple weeks ago to walk down memory lane on my pregnancy with Isaac. I noted then, at 7 weeks, that morning sickness was really kicking my butt. Well, this pregnancy is no different. At 5 weeks I was fine, no nausea. At 6 weeks, it hit me like a ton of bricks. So, at 7 weeks, yes, it's kicking my butt again! Of course, it doesn't help that Isaac and I both have a really bad cold. Constantly wiping his nose turns my stomach worse than anything. But, I remind myself, this too shall pass. The cold will be gone soon (hopefully), and the morning sickness will only last 7-8 more weeks (ugh!).

On a lighter note, I have my first sonogram scheduled for next Thursday, 2/3/11. I'll get to see my baby, and hopefully hear the heart beat.

Isaac still doesn't really get what's going on. I tell him "momma has a baby in her tummy" to which he often replies "I have a baby Jesus in my tummy too!" But he is being very careful with me. He doesn't climb on me too rough, he jumps when I need to pick him up for something so I don't have to lift all of his 35 pounds of dead weight, and he's been more lovey dovey lately. He's always telling me and Ben how much he loves us, and how we're his best friends. Cute most of the time. A little overboard sometimes. I'll take it now though, before he turns into a teenager overnight who suddenly hates me. :)

Proud Momma moment of the month: Isaac is completely potty trained! Finally! Bye, bye, Pull Ups! It only took about 5 days. I switched him from Pull Ups to big boy undies, and after about 3 days he was having more successes than accidents, and by day 5 he was golden. He got a stomach bug and took a step backwards for a couple days, but was right back on track once he felt better. I'm so glad I don't have to worry or think about that anymore. I didn't realize how much that literally weighed on me, hoping my sweet stubborn child would get it before he starts a new preschool next year. Thanks, Lord, for the extra patience it took to make it through that week. It was more than worth it!!!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!!!

2011-01-08T17:56:00.002-06:00

We are so excited to announce that we are...............dun dun dun........expecting Baby #2!!!!!!! I just today had a positive pregnancy test, but according to all the due date calculators, this one is due Sept. 15th.

The really cool thing is that I found out I was pregnant with Isaac exactly 4 years ago today! And, Isaac was due Sept. 14th! Granted, he arrived a little early, on Sept. 3rd, but he was actually due on the 14th. So, we'll have two birthdays to celebrate this September!!!

I probably won't get in to the doctor until later this month, but as soon as I have a sono pic, I'll post it!

Christmas 2010, Part 4: Christmas morning

2011-01-08T17:30:00.003-06:00

On Christmas Eve, Isaac and I made Russian tea cake cookies for Santa. Then that night, we all gathered around the Christmas tree, and listened as our teddy bear read us The Night Before Christmas. We also read The Story of Christmas, which is a book about the true meaning of Christmas - Jesus' birth.

Then we put three cookies on a plate for Santa, and set out some milk. Isaac went straight to bed, and didn't take long to get to sleep. He was so excited to see what Santa was going to bring while he was sleeping. :)

Santa's been here! He ate the cookies and drank his milk!

And he left us some presents!!!

He brought Isaac a sit-n-spin, some walkie talkies, and a couple seek-and-find books. Isaac likes the sit-n-spin, but it takes some getting used to.

There was also two cars, a motorcycle, three train cars, and some candy in Isaac's stocking. Thanks Santa!!!

Then it was time for presents from us. He got a big truck with camper top and a little man, this kayak that came with a dog and a man...

...and this Play-Doh Fun Factory. He's really had a lot of fun with this one.

Christmas is such a special time of year, and I'm so glad that we get to make memories and create our own family traditions with Isaac.

Christmas 2010, Part 3: Grandma's Christmas

2011-01-08T16:42:00.004-06:00

Our Christmas at Grandma's was great. Mom fixed a really nice early dinner so we could open presents before it got too late. My brother, Derek, and his wife, Julie, had some good news to share with mom, so she was the first to open a present...

It's a boy! I'm going to be an aunt to my little nephew! He's due first of May, and I can't wait.

The t-shirt they had made for her. Grandma Quinn. :) She was so happy!

Mom got Isaac a Christmas pop-up book, and the last page is Santa's workshop. It has two eye holes to look in and see the elves dancing with Santa in 3D.

A submarine, complete with two divers. One of his favorite gifts this year.

Playing in the floor with the submarine and airplane while we clean up the mess.

Back at home, he immediately commenced to taking apart the airplane. It came with a drill, bits, screws, and bolts. It comes completely apart.

All back together! I think he took it apart about 3 times before I made him stop. I was so afraid he'd lose some of the screws and not be able to put it back together. So far, all pieces are still around. :)

Our family picture. We do one every year at mom's. Next year, Derek and Julie will have a little one in their lap too!

Christmas 2010, Part 2: Quinn-Culpepper Family

2010-12-22T08:59:00.005-06:00

Christmas at Dad's was great. My brother and his wife, Julie, met us there a little early so we could have our Christmas with Dad before Mary's kids all got there. Isaac loves his gifts from his Papa and G.

Then Mary's kids all got there and we had our 2nd annual Quinn-Culpepper Family of Awesomeness white elephant gift exchange. There is one gift that gets passed around each year, a horned toad figurine. If you happen to be the one to get him (Eduardo) during the exchange, you must keep him. He can't be stolen. The one who gets Eduardo must take him on adventures during the next year, and must take at least 2 pictures with him to log his adventures with the rest of the family. I got Eduardo this year. I'll be sending him to school with Isaac for a picture once. The other picture(s) will have to be determined later. :)

Later in the day, Dad donned his Santa costume (thanks Dad!) and came to the front door to surprise the kids. Isaac opened the front door to find Santa ho-ho-ho-ing. He had a huge smile on his face! He was so excited!

When he got to sit down with Santa, he told him he wanted "all kinds of things." He sure took his time with Santa. He didn't want to get down.

Santa told him that he needed to be good and eat all his food (he hadn't eaten his lunch earlier). Then it was Kayla's turn. She screamed and cried, scared to death of Santa. At one point, Isaac got right in her face and as nicely as could be, said "You have to be good for Santa!" Ha! Lilly was next. She was a champ. Just looked at Santa like a weirdo, endured the picture taking and quietly went back to her mom and dad.

Papa and G with all their combined grandkids, Lilly, Kayla, and Isaac. Isaac was being a wiggle worm, so Papa had to hold him up by the pants to keep him still! Next year there will be two more babies in the photo - baby girl Culpepper and baby *still to be determined* Quinn.

The whole Quinn-Culpepper family. Aren't we a good-looking bunch?!

Christmas 2010, Part 1

2010-12-17T16:46:00.002-06:00

Christmas for us lasts all month long. I love Christmas! It's my absolute favorite time of year. It does get hectic sometimes, but I always try to make it special.

This year, I purchased a book The Elf on the Shelf, which came with our own personal Elf. We named him Clyde. He flies back to the North Pole each night to tell Santa all the happenings of the day, and then flies back and sits in a new spot for the next day. Now, Santa and elves are not the only thing we are promoting at Christmas, but when kids are young, Santa is a fun part of the season.

We visited Santa and Mrs. Claus when he stopped in Wylie a few weekends ago. Isaac is not quite old enough to tell Santa he wants anything specific, so he just told him he wants all his favorite things. :)

Watching Daddy build a fire. We try to let him get just close enough to feel the heat so that he understands not to go any closer or it will burn. He loves to help Daddy.

This was Isaac's school Christmas party. His teacher brought pizza for the kids to eat, and they had a book exchange. They were all so cute in their Christmas get-ups.

The Hartin Family 2010

I didn't get to have our family picture made last year, so we were overdue for a new one. We are thankful that we have a super talented photographer/graphic artist in the family, Ben's sister Molly. This was taken at her house. I love it! She really did a great job. Thanks Molly!

More to come as we have the first of four, yes four, Christmas celebrations to attend this weekend!

Busy, busy

2010-12-17T15:59:00.003-06:00

Ok, I admit. I haven't thought much about the blog lately. But in my defense, the end of the year is always busy, busy. There's Isaac's birthday, starting "school", Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Throw in a few sicknesses and a couple funerals, and we've had a hectic end to 2010.

But, I didn't want to just pass right over some of the fun stuff, so here's what we've been up to...

Isaac had his first dentist appointment back in October. He was a champ. No fussing, or squirming. Of course, it helped that they had a TV screen on the ceiling for him to watch while they were doing their business. :)

All done! Dentist said he has great teeth, but that he'll probably need braces when he's older. Surprise, surprise.

Our little carved Halloween pumpkin. Ben drew the design, and I cut it out. I tried to get Isaac to help me dig out all the goop inside, but one touch sent him running away saying "Eeeewwww!" He does not like his hands to be dirty!

We visited a pumpkin patch where we picked up this big pumpkin. Since Isaac didn't want to help with the carved pumpkin, I thought I'd let him paint this one. This is my side...

...and this is Isaac's side. Can't really tell much about it, but he put all four colors on separately, then smeared them all together effectively washing out any color it originally had. :) We each put our hand prints on either side, too.

This was at the pumpkin patch. Isaac LOVED this huge slide. He kept climbing up, and sliding down on his belly (his signature move), over and over. He would have kept going all day if I'd let him.

This was also at the pumpkin patch. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend this place: Three Oaks Pumpkin Patch, Brashear, TX. They had this huge hay stack for climbing, a round hay bale maze, pumpkin painting station, hay ride back to the pumpkin patch, two blow up bounce houses and blow up slide, and a crafty station. Plus lots of room for kids to roam.

Isaac was a train conductor for Halloween this year. It was really funny to hear him say trick or treat: "Prick or Preat!" He looked so cute.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures at any of our Thanksgiving festivities. I'm getting bad about taking pictures, so I promise to be better at Christmas.

Birthday party

2010-09-09T20:40:00.005-05:00

I was reminded tonight that I had not posted pics of Isaac's birthday party yet. So, without further ado...

I made Isaac's cake again this year, and I'm not terribly impressed with how it turned out. But it definitely served it's purpose!

I also made the super cute (if I do say so myself) banner hanging in the window. It really took more time and effort than it was worth, but I loved how it turned out. I'll most likely laminate each circle so I can reuse it for a couple more years.

He was so excited to blow out the candles that we actually had to re-light them in order to get a picture!

Mmmmmm....good cake!

Much less messy than the last couple years!

Ben's mom, Mary, wasn't able to come for the party (Isaac's cousins' birthday is the day after Isaac's) but she was able to drop by early for a minute to give him his gift. He loves this springy pony! He has a button on each ear, that when pressed, his tail wags, his mouth moves, and he neighs. Cute! We've named the horse Trigger. You can't see it in this photo, but on the floor under the horse is a "blanket" for the horse with Isaac's name and the number 3.

Riding his trike around with a balloon attached to the back.

"To Infinity and Beyond!"

Ooooohhhh...all the things we'll create with all that Play-Doh!

Playing Doctor. He doesn't know what "blood pressure" means, so when he puts the cuff on my arm, he tells me how old it says I am. Apparently I am 20 years old again!

Derek got him three monster trucks, along with this Stunt Stadium. I fold it up and put it away each night, and it's the first thing he plays with each morning. He loves it! Thanks Uncle Derek!

Racing two of his MANY new Hot Wheels down the track with Papa.

Attentively watching/helping Derek build a fort with his new Lincoln Logs. I just knew he couldn't grow up without having a set of these timeless logs.

My silly boy. He's seen his cartoons when they have birthday parties, they always wear a birthday hat. I didn't do birthday hats this year, so he improvised!!!

First day of Preschool/PDO

2010-09-08T09:39:00.006-05:00

Isaac started his first day of Preschool/PDO yesterday. He was so excited! I had to wake him up at 7am to make sure we had plenty of time to get ready. Once I told him it was finally the day he would get to go to school, he flew into action getting dressed and eating breakfast so we could go.

The first day was a bit unorganized since there were many parents bringing their kids back for another year, and some parents there for the first time learning the ropes. As soon as we walked in the doors to the church, Isaac's class was directly in front of us. He is in the Elephants class! He let me take off his backpack, and then he walked right into his class without looking back at me. My baby is so independent!

Dragging out all the toys first thing...

Making new friends already. He's definitely not shy!

This poor little girl was having a hard time letting her mom leave her here.

He'll play with anything!

I'll admit, I had a bit of a hard time leaving him in school. I did really well until I started driving back home. I looked in the back seat, saw his empty car seat and teared up a little. My baby is growing up. I know it's PDO, and it's only twice a week, but it was still a little hard to take.

When I went to pick him up, he didn't want to leave. He kept saying he wanted to play with the airplane. So I told him we have toys at home to play with, but he still was resistant. So then I told him we needed to go get his backpack. He shot out the door headed directly to his bin where his belongings are kept. He loves his backpack. I had to pry it off of him so he could sit in the car seat! He insisted on holding it in his lap, and actually put his arms in the holes backwards so he could hold on tight!

It is a tradition in my family that we get to go get ice cream after school on the first day. So, off to Braums for some Cookies and Cream!

So independent! He didn't want to sit next to me. He had to sit all the way down at the end of the bench.

All in all, I think he had a really great day. He loved school, made some new friends (although he couldn't remember their names), and got ice cream. A new phase in his life has officially begun. Let's do this!!!

3 year stats and update

2010-09-03T13:16:00.003-05:00

Isaac has his 3 year check-up a couple weeks ago, and I was anxious to see how much he had grown. He has consistently grown by leaps and bounds the last couple years, and this one was no different.

Height: 41" (well over the 100% - actually at the 50% for 4-1/2 year olds!)
Weight: 35.5 lbs (85% - not too skinny, but no pot belly either)

He is such a smart boy. I don't know what "the norm" is for his age, but here is a snapshot of some things he knows/does...

He can spell: Isaac, Momma, Daddy, cat, dog, fox, ball, boy, book, stop, go, yes, no

He can count to 20, recognizes numbers 0-10, and can count to 10 in spanish.

He knows approximately 10 colors.

He knows way too many songs to count or list! He loves music, and can stay on key and on correct pitch (Mom tested him on the piano). He even knows where middle C is on the piano!

According to him, his favorite color is blue, his favorite food is pb&j, his favorite song is Jesus Loves Me, his favorite game is kicking the ball.

He will be starting Parents Day Out next week, so we'll be sure to post pics of his first day then.

We love you, bud! Can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you.

3 years old today!

2010-09-03T13:07:00.004-05:00

Wow, how time flies! I can't believe my sweet boy is 3 years old!!! He is such a joy, and the light of my life.

He looks like such a big boy in this picture. Almost like a school photo. Don't grow up too fast on me bud!

Sweet face...

Gonna be a rider just like Papa.

Loves trains...

We also did a couple photos of Momma and Isaac. I think these are the best of the bunch.

Eskimo kisses...

So sweet!

Been busy...

2010-09-03T12:40:00.003-05:00

We have had a busy couple months around here. Nothing too terribly special, just been busy. Here are some of things we've been up to...

Isaac playing with his play-dough. He loves it. I rolled the colors out, and made the two a's, but he shaped and placed the I, s, and c.

Ben bought a new wakeboard on craigslist. Isaac has seen daddy on the boards several times this summer, so he knows how it's supposed to work. He put his feet in the straps, then looked at me and said "I'm ready to go!" Maybe next year, bud!

This is a little tricycle Papa got for Isaac. He rode it around like a champ on dad's tile floors. Once we got it back to our house, it took a few days to master riding it on the carpet, but he's a pro now. We look forward to passing it back to dad for the younger cousins to enjoy next summer.

Mom found a 14" bicycle for free on free-cycle. So one weekend when we were visiting, we got him all suited up in his knee pads, elbow pads, and helmet...

...and tried it out. We decided in the house would be best first, so this is him attempting to ride in her house. He'll have it down perfect by the time it's nice enough to ride next spring. Great find...and for FREE!

Just like...

2010-07-22T13:19:00.003-05:00

I promise, I did not prompt him to do any of these. He did them all on his own....

Just like ... WALL-E!

Just like ... Papa! (My dad wears his reading glasses like this around his neck)

Just like ... Daddy! Ben recently had an appendectomy, so he had three incisions on his belly. At one point he had to tape a gauze pad over one of the incisions, so this is Isaac being Daddy with a "hurt belly."

New "big boy" bed

2010-07-22T13:11:00.003-05:00

We decided a while back that it was time to move Isaac from the toddler bed into a big boy bed. He was just getting too long for the converted toddler bed. So, I purchased this new bed on craigslist (our very best friend for getting deals). He also got new bedding (which I love because it's reversible - gears on one side, trucks/tractors on the other), and new curtains (black-out so he'll sleep later in the mornings). A re-purposed coffee table now serves as his desk. I still have a few pieces of wall art to hang, but his room is now fit for the big boy that he is.

Papaw's visit

2010-07-22T12:53:00.004-05:00

Ben's dad, Papaw, came for a short visit a few weeks ago. Isaac loves having visitors, since it usually just me, him and Ben.

Weekend at Grandma's - Part 2

2010-07-22T12:06:00.005-05:00

These are all from Isaac's second weekend with Grandma...

Playing in the sprinkler. He's always hated getting sprayed in the face. Maybe he's getting brave now.

Such a cute face. He loves playing with this new (old) airplane toy. You pull the handle down and it lifts the plane up and flies it in a circle, complete with sound effects.

Mom has a soft sided toy box for all his little toys. She also has a blow up ball pit. Well, he decided this time to put all the balls in the toy box and sit in it!

There's an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse where Goofy is building a "birdie house". Isaac built this birdie house while singing the song from the show. He even added a birdie! Cute!

Thank you, Mom, for keeping Isaac so Ben and I could have some time to ourselves. This was our view of the lake from the lounge chairs. We had so much fun without having to worry about who was watching him, what trouble he was getting into, or if it was time to leave so he could nap. We love him to death, but a couple days to ourselves does Momma and Daddy good! Isaac loves staying with you and talks about Grandma for days after he gets home.

Mills family fun

2010-07-22T11:57:00.003-05:00

This is Isaac and Alli from a camping trip with some of the Mills bunch (Ben's family). Alli is so good with him. She treats him like a big kid and he loves it!

Cousin Kelly and Isaac at the Mills family reunion over July 4th weekend.

This was by far the biggest hit of the reunion. He would climb the stairs, carefully cross the bridge, climb up to the top of the slide, smile all the way down, the do it all over again...and again...and again...

Isaac loved the teeter-totter. Especially when you don't have to work at it! Ben's cousin was gracious enough to push the other end up and down for him so he could ride. Such fun!

Around the house

2010-07-22T11:44:00.003-05:00

In playing catch-up, I came across these couple pics I wanted to throw in just for fun. I'm always taking random pics, and some come out really too cute not to pass along...

Just a cute shot with Momma. He doesn't look much like me anymore.

I LOVE this face. He did get the crinkled-up-nose look from me!

Trying out the tricycle in the yard. He's still about two inches too short to reach the peddle when it's the farthest out, but we'll keep trying. He's got the motion down, just needs to reach them. Can't believe he's getting so big!

Weekend at Grandma's - Part 1

2010-07-22T11:36:00.003-05:00

My mom has decided to keep Isaac some every summer. This summer she was able to keep him twice, one long weekend each. Isaac loves spending time with Grandma!

Tracing over the chalk drawings on the back porch. There's no concrete here at our house, so this was a first for him.

Doing excellent tracing over the letters the right way.

This is the sprinkler friend. I think Isaac likes him better when he's not spraying water!

Blowing bubbles. Look at those cheeks!

What a cool dude in those shades! ;)

Father's Day with Papa

2010-07-22T11:20:00.004-05:00

We visited Papa for a couple hours this past Father's Day. It was an unplanned visit, so we just made the best of the short time we were able to be there. Dad is really good about getting in the floor and playing with Isaac, no matter what they end up playing with.

Isaac is a little OCD, like his momma! He was lining up all the cars, side by side, and they all had be just so.

First they pushed all the cars, one at a time, through one paper towel tube. Then they decided to see if they could fit all of the cars inside two tubes. I think there was only about half of one car left sticking out the end.

Isaac sure loves his Papa. Thanks, Dad, for being such a great father to me and Papa to Isaac. You're one special man!

Annual Family Camping Trip

2010-06-17T15:35:00.006-05:00

Last year, the Quinn's (my dad's family), decided to start an annual Family Camping Trip in lieu of having a big family Christmas just one month after our big family Thanksgiving. It just made sense for us. This year, we went back to Lake Bob Sandlin State Park. Several said it wasn't as hot this year as it was last year, but it definitely was more wet, and muggy.

My dad and brother got there early in the week this year, so we'd have a better chance of getting a premium lakeside site. Unfortunately for them, it poured down rain their first two days there. We got there Thursday, just in time for the heaviest of it all. But, once the rain moved out Thursday afternoon, we decided to let Isaac have a little fun in the puddles.

Right out in front of our spot, there were two low spots in the road, so they filled up pretty good with rain water. We put Isaac's golaches (sp?) on, and let him run and play in the water. He would run from one puddle to the other and jump in!

Papa playing in the puddles too. We were all so soaked to the bone anyway, why not have a little fun with Isaac!

I know this is a really blurry picture, but it is the best one I have of Isaac making a big splash!

You can tell how deep the water is in this puddle, and just how wet he was from puddle jumping. His hair is soaked, his shorts are soaked, and the water is up around his ankles.

My cousin, Lincoln, is helping his son, Cade, and Isaac catch fire-flies. Isaac has never really seen a fire-fly, much less know how to catch one, so I think Cade and Lincoln were doing most of the catching. But Isaac sure had fun following every step Cade took and trying to do what he was doing!

Cade brought his big boy tricycle out, so when Cade was done riding, Isaac hopped up on it. He just HAD to do everything Cade did.

Believe it or not, this was first thing in the morning Friday. We were both already sweating from all the humidity, as you can tell by the wetness of our hair!

Just had to throw this one in here. This is after a full morning out on the lake, in the boat, and in the water. Not sure how well you can see it, but I have ringlets on both side of my face, and all around the top of my cap. This is what my hair does in high humidity.

Isaac did really well (for the most part) the whole weekend. He had more fun, and played harder than normal, so by our last day there, he was one tuckered out puppy. This was on our way out of the park. He couldn't even make it back out to the main road before he wiped out.

I'm hoping to add some more pictures soon that some of the rest of the family took. So stay tuned...

Summer fun

2010-06-02T14:11:00.003-05:00

It's officially summer! I'm so glad to be rid of the bitter cold winter, but I do not look forward to the super hot summer ahead. Even though I stay home with Isaac, and we have the opportunity to do fun things all year, summer just seems to be better for having fun...

Isaac and I took a weekend trip to Grandma's not long ago, and she always has something new for him to play with. This time it was a lawn mower that blows bubbles as you "mow." Isaac had fun chasing me and Grandma with it!

First time in the pool this year. We're determined to stay cool, one way or another! I love this pool because it's big enough for me to get in and enjoy too!

I put his little slide over the side of the pool so he could slide down into the water. He would climb up the slide instead of go up the stairs...

...and then slide down backwards into the water!

I think this was the one and only time he slid down the right way. I think he just didn't like the water splashing in his face.

Lake Lydia

2010-06-02T13:20:00.009-05:00

My sister-in-law lives on Lake Lydia in Quitman. We spent a day on the lake with her family over Memorial Day weekend. I love being at the lake, but having a small child around the water just scares me, since I'm not a great swimmer myself. But as long as he had a life jacket on, I felt okay about letting Isaac run around on the dock.

He was a little unsure about being in the lake and in the tube. He kept asking Molly to let him back up on the dock. :)

Squirting the girls with the water gun.

Simple, yet so much fun. A water gun and a tube to float in. What could be better?

My goggle alien!

There's that cute boy!

Peek-a-boo Aunt Molly!

Creativity

2010-04-26T11:27:00.005-05:00

We have a pretty creative little boy. Here are just a few of the silly, creative things he does on a daily basis.

I made these glasses out of pipe cleaners. He loved them! I think he wore them most of that day. He made me try them on as well, but I didn't think we needed a picture of that! :)

He loves to color. Some days we color on plain paper so he can draw whatever he wants, and others we color in his Handy Manny or Sesame Street coloring books. He's starting to try and stay in the lines, though it will take a little longer to master that one.

For whatever reason, he prefers all of the mouths for Mr. Potato Head over all the other pieces. He's always mocking each mouth. He smiles real big for the smiley mouth, or sticks his tongue out for the tongue piece. It's really cute. This time he put three mouths on Potato's face, and an arm sticking out the top of his head! Silly boy!

Silly naps

2010-04-26T11:15:00.004-05:00

Several months ago, Isaac decided he did not need a nap during the day. I would put him down each day at a regularly scheduled time, and he started taking longer and longer to get to sleep. On top of that, if he took a 2 hour nap, it would take him 2 hours longer at night to get to sleep. This made for several nights when he didn't get to sleep until 10pm. Not good. So I cut out his naps all together. Problem solved! He returned to his normal wake time (7-7:30am) and his normal sleep time (8-8:30pm).

Just recently, he began randomly falling asleep during the middle of the day again. Since I haven't been putting him down for a scheduled nap, these random naps have taken place in different locations, and in some pretty silly poses....

I even have a picture on my phone of him asleep leaning on my purse while sitting in the buggy at the grocery store!

I think I'll continue letting him nap when he wants/needs to, and not when he doesn't. It seems to be working pretty well for us, for now.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T18:32:00.006-05:00

We hunted eggs at Grandma's house on Thursday, so we didn't need to hunt them again today. So we just went outside and played for a while.

Is this thing cutting the grass or what???

My goofy boy!

Picking some wildflowers for momma (he had to smell them first).

I just loved this one...

...and this one.
The dogs REALLY wanted us to come in the back yard and play with them.

Pretend

2010-04-04T18:25:00.003-05:00

Isaac has been pretending a lot lately. These are his latest two...

Here he took his Super Hero cape (one of my old long sleeved shirts) and pushed it on top of his head, then looked at me in his sweetest voice and said "I'm Grandma!"

This one was taken while he was playing with his Mr. Potato Head accessories. He put the police belt across his chin and cheeks and exclaimed "I'm Papa!"

Day at the park with Grandma

2010-03-28T17:03:00.005-05:00

We started the day off by going to see my Granny in her nursing home. She had a bad fall about a week ago, and it had been too long since I last saw her, so when mom said she was coming up too, I decided we would go. It was really great to see her, though she was miserable in pain from the fall.

Then we went to lunch with my mom. It blows my mind, sometimes, the options for child seating that restaurants offer. The booths in this particular restaurant were huge, and mom and I were sitting on the edge of the seat to reach the table, so a booster was not an option. I asked for a highchair (knowing Isaac is really getting too big for those, but what else was I going to do). Normally a highchair would work, but this place had slick floors, and wheels (with no locking mechanism) on the highchair! Once Isaac figured out he could push away from the table and slide backwards into the salad bar, he was hooked! Sounds like fun, I know, but mom and I had to lock our legs under the chair to prevent him from sliding back and hitting some unsuspecting stranger.

After lunch, and since it was such a pretty day, we decided to find a playground. It was pretty muddy, but this particular park had a good area of mulch around most of the playground equipment, so we stopped.

This is the smallest of the three slides on the jungle gym. Isaac tackled this one and the mid-sized one with no problem...

But this one is the tallest and windiest. He would get all the way up to it, and then turn around and say "Oh, no, no, no" and head back to one of the smaller slides! Haha! So I finally convinced him to slide down with me (which was a joke since these slides are not made for adults!). He still wouldn't go for another couple times, but finally decided it was okay. Once he did it by himself, he wasn't scared anymore. He was a pro then!

The numbers were one of his favorite things. On his way up to the slides, he'd stop and play with the numbers for a minute first.

On the teeter-totter with mommy.

He loves to swing, but gets a little scared if you push him too high. Get ready...set...GO!

LOVE these big smiles!

We didn't stay long since was so windy, but before we left Isaac managed to find a really wet, soggy mud puddle and stomp in it before mom or I could get to him! It was so cute! Grandma made sure he rode back home in my car though! :)

Hee Haw!

2010-02-28T23:21:00.002-06:00

We like Hee Haw around here. It comes on every Sunday night on RFDTV, a rural channel on Dish Network. Isaac likes it too....

Getting to know you...

2010-02-06T22:35:00.006-06:00

My sweet boy, Isaac. Look at that face! To die for!!!

Here's a few new things about Isaac...

He loves his puppy dog, Moses. Moses is a Newfie/Lab mix. Soon Moses will be twice Isaac's size, but lovable as a big teddy bear.
He's afraid of heights. He clings on for dear life every time you try to lift him higher than your head.
But he LOVES to be swung around. Especially upside down! (and getting puppy kisses!)

He knows the letters I S A A C spell Isaac.

He LOVES zuzic (music). He's always singing something (even if it's something he's made up). He likes playing music on anything - his toy guitar, drumming on his buckets, Grandma's piano, a xylophone, anything.

He's pretty good at kicking a soccer ball. May have a soccer player on my hands!

He is obsessed with brushing his teeth and washing his hands. Every time we go into the bathroom, he asks to brush his teeth and wash his hands.

He also loves bathtime. Guess we have a water theme going. He LOVES to splash all over the place. Bathtime would be an all day event if I'd let him stay in there. He's also learning to wash himself.

Every time I tie his shoes, I repeat this: Under the bridge, pull it tight, Bunny ear, round the tree, through the hole, pull it tight. I have no idea where I got that from, probably made it up myself, but he's learning it. So now each time I tie his shoes, he's started saying it too. Should make it easy for him to learn how to do it himself someday.

Potty training is a work in progress, but he's doing very well.

He likes to help me vacuum. His aunt gave him a push popper for his first birthday, so sometimes he'll go around behind me or beside me with it, or he'll hold onto the vacuum handle and help me push it. If only I could get him to dust!

He loves books. There for a while, his fascination was more about eating them than reading them, but now he could sit for a long while and read his books. He's got about 30 lined up on his toy box. His favorites are The Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, and two Christmas books - Pooh's Christmas and one with Clifford the Big Red Dog at Christmas. He can recite the first few pages of one of the easiest ones, The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss. Left foot, left foot, left foot, right...

He's growing like a weed! In September he was 35-36" inches, and today he's nearly 38" and 34.5 lbs.

Can you tell he's my pride and joy??? :)

Catch up

2010-02-06T22:19:00.005-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, so this will be a catch up post.

Papa and Mary "G" visited in January. Dad has lots of fun playing with Isaac. He's a big kid himself! Here's a couple pics from the day they came up...

Trying to stay balanced on the underside of a barstool while Papa tilts it around and around. Ben and Mary are playing Wii tennis in the background.

Grandma also made a trip up to visit us at the end of January. We had tons of fun playing with Grandma and Isaac fell asleep on her shoulder while she read him a story. So sweet! Didn't get to take any pictures that day though. Maybe next visit.

Hartin Look-alike Meter

2010-02-05T16:31:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Isaac meets Santa

2009-12-20T07:50:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was our first annual Quinn-Culpepper family Christmas. Dad dressed up like Santa again this year. I wasn't sure how Isaac would react - I've seen so many pictures of scared little kids with Santa, but not Isaac. He was a little unsure, but not scared. I think he really enjoyed meeting Santa - thanks Dad!Not sure what to think...but sure...I'll let Santa hold me.

Telling him all about Doc and Queen (McQueen).

Wish he'd had his shoes on for the pics, but Santa was getting too hot under all that face-wear to wait! :)

This year, there were two new additions to the family. Kayla Culpepper on the left (Paige and Marshall's daughter), and Lilly Culpepper on the right (Mollie and Ryan's daughter). This is the first photo taken of all three of Dad & Mary's grandchildren.

Christmas tree

2009-12-08T08:50:00.003-06:00

I put up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, and Isaac loves it. Every morning he asks me to turn the lights on. I made sure to put all the glass ornaments toward the top of the tree so he can't break one. The plastic ornaments and the unbreakable personal ornaments are all at the bottom. He loves them all, but he gravitates towards the bells, his picture from his first Christmas, the snowmen, and the sparkly apple.

This little bear reads the Night Before Christmas, and has a cute little mouse on his arm. Isaac LOVES this bear.

Potty Training

2009-12-08T08:44:00.005-06:00

I decided it was time to start potty training Isaac, so we started the 3-day program on 12/1. The first day was really, really hard on mommy, since the good Lord didn't bless me with an abundance of patience. :) But the following days have since gotten better and better. We're still working on it, but he's getting there.

I had to take a picture of him in one of his cute big boy undies. Thomas the Train on his little hiney! :)

Random cuteness

2009-12-08T07:41:00.004-06:00

I have taken several random photos of Isaac lately, so I thought I'd post some of the cutest...

Being cute eatin' a grilled cheese sandwich.

This was over Thanksgiving at my mom's. She bought him this "I've been Good" hat. Doesn't he look so innocent?!

This was at our Quinn family Thanksgiving here at the house. My uncle Richard wears reading glasses. Isaac took them off Richard's face and put them on!

Now he has them on upside down! :)

Wearing one of daddy's old cowboy hats. No, he did not drink the Coke, but he likes to pretend.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T21:12:00.003-06:00

Isaac went Trick or Treating this year as Handy Manny - one of his favorite Disney cartoon characters.

You can see the picture of the character on his shirt and how much Isaac looks just like him in his outfit. He LOVED his toolbox (which was homemade by my mom, along with the tool belt).

We went to my mom's neighborhood in Wylie again this year. She has fun helping Isaac get ready.

His toolbox was his candy bag. Everybody was giving out so much candy at each stop that after two or three houses, his toolbox was getting heavy. Luckily, about half of what he picked was stuff he could eat this year. I don't let him eat chocolate, so I pulled all that out, but he got several suckers and gummy candies.

Each time we would go up to a door, he would keep his head down until the door opened. Then he'd look up and say "HI!" real energetically. It was so cute! He did so good this year, saying Trick or Treat and then Thank You! and Bye! I think he had a great time.

Pumpkin Painting

2009-10-29T12:18:00.006-05:00

I waited a little long this year to look for a pumpkin for Isaac, so by the time I did go to get one, all the store had left were smaller ones. Which, turned out just the perfect size. To be safe, and to let Isaac in on the fun, I decided to let him finger paint the pumpkin instead of us carving a face into it. He really had a good time...

This was his first time using the finger paints, so it was a learning experience for him.

At one point, he looked at his hand and said, "Eeewww, dirty!" It didn't phase him long though, he went right back to decorating.

He had so much fun. All the colors turned out more brown and black combined on the pumpkin than they would on paper, but I think his pumpkin is a masterpiece.

Once I felt like the pumpkin couldn't look any better (or worse), I put it aside to dry and gave him a big sheet of paper to paint on. I started it off by painting a little Isaac in the top right corner. :)

He loved painting. I'll have to bring out the finger paints more often.

Mr. & Mrs. Derek Quinn

2009-10-11T11:45:00.007-05:00

My brother, Derek, got married last night!!! I'm so excited and happy for him. He married Julie Cunningham at the Dallas World Aquarium in the rain forest division. It was a very unique setting. They were married right in front of a huge glass wall with manatees, huge turtles, and other large fish swimming around behind them. Very pretty. These are all pictures that I took with my camera, so they're not the best. As soon as I get copies of the photos the photographer took, I'll post some of them.

Here he is, waiting for his bride. He's laughing because she came down the stairs, and stopped at the open bar for a quick shot before finishing her walk down the aisle!

Just being announced as Mr. & Mrs. Derek Quinn!!!

The happy couple. Aren't they cute!

Her dress was absolutely beautiful.

Our family - with the newest addition! Welcome Julie!

This is before the ceremony. Isaac had a blast getting to see all the fish and turtles in the huge tank.

Julie decided she wanted some games placed at the center of each of the reception tables instead of a centerpiece. Our table had Connect Four. Isaac had been getting a little restless, until he noticed the game. He's so meticulous that as he was playing, he'd fill up one column, then start the one right next to it, making sure to keep the exact same color sequence!

Congratulations, Derek & Julie! I wish you guys years of happiness and bliss.

Isaac-isms

2009-09-08T21:08:00.003-05:00

Isaac's vocabulary has really blossomed over the past few months, and with it comes great confidence in himself and a bigger personality. Here are a few of the cutest things he says/does these days...

"Yee-haw!" - said anytime he sees someone with either a cowboy hat or cowboy boots on (all the time on our grocery outings).

"I break it" (with a very sad, sorry tone) - a recent addition to his list of sentences. It's really cute, since he means well, but sometimes he "break it" just so he can say "I break it".

"It tuck" - aka it's stuck - goes well with "I break it".

"ircle" - aka circle - his newest shape identification (in addition to star).

"Awesome", "wow", "cool"

"It dawk" - aka it's dark - used to be "light off"

"Okie, okie" - aka okie dokie

"Cawk" - aka clock - used to describe anything circular with numbers on it (a clock, a scale at the grocery store, etc)

Mommy and Daddy both drive "big wuk" (big trucks).

He's still learning his colors, but he likes to try (all day long!). Up until a few days ago, "bu" and "been" (blue and green) were his favorite to say, but he's now added "yeddow". He gets this one right more often than not.

He knows a few letters in the alphabet: O, K, P, B, I, U, Y, and sometimes A, E, M, N

He knows most of his body parts: head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, lip, chin, elbow, hands, knee, leg, feet, toes, belly button.

As fast as he's picking up new words, I'm sure I'll be posting more of his Isaac-isms soon.

New Stats...

2009-09-08T16:35:00.003-05:00

Isaac had his 2 year check up last week and boy has he grown a bunch! Here are his stats at 18 months compared to 2 yrs...

18 Months: 32" tall (50%), 27 lbs (50-75%)

2 Yrs: 36" tall (90%), 29.5 lbs (50-75%)

That's 4" growth in 6 months! He's now half as tall as Ben! According to babycenter.com height predictor, he's going to be 6' 2" at age 18!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2009-09-08T16:22:00.006-05:00

So I'm a little late in posting these pictures, but here they are nonetheless. Isaac turned 2 on September 3, and we celebrated with the family on Aug. 29.

Isaac adores Elmo, so I made him an Elmo birthday cake. Elmo's fur is made of red-dyed coconut.
He didn't get as messy this year as last! :)
This card from his Grandma has the Chipmunks singing Funkytown when it opens. He loved it!
"Awesome!"
"It's dead" (aka - no batteries).

A big thanks to Molly for taking pictures for me so I could help with the cake and presents!

New portraits

2009-08-11T08:24:00.004-05:00

I am going to make a point to get Isaac's portraits done every year somewhere around his birthday so I can mark the changes over a years' time. These are his (almost) 2 year old photos.

Here's my little Rock Star...

He has really grown quite a bit in the last year. We haven't had his 2 year check up yet, but I know he's grown at least 6 inches since this time last year. Crazy!

Not a baby anymore!

2009-07-11T20:37:00.005-05:00

Ben and I converted Isaac's crib into a toddler bed earlier today, just in time for nap time. He really loved being able to get in and out of it at first, until Mommy made him lay down and go to sleep. Poor thing cried and cried for 30 minutes before he fell asleep. Bed time went MUCH better. He laid right down and went immediately to sleep. This is about 15 minutes after I put him down for bed tonight... (btw, sorry they're so blurry. It was already getting a little too dark in his room so I had to adjust the shutter speed to allow more light, which also made any slight move impossible).My big boy!!
The "rag" you see on his head is actually a cloth diaper that I used to use for his burp cloths. Ever since then, they have become his blankie. He won't go to bed without one. Lately he's been putting them over his ear at night. I'm not sure what that's about. I didn't want to disturb him for this picture, so I just left it.

Isaac's vacation at Grandma's

2009-06-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

Isaac spent the weekend with my mom this past weekend while Ben and I took a much needed vacation trip to San Antonio. Isaac had lots of fun with Grandma.

Gotta check out the wiggle worm sprinkler...

Ooops...got sprayed in the face!

He seems to have warmed up to it this time. The first we tried out this "waterpillar" he wouldn't go up to it.

Time to wash off my hands!

Chillin on the back porch. Grandma got him these cute Cars swim trunks with a matching Cars hat!

Dominoes!!! I'm gonna beat Daddy at 42 one of these days!

I miss Mommy and Daddy. Ready to go home!

Sick puppy

2009-05-27T22:12:00.004-05:00

The past couple of days, Isaac has been a little sick. Yesterday he didn't want to lay down for his nap, even though he was sooo tired, probably because he couldn't breathe. So we went back to the living room to watch a movie.

He cuddled up in his new beanbag chair and sat very still for almost the whole thing.

Poor baby! I feel so bad for him when he can't breathe and can't sleep.

BIG

2009-05-27T22:08:00.003-05:00

These were taken at mom's over Memorial Day weekend. Isaac had just woken up with a leaky diaper, so mom changed him into one of my brother's old Cub Scouts shirts.
Playing his version of chopsticks (I think that's the name of the song they played in Big).
Enjoying some cuddle time with mommy - love it!!!

Daddy's shoes...

2009-05-27T22:04:00.003-05:00

...sure are hard to fill...

Belly button...

2009-05-27T21:58:00.004-05:00

This adorable little dog has a DVD that goes with it, and it syncs up with the DVD to play interactive songs and such. Really kinda cool. Anyway, you can also just turn it on w/o the DVD, push his little belly button, and he'll laugh, or bark, or sing to you...

Belly button, belly button, when you touch it, great things happen,
It's my tiny tickle dot, Hehehehehe,
That's the spot!

We used to wiggle the dog back and forth each time the song came on, as if he were dancing. Well, this is Isaac making the dog dance by himself! He does it every time the song comes on, just like we did.

New tent

2009-05-06T12:45:00.004-05:00

Isaac's Papaw brought him a pop-up tent a few weekends ago so we decided to set it up in the living room to check it out. This was Isaac's first time in a tent, so it took him a little bit to get used to it.
He went around the room gathering toys and throwing them into the tent before he ever went inside. Then he just stood inside the door for a few minutes before deciding it was okay to go in and play!

He also threw in a couple pillows and took to playing. He really loved it.

We have since set it up a few more times since he likes playing in it so much. It's the perfect size for him, and it's small enough to set up in the living room without taking up too much space. One of these days we'll set it up outside for him to play in out there.

Bluebonnets 2009

2009-04-13T20:25:00.003-05:00

My friend, Deanna King, told us about a huge field of bluebonnets out in front of the Fujitsu building on 190 and Renner/Shiloh. So, I decided to come up for a couple days, see the family for Easter, and stop to take some photos in the bluebonnets. Wow, was it a HUGE field, full of gorgeous flowers. This was right after we got there. We sat Isaac down in a big patch and this was his reaction! He didn't know what to think about all the tall flowers!

My sweet, happy boy!

I taught him how to smell not long ago, so he bent down here to smell the flowers. Cute!

Mom helped Isaac pick one, and he brought it right over and gave it to me! Precious!

This one is not the greatest photo of me, but I think it's cute anyway. You can see how vast the field is. It's probably about the size of a football field in all.

I can NOT!

2009-04-06T11:56:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Ben and I were playing with Isaac in the living room. He likes to entertain, so we give him center stage to do so. When he claps, we clap. When he stops, we stop. He gets a real kick out of it. But the more excited he gets, the more enthusiastic the clapping gets.

Well, he started acting like he was trying to jump, which he can't do yet. I started telling him, "Jump, jump" to which he very enthusiastically replied, "I can NOT!" :) Too cute! I don't want him thinking he can't do anything, so I said, "yes you can." He looked at me and said, "man, I can NOT!" Hahahaha...by this time Ben and I are laughing pretty hard. Now he says it all the time, "man, I can NOT!" I'm positive he doesn't really know what he's saying, but it's too cute anyway!!!

Momma's boots

2009-03-23T20:57:00.005-05:00

This was just tonight. I had come in from feeding the dogs, so I took my boots off and turned on the news to catch the weather. Next thing I know, I see Isaac standing at the end of the end table in my boots! He's done this before, but this time I got some really good pics of it...This one reminds me of a photo my mom has of me when I was little wearing my dad's shoes.

They look so big, but he can actually walk in them pretty good!

I love this one! Too cute!

Is OCD hereditary?

2009-03-23T20:50:00.003-05:00

It blows my mind sometimes when I see Isaac doing something just like me or just like Ben. This he obviously gets from me...He's even got all the faces facing the same direction!

Isaac likes to pull Ben's hat off his head when he comes home at night. Then they end up all over the living room floor until Ben needs to wear one again. Two of these are Isaac's hats too. He went all over picking them up and then lined them up on the coffee table like this. Once he had them all just right, he picked them up one by one and threw them back in the floor! Ha!

Developing a love of reading

2009-03-23T20:42:00.003-05:00

I haven't had Isaac's books out for a while, because he likes to tear them up, bend them all out of shape, and eat them. But I decided I'd let him have them back a few weeks ago. He still likes to bend them up, but at least he's "reading" them some too. I hope that he will love to read as much as his mommy does.

Grandma's visit

2009-03-17T16:15:00.003-05:00

My mom came to visit for a few hours a couple weeks ago, and she brought Isaac a new toy. It's a toy cell phone that you can record a 6 second message on for them to hear as they pretend to talk on the phone. He loved it - still does!Check out the hat. He usually doesn't keep one on for very long, but he did that day. Doesn't he look so cute!
Putting his "cell phone" in his pocket - just like Daddy!
I love this one! Looks like Fresh Prince!!!
He found an old toilet paper roll and decided it should go on his foot. He tried and tried but it just wouldn't stay on very good. :)

Teaching the farmer to drive...

2009-03-05T20:16:00.005-06:00

I've already posted this photo to my facebook page, so for those of you who've already seen it, sorry. But I thought it was cute, so I wanted to post it here for everyone else too.

This is a farmer that came with a barn play set and lots of animals. The car is a remote control convertible bug. I've caught Isaac several times putting the farmer in the car like he's driving it!

Well, the other day, not only did he have the farmer in the car, but he had him in the driver's seat with the little dog in the passenger seat! I think it's so funny how their little minds work even at this age, to know the man goes on the left and the dog goes on the right.

New Stats...

2009-03-05T20:07:00.003-06:00

I took Isaac today for his 18 month well visit. He's right on track with all his measurements:

32" tall (50%)
27 lbs (50-75%)
18.5" head circumference (25-50%)

He was really amusing the other patients in the waiting room. Since his doctor is a family practitioner, the waiting room is not tailored for kids. So he just kept running back and forth from one door to another, between all the other patients. Good thing everyone was really friendly because he was making lots of noise too! At one point, the lady behind the front desk opened the glass door to talk to him. She asked him what he was doing, to which he replied "nutin'" (nothing)!

18 Months Old!!!

2009-03-03T13:39:00.002-06:00

Isaac is 18 months old today! He is getting so big and so smart. He has his checkup on Thursday so I'll post his stats then.

We love you buddy!!!

First Haircut

2009-02-09T12:43:00.003-06:00

Yes, that reads FIRST haircut. Isaac is 17 months old and just got his first haircut yesterday. Mom and I took him ProCuts to get it shaped up. He had no idea what to expect, nor did I.She put a cover over me to help keep his hair off my shirt, but it didn't work too well. Isaac hated having his hands under his cape.
She showed him the razor and let it buzz on his arm to show him there was nothing to be afraid of, but as soon as she put it on the back of his head, he freaked out. He did NOT like that thing buzzing on his head. I really had my hands full trying to keep him still so she could cut it.
She finally tossed a big neon green comb on the floor to give him something to look at so she could do the trim work on the base of his neck and behind his ears. This was the only time he sat still.
Before...see the curl on the back of his head and how long the ends were getting!
After...all nice and neat.
Such a handsome little man!!!

Bathtime...

2009-02-09T12:38:00.003-06:00

I realized the other day that I didn't have any photos of Isaac taking a bath in the big tub. So I got out my camera and tried to take a few. This boy just wiggles too much. Most of them came out really blurry from him splashing and going after toys. I thought I'd play with his wet hair some too and see if I could get it to go up in a mohawk. This is what became of it...It went straight up, then because it was so long on top, it curled back down going each way! This is the best picture I could get of it. So cute!

Budding musician

2009-02-09T12:34:00.005-06:00

Grandma bought this guitar for Isaac recently. I think he looks good playing guitar! Grandma says he might get a real one for his birthday. Fun! As long as he doesn't get a noisy drum set!!!

Lazy Sunday afternoon...

2009-02-02T17:18:00.005-06:00

These were taken Super Bowl Sunday afternoon while we were waiting on the game to start. As you can see, Ben was taking a nap on the couch while Isaac and I kept ourselves busy. It was such a pretty day outside, that we let Isaac run around with no shirt, like any boy would love to do. Look at his belly! This had to be not long after lunch. :)
Now that he has mastered climbing up on the ottoman, he likes to throw the pillows on the floor and sit in the window sill. He looks like such a big boy.
This is his new way of testing mommy. He'll climb up on the couch, then walk on the couch down to the end tables and stand on them playing with my lamp. Notice he's not paying me any attention!
Getting ready for the game.
Pretending to talk on the phone again, this time with the remote control. The remote is usually what I use when I pretend to be talking back to him on the phone.
"What's Grandma's phone number?"
I just LOVE this one. He's got such a cute profile, don't you think?

All in a day...

2009-02-02T17:10:00.004-06:00

These are just some random shots taken on a random day. Playing with his wooden puzzle Granny Mary got him. Thanks Mary, he loves it!
Looking out the window. He does this alot. Sometimes he'll watch the dogs, sometimes he'll just look out. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so he can go play on the playset the previous owners left us!
Pretending to talk on the phone, only he's talking on the strap of my camera! :)
This is where he learned to talk on the phone. Anything can become his phone, and he always seems to talk to daddy when he's pretending.

New hiding spot

2009-02-02T17:01:00.003-06:00

This is a piece of furniture in Isaac's room that I have been using as toy storage (since he has so many!). Well, he decided about a week ago that he would start using it as his hiding spot from mommy. Once again, he was playing very well by himself while I was getting some work done. I kept hearing these strange noises (the monitor is located directly above his head on top of the dresser), so I went in to check on him, camera in hand since I've learned to expect something cute when I don't know what's going on. I found him like this...He was trying desperately to get the door closed. He soon figured out that he could pull it almost closed with his hand on top of the door...
...then reach out and grab the side of the door to close it all the way. He now does this all the time. He once tried to close both doors, but thankfully that doesn't work since there are no handles on the inside for him to pull the second door closed with.

2009-01-14T16:23:00.003-06:00

Isaac has really been learning alot lately. He's started talking more, still lots of jiberish, but learning new words nearly every day. Here's some of the words he says (at least the ones I can think of right now!)...

Daddy & da-da
Ma-ma (though not very often)
Bye
Ba (ball)
Ca (car)
Daw (dog)
No-no
Oh no
I-da-no (I don't know)
Bay-bee (baby - pronounced with a very strong drawl - learned from daddy, as in "hey baby")

Although he doesn't say these words, he knows exactly what we're talking about when we say things like...

Big hug
Kisses & Sugars
Chair (aka highchair)
Hungry (he runs toward the kitchen with his hands on his belly like he's starving!)
Elmo
Firetruck (his ride on)
Dirty (the woodchips around the fireplace - he brings them to mommy when I say "It's dirty")
Monkey (he kinda does the monkey sound too)

He loves to pretend to be talking on the phone. He has a play phone, but he'll pretend talk on anything. Most of the time, he pretend talks to daddy, but since daddy has taught him to say "hey baby" that's what he starts with!

He can't quite climb onto the couch yet, but the matching ottoman is a hair shorter so he can climb on it. He gets so proud when he gets up there. I'll have to get a photo of that soon.

Being new in the mommy business, I'm never sure when to start trying to teach him things. So, I may be a little later than other mommies (or maybe a bit sooner), but I just recently started teaching him to color. I (I mean, Santa) originally got him the crayons that are a bit fatter than normal, but realized he didn't have the foggiest idea how to hold them, so I then bought the ones that are made for little hands. The ones that look like fat little sumo wrestlers. Anyway, he prefers the red over the green and blue, and he likes to bang them on the paper creating little dots everywhere. I helped him with the very first one, which is proudly displayed on my refrigerator. :)

Fun with Papa Joe

2009-01-14T16:16:00.003-06:00

Dad (Papa Joe) came to visit for a bit last week. He always has lots of fun with Isaac. This is Isaac's new thing...instead of him mocking us, we mock him...First he'll lay on his belly in the floor and wait for you to do the same...
Then he starts wiggling his fingers on the floor, almost like he's scratching the floor. Then he'll jump on his feet, and wait for you to stand up on your knees.
Then it's back to the floor for more! He LOVES it!
He gets the biggest grin when you do exactly what he does. So cute!

Brusha, brusha, brusha

2009-01-14T16:12:00.004-06:00

This was Isaac's first time to use an actual tooth brush to brush his teeth. Up until a few weeks ago, I had been using the kind that slips over your finger to brush his teeth and gums. I saw this tooth brush for 1-2 year olds and decided to give it a try. I brush his teeth first (just to make sure they're all brushed good), and then I let him try. He mostly just chews on it, but that works too!

Fast friends...

2009-01-14T16:04:00.004-06:00

These are from a few months ago (Thanksgiving to be exact), but I kept forgetting to post them until I ran across them looking for photos to post.

This is Kaci, sweet daughter of our friends Lee and Nichole. They moved to far west Texas so we don't get to see them much, but they were in town for Thanksgiving. Kaci is 10 days short of one year older than Isaac. She had lots of fun playing on our outdoor playset, and Isaac had a blast playing with someone his own size.

It is crazy to me to see the height difference one year makes. Of course, she does have tall parents. I just hope Isaac didn't get the short gene from me!
Playing so nicely together.
Isn't she the cutest! Lee and Nichole, you have a beautiful, sweet little girl. Loved having you visit and can't wait to see you again!

Ring around the rosy...

2009-01-01T16:53:00.005-06:00

These are the stackable, nestable buckets Santa brought Isaac. Here we have them stacked (I helped him a little). Once we got the tower up, Isaac started running in circles around it! I started singing "Ring around the rosy, pocketful of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down". He got such a kick out of it. So I started tackling him at the "all fall down" part. He loved it! Not sure what prompted the running in circles to begin with, but we had a blast!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-30T16:01:00.007-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. God was good to us. I hope He was good to you too!

We started off going to my mom's on Christmas Eve for lunch. Isaac got lots of great stuff, including the cowboy boots shown in the slideshow. Then we came home and had out family Christmas that night. He got the floor play mat shown. It's in huge puzzle pieces so as soon as we got it put together for him, he noticed that it comes apart and had to try it. :) Of course, Santa came the next morning. He brought Isaac a wooden rocking horse and some stackable, nestable buckets. Then it was off to my sister-in-law's house for Christmas with her family and Ben's mom. We had a great time there. The next day we had Ben's dad over for the evening. Our last stop was back in Dallas Saturday evening for Christmas with my dad. We decided since he already has a Santa suit, that he would be our Santa from now on. So after dinner, he dressed up and came in, HO HO HO and all. Isaac has never seen a Santa before, not even in passing, so I don't think he was real sure about the whole thing. But he did good. Even gave Santa a kiss!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T16:28:00.003-06:00

We hope you all have a very safe and Merry Christmas! May God bless you with love, family and peace!

Dare-devil!

2008-12-12T14:25:00.003-06:00

Meet my son, the dare-devil. I usually have this toy turned around so the seat is against the wall, not facing it. As soon as I got him down from here and scolded him pretty good, I turned it back around and also turned the top back over to the activity side, thinking he wouldn't try to stand on that side. A few minutes later I watched him push it over to his crib, with every intention of using it to climb into his bed! Needless to say, this toy now has a new home - in his closet.

Christmas decorations...

2008-12-12T14:11:00.003-06:00

I just LOVE Christmas! And I love decorating for Christmas. I don't decorate for any other holiday. Here's our Christmas tree in the study. I switch out each year between a star topper and this angel.

This is the first year we've had a mantel to hang our stockings on. I love it!

I'm so proud of these stockings. I made them last year, just in time for Christmas (between feeding and changing Isaac!). I added the initials this year so we could tell which is which.
Mine and Ben's...
...and Isaac's.

Family Portrait 2008

2008-12-11T19:14:00.002-06:00

My sister-in-law, Molly, took our family photos this year. I think this one really turned out great. I'll post the Christmas photo in a week or so. Thanks Molly!!!

Being a Mom

2008-12-02T16:00:00.003-06:00

I recently got this in an email from Ben's aunt Sue, and thought it was worth posting (in case you haven't received it in your emails yet).

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Thank you, Lord, for entrusting Isaac into my care. I know He is Yours and I am only taking care of him for You. I pray that I do a job worthy of your satisfaction. I pray I be a good example to him of Your love. Amen.