Elise and the Exersaucer!

As I mentioned in Elise's 5 month post, she has been spending quite a bit of time in the exersaucer lately. This week especially, she's been focusing on the toys and using her hands to play with them in different ways. She's very concentrated when she's in there as if she's processing how everything works together. Here are a few pictures of her while she was having some playtime recently:



Isaac had his first experiences in the exersaucer almost exactly two years ago, and you can read about them here.

Isaac finally says it!

Finally, after over 25 months of saying it to him, Isaac finally said "I love you" back to us! It sounds like "I luh-doo"! So far, he's said it to Steven, Elise, me, Gramps and Nana...

So cute!

Isaac gives jumping a try!

This past weekend, Isaac accomplished a new feat: jumping up with both feet in the air at the same time. He's been trying to do this for a few weeks, but he gained more success just this past Saturday. I didn't have the camera out when he was doing the majority of his jumping, but I did manage to get some footage of his attempts (and his falls!) Here it is:

Isaac bakes with Mommy!

Last week, I had an Amish Friendship Bread starter that needed to be made into bread. I had put it off in hopes of a time when both kids were asleep and I had enough energy to do the baking. Well, since that didn't happen, I made my mind up to include Isaac in the baking (inspired by my mother, of course. She's already had Isaac helping her bake/cook for a while now.) I pulled one of our kitchen chairs up to our counter and taught him all about measuring and explained what each of the ingredients were. He helped me by pouring the flour, sugar, etc. into the bowl and then helping mix it. It was a wonderful time! He loved it, and now he can identify all of the ingredients by name. I did let him taste a little of the sugar and butter when he asked, and of course he wanted more sugar! The butter by itself wasn't so much of a hit thankfully. :) Later that week, when I was making Dirt Pies for our Thanksgiving lunch, Isaac asked to help. I pulled the chair up again, and he watched and helped me make the desserts. One of their ingredients is crushed Oreo cookies, so Isaac got his first taste of this delicious sweet treat. And he wanted more. And more. I only gave him a couple bites, but once he got down from his chair, he noticed I had dropped some on the floor. Needless to say, I didn't have to sweep afterwards...

Here are some pictures of Isaac helping me make the Friendship Bread:




Here's to our little baker!

Elise's first bath!

We gave Elise her first official bath this week. Of course, we've been giving her sponge baths since she was born, but we decided it was time for her to try out the baby tub that we once used for Isaac.

Getting her soaped up:


She liked it!



Drying her off:


My sweeties:


All clean!

Isaac's first haircut!

We gave Isaac his first haircut Friday night. Steven had been wanting to do this for weeks, but I had just been too attached to his curls to go through with it. However, last week the curls at the bottom of his hair looked way too much like a mullet for my comfort, so I told Steven I was ready.

Here are some pictures of this momentous occasion. (And in case you're wondering, we distracted Isaac with gummie treats and dried fruit, which he loves! He let us chop away and just kept asking for more "nummies". Also, we used regular craft scissors and manicure scissors to get the job done, and they worked pretty well!)

Before:


During the haircut:



After (and yes, Isaac loves getting into the fridge...)

A few August firsts...

This past week, Isaac has had (at least) three firsts. One is a first that parents typically track. The other two are pretty unconventional firsts to track, but I felt the need to document them 'cause they're so stinkin' adorable!

1. Counting! We've been working with him on counting from one to five. So far he can say "doo, dee, die" (two, three, five) It's SO cute! I think he has picked up on some of this from his favorite book. We're planning to get some more counting books at the library this week.

2. Asking for toys in his bed. Usually Isaac has several stuffed animals in his crib, but when I last changed his crib sheets, I moved most of them to his "big bed" to get them out of the way. I didn't put them back, and he's been fine for the past few days without any animals in his crib. However, last night during our goodnight kisses, he began to say "Bears! Bears!" and was pointing to his big bed. We realized that he wanted a toy, so we gave him one blue stuffed bear. He took the bear and placed it in the corner of his crib very gently. Then he asked for some more. With each one we gave him, he proceeded to place them neatly along the edge of his crib. After about five, he was content and stopped asking for more "bears" (some were actually monkeys).

3. Saying "night night" to his milk. I put Isaac's milk in the refrigerator this morning after he'd had his breakfast. He still calls milk "juice", so he pointed to the fridge and said "Night night juice! Night night juice!"

Isaac's first recorder!

Another first...

Today Isaac ate a piece of cat food for the first time. We put our cats' food on top of the refrigerator, and occasionally a piece or two falls to the kitchen floor. This morning I thought I'd cleaned up the fallen pieces, but I must have left one. Well, after breakfast, Isaac found it and tried it out while I was cleaning up. The next thing I knew was that he was making a gagging noise and trying to make the cat food come back up after he'd swallowed it. He wasn't successful, so he just started crying and said "ewww-ie". I tried to clean out the remaining morsels in his mouth, but the majority of the bite had been swallowed. I then asked him if he wanted some water, and he started crying out "ater, ater" with a loud whine. I gave him the water and cuddled him. After a few minutes, he was back to normal!

Some important firsts...

1. Yesterday, Isaac sat in a restaurant booster seat for the first time! Steven decided to try it out during our lunch at Moe's. Isaac fit perfectly and stayed in place during the entire meal! He seemed to know he was a "big boy" and took his role seriously. He ate his entire mini burrito, some chips, and most of Steven's guacamole. We were so proud of him!

2. On Tuesday, our little baby girl started kicking hard enough for me to see the movement on the outside. Last night, I had a feeling that she was about to start moving, so I had Steven place his hand on my stomach. He felt his daughter move in the womb for the first time!

3. I am starting to "nest" for the first time in this pregnancy. I have had sudden energy, and yesterday I actually made some progress in preparing the new nursery. I am hoping to take a few minutes each day and work through the piles of stuff we've accumulated in there over the past four years...and hopefully it'll be clear by July... we'll see!

4. We joined Netflix for the first time. We're actually just trying it for a month free and didn't plan to renew, but I'm getting hooked already. I've been very impressed with the variety of movies they have. We like to watch independent Christian and inspiring films, and it's often hard to find these in Blockbuster or at the Redbox. We watched our first movie through Netflix last night, and I highly recommend it - Faith Like Potatoes. It's a true story of a scottish man and his wife who decided to raise their family and run a farm in South Africa. It's incredibly inspiring, and I'd say it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. So, add it to your Netflix queue or check it out here. If you've seen it, or see it in the future, please let us know what you thought!

Move over Stanley Steemer!

Last week, I used our carpet shampooer to clean some spots on our floors. Isaac loves any kind of vacuum or household tool, so he got excited that I was using this one. He walked around with me as I was cleaning the carpet, and when I was finished, I let him have a try. Here are some shots:

"Cleaning" the carpet:


Turning the machine off and on:



Notice how serious he looks in these pictures! I think he really thought he was cleaning the carpet!!

Momma's little helper!

As I was taking a pizza out of the oven last week, Isaac looked at my oven mit and signed "more". This is often his way of asking for something. I grabbed one of my Nana's old oven mits and let him give it a try. He liked it!

Our visit to the Lazy 5 Ranch!

Yesterday, our family went to the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. This was the first time that Steven, Isaac or I had been there, and we absolutely loved it! We went with some of our church family and had a wonderfully restful day at the park. Here are some pictures from our time there.

The entrance to the Lazy 5 Ranch:


A deer and her baby:


Isaac and me at the petting zoo portion of the Ranch (we were looking at the camels):


Here's one of the camels we saw at the petting zoo:


Isaac chilling on Steven's lap as we rode the horse-drawn carriage through the Ranch:


Steven's comment at this point was, "This makes me want to go to that Western Steer restaurant":


This confrontation seemed like it might get scary, but after a few seconds, they gave up and came back to us to eat the food that we were giving away:


A giraffe family! Isaac has recently learned the word "giraffe", so he was glad to be able to identify these animals. (He was a little scared of them at first, but he warmed up!)


Isaac and me on the carriage:



We'll definitely be going back to this great place!

Isaac's first Power Wheels!!!

Thanks to Isaac's Granni and Gramps, he now has a Power Wheels Little Quad mini four-wheeler! He's learning to ride it inside before we venture onto the driveway. Right now, he's working on keeping his feet on the footrests and also using his thumb to press the power button instead of his pointer finger. Our next goal is to work on steering... What fun! Thanks Granni and Gramps!!!

Family trip to the airport overlook!

This past Saturday, we took Isaac to the airport overlook at the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Our house is in the arrival path for many flights coming to Charlotte, so whenever we see an airplane, we point it out to Isaac. However, we thought he'd enjoy seeing some planes up close. We were right, and he loved it! It was a great family adventure that cost us absolutely nothing! We'll definitely be going back again several times this spring and summer. Here are some pictures of Isaac and Steven watching the planes take off: