New words and milestones...at 13 months...

...Isaac with the toys piled on in his car seat. It takes him all of 5 seconds to throw them all into the floor! (Um, and if you're wondering about the pink heart toy... there is a story behind that. It's a dog chew toy that Isaac found at Taylor's house. He was so intrigued by it that our friend Ashley gave it to him. So, no, we didn't go out and buy our boy a pink heart toy. But he sure does like it for a teether! Thanks Ash!)

This week, Isaac started saying a new word: Ah-Choo. Seriously. My entire family has been sick with a cold/sinus bug, so there has been quite a bit of sneezing going on. Apparently Isaac has been paying attention to the sounds of our sneezes, and a couple of days ago he started saying "ah choo" on his own. It is so cute, and he even says it on command now!

He has been talking quite a bit lately, and here are his most frequent words:

Da-da
Hallelujah (Yes, he really says this...all four syllables! He started saying it own his own a few weeks ago. We didn't even teach him this word. How cool is that?!)
Ball
Oreo (our cat)
Noel (our other cat)
Juice (in reference to his sippy cup)
Ba-ba (in reference to banana)
Diaper
Book
Tree
Truck
Dust (He learned this word while helping me dust the house with a feather duster. He absolutely loves helping me dust, and we sing our made-up song ("Dust, dust, dust...dust the TV...dust, dust, dust...dust the picture frame...") together while we're doing this chore. Side note: I want to instill an enjoyment for housework in my child(ren) so that when they grow up they won't dread their chores; instead, I'm hoping, somehow, to help them find, at the very least, a small amount of enjoyment in them...)

In addition to his words, Isaac has started doing a few hand gestures when asked. He now says "more" in sign language and also claps when we ask him to clap. The sweetest thing, though, is when I ask him for a kiss. He leans into me with a wide open mouth to "kiss Mommy." So precious!

Our little man is growing into a sweetheart with lots of love to show and a desire to get into everything. His favorite foods right now are tomatoes and Gerber's Yogurt Melts, and his favorite "toys" are any of Daddy's cords. He likes to hang them over his shoulders to carry around the room. Of course we watch him like a hawk when he plays with them, but he loves them too much for us to keep them all off limits!

What a joy he is to us! Thank you, Lord, for this gift named Isaac. Every child is a blessing, and we are so glad that our home gets to be filled with the presence of this one!

Christmas Snaps...

We had a very blessed Christmas this year, especially because we had a little bundle of energy and joy running around underfoot. Isaac seemed to have a wonderful time this year! (Remember that last year, he slept through most of the festivities!)

Here are a few photos of our family's Christmas Day...

Breakfast on Christmas morning:


Isaac opens his first gift from Mommy and Daddy:


Isaac found the gift bags to be quite intriging:


One of Isaac's favorite spots at Gramps and Granni's house ~ the piano: (He walks there every time we go and gestures as if to say "Put me up there!")


Isaac and me, opening his gifts from Granni and Gramps:


Our little family, full of L-O-V-E (and from the looks of Isaac, a little bit of exhaustion over missing a nap!)

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Merry Christmas from Steven, Betsy, and our sticky-fingered little man, Isaac!

Preparing...makes homemade goodies easy!

I've been making our family's bread, pizza crusts, and brownies from scratch for the past several months. Recently, though, I got tired of scooping out the 2-3 cups of flour and other dry ingredients that most of the recipes require. I know, it's not really a hard job, but it is slightly messy and just gets old sometimes. Since I realized that I was actually dreading making these things because I'd have to measure out the flour and other ingredients, I decided to streamline my efforts a bit. Every few weeks, I measure out all the dry ingredients that a recipe calls for and put them into a plastic bag with the name of the food written on the bag. I'll do this multiple times so that I have the ingredients pre-measured for several loaves of bread or several pizza crusts. I store these bags in my pantry, and when it's time to make a loaf of bread or a pizza or a pan of brownies, I just grab the bag, add the wet ingredients, and Voila!, I have a homemade goodie without much effort!

That's how I spent my morning Thursday - measuring out enough ingredients to get me through the first week or two of 2009. That way, I can enjoy the holidays with homemade goodies, but I won't have to lift a... well let's just say I won't have to lift my finger for very long... ;)

Sweetness...

Isaac, in his winter vest. 100% Pure Sugar!

No more PB&J for our boy!

Well, maybe the "J", but definitely not the "PB"!!!

Last week, we learned from experience that Isaac is highly allergic to peanuts. We hadn't ever given him peanut butter, but on Tuesday, while visiting my parents, we gave him a tiny bit on a piece of bread. Immediately his lip began to swell and then he started scratching his face. Within a few minutes, his left ear was swollen and the left side of his face was covered in hives. I called the doctor and was told to call 911 for an ambulance. Once Medic arrived, they determined that Isaac's throat was NOT closing up, as sometimes occurs with allergies, so they gave us the option of driving him to the ER or letting him ride in the ambulance. We opted to drive ourselves. Once we got to the ER, Isaac's left eye was almost shut due to the hives. We registered and took a seat in the waiting area. I then changed Isaac's diaper and carried him and the dirty diaper to the vending area where I planned to dispose of the diaper. Before I could do that, however, Isaac started vomiting. We were both covered! While I was looking for napkins/towels to clean us up, he vomited again. Poor thing! He was miserable, we were both covered in it, and Steven, who had been doing some work for a deadline he had, ran to our rescue once he heard me shriek. After all that, they actually let us come back into the ER. Whew! (Note to self: If you ever want to get seen in the ER quickly, just throw up all over their waiting room floor...) ;) Anyway, we were seen by a doctor shortly after that episode, and he said that yes, it was obviously an allergy and that we needed to stay another couple hours for observation because allergy reactions can get worse over time. About an hour into the observation time, I opened Isaac's diaper up to check him, and the entire diaper area was beet red. Also, he had huge round welts (hives, I guess) all over his belly and chest. We called the doctor in, and he said, "Yes, he's gotten worse. We'll need to give him an epinephrine shot." So the nurse came in, gave him the shot, and we were told we needed to wait another hour and see if the reaction calmed down. Thankfully, it did, and we were able to head home. We left the ER with about 5 toys that they had given Isaac during his stay. (By the way, this time we went to Presby Huntersville, and the experience was MUCH BETTER than at CMC's Levine Children's Hospital.)

Isaac is all better now, and we have had blood work done to confirm his allergy to peanuts. According to the bloodwork, he is also allergic to eggs and cats/dogs. We have two cats and he seems to be OK around them. We do know, though, that whenever he's been licked by a dog, he gets hives wherever he was licked. It seems, though, that the most severe allergy he has is to peanuts.

We thank God for saving our little boy last Tuesday, making us aware of his allergy, giving us wonderful paramedics and doctors to work with, and ultimately growing us to be stronger and more knowlegeable parents through this experience.

A Visit to the Billy Graham Library!

On Saturday night, we went to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte to see "Christmas at the Library". There were beautiful decorations, a live nativity, lots of lights, and lots of people. In fact, there were so many people that we decided to actually come back another time to view the library and it's exhibits. We did enjoy being together and visiting with our good friend Joseph. Isaac was fascinated by all the lights and also the huge, beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Isaac wanted to touch all the ornaments! (So did I! They were incredible!)


Steven and our friend Joseph:


Our family, in front of the main Christmas tree in the Library:



As Frosty says, we'll definitely be "back again some day!"

Pictures are really worth a thousand words...

Here are some pictures of Isaac from the past couple weeks:

Sleepy boy!


At our friend Ashley's baby shower:


Isaac's first interaction with a baloon - we think he liked it!




He loves the Christmas tree!

A blogging fast?

You may have noticed that I haven't posted much recently. I guess you could say that I'm on a blogging fast, forced on me by the fact that my personal computer has lost the ability to connect to the Internet. The computer is on it's last leg anyway, so we plan to purchase another one soon. Until then, though, I am unable to have Internet access at home during the weekdays. So...not much blogging for me!

Honestly, it's not been the worst thing in the world... :) I'm actually able to get alot more done during the day without the World Wide Web at my fingertips! Over the past couple weeks, I've been able to get almost all of our Christmas gifts finished up (I've made almost all of them this year), wrapped, and put under our tree. I've also been able to catch up on reading, try my hand at some new recipes, and just enjoy the simplicity of a life without the Internet (or at least life lived during the weekdays...)

Reflecting on a great Thanksgiving Day!

This year for Thanksgiving, we enjoyed some wonderful family time at Betsy's grandparents' home. Granny and Pawpaw, along with several of the guests, cooked a delicious meal for us all! On this day, we took time to reflect on how thankful we are for each of our family members and also our friends who are like family to us. What a great day!

Here are some pictures from the day:

Isaac enjoys his first Thanksgiving meal! (remember that last year on Thanksgiving, he was one day old, so his meal wasn't quite as exciting...)


Steven and Isaac on a hike in Pawpaw's back yard!


Gramps and Isaac enjoying the day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!

This time last year, we were in the hospital with our new little boy. This year, we'll be spending time with family and eatin' good, for sure!

Here's a shout out to my Father for all His goodness! Thank you, God, for your overwhelming favor in our lives! We love you and THANK YOU for caring for us as your children. May You be blessed through our lives every minute of every day.

It's Party Time!

This past weekend, we celebrated Isaac's first birthday and had a grand time! On Friday, Isaac and I had lunch with my parents (Gramps and Granni) and then Steven, Isaac and I celebrated over a special family dinner. On Saturday, our friends and family helped us continue the celebration at Isaac's first birthday party! We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone, watching Isaac "eat" his first birthday cake, and opening all of Isaac's presents!

You can read more about the party from the perspective of some of our guests on their blogs - Isaac's Gramps and our friend Lori.

What a special time!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Isaac playing with his friends, Jonas and Taylor:

Isaac playing with one of his new toys:

The finished pottery plate with Isaac's handprints:

Isaac's birthday cakes specially designed and made by Mommy (smile) :

Enjoying his first piece of cake!

After "too much birthday"! (Yes, he fell asleep in my arms!)

Celebrating Isaac's first year, in pictures!

As we celebrate Isaac's first birthday, I wanted to share some pictures of him throughout the year. Of course, after uploading all of these, I am in tears... What an incredible blessing he is and what a fantastic year this has been!!!

Our first family picture:


The stork outside our house that announced Isaac's arrival:


One month old (Christmas 2008):


Two months old (January 2008):



Three months old (February 2008):


Four months old (March 2008):


Five months old (April 2008):


Six months old (May 2008):


Seven months old (June 2008):


Eight months old (July 2008):


Nine months old (August 2008):


Ten months old (September 2008):



Eleven months old (October 2008):


Twelve months old (November 2008; Isaac's one year old photos were taken by Lori Jackson):


Our family, a year after Isaac's birth:



A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.
Author Unknown

Birthday Handprints; Birthday Footprints

Last Saturday, in honor of Isaac's birthday, we took a family trip to a local paint-on-pottery store to make a plate and trivet with Isaac's footprints and handprints. He did so well! He sat back and let the pottery store owner, Patty, paint his hands and feet and then make his prints on our pottery pieces.

We had a wonderful family outing!





What made this even more special for Steven and me is that we went to this very same store on the Saturday before Isaac was born, and we each painted pottery in honor of our soon-to-arrive son.

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Today is Isaac's one year old birthday!!!

This time last year, we were at Gaston Memorial Hospital, rejoicing in the birth of our new little one. Throughout the past year, we have seen Isaac grow from a tiny infant into a 23 pound toddler who brings joy to our hearts every single minute.

We love him so much and are so thankful for God's goodness in providing us with such a beautiful beam of light who fills our home with spunk, enthusiasm, and neverending laughter!

***Check back later today for a few more posts in honor of our little man's first birthday!