Summer Favorite...

One of our favorite things to do this summer was visit the Early Childhood Center. Isaac has been going on a regular basis since he was about 4 months old. He definitely is able to do more of the activities and enjoy all the areas that the center has to offer.

There are 3 "rooms" to visit.

One is for large motor activities....

Ball pit, slides, bikes, cars, big blocks, climbing mountain.

(I know this picture is a little blurry, but I love the sheer joy on his face!)

The next room has activities such as...

music, movement, books, role playing, dress up, arts & crafts

Isaac participated in the large group off and on, enjoying specific songs more than others

(Itsy Bitsy Spider, Beehive Song, The Freeze)

On our final visit (for the summer), Isaac joined the group for an extended time.

We sang about butterflies...

One of our favorite places is the outdoor classroom.

Isaac loves the plants, the garden, the wagons and bikes, the sandbox, and the xylophones.

More time at Music with Ms. Julie (We LOVE her!)

Watching intently as Julie shows the movements for Tootie Ta

Trying to do the "Bottoms Up" part of the song!

More pictures outside...

They have oversized critters that the kids can carry or play with.

Today Isaac liked the ladybug

Jammin' on the xylophone

He recently discovered the hats on this shelf. He especially likes the fire hats!

I usually end up with one on too...

(Kinda bugs me out.... teaching small kiddos will do that for you -

always worrying about those head bugs ya know! EWWW!)

So this was one of our favorite things to do this summer. I am truly blessed to have this time with my son. He is growing, learning and talking so much these days. I love watching him explore and discover. It is a little sad that today was my last day with just him in the house, but we are so excited that the big boys come home tomorrow.

If you are reading this on Saturday morning... please say a little prayer for Chad. He was called into work late last night which left him with less sleep than he would like having an 8 hour drive ahead of him. I pray his drive will be safe!

We also pray that the transition back to a family of 5 will go smoothly. The boys have spent a great deal of time on their own this summer and we are so glad to have the next week creating some summer for them and with them. It will not be without it's trials though. There are always a lot of emotions to process when these transitions occur. We know that the boys miss their mom and we continue to hope that she will be able to relocate back closer to us so the boys can spend more time with her and make these seperations a little easier.

Thanks for your thoughts and well wishes!

Katie

Out of the Mouths of....

a Mom -

"Seriously, again, that makes 5 today!" (Talking about dirty diapers)

"No, we don't eat worms/bugs....(reply of unknown consonants and vowels and pointing intently at the worm/bug that was just taken from him)....because birds and other animals eat worms/bugs but we don't."

"Good try on catching that fly but he's a little fast for you!"

These are a few of the random things I have found myself saying over the past few weeks while I have been home with Isaac. Lots of other moms have great things that they are saying.... stop on over to MckMama's Blog to check out the other links!

(Pics to come later tonight!)

Busy Busy Busy

We've been soaking up the final days of summer.

Isaac really enjoys the Children's Museum.

He loves the ball room. This is one of his favorite things to do.

He also found this chair. He loves riding up and down.

This last time we went, Clifford was there. Isaac absolutely loved him! I was a little unsure of how he would react but as you can see from the picture, he wasn't a bit shy.

Later that day, he found a new place to hang out.

So Silly!

"Hey Guys -

Check out this cool new chair my mom and dad got me.

I really like having my own place to sit.

It came with these cool glasses.... See???"

"... except I can't figure out how to get these glasses to work."

"I am gonna be so busy this weekend .... I get to see Grandma and Grandpa, Jeff and Jackie, Jeff and Patty. My Mom is graduating with her Master's Degree! Yeah Mom! We are gonna celebrate!"

Look who's...

Taking swimming lessons!

I can't believe that he tried blowing bubbles on the day that daddy came to take pictures!

Wanna play ball with me?

15 months

15 months

At 15 months this is where we find ourselves:

Sleeping

12 - 13 hours a night! Yahoo!!!

Usually goes to bed around 8:15 and sleeps until 8:30 or so. This has been great!

Also takes a nap in the afternoon.

These vary from 1-3 hours depending on the day and the activities we've been doing.

Eating

After a brief stint of not eating much, we are back on track!

He will try anything on his plate.

Loves Ketchup, Ranch dressing and yogurt to dip stuff in

Eats such a wide variety of foods, I would be going on forever if I tried to list them all.

Talking

Wow! The words and the attempt to say words have just exploded.

I love hearing him mimic us or tell us a really great story

(though we really have no idea what in the world he said because it's all gibberish).

Words he says on a regular basis:

dad or daddy

momma

milk (said or signed)

more (said or signed)

all done

up

dit dow (sit down)

uv vee (love you)

muppy or buppy (Murphy/Puppy)

ah ah (when he sees a dog - like barking noise)

bubbo (bubbles)

yeah

um (yum)

He also sparatically says things that sound like other words but those are the most consistent ones in his vocabulary right now

and...

The biggest change in the last month...

NO MORE PACIFIERS!!!

Isaac does not use them any more for any reason at all!!!

This was a huge accomplishment for us and we are so glad to have done it when I was able to be home with him.

4th of July Weekend Visit

Uncle Tristan surprised my Aunt Annie by showing up for a visit.

He brought his new fire hat for me to try on.

Looks pretty good huh?
Annie tried it on too!

Tristan told me all about the fire station and how much he likes his new job!

Mom and Dad and I went down to the carnival. We stopped for a quick pic outside the games.

Dad is always being so silly! I sure love him though! He always makes me smile.

Grandma made us so much yummy food. I was so happy to spend time with her.

Grandpa is one of my favorite people. He is silly too, just like my daddy. We have fun being kids together. Grandma and Grandpa had fun with me this weekend - or at least I think they did.

This was the only ride I could get on at the carnival this year. The crazy carni wanted to put me on a train all by myself (he told my mom that he'd buckle me in tight - even though there was supposed to be a height restriction). My mom didn't like that idea at all. We rode the merry-go-round again instead.

My silly mom forgot to load the cute pictures of me getting the goods at the parade. Maybe she will get to that a little later tonight. Until then, I am gonna go take a little nap. It was a busy, fun-filled weekend and I can't wait to see grandma and grandpa again in a couple weeks.

Love,

Isaac

Weekly Update

This last weekend, we stayed inside due to the heat. On Sunday, we headed to the Children's Museum. Isaac had a blast.

Going down the big boy slide
Look Tristan.... I found a firetruck just for me!

Checking out the Clifford exhibit...and making a little music

After all that fun, Isaac got very sick on Tuesday. He had a fever of about 103 all day and slept for over 3 hours for nap. This was highly unusual but also very likely the same sickness as his buddy Malachi.

We rode it out on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. It was late Wednesday night (around 11:30) that I broke. I was in tears, he was in tears and we needed to do something to make him feel better. We headed to the ER at Children's Hospital. They confirmed that Isaac has Hand Foot and Mouth disease. He has ulcers in his mouth and a rash on his body.

We got some medicine (Benadryl and Maalox, along with Tylenol and Motrin) and headed home (at 2:30 a.m.) to get some rest.

Isaac was so beat that he slept until about 6:30 without a peep. Then slept with me on the couch until about 8. He got up long enough to drink some milk and take some more medicine, then fell back asleep at 9 until about 12:00. He later fell asleep at 4 on the couch. Here is a pic of the little guy trying to get better!

We are on the mend and still hoping to head to CL for the holiday weekend. We will see what the next 24 hours bring.