4 Months!

Our little guy is 4 months already, I can't believe it! He had his checkup yesterday and got three shots in his legs and an oral rotavirus vaccine. Poor guy! He actually did really well and didn't need any Tylenol. He's 26 in (87%), 13lb 6 oz (25%) and 50% for head his size. Ashley was 25in and 13lb 10 oz at 4 months. It seems like 4 months has been a magic number for Isaiah, he is such a happy baby and smiling all the time. I love waking him up in the morning because he gets this big smile on his face, lets out a shriek and scrunches up. The best thing to wake up to! He's been doing really well with his sleep lately which makes him much happier when he's awake. He's still only good for a couple of hours, but he gets up between 6:30 and 7am then goes back down for about an hour at 8:30. Then about 2 hours from when he wakes up he'll try to take a little snooze depending on where we are in the car or stroller. We usually try to get out of the house after he wakes up in the morning so his nap before lunch is usually on the go. Then he goes down about 12:30/1:00 for about 1-2 hours. Then he'll take another short snooze (about 15-20 min) around 5:00 and then to bed at 7pm. Just like Ashley this is the time he gets fussy. He goes down really easy, but often wakes up randomly after just an hour or so. He's been pretty good about putting himself back to sleep, but occasionally we have to go in and put the binky, but we'll wait 10-15 minutes. He's only been waking up once around 3 or 4am and I've been sleeping much better with him in his room. We just transferred him to the crib a few nights ago, so there has been some adjustment, but so far he's doing pretty good. He's out of his wrap and in a sleep sack as of a couple weeks ago. He was fighting it and constantly pulling his arms up to his chest as soon as we fastened the wrap, so we graduated him to the sleep sack and he's doing much better. He does sleep with his hands folded over his chest or over his eyes, it's really sweet. He's nursing every 3 hours during the day and will take a bottle while I'm away, which I'm thankful for. I guess I never took a bottle or pacifier, my poor mother! He likes his binky, but only seems to only need it when he's tired. Lately he's been sucking his thumb or fingers, but it doesn't seem to be when he needs soothing, just when he's up playing so who knows what that's about. He also loves to jump on the floor or your lap when we're holding him, almost ready for the jumper but still a little small for it. He likes to watch his reflection in the mirror and talk to himself. He loves seeing his sister and gets a big smile on his face when we go wake her up in the morning. He has rolled over a few times from front to back, but I think it was by accident.







Tummy Time!



Got to love those big blue eyes!

Road Trip To Seattle!

Brian got asked to give a lecture on Ultrasound at a clinic up in Seattle, so we decided to make a weekend out of it and bring the kids. It was Isaiah's first road trip and I was very proud at how well he did. We stayed with Danielle and Hani, but Hani left for a bachelor party on Sat, so it was just Danielle that entertained us all weekend. We had so much fun hanging out catching up, going to the park, eating and even a girls night out for a glass of wine! Joana, Steve and baby Nathan came over for most of the weekend too, so it was great to see them and watch the kids play together. We even go to meet up with Brian's cousin Mike, his wife Amanda and their new baby and had breakfast with Ed at Alki Cafe, our favorite!

Ashley was so good with Nathan all weekend, entertaining him and helping out.


Ashley wanted to swing next to Nathan even though she's pretty much outgrown the baby swings.

Danielle and Ashley playing at the playground by their house.

We don't get a picture with the 4 of us very often and I though this one turned out pretty cute.

Brian's cousin Mike and his wife Amanda with their little girl Ali. We met them for dinner at Red Robbin.

Ali 2 1/2 months, Isaiah 4 months.

Ashley 2 1/2, Isaiah 4 months, Nathan 8 months.

It was pretty cute to see these two side by side. Nathan was very interested in playing with the toys on Isaiah's bouncy seat and Isaiah was entertained by watching Nathan, perfect for letting us eat our lunch!

Ashley was so excited to help Nathan eat his carrots, she even held up his sippy cup for him so he could have a few sips.

Mr. Ben

My Dad is so thoughtful. He was home last week and decided to plan an afternoon with the kids and I. It was a rainy day so he got online and came across Mr Ben who was playing music for kids downtown at a toy store. It was really fun for Ashley once she got warmed up. Isaiah had a good time too hanging out watching all the kids. After we listened to Mr. Ben for an hour we walked to the Kennedy School for lunch. We were told it was only three blocks away and of course with my optimism I suggested that we walk. Well, we got rained on both on our way to the restaurant and on the way back! Luckily it was warm, but we were pretty wet by the time we got back to the car! It was a very fun outing with Grandpa and we can't wait to do it again.

I just snapped a quick shot when we first got there to document the outing, but I think it's funny that I captured how tentative Ashley was when we first got there. There were a lot of people she didn't know and she wanted to make sure she didn't take her eye off them!

Randoms

Our first day of warm weather! We thought it would last longer than just three days.

This was precious, my mom didn't want to let him go.

I love how he holds his hands. He sleeps like that too just up across his chest.

First Haircut!

Ashley got her first haircut a few weeks ago! I've cut a tiny piece from the top when she was a about 1, but this was her first formal cut. We had talked about it all week and every morning she would wake up and say "I'm getting a haircut today!?" "No sweetie, we have to wait a few more days" Well the day finally came and she was so excited until we walked in the door and she wanted to leave. It was a little overwhelming for her, she didn't want to sit in the car or pick out a video so she decided she was ok with getting her hair cut if she was on my lap. We both got covered up and the lady trimmed about an inch off. It was funny though because her first cut was blonde and when she cut underneath it was brown, so I think she might have darker hair when she's older we'll have to see. So of course she warmed up to the lady after awhile and was talking to her. At the end she got to pick out her "clipies" and then asked to sit in the car to play. Once she was in she didn't want to get out, so maybe next time she'll be ok and not have to sit on mommy's lap. What a fun place to get haircuts though and they even give out suckers when you leave! She was very proud of her first haircut and couldn't wait to come home to show Papa how they cut it and styled it (this was all animated with hand gestures and everything, so cute!)

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. It started on Saturday with a Mother/Daughter luncheon at my mom's church. She's been wanting to do this for years and now that Ashley is old enough and we live down here so we made a special date and got all dressed up for it. They did a really great job putting it all together with the food, decorations, guest speaker, cake walk and craft for the kids. Ashley made me a heart picture frame with "I Love You Mommy" on the front, it turned out really cute! Then after the lunch I took Ashley to her friend Bella's birthday party. That was a lot of fun and she got to share Bella's new toys with her and play. On Sunday I got up and found cards on the kitchen table from the kids and Brian along with a gift certificate for a pedicure and a coffee mug with pictures of the kids on it, which was really special. After breakfast we went to church and after picked up the dog and some Starbuck's and headed to Summer Lake park to walk around the Lake. It was a gorgeous day. After naps we went for another walk down to a water fountain by our house and then homemade dinner and dessert. It was a very relaxing, memorable Mother's Day. I am so blessed to have such wonderful kids and an amazing husband to share them with!





Cake walk at the Mother/Daughter luncheon. Ashley got right in there to start walking on the numbers when the music started, but as soon as she realized that mom was at the other side of the circle watching she headed to other direction and was out of the game.

They had such delicious food there. Tons of different salads, fruit and sandwiches. Plus the variety of desserts took up about 4 tables. Some of the husbands took charge in the kitchen and did a great job!

Ashes and I at the luncheon. She's not too excited about taking pictures lately.

We forgot to take a picture with all three of us. Oh, well we have next year. I think this will be an annual tradition for years to come.

3 months

My sweet, sweet Isaiah, I've actually been waiting to write this post because no two days are the same for you. You have come so far from just a month ago, but there was a miserable few weeks where you were waking up after only 1/2 hour of napping. I even put you down after 1- 1 1/2 hours when you showed signs of being tired like they say to, but it didn't help. You went down easily but still would wake up. It was the weirdest thing because it was always exactly 1/2 hour. You woke up happy, but then 5 minutes later it was obvious you were still tired. You're days were miserable, you're eyes were red, you cried, and you didn't go to sleep easily in the stroller or the Moby. When you did it was just as we were heading home and as soon as I transferred you anywhere you woke up. It started to effect your night sleep, which was always what I could count on for you to catch up. This was a lot for mommy to handle so we started to let you cry to "train" you to sleep. It was so hard for me to do, I had no idea if I was doing the right thing, but you weren't sleeping anywhere and you needed it! Well after just a few times you got it, you put yourself back to sleep. I was ecstatic and thought "that wasn't so bad" Well, things are much better but we're still working on it. You can tolerate being awake for longer periods and can put yourself back to sleep a fair amount of the time. It's 50/50 if I can put you back to sleep in the morning, but afternoons are much better and you'll get a good 2 hour nap, waking up after about an hour and needing the binky. You're still in the cradle in our room at this point, soon to be in your room in the next few weeks, you're just getting too big. You'll be sleeping in the room next to your sister and I'm crossing my fingers you don't wake each other up, which is why you're still in our room. We'll just have to handle that if and when it happens. Besides your sleeping habits, you smile and coo all the time, which just melts my heart. We have so much fun with you in the evenings. You are so happy and hardly fuss (I do have to give myself credit for this because I'm so driven to get you good sleep throughout the day). You're dimples are your hallmark. You are very strong and have started sitting in the bumbo, you have gotten much better at tummy time and actually rolled over the other day, although I think it was by accident. On a good day you wake up at 7am and go back down for a nap around 8:30am for about an hour. Between 9:30 and 1pm you'll try to catch a 1/2 hour nap in the swing or stroller, whatever we're doing that day. You'll take a nap around 12:30/1pm for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours (this is your best nap of the day and one I'm grateful for because that's when your sister sleeps) then you'll take a short nap in the swing around 5pm for about 20 min and then down for the night at 7pm waking up around 2am and again between 5 and 6am. You're not really hungry at 5am, but you've gotten yourself free from your wrap usually get mad if I just try to wrap you and put you back down with your binky. I've tried to see if you could put yourself back to sleep, but you grunt and struggle off and on until 6:30 when you've had enough and then you're day is all off and so is mine because I've been up since 5am! It's just been easier to get up to feed you and you'll fall back to sleep. This wrap thing has me confused because it's the only way you'll fall asleep, but you try to get your hands free and then push your binky out and then you're wide awake grunting and kicking your legs up (you are very noisy!) I think you're almost done with this but need more control over your hands. I have a feeling you'll be a thumb sucker (I've caught you doing this a lot lately), but so far you prefer the binky and so do I because we can take it away later!









He is so fascinated with the camera I can't catch his smile of camera, but love those blue eyes

Bumbo Time

He loves, loves, loves his play mat. We put him underneath all the toys and he gets himself all worked up kicking his legs and arms and making all sorts of noises.

Our little Missy

Ashley has been so much fun to watch lately. She has become quite nurturing to her babies since Isaiah has come along. She talks to them in the same tone that we talk to him, she feeds them, diapers them, wraps them, rocks them and even tells me when they are too hot and when to be quiet because they're going to sleep. Her vocabulary is amazing, she repeats everything we say and mimics hand gestures and facial expressions even when she thinks we're not looking. The other day we were out walking (she loves to take walks and can walk really long distances) and she notices this lady who passes us speed walking. She starts swinging her arms and moving her hips like the woman is. I was cracking up watching her, she was so focused. Sometimes her curiosity gets the best of her and when she's not paying attention will run into things. She learns quickly and doesn't do it again, but she can't help watching people. I've been able to give her a lot of independence now that I'm home and we have more time to do things, well as much as I can with a 3 month old. She picks out her outfit every day (I let her wear what she picks out most of the time or at least redirect her to something that is appropriate for this unpredictable weather we've been having, it's pretty interesting what she comes up with some days and tells me " it matches mommy"). She has her days where she needs mommy time and will tell me to put Isaiah down or not to feed him. This is all understandable and I just have to make sure she knows she has to share mommy with Isaiah and she'll get her turn when he's done. Today I woke her up and usually Isaiah is still sleeping so it's just me that goes in to get her. Well she slept in and Isaiah woke up before her so I took him in her room and she told me to put him back to sleep! I'm only writing this because I think it's so cute, she does love her brother but when things are usually a certain way she doesn't like them to change.

She took about 20 minutes to strap her baby in Isaiah's car seat, then take her out, put her back in, zip her up... notice her baby wearing his jacket

Goofy

She's been really into glasses lately and found these pretty one's that Grammy has! She insisted they went this way too!

Tulips

April 9th was Brian's birthday, so he took some friends to the beach house for the weekend to go fishing. My Dad went with them Friday night, so my mom came over and spent the night to help out with the kids. Saturday we drove to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn. I had never been to this one, only the one in Mt. Vernon when we lived in Seattle. This one had a ton of stuff for the kids and the tulips were gorgeous. They even had old fashioned wood burning tractors. Ashley was a bit intimidated by all of this, even the stuff for kids, but she did enjoy a game of duck racing. It was fun to see her try to pump the water and get the duck going. Grammy was there to help and if it were up to Ashley we could have stayed there all day. That night we had a sleep over at Grammy and Grandpa's. Sunday we woke up and went to church and then headed home to see Papa when he got home. It was a great weekend and I'm happy my mom was around to hang out with us.

She wasn't really into posing for the camera, but I though this was cute of the two of them. My mom has so much fun with her.

Enjoying the golf cart ride to the festival, glad we didn't have to walk from where we parked, it wasn't close!

This is the duck race that she really liked. You pump the water and move the duck to the other end where it falls into the bucket.



We took this at the end of our trip and the kids were ready to go! It was a quick picture for memories!

Ashley was terrified of these wood burning tractors because of the loud sound they made when they got going. She liked them much better when they were out in the field far away from her!