Slacker Mom!

Latest "school picture" Oct 2012

I've been terribly busy trying to sort out details for my wedding to Izaak's "da-dah" and haven't been keeping up with his blog. It's been over two months since the proposal and I think we've only got the photographer figured out. The issue isn't lack of research and determination, it's an issue with me committing to one venue and being able to figure out what our best option is balancing it financially with consideration for "cool factor". We'd really like to have a unique, charming location to share our big day with our family and friends. I'd be fine with skipping all the hoopla and going to the courthouse to get our marriage certificate and a quick service from the justice of the peace but a big party sounds fun as well. Plus, it gives us an excuse to get some out-of-towners out here to see where we live these days. It will be the first time that Izaak gets to meet most everyone!

Izaak is doing great, we had to switch daycares but his teacher at the old place moved to the same daycare he's at now too so it was great to have her there to help him transition. He seems to really like the new place and we like how involved he is in art projects and activities! His daily reports usually tell that he's had a great day and he's not constantly in time-out anymore. They put him in a class appropriate for his size/skills/activity level instead of how old he is. And speaking of age, he's 17 months old already, nearly a year and a half! He's still in the 75+ percentile for his measurements, according to his last dr visit. I was thinking of it the other day while folding his laundry and determined that we've gone through 5 whole wardrobes since he was born. That's insane! If I was a little less neurotic, he would've had less clothing and wouldn't have known the difference. Luckily, I'm a thrifty shopper but can't honestly say that I haven't spent more than I should on baby clothes. OOPS! I guess there are worse things I could be guilty of at least.

Besides being a brute, Izaak has been expanding his vocabulary and is becoming more interested in books. He doesn't have a lot of words that he's consistent with using other than: "no", "nose", "shoe", "muh-muh", "da-dah", and did I mention "NO"? He imitates other words here and there and does plenty of Izee-babble, which is equal parts adorable and hilarious. He still has a talent for hitting his head off things and is in the process of giving me a head-full of gray hair from his climbing on things and jumping/falling off things that he's climbed on. I blame his daddy for the dare-devil tendencies! It's getting more difficult to get non-blurry pics of him anymore also, he's constantly on the go. We're starting to see a little bit of picky eating though he still puts down food like a professional, given the right options (dinosaur chicken nuggets, yogurt, and mandarin oranges, yes! yes!! yes!!!).

For Halloween this year, we went trick-or-treating with him for the first time and walked around the neighborhood with his friend Lilly, who was dressed as the cutest little owl ever! We brought with his Radio Flyer wagon and Lilly enjoyed it way more than he did! We didn't get too fancy with his costume, he doesn't like wearing anything like hoods or hats on his head and we wanted him to be comfortable so we went with a one-piece skeleton outfit. We only hit up a couple houses but I think he had a good time and we have a couple pictures to show from it so, totally worth it! I had a homemade Dorothy outfit and store-bought, terribly uncomfortable ruby slippers while Joe and Lilly's mom, Stephanie, were smarter and wore normal clothes. We also carved pumpkins with the kiddo this year, Joe wielding the sharp tools and Izaak examining the pumpkin guts with a stick. I thought he'd be interested in touching the slimy innards but the look on his face would've told anyone otherwise. Joe carved a small, traditional faced-pumpkin for Izaak and we got a little more creative with the other bigger pumpkin I had picked up. Spray painted it gold, then I drew in an outline of an owl silhouette in a full-moon while sitting on a branch which Joe used wood-carving tools to shave off the surface so there'd be more of a glow rather than bright light shining through. Both were fun and turned out great! We went to Boone Hall's pumpkin patch and enjoyed their hay ride and corn maze this year too!!

I'll try to add some more pictures when I can get to it, I've been adding them to Shutterfly, Facebook, etc but nothing is organized. Story of my life!!

<3

Put A Ring On It!

Joe and I celebrated our 7-year anniversary of dating with a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant downtown (Magnolias) while Izaak was spending some quality time hanging out with our friends, the McClams, at their house (thanks again, Lori and Drew!!). After a delicious meal, sans toddler, we wandered down to the end of the pier to see if there were any dolphins jumping in the water (there weren't) and wandered some more and stopped to linger at the kid-filled pineapple fountain then wandered some more down to the bottle shop we like. We made it back to the car with only minor blisters (mine) and then back to the McClams to pick up our little prince. I've been hoping for the past couple years that Joe would propose marriage but it hadn't happened so I wasn't terribly surprised that he hadn't asked me again, even though our anniversary seemed like a good time and there were ample opportunities this evening. So, imagine my shock when I was just climbing into bed and he got down on one knee and presented me with a jewelry box containing a beautiful ring!! I, of course, happily said yes!!!

I was really beginning to think that I'd have to ask him!

Izaak's 1st Year of Measurements

I'm terrified that I will lose the sheets of paper that the pediatrician gives us at each well-baby visit that lists Izaak's growth. Why does it frighten me so much? Good question... perhaps because I have a tendency to misplace everything! To help quell my fears, I'm recording the info here:

• Birth: HT: 20in  WT: 8lb 7.4oz  Head Circ: 15in
• 2 weeks: 20.5in (50%)  10lb 4oz (90%)  15in (75%)
• 2 months: 23.5in (75%)  14lb 2oz (95%)  16in (75%)
• 4 months: 27in (100%)  17lb 10oz (89%) 17in (75%)
• 6 months: 27in (90%)  20lb 8oz (90%) 18in (90%)
• 9 months: 28.75in (70%)  22lb 10oz (80%)  18.25in (75%)
• 12 months: 31in (85%)  25lb 14oz (85%)  19in (94%)

The nurse takes these measurements and the height measurement in particular seemed to be fairly subjective. To be fair, it isn't an easy task, trying to record the length of a wriggling baby. The two-week and 4-month visits especially seemed a little off but these numbers don't really mean anything, they just show a pattern of growth and can be used to help indicate if there's a potential issue. So far, he's been healthy and progressing very well. In fact, he's kind of a brute! Izaak has been pretty good at his visits to the doctor and even does pretty well with his immunizations. We did choose to have him immunized. I read about the pro's and con's and after weighing the good with the bad, we felt that giving him booster shots was the way to go, especially since he's at daycare and will eventually be in public schools.

There are a lot of personal decisions that go into a family and being a parent, things that I never really put much thought into previously. I sometimes wonder what kind of Mom I will be when Izaak reaches elementary school. Will I join the PTA and become competitive with the other mothers at bake sales and car washes? I anticipate that it will be difficult to balance being supportive but not pushy, involved but not annoying or embarrassing, loving but not smothering. Joe and I have discussed that we just hope that Izaak is "normal" and fits in ok with the other kids. We'd like for him to be well-adjusted and happy, not too much to ask for, right?! I recall some difficult growing up years and hope that Izaak doesn't have to deal with too much cruelty from his peers.

Anyhow, Izaak has had a wonderful first year and grew 11in taller, about 17.5lbs chunkier and gained 4in of head circumference. He has 5 teeth now, three on the bottom, two on top. His hair is very fine and light. It's still not much more than peach fuzz on top and he has a couple of small. wispy blonde curls around the back of his head. He's most good natured, loves to laugh and make you smile. His favorite word is still "NO" and knows when he's not supposed to be doing something because he typically says "no" and then flashes you an impish grin. He has short bouts of frustration and we've dubbed him "baby Hulk" because of it. Joe commented the other day that he's becoming more interactive, he will pick out and bring you a pair of your shoes, for example or respond to you talking to him. Izaak's tiny, infant stage was pretty stressful for us, we were short on sleep and felt awkward due to lack of baby experience. I think we're feeling more confident and Izaak is becoming a bit more independent. That said, you can't leave him for more than 5 seconds at a time because he'll try to climb something and end up falling on his head. You would think his head has a magnet in it that is attracted to things with sharp corners, edges,  or hardwood floors. Sheesh!

Joe and I feel so fortunate to have Izaak in our lives and look forward to seeing him progress through his toddler years and beyond!!

Izaak's 1st Sign Language Word!

Text msg from Izaak's daycare teacher: "Izaak can officially sign the word more in sign language! He did it today all by himself :)"

MORE!

We’ve Got a 1-Year-Old!



Birthday boy, playing with a party hat
"I AM 1"



Izaak’s 1st birthday went off without a hitch. We had a Paul Frank-themed party for him on Saturday, June 16th, he had a great turnout of party guests and we had lots of fun! Joe’s parents and Joe’s sister and family came down from Myrtle Beach and Charlotte; our friend, Smith joined us; my friend Lori and her family we able to make it; our neighbors, Michael and Jenn showed up; and Joe’s homebrew buddy, Justin and his family also made an appearance! Besides TONS of food, I also baked the cupcakes. They were made from a box of strawberry and a box of lemon cakemix. I divided each cakemix in half and added some neon food coloring then layered the batter in the cupcake papers in order to have multicolored cupcakes and made a delicious lemon-cream cheese frosting to top them with. I added some Nerds candy on top for sprinkles and used some Paul Frank plastic ring cupcake toppers that I purchased from ebay to finish the effect. I think they turned out ok, they were cute at very least! Izaak got tons of presents, he was thoroughly spoiled and had so much fun hanging out with his cousins and friends!

SUPER IZAAK!
(Adorable outfit from Erika Lechner)

 

Playing with and opening presents!




The cupcakes!

We had a little too much fun in Party City...

More Stuff about Baby Stuff - Installment #2

To continue about the stuff we've encountered on this fabulous baby ride, as promised, in this installment, I will discuss bottles, breast pumps, car seats, shopping cart covers, bouncy chairs, and bumbo seats. Here we go!

Bottles

We opted to use Playtex Drop-Ins Nurser bottles, partially because Joe's sister gave us a ton of them and partially because they are soooo easy to use, clean, and (supposedly) help to prevent colic. We discovered that the medium flow nipples worked best for our kiddo, he was always frustrated by the slow nipples and the fast nipples were super messy, they leak like crazy. The bottles have "drop in" liners which are disposable (sorry, environment, they're going to have to hang out in the landfill with the disposable diapers that we also happily use). We use the up & up brand liners from Target to cut down on costs. We hand wash the parts and dry them on the following super product:

Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack

I have to say this one of my most favorite and most useful baby items. We use this puppy every day and luckily it's cute enough to leave out on the counter! And at $14.99, it's a steal. If you've got a baby on the way, go to Target. Now.

Medela Pump-In-Style

It was my grand plan to breastfeed my kiddo. Reasons? Good for the baby in terms of nutrition, great bonding experience, and supposed to help mommy drop a couple pounds after putting on enough to have triplets. Reality? Izaak didn't latch on well (not to me anyhow) and he was HUNGRY. Right after birth, the nurse in the hospital insisted that we give him bottles until my milk came in and it really never did. I used the pump to get some milk but the attempts were pathetic. I used the breast pump for a couple months to supplement the formula that Izaak was happily slurping down but it came to a point in which things were just NOT working and the process was becoming increasingly more painful for me and less fruitful. I have more than enough breast tissue but for whatever reason, things didn't work out in this realm. You probably have no idea what it's like to want to feed your infant and he's screaming at your boob because it doesn't work as well as a bottle. I won't beat myself up over it anymore, my kiddo is thriving and seems to be no worse for the wear! As far as the pump goes, it's pretty easy to use and I liked that it was self-contained in an inconspicuous bag. It comes with most everything you'd need including bottles and a convenient to-go case. If I were to have a brother or sister for Izaak and try breastfeeding again, I'd rent one of the Medela pumps from the hospital though until I was sure that things were all systems go since the price is pretty steep on these brand new (even with a 20% off Babies 'R Us coupon!) and I didn't feel ok with buying a used one. I did, however, feel ok selling it on Craigslist and sold it to a very nice girl who had a first baby on the way.

Graco Travel System

This is the pattern we chose for the travel system (and the Pack 'N Play). While I enjoyed the cute little owls, I neither loved nor hated the carseat or stroller. They both did their jobs well enough but I felt like the handle on the carrier was kind of awkward and the stroller always tended to have squeaky wheels, regardless of WD-40 application. The stroller folded with one hand, which was nice, but I often ended up scraping the tray on the pavement and needed two hands to get it in the trunk of the car anyhow! We bought an extra base for the babysitters when they were picking him up in the mornings so it was convenient. We used this set for about 9 months and bought it brand new - saved up all of our gift cards to Target from Christmas plus a little more. While I feel we got a lot of use out of it, if we go for Baby 2.0, we'll just get a carseat that goes with the jogging stroller that I finally decided on (more on that later).

"Big Boy" Carseats

As with most things, there are the more expensive models that would be lovely but then we get real and look in our price range. Izaak's "big boy" carseat is the Graco My Ride 65. This was one of the first things we picked out after finding out we were expecting and I very patiently waited until it was on sale to buy it. Target had it on sale for $100 one week, woohoo! It had good safety ratings and seemed to be the most comfortable in our price range. I like the colors too, always helpful. It seems to work well, it is monstrously huge compared to the carrier carseat and it's frustrating that he's rear-facing when he's throwing a fit while you're driving because you can't see what is wrong. I can sort of halfway dislocate my shoulder (not really, but it is an awkward stretch) in order to try to comfort him but if he's tossed his binky, we're in trouble. The air conditioning doesn't reach him as well either so the poor kid just sweats like a monkey, especially if he's sleeping. This doesn't sound like a positive review, but I actually really do like this carseat, just don't like having to have him rear-facing. We'll keep him that way for safety's sake as long as we have to though, of course.

Carseat - Alternate

Joe rarely drives his car, it's a 1999 Nissan Maxima that doesn't have working A/C and makes all sorts of interesting squealing noises. We carpool to work so he doesn't need to drive his car much or trade in something that's currently paid off. That said, sometimes he does have to drive his car and he needs to be able to take Izaak with him. So, we bought a separate carseat for his car. Being that it doesn't get used as much, we opted for a less expensive (and less cushy) yet still has good safety ratings model, the Cosco Apt 40RF (around $55). As mentioned, this one was more about function and less about fashion. It is pretty similar to the My Ride and we're happy enough with it. It's rated up to 40lbs for rear-facing and considering Izaak is already around 25lbs, this is a good thing for longevity! My parents bought a similar model, they picked up the Cosco Scenera for our visits to Phoenix.

Shopping Cart Cover #1

We tried this one first, it's made by Eddie Bauer, wasn't terribly expensive and I thought it was pretty cute. Reality? It was a hassle! It didn't fold up neatly or have a carrying bag or anything so was just a bunch of tangled up fabric in the diaper bag - when I remembered to throw it in. It also was intended to be used for high chairs at restaurants but didn't really fit very well. Sold it on Craiglist after a couple uses.

Shopping Cart Cover #2

The next attempt is the Floppy Seat, which I like better. It's downfall? It is huge! It does have it's own bag, but you have to remember to bring said bag with you in to the store. I'm the type of person that has to go back in the house multiple times in the mornings to fetch things I've forgotten so this isn't completely ideal. It is nice and cushy, it's fashionable (as if that matters!) and I bought it for $10 at Once Upon a Child so I feel like we've gotten our money's worth at least. If I'd spent $40 at Babies R Us, I might feel a little differently about it. Note: this picture is one I found on Google (i.e. not me or my kid!) to show the pattern we have. We still have this and may use it a couple more times but Izaak is getting less "floppy" himself so the need has diminished.

Shopping Cart Cover #3

Izaak does like to put his mouth on anything that he can. He has no regard for germs. Shopping carts are gross so I like this final option, the Infantino Top and Play Cart Cover, it just covers the shopping cart handle and has some toys attached that he can chew/slobber on. I spent maybe $7 on this and even though I often forget it and it doesn't fit all carts, I'm pretty happy with it. While the Floppy Seat is good for younger babies, this option is great for nearly-one-year-olds!

Bouncy Chair

We found a used Rainforest bouncer on Craigslist and it worked great. The waterfall is adorable and we liked the "rainforest" sounds. It also matches the mobile and soother mentioned in the first installment about baby stuff. This thing saved our sanity on many occasions and was totally worth the $15 or whatever I spent on it and I've since sold it for $15 at garage sale so it was as if we were just borrowing it for a little while! My only complaint was that it didn't fold flat so I caught my toes on it more than once in our small living room... ouch!

Bumbo Seat

This is a must-have according to many, but our kid has beefy legs and has magical escape skills so we didn't use it for very long. I found it at a garage sale in the neighborhood across the street for $10 and it even had the tray so I don't feel terribly distraught about not using it too much. Since I sold it on Craigslist for $20, I even feel less sad about our lack of use :) I like the idea of it and appreciate that it helps to build the baby's core muscles and such but Izaak never seemed very happy in it and I wished that it had a strap or something so we could've used it more like a high chair when he actually did fit in it instead of only being about to use it on the floor.

I feel this post is probably long-winded enough so I'll save high chairs, toys, and more for the next installment!

Walking Already?!

Let’s start out with some exciting news: Izaak started walking on his own on May 16th and turned 11 months old the next day!! He’s  been standing for awhile with the use of couches or whatever he could use to steady himself but had just started standing on his own less than a week prior (around May11th). By May 20th, he’s already doing some solo jumping in place!! Don’t get me wrong, he’s not particularly good at said activities, there’s still a lot of falling down and crawling involved but we’re pretty excited about his rapid progress! We also haven’t been able to capture any walking on video of course. As soon as the camera comes out, he starts being a goofball and becomes uninterested in walking.

I ended up missing my first actual Mother’s Day, I had to fly to the Seattle/Tacoma, Washington area on the 12th to be with my family after my 99 year old Grandmother’s passing on the 9th. Izaak stayed home with Joe because I figured that it would be too much to keep him in my arms for 8 hours each way, poor kid would’ve lost his mind! I got some nice flowers (lilies!!) from Izaak (and Joe), delivered and awaiting my arrival at home and they also picked up the stainless OXO measuring cups that I had been admiring. Grandma Chickie was a special lady and it’s a shame that Izaak won’t get to meet her and get to know her. I suppose that’s one of the perils of choosing to have kids later in life: the pool of grandparents, etc shrinks over time. Even though Grandma lived a long, full life; death always seems to be a reminder to me to attempt to live life to the fullest. Time goes quickly and even if you do live a very long life, your health may prevent you from doing what you wish. I’m not talking about flying by the seat of your pants with reckless abandon (though I may have tried that out for a couple years in my twenties…), rather being responsible yet spontaneous and enjoying each day. Be forgiving without being a doormat. Allow people to have beliefs different than your own. Enjoy your kids. Say “thank you” when someone helps you out, even if the help is something they are supposed to do anyhow. Remember that everyone has “stuff” going on in their lives so act accordingly.

In other news, we’ve encountered diarrhea = major diaper rash. The poor kid has blisters on his butt and we’ve been going through diapers like they’re going out of style. We don’t know what’s causing it and he has no other symptoms other than about a week of diarrhea off and on. He doesn’t seem to be dehydrated, no fever, he’s otherwise acting normal so Joe and I agreed that we’d take him to the doctor on Monday (yesterday) if he still was having issues. We switched to a stronger diaper cream but the healing process hasn’t been a fast one. It looks like it’s finally starting to clear up but OUCH!!

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it or not, but Izaak is a chatterbox! He says “Da-da” and “Muh-muh” (not necessarily in regard to either Joe or I), “Nooo” is another favorite, and loves to hear his own voice. He seems to have lots of opinions and chooses to voice them often. It will be interesting when he starts to form more recognizable words and begins to form sentences. It is so cool to see him grow and learn new things!!

Izaak's 1st Plane Trip to Phoenix

Before I forget, I really wanted to record a little bit about Izaak’s first airplane trip, at 10 months old. Izaak and I went to Phoenix April 19-23 to visit my parents and for Izaak to meet some of his extended family members! Joe was out-of-town setting up fireworks anyhow so I figured that it was as good a time as any for a quick trip.

We were set to fly out late in the evening on Thursday the 19^th so we arrived at the airport way too early, got the car parked in the ground parking area, and mentally recorded the parking spot (I-66). We then slowly made it to the ticket counter, pushing Izaak in the 5-dollar umbrella stroller we picked up from Craigslist while pulling the giant suitcase borrowed from my friend, Lori, which contained most all of our stuff, including the gocrib. I had packed a small purse within Izaak’s diaper bag which was fully stocked with his snacks – snacks, by the way, are a very good idea for flying with young ones. We got checked in very quickly, luggage was only 37lbs and we made it through the security checkpoint with no problems. They even let me bring my own water for the baby’s formula; they just had to check it to make sure it wasn’t explosive or anything. We did laps with Izaak in the stroller around the waiting area for about an hour in between letting him crawl around on the gross floor for a very short while and diligently making sure he didn’t put anything in his mouth. His thought process has to be: “This looks interesting or like it’s been here awhile or could be some sort of food substance; let’s see what my mouth thinks of it!” Alright, that might be an exaggeration but he really does enjoy stuffing whatever he can in his mouth, much to my horror. I checked the stroller at the gate and we were on our way.

The first leg of the journey was a little dicey at first; luckily nobody was in the seat immediately next to us because kiddo was very excited about all sorts of new things to look at, he was a flirt with anyone who would give him the time and enjoyed being a wiggle-worm for about 20 minutes until finally settling in for a nap. We arrived at the Atlanta airport on time and luckily the gate for the connection was nearby as we had a short layover. The next flight (ATL to PHX) was totally packed and Izaak was up to his antics again for about the first 25 minutes. The poor guy sitting next to me was incredibly understanding and somehow managed to not complain about the occasional kick or prod by my kiddo. He even let me use his tray table for the beverage/snack service, seeing as a certain sleeping babe in my lap was in the way of me being able to use my own. We arrived without any major calamities, got our luggage no problem and my parents picked us up from the airport. My parents got a carseat for Izaak and my dad had it installed already so with a couple adjustments, we were on our way. We got in around midnight AZ time… which means about 3am our time!

We didn’t really DO anything during the time we were there and it was FANTASTIC! We spent time with my parents and their new kitty, Jack, who got along great with Izaak by the way, my Aunt Jordana and cousin, Alex, flew out from San Diego for the weekend to spend some time with us as well, and we visited with Izaak’s Great Grandma Dorothy (my mom’s mom) too! We had yummy, homemade food, we crawled around on the floor, and we visited. We wandered around some model homes one day nearby where my grandma lives and we took some short walks. Phoenix was having a record-breaking heat-wave during our visit of course so we spent much of our time in air conditioning. I also got to spend a little bit of time seeing some friends from college while Grandma and Grandpa took Izaak to McDonalds where he got to try French fries and soft serve ice cream and Grandma taught him to drink from a cup (most of it ends up down his shirt, but it was a good effort nonetheless!). Grandparents are supposed to spoil grandkids; I keep reminding myself of that. I also got 8 inches of length from my hair chopped off, and though it’s pretty when it’s long, it was getting way too heavy. The lady didn’t quite do the haircut I was asking for but it feels better at least. Now that my hair isn’t heavy, I discovered that it has decided to be curly, more on one side than the other. What the heck?! Since I can remember, I’ve always had straight hair! Well, there were those bad perms back in the day, but we really don’t need to think about that… sigh. I got some cute pictures though I always feel like I don’t take enough pictures to properly catch all of the right moments, such is life! My favorite picture is a 4-generation picture with me, Izaak, my mom, and her mom. Anyhow, the time spent in Phoenix was a nice change of pace and it was wonderful that everyone got to meet and spend time my little snooger-booger.

The flight home was similar to the flight there; a night-flight on a packed plane on the PHX to ATL leg, another poor person sitting next to us getting kicked on occasion. We had a longer layover in Atlanta and wandered across the terminal a couple times. I had a delicious Starbucks coffee for breakfast and managed to spill the granola portion of my fruit and yogurt breakfast thingy and had a less-crowded flight on the way back to Charleston. We got our luggage fairly quickly and I remembered where we parked. It was worth the $40 to not have to bother anyone with picking us up and dropping us off. We got in around 930am and had to be back around noon to pick up Joe, it was tempting to just hang out for a couple hours but I was way too exhausted not having slept much (I took about an hour nap the evening before we left and snoozed a little on the plane but nothing substantial).

It was my experience that people were extremely gracious and kind to a mother flying alone with a baby! There IS hope for humanity and my faith in humankind has been somewhat rekindled. I was shocked at the number of people – fellow travelers – who asked if I could use help carrying anything. And many offered me words of encouragement as they had flown with younglings before and know how trying the experience can be! Izaak was overall very good and flight experience wasn’t a negative one but in the future, I think we’ll bring Joe along for the trip!

Not feeling well

I will cut to the chase first, then give the back story: Joe brought Izaak to the pediatrician first thing this morning and it turns out he has double ear infections and RSV. L

As it turns out, Izaak did make it all day at daycare yesterday but I think they really should’ve called us to come get him early. We got there around 430, as usual, and he was still in his crib napping (way past naptime) and first thing I saw was a rash on his face. I asked right away if they had noticed and the teacher was like, well, I thought that was from him sleeping on his face or something. Then she tells me that he’s been sleeping nearly all day and coughing really hard (she wasn’t in there most of the day, the other teacher had marked down all the times he had been asleep and left a note about the coughing). Plus he had loose stools and didn’t want to eat his breakfast, barely ate lunch and didn’t want a snack. Uh, that kid is usually a good eater, hello! Red flag!? They call us when he’s barely got a teething fever but don’t call when he’s totally not acting at all himself?? So, at that point, the doctor’s office is closed and we have to wait until the morning to get him in for an appt.

[Side Note: he clearly wasn’t feeling great, but we didn’t feel he was bad off enough to go to the ER, still no fever and the rash (which covered his torso and face) didn’t seem to bother him. He’s also been grumpy but we’ve been attributing that to his teething.]

We had already decided that Joe was going to take him to the doctor in the morning (I am reeeeeeally short on time off) and we’re tired of swapping the carseat between cars so we stopped and got a new carseat for Joe’s car last night too. Sure, I could’ve driven Joe’s car and let him take mine, but his brakes feel funny and I really hate driving it so I gladly bought the new carseat.

Izaak slept pretty well last night, I got up with him a couple times, but just to give him his binky and cover him back up again. He still had the rash in the morning though it was less pronounced, he’s still snotty, and very very very irritable, particularly about being on his changing table. Diapering a baby that won’t lay on his back is not an easy task. I’m not happy about being at work when I’ve got a sick little one at home. I hope he’ll be able to fly next week. It would suck to have to cancel our trip and the airfare is non-refundable too. According to Joe, the doc says Izaak should be ok to fly but needs to have a follow-up appt on Wednesday to make sure he’s doing better. She wasn’t concerned by the rash, she said it probably flared up as result of the virus.

These are a few of my favorite things... (part 1 - nursery)

For awhile now, I've really wanted to write about what stuff we've found that we liked for Izaak and what we could've lived without. We really don't have a whole lot of kid-oriented friends and interaction with babies had been kept to a minimum before our little bundle of joy came about. (So, basically we were fairly clueless as to what to get for the kiddo, save for a list from my friend, Lori, who had had her first baby within that year as well). We didn't have a baby shower and it's not in my budget to buy everything new. Plus, I kind of like the idea of "recycling" some of the baby stuff anyhow so I've spent many hours scouring reviews on the internet and shopping on Craigslist with occasional digging through garage sales and Once Upon a Child. I'm sure that "it depends on the kid", but the following are some of the things we've come across. First we'll start with the nursery:

Crib:

We got a "sleigh-style" convertible crib for Izaak from Walmart.com. Actually, I picked it out and my parents took care of the bill (yay! thanks again!!) and Joe assembled it. I am wary about the quality of any product from Walmart but this crib is (so far) very sturdy and quite handsome. It will convert to a toddler bed and eventually it can serve as the headboard and footer of a full-sized bed. It was extremely similar to a crib at Babies R Us (from what I understand, the same company makes both cribs) except the price tag was much more kind at Walmart and it included a decent crib mattress, plus the toddler rails (hard to argue with all that!). I picked a black finish and even though I didn't care for the matching changing table and dresser (we were looking for more of a combo unit anyhow), I figured it would be no problem to find other matching furniture. We came to discover that while not impossible, it certainly wasn't easy to find other black furniture! While I'm quite pleased with what I finally ended up with, I would recommend finding a SET that you like and going for it!

Rocking chair:

Decided to go with a traditional, plain, wooden rocker rather than a fancy glider. Not sure why. Found the rocker with the help of my neighbor, Jenn, at a nearby consignment shop. Eventually, I found some chair cushions to go along with it at a Ross (or equivalent) store. We don't use it a lot, but I'm not sure if that's more of a matter of Izaak not really being into it or if we don't feel like sitting in his room for very long. We usually try to soothe him back to sleep while he's still in the crib and if he's really throwing a fit, I bring him out onto the couch in the living room. Either way, I didn't spend a whole lot on the rocking chair and I'm glad it doesn't take up a huge amount of space. Starting to get nervous about Izaak bonking his head on a sharp corner or pinching his fingers on it now though...

Another important piece in Izaak's room is a giant yoga ball. We use that more than the rocking chair and sit on it while he's fussing in his crib, it's high enough to be able to lean in his crib to hold his hands to soothe him back to dreamland. If I am rocking him in the rocking chair, the yoga ball also doubles nicely as an ottoman. During the day, Izee likes to whack his hands on the ball so it makes a fun noise!

Changing table:

Izaak's room isn't terribly large so I searched high and low for a small dresser that would double as a changing table. And I figured it would be an easy item to find on Craigslist. No, not easy. Black was my first color preference but I was fine with having to do a little refinishing work like sanding and painting and/or replacing knobs if I could just find the right piece. Not too high, not too long, not too cheaply made, not cost both arms and a leg, not too hideous... no dice. Finally, I found a cute dresser/changer combo made by Carter's on Amazon.com that was not only the correct color but also the perfect size. The price was a little steep so I did a little more research and found the exact same thing elsewhere for way cheaper. SOLD! Then Joe's parents surprised us by so very kindly covering the cost (thank you, thank you, thank you)!! The changing table part can be disassembled when it's no longer needed for that purpose, leaving a nice dresser behind too - excellent! We have it crammed full of Izaak's clothes that currently (at least somewhat) fit him. I'm happy to say that I'm very impressed with the overall quality also.

Another thing that I'm glad we found for Izaak was a changing pad that has three (rather than two) contoured sides (Serta brand from Babies R Us). Kiddo would've bonked his head many times at the top of the changer if it weren't for that little bit of extra cushion, sooo totally worth the extra couple of dollars!!

Baby Monitor:

We didn't go for a "baby monitor" per se, I tasked Joe with picking out some sort of video baby monitoring system (and installing it, of course) and he found a video surveillance system made by Uniden that has been wonderful! It seems much sturdier and higher quality than the setups we saw in the stores that were marketed as baby monitors. Good pick, Joe!

Other misc nursery items:

Breathable bumper set - also found at Babies R Us, have heard that babies can get their faces pressed up onto traditional bumpers and we're all about safety! It's not terribly adorable but it does the job. The "sheet" is ridiculously easy to change - it lays flat, velcros around the edges, and is made of a water-resistent yet soft material. I bought a couple of spares for in case of emergency and they're nice to have extras of anyhow.

Cute hamper - nothing crazy, but it does the job, it's very lightweight, fairly sturdy. and we use it A LOT! We also have a very adorable laundry basket that I happened to find at the grocery store, of all places, that I use just for Izaak's stuff. It's smaller and works perfectly for a load of his laundry.

Vicks Starry Night Cool Mist Humidifier - we use this mostly as a night-light for the kiddo, it shines a starry sky on the ceiling that changes colors... mesmerizing! Also does its job as a humidifier which we've thankfully not had to use a whole lot as of yet. The filter gets gross very quickly but really, the night-light alone is worth it on this thing. I got it when it was half-price or so also... bonus!

The humidifier sits on a small, turquoise-colored end table that I picked up from Target for under $20. We also have a tall, black bookcase (it was used for actual BOOKS and such at one time) that we now use to store diapers, wipes, and extra bed linens and "blankies". It resides next to the changing table. I stock up on diapers and wipes when they're on sale and/or when I have coupons so we always have a bunch of extra boxes of both. The kiddo goes through them very quickly so it's convenient to always have a fresh box nearby. The bookcase is aesthetically perhaps not the most ideal choice - but it is organized and functional!

Last two items for this post:

Rainforest Mobile - Picked this up for $12 at Once Upon a Child. It's $49.99 at Babies R Us. It has some different settings and musical selections, we mostly just use the rainforest themed music (the top, green button, by the way!). It comes with a remote which we haven't really needed to use but sounded interesting in theory. Seems to calm Izaak down so totally worth it. We have other "Rainforest" gear so somehow this became a must-have. Originally, I was going to make a mobile for Izaak's crib - my plan was to take apart an existing mobile for the music box and spinning mechanisms and attach I don't know what to it. Luckily, this one presented itself.

Rainforest Soother - If I remember correctly, I had found this before the mobile (I might be wrong though!) and it resides on the opposite end of Izaak's crib. It gets less use but has similar sounding and soothing Rainforest sounds, the monkey swings, the fish bubbles, and it looks like the waterfall is flowing when you press the toucan. I bought it for $10 from Craigslist and feel that it was definitely worth the ten, not sure about paying the Babies R Us price of $46.99 though!

Next post(s), I will discuss bottles, breast pumps, car seats, shopping cart covers, bouncy chairs, bumbo seats, high chairs, toys, and more!

IKEA, Carrabba's, Dakota, Flying, Curtains, and MORE!

Cute! Why don't we have an IKEA? Probably so I don't get in trouble for getting Izaak a bunch of super cool stuff!!! Haha :) Izee is an adventurous eater but hasn't been too happy with being forced to eat some baby food still. He seems to enjoy his puffs, loves his Baby Mum Mums, usually likes yogurts melts, but mostly would like to eat what you're eating. Dinner time is a messy affair! We went to Carrabba's recently and let me tell you, that kid can put down some bread!

Joe and Izee while waiting for a table

Izaak is very excited to see Dakota, our neighbor-dog!

Posing with a cute onesie and ABC train from Joe's Aunt Michele and Uncle Bob!

Over the weekend, Izaak and I met up with our friend, Lori, and finally got to meet her adorable 2-month old son, Beckett!! He is absolutely precious and I can't wait until the kiddos can have an actual playdate! We don't have any photographic proof that we met up, but I assure you that it happened! (Way to drop the ball on not recording cute moments, moms!) It's always nice to catch up with Lori, I used to work at the company she works for and we had neighboring cubes up until I decided to take another job elsewhere, because it offered a more attractive salary and benefits... what a jerk I am! I used to workout at lunchtime with her rather than going out to eat every day too. Guess how the butt-size correlation goes for me with that equation? Hint: NOT GOOD! Hmmmm.... maybe I can get my under-paid job back???

The big news is that I bought an airplane ticket to Phoenix for Izaak and I to go meet his Great Grandma Dorothy and my Aunt Jordana and cousin, Alex and of course to see his Grandma and Grandpa Waters towards the end of the month!! We'll just be visiting for a long weekend but it should be a wonderful time. I'm a little nervous about traveling with him on my own - Joe is going to be setting up fireworks in Louisville that week - but I'm sure we'll be fine. I've mentally packed the "important" stuff at least fifty times and I'll make a physical list as the date nears!! 

Other notes of (in)significance: I bought a Dyson DC25 vacuum (on clearance from Target.com with free shipping) and LOOOOOVE IT!!!!; my Mac mini is driving me crazy due to its slow performance and inability to multi-task efficiently so I ordered a new laptop last weekend that I'm super excited about, it's a Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 and I got a great deal on it too (I saved over $500+ free shipping!)... the Adobe software that I'm going to have to pay retail price for on the other hand, is going to break the bank. At least I'll be able to write it off on my taxes next year! My 2011 tax refund is what allowed the new "toys", by the way. And we finally got some curtains for the living room. Who's an adult now?! Seriously, I think curtains = adult. Poor Izaak. How's he going to turn out with a mother who thinks it's perfectly acceptable to "convert" bedsheets into curtains as long as you use a respectable curtain rod? I swear that I got brand-new, "real" curtains, not even from a discount store for the living room though. I really hated spending so much on the things though they were about the cheapest option I could find and they do look nice enough. They are totally bland and do their job (i.e. filter light) but now I'm going to have to get a "real" curtain for the back door too because the bedsheet I had repurposed stands out like a sore thumb. Ok, enough ranting about the dumb curtains! Clearly, I need to sort this issue out with a trained professional or something. 

To wrap things up, and I've probably already mentioned this but, I'd like to let you know that Izaak is the sweetest thing on the planet and I'm a better person for having him in my life. It floors me how over the moon I am about him! Even when he's being a little terror!! He pulls my hair relentlessly if I carelessly wear it not in a ponytail, he rips my glasses from my face, I can't wear necklaces anymore, he jabs his grubby little paws anywhere he's able! A couple days ago, he poked Joe in the eye. With his finger. And said poking managed to scratch his eye. How does that happen?! Izaak is fast like lightning! We tease that "He is the Brute Squad" (a quote from "The Princess Bride" in reference to Andre the Giant.

EASTER BUNNY!

1st Encounter with the Easter Bunny!

I think that particular Easter Bunny is terribly creepy looking... and reaaaaaalllly tall! Izaak LOVED him though and was all smiles and giggles :) I had to take the day off work because he wasn't allowed to go to preschool that day due to a fever he spiked the afternoon before - most likely caused by teething. I don't have much vacation time to burn but we had a great day!! I wish I could spend every Wednesday (well, every day, really) with him! We met up with Joe at the mall for lunch and I figured we might as well get some bunny pictures while we were there.

9-Month Update!

St.Patrick's Day coincides with Izaak's 9 month birthday, how convenient!
And he is a little bit Irish too, btw :)

Izaak’s 9-month appt was last week and I’m happy to report that it went very well. While still on the large side for his age, he's finally out of the 90% range. He weighed in at 22lbs, 10oz, and he was nearly 28in tall. The doctor answered our laundry list of questions and it turns out that we were already doing most everything right (surprisingly!). We did find out that he had recently outgrown his infant carrier carseat that we were still trying to cram him in (you mean his legs aren’t supposed to hang over the edge like that??) so we switched the big kid seat from Joe’s car (we had used it maybe two times in Joe’s car??) into my car as soon as we got home from the appointment. The problem with it is that it’s gigantic and I can’t reach to pop the binky back in his crying little mouth while I’m driving or hold his hand to soothe him when it’s just Izaak and I in the car anymore. Maybe those things aren’t 100% safe while driving anyhow but it’s better than having a wailing baby the entire way home from the grocery store. I’ve seriously had to pull over and get out of the car and into the backseat to get the binky back in, then he spits it out as soon as I get back on the road. Not. Cool. This isn’t always the case, he’s usually a pretty happy-go-lucky little dude, but it seems to happen when he’s really tired and/or hungry - when a little hand-holding would usually calm him down until he could fall asleep or would suffice until we got home for a bottle.

New carseat.

Yay. More stuff to put on Craigslist: Stroller/carseat combo, matching Pack ‘N Play, Rainforest bouncer seat, baby Bjorn carrier. It’s crazy how much money we spend on all this stuff, especially considering how short of a time frame it’s actually able to be used!! Izaak has slowed his growing pace at least a little so maybe we’ll be able to use the clothes he’s in now for a little while longer. 

We’ve also come to the conclusion that Izaak may be trying to get his top front teeth in, he’s been a drooling maniac and kinda moody, along with fierce chomping on anything he can get his little paws on. I can’t feel any hard spots on his gums yet but I don’t leave my fingers in his mouth for very long either, those bottom two teeth are sharp!! He’s trying to stand on his own now too which is hilarious. He gets his feet on the ground and straightens his legs while pushing up with his hands--also on the ground--leaving a cute little tush in the air. Shortly thereafter he folds or tips over, of course, but it’s funny that it looks like he’s trying to do a yoga pose or something… downward facing dog perhaps?? His crawling has improved in tandem with his “walking” efforts. There’s more equal leg movement and he even does the traditional up-on-all-fours style here and there! I think that we’re still a ways away from actual, honest-to-goodness steps though. The doctor assured us that his progress is normal and that some kids never crawl and go straight to walking. Izaak is right on target with his developmental milestones and we were informed that we shouldn’t be concerned that he doesn’t want to hold his own bottle (why would he when someone else does it for him?!), uses his sippy cup primarily as a percussion instrument, and it’s ok that he doesn’t wave goodbye yet.

We've really got to get our butts in gear and baby-proof the house better. We’ve put in the plastic outlet covers and tried to move as many cords up and away that we are able. We don’t have the sort of kid that you can tell not to do something and they listen. “No-no Izaak, don’t pull on that cord”… “No-NO! Do not touch that cord!!”.. “IZAAK! No cords!!”... I already feel like a broken record. He knows he’s not supposed to play with cords, pull the cat’s tail, or take DVDs/Blurays off their shelves. I know that he knows this because as he goes to do all of these super-fun activities, he turns his head and smiles at me in a way that says, “Haha, Mommy, I’m doing a NO-NO!!”. Is it possible to FEEL your hair turning gray??!

"Check me out! Standing on my own!!"

Taking the (Mostly) Good with the Bad!

Let's start with some pictures:

Sweet sleeper!

I LOVE this picture! Izaak and his Daddy on Valentine's Day :)

Cuties!

"Yummy puffs, Mom!"

Playing

Wreaking havoc.

"Catch me if you can!"

Two wild and crazy dudes!

Monsters, Inc

Izaak adores this Super Grover remote! It makes all kinds of noises and is a great distraction when we switch out one of our remotes or cell phones for this one since his slobber may not be good for such things...

Playing in his walker from the Ellers

Having a super fun time!

Is there ANYTHING sweeter than this?! I don't think so!

Izaak - up thru 8 months <-- check out the latest shutterfly.com photobook I made for the kiddo!

Ok, now let's get the "bad" out of the way: Izaak had some fevers last week (except when in the doctor's office, of course) and still isn't feeling tip-top. After some trips to pick up our little snotty boy early from daycare and a couple trips to the pediatrician... we still don't know what is wrong. Unexplained virus of some sort. He is on the mend but poor guy is congested and has been entertaining us with his "whiskey voice". I hope he isn't developing allergies. I'm looking into getting a better vacuum cleaner, a Dyson perhaps (bye-bye tax refund!), our current vacuum barely pushes the dirt and cat hair around anymore. It's seriously pathetic!

Otherwise, things are good! Daycare has been going well, Izaak seems to really enjoy playing with the other kids and having a huge room in which to roll around and terrorize!! My only complaint (and it's a minor one) about daycare is that he often comes home filthy. He's learning to self-feed, somewhat, and it appears that he feels his clothes are famished and deserve a good portion of his food. Since his mother suffers from paranoia and isn't sure what he "is allowed" to eat, it's good that he gets some variety at daycare! Izee still isn't into doing a traditional crawl much but he's sitting up on his own and getting more adept at playing with toys independently. He's sleeping better at night, for the most part, and is still the sweetest thing on the planet.

Last weekend, we drove up to Myrtle Beach for a visit with Izaak's Nana, Papa, Big Papa Leo, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Tim, and cousins Dylan and Aydan (Joe's family) to celebrate Leo's birthday before he heads back up to Erie, PA. He had been staying with Joe's parents (his son and daughter-in-law) for the winter and is set to return home in the next week or so. I wish we had been able to visit more often while he was down!

Since Izaak is nearing 9 months (already!!), I was recently asked which seemed longer: the pregnancy or the time since the baby's arrival. I immediately answered "pregnancy". Man, that was not a walk in the park. Granted, we don't get any sort of regular sleep now and going anywhere with the kiddo is kind of a big production but I wouldn't trade him for the world. As far as adding to our brood... I don't think it's a necessity - at this point in time at least.

I keep meaning to write a post about baby accessories: what we've discovered that we love and what we could've passed on. Maybe next time!