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!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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:
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!!
- 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!!
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