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!!"