Milestones

It seems like Isaac has been hitting all sorts of milestones within this last week. Verbally, he's been recalling more words and when we say, "You did it!" he responds with, "I did it!" so cute. In this video, he is climbing in and out of the wagon all the while (of course) holding his car...

Physically, Isaac has begun climbing up on furniture. He started with the couch...

And then after dropping Jake off at the airport, I left Isaac in the kitchen while I went to the bathroom. When I got back, this is how I found him...

EEK!

Thankfully, Ike is fairly cautious, so if he climbs up on the chair and the table is not near by, he fusses and waits for me to come over to help him down.

Isaac has also begun building! Sometimes he gets upset when it falls down, but he's getting better and better! Funny how these interests seem to suddenly appear!

For quite awhile he has LOVED his airplane, but would only push or pull it, never sit and ride it. Today he finally decided to sit and push himself! (it's the little things you notice as a mom ;) )

He loves drinking from a straw and I found this cup on sale so it's a win/win!

This isn't a milestone, but a typical Isaac move- he LOVES throwing balls (or really anything) and enjoys swinging sticks. This was one of the "sticks" he found near our fence...

This smile soon left, as sticks are not allowed in the house, and really shouldn't be allowed period, but I probably will become more serious about that once he hurts himself. :/

This last video is just a quick simple one. I asked Isaac to give me a kiss and he did it! Naturally, I got out my phone to see if he would do it again so I could send it to Jake and he did! So precious. love my little boy.

Annabel Lee

Today, the 17th of December, my first born furry child turns 10 years old. Happy birthday Annabel Lee (aka Belly). You are nothing short of amazing and my life is forever better because I've had you in it (wish she could understand)! Here's to at least another 10! ;)

I got this little hybrid (half miniature poodle, half Chihuahua) for my 21st birthday. She may not move as quick, but her devotion and love are just as vibrant as she is in this video.

another fun clip of Belle and Persephone wrestling (sorry about the quality):

and a little video of Annabel and Bug cuddling:

I LOVE THIS DOG!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELLE!

SEE FOOD!

I need to go to bed and I'm exhausted, but I want to share this little video with you, accompanied by a joke:

What's Isaac's favorite kind of food??

SEE FOOD!!

I know it's kind of gross, but you have to admit he's cute and it was so unexpected! He had been dancing to the music and I wanted to record it. Of course, once the light from the camera came on, he stopped, but then decided to open his mouth! goofy boy.

Back Tips

For the last couple months, I've dealt with some lower back pain. It's getting better slowly, but surely through yoga and simply being mindful about not doing things that agitate it. When talking to my mom today, she told me of a couple tips from her friend who is a seasoned yoga instructor who has also dealt with some back pain. The tips were about proper body mechanics/alignment: try not to lock my knees when standing and to tilt my pelvis in order to create a more neutral position. Naturally, as my mom was telling me these things, I was trying to do them. I felt a little goofy and thought of my niece, Eleia, and her dance moves from a few months ago:

I doubt I looked as cool as her (as I practiced my new posture in the kitchen), but maybe if I got my arms moving more...

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 51

My favorite video from this week:

I love how Isaac is getting better at imitating us. Many times he'll repeat what we say, but it's not reliable repeating. Either way, it is fun to make sounds with him.

Isaac is on his way to walking. Early in the week he walked from my parents’ recliner to the futon (about 3 steps). It was really fun to watch, but not shocking, as he has been taking little steps here and there, but again, it was cool to watch! He’s getting better! I do feel confident to say that Isaac started walking when he was 11 months old (started being the operative word). He takes steps when he wants to and that’s not necessarily that often (actually, similar to his crawling style). He began crawling around 8 months, but it was unmotivated and on his time. By his 9 month mark, Ike was crawling everywhere. It will be interesting to see if Isaac is walking that much by his 12th month or still “cruising.” Either way, he’s getting there.

Jake is good about showing Isaac the right/safe way to get down from things. Isaac enjoys crawling up onto furniture and when crawling around on the bed, he can sometimes appear reckless. Jake is quick to help him down and it looks like Isaac is remembering! so that’s exciting.

At my parents’ house, Isaac has taken on “cart wheeling.” It’s pretty fun to watch. In all honesty, at first I wondered if there was something wrong with him as he went in circles, but he sits up so happy and reminds me of spinning in circles as a little kid and enjoying that sickening sensation. My parents’ living room is very open, so there’s lots of room for Ike’s circling. :)

This has been a weird week for his sleeping. He slept great the first two nights at my parents’ and then these last couple nights he has woken up crying passionately. and getting him back to sleep has been no easy feat. We had one bad night once we got home and I concluded that it was a napping problem. It's amazing- when he doesn't get his two naps in he wakes up at 11pm almost like clockwork. The downside is that he had a difficult time going back to sleep and so ended up spending a couple hours in bed with us. Luckily, once he was in a deeper sleep we were able to put him back in his bed.

One more week of weekly reporting! Whew!

Thanksgiving Visit

There was talk that Jake, Isaac and I would be in Florida for Thanksgiving since he had training down there. However, with the stress of traveling and the attention that training would require of Jake, Isaac and I stayed back. With this new development, Isaac and I were able to drive to San Luis Obispo to spend the holiday with my parents. Thankfully, Jake was able to take an early flight on Thursday and made it to SLO by noon! Pretty lucky. Then on Friday my parents watched Ike so Jake and I could get some time alone. We went to Nautical Bean (a favorite coffee shop) and then drove out to Port San Luis to watch the sunset over the ocean. Such a beautiful and peaceful place.

My parents had a fabulous time playing with Ike and naturally he enjoyed himself too. He made circles on their floor, played with the popper and rang my mom's bell (a trophy bell she got for running a 5k back in the day). That bell is definitely the most multifunctional trophy. I remember enjoying playing with it when I was a kid.

Anyway, as always, the weather did not disappoint and even though our Thanksgiving meal was low key, it was nice to have it with family.

I didn't get any pictures, but I also got to see my sister and her family as they passed through on their way to San Diego for Thanksgiving. Jake and I also visited with Travis and Kate and played Spontuneous with the girls. :) 

Lovely time and the drive back wasn't too bad either. Here's a little video of our time with the Hasson Grandparents. :) wonderful memories made.

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 48

I will begin this post with how we get Isaac when he wakes up from his nap...

It's always fun to be with a baby who is all smiles.

In the beginning of the week, during dinner, I was talking to Jake about something and ended up putting my head in my hands and saying, "It drives me crazy." Isaac thought it was hysterical, so naturally I had to do it over and over again and get it on video.

This week Isaac turned 11 months old! Only one more month and I'll have a 1 year old!! crazy... Here's some of the pictures I took of him to commemorate the occasion.

Love this face.

SLO Visit

I needed an easy going visit, so this blog post is appropriately titled. I needed some time to just relax and not have to cook and not have to clean. Thank you, Mom. It was also fun and a nice break to have my parents entertain their grandson while I ate breakfast or got ready for the day.

Isaac's favorite toy at their home was the infamous popper. This toy has made its way around the family! A classic, forever favorite.

Ike also enjoyed chasing and shaking this little wind up toy...

The primary purpose of my visit was to meet my niece, Beatrice (as I mentioned in this post) and it was wonderful. As much as I enjoy babies and how amazing they are in all their newness, I have to admit that I am an older kid kind of gal, so I LOVED seeing my other nieces and nephews as well as their adorable little sister. Suzannah, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Atticus, Henry and now Beatrice, all hold a very special place in my heart and it was fantastic to see them all. I had dinner at Travis and Kate's on the 5th and I truly could have stayed there all night and played with the kids if sleeping wasn't required by all. Isaac also had a good time exploring their toys and interacting with Atticus.

As wild as Mr. Atticus can be, he has a very soft side to him. Not only was he great with Isaac, but he also welcomed my many hugs and laid on me while I read a book to him and the girls. Physical touch is my heaven!

One morning at my parents when Isaac woke up, I asked him to say "hi" to his Dad (I often send good morning videos to Jake when he's working). And to my surprise, Isaac spoke! ;) or at least he sounds pretty dang close!

It was sad to leave my vacation, but at least I had a good book on "tape" for the drive home. I am still working on it, Unbroken, but it is a fun working. I'll have to travel back down to San Luis or over to San Jose soon so I can continue the story!

...love my family...

Happy Birthday Ashlie!

Today was my sister's 34th birthday. She is a fantastic woman through and through.

Even though I was not with her on her actual birthday, I was able to drive to San Jose on the 4th to make a birthday eve dinner and dessert. Isaac did great hanging out and playing with all of the Feffer's toys and I enjoyed cooking, visiting with my sister and playing with her girls. I also got to see my brother-in-law, Adam, which was a treat since the last couple times I've been with Ashlie, he has been working.

So dinner was Ina Garten's Spring Green Risotto with rosemary parmesan rolls from Trader Joe's (those rolls pair with everything!) and for dessert I made a Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse and got a double chocolate bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Deliciousness!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLIE! 

I am SO thankful that God blessed me with you as my big sister!

Happy Halloween!

I felt very underprepared for today. :( I love Halloween, but I didn't decorate or even dress up as anything really fun. Thankfully, earlier this month I picked up a possible costume for Isaac just because I walked by it in a store and thought it looked cute. Well, thanks to that day, I present to you: our little lion

We were on the phone for at least an hour with our bank getting our credit card figured out and this little boy kept us smiling! 

Jake had to fly out for work this evening so we tried Isaac's outfit on in the afternoon. 

After I dropped Jake off, Isaac and I dressed up and went over to my cousin's neighborhood to hang out and hand out candy. Isaac did not succeed in taking a full afternoon nap, so he was a little tired (as you can see in his pics with Annabel), but he hung in there!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 46

Teeth. It's that time again. Isaac has had eight teeth since he was 6 months and now his first molar on the top right is beginning to make way, which explains a lot. Over the last couple weeks he's been a little more moody and clingy and it seems to come and go. He also has been sucking his thumb more and this development may be part of it! I love when there's a reason for things!

Even though he has his hot/cold moments, there are still MANY smiles from this child. Another new development is that he is walking better when we hold his hands. I should get a video of it... Even though it looks as though walking may be on the horizon, he is quite the avid crawler, but doesn't always look where he's going. Actually, when he gets excited, he rarely looks where he's going. He puts his head down and just GOES.

He also enjoys "reading" Guess How Much I Love You. With this book in particular, he gets more animated and "talks" while flipping through the pages.

Lastly, I have a video of Isaac watching one of HBO's shows, "Classical Baby: I'm Grown Up Now: The Poetry Show." I really like the "classical baby" series and Isaac does too! I put this on for him when Jake and I were trying to finish getting things ready for him to leave for work. In this clip Ike is listening/watching one of my favorite poems, (read by Gwyneth Paltrow) "How do I love thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Friday Feffer Fun Day

Today I was blessed by having my sister and her fabulous daughters come over for the afternoon. I tell you, sisters are a gift from God! They arrived while Isaac was taking his morning nap, which was a perfect time for us to paint pumpkins! I saw a blurb on Facebook about painting pumpkins a teal color to let parents know that you will be offering something other than candy so that if their child has a food allergy your home is a safe place to go trick-or-treating (here's the link about it). Whereas I love the idea, I am not a crafty person, so this worked out to be the perfect thing to do with my nieces and sister. And I even ended up having a good time painting my pumpkin (it was a team effort)!

Once Isaac woke up we had lunch and Eleia allowed Ike to hold her arm as he ate. He LOVES to touch, squeeze, shake something/someone when he eats, so it was nice of her to oblige.

To maximize our time together, I made Ratatouille and a quinoa salad before they arrived so we could have that for lunch while they were here. While cutting up the eggplant for the Ratatouille, I found this little friend...

I don't mind spiders, but I still prefer them outside, so he was promptly moved!

Ratatouille is one of my absolute favorite healthy, easy meals. So for those interested, here's the recipe passed down from my mom:

Ratatouille ("stew" or "soup" in French)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large eggplant

2 medium zucchini

3 tomatoes, chopped 

         OR

5 tablespoons tomato paste

   & 3 tbsps water

1    tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 clove fresh garlic, minced

Dice eggplant into 1-inch cubes and slice zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds.  Chop onion coarsely and cut green pepper into squares.

Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid.  Saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper until they are soft;

stir in eggplant and zucchini and saute a few minutes more.  Add tomato and seasonings.  Cover and 

simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are well cooked.

Uncover and turn the heat up to evaporate some of the liquid.                                                                    Serves 6 to 8.

After lunch I played hide and seek with the girls and then Ashlie and I shared some PG Tips tea and yummy dark chocolate pumpkin spice salted caramels. If you have not had these- yes they sound just as good as they are. YUM! I really enjoy eating special treats with someone, so it was nice to share them with her. It was nice to be able to sip on some tea while the kids played in the other room. Isaac was so captivated by his cousins. It's fun to see them together.

Lastly, I got to read to the kids before they headed back on the road to San Jose (2 1/2 hours- not a short drive!). And because I can't help myself: here's a video with the pictures and a little video from our time together!

Thanks for coming and hanging out Feffers! I love you to the moon and back!