Isaac Weekly Update: Week 44

This week Isaac turned 10 months. 

My mom visited this week and had a good time with little Ike. At one point things were a little stressful and this ended up happening...

It actually lightened my mood. He looked so perplexed, as if he was thinking, "I wanted some cheerios, but now how do I get them?"

He is still good with people, but his stranger danger is becoming more apparent. When we went my great uncle's memorial, my Dad came up to him and he was a little unsure. I felt bad for my Dad, but soon after my Dad was holding him during the service and Isaac was obviously comfortable and smiley.

He nurses about 3-4 times a day, but only acts really interested in the morning and evening. Otherwise, it seems more like a game to him. I am not going to try to wean him until he's a year, but even then I will still nurse in the morning and at night if he wants to. It will be interesting to see if he does...

And to finish off this post, here are some more pictures and a couple videos of Mr. Isaac. Still chatty as can be, crawling up on things, always trying to get out of his enclosures and staying cute.

David Warrington Sanford

My maternal grandmother passed away when I was in high school, from Lou Gehrig's disease. Since then, she remained alive to me through her siblings, particularly the two that were her full brother and sister, David and Margaret. At the end of August David passed away at 90 years old. He lived a full life and I am so thankful that I knew him. He was fun to joke around with and had a great wit, just like my grandmother. I will miss him and look forward to seeing him again some day. Love you David and all my love to the ones he left behind, particularly his partner for 45 years, Jim. He is such a sweet man. I can't imagine what it would be like to be with someone for so long and to suddenly not have them anymore.

On the positive side- like weddings, memorials bring family together and I LOVE family. It was so great to see my maternal grandmother's side of the family. After the memorial we went to the home of my cousin, once removed. It was beautiful and nice catching up with people that I haven't seen for years. Plus, Isaac did wonderfully, which always makes life better for me.

Here's some pictures that were shared by family...

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 43

Isaac finished off Week 43 still a little sick, but almost 100% better. He doesn't act sick at all, but his nose is still a little runny and once in awhile he coughs. He hates having is nose wiped, but sometimes it needs to be done!

This week we had Isaac's first well child visit with a new pediatrician since we moved to Roseville. Thankfully, we really liked Rainbow Children's Clinic and Dr. Del Mar and the whole staff was great. It is a smaller office than the one we had in SLO, which I really like. You don't realize you have a preference on stuff like that until you experience it! I thought I wouldn't mind having my baby in the hospital since I am comfortable in the hospital setting, but next time I will try to have my baby in a Birthing Center or possibly at home. It wasn't a bad experience at the hospital, but I realize now that I would like to try something different. Something similar goes for Isaac's pediatrician's office. The one in SLO gets rave reviews, but it was just too big and impersonal for me and thankfully we found one that feels better here.

Isaac got his first flu shot and did awesome. He truly takes shots like a champ- cries some, but recovers quickly. He's a little low on his weight- 20th percentile. That kind of blew. I feel like I feel him a lot and nutrient dense food, but I guess he needs a little more! So this week I've been putting a few more nuts in his diet and avocado and other fatty good foods mixed with peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, beef broth, yogurt, chia seeds, hemp hearts, etc. He's tried just about everything and will eat just about anything.

Jake's sister, Kate, sent Isaac some clothes this week which was great since we were in need of 9-12 month clothes. Here's a couple pictures in his "My Aunt Rocks" shirt. Thanks Auntie Kate!

And now I leave you with a little video I made of Isaac's 43rd week.

And here's the video that I used in the weekly video of Ike grooving as he eats. :)

Mrs. and Mrs. Hansen Curran

Today one of my best friends married the love of her life. We have walked with each other through a lot of changes, struggles and triumphs over our decade of friendship and I was honored to support her as she married her girlfriend of 4 years. What a time in history to be a lesbian! There are so many opinions and conflict surrounding peoples' choice to love one another, that it was a privilege to attend such a glorious celebration filled with love and support. The woman officiating began by discussing the mystery of God's plan as outlined in Ephesians chapter 3 and Paul's prayer:

14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,^e 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.^f 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT

As I listened to the words and truth of God, I couldn't help but beam from the Spirit igniting my soul with pride of what God gives us in Him and the honor of what these women are becoming together. It was so great to be a part of such an occasion.

Congratulations Megan and Emily!! You are bold and beautiful and simply two of my favorite people. May God bless your life together!

Cotton

Yesterday was Jake and my 2nd wedding anniversary. It's really not very long, especially when you think about all that has happened and it's only been TWO years since we said, "I do." Either way, I am still incredibly happy and blessed to be married to Mr. Jacob Springsteen. Not only is he a great husband, he is also an awesome father.

The traditional gift for 2 years is cotton and the modern gift is china. We already have china and I was thinking we would have Chinese food, but Jake is on a pretty limited diet right now, so that wasn't going to happen. So for our gifts- Jake got me a robe. He wasn't entirely sure it was cotton, but he made sure it was at least "made it china." ha. Good job, honey. :) I ended up getting Jake (and kind of myself) a cotton hammock. We spent the afternoon and the evening cuddled up in it. Pure bliss! I was impressed how comfortable it was with both of us in it, particularly at night when we watched a two hour show on Jake's iPad! Success.

In the afternoon, I set up Isaac's chair right next to the hammock so we could talk to him and he could eat his chicken.

We also let our kitties out for the first time. A few days ago we got them up to date on shots and we also got them new collars and tags. They need one booster in a couple weeks, so we only let them out while we were outside and close to dinner time. :) They had a marvelous time exploring the yard.

All in all a lovely relaxing day with the ones I love. God is good.

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 42

This week started off with a sickly Ike. Even with a runny nose and cough, he still can smile! This is how Jake and Isaac enter the kitchen:

Besides Isaac and I being sick this week there's really not much more to report. Isaac's sleeping has changed some which is a bummer. I didn't mind waking up at 5:30am to feed him if that meant I got to sleep till 8-8:30am, but lately he's been skipping the 5:30 feeding and just waking up at 7:30am. Most people would probably prefer that time, but I am a night owl and it is a rare night that I get to bed before midnight no matter how hard I try, so this has been a more trying adjustment. Jake has been home so he's helped a lot in the morning with this munchkin.

Isaac and the kitties enjoy the same toy. Thankfully, they are good at playing together.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Today is my wonderful husband's 34th birthday. In honor of him I made a little compilation of his 33rd year using my "magisto" app. It was a busy year for him- moving to California, having a baby and then moving to Roseville. The video does comprise mostly of pictures of Jake and Isaac, but what can you expect when most of your year is filled with your first child?

I also want to give a shout out to my mother-in-law, Betty Springsteen. Today really is her day since today, 34 years ago, she brought her second miracle into this world and I am forever grateful. Happy Birthing Day Betty! You're amazing!