Oh Christmas!

I am getting so excited for Christmas this year. Usually I enjoy the holidays, but it's not really something I start thinking about until at least the third or fourth week of November. I'm one of those people that roll their eyes when the Christmas stuff starts showing up.

"It's too early!" I always exclaim. No matter when the green and red paraphernalia appears.

Last year, I would have preferred if Christmas just skipped right past us. I was SO tired, SO utterly and completely exhausted, the thought of doing anything other than eating something and going back to bed when my very little one was sleeping left me overwhelmed. Just the thought of decorating, baking, trimming the tree etc. was beyond me.


We did cut down a tree. Brought Isaac out in his stroller to one of those u-cut places in Lynn Valley. By the time we got there, Isaac was hungry - AGAIN - and tired. But we trudged around the lot, looking for a tree. It was fun and I'm glad we did it. But then that poor tree sat forlorn in our living room, looking bare and dying more every day. By a few days before Christmas, all that had happened was a bunch of needles fell on the floor. Finally Justin decorated it one evening. Poor guy, pretty much did it all himself. I sat on the couch in my pjs and watched.




Christmas day was nice. Isaac slept at the right times so that I could open presents with my family and eat Christmas dinner. He was taking approximately an hour to nurse still, and he nursed quite frequently. So the fact I was able to partake of some Christmas activity was a big deal.

But then Boxing Day, he did – I am not kidding – a 16 hour nursing marathon. He was obviously going through a growth spurt, so I literally spent the day on the couch. Ugh.

But this year? Oh yeah, this year is going to be AWESOME! My little one is not quite so little anymore. He crawls and rolls and sits up and plays with anything and everything put in front of him. I can't wait to see him playing with his toys and, let's be honest here, the boxes and wrapping paper too. I can't wait to let him try some Christmas goodies, to sip a bit of egg nog (that's OK, right?) and to hopefully take him out in the snow. Squee!

When the silver balls and red bows started popping up in Superstore - right next to the bloody chainsaws and scary skeletons - I couldn't wait to start browsing. I twinkle toed up and down the half an aisle, picking up this and that, dreaming of decorating and Christmas pictures and stuffing stockings.

Yup. This year, I've been smitten with Christmas spirit. I cannot wait. Hurry up Christmas, get here already!

These pictures are basically the only pictures I took on Christmas day. I didn't even take any of our tree at home, though I think Justin did. And we didn't even get a family picture. So much for starting traditions with our boy! Oh well, traditions can start a year later, right?

11 months

My baby,

You're almost not even my baby anymore. You're almost one year old. You're almost the age where we will start tracking the time less by the months, more by the 'year' and 'half year' markers. You're almost at the age where you will do much more boy stuff, much less baby stuff. You're almost at the age where you move inexorably towards independence and further away from needing me. Gradual, slow, small steps, but each one a step towards standing on your own two feet - first literally and then as the years pass - figuratively.

But for now, you are still mine. You're my baby and I will hang onto you for as long as I can, keeping you safe and cuddled and mine until my job has been done well enough that I become incidental in your life.






You are learning so quickly now, each day you are discovering more and figuring out how your little world works. Just this week, you started dropping objects into containers. It's a big deal, since up until now it's been take out / dump out things. We have a shape sorter ball that's broken, and you put the shapes into the empty, upturned half a ball now. Then you dump it out, grab the shape and drop it in again. You also spent a good deal of time yesterday dropping a ring into the container and taking it out again. So precious.

You caught your first cold this week. Mommy got sick on Tuesday, Daddy caught it Wednesday, and we managed to keep the germs from you until Friday afternoon, when your nose started running. You're a real trooper with your cold so far, still playing even though you're not feeling too great. Yesterday afternoon you had a small fever, but by the evening (after your second two hour nap of the day) it had dropped.

Hmmm, what else? Anything significant happen in the last month? Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you're CRAWLING!!!! We are SO proud of you, little one, as you pull yourself along with your hands and push with your sweet toes. Your bum lifts up a bit, but you don't have the classic "crawl" happening yet. I know I mentioned this in the last post, but it's worth expanding on. Because people, this is a BIG DEAL!!!



At first you would get so frustrated just moving a foot or two forward. Now, you move across the living room quickly, you go out into the hallway and turn around, figuring out where you want to go next. If Mommy is working in the kitchen, you "fwop fwop" (the term I've dubbed for the sound you make) your way towards me. You let me know you're on your way not just by the sound of your hands fwopping, but also giving me a talking to about the fact that I am not in the same room as you anymore and you are not impressed!

In the last month you've cut three top teeth: the top front left Sept. 20, top right Sept. 30 and Oct. 16 (OK, one day past your 11 month) you cut your third. Now you've got five - wow!

You still say lots of 'mamama' sounds, and your favourite sound is 'ba'. You make that lots, especially when you're happy. But if we ask, "where's Daddy" or "where's Mommy" you look right to the correct parent. Good job!

Anyway, I could go on and on. But seriously, I think pretty much every moment with you is worth recording and everything you do is adorable. So that would be a lot to write about. Ooh, one last thing. Yesterday morning you tried blueberry pancakes for the first time, and loved them. I think we've found your new favourite food. You inhaled those flapjacks like they were made of candy. Which as far as you know, they are.

Thanksgiving

Thankful today for so many things. But most of all, thankful that the Lord blessed us with such a beautiful baby 11 months ago. He is my boy, and I am his momma, and that is a blessing beyond understanding. There is nothing I did or can do to deserve this perfect child, this baby with his body and mind intact, who is growing, learning, developing, who has no genetic diseases, sicknesses, who can see and hear and taste and touch and smell, who understands and responds. I cannot praise the Lord enough for this child of mine.


And in related news, Isaac is a crawler now! Hurray!! Within days of him "creeping" a bit across the floor, he was learning to pull with his arms and push with his toes, and is a boy on the move now. He gets his bum a little bit in the air, and it's still a lot of hard work. But he can motor from one end of the living room to the other, and come out into the hallway when I'm in the kitchen. It's cute and pathetic at the same time, because he's crawling and crying since it's still hard work for him. I feel like he's thinking, "Mommy, how come you don't want to be with me as much as I want to be with you?!" He's working so hard to get to me, but then it's so rewarding because I meet him in the hallway and scoop him up in my arms and get the best cuddles!! I love this kid.

Vancouer expidition

I'm so adventurous.

Yesterday, instead of going to my one single weekly event - baby storytime at the library - I drove downtown to a free breakfast put on by Justin's work to raise money for the foodbank.

So he was working there all morning and had asked if we might come down. After I told him I probably wouldn't, I decided during Isaac's morning nap that it would be fun to see Justin during the day, and it gave me an excuse to get out of our little neighbourhood bubble I've built.

Google maps said it was a 15 minute drive from home to the art gallery. But honestly, you would've thought I was planning a cross-country trip. As soon as Isaac was in bed, I checked and rechecked the diaper bag. I made sure my camera battery and cellphone were charged. I packed lunch for Isaac and snacks.

But that's not the worst of it. Oh no. I actually went on Google maps satellite, and studied the downtown corridor. I scanned the blocks around the art gallery looking for adequate parking. We have a roofbox on top of our Xterra (I call it our Xbox. Clever, I know). So parking garages terrify me because I have no idea how high we are and I did hit the roof of a covered parking lot last year at Metrotown. Don't need a repeat of that, what with all the backing up, moving forward, backing up again, honking, many staring faces watching me inch out of the one-way lot. Anyhoo...

I planned my route out turn by turn. Never mind that I've been downtown before, and that I know how to at least get to the 'entrance' of downtown via the stadium. I wrote out EVERY TURN. And then I studied the route on Google maps in close-up, to see the streets just before my turns. And I wrote those down too. Then I made sure that the parking lot I'd picked had an entrance with easy access on the road on the route I picked. Zoomed in as close as I could on the satellite to even see if there were lots of stalls and if I should plan an alternate parking lot.

Isaac wakes up, I shove a bottle down his throat as quick as possible, even putting him on the ground so I can get his shoes and jacket on (yes, while he's still drinking his bottle), and dash out the door. Losing my cellphone in the process. I won't kill you with suspense, the cell later turns out to be in a drawer.

I get to the downtown corridor and you would think I had never driven before. My granny driving downtown is painful, but I always think pedestrians downtown are all show-it-offs, like 'this is my street, and I'll cross whenever the he** I want to'. I always imagine a pedestrian leaping out from behind something and me hitting them and stuff.

Lots of route planning, packing, prepping. And it took me less than 15 minutes to get there. Paid for parking, got Isaac strapped in and we were off for a lovely morning with Nature's Path people, yummy food and great atmosphere. But first, I put away my driving directions and pulled out my walking directions to get the whole three blocks to the gallery. Small town hick? Yup.

Justin was definitely glad we came down. He was taking pictures for Nature's Path, so he had lots of time to hang out with us, shoot some photos, and enjoy a bit of quality time with Isaac before he took the skytrain back to his office and we drove home.

Victory

So Isaac has this newish habit now of rolling around on the change table. He flips onto his tummy, reaches for the edge above his head and pulls himself forward to look over the edge. It's super cute and I usually let him gnaw on the table edge (mmm, tasty) before flipping him over and changing him. Today I discovered that if you flip a baby over too soon and then start to open his diaper, he may roll over again faster than a speeding bullet, taking his poopy bum on a journey of messiness.

Gross.

Poop all over the diaper, change table, legs, boy bits and pieces. Luckily not on Mommy's hands. Heh heh, I'd still call this scene a win.

Hmmm, I don't seem to have any photos of Isaac on the change table. That makes sense, since poopy hands are always very real threat. You'll have to settle for a picture of Isaac looking ginormous against the beautiful blue sky outside yesterday.























Ooh, here's one of him at the start of September when we were packing up our stuff in Chilliwack, wearing just a diaper. That's sort of relevant to the post : )

Catching up and all that

Well, Jen started blogging again. Not only did she make me laugh (as always), she also made me feel slightly guilty about not posting. After all, if a mom of two kids can blog, then surely a mom of one small, not even mobile child, can blog too.

Harumph.

Besides, I wanted to blog to remember the details of these times with my boy. Already they are going by too quickly, and before I know it I'll be sending him off to Kindergarten. Then I will cry and sit with a very large cup of coffee (with a hint of Baileys perhaps), and want to read EVERY SINGLE BLOG POST about my little baby boy.

So that means I should actually write some blog posts about him.

Let's see...


Isaac is 10 months and 11 days old now. He is still not crawling. But he leans wayyyyy forward to reach for stuff. If there's nothing to reach for, he finds something invisible, or a very small piece of lint / garbage / dirt and reaches for that. But yeah, hasn't figured out that he has strong enough limbs to propel him forward yet. I've got my camera at the ready, as I'm sure it will be any day now. Never mind the fact I've been saying that for the last month.

Isaac is loud. I can't even describe his loudness, except in comparison to other kids. We started going to a baby storytime at the library by my aunt's house (yeah, more on that later). We've been the first two sessions so far. One time had 13 kids, next had 15, ranging from newborn to two years old. Isaac was by far the loudest of ALL the kids there! He's got a voice and he likes to use it. I keep telling everyone he takes after the Keitch side. Ha ha ha.

He still likes rattles, loves rolling balls, enjoys bath time and loves to be outside. And any time he hears a plane he looks intently at the sky until he spots it. Then he follows the plane until it's out of sight. When we pick up Daddy from his work sometimes, there are huge planes that fly right overhead (Justin works right near the airport in Richmond). Isaac is simultaneously scared and excited when they fly really low.

Daddy is best at making Isaac laugh. They pretty much just look at each other and Isaac starts laughing, just knowing that Justin will do something soon to entertain him. I can make Isaac laugh by throwing him up in the air, swinging him upside down, sometimes making silly sounds, and hiding around his high chair and peek-a-booing. I can make him smile by singing 'bananaphone', playing peek-a-boo, playing ball with him, letting him tip over his toy bin then setting it upright over and over. He has a toy with little pop up animals and he likes it when I pop them up so he can close them again.

Isaac eats pretty much everything we eat now, and in large quantities. This morning for breakfast, he had an entire peach (minus the skin), a whole piece of brown toast, an entire scrambled egg (and I'm not egg-aggerating here, heh heh heh), about a quarter cup of apple sauce, handful of cheerios, and about a third cup of blueberries. That's pretty typical for breakfast, though he usually has a whole banana too but we were out today.

He still has two naps a day, ranging anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the day and what we're up to. Our bedtime routine of three books (one crunchy / noisy one, one normal, and one small one that if he wants he can take to bed to gnaw on) has stayed the same. But now, I give Isaac a couple options for books. I hold two in front of him, and he hits the one he wants. It's so cute to see him asserting himself, and he really studies the two book covers before deciding usually unless it's one of his favourites. 'Hello', from my Auntie Liz, always wins no matter what other book it's up against! I love reading with my boy. Then I sing a couple songs and always end with the same one (the 'Discovery' I love the world song). He does super well with naps, and sleeps at night from about 7 pm to 6:30 am. give or take half an hour.
http://youtu.be/NqV3clvlC4Q

Well, lots more I could say. But this is looong. And since the only people reading it are my mom and Jen, I'll wrap it up : ) I guess I could link it to FB, but there are so many people I don't really care to have reading my blog, I don't bother. Besides, at the end of the day, this is for me to remember my baby, and give me something to do while he's at Kindergarten to keep me from drinking myself silly and making a fool of myself when I pick him up at the end of the day. Future Lorene, you're welcome.


Oh my gosh, where did my baby go? Look at the size of this chunky monkey.

37 and a half weeks

Dear Isaac,

On Friday, you were exactly 37 and a half weeks old. It's hard to believe you've now been outside my belly longer than you were inside. Some days, it seems like only a few months ago that you were born. But you are only one week away from being NINE whole months old - wow!

I love thinking about my pregnancy, realizing it was you in there the whole time, my baby. When I felt feet pushing against my belly, those were your feet. When I felt movement, that was you. When I talked to you, it was your ears that were listening.

I love you Isaac, and am so glad I get to live my life as your mommy.

You sure have been growing lately, learning new things and mastering tricks you learned before. You've become quite the little roller, turning this way and that to grab a toy that catches your eye. This morning as I ate breakfast, I looked into the living room and you had rolled at least two times completely over and were on the very edge of the carpet by the fireplace. It wasn't that long ago where you couldn't roll at all and now you're a regular rolling wonder.

You are also a sitting boy since I last wrote on the blog. When we were at Purden, your cousin Wyatt loaned you a toy, "the casino," that encourages sitting up to play with toys in front of you. That seemed to be all the incentive you needed and you figured out how to keep your body from tumbling. We are so proud of you! Since coming back home, you've gone from not really wanting to be put down in a seated position to not minding it at all. And while you still sometimes lose your balance, most of the time you have no problem staying upright. Momma still puts a pillow behind your back though because when you fall backwards it hurts!

We finally bought you a highchair, your bumbo was getting to be dangerous as you could lean over and almost tip it. You've only been in the highchair a few days, but already you are getting better at your pincer grasp. Having finger foods right in front of you is making it easier to practice picking up. So far, your finger foods have been cheerios, brocolli, cucumber and this morning I gave you a few blueberries to practice. You actually managed to pick up a blueberry using your index finger and thumb, but then couldn't quite get it into your mouth. I know you'll get it soon though, I can tell you're almost there.

You absolutely LOVE watching kids. We've got a parade of children that bike back and forth in front of our home, and you enjoy sitting on the picnic blanket watching them cycle and play with each other. In fact, you love the outdoors in general. When we go to the front door and open it, you squeal with delight and wave your arms around. That's one of your happy signs : )

We go to the park quite often and you smile in the baby swing, enjoying the wind in your hair. We also sit at the splash park and watch the kids there play. There is so much to look at! On Friday I think it was, Daddy came with us to the splash park and he actually took you towards the water. You weren't squealing, but you weren't crying either. You were studying I think, as you often do with something new. I don't think you'll be the kind of boy to jump headfirst into things. I think you'll want to figure it out first, to study and understand it before trying. And those are good things to do, it means you'll think through actions before doing something you might regret later.

Well, I'm actually supposed to be grocery shopping right now. You're down for your morning nap and I've got lots of baby food to make (just picked up meat from The Town Butcher yesterday). I sure love you little one, and am so glad I'm your momma. I can't believe you've been in this world as long as you have, and can't wait to see what the future holds for you.