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.

Well that's new

Apparently you have stranger anxiety now. Huh. That's definitely new.

Last week your friend Ty and his mom Kylie came over and you seemed just fine with them. That was Wednesday. Then Friday we went to a barbecue at Ryan and Jenn's. You were fine while I was holding you, but our friend Kate took you so I could eat a burger (Daddy left for his Ultimate game) and you cried and cried and cried. You absolutely. Were. NOT. Happy.

I thought maybe you were just tired, but once I took you back again, you were fine.

We had Auntie Becky over for dinner Sunday night and you were definitely concerned. You cried some, even though she didn't try to hold you, and took lots of time just looking at her and studying. Hmmm, I think you were wondering just who this lady was and what she was up to in your house!

Last night you re-met Grandma and Grandpa. You've actually been around them lots, they were even the first people you met after you were born. But they haven't been around in five weeks and for you, that's like a really super duper long time!

You cried when Grandma tried holding you, and again looked quite concerned with these strangers in our house. So much for Mommy and Daddy's plan to go out to a movie tonight and leave you with Grandma. Oh well, you'll get used to them once they're back for awhile in the Fall. In the meantime, I think you'd prefer to just stick close to your favourite two people.

Oh, as a sidenote, other new things that are super fun:
Last night we walked to Dairy Queen with Grandma and Grandpa. You saw a firetruck and got really excited. It was so cute!

You also love watching the neighbourhood kids on their bikes. We went out a couple days ago and just sat on the lawn watching the kids bike back and forth. You smiled almost every time they passed by, and watched intently as they rode. Then this morning you were thrilled at all the action out our window as the maintenance people mowed our lawn.

You are so much fun Isaac. We love watching as you discover new things, explore, learn and grow in your own time.

Today you jumped for joy in your jolly jumper. You were definitely a jolly little man jumping in it, what a joy to watch. Oh we love you little one. So very very much.

Seven and a half months

Dear Isaac,

Time sure flies; already you are seven and a half months old! It's only 138 days until your first birthday!!

The last couple days you've started doing something new. You wiggle your head and shoulders back and forth when you're excited. Sometimes it seems your whole body is wiggling when you are really happy! It's so darn cute, we love it and try to do stuff to make you wiggle now, like disappear and reappear, or make funny loud noises or sing loud songs. You like all those things.

You have also taken to getting super excited if one of us is carrying you up or down the stairs and the other follows closely behind. When we're going up the stairs you get super excited right at the top if the other parent is following. It's just too much fun and we can't resist doing it over and over.

You are also just generally becoming a more happy baby overall. Most mornings you can play by yourself for a little while when I go into the kitchen to have my breakfast and prepare yours. Then you squeal with delight when I come back to the living room to see how you're doing. I think you get excited when you realize that we come when you call too, and we hope we're building trust with you through these moments.

You go nuts over your rattles now; shaking them, moving them from hand to hand, picking up one then dropping it and picking up another, studying them, and you smile when we hand them to you.

Today I put you in your excersaucer and you managed to turn yourself all the way around. That's the first time I've seen you do that. Yay! You still don't like to play in it for very long, but even for a few minutes it's nice so I can get a meal prepared, make a cup of coffee or tidy the kitchen a little. Then we play together again once you squawk to get out.

On Tuesday you developed a squeak in your voice. We're not sure if it's related to an ear infection you were just diagnosed with at your last pediatrician appointment, or if it's something else. But your voice just got a lot higher and, while cute, also sounds very pathetic when you cry. But definitely cute.

You have started sleeping on your side. Often when I put you down you eagerly turn to the side right away, even before I have your sleep sack zipped up. It makes it nice when we have to go in and comfort you, because now we can just rub your back. You seem to like it, and I find it easier than holding your arms from flailing and making quiet 'shh' sounds. You're definitely sleeping better overall, though you still have your moments. A couple weeks ago you started sleeping until about 4 or 5 in the morning before waking to nurse. Then you go back to sleep until 6 or 7, one time even 7:30!!! I felt like a new woman that day.

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but even at this it's nice to be able to write down what I can so I can look back and remember my ever-changing, always-amazing seven and a half month old son. You get cuter every day, your smile just melts my heart and I absolutely adore you.

Much love,
your mommy