Week Nine

Week Nine was somewhat traumatic for Isaac as he had his 8 week doctor's appointment which included four shots! This was equally traumatic for us, and it left him very sad and tired with a low fever for a day or so - and it apparently exhausted Bill too! We learned that he is now 11.5 pounds, which made Jamie very happy to hear given all the feeding she is doing!! We also had a nice visit with Jamie's cousin Trevor and his kids TJ, Tessa and Jacob from Florida. We got to test out Isaac's winter wardrobe this week as the weather got a little colder. We took a long walk around the Capitol with one of my work friends who had a baby girl (Mackenzie) a week after Isaac was born, and we also took a long walk around the National Arboretum where we had never been before (it houses thousands of cool trees and plants and the columns that used to be part of the Capitol building). Finally, we picked up Bill's long awaited half of a cow from Polyface Farms - the picture below is him taking inventory of some of the cow parts we got (yes we had to buy an extra freezer for the basement). This farm sells humane, natural grass-fed and antibiotic-free meats. If anyone is craving beef, it is apparently what we will be eating for the next several months, so feel free to join us! The first meal was a DELICIOUS roast made with stock Bill had cooking for 24 hours, looking forward to the others!

Week Eight

Week 8 was relatively low key, with more beautiful weather. We took lots of walks outside in the Bjorn and the stroller, a big Costco trip (which he slept through) and experienced continued regression in sleep patterns. We've been trying to institute a schedule to counter the eratic sleeping but it appears to be having the opposite effect -now we are waking up 2-3 times a night and Isaac decided it's officially awake time at 7am-which Jamie LOVES!! We also determined that dairy products have a negative effect on Isaac's belly so Jamie and Bill have been learning to be creative in coming up with non-dairy foods for Jamie to eat at every meal (thank goodness Starbucks makes soy lattes!). It's definitely a struggle, but Isaac has been a much happier baby which makes it worth it. The big milestone for this week - we moved Isaac out of our room and into his room to sleep in the crib which was probably more traumatic for Jamie than Isaac who seems very happy in his room. It is helping him become a little more independent because we aren't as quick to grab him the second he starts crying. Also, Issac finally got to meet Uncle Evan who flew in from Colorado this weekend. He had a great time getting spoiled by both Uncle Evan and Aunt Rachael this past weekend, including an all boys breakfast on Saturday morning leaving Jamie to get a few extra hours of much needed sleep. Overall another great week with lots of fun smiles (check out the bath vide0)!!

Week Seven - Part two

Week seven was busy. Thursday was Yom Kippur so I got to see the Sher clan to break the fast. Mommy and I didn't fast because we aren't allowed, but Daddy did, he said it was good for his discipline, but then he got cranky and said lots of bad words, which I am fortunate enough not to understand. The food was yummy and the company was even better. On the way home I showed Mommy and Daddy how strong my lungs are.

On Friday we went to the promised land for the weekend, you may know this place as New Jersey. It was my first time spending the night outside of DC and it was pretty fun, so fun in fact that I could not sleep and played with Mommy and Daddy all night - Daddy said more bad words! In the morning Grandma and Grandpa watched me while Mommy and Daddy took a nap, they said the nap was fun, but I knew it was boring, so I played with them most of the night on Saturday too. I also got to play with Lizzy, which was awesome. I may have gotten a little ahead of myself, on Saturday night I got to meet Great Grandma Jo, Great Aunt Janet, Great Uncle Jim, and Cousins Jenna and Sara. They were all really nice, they held me and later I ate what Mommy ate and it was delicious - especially the rice pudding ; ) It was really great seeing Great Grandma and Grandma and Grandpa's house and I can't wait to go visit them all again soon.

Week Seven- Part One

It's been made known to us that we're not updating this website often enough, and though we definitely do not promise to do so regularly (it's hard enough doing it weekly with exhausted brains and only one hand available for typing!!), since Isaac is cooperating and taking a long morning nap (hopefully a trend we will continue!) here are a few pics from the last few days which were very busy for Isaac! He had a play date with his friend Amos, who is ten days older, and several more play dates and walks with his friend Ashton, six months old -- it was a fun day for the moms and the babies and I'm pretty sure we captured the few moments when none of the three were fussing or eating on film! Isaac continues to love the bath, and now we have confirmation of this - he gave a big smile as I lathered him up! He continues to become more and more aware of his surroundings, so we put together his Baby Einstein activity mat and he actually checked out and swatted at the toys for a while!! Finally, he provided entertainment (and possibly some fear as to what's in store?) to my friend Taylor who is on bedrest as she awaits the arrival of Cletus (the fetus) - possibly a Halloween baby. I uploaded some video too - we tried to capture Isaac's new vocabulary and a smile, and though he wasn't fully cooperative, it's still a cute video (I think). We'll send more pictures after we get back from our first overnight road trip to NJ this weekend - Enjoy!!

Week Six

Isaac started taking notice of his surroundings this week, focusing on rattles and stuffed animals and the brightly colored animals on the mural in his room. He also gave us his FIRST SMILE which was so much fun, and now we find ourselves doing anything and everything to get him to repeat it. This week was the first week that Isaac and Jamie were on their own, after six fun weeks with family and friends popping in and out. The weather was beautiful, so we spent lots of time outside meeting up with friends, meeting Bill for lunch, and taking long walks with the stroller and the Baby Bjorn carrier. We also went to services with the Sher family for Rosh Hashana - Isaac got a bath and all dressed up, and we actually got out of the house on time (miracle of miracles) only to get a flat tire on the way there. Having slept through the tire change, Isaac made it until the service began and took that opportunity to begin what would be a two-hour crying fit that included an explosive diaper and spitting up all over himself and Jamie!! Needless to say, it was an experience - and we're curious to see if he has the same reaction to the Christmas service :)

We also watched the VP debate at a neighborhood party where Isaac slept through the whole thing and the grown-ups made a drinking game out of the repetitive use of the word "maverick". On Saturday Isaac spent the whole day alone with Bill while Jamie had to attend a work retreat, which was a good learning experience for both of them - and which left all the boys of the house very tired!!!