It's started already
The two of them are already plotting the take over of the house! I wasn't planning to take a picture, but they both looked up at me with a "we're busted" look and I couldn't resist!
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May 27, 2009
While Brother Bear Was Sleeping...
Mommy turned our back porch into a mini portrait studio and took lots of pictures!!! Here are the favorites! This does prove though, that if you want specific pictures in specific outfits all you have to do is ask...This is for Tante Sarah.
She looks just like Mommy in this picture...GranGran has to bring the baby pictures so we can compare them in July!
She was enthralled with this flower.
Talking to Mommy!
Mommy's Favorite...bubbles and all!
Esther Rose is officially 2 months old today. Hard to believe that so much time has passed already, and we're blessed with every moment!
May 26, 2009
Sick..Day 2
It's been a fun morning in our house. Isaac slept til 9, which was heavenly, as Esther Rose and I had fallen back asleep, too! Isaac and I have traversed to deserts, ice caves, and Africa savannahs, all before lunch! Esther Rose has been sleeping a lot and still running her fever, but is holding her own and has quite a lot to say about it all! They're both napping now and I am going to give you guys something fun to look at...That is after all what I seem to do best!
A side note, if you are friends with me on Facebook, then there are some great videos posted, some of them today!
He's checking on Esther because he heard her squeak!
Itching pox on his leg and wearing a crayon on his head!
Esther just trying stay out of the way!
May 24, 2009
Homebound
Well, it appears that both kids are officially sick. Both have fevers and funny spots that are multiplying. Taking pictures of our life during our time homebound will be what keeps me somewhat sane, so you'll just have to bear having a lot of pictures everyday for a while!!
This is her spot. Asleep. All day long. If she's awake, then she's probably crying or has us holding her in a really obscure position to keep her from crying. But isn't her dress pretty?
Daddy and Isaac "playing" checkers. It was a valiant effort, but we're not quite ready yet. They did math and patterns instead!
Garage Sale Fun
We hosted our first ever garage sale this weekend!!! We got rid of a lot of random stuff and are looking forward to our next sale in the fall. It was fun, but work, and it felt good to have so much stuff gone at the end of the two days!
Isaac spent the better part of an afternoon trying to ride his tricycle!
...and trying again. He doesn't give up easy and his legs are finally almost long enough to ride it. He has the concept though, so when he can reach them, we're going to have a hard time keeping up!
Isaac : Where's Gordon, Mommy?
Mommy : I don't know, Isaac. Where is Gordon?
Isaac : Gordon is hiding in flower bed.
Pick a place any place, he will manage to hide one of his trains and drive you nuts for hours playing this game. Thank you, Speech therapy trying to teach him prepositions. We're playing along because it helps him with his language!
Went for a walk with Daddy to pick up the little signs. Mommy drove with Esther to pick up the big ones!
After our Friday sale (it went for 2 days), Isaac and Esther and I went over to Gramma Joyce's to chill and play with the cats and dog! Gramma Joyce had had a crazy week and is missing her grandson and is getting her weekly baby fix!
Esther glad to not have every random person who came up the drive way look at her like she is the prettiest thing they've ever seen....Oh wait, she is!!
Isaac playing with Spotzy the cat! They've been pals since Joyce brought him home from the Humane Society.
A quick cute story: Esther was sitting in her short swing in the shade by the entrance to the garage sale. Isaac would run out to his play structure in the backyard about 20 yards from us. People would come up the driveway, see Esther and proceed to ogle at her and babble...Isaac would immediately RUN over to Esther and her swing, put one had on the handle of the swing, and just look at the people staring at HIS baby sister. It was hilarious!
First Bow!!
It's the first hair bow (headband really) in her hair! Her hair is long enough though that I am working on getting her real hair bows...
May 22, 2009
Baby Check-Up
The basics here...details on www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaacacuff If you don't have the password, email me!
Isaac: lost 3/4 of a pound and will have monthly weight checks.
Esther: Weighs in at 11lbs 5oz and is 23 1/4 inches long! She is climbing that growth chart nicely!
Have a great day! We'll be outside most of today so there will be pics tomorrow! Plus one from yesterday with a bow in her hair!
Love you all..We have a busy day in store, so blogging isn't on the top of my list...
May 19, 2009
A picture is worth a thousand words...
...so I'll let it speak for itself!
May 18, 2009
Let's Go Fly a Kite...(Or Isaac's Birthday..Round 4)
My dad sells kites and model rockets and sent Isaac 3 new kites for his birthday (a little late, apparently it was my fault for not reminding him of Isaac's bday!)...Isaac didn't know the difference. We had a super windy day when we came back from our vacation and decided to give Isaac a fair crack at flying a kite...These are Isaac's first attempts at flying a kite! Clearly he needs some practice.
Thanks for the kites, Papa and Grandma Ginny!! We'll be working out the kinks over the summer and be sure to check back for his progress!
Kirtland's Warbler Festival
Saturday we ventured out to Kirtland Community College's Kirtland's Warbler Festival. There is this beautiful little bird that has a VERY narrow range, and part of it happens to be in this tiny corner of Michigan in the jack pine forests. They are really pretty and have a very distinctive call. Zeb has been itching to do this for about 5 years now, and so we decided this year was the year..A new family tradition might have even been born. A weekend birding trip each May to a different location. Isaac really had fun and behaved very nicely on the bus ride and time out in the forest. He didn't scare a single bird off and Daddy saw 3 Kirtland's Warblers. We also saw on our trip: a Bald Eagle, Blue Jays, Flickers, Eastern Bluebird, and a lot of very common birds along the way..
At the festival, Isaac got to build a bird house. We're still trying to figure out where to hang it, but it is sturdy and designed well to be reused each year (you remove one nail and a side wall swings out so you can clean it out each year and let the birds return to use it again!).
Enjoy the pictures..
Walking down the dirt road next to prime warbler habitat!
Daddy and some others looking at one of the several that were spotted...
Amazingly enough, Isaac never once asked for the binoculars until we were back on the bus and on our way out!
"Aha! I see a tree!" "Aha! I see a window!" and on and on and on...
Isaac was soooo excited to get to ride the school bus.
He asks everyday to ride the bus,
and everyday I remind him that he is too small to ride it by himself.
We went on a horse-drawn carriage ride down through a red pine forest.
It was beautiful, cold, and just generally a lot of fun.
I think this might have been my favorite part of the day!
Every child under the age of 14 got to build a free birdhouse!
We let him take a few cracks at it without any assistance...but just a few.
I know it's not in focus, but it's the best we were getting because he wanted to be on the move!
His masterpiece is complete!
May 17, 2009
Best Kept Secret...
...in Northern Michigan! We found a fabulous hotel in Houghton Lake. It had an indoor pool/spa/sauna, open 24 hours and a fenced in playground, complete with grills! The room was pretty nice, but the bed was a touch too soft! All in all, we'll definitely be staying there again...
Maybe a little too young to play "Chubby Bunny", but we're training early!
May Vacation Days!!
We ran away from "real" life, although some would argue we ran to real life, this weekend to enjoy some quiet family time. It was wonderful! The weather wasn't super cooperative, but it was certainly bearable! There are A LOT of pictures, so I'm going to break it up into the weekends different adventures...Round one...The hotel!
May 12, 2009
Such a Pretty Day!
I picked up Bear from school today and took him to the park for a picnic, to play, and a hike. We had a ball! The pictures pretty well speak for themselves, so sit back and enjoy!
Click picture above for a bonus video!
May 11, 2009
Out of Doors..
When we got home from school today, Esther Rose was sleeping soundly and Isaac really wanted to play outside. I decided to try my hand at mowing, listening for Ladybug to cry, and not running over my son with the lawn mower...Mission Accomplished! I mowed for about an hour (with several "love the kids" breaks) and Isaac played with the trucks in the garage or on his structure where I could see him! Esther Rose slept in her car seat for most of the time and then moved out of it to the swing!
This is a completely candid shot! He was "resting", but "I not tired...yet, Mommy"
Sleeping in the swing..Isaac used to love the bucket swing at the park!
Now we have one at home and we don't have to drive to enjoy one!
His words.."I slide down like the polar bear slide down on belly...
Polar bear slide on ice snow. I slide on big boy slide"
Happy Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day, a day late...yeah. I didn't touch the computer yesterday, except for about 5 minutes just before bed! What a fabulous day it was. I am most thankful that Mother's Day feels much like every other day, which is great, because I feel loved and cherished and appreciated by my husband and kids...I really don't need a hallmark holiday for that! It is, however, an excellent excuse to spend time with friends whose moms live far from them, too! So, what started as us having lunch with the Pastor's family (making the lunch count 6), ended up with us having lunch with the Pastor's family, the Youth Pastor's family, and Joyce and her dad! This made the final lunch tally 12 (13 if you count Esther Rose..)!! We had lunch at a local Chinese place we like and laughed a lot with our precious friends...mostly over the antics of the guys on their trip to Uganda! So here are the pics from Mother's Day!
This is actually at Sunday School..Gramma Joyce is missing her grandson, so she managed to get her baby fix today! In fact, I ate an entire meal with 2 hands and Esther Rose still got held for the whole thing! Gramma Joyce, you are a delight to our family!
This is Joyce's dad, Mr. Klein. He had lunch with us. This is his first Mother's Day without his wife, but I think it will be memorable for a lot of other great reasons! This is the first time he got to hold Esther Rose. Isaac loves Mr. Klein. When we go out, just the 5 (6) of us, Isaac makes Mr. Klein smile from ear to ear for the entire meal! He is a sweetheart and are so glad to have him in our kids' lives!
Gavin and his mommy.
Landon and his mommy.
Cole and his mommy!
Isaac and his mommy!
Someday, I will remember how impossible it can be to get a reasonably good picture of 3 three-year old boys (see Isaac's birthday post)...This is Take 1.
This is Take 2, and we decided to call it good!
The gang! from left to right....Joyce, Mr. Klein, Josh (our new youth pastor), Landon, Heather (our youth pastor's wife), Gavin, Bert, Amanda, Cole, Zeb, and Isaac...My wallet is sitting in my spot and Esther Rose is in Gramma Joyce's arms!
Thank you friends for making Mother's Day so much fun!
Now we just need to make plans for Dad's Day in another month!!!
May 08, 2009
Just Because You Really Can't...
...have too many pictures of the kids! They are so precious. Everyday I spend with them, God reminds me what a privilege and responsibility it is to be a wife and a mommy. I think my next memory verse shall be Deuteronomy 6:6-7. Definitely principles here I need to master!
In the meantime, please enjoy some precious moments from the last few days!
He LOVES these "magazines" of baby animals...He especially loves getting any kind of mail!
Opening birthday presents from Mommom Caleb...
Pride family, you will kindly note the careful positioning of the tongue!
Reading one of the 6 science books Mommom Caleb sent Isaac.
They are cleverly disguised as "Tigger and Pooh" books, and Isaac loves them!
Love, love, love this outfit!
Too cute!! Her facial expressions get more pronounced every day, and we're loving the whole process of learning her personality! She is definitely a serious child, just like her brother...
Speaking of cute big brothers!
Playing the pipe chimes at the park across from Daddy's office!
Hugs and Kisses!
Pretty Girl!
Thank you, occupational therapy!
4 months ago he'd NEVER have even thought about walking across this...
God is good! We love seeing the healing of Isaac in its smallest steps!
I hope everyone enjoyed this...I do love being a wife and a mommy.
Mother's Day Artwork!
Isaac came home from school carrying a precious white sack with his picture on it and told me "it's for you mommy, not for me, not for Baby Esther, I maked it for you"
Gift Tag on Sack
My Gift
The message on my gift!
...and here are the flowers our mom's will find in their mother's day cards when they arrive this weekend!
May 04, 2009
Trip Down Memory Lane...
Isaac's First Tiger's Game..Riding in the Ferris Wheel
He is about 5 months old here.
This is his second Tigers game...
Age is about 17 months...Again in the Ferris Wheel.
We didn't go to a game in 2008...We'll have to make sure not to skip any more years! The games really are a lot of fun!
The Eyes
I caught this shot early in the day Saturday and fell in love with it!
Tigers Game
We went to an event at Comerica Park on Saturday called "HomePlate". Several professional athletes, local to Detroit, gave their testimonies and a wonderful Gospel presentation. We took some of my old charges, whose names have been purposely omitted for security. It was a lot of fun and the best part?? The Tigers won!!!!
Isaac insisted on having a pretzel at the first available moment! So we let him have one..More carbs and fat right?
Then for the traditional ride on the ferris wheel. The "Baskets" are actually baseballs!
May 9, 2009 Isaac's third Tiger's game and third ride on the ferris wheel!
Yes, it is actually a picture of all of us together!
They were laughing at something, but I don't recall what!
So, they wouldn't let Isaac eat his pretzel in the ferris wheel, so we tucked it away and he finished it later...
While Daddy thought he'd try out a Turkey leg!
We were contemplating the use of the leg as a baseball bat!
A ride on the carousel is always fun! This is the first year we've done this and we'll do it again in the fall! Isaac LOVED the carousel! All the animals on the carousel are Tigers of varying species, just in case you were wondering!
Isaac is tired and the game is only in the 1st inning...
My old charges...these are 2 of the 4. They were 9 and 11 when I first met them. They are 14 and 16 now (the others are 14 and 15). Wow! Time flies!
Lesson learned...If Esther Rose rides in her pocket for 8 hours straight, she also sleeps for 8 hours straight and then doesn't sleep worth tiddlywinks that night!
All in all, it was a fantastic day and we are looking forward to the Tiger's game in August with Zeb's co-workers! Always a good time!
Guess What, Daddy?
Look who we ran into by the carousel at the game Saturday! We told him to keep it a secret and that we'd put the pic online instead to surprise you.
For the rest of you, this is Dean and his son. Dean works with Zeb at McKenna and is an awesome man and daddy! Isaac loves to see him at the office, but wasn't too sure about what to do with him out of context!
Tigers..PreGame Show!
Ready for the game...Hanging out waiting for it to be time to go!!
May 01, 2009
Day at the Farm
We spent the morning with precious friends from church. Heather and Eme met Isaac, Esther, and I at Cabela's to look at all the animals, which turned out to be a bit of fun, but also a little crazy. While we pondered the idea of going ahead to the zoo, since the weather man lied to us, it occurred to us that the kids would have just as much fun at their house and we'd have to do a lot less child wrangling..So off to the "farm" we went! There are tons of pictures today, but they tell a great story!
They recently decided to raise chickens. They have been pretty successful so far. The colored chickens are for eggs and the white ones are for meat! Eme loves to catch and carry and love on her chickens and she was eager to share this experience with Isaac.
Eme handed this one to Isaac. So far, so good...No broken wings and no pecks to the face!
He was super excited about catching the chickens...this is still the one Eme had handed him.
Have we mentioned that she loves her chickens?
I think Isaac is trying to feed it asparagus...I think?
Zeb loves dandelions, so this shot is just for him!
They are trying to deciding which ones to catch next and how to coax the ones in the coup to come out! They are really smart chickens...
This one is the first that he caught himself, which is what prompted the next picture!
The chicken was not harmed in the making of this photo...
Miss Heather showing Isaac how to properly "catch and hold and carry" a chicken...."around the belly, outside the wings..."
He thinks he's got it...This is the first of several he caught all by himself!
Chicken Stalker! The brown chickens finally got smart and went under the coup to hide from Isaac...until he decided he didn't mind crawling under there either!
Then, Mr. Rob got the lawn mower stuck in "the swamp"...He made a valiant effort to free it, but was unsuccessful...In the meantime...
Isaac thought he'd try and climb a tree in rain boots...
...and play with a frog that Miss Heather caught.
Mr. Rob pulled out the "big daddy" tractor to rescue the lawn mower...Isaac begged for a ride and was assured that after the lawn mower was freed that he could go for a ride.
Eme tried her hand at begging for a ride, too...When she was denied, Isaac decided to...
play in the sand box until it was his turn to ride on the tractor!
And true to his word, when the lawn mower was freed from its mud hole, Mr. Rob gave Isaac a ride on the big tractor!
And Eme got a ride, too!
The kids and mommas went inside after a while to get some rest and eat some lunch...Isaac and Eme played with a multitude of things, but this is the best picture I managed!
And Miss Heather managed to sneak some sleepy baby time in, too, while I knitted! It's okay, everyone looks this disappointed to hold the sleeping Princess Esther Rose!
All in all, it was a fabulous day! I am greatly looking forward to spending a bit of time with my sweetheart tonight as we celebrate our 4th Anniversary! What an amazing 4 years we have had together and another 60 to go, I hope!!!
I hope you enjoyed our day's adventure...Isaac couldn't even manage a nap, he was so hyped up from all the fun at the farm...Oh well, early to bed for him tonight!
I had to do it...
...put her in the "riblet" outfit from Isaac's baby days! It was our favorite sleeper and the one Isaac came home from the birth center in. She was WAY too small for it until last week sometime and now she's nearly outgrown it. I had to get some pictures before it was too late!
She could not look any more like my baby pics in this shot if she tried!
This blanket was made by my former employer and current friend's mom in Arizona for Isaac! It's now one of our favorite blankets for the Princess! Thank you, Joan!
PS...Please be praying for Joan and her husband George, as he is currently walking the last steps out of this tent and into his Heavenly home. Please also pray for the Aldworths, as this is not easy from over 1000 miles away. We love you guys!!
Explorer
There is a great drama that surrounds this outfit..First he hated it and refused to wear the shirt, but loved the shorts and now he demands the Lizards shirt and "birthday shorts" almost daily...Crazy kid!
