The Jordan Jungle

Jon Isaac learned the word “mess” about a month ago. He has ample opportunity to use it throughout his day. Today he learned a new reason. I was feeding Malia and he was in kitchen. I heard him start to whine and he came to me saying “mess, mess”. When I looked at him I saw he was wet on his head, face and short. Really wet. I quickly tried to figure out what happened. I didn’t hear a crash of a cup and I knew there weren’t any cups with liquid in the kitchen. Then it occurred to me that he must have figured out how to press the button on the fridge to get water. He has been trying lately so I have used the lock feature. Well, guess I hadn’t locked it last time I used it. Not sure I need to now. He was not happy about the result. Here is the best pic I could get.

Jon Isaac plays with “his” iPad when he eats and we feed him. He loves wearing my sunglasses and here he is watching Sesame Street.

The title of the blog is how Jon Isaac refers to his Nana and Tata’s house. He loves it there and I think we all feel lucky that he gets to go there almost everyday. I get pictures sent periodically. As I was going back through them today, I realized has neat is was to look at them all at once. Jon Isaac is getting such a wonderful experience while he’s there.

It was 45 and cloudy this morning (don’t worry, it will be 70 and sunny this afternoon). I bundled the kids up and pushed Malia in her stroller while she slept and pulled Jon Isaac in the wagon. We must have looked like a train going up and down the road.

I’ve been trying to capture Malia showing off her personality. She loves to coo and smile when you talk to her. It feels like we are having a conversation. I didn’t quite capture her with a big smile, but here she was being entertained by her reflection in the mirror. She also smiles at it.

Jon Isaac loves the outside. I think he would live out there if he could. He lives exploring rocks, leaves, plants and giving a narrative as he does “big rock, agua, big truck, jeep”. Today he found a box in the garage. He pulled it out to the driveway and would just sit in it. “big box” “Isaac box”. He calls himself Isaac and says his name instead of saying my box.

Today was Malia’s first visit to her dad’s pharmacy. We didn’t get a chance to take her pic with everyone. Here are a couple. Also from tonight at family dinner and JI wearing his Tata’s hat home.

This morning Jon Isaac requested a big tent. Every time I got a blanket, he requested more. This was our final product.

Jon Isaac loves his sand box from his Magga. Here he is helping me put the lid back on after playing in it today.

I just received this picture from my mom. It shows Skype from the Arkansas side. Jon Isaac and Malia’s cousins were very excited to see them on the big screen.

Jon Isaac is really warming up to Malia. He makes sure she is in the van before we leave and wants her up when she’s sleeping. His favorite is when she is on the playmat. The other day he was showing her flash cards and telling her about them. Here he is showing her how to play with the hanging rings.

Mark is home with us today. We decided to take advantage of the beautiful 70 and sunny weather and take a walk. Tomorrow I have both kiddos by myself all day for the first time so I decided to practice having both. Should be very relaxing.

Here’s to a happy 2012. Mark and Jon Isaac played outside at the house all morning. So after naptime, we went to visit Tio Mario, Tia Linda, and cousin Nic and dog Sadie. It was very nice visiting and hanging out in their pretty yard. Mark and Mario played horseshoes while Nic played with JI and Linda and I sat with Malia. It was 70 and sunny, but we made sure to protect Malia from the breeze.

A few weeks ago Jon Isaac went with Mark, Tata, Tio Mario, and Tia Linda to see his cousin Nic play basketball. He was very focused on the action as usual. Now everytime he sees a basketball goal he says “Nic”.

The weather this week has highs in the low to upper 70s and sunny (do we even have to say that). Malia and I are out for a walk. I am wearing shorts but I do have a blanket over Malia since it’s breezy.

Jon Isaac has been going to his Tata’s everyday around 10. We are so fortunate that he has At least one set of grandparents right down the road. And even more fortunate that they want to take care of him so much. Anyway, he pretty much starts each day asking about “Nana, tatas house”. It must feel like it takes forever for ten to get here. This morning when he asked for Tata around ten, I told him that his Tata would be here any minute. That’s when he jumped up and ran to the door. The next 10 minutes went like this. “ding dong, knock knock” then he would go to the window. Then back to the door. “ding dong knock knock” as he himself knocked on the door. Then over to me. “momma up, tata, ding dong, ding dong”. This was him trying to get me off the couch and going to the door. It doesn’t work to try to explain to a twenty month old what a few more minutes means. Tata finally arrived and Jon Isaac was very happy.

I know we were really bad at updates since Malia got here. It was actually a combo of new baby, one and a half year old, Thanksgiving, Christmas, roof leak, and laundry that kept us too busy to blog. So I’ll try to play catch up.

Here are some pics from the hot air balloon festival here in Yuma. It was in Nov so Malia was brand new. We figured since she was outside she wouldn’t be exposed to many germs and Jon Isaac really needed out of the house.

This year with Malia being so little, we decided we shouldn’t take her on an airplane to Arkansas. So when my family did their Christmas celebrations the last two days, we were there on Skype.
I took pictures yesterday. Jon Isaac really paid attention to what was happening. He also tried to wait patiently for his turn to open gifts. My brother had set up Skype on my mom’s new big screen tv so we were big enough for everyone there to see us. And everyone was able to get a good look at Malia (who stayed awake for the whole time).

One, two, three . . . Oh how precious!

Playing outside in the sunny 68 degree weather.

Cousin Alex sporting U of A (west) colors. Malia is trying to teach the value of birth control.

Way to go Nana y Tata! Motorized train for JI. He’s loving it.

Family is gathered together at Nana y Tata’s for the evening. Nana made tamales, enchiladas and lots of other goodies. Jon Isaac loves to play with his cousin Nic and his Tio Mario (who he calls Marcos). This is the first time in a long while if ever that Holly hasn’t been with everyone in Arkansas. We all miss y’all.
Here are a few pics. Jon Isaac is actually playing with ice. And that’s his awesome cousin Nic on the floor. Tia Linda is in the background. Also in came Tio “Marcos”.

And the weather is nice too. Malia is enjoying the outside at nana y tatas house. Daddy goes back to work tomorrow and is sad. She is a super little girl. I included the thermometer in the background for the benefit of those of you in colder climates, it does say 78 and it’s 530 pm.

Mom and dad are so proud to welcome out newest monkey, all 9 lbs & 2.3 oz and 20 inches of her.

Seems like we just did this.

Epidural placed. Malia has dropped some, which is a good thing. Pretty soon they will begin the infusion to stimulate contractions. For now Holly is trying to sleep. Not so easy in a hospital. I wonder if JI has a twinge in his sleepy brain that the next time he sees mommy she comes with a new baby sister. Nurse feels she is progressing well enough on her own that she may not need much help.

About 2 & 1/2 hours ago Mommy had sudden onset severe nausea and lower back pain. After 2 hours of retching and cramping we called our midwife and she instructed us to come to the hospital. So after Nana arrived to watch big brother, here we are again at YRMC’s Women & Children’s services department. Holly is in triage right now (I’m not allowed in yet) but soon I will be with her and we will know what is up. I will do my best to keep everyone posted.

Not sure where your money is on the baby pool, but the safe bet is on this Tuesday some time. Mommy has been having lots of contractions over the last week plus. Our midwife says everything is progressing towards delivery but our llittle Jordanette is not exactly where she needs to be to protect against cord prolapse. So, we are scheduled for labor induction this Monday night. That is, of course, unless she decides to come this weekend.
So we are waiting. Mommy is trying to relax. Jon Isaac is being his usual good boy self, enjoying himself out for lunch today and seeing the sights at the Yuma Children’s Art Festival downtown. Weather is AWESOME. He is also a good Hog, just like Mommy. WOO PIG SOOIE!!!

Jon Isaac likes to go to the cupboard and retrieve his own food.

Not sure what to say. . . In just under 18 months my son has achieved any man’s life dream, ultimate royalty status (as facilitated by Nana y Tata). All that’s missing is a beer, Doritios and the remote. I can’t wait for his language to develop so I can pick that brilliant brain and learn how he pulled it off.

Well, except Jon Isaac.  He is getting to play with Nana and Tata everyday.  They even took him out to a big lunch at Applebee’s today.  Of course the pics are on my phone and I’m typing this on my computer.  I will work on posting them later.

Mark has been working lots since his pharmacy is switching to a new computer system.  I have been working lots all of the sudden since I’m helping out at the rehab as the interim Director of Therapy until I go into labor or until they hire a new one.  It looks like it will be until little Malia decides to come.  It’s been fun and challenging stepping into that role again after being out of it for a little over a year, but I’m exhausted.  For that matter, so is Mark.  I’ve never been a procrastinator, but poor Malia doesn’t have all her stuff ready with all this working so I’m hoping she at least waits til her due date.

Jon Isaac is doing really well.  He is talking so much more.  He says bus, house, shoe, agua, truck, ant, moon, block, book, apple, meow, up, ball, Nana, Tata, Momma, Dada and tries to say lots of other things.  I’m sure I’m forgetting some of them.  He also understands so much in English and Spanish.  He’s been very happy about playing outside since it cooled off this week.  He still likes watching sports on tv and pretending to kick the ball while he’s watching (even if it’s baseball).  He will be 18 months this month!  He loves my ipad and is getting better at the matching games on it.  He still loves reading books and balls, but has most of his attention focused on trains and trucks these days.

We are excited about Malia coming in November.  So far she’s measuring the size of an average baby (not like our big Jon Isaac).  Everything is looking good.  Less than 6 weeks til the due date!  Her nursery is coming together slowly.  It’s very light pink and green with butterflies, birds, owls and trees.  Jon Isaac really likes playing in her room and plays with his own baby doll in there.  He takes the doll and puts it in the swing or vibrating chair or picks up the doll and pats it.  I’m hoping he is this sweet to Malia.

Anyway, I just thought I’d post since we haven’t in a while.  That’s all for now.  We will try to do better and get some pics up.

With just about 2 months left before her due date, Malia let Mommy and I take some ultrasonic snapshots of her (with the help of Kenny the technician of course) She seemed wonderfully cozy in her home on two legs and did not want to move much from her restful position in Mommy’s womb. She must have been in the middle of her siesta because the other 23 hours of the day she does cartwheels.
Anyhow, definitely a girl and looking great. Both Holly and I think she looks just like her brother. The nose is a perfect match. And speaking of looking great, how about that Mommy’s belly, just beautiful!
We both can’t wait to meet our darling daughter. Jon Isaac has no idea what is headed his way. For that matter, nor do I. But in the words of Super Chicken, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it. (I can hear the Googling now).

This photo is too adorable not to post. Jon Isaac spent the day with Nana y Tata and really enjoyed hanging out in the yard to witness the afternoon storm that rolled through town. Strong wind, awesome thunder, and lightening were on the menu today. My heart melted when Nana sent us this photo at work. What a big boy.

Sorry for the delay in updates.  Thanks to Mark we at least have some resent pics up.  It’s been so hot here and poor Jon Isaac has been confined to the indoors lots.  However, we have had an opportunity to swim in the 95 degree pool water once it’s shaded.

This week and most of last week, I have had Jon Isaac since his Nana and Tata have been out of town.  I think he has enjoyed being with me.  He sits on the floor and pats the ground beside him to make sure  I know he wants me to sit beside him.  He loves the toy trains that used to belong to his cousin Noah.  We don’t have room to keep them out all the time so they come in and out of the box about 5 times a day.  He is really good about helping put them up after he plays with them for a while.  I think it is rubbing off on other things.  For example, yesterday we were letting him walk in the grocery store and take the groceries to the buggy from the shelves.  We were walking down the aisle and a box was laying on the floor.  So JI picked it up and handed it to the man standing there.  Thankfully, it was someone who worked there.

So Mark and I finally got him to fall asleep in the crib instead of rocking him to sleep.  He had always woken up at 5 am wanting to be held.  Then on some nights he would wake up at other times of the night and want to be held.  We’ve pretty much done this since he was born.  I knew that all the books said he would sleep better if we could teach him how to fall asleep on his own.  However, it was just always hard because he would cry so much when we would try to put him in the crib awake.  He would get so hysterical that he would get sick to his stomach.  Well, a few weeks ago, we decided to work on it again.  We would pick him up sometimes if he was hysterical, but for the most part he would just whine while we would gently hold him down.  Around the second week, it finally worked.  It felt like a miracle.  However, what feels like the bigger miracle is that he hasn’t woken up in the night since and he has been sleeping til about 6:30 or 7:15!!!!  I know he must be getting much better sleep too!

The other thing I want to brag about it his swimming.  We had gotten him comfortable in the water.  He would even put his face in and try to blow.  I had put him under a couple times, but he wouldn’t close his mouth and would sometimes choke.  Well, this past weekend we were at my friend Kate’s house.  She and her whole family are great swimmers, she and both her sisters played water polo in college, and she teaches swim lessons to children.  We were just visiting and it was very informal, but she had him for less than 5 minutes and he was jumping off the side and going under.  And smiling the whole time!!  She’s awesome!  We were so proud.  We went back to our pool yesterday and he was initiating jumping off the side on his own.  How fun!

In less braggy news, we have food issues.  This summer he had started eating everything!  I could feed him veggies or whatever.  Well the past few days all he wants is cheerios in milk.  I tried to get him to eat what I wanted him to, but he refused.  So I did online research and it looks like I need to relax and not get into a power struggle.  I just can’t help but have flashbacks of eating cereal at dinner pretty much my whole young life while my family was eating lasagna or pizza.  I know Mark was very picky too.  So yes it is payback.

In other baby news…..Looks like we will officially name her Malia Nicole.  We went back and forth on the middle name, but Nicole sounded the best.  She is measuring much smaller than JI at this point and I am too.  I’m about 10 lbs lighter and my belly is measuring right where it should instead of 8 weeks ahead like with JI.  So I’m hoping for a really quick delivery with just 4 pushes.  Yes, I’ve had a couple friends that only pushed 4 times so I know it can be done.  I just want to say…”Oh, it was just such an easy delivery”

That’s all for now, JI just woke up.  Got to go read some books to the little guy while he wakes up slowly.

So what do you do to avoid cabin fever and entertain a spunky 16 month old when the high is 117 outside (only 18% humidity for our curious family in the South)? . . . There’s the very nice and cool Yuma County Library

And, of course, SHOPPING!! Nothing like a buggy full of activity to pass the scorching hours of the day. Firetrucks and anything with sirens are toys of choice these days.

Here’s some photos since we haven’t posted in so long. Fun with family in the mountains outside of Las Vegas a few weeks ago. During the trip JI decided he loved sunglasses, including Mommy’s and Aunt Lisa’s.

Today Jon Isaac got to almost pet horses for the first time. He got a little nervous once he was close so he was less willing to pet them. He was the one who saw them coming down the beach first and started grunting and then clicking like you would call a horse.
Yesterday, we went to a 4th of July parade in the next town over, Cloverdale. The parade was lead by the town’s most famous cow who was being walked by Miss Cloverdale. It was a really cute town and parade. JI didn’t really appreciate the loud honks of the fire engine though.

Had a delightful visit over lunch & beers with Joe & Jan. They recently retired from the hospital in Yuma to Seaside on the northern Oregon coast. They have longtime ties to Oregon separated by a 25 year stint in Yuma. I have very little Oregon experience but we met here in Pacific City where none of us have been. The Pelican had some tasty beverages and good food. The conversation and company was a wonderful bonus in this vacation. Thanks Pauli’s for driving these 70+ miles down the 101 just to visit. And a belated thank you for your service to YRMC an my home town.

Overcast skies, a chance of rain and the beach . . . It’s the Oregon way. Hitting the beach on the Oregon coast means you might need a jacket. Mommy and JI are at the top of the dune separating our house from the beach. Behind them is A haystack rock (there are others). It took a bit but JI took to the sand just fine, though walking in the soft sand is a little uncertain.

So here are some pics from the phone from yesterday.

Just thought he looked cute.

We are currently hanging out relaxing at Aunt Amanda and Sue’s until we drive over to Pacific City once everyone gets around.
We’ve been having a great time. In Seattle, we went to the Children’s Musuem and then the piers and then to a nice seafood dinner with our friends Alyssa, David and their son Jack. And the three of us went to the Space Needle, Pike’s Place Market, and the aquarium. Our hotel was nice and the lobby looked right onto the water since the whole hotel was on a pier.
On the drive down to Portland, we stopped to see my friend from high school and her family. We all went to see the state capital building in Olympia and then a nice lunch. We counted and I believe it’s my 24th one to visit.
Then last night my mom, brother, sister and their families all met here. It was really nice to see everyone and I think we are all looking forward to the week.
Jon Isaac is doing really well adjusting to al the new things each day. He has really seemed to enjoy all the kids he is around and loves the dog, Sydney. Thankfully, Sydney is very tolerant of his rough petting.
Here are some pics in Seattle. We haven’t downloaded past that yet.

Tons of steel, a 360 degree view, 520 feet up in the air and what blows JI away about the Space Needle . . . the concrete balls on the ground. Well at least they are about 30 degrees cooler than back home.

JI (and mom & dad) off to visit friends, family and 2 new states for JI. So far so good, must be the San Diego air.

Yesterday was Nana and Uncle Chad’s birthday and I know Jon Isaac wish he could have celebrated with both. We hope Licha and Chad both had great days. Jon Isaac did. He went to storytime at the library, fed himself watermelon for the first time and cheese for about the fourth time this week and ended the day with family dinner where he got to stare at lit birthday candles and hear the happy birthday song again. I’m sure he thinks he has a birthday every month.

Here are the pics.

I’m writing this post from my new iPad that Mark got me for our anniversary. I’ve been so excited about it. However, I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to use it around Jon Isaac. Last night I was letting him play games on it before bed. It kept his attention over 30 minutes as he tapped on different animals and such. Them when I finally told him it had to say bye bye, he was quite unhappy. Anyway, it’s nice to know we have a new toy for the plane this weekend. I’ll just have to teach him that sometimes it’s Mommy’s toy, too.

We are looking forward to our Washington and Oregon trip. I’m actually packing today to see how many bags we will need. It’s hard to pack for 60 degree days when it’s 110 outside. I can’t even imagine what that feels like. You can also pack so much less when going to hot weather because the clothes are smaller and you don’t need bulky jackets. Anyway, we are excited to have a break from the heat.

I’ve been home lots with Jon Isaac lately because the hospital has not needed me to work much. So we have been going to the gym lots and playing in water when we are outside. I’m so excited that yesterday JI started putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles. He also doesn’t act scared in the water even when the water gets in his mouth. I haven’t put him under the water because I dont want to scare him. He doesn’t like to float on his back but he doesn’t want to lay on his back on dry ground either. He has still been spending time with his Nana and Tata, too. He loves going there. This morning we were playing with blocks in the living room and I asked him if he wanted to go to Nana and Tata’s and he dropped everything and took off toward the door.

So I’m going to try to post my first pics from the iPad so hopefully that come out.

Today is our 2 year anniversary.  Neither Mark nor I can believe it has only been two years.  We have really packed lots of stuff into a short period of time.  We are looking forward to many more happy years together.

I haven’t been posting much since I’ve been feeling so puny with this pregnancy.  So I thought I’d give you updates on what we have been up to.

In May we went to Wyoming to see Mark’s brother Bill and our nieces.  They had moved up there earlier in the year and we wanted to go check out their new stomping grounds.  While we were there we went to see the state capital building since one of my hobbies is visiting all the state capital buildings.  We also went into the mountains to play in the snow.  Overall, we had a great visit with the family.  On that Monday, Mark, JI and I flew to Phoenix and then JI and I went without Mark to Arkansas.  It was nice to see all the family and JI had another 1 year birthday party for the Arkansas crew.  He seemed to really enjoy himself, but I think his favorite was the balloons that were all over the ground.  Jon Isaac continued to perfect his walking while there.  I guess I hadn’t mentioned that he took his first steps in April when his Magga was in Arizona for a visit.  Jon Isaac and I were both happy to get back home to our beds and to Daddy.

Some other things we have been up to is going to a gym with trampolines, a foam block pit, big mats and bouncy walkways, etc.  Jon Isaac really likes it.  We go in the morning for about an hour with other kids 5 and under.  His favorite thing to do is knock over this big round forms (not sure what they are called) or throw the foam blocks around.

We visited the zoo and beach in San Diego.  Jon Isaac really seemed to like seeing the animals more than we even thought he would.  He would point and grunt at some animals and beat his chest (like a gorilla) when he saw bears or monkeys.  He even paid attention to the snakes and lizards in the aquariums.  The beach was fun, but due to traffic we didn’t get to spend too much time there before it was time for him to eat and then nap.  He did get his lunch on the beach and ate lots of sand I’m afraid.  He did really well sleeping in the hotel and traveling in the car.  The cutest thing was on Saturday when he went out to eat with us.  There was another baby about his age in a highchair through the window.  He kept waving and blowing kisses at her and everyone else at the table throughout all of dinner.  He would smile and squinch his nose when they would wave back.

Other things Jon Isaac is doing now…He makes sounds for the following animals: sheep, chicken, snake, elephant, cow, bee, bear (same grunt he does for elephant), and f sound for dog, and beats his chest for gorilla.  He says dada, mama, tata, si (for outside), another s sound for snack, ba for ball or baba if he is talking about a particular ball like football or soccer ball, s sounds for shoes and socks, and up.  He finally started eating textured food last week.  I’m talking about any kind of table food.  He would eat his pureed food and crackers, but if you tried to give him anything else he would turn his head and start spitting before you even got it in his mouth.  After lots of trying and distraction, I finally snuck in food and he is eating it, but mostly if it comes in a little container.  If it is off our plates, he will still snub food every now and then although he did eat some cheese and chicken off our pizza last weekend.  He is mostly very happy and laughs at people and seems to like seeing other little kids.  Oh and I almost forgot that today he was doing the following things in his car seat during “if you are happy and you know it”.  He would clap his hands, and throw his legs in the air for stomp your feet, and he would pat his head.  It was really cute and he would clap at the end and laugh.

Okay, I think that’s all for now.  I will try to post some pictures from my phone.

Just in case you haven’t heard yet……We are having a girl!  I know these things can be wrong, but it seemed like a clear shot.  So we are going with it.  My sister is excited because she is almost completely through crocheting a quilt for a girl (she was pretty confident).  It seemed that everyone that guessed had said girl.  We are excited to start planning the nursery and picking a name now that we know.  We just hope she likes balls because Jon Isaac has lots of them and is obsessed.  He even claps his hands when there is basketball on TV and wants to touch the balls in a soccer poster on his Nana and Tata’s wall everyday.

Late Friday Mommy and JI decided they felt like an impromptu trip to San Diego. Got a nice deal on a hotel from Hotwire and a good night’s sleep (relatively speaking).

After a room service breakfast we decided that a visit to the San Diego Zoo was a good idea. Currently on a JI food break, it has been fun so far. JI seems to enjoy the animals, the cool weather and all the people. Here’s a few photos from our zoo day so far including a guy in a bear suit eating bamboo (ok it’s an actual panda, the female of the 3 here in San Diego, which are 3 of the 11 total in the US)

36 degrees and the snow is starting to fall in Laramie, Wyoming. Strange voluntary trip in May for the jordan jungle you might think but a quick chill before the Yuma heat sets in is not so strange an idea. More importantly we get the wonderful, albeit short, opportunity to visit Bill, Jordyn And Cande who moved up here recently. Pictures coming soon…

He has been hugging a lot lately, feet, towels, Mommy and even sometimes Daddy. Very adorable. Here is video of a slightly unusual fetish, hugging barns…

Well, we finally took Jon Isaac to have his hair cut. We were waiting until he was a year and the timing was perfect since Magga got to be there. He sat in the chair for about 15 seconds before he decided he wanted his mom. So I held him through the whole thing. Luckily Kari, our hairstylist/weather channel celebrity, could cut on the move. She even spiked it with some gel at the end. His Tia Amy filmed the whole thing so some of you may get to watch the show. Here’s our big boy.

Jon Isaac got his one year shots yesterday and has been a little grumpy today. So when he woke up early from his nap I decided to hold him so he could sleep a little longer. So I decided this was a good time to officially announce our pregnancy on our blog. Most of you have known for a while so I’m sure this is no surprise. So here are some updates regarding our new inchworm.

It is an inch and has a heartbeat. Yesterday Mom got to go with me to my checkup and we got to see it moving it’s tiny arms and legs. I’m officially 10wks and 3 days pregnant but it’s measuring about 5 days smaller. They don’t change the due date unless it’s 8 days off. So official due date us Nov 14th. I’ve been very very sick with this one. Which is why I had to cancel my trip to Arkansas and why my mom flew out here instead. In going to attempt another trip home in May which is close to when I am supposedly going to feel better.

We are really excited and nervous Yes, we will find out the sex, but neither of us has a preference. Jon Isaac and this one will be about 19 months apart. No we do not plan to get sleep anytime soon.

I will try to post a pic of the ultrasound after Jon Isaac wakes up.

Here are some pictures from Jon Isaac’s party…

Jon Isaac is one today and I think Mark and I are in disbelief.  The year has flown by like everyone said it would.  It seems it would have gone slower since we seemed to be pretty much awake for all of it.  Mark and I have taken everyone’s advice and cherished each moment.  We watch him play and stare at him while he sleeps.  It has been so much fun watching him learn.  When we look back at the pictures from just a year ago, we can’t believe it’s the same baby.  Speaking of babies, I read today that a one year old is officially a toddler and not a baby.  Now that made me sad and proud all at once.

Today Mark bought a day sponsorship on NPR in honor of Jon Isaac’s birthday.  Every two hours they say “Today’s day sponsor is Jon Isaac Jordan.”  Then they go on to wish him a happy first birthday from the radio station.  I was so excited to listen to it and then what was weird is that I cried when I heard it.  I suppose it’s a mixture of pride and all the other emotions of him turning one.  I have played it twice now for Jon Isaac and cheered at the end and he claps and smiles with me.  I keep singing happy birthday to him all day (Mark and already sang it to him 4 times before they came to get me out of bed this morning).  Anyway, at the end of the song he blows.  Well, at least he caught on that he supposed to blow after the song, but not in time to blow out the candle for his party last weekend.

So his party last weekend was great and we really owe all our thanks to Nana and Tata for pulling it together.  There were about 11 kids and 30 adults.  It was absolutely beautiful (sunny and upper 60s).  I will put some pictures.  One of the best stories of the party was the cake.  In case you are not familiar with the food aversion that my sister and I have, I need to explain a little of our neurosis.  We really hate for people to play with food or to have food on their face.  This includes babies.  I really don’t know where the tradition of a baby smearing food all over them comes from (I think I’ll look that up in a minute), but my sister and I are in the minority and really hate this tradition.  In technical terms, it grosses us out.  Yes, even on our own children.  While my brother did not suffer from this (he has let his kids feed themselves from the git go), my sister and I feed our kids and wipe the excess off their mouth.  So even on my niece Jana’s first birthday, she was fed a small piece of cake.  I know some of you are thinking this is awful, but Jana is a very happy child and has no bad memory of any of her birthday parties.  So with that small preview into our mental history, I have to say I was warning everyone that I was not going to let Jon Isaac dive into his cake and smear it all over his face.  I was met with many protests, but I stood my ground.  Well, right before it was time to do the cake part of the party, I decided to bring Jon Isaac inside and take a picture of him sitting by his cake.  I have pictures of myself sitting on the table beside my cake since I was a little girl so I wanted to continue this tradition with Jon Isaac.  So Mark sat him by the cake (see where this is going?) and Jon Isaac was looking at us and not even paying the least attention to the cake.  Mark stepped back to get out of the picture and WHAM!  Jon Isaac’s left hand came crashing down taking with it a huge handful of cake.  Now since I had brought him inside, it was only Amy, Mark and Licha witnessing this.  Amy said I had a look of horror on my face (which really amused her).  As we were trying to clean his hand, there went the right one into the cake.  Aye, aye, Aye!  A side note was that after we had cleaned his hands and safely removed him from the cake, we noticed to pieces of candy on the cake right in front of the gaping holes.  We realized that he had had a piece of candy in each hand from the pinata and when he went to get the cake, the candy flew out of his hand and landed on the cake.  Well you can imagine, that although most of the family and friends didn’t witness this, Amy quickly ran to tell them the story and everyone laughed at my expense.  He still didn’t smear it all over his face (Good boy Jon Isaac!).

I’ll work on posting some pictures tonight.  I don’t have time right now since he is about to be up from his nap and I wanted to get this article up before his birthday is over.

We signed the permission slip to allow the deans of University of Nana y Tata to take JI on a field trip. The weather has started to warm (as it is apt to do in our part of the world) and it was a great day to be outside. Nana y Tata took our boy to the Gateway park, right on the Colorado River. You can also see the Ocean to Ocean Bridge in The background. JI loves the outside and the report is that he had fun.

This came as a level 1 alert from JI. His message said “Help, I think Mommy is losing it!”

Cool picture from University of Tata y Nana. JI enjoying outdoor activities as usual.

First I want to talk about all the hotmail accounts that are getting hacked. Over the last 6 weeks or so I have had multiple emails from at least 10 people I know that are obviously not from them. Most ask me to visit a link. This used to happen every now and then. At first it was confusing. It was an email from a known friend and the first couple times stupid me clicked the link which ended up going to some ad for Viagra or weight loss. Anyway, I would get an email a couple days later from this friend saying their account had been hacked. So now I can recognize these emails right away. The problem is I keep getting them from people. I started paying attention to what kind of account the person has and they are always hotmail. The people I have talked to usually have moved on to new accounts and don’t use hotmail anymore. This makes me think I should probably figure out if my old hotmail account is still active. What’s funny is that the reason I quit hotmail was due to all the spam, while my yahoo account let’s some junk mail through, my gmail account never has.

Okay, so I apologize that all our pics are from our phones but taking them from our camera and posting them is a much slower process. Here are some pics from story time at Barnes and Noble and of cousin Nic and Jon Isaac.

Driving tatas truck is serious business;-)

“He’s crying right now because I made him get down,” reports the intervening authority.  In what can only be described as wilful intent to death-defy, our familiar bandit pushed the box across the floor to the wagon on his own, an act clearly a violation of the Infant Behavior Code. Officer Mommy had to restore order. Said Officer Mommy, “Not on my watch!” The bandit was released with a warning.

Here was the pic from University today

Jon Isaac and I are having our afternoon siesta. He’s actually asleep. We are still having a blast in Tucson. Last night Jon Isaac went with us to the hotel restaurant “javelina cantina” and we got to sit outside in the 68 degrees (yes we bundled up) and JI sat in his first restaurant high chair. He did great even though the food took a while. He even turned around to wave at the table of girls behind us a few times.
Last night he slept with us because I was worried about him waking up and being scared. I don’t think I told you that yesterday. He woke up about halfway through his nap and he was facing the opposite direction of me. He immediately cried out in a kind of panicked cry. As soon as I put my hand on him to reassure him I was there he fell back asleep. Anyway, he did pretty good in the bed. Around 2 he was flopping and flipping and he kept hitting his head on the headboard. So I decided to change his diaper since this is usually when we change it at home. He fell asleep while I was changing him and I just moved him back to the middle where he was finally sleeping more soundly than before. Speaking of sleep, it just occurred to me that we forgot to mention that he slept all night Thursday night. 8pm to 6am. We couldn’t believe it. Mark went in there at 6 to get him. We were so happy, but I suppose with the trip we forgot to mention it.

Anywho, today Jon Isaac was up at 5:30 but we were both awake around 5 listening to him flop around again. So we got up and ordered room service breakfast (our favorite). We played for a while the Jon Isaac and I went down to the pool and played on the cabanas. After our morning nap we got ready to go to the zoo. During this time Jon Isaac managed to get stuck under a table while trying to get to a water bottle. It was funny to me, but not to him.
The zoo was great. I slathered him in sunscreen and was very excited for him to wear the sun hat Magga sent him. He actually kept it on the whole time. The zoo was small but it was perfect. The animals seemed to be closer so most of them Jon Isaac noticed. He kept reaching out and making his “I want that noise” that actually sounds like “dat”. He especially wanted the little squirrels that were on the walking path and the peacock on the aviary that was less than two feet from him. Near the end I was worn out since I had to take him out of the stroller most of the time for him to see. I think he enjoyed it.

Here are pics.

Our family is in Tucson this weekend for Mark to attend a pharmacy conference. So this morning we got ready as fast as we could and hit the road. Mark sat in the back seat with Jon Isaac for most of the trip. This helped Jon Isaac’s patience with being in the car seat. You may recall that he’s never liked his car seat (although he tolerates it better than his cousin Jana did) and true to form he only slept 30 minutes before waking. So he is in a bit of a sleep deficit, but you wouldn’t have known it once we got to the hotel room. He has had a blast crawling all over the place to explore. We stopped at Walgreens just before we got here and we couldn’t resist buying him a bunch of balls of various sizes and he loves them. Mark and I were laughing about our redecorating that happened. Moving the desk, strategically moving chairs to cover outlets, and covering the floor with blankets (this after JI had black hands and feet from the carpet). The room has a shower n no bathtub so after Mark went down to the conference I wrestled with him for his sink bath. He kept turning the water on and reaching for everything. We had water everywhere but he seemed to have fun. I finally got him clothed and fed and rocked to sleep. He’s laying here beside me sleeping deeply. I love listening to him breath.

Here are pics from our stop in Dateland.

JI has fully embraced his divine right to explore and challenge the limits of good sense in the interest of enriching personal development, a.k.a. he is being a normal kid.
In this case JI quite diligently turned his less than 1 day old stroller over so he could climb up it to get to the wheels. The whole process took less than a minute. Mommy caught him in the act of going from ground level to precarious at a breakneck speed. We are so proud of how fast his brain works, plus it keeps it on our toes watching out for the next death defying stunt.

Jon Isaac has been refusing to eat unless he has a toy to play with or if I’m entertaining him.  When he gets tired of a toy he won’t open his mouth anymore until he gets something new.  As long as he is playing with a toy, he will open his mouth wide for the food.  It’s been quite the challenge, but has tested my creativity.

This week I have Jon Isaac since Bill and Licha are out of town. We have had lots of fun. Jon Isaac has finally past the phase of crying if I start to leave the room he is in. Before I couldn’t go to the kitchen where he could still see me without him having a meltdown. Now it’s been fun because he follows me into whatever room I’m in and entertains himself. Usually by standing up to see what he can reach. He has really tested our childproofing. Today we went outside while I sprayed off the concrete and cleaned his ducky pool. He was soaking wet by the end and happy as can be. Toward the end of our time outside I was chasing after him to get rocks out of his mouth while he was making a beeline for a cactus.

My friend Kate came over with her little ones yesterday those pics will have to come later since they are on camera. I’m very excited that two wonderful friends, Kate and Vanessa will both be back in Yuma by this summer.

Here are a few pics from the week.

What the . . . a Jordan on ice?! Part of the clan fled the desert to Wyoming. Here is Cande at the ice rink. We miss Bill, Jordyn and Cande but now have a new place to visit.

Now that Jon Isaac is on the go and picking everything up, I’m really starting to realize how much of my hair is everywhere.  I’m actually having serious thoughts about wearing a hair net around the house.  :)

Jon Isaac could point to his nose one day couple weeks ago, but quit doing it just about the same day he started.  Well, today we had ear down all day.  We will see if he loses it too.

Sleeping was better last night, but just a little.  He didn’t wake up until 2.  Then from 2 on he would cry if we put him down.  So Mark and I took turns holding him until it was time to get up.  Not sure what the strategy will be tonight.  We gave him Motrin again.  I may go back to feeding him a little.  Maybe he is getting hungry.  ??

It’s amazing how much he continues to learn.  He knows what his magnets are and even put them on the fridge when I told him to.  It’s fun to ask him where something is.  You can see his brain thinking.

I’ll be home with him all week.  Nana and Tata will be getting Bill and the girls settled in Wyoming.

Could he be getting molars? JI has all 8 front teeth now but the last two nights he started the no sleeping without being held. He has typically only done this when teething or sick. I stuck my finger back there and think I feel a bump but it could be my imagination. Tonight we are trying Motrin instead of Tylenol. After all he is half me and Tylenol is a joke to most of my family members when looking for pain relief. Unless of course it comes mixed with a heavy dose of caffeine and aspirin (Excedrin).
Here a a few pics from the doctors office and University de Nana y Tata. Plus a hot air balloon on my way to work.

Today we were skyping with Magga (my mom).  Jon Isaac and I were on the floor and Mark was in the other room.  I suddenly thought Mark was shaking the couch and then I realized I wasn’t on the couch and there was no way he could shake the floor.  Aaahh!  ”Earthquake!” I yell as I scoop up Jon Isaac and run to open the back door to go outside.  By the time I get to the door, I don’t think the ground was still shaking, but I was completely distracted because now the screamer from our alarm was so loud from me opening the back door with the alarm set that I couldn’t think.  Any other door and I would have had a warning to turn the alarm off, but our back door is set up to just automatically set off the alarm.  So then I’m running to the alarm pad and then to the phone waiting on the alarm company to call.  Mom is still watching all this chaos and Mark has still not come to see what was going on.  I’m pretty sure I told the alarm lady that the earthquake had just “scared the shit out of me” and I didn’t think about the alarm when I was trying to escape.  Jon Isaac was just quietly along for the ride as I was running everywhere with the amazingly loud shreaking of the alarm.  What a good boy!  It was a few minutes after all of it was over that Mark finally came in the living room.  He had been washing his face and never even realized there was an earthquake and I suppose he just figured I had opened the back door again with the alarm on so didn’t feel the need to investigate (yes, this happens ever so often).

In other news, Jon Isaac is getting smarter every day.  He knows the following words “cup, ball, bottle, book, bath, toothbrush, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Snuffleupugus, foot, belly, block, Momma, Daddy, Nana, Tata, Ernie….that’s allI can think of”.  He can stand and scoot along the furniture.  He did let go a few weeks ago but fell on his face so he hasn’t done it again.  He still loves to take a bath and lately loves to put his hands in the running water and letting it splash in his face.  He can feed himself finger snacks.  He gives great open mouth kisses.  He loves his mom and is warming up to his dad.

That’s all for now.  Gotta go to bed.

We didn’t have time to post this the other day, but we ran into another person that was in the room when Jon Isaac was born. This was a midwife in training that was there learning from my midwife.

Also pictured is playtime with JI in the yard. He is now trying to push the wagon.

We ran into Kit while out running errands. She is a very
important person in JI’s life, she was the nurse who coached Mommy
and delivered JI 10 months ago. She had just come on duty a few
hours before and neither Mommy nor Jr. were in much of a condition
to remember her well. Daddy remembers her though and we were all
happy to have this impromptu reunion at the store.

Jon Isaac were on our regular afternoon wagon ride when we saw Kuba and Ollie out doing yardwork. Jon Isaac just watched as usual as Ollie pulled, pushed and rode in the wagon with him.

Still sick but you wouldn’t know it. Such a happy boy.

Our little guy has a cold. He has congestion, wet cough and low fever the past few days. We went ahead and took him to doc yesterday. She said his lungs were clear and ears were fine. So that’s good. Last night was rough. He woke up around 10 and neither Mark nor I could get him consoled. I’m pretty sure he was hungry since he didn’t eat much all day but he was too stuffy to breathe when he ate. So Mark, Jon Isaac and I all had Steam room time in the bathroom. We had to sing and play with toys to get him to stop crying. After all that he was clear enough to eat. He slept about an hour in the crib and then we held him the rest of the night in a reclined position so he could sleep. Yes, we had inclined the mattress, but it didn’t work. It was probably that he still woke up and just wanted to be held. Throughout the night he would reach to touch me to make sure I was still there. At least he got sleep.

Last weekend he had a playmate with Sarah. Shady and I took them on a wagon ride, but Sarah really didn’t go for sitting. They were really cute together.

I’m going to post that pic.

Other updates…JI got his 7th tooth through this week. He is 9 days from being 10 months old. We are going to do two 1 year parties. First one on April 9th at his Nana and Tata’s and 2nd one on the 16th in Arkansas.

Superbowl pick is yet to be determined.

I AM WITH MY BUDDY CAN U TELL? Even though Tata is dodging the photo he is Jon Isaac’s best friend. Thanks for being such a great play date Tata, we all love you.

Today grinding corn. The time with Nana y Tata is always so fun and full of discovery.

I’m still trying to get Christmas pics up. Jon Isaac’s sleep went all haywire starting in Dec. He got 4 teeth from Dec 2-23. I could see the top two starting to come in on the 2nd and actually feel them and then his poor gums got so swollen that we couldn’t feel them again until the 16th. On the 16th when I was looking in his mouth by holding it open to see his top teeth I was shocked to see another of his bottom teeth must have come in at the same time. Poor thing got 3 teeth over 2 weeks. Then the next week another top one pushed through. So he now has 6 teeth in all with a 7th working it’s way out on top right now.
His sleeping has continued to be bad and I think it has been a combo of the teeth, his separation anxiety that took off in Dec, his cold that he got in Arkansas and the fact he was in a new environment for two weeks over the holidays. We even had him sleeping with us for a bit which seemed to help things in Arkansas but not since we’ve been back. So two nights ago it was back to the crib and it went well. Then I had the bright idea that we needed to feed him less at night since according to all the books he is supposed to be able to go all night without food. Well the poor thing was up from 130-4 wanting food. I finally gave in at 4. I’m not sure what the plan will be tonight but he did take a bigger morning bottle today.
Anyway, with all that and Christmas we have neglected the blog. Good news is we have pics. So I’ll keep working that way.
Mark bought me a portrait lens for my camera. So at 7:30 this morning we were having a backyard photosession. I have found that getting a good portrait is harder than it looks.
Jon Isaac has had a blast being back at his Nana & Tata’s when I’ve been working. It’s the only time he doesn’t cry for me or that he will easily go to someone else. He actually waves bye when I leave without so much of a peep of protest. Compare that to when Mark and I are playing with him in the living room and if I get up to walk out he has had meltdowns. However, he is consistently saying da da and reaching out for his dad. If you ask him where momma is he isn’t always sure. I thought he said ma ma to me last night though but he does make a lot of m noises when he’s upset so it could have been an accident.

Here is a pic of JI in the wagon his Magga got him for Christmas. He takes a ride to the mailbox in it everyday. I sent the pic to his Magga right when I took it and she sent a text back telling me it was 70 degrees here.

Outside gardening with his Tata. He loves the outside.

JI has been a little under the weather, but today he seemed better.

Jon Isaac is asleep but I dressed him in his new Arkansas shirt his Dad bought him for his first Ark sugar bowl game. Here we are earlier today.

The last few days the tongue has been coming out all day
and night. Looks like a slug trying to escape. My theory is it
helps with balance and he is planning a game winning drive to the
hoop. Mommy thinks maybe he likes how his new teeth feel since it
always sticks out on that side.

Outdoor concert at Nana y Tata’s. You can tell by the hood that it is a frigid 70 degrees.

A night out at the Yuma Rehab Christmas party

Exploring the flora of Nana & Tata’s back patio

Jon Isaac is geting both top teeth at the same time.  You can see where they are coming in.  There have been little spots that look like teeth breaking through but after 4 days of this I still can’t actually feel a tooth.  I though I did a couple days ago, but I think his gums have gotten more swollen making the tooth harder to feel.  Not to mention he really tries to bite you hard with those bottom teeth when you put your hand in his mouth.  We’ve resorted to holding him with his head upside down and making him laugh to try to get a look.  I tried to take a flashlight for a better look, but he was far too fascinated with the flashlight for that to work.  It was really cute.  I let him hold it and move it around, but then he wanted to eat it so the fun had to stop.

I can tell he feels bad.  He has been biting his hands some when you try to put him to sleep so we’ve been giving him Tylenol.  Today I tried the frozen wet washcloth since he definitely won’t put a frozen teether in his mouth.  He took the washcloth and put it to his mouth and proceeded to look at me like I had lost my mind.  He threw the washcloth and then I think out of fascination kept picking it up and putting it back to his mouth.  I would try to bite it again and get the same “this is terrible” look on his face.  I let it thaw a little and made it pliable and a little corner to fit into his mouth.  I showed him to bite it, but still no dice.  He didn’t want anything to do with putting it in his mouth.  The worst part of this for us, other than the fact that he won’t nap longer than 20-45 minutes unless you hold him is that he has gone back to biting during nursing.  Except now it’s not at the end when the milk slows down.  He opens his mouth like he wants to eat and about 30 seconds in he just decides to bite me.  I’ve tried what the websites say about telling him no bite and stopping the feeding, but he just seems okay with stopping and just looks around for something to play with.  I thought that he may not be hungry, but he will take a bottle.  So with that said, I’ve been feeding him bottles which is okay except I still have to pump.  Which would also be okay except now he either doesn’t want to be put down or he is okay with being put down and commando crawls his way into some mischief.  For those who don’t know, I can’t just stop pumping and go help him.  It messes up the flow.  So today I fed him bottle and then a little banana.  I set him down to play while I pumped.  He crawled over to the tile and spit up banana.  He then proceeds to play in it and although gross, I think that it’s not hurting him and it’s more important to produce milk for him to eat.  Except there was a lot of it and when he then tried to commando crawl his way elsewhere, he was sliding on all the banana and couldn’t get anywhere.  This led to his new “mmmm” cry and looking at me like “help”.  Yesterday, while I was pumping he had made his way over to a box that was standing on it’s end.  I was worried that he may grab it and it fall.  So I resorted to making really loud squeal sounds or whistles every time he looked at it so that he would be distracted.  It worked even though anyone watching would have thought I was crazy.

So I’m sure that may be TMI for many of you reading, but if you know me at all, you know that I tend to overshare.

So I mentioned a few times that he is “commando” crawling.  He his mostly pulling himself with his arms with a little leg action.  He is getting better at it every day.  He is able to get to anything he wants to now that is on the floor.  He has also figured out how to open the bottom drawer of my jewelry box and chest.  And the drawers in the chest are heavy so I was a little surprised.

That’s all for now.  Wish us luck on getting back to our normal little somewhat predictable guy.

Jon Isaac and his parents are doing well. It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to give a long update.  Jon Isaac decided to stop sleeping at night for a while so Mark and I were exhausted for a few weeks there.  He’s back to just getting up once to eat.  I’ve been home with him more and it’s been lots of fun.  He seems to like sticking to his routine which is pretty good because I know throughout the day when he’s supposed to eat, sleep and play.  It’s gotten easier to put him down for naps.  He has two teeth, but it’s been over a month since his second one broke through and still no sign of a top tooth.  He has drooled constantly for the last few months so we can’t tell any difference.

He is really loving real food.  The only food that he consistently makes faces at is peas.  He will keep trying to eat them, but his face contorts and he shakes his head like he just has a bad taste and sometimes his right eye closes like he just ate a pickle or something.

He is rolling all over.  He can tall kneel if  I put him in that position.  The other day he pushed from side lying to sit without any help.  He can push up on his hands and get on his knees, but rarely does this at the same time.

His favorite thing to do is be carried around the house and touch everything on the walls (Thanks to his Nana and Tata )

He has started babbling more although it’s still mostly when he’s sleepy.  He can say “da”, “ba”, and he’ll make an “f” sound under his breath.  Recently when he’s protesting he starts with an “m” sound first.  My friend Shady says that Sarah was doing this as well with the “m” sound when mad.

Speaking of Shady and Sarah.  They came over for a playdate.  The first 5 minutes, Sarah just looked at Jon Isaac and kept laughing really hard.  Jon Isaac gave her his signature blank stare.  He’s just 5 days older than her, but quite a bit bigger.  She’s really cute and petite.

Mark and I walked over to our neighborhood park a few times and took JI on the swings and slide.  He really seems to enjoy it.  I also took JI to Mark’s work one day on our way to Old Navy.  We got some cute pictures of him with Mark’s coworkers and of him in Mark’s boss, Tom’s, chair.

Here are the pics

Swinging with mommy during halftime of Arkansas game.

JI wants to touch everything. Cant wait to see how the fully decorated tree fairs

Happy Thanksgiving! I wonder if the Pilgrims ate oatmeal cereal too?

Since we were up for a couple hours already we (Daddy & Junior) decided to go watch the hot air balloons launch this morning at sunrise. Every year the Caballeros de Yuma help put on the Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival and for the entire weekend hot air balloons can be seen crossing the sky (and sometimes your street) all around Yuma.

This morning Mommy had to work so we, the boys, took our Y chromosomes to Kennedy Park to watch the crews set up and launch their balloons. It was a chilly 53 degrees so Mommy bundled him up before she left and Daddy made sure he kept his socks on. Junior seemed to love it. He got to see and hang out with his Tio Mario who was working the event with many other Caballeros. He got to touch a couple gondolas and watch the crews unroll and fill their balloons. He saw and heard many burners let out tremendous flames as the balloons were filled. Then one by one they went up. For a brief few minutes the burners scared him & he cried a bit, but some distance fixed that. He even got to see a 110 foot tall bumblebee balloon. It was a great time for us. We were pooped (him literally) and back to sleep for the morning nap by 815am (him, not me).

Here are a few pictures from my antique cellphone. Mario took many with his fancy phone and I will post more when he e-mails them to me.

Trust me, we are happy

Up, up, and away

Sweater matches the balloons

LOVE MY SOCKS

Today Mark and I decided to try Jon Isaac out on a swing.  We typically don’t jostle him around too much since he still spits up all the time.  He did great though with no spitting.  I was also able to get a picture of him showing his two bottom teeth this week.

He has started pulling his crib bumper down to look for us to come into his room.  This week he started holding the bars like he was in jail.  With his discovery of where we will enter the room comes his crying for us all through the night when he wakes up.  We’ve had a rough couple weeks.  Mark has been awesome and the one who gets up with him the most so that JI doesn’t think he is going to get to eat.

West Wetlands Creative Playground

I just had to share this photo. He did so great during his “Fall photo shoot” and trust me, it is not easy to find Fall in the desert southwest. This is just one of the many photos taken but I have to say it is one of my favorites. Seeing this smile just makes me feel so good and I bet it makes you feel good, too.  Also makes it easier to get up at 4 in the morning with him.

Jon Isaac, you sure do earn your keep (and then some) by bringing constant joy to this family.

This has nothing to do with politics.  I just want our phone to stop ringing.  We normally let the home phone ring and let the answering machine pick up.  Poor John McCain really wants to talk to me, but I won’t answer so he keeps having to leave me messages.  Hello John…I don’t want to talk to you. (Of course I know it’s a robo call, but just play along)

Mark and I have resorted to having the phone beside us on the couch and when it rings one of us turns the phone on and right back off.