Isaac is Two Months Old!

It's been a month of smiles! Isaac is a happy boy, and he's becoming more animated every day. He's starting to coo and "talk" more, and he has started to chuckle a little bit when something strikes him as funny. He is completely enamored with Noah and loves to watch him, and he likes to sit in the book nook with us when we read stories to Noah before bedtime. His naps are starting to get more organized, and he typically takes three long naps during the day, along with a number of cat-naps. He wakes up once a night to eat and typically sleeps pretty well at night. Here's a couple more pictures from today.

Our Christmas Gift

Family Picture

We used the tripod and snapped this family picture on Christmas day.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas began at 6am when Noah woke up with a cough and runny nose. We were concerned that he's coming down with a cold, but once he had breakfast in our bed (dry cheerios), he was fine.

We went downstairs to discover that Santa had left footprints in our living room! Our tree and stockings were bursting with presents, thanks to everyone who sent us gifts this year! Noah followed his string to find the best present ever: electronic drums! He has been playing them all day, and the best part is that there's volume control. The happy boy reluctantly went to take a nap, and he'll surely bound down the stairs to start playing with all his new toys soon.

Isaac has also had a good Christmas. So far, he's opened some great presents and taken three long naps. He found a monkey at the end of his string that he can sleep with as a pillow someday, just like Noah sleeps with his puppy pillow.

This is our first Christmas ever at home. We're enjoying our day and thankful that we didn't travel this year with Isaac. But, we're missing Mom and Dad and Dave and Stephanie and family in Arizona. We've had years and years of great Christmas memories in Arizona, and we're looking forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Here's some more Christmas pictures.

Happy Hannukkah!

We're a few days late, but we want to wish you a happy Hanukkah!

Squeaky Clean

Isaac loves taking a bath! He rarely cries and seems to really enjoy the warm water. We're currently bathing him in a bath chair (it's kind of like a little baby lounge chair) in the kitchen sink. Isaac's hair is still nice and thick, but it's starting to thin out and get a little lighter.

Nutella

This is what happened when Noah ate Nutella for the first time. It was a hit, to say the least!

Pop Quiz

Time for a pop quiz: Which baby is Noah, and which one is Isaac? Look carefully....

The main clue is that Isaac has so much dark hair, otherwise it would be very difficult to tell! The first picture is Noah, and the second picture is Isaac. They both have loved being held like this!

"I'm Up, Mommy!"

Noah still takes an afternoon nap on most days. Once in a while, however, he decides that he isn't going to take a nap. He usually cries for a while because he wants to come out of his room (we put up a gate during nap time), but then after a while he usually settles down and "reads" books to himself. The other day when he wasn't napping, he kept saying, "I'm up, Mommy!" over and over again. When I went upstairs to check on him, this is what I found - he was sound asleep in his book nook. When he woke up later and realized where he was, he laughed and laughed!

Napping Under the Christmas Tree

All Bundled Up

It's cold here in North Carolina (but not as cold as up north, of course! It's still getting into the 50's on most days), but it's usually not too cold to take a walk around the neighborhood and look at the fire station or go to the Harris Teeter. We just bundle up, and off we go!

Enjoying a Good Book

Isaac really loves the book 'Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See?' He lifts his head up soo high so that he can really take in the pictures!

Pouring

Noah has been having fun doing some Montessori-inspired activities in Tot School lately. He has been working a lot on pouring water, and he's become quite skilled. I filled up a seltzer can with water, and he practiced pouring it into two cups. Then, I put colored water in a little pitcher that he also practiced pouring. Of course, now that he can do it, he insists on pouring everything by himself. Sometimes that's just not a good idea (like pouring a gallon of milk!), and he gets quite upset with me. I often try to find real-life situations where he can help, and that seems to make up for it!

Off The Charts!

I snapped this perfect picture of Isaac while he was smiling at Noah this morning!

We went in for Isaac's one month well-check this morning, and he is officially off the charts, just as we had suspected. He weighs 13 pounds, 7.5 ounces (greater than 97th percentile), and he is 24 inches long (greater than 97th percentile). He's quite a big boy at 5.5 weeks old, isn't he? That explains why my back is so sore at the end of the day, and why only a few of his 0-3 month outfits still fit him. He is starting to wear mostly 3-6 month clothes now. We are so thankful that he is perfectly healthy and growing so fast!

Isaac is full of smiles these days, and it is a delight to see his eyes light up as he smiles with his whole face. He's getting really strong, and he rolled over for the first time last night. We were doing tummy time while Matt and Noah were reading stories and getting ready for bed, when Isaac started crying, arched his back, lifted his head up really high and rolled right over. It was awesome :-)

Whitewater Rafting Center

We all had a blast at the U.S. National Whitewater Rafting Center on Thanksgiving weekend. Mom Diamond, Matt, Noah, Isaac and I had fun watching while everyone went whitewater rafting. The boys all were very skilled at rock climbing, and they had a lot of fun on the two zip lines. It was a great way to spend a beautiful day. Here's the pictures.

Mommy's Boys

Blueberry Song

And now, a song about blueberries ("bu-bies"). Please clap afterwards!

Noah's Song About Pickles

The Lanigans gave Noah a guitar when they visited for Thanksgiving - what a perfect present! Noah had so much fun performing for our guests during the holiday. Here's his song about pickles (pronounced "ba-boos"). He's quite a performer, don't you think?

Writing M's and O's

Noah was having fun drawing on the dry-erase board when all of a sudden, he started writing M's and O's. How cool!

The Face of Potty Training

Noah has been potty training for the last few weeks, and things are really starting to come together! We talk about the potty all the time around here, sometimes it's all we talk about! Noah has been doing a great job of peeing in the potty for about three weeks now. We started by setting timer to remind him to go, but now he just takes care of it on his own. Matt has motivated me to be brave, so now Noah even wears his big boy underpants when we go out of the house. He only wears diapers at night and during naps. Well, the last thing we're working on is pooping in the potty. We promised Noah that when he poops on the potty, he can eat ice cream with sprinkles. You can guess from this picture what he did yesterday! Yeah Noah!!