Cloth diapers are here!

And the verdict? We all love them! Isaac's bottom is so fluffy, which we just adore. The inside of the diapers is softer than some blankets we own. And his behind stays nice & dry through the night!

We couldn't be happier!

Mike & Ike

This is Mike.This is Ike.They are cousins born just 5 days apart. Their real names

are Michael & Isaac, but if you put their nicknames

together, they're Mike & Ike. Like the candy!

They played together (rather well I might add!) this weekend.

I'm so glad Isaac has a counsin to grow up with so close in age!

And I just had to show off Isaac's new talents:

The Rocky push-up.

Making faces at himself in the mirror.
Chasing Dad's belt, capturing it and then eating it to death.

Vegetable Soup

One of my all-time favorite meals when it's cold outside (and sometimes when it's not, too!) is homemade vegetable soup. If you know me, you know I'm a picky, picky eater, so it can't just be any vegetable soup. All that goes in is fresh zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, celery, broccoli, onion and a can of tomatoes. That's all that's allowed.


Richie, however, loves his Aunt Gayle's vegetable soup that has ground beef. So in our house, vegetable soup has two different meanings.

Anyway, back to my vegetable soup. I put all those great, healthy veggies in a pot and let it simmer and cook for however long I feel like it. Then I add a little chicken broth.

The next step is the key.

I then transfer the soup into a big plastic bowl, get out my immersion blender, and smush all those vegetables together.

Pureed vegetable soups is delicious! It tastes so different mushed, and by different I mean amazing. So if you don't have an immersion blender, go out and buy one (trust me, you want one, you can also make homemade milk shakes- yum!) and then make vegetable soup and puree it until it looks like baby food! You're welcome in advance!

Last year's snow v. this year's snow

I just remember that I had pictures of last year's snow. It's funny to look back at the snow that kept us home 2-3 days last year when, five days later, we still have more snow on the ground this year. It actually snowed the same week last year as it did this year. Maybe this will be a yearly tradition! & maybe they will start building snow days into our school calendar so that we don't have to lose days when we need a break big time in April and May.

The snow on our driveway and plants Jan 2010 The snow in our backyard Jan 2010

Snow in the backyard Jan 2011

Driveway & front yard Jan 2011

Front yard snow Jan 2011

Snow Days

We woke up on Monday to about 9 inches of snow. In Oxford. The most snow this town has ever seen!

You know what that means-- we were snowed in for a few days.

At first, Isaac didn't know what was going on. All he knew was that mom and dad were both home and Mickey Mouse was on tv.

Then Richie brought a bit of snow inside for Ike to check out. He picked it up in his hand and then politely put it right back down on the ground.

I ventured outside to take a few pictures of our backyard and the snow came up about halfway to me knees.

I think this picture does a good job of showing just how much snow we got.

The hill that would be covered with kids and adults in just a few hours. At one point they were so loud outside that I went to tell the kids to quiet down because Ike was napping. It was all adults!

My dad had to (his words) come over to shovel us out. He's a northerner-- you shovel the driveway and go on about your day. Too bad Oxford didn't plow any roads so...I could get out of my driveway but not go anywhere. I love my dad!

Ike had to check out the snow outside before deciding if he liked it or not.

Naturally my sweet baby liked the snow, like everything else in life!

He's such a happy baby!

Zooper

For a Christmas present, Isaac received a new stroller- a Zooper stroller. He loves it, as do his mom & dad.

The stroller is smaller than the Graco travel system we've been using, which means it is great for stores but doesn't have a lot of storage for big activities. Our standard is always what will we use when we go to Disney World. This is not a Disney stroller because of the lack of storage space.

It is, however, perfect for our day-to-day needs. Our Belk here has NO room to maneuver the stroller. Before you say, "Just go to another store then," you must realize Belk is our only store in Oxford. So, no other options. I have visions of calling someone everytime I go in that store because if I can't get my stroller through, how could someone in a wheelchair get around? Err, but that's a post for another day.

Back to the stroller-- I love the Zooper and, aside from the fact that our first package got lost, and our replacement stroller had brakes that didn't work, this third one is perfect!

I did have a difficult time deciding on the color but I'm glad we settled on this olive green. Perfect for boys & girls!

The stroller came with a "sleeping bag" (aka, that thing that wraps up baby's legs/lower body and keeps them warm in the cold-- see picture above), a sun shade, a rain cover (in my opinion, the best of the extras), a cup holder, and strap covers.

Milestones

On New Year's Day, Isaac finally figured out how to crawl forward. He'd been crawling backwards for over a month. He got pretty good at it, learning how to look back and crawl to where he wanted to go. Now that he can crawl in the right direction, he is much happier. It's easier for him to get to the toys he wants.

Richie & I are happy, believe it or not, as well because he can entertain himself even better. While you can't leave him alone for even a split second now, he doesn't need you to bring things to him when he gets bored. (Case in point, I type this as he plays with his blocks next to me. He got bored and just crawled over to his workbench. No mom needed!)
Just a few days later, Ike learned how to pull himself up to standing. We were getting ready for bed in his room, having "Naked Time" before we put his pjs on. I looked over and watched him pull himself up on some boxes that were stacked by his door. Now, all he wants to do is pull up on everything he can find-- the bookcase in our room, the coffee table, he even tried his bedroom door. He has pulled himself up in his crib so now it's time for mom & dad to remember how to lowered the mattress.

I feel like I wake up every day to a little boy who has grown or learned a new skill. He's changing so fast-- where did my little baby go!?

Finally pulled up all the way on the bookcase.

Trying to pull up on the speaker.

Trying to pull up on the door-- silly boy.
Pulling up on the coffee table.

He's already bumped his head once on the coffee table

so we always keep a watchful hand nearby to avoid those head

bumps in the future.

Up & trying to grab everything he's not supposed to.

Bath in the sink & wet rags

One morning Isaac woke me up with a blow out diaper at 5am. By 8 that morning he had 4 more blow outs (poor boy has been on 3 different antibiotics in the past 2 months-- his ear infections won't go away). Instead of bathing him in the tub, we decided to try the sink. He loved it! Now, everytime we go to the sink and turn on the water, he thinks it's bath time!

Poor Isaac has been teething pretty badly, trying to cut his top teeth. On a whim I got a washcloth (one of his, they're softer) and ran it under cold water (I didn't freeze it or put it in the fridge). I wrung it out and gave it to him. Best.teething.helper.ever.

He sucks it, chews it, pulls it out while biting it. It instantly helps! I do have to watch him like a hawk, though, because he likes to stuff the whole thing in his mouth and can choke himself. Otherwise it's fabulous. He carries it around like a dog toy-- in his mouth so his hands are free. Crazy boy!

Month 6

Six months was an active month: Isaac got his first two teeth (12/10/2010), met Santa, celebrated his first Christmas and New Years, started crawling (01/01/2011) and pulling up (01/04/2011). Time's passing way too quickly!



Somehow I put these in reverse chronological order. Oops!

Official 6 month pictures-- he melts my heart

Playing with Christmas presents

LOVE! My Dolphins fans

My mom woke up Christmas morning with the flu. She couldn't

get out of bed. It was sad to have Isaac's first Christmas

without my mom around but we had a nice time anyway.

Thank goodness Douglas was home because he saved

the day and cooked Christmas dinner. YUM!

Douglas hanging out with Isaac Christmas morning.

We could not believe it when we woke up to a white Christmas

in Oxford. It made Ike's 1st Christmas that much more special.

Isaac opening his gifts. We only got him a few things and

he enjoyed opening what he could.

Isaac's gifts-- Rot rocking horse from Mimi & Grandpa, carseat

from Grammy & Pawpaw, music table & see n say from Santa

and a few books.

Isaac trying to eat, er, kiss his cousin Michael (Ike is 5 days older).

We call them Mike & Ike (like the candy). Love this picture

with Granny & Pawpaw.

Reindeer Isaac, he's such a deer :)

Enjoying seeing the tree for the 1st time.

Working with Grampy on crawling. He was almost there at Christmas.

He crawled for the 1st time (forward, to be specific; he'd been

crawling backwards for almost a month) on 01/01/2011.

Playing with his new Rotweiler rocking horse.

Packing up my favorite gift of all time.

We started a tradition of buying an ornament for Isaac every year.

We also are going to buy one for ourselves that sums up

the year.

Isaac's weight lands him above the 100th percentile this month-- he's 21lb 10oz and 27in tall (50%).