Yes, I am actually writing a blog

We have completely ignored this blog. So sorry blog.

It has been a crazy few months, but I want to make sure I am better at capturing moments of our lives: things Isaiah does, the silly things he says, what we do as a family outside of my work or David's work. I am realizing more and more how quickly time goes by, how easily I forgot things and how incredibly important family is.

I have been heartbroken after reading stories of a couple of sweet baby boys who have had to fight for their lives recently. One, the son of a wedding photographer, was taken home to be with God. The other is still fighting and I am praying. The crazy blog world brings peoples stories closer to you than you ever before and I am so thankful to have found these two families. So that I can be praying for them and also as a reminder of what is important. I want to hug Isaiah tighter, be more careful, spend more time and energy on those I love and make smart decisions for our little family.

I also want to capture as much of Isaiah as possible. After two year, we have become lazy with the video camera. We take 1/100th of the photos we took his first couple months of life. I need to keep chronicling. Remembering.

So, tonight, I am capturing some of my favorite recent Isaiah moments.

*Tonight, after reading about the little guy who is battling for every breath, I snuck into Isaiah's room to give him a kiss (I normally just make sure he has his blanket on). Tonight, there he was- completely naked except for his diaper. He took off his footie pjs for the first time. A tender moment- I love my little stinker.

*While he is still in love with trains, cars have made a move into his life. Not just any cars- the characters from the movie "Cars". I never thought I would know all about Mator and Lighting McQueen (which Isaiah calls "A Peep") and I can even quote you most of the movie. He discovered cars fruit snacks at the market the other day and now he asks for them about 20 times a day (don't worry- he only gets them once!)

*In addition to "chars snacks",  he continually asks for yogurt, apple sauce and berries. He loves his veggies though too- we often have to tell him he has to finish his meat or bread before he can have more green beans or broccoli.  He would eat fruit all day if you let him.

*He has been a really great eater- until this week. Now all of a sudden, he won't eat dinner and we spend our whole meal trying to get him to eat his chicken or pasta. I had just thought to myself "We have not hit the terrible two's yet". I think I spoke too soon.

*He enjoys coloring, lining toys up (he is an organizer), dancing around the house (which mainly consists of jumping and running while flailing his arms about), reading "tories", playing with balls (playing often= throwing them off of our back porch down to the backyard and then saying "oh no!"), spreading his choo choo stickers all over the floor, singing and looking at pictures (on our computer and actual pictures).

*He is a rockstar with his ABC's. He can sing it (which he does multiple times per day) and also can identify every letter- both uppercase and lowercase. It is really cute. Our favorite letter he says is W.

*Right now, no matter how many of anything he actually has or sees, he says that there are 3. He loves that number.

*He says "No, shanks" to everything.

me: "Isaiah, it's time to take a splash splash"
I: "no shanks".

me: "Isaiah, you need to eat your dinner right now"
I: "no shanks".

me: "Say hi to grandma"
I: "no shanks".

And it is always in the cutest, most innocent way. He knows it is funny though.

*He really loves sneezing. He pretends to do it all the time and always jumps at a chance to say bless you. Even if we cough. Or yawn.

*He also really loves praying. It is adorable. After we pray before his nap or bedtime, he always asks for "more pray".

*We are fortunate to have good friends live right across the street from us. There is no place Isaiah would rather be than playing with the boys at their house. He asks to go to "shae house" at least once an hour. Thankfully, she is a wonderful host and loves to let him come play cars and choo choos with her sons.

*Even though that really is his favorite place to go, he told me last week that church was his favorite place. Score! Probably has something to do with the drums, rows of chairs to run around, Veggie Tales, and goldfish. Hopefully some Jesus too. He cheers when we take the freeway exit that leads to our church.

*He also knows all about our computers. He tries to close my laptop while I am working on it and then sneaks in and tries to get on it when I am not looking. He also knows how a Cricut and Xyron (crafting tools) work and he tries to take over while I am using them. Pretty soon he will be making banners for me :)

*When we are looking for something and I ask him where it is, he pretty much always replies, "up high". We have no idea where he got that.

*He is busy busy busy but also has become more lovey with time. There is not much better than an unexpected kiss from his sweet little face.

I am going to post more. Just you wait and see :)

summer

Lately

Yep, our last post was Easter. Bad Toneys. Here is a quick catch up on the happenings of Mr. Isaiah:

A deep love and excitement for all things "ball":

Getting very skilled at building lego towers:

Blowing lots of bubbles:

Disneyland:

Giving mommy lots of love for mother's day:

Being over all cute:

Our newest addition has been a train table (thanks nonna!) and a huge train collection (thanks carrie, cathie & boys!). He plays with his "choos-choos" all day long. I'll post some pictures soon. 

We had our longest time spent away from last week when we went to Hawaii for a wedding. We had a great time enjoying Honolulu and celebrating Brittany and Josh and Isaiah had a blast with Nonna, GG and grandma & grandpa. He recognized our voices right away on the phone and got better at talking on it when someone is actually talking back :)   However, we were more than ready to be back together.

He has also become very good at singing melodies. "Jingle Bells", "Happy Birthday" and "The ABCs" are his current favorites. It just makes my day to be driving along and hear his sweet little songs from the back seat. 

Overall, things have been wonderful and we are so enjoying seeing our little baby grow into a little boy. 

Isaiah loves Disneyland

So, I am going to make an effort to backtrack and blog some of our adventures from the past couple of months.

In the beginning of February, we took a little day trip to Disneyland and it was the first time that Isaiah really knew what was going on. He had a blast!

A Bugs land:

Yummy tortilla:

Before taking off on Dumbo:

After taking off on Dumbo:

He also really loved Buzz Lightyear. We went on it twice!

So much fun. We are excited to go again soon. Anyone in?

An update: Finally!

Yes, we are alive :)

It has been over a month since we moved and we are settling in well. There are definitely good things about our move as well as bad things and we are working on managing the two. The drive has not been too bad and we are enjoying getting to spend time with family and friends both in Orange County and San Diego.

This week, Isaiah will be a year and a half! Crazy! Here is an update on our little man:

*He is talking up a storm. Most of it, we can't understand, but here are some things that he says in English: mama, daddy, hi, hello, go!, thank you, cheese, ball and he tries to say hobie (my parent's dog's name). He also still uses his sign language, especially more, all done and please.

*He loves giving high 5's and knuckles. He will turn to a stranger in the grocery store and put out his fist to try to give them knuckles. Last week, at my nieces 16th birthday party, he wanted to go around the entire circle of 20 teenagers, giving them all high 5's and knuckles over and over.

*His favorite foods are still bananas, cheese and blueberries, but he also loves avocados, strawberries, oranges, cucumber, peas, sweet potatoes and chicken. One of his cousins snuck him some ice cream behind my back last week and he really liked that :)

*He loves having a park right across the street. He has mastered the playground and goes down the big slide by himself. He only likes to swing for about 20 seconds and then he wants to get out and push the swing himself. If there are any bigger kids playing, whether it is basketball, soccer or with toys in the sand, he immediately wants to join in. It is fun to watch him try to be social.

*He also loves reading books, playing the piano, playing with his big cars and automatic train, throwing balls on the ground (he's also quite good at throwing food on the ground), playing his guitar with daddy, dancing, building and unbuilding his blocks, running around, playing catch with the dog, playing with water in the sink and organizing things (spices from the pantry, tupperware, my wallet). He also LOVES playing in the nursery at church and also the childcare center at the gym.

*He loves to brush his teeth and clean the floors. I hope that these things continue into his teenage years. 

*He picks up bags, throws them over his shoulder and then walks to the door waving and blowing kisses.

*He has figured out how to turn the lights off in the kitchen and thinks that he is hot stuff. He'll turn them off and on for 20 minutes at a time. 

*If you tell him to say cheese when you have the camera out, this is what happens:

*He is getting more cuddly, which we love. The cuddles and hugs don't last very long before he is off exploring again, but we love them when we get them! He has also become very good at giving kisses :)

*Lately, when he wakes up in the morning, he runs from side to side in his crib and then shakes the sides. I, on the other hand, do not have nearly as much energy at 6:30 or 7:00.

*He is still a great napper and sleeper- praise the Lord!

*He has four molars and is getting two more, but still doesn't have one of his front teeth. It is pretty cute when he smiles and you just see three teeth on the bottom.

*He has gotten a few time outs as he is testing the waters of how much he can press us. We are learning how to discipline. Any tips?

We have so much fun with him and love seeing him develop. We'll post some more pictures soon, we promise!