Max

Isaac

August!?!?!?!?

Where did July go? Right before my eyes, August is here. It hardly seems like we've had summer this year.

It's been cool (im not complaining)
We've gone on no vacations (which we never do)
We've only filled the pool twice
We've cooked far to many meals inside and not enough on the grill
AND
we've only turned the air conditioning on about 6 times so far this year

Again, im not complaining, except for the vaction part, but where would go anyway to get warmer weather? Im sure all the other 49 states are experiencing some odd summer weather too.

Maybe the latter half of summer will bring us warmer weather and more days to swim instead of jeans and t-shirts, trips to the mall (because of rain) and thoughts of turning on the heat.

Hidden treasures

He was so proud of himself for getting the toy from under the couch...that he forgot he isn't supposed to put his arm there.

Max has been told not to put his arm under the couch (because it gets stuck...and that hurts)

Boys and their trucks

I love this! Max and Isaac playing together with their trucks and hot wheels.

This doesn't always happen though. Sometimes Max just wants to play by himself and he gets upset that Isaac always wants to play along.

Whatever Max has, Isaac wants, whatever Isaac has, Max wants. You can't win!

Coming out of their shell

The MN Zoo offers a new play area called Woodland Adventures. We visited it the first day it opened, Max, enjoyed running around trying out the slide, running across the bridge, and climbing. Earlier this year we purchased a year Zoo pass, it was totally worth every penny and we've already gotten good use of it.

Just had to share

The cuteness of Isaac. Enjoy!

Pool day 2

And here they are again in the pool. This time dad decided he just couldn't let the kids have all the fun. Two weeks ago it was scorching hot outside, this week, it's been cold. I don't get the weather. I hope we get some warmer weather again soon.

Summer fun!

Can you even call this a swimming pool? It is for us and the boys love it. Daryl blew this up on one of the few scorching hot days we've had. It did just what it was supposed to...cool them off.

When you live in a townhouse and rules that state you can't leave anything out in the yard, your deck is the next best place for all the kids stuff. Thank god its big enough for all the clutter we've got out there.

Worlds Greatest dad...

Never mind that this is late, at least im blogging about it.

For Father's Day this year, Max and I made Daryl a card in the shape of a tie. And for his gift, we picked up a hat and t-shirt that stated "Worlds Greatest Dad". It's true. Daryl is a great dad, he's fully aware of everyones needs and takes care of them. Every once in a while he needs a little nudge, but over all he's great and we LOVE him.

Here he is sporting his new t-shirt and hat.

Visiting the grandparents

We must be the luckiest parents in the world. Why? you ask, because my dad and step-mom will take Max for a day, a long weekend or a week at a time in a heartbeat. Max has already been up to visit grams and gramps at the Lake twice this summer without us. Now, he's up visiting again for a whole week. His cousin Trevor who is 6 will also be visiting. The two of them will be swinging, swimming, animal hunting at the zoo, eating fruit until it grows inside them, playing outside and sleeping by 6pm every night. Oh to be a kid again!

Here's what I'll be up to all week while he's gone
Babysitting to 6 year olds
Cleaning and organizing the house (again!)
Clothes shopping, I need some new attire for my new job
And celebrating 4th of July alone, sounds sad doesnt it. Daryl and Isaac will be heading up North to my dads for the 4th. I have to work at the Mall, so I'll miss out, but im kind of looking forward to a weekend alone...just wish it didnt happen over a holiday.

Growing like a weed!

Isaac had his 9 month check up this week. While he still is not crawling (but VERY close) (or feeding himself), he's doing great. He weighed 19.14 lbs and is 29 inches tall. That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. I thought Max was going to be tall, but I think this kid will surpass his big brother.

The facts about Isaac
He has four teeth
The kid can chug a 6 ounce bottle in less than 2 minutes (I know what your're thinking...and it involves college parties and beer)
loves to play patty cake (he sort of claps along on his own)
He loves nap time (who would have ever thunk it)
He is a thumb sucker and is attached to his hand-made blanket
He loves vegetables and eats only one fruit, avacado

The big news!

The time has come, mommy is going back to work full time. She spent a lot of time job hunting, with little success, until last week. She had a bunch of interviews. While she was interviewing for the jobs, we spent time with Grammy Jan and played with our friends, Audra, JJ and Marcie.

From what I understand (cut me some slack, im only 9 months), mommy will be spending her days in an office helping people with their medical needs. Im happy for mommy, but I will miss her cuddles before nap time.

No need to worry about Max and I, we'll be going to daycare where there are lots of kids and plenty of toys and fun things for us to do. We'll miss mommy, but she assures me that this will be good for all of us.

Congrtulations on the new job mom.

Attachments

When Max was a baby, he got a stuffed animal from a family friend. It's blue and is often mistaken for a rabbit, but I believe its actually a dog. He has grown to love "Patch" and carries him around the house, he even rides in the car (but never goes in the store). Max and Patch play toys and Patch becomes his baby and he gets buckled into the bosster seat, bouncy chair and car seat. Max carries him by the ears, h'es had countless 'baths' and has had stitches quite a few times in his short 3.5 years.

When Isaac was born, Grandma Noreen made Isaac a blanket. From the beginning I always put that blanket in bed with Isaac. Well, he is officially attached, he puts his fingers thru the holes, curls up with it, rests his head on it, chews on it, etc. He loves his blanket and can't sleep without it. Heck, he even rides better in the car with it. He totally reminds me of Linus from Snoopy. So far, the blanket has pretty much remained in the crib, we only have one so we can't lose it. I asked Noreen to make him two smaller blankets that would become take along blankets for in the car (just in case one got lost, we'd at least have a back-up).

Oh, and he sucks his left thumb OR his right pointer finger.

Funny things~!

Last week I took the boys to my office where I work part time. I was on the phone and Max wondered over to the other desk. I could hear the clicking of the keyboard, so I finished up my call and went over to him.
Me: What are you doing?
Max: Im checking my email.
Me: Anything good?
Max: no response, just looked at me and smiled
I laughed and thought to myself, he's learning this from me. I may spend to much time on the computer.

Just a few days ago Max was playing with his rescue helicopter. He was rescuing me and asked me what I had hurt.
Me: I broke my leg.
Max: Ok, let me fix it.
Me: How will you fix it?
Max: I'll hammer it back together.
Me: (laughing) Hammer it back together?
Max went on to playing his rescue gig and later, I over heard him say that my toe was broke and he'd hammer that back together too. I hope he doesn't become a Dr. in real life.

Look at me ma!

He doesn't crawl yet, but the other day Isaac showed me that he can pull himself up on furniture. I placed him in his crib while I changed the sheets and looked over only to see that he had pulled himself up to standing. He had no idea what to do next, so he let go and flopped right over. I wanted to get a picture, but of course he wouldn't do it again. But the look on his face says it all.

Adult supervision required

Only under the eagle eye of an adult can Isaac have this toy. He reallly enjoys playing with it. His favorite thing to do is chew on it of course....see for yourself.

You'd think he ate a lemon. But actually it tickles. He'll shove this thing right up in his face and shiver. There's has to be at least a hundred little rubbery hairs on this thing, and im afraid he'll chew them off and choke. Not the best toy choice for a 7 month old. Thats why an adult must supervise the entire time.

Lets play at the park

Both of my boys love the park. Who wouldn't, you can be as loud as you want, run around and blow off energy and swing for hours (or for as long as mom/dad will push).

On this day, we were supposed to go Treasure Island Park in St. Paul. Well, I followed the directions on Mapquest and never made it there. There was no park where the directions said it would be. So, we went over to Mattocks park (just blocks away) instead. (And yes, I did drive around the supposed neighborhood and never found the park). This park is a lot of un and there are always kids to play with. Max and this little girl played together the entire time. They would yell to each other 'come over here', or 'let's go down this slide'. It was really cute. To bad we don't live in the area, these two would make great friends.

Not quite big enough to go by himself.

Hi mom!

Max is really close to being to big for these swings, actually he is to big, but we managed to stuff him in.

Enjoying the cool breeze and views.

Here's looking at you!

So much to talk about...

so little time.

I am happy to report that we are all alive and well. We have so much going on this month. Im trying to rid some of the baby/kid stuff and consigning the items in a community sale. We have our nieces baptism over Mothers Day weekend in IL, the following weekend Isaac will be baptised. We have one weekend off and than we travel to IL again for Daryls friends wedding. These are just the major events for the month. Oh, and Max is visiting Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend, starting tomorrow. So, you want to know what I'll be doing? Cleaning! Boring, I know, but the house is a disaster and is screaming for a good spring cleaning. I have a list of things to do, but the fact that I will still have Isaac to tend to may shorten my list just a tad. I should do something fun or better yet, something for myself. I do have a few gift cards for Target, so maybe I'll sneak in a shopping trip and buy myself something.

One of the major reasons I haven't blogged is the fact that I lost interest. I should keep up with it, for the kids sake ya know! Its like working out, you get all excited about it and than a week or two into it, other things come up and exercising or blogging in this matter, get pushed to the side. I don't know about you, but this sort of thing happens to me all the time.

We also lost a good chunck of photos when our computer decided to crap out on us, so we haven't had any photos to share. Im still really sad about this, but we made up for it with the 400 + photos that was stored on the camera. Don't worry, I'll get some photos up soon, ecause the boys are growing, especially Isaac. He has teeth, and eats his share of solid food now. Good times!

New blogs and photos to come shortly, the resale is this weekend so after that I'll have a few free moments to update.

Mr. Green!

Wondering what Isaac's favorite food is? Avacado. Finally! Someone else in the house that will eat this wonderful green vegetable...or is it a fruit? Well, whatever it is, we LOVE it.

The babysitter!

This is what I get for asking Max to entertain Isaac for a few minutes.

The other day we wer trying to leave the house and it was taking longer than I had expected and Isaac was getting a little impatient. I politely asked Max, "would you play with Isaac while I finish getting ready so we can leave?" "Sure mom." I came out to see this, Isaacs floor gym on the carseat. Smart thinking Max.

So glad I don't have to pay him for his efforts.

Super dad!

First foods?

Stop

Teasing

me!

He didn't really eat it, had I let him, he would have gone for it.

Family Portrait

This is as good as it gets in our family! At least for now. We are working on getting some professional photos done, but for now, this will have to do.

Snow day

The last big snow storm brought enough snow to build a fort. Daryl and Max dug this one together. Poor kid hardly got outside this year, but it was nearly impossible for me to take him outside with a baby that can't/shouldn't be outside in arctic weather.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Spring so Isaac can get outside too. I'll be digging dirt and rocks out of his mouth, but it'll be fun.

Keeping warm

Grandma Noreen (Daryl's mom) makes blankets (I don't know if its knitting or crocheting, im pretty clueless in this department). Each of the kids has a blanket for their own use and a blanket for their Baptism. She also made one for the family and for Max's third birthday he got a big one for his soon to be twin bed.

MN winter's can get pretty blustery, but we're staying warm with our blankets while you guys are staying warm in the 80 degree FL sun.

Thanks Grandam Noreen!