Isaiah Jason – 12 Months

04/29/2016

 12months

Isaiah Jason,

I can hardly believe you are one year old already. This has been the fastest year of my life! It’s hard for me to put into words how you have changed me. You are not my first child, my first newborn or my first baby boy. But you are my first biological child, the first I carried in my womb and felt kicking and hiccuping for months, the first I pushed out into the world after 24 hard hours of labor, the first I’ve nourished with my milk. You look so much like your Daddy, especially your strawberry blond hair and your bright blue eyes. But I see glimpses of myself in your smile. Your first word was Mama at only 4 months old but you captured my whole heart long before that. You truly are a Mama’s boy and the way you look at me with adoration just melts me. But you also love your Daddy something fierce. You run at him when he gets home, diving into his legs and refusing to let go, you follow him around the house, studying his every move and you cry when he leaves. You have a sweet relationship with your big sister Ali. You watch her dramatic performances with smiles, giggles, clapping and mimicking. I have a feeling you’ll be one of her biggest cheerleaders for many, many years to come. If you wake up before her you go straight to her door and call for “Al-ah!” I pray that you two are always good friends. FYI, she is convinced she is going to marry you. In just a few months you will become a big brother to a baby sister. I know you don’t really understand what is coming but I pray everyday that you will have generous understanding and gentle love for your little sister when she arrives in July.

I know I’m biased but I am so impressed with you, Zay. Not only did you start talking early, you started moving early. You were sitting up at 5 months, pulling up to standing and crawling at 7 months and walking at 9 months old. Considering that I got pregnant with your baby sister when you were 5 months old, I am very appreciative. You have a kind and gentle soul. You love hugs and kisses. You are a busy little boy but you check back in frequently, grabbing and hugging our legs. You are quick and curious but you are also a very good listener. You love playing in the bath and tolerate me dumping water over your head. You are loving the swimming pool as much as I thought you would. Your favorite “toys” are empty water bottles and sticks, followed by actual toy cars, balls and blocks. You have a particular fondness for your Snuggle Bunny that you sleep with and recently have started carrying around the house. You are a good eater and seem to especially like meat. I have a feeling you’ll be eating more than your big sister before too long. You are tall and perfectly chubby, with big hands and feet. I recently started putting you into some size 5 Converse sneakers that I’m pretty sure your big sister wore when she was two. You still fit some 12m clothes, but mostly 18m now. You have six teeth. You have a full head of hair that I’ve trimmed twice around your ears.

I recently looked back through my journal from when I was pregnant with you and it was fun to see how much I could already tell about your personality from then. I prayed certain blessings over you just about everyday and you are just the way I had hoped you would be. You are a perfect addition to our family, a gift to us all, and I can’t imagine our lives without you. God knew exactly what He was doing when He blessed our family with you, Isaiah Jason. Happy 1st Birthday, son.

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Stats: Off the charts for height at 32.5″ and in the 85-90th percentile for weight at 24.3 lbs. Wearing size 5 shoes and 18m clothes. He’s almost exactly the size Alianna was on her SECOND birthday!

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Big sister really wanted to get a photo with her favorite brother:

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Ali made this sign to say Happy birthday from “Ali Mom Dad”:

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We celebrated Isaiah’s first birthday with a backyard cookout with the grandparents, and one aunt, uncle and cousin. It was a beautiful night. Zay loved the burgers, mac & cheese, fruit, and his first cupcake.

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Highlights from the past month:

First Easter egg hunt

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Easter 2016. I LOVE this picture!

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Knocked out between church and lunch.

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This boy loves sticks!

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He loves the courtyard (me too!) and finds his way here and climbs up on the bench to sit every time we’re outside.

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He loves his toothbrush and baths.

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Isaiah Jason – 11 Months

04/02/2016

11months

Isaiah Jason is now 11 months old. At the beginning of March we learned this little big boy is going to get a baby sister in July. We named her Josephine. Isaiah is walking steadily and quickly now. He’s a sweet, funny, snuggly little guy who loves to play and explore. He’s a big fan of swinging and finding sticks. Zay loves to feed himself finger foods and refuses almost anything on a spoon now (except my homemade broccoli cheddar soup – he loves that!) He’s showing signs that he’s ready to move to one nap but Mama isn’t quite ready. I’ll be starting a slow transition over the next month. He will also be starting a transition into a full size crib (from a mini crib) as his room is getting to converted into a double nursery that he’ll share with his baby sister later this year.

I can’t believe my baby boy will be ONE later this month!

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Here are some highlights (and one low point) of this past month:

The day they found out they’re getting a little sister.

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Dealing with a bout of strep throat. Boo!

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Walking everywhere now.

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He loves playing in the bathtub.

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Yay! Swinging!

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He’s getting FAST!

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Devouring some homemade cheese pizza and offering to share.

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I love his sweet personality and sense of humor.

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All this action is tiring for a little body.

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Isaiah Jason – 10 Months

02/26/2016

10months

This was a big month for Isaiah! He started walking on February 16th at 9.5 months. I would be sad about how early he started if it weren’t for my 20w pregnant belly that’s getting bigger by the day. The less I have to carry him, the better… Ten days later I’d say he’s about 60/40 crawling/walking. I’m surprised how much he seems to enjoy walking and will stand up and start even though he can crawl faster. He’s steady and calculated with his steps. Zay has enjoyed a few warm playground play days and he loves the swings. He’s babbling and talking a lot. He definitely knows Dada, Mama, Ali/sister, BaBa (bottle), Bye-bye, Up, Ma (more), Duh duh (doggie), Na na (no, no), Ah da (all done), Yeah. If we say, “Are you sleepy, Zay-Zay?” he’ll lay his head down. So cute. It’s really fun to see him learning and growing and conquering new things everyday. He’s been going to sleep easily at bedtime and nap time again after a brief period where he would cry when I laid him down (separation anxiety I assume). Thankfully that’s going well now after I started implementing a few new techniques. We still wake him up for one last late night bottle before we go to sleep for the night. If we skip it (like I tried to do last night…) he’ll wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Zay is a sweet, delightful guy with an adorable toothy grin. Big sister Ali plays so well with him and they make each other laugh a lot. He adores everyone in his family and vice versa. This past week I set up a full size crib in his room in the very beginning stages of converting his room into a double nursery, making a space for his little sibling who will share his room. He’s 23″ pounds and tall. He’s wearing size 4/5 shoes depending on the brand. He has 6 teeth.

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Some photos from the past month:

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Isaiah Jason – 9 Months

02/06/2016

9months

This photo and update are a bit late (he was 9 months old on January 26) because we were in Florida. Isaiah is now crawling super fast and cruising along furniture. I thought maybe he’d take his first steps in Florida but he hasn’t yet. He’s back to sleeping great at night and taking two solid naps. Zay loved the beach sand and splashing around at the pool. He just cut his 5th tooth in the past week and the 6th should be out any day. He’s feeding himself finger foods now and finally getting the hang of chewing without gagging. His favorite things so far are mac & cheese, puffs and scrambled eggs. I’m looking forward to introducing him to a lot more table food in the coming months. Isaiah adores his big sister and vice versa. He’s babbling a lot of baba, mama, dada, alla (Ali), sssta (sister), bye-bye, wee-wee (?), pish (please…we’re trying to teach him “more please”). He claps, waves, gives high fives, blows motorboat and fart sounds with his mouth. He’s a fun kid and he makes us all laugh every day. He’s also the best snuggle-bunny.

At his check up today he weighed 21.7 lbs. and was just shy of 30″ tall. He’s a big healthy boy!

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Some highlights from the past month:

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Isaiah Jason – 8 Months

12/30/2015

8months

It’s been a busy month! Zay is now crawling fluidly and quickly. He is pulling up to a stand and cruising along furniture. All of the standing has led to more falling and he’s frequently getting bumps and bruises on his head and face, poor guy. He’s sleeping much better now after a little regression that I think was due to my milk supply dropping. He’s now drinking mostly formula and eating a wide variety of baby foods. Not too many finger foods yet as he hasn’t quite figured out chewing and not gagging. But his first tooth on his top left has came all the way through. The one next to it is so close and the one below it has cut through. He had a short bout of roseola virus in his 7th month, including a 103+ fever for over 24-hours. Daddy and I took turns holding him all night long through the worst of it. He’s babbling lots of words. In addition to dada and mama, he’s saying things often that sound like Alla (Ali), sister, baba (mama? I’m hoping he learns to tell me he wants milk soon), I-got-it! (not positive on this one but he says it often and it seems in context!). If we say “No, No, Zay-Zay” he shakes his head no. He can clap and play peek-a-boo and has an awesome laugh when he’s tickled. His newest tricks are buzzing his lips like a motorboat and giving kisses. His new mobility is keeping us on our toes and leading to a lot more “No-no!” but he’s such a fun, sweet, easy-going guy. Typically 6-9 months is my favorite baby age but he’s rushing through my favorite stages and I can’t believe he’s already cruising. I’ve decided I won’t be mad at him if he starts walking early because my belly is getting bigger and it will be harder to carry him along with his younger sibling as the months go on. I guess he’s doing his part to get ready to be a big brother. Isaiah is wearing 12 month size clothes and is 20.5 lbs.

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Isaiah Jason – 7 Months

12/03/2015

7months

Isaiah turned 7 months old on Thanksgiving. With all the festivities I was a few days late taking his monthly pictures. In that short time he started crawling! He is also pulling up to a stand (more often than not that means face planting into things). He’s clapping, playing peek-a-boo with a piece of fabric over his face, going from crawling to sitting up, starting to wave, feeding himself puffs and devouring whatever baby food we put in front of him. He’s over 19 lbs now and tall. He’s wearing 12 month size clothing. Because he decided to get mobile right after we put up the Christmas tree he’s going to be spending more time that he would like in baby jail (AKA the pack n play) and his bouncer/gym. Zay is a very happy boy and gives the best snuggles, especially when he’s sleepy. Speaking of sleep, he’s regressed a bit and is waking up more often at night. I’m trying my best to figure it out and get him back to sleeping better because Mama is tired! He’s a such a sweet, easy-going guy and hardly complains about anything so I’m trying to be gracious about his middle of the night demands. He’s babbling a lot; occasionally Mama and hi but mostly Dada (or “DerDer”) all day everyday. It’s fun to see his relationship differences with each of us. He loves Jason and gets really excited to see him and knows he’s the fun guy. If anything is wrong, especially at night, no one other than Mama will do. He reached out his arms for me for the first time the other day and melted my heart a little more. And his big sister Ali, his “kissy sissy,” he loves to watch. He smiles and laughs at her antics. I’m sure he’ll be following her around soon. A few times lately she’s thrown a dramatic fit about something and he laughed and clapped his hands. Good show, good show!

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Isaiah Jason – 6 Months

11/17/2015

6months

Good gravy! Six months old?! That was the fastest half-year of my life. I love this age. Sitting up, eating baby food, giving the best hugs, babbling “mama” and “dada” and “hi” and other words, starting to get mobile but not quite enough to get into trouble. Though, as I mentioned the other day, I’m starting to have to tell him no already…no pulling books off the shelf, no spilling the dog water bowl, no pulling hair or grabbing glasses. Isaiah is a happy, sweet, talkative boy. He loves to eat; sweet potatoes are his favorite. He’s a great sleeper at night but doesn’t nap a whole lot. Favorite activities: playing peekaboo, chomping on everything and splashing his bath water. He’s a big boy; wearing mostly 9m clothes. He’s 28.5″ tall (98%!) and 18 lbs.

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[Disclaimer…he’s almost 7 months old now! This post is super late. I had a slew of technology glitches that led to a new phone and computer and it’s taken me a while to get everything into full swing again. Plus a health situation came up that’s slowed me down a bit lately.]

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We celebrated Zay’s half birthday with a half piece of cake, half a scoop of ice cream and a half a cookie. He had a taste of ice cream and he liked it very much!

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Isaiah Jason – 5 Months

09/29/2015

5months

Five months. We’re getting into my favorite months of babyhood now. Zay is laughing more easily and loves a good game of peek-a-boo or “I’m gonna get you!” He is babbling “mama” and “dada” and some other sounds like words, though not using them with control and consistency yet. He’s rolling and scooting on his back. He’s very interested in our food so he’s had some tastes of carrots, broccoli, grapes, yogurt. We’ll start more of that next month. He loved his first vacation to the beach and did great on the flights and throughout the trip. He’s a great sleeper. Lately he’s been going to bed around 9:30, waking to eat at 5:30 and then going back to sleep until 8:30 or so. He weighs 17.2 lbs and is wearing mostly 9m size clothes. He loves books and listening to us singing, especially his big sister Ali. He loves standing (with help), bouncing and peddling his walker around. He’s not sitting up or crawling yet. Lots of chomping but no teeth coming through.

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Isaiah Jason – 4 Months

08/27/2015

4months

My big boy is 4 months old! He’s checking in at 15.6 lbs (50%) and 26.25″ (95%). Isaiah is laughing often now. He’s very peaceful and easy going but he’s got loud, happy screeches when he wants attention. Still a great sleeper and eater, nothing new to report there. He’s working hard on rolling every chance he gets and he loves to stand. He’ll reach out and grab his toys and pull them to his mouth. He’s chomping and drooling on whatever he can get his hands on. (I had to move the airplane away from his hands because he wanted it in his mouth and it was covering his sweet face!) He’s a strong boy and I get the feeling he’s ready to move so he can keep up with his big sister.

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My favorites from the past month:

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Isaiah Jason – 3 Months

08/11/2015

I’m way behind on blogging. Let’s pretend for a minute that it’s 7/26/15.

3months

 

Three months old! Biggest news of the past month: Zay started laughing! We still have to work pretty hard for it, but it’s worth it. At 3 months he’s getting stronger with tummy time, holding his head up for longer periods, putting weight on his legs with help to stand up. He’s sleeping so well I’m almost embarrassed to say. (We’ve sleep trained a lot of babies.) Zay is a good eater and snorts like a pig when he’s hungry. He kicks his feet when he’s happy. Isaiah discovered his tasty hands this month and drools as he chomps on his fingers. His left hand and foot seem to be dominate. He has also discovered how to get attention with his voice; boy can get LOUD! He rarely cries but he knows how to communicate what he needs and wants. One of my favorite times of the day is story time with big sister Ali. Zay will look at the pictures or at me while I’m reading, and smile and kick his feet.

14.5 lbs. and wearing 6 month size clothes!

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