It's a New Year Miracle

Well, we definitely thought that Isaac was going to have to sail through babyhood without those Baby Hammer Pants that we'd been dreaming about since his birth. HOWEVER, there has been a New Year Miracle. We'll sing about it here:
Thank You Lord for blessing me
With these new baby Hammer Pants
I can see.
SHOP - BABY HAMMER TIME! OH-oh, OH-oh OH!

That Really Hurt

OOOOoooowww!! Isaac!
Isaac bit me. And that really hurt Isaac. And it's still hurting.
(anyone ever seen the Charlie bit me clip on youtube? If not, you must watch.)
Isaac has some wickedly sharp little teeth. Just two. Bottom front. Did I mention sharp? Anyway, he's had these teeth since early November and has successfully avoided biting me when I nurse him.
UNTIL...
One morning I pick him up to nurse him and CHOMP! That shit hurts! I loudly exclaimed "OOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!" I handed him over to Dave and decided to make him wait awhile to nurse again.
I pick him up and he does it AGAIN! same scenario. Then AGAIN! same scenario. I was starting to think that if this continued he may just have a really, really short ween and be a bottle baby. However, I tried about an hour later and he did not bite again. That was almost a week ago and no more incidents since then. Crossing my fingers.
I'm hoping to nurse Isaac until he's around 12-14 months. Let's hope his teeth cooperate.
He looks so sweet and innocent here (but don't be fooled, he's a biter!)

Paint Chips

Some of you have heard me talk about, maybe complain about one of my students this year. We'll call him "J." He has horrid social skills, is quite oppositional, and I am 95% sure he has autism. He often surprises me with the random things he says, but today was a winner for sure.
Today, as we were leaving the computer lab, my class was lining up quickly because it was the end of the day, time to go home. J was moving very slowly. I asked him to hurry and get in line. He continued to move at a snail's pace. So after a minute, I said "J - I need you to be in line," and starting counting back from 5. He put his head in his hands and started mumbling something and rocking back and forth. I was a little concerned, though this is not too out of the ordinary for him. So I asked "What, J? I can't understand what you are trying to tell me." J proceeded with the following: "Well Mrs. Vala, you don't understand why I want to go slow. Well, it's because I have sucked on a lot of toys from China in my lifetime. That's why I'm not hurrying up!"
I had to do everything I could to contain my gasping/laughing. This is coming from the same student who, one on one with me, told me that he'd like to try drugs at least once when he becomes an adult. You really have to know this kid to think it's funny. He does NOT tell me things like this to get attention or for humor, he is a very matter of fact person. Really, nothing that comes out of this kids mouth surprises me!!!

The Many Faces of Isaac

Isaac pulls some of the funniest faces. He is so dramatic. Here are some of the ones we were lucky enough to catch on camera recently.

The Thing Is...

Now that I am back to work, I hardly get to check my email, Facebook, and blogs (I know, I know!) I get home, spend the remainder of the day/evening with Isaac, until he goes to bed around 8. Then, Dave usually needs the laptop to do work for his next day at work (teaching.) Soooo...anyway, yes, I am making excuses for reasons why I do not update the blog as often. Anyway, here are some Isaac updates, followed by some funny things that kids say (tales from the classroom...)
Isaac got his first tooth - Nov 10th. I think it's been working it's way out for a couple months. Overall, he was not too fussy about teething, but he has an episode here and there where it could be nothing else but teething pain, because he is generally a very happy baby and rarely cries.
Isaac has become so interactive and full of personality. He loves to go motor-boating. This involves neither a boat, nor a motor. Dave coined the phrase and I think it's appropriate. Motorboating with Isaac involves patting him on the back while he makes humming noises that sound like a motor. SOmetimes he will fuss until we pat him on the back so that he can make the noise. He loves it.
He is working on crawling, but not there yet.
Isaac LOVES LOVES LOVES the dogs, especially Abbie, because she interacts with him more. Day-Z is cool with this BABY constantly invading her territory and using Mr. Grabby hands to try and get her. She has yet to growl or bark at Isaac. We are pleasantly SURPRISED.
Isaac loves food. His favorites are yams, pomegranites, applesauce, plums, and Happy Baby Puffs! It's definitely fun to see him try and like new things. He has yet to turn down any food we have offered. So far, the only "baby" food that we have purchased has been the puffs and the Earth's Best rice cereal. Everything else has been made fresh by either my mom, or us. Yay for health! Speaking of health, Isaac has not been sick yet, and is 7 1/2 months old. We are so thankful for this. I know that the first time it happens, it will be heartbreaking for us, and miserable for him. I am not looking forward to it.
Isaac loves for Dave and I to sing Que Sera Sera to him. Don't know why, but he gets a big kick out of it.
Isaac is doing a lot of laughing, talking (nothing we understand, yet) and just overall generally being very busy. He definitely is not a baby who is content with just sitting around in your lap chilling, doing nothing. He's always gotta be doing something with his hands, seeing something new, or moving onto a new activity. Exhausting, but fun.
Isaac has also formed some very special relationships with both sets of grandparents. He sees my mom all the time, because like the complete life saver and saint that she is, she watches him while we are at work. He and my mom have a very close, fun relationship. She takes him on lots of walks, to see his great grandparents, aunt Mary, and his second cousins. She also keeps him healthy! He sees my dad almost daily when he gets home from work. He loves to play with my dad's face and head (hehe) and has a lot of fun with him. Isaac gets his excited to see Dave's parents when they are in town. They are very animated with him, and he giggles a lot when they are around. It is nice to see that he loves them all so much.
I could go on and on about Isaac, LOVE HIM!!!
Some funny things that some of my students have said lately, that I must document before I forget:
1. It is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street this month, and I was discussing this with my students. During recess, one of my very bright, sweet students asked if she could talk to me in private. After the other kids had left the room, she said, "well, I didn't want to ruin it for the other kids, but I used to really love Cookie Monster. I loved him so much until I realized that when he eats a cookie, none of it stays in his mouth. I think it must mean that he's not real."
2. Last week our spelling test was on irregular plurals. One of my cute little Hispanic boys, who is still learning English as his second language, spelling the "challenge" word cacti as "cat die," on his test. I got a little kick out of it, but really laughed when later that day he came to me and said "Mrs. Vala, why you don't like cats?"
There have been numerous other hilarities that I really need to start keeping in a journal after the students say them at school, because I quickly forget them. These were just the most recent two. More to come...

October

I have been a little slack on the blog lately. I am still feeling a little lazy about it, so I am just going to make a photo blog today. These photo's were from October. Today Isaac is 7 months old. Cheers!
In October, we went to the zoo and saw THIS! Cutest baby elephant ever.


Sucking on a bare chicken leg bone. yum.

Cute Halloween costume - with Grandpa Dan below. At the Albertson's "pumpkin patch" after that. hehe






With Julie at the park.

A costume from Aunt Julie that is supposed to fit 9 month babies. However, he looks like an amputee because we had to stuff him into it like a sausage for a quick photo. hehe, he was not happy. It was such a cute costume, SHAME!

Love the Fauxhock.


Loves me some cucumbers.

Dave and Isaac at the zoo.

I Think I Smell a Rat...

I think I smell a rat! Literally. Dave has done a fabulous job attracting beautiful birds to our yard with a nice array of bird feeders that attract various types of birds. He is teaching ornithology this year as one of his classes, and has since become more interested. We have some awesome birds coming around that you don't usually see.
Along with the beautiful birds, however, we have started seeing rats. (see photo above - one of Dave's rat, er, bird feeding stations Seriously, these rats climb up and scale the birdfeeders. Little bastards. I know what you are probably all thinking. Becca, there is a simple solution. Don't you own a rat terrier? Well, yes, yes we do. However, our RAT terrier is not even coming close to catching, let alone frightening those effing rats.
We'll keep trying...
dirty rats.

This Blue Jay did a better job scaring off that gimpy rat than Day-Z or Abbie did.

Half Birthday

Isaac turned 6 months old on October 1st. I know it sounds so cliche, but time DOES fly! We love this little guy so much it's unbelievable. The last couple of months his personality has really come out in full force. It's so much fun to watch him discover new things and enjoy his oh so blissful innocent babyhood! He's reached all his important milestones and now that he's sitting up on his own, he LOVES playing. What a cutie, I tell ya! Below are photos - from newborn to 6 months! Love the progression :)

Newborn


April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

6 months old!

Really?!?!? - A Double Episode

Today's blog warrants two "Really's?!?!?" The first Really!?!?! is for people who do not pick up their dog's poop when walking or hiking with them. Last night when Dave and I were walking, it looked like Snuffaluffagus or Big Bird took a dump right in the middle of the sidewalk. You can't tell me the owner didn't see THAT! Really?!?!?

The second Really?!?!? is very much related to the first. I bought dog poop bags at the dollar store yesterday. 40 for a dollar. That's a bargain. No more wasting giant grocery bags that take hundreds of years to decompose. Anyway, on the back of the box, there is directions for cleaning up your dog's poop. Do people really need directions? And if so, should they be the owner of any living thing? Really?!?!?
In case you, or someone you know, doesn't know about cleaning up the dog poop, I have taken the liberty of photographing the box that the bags came in, for your viewing pleasure. I did NOT photograph the monster poop we saw on our walk yesterday. You will just need to use your imagination for that one.

Would you Rather?

Quick Question
Would you rather be known as one of the slowest running males or females on the Earth
~OR~
THE fastest hermaphrodite on the planet?

Dave and I had a good, but very short discussion about our answers. Can you guess what we chose (as tears of laughter were streaming down our faces?)

If you are wondering why the subject came up, please google "hermaphrodite runner controversy."

First Meal!

My mom lent me a great book about baby's first foods and baby nutrition. I tried to read as much as I could (it's long, like 1,000 pages) before Isaac's first meal. It's called Super Baby Foods. I highly recommend it. It's got a few DUH/boring pages, but overall, very informative for people who want to give their baby a great start.
Anyway, Isaac just had his first meal of sweet potatoes mixed with breastmilk. He seems to like it and did great. We captured some fun photos on camera. Can't wait to start him on other foods, too. Foods over the next several weeks? Avocado, brown rice cereal, bananas, maybe some carrots. :)
YUMMMMM!!!! Here is the progression of the eating session.

Look What We Caught!

One day, when Isaac asks "Mom, Dad? Where do babies come from?" We will take out these photos, and simply tell him that you catch babies with a net.
hehe. Okay not really, but wouldn't that be the easiest, best scenario?