Christmas 2009

We drove to Kansas for Christmas to visit our families. We knew that we wouldn't be able to drive 12+ hours in one day with Isaac, so we split the drive into two days. It made for a much more relaxing and enjoyable trip. Isaac did so well with the long drive - better than I ever expected he would! Of course, I think it helped that we turned his car seat around to face forward - a little early, I know, but considering he's as big as a 2-year old we felt pretty safe. He loved having a better view through the windows, and also being able to see us in the front seat. When he would get bored with his toys, he would pull his blanket over his head to initiate a game of peek-a-boo.

Michael wasn't feeling well on the trip north, so I ended up driving most of the way. By the time we got to Iola, though, he was starting to feel a little better, thankfully. We had to change our plans a bit because of the weather, but we did end up getting to see both of our families while we were there.

I'm glad we arrived when we did - just before the snow. On Christmas morning, we had 5 inches or so of snow, but the drifts were huge! Just to get to our car, Michael had to get through a 2 foot drift, and in other areas the drifts were as high as 6 to 8 feet! We ended up getting stuck three times on Christmas day: once trying to get out of the hotel parking lot, once going up my parents drive, and again when we tried to leave their house that evening! Good grief! Thank goodness for help from nice strangers (at the hotel), and for a great dad, brother and sister-in-law, and a 4-wheel drive truck for freeing us from the snow that day!

Because of the snow, Dad had to go in to work on Christmas day. So, we waited until he got home to open presents, and the kids were all so good while we waited. Isaac loved getting to play with his cousins, and I think that they enjoyed playing with him, and showing him some of their toys.

On Saturday we went to Carthage where we had Christmas with Michael's family at his sister's house. Isaac's favorite part of the day? Max! Max is Chris and Michele's dog, and he was so very calm and patient while Isaac proceeded to crawl on, push, pull, cuddle and generally annoy him to death - poor dog. I thought Isaac would be afraid of him - he's a big dog - but he wasn't at all. In fact, once we got home, every time we read a book with a dog in it he had to kiss the dog - too funny!

We had a great time with both families, but the time went by so quickly! I'm already looking forward to our next visit, but maybe we'll plan a summer trip so we won't have to contend with the snow! :-)

Isaac at 10 months

Isaac turned 10 months old today. I can't believe how fast he's growing and learning! So many things have happened this month. Two new teeth made an appearance, for a grand total of four, and with his new teeth he's enjoying more and more new foods. This month we discovered that he loves potato soup, macaroni and cheese, and shrimp scampi. He loves to be in the kitchen to "help" when we're cooking; and by help I mean that he wants someone to hold him up so that he can watch everything that's going on. I understand that he's curious, but it certainly slows everything down.

The boy is still constantly on the move. He loves to dance to any kind of music, and his balance is improving as he continues to cruise around the furniture. He won't stay in his jumper anymore. I think it's just too confining for him, so we haven't used it all month. He loves to walk with his walking toy, and he's moving faster and faster every day! He also loves to move laundry for me. If I bring out the laundry bin, he'll push it into the laundry room for me. And, if he hears me open the dryer, he's there in a flash to push the basket of clean clothes to the living room to fold.

I rather enjoy that he likes to help so much, and I try to encourage him in any way I can. For example, I've been teaching him how "fun" it is to dust. Now, when I get the duster out I have to give him one too, or he gets mad! Yay! Maybe he'll love to clean - that will certainly make my life easier as he gets older. :-)

Last month we were teaching him to go down stairs, and he's already doing that very well - just a little help to navigate the landing. We were also working on some signs with him. This month he learned "arms up" and "arms down". He thinks this is great and will occasionally throw his arms up in the air and say "up, up, up" when he's ready to go upstairs. I suppose it really sounds more like "upupup" - not three clearly defined words, but we'll take what we can get at this point.

Speaking of talking, he loves the phone! I can't talk on the telephone unless I put it on speaker so that he can hear too - and then he still wants the phone. I've been trying to give him a toy phone, or the old cell phone that I took the battery out of. He loves to play with those in general, but he knows the difference and prefers the real one.

This month we've also found new toileting success. After about 5 weeks of a "potty strike" he's finally using the toilet again. Michael and I were thrilled because up to that point we had not changed more than a few dirty diapers since he was 6 weeks old! After a month of no toileting, we'd had more than enough of the dirty diaper thing. We finally figured out that he wasn't comfortable sitting on the child seat on the large toilet, so we got him a potty chair. I think he likes not being so far from the ground, and because of that, he will actually relax. Since using the new potty, he's only had one BM in his diaper. Peeing is a little more difficult. I'm just not brave enough to leave a diaper off all day, so I don't always catch him before he goes. Still, he does well enough with timed toileting that we often only use a couple of diapers during the day.

OK, that was probably way too much info for some, especially since I haven't talked about infant toileting on the blog before. It's a major accomplishment, though, and I'm very proud of how well he does.

This month Isaac received a new leather rocker/recliner from my parents for Christmas. It's so cute, and he just loves it. I'm glad to get rid of the infant seats because he was getting too big for them. He loves to rock when the music is on, and he also loves to kick back and just lounge around in the chair - you'll see him doing this in some of the pictures.

Isaac also had his first haircut this month. I took him to Snip Its. They are set up specifically for kids - toys, bright colors, and a video screen at every hair station. He did so well, even when the hair was itching his nose. Fortunately, I've taught him "be still" so that I can clean his ears, put drops in his ears after swimming, or take his temperature. Of course he doesn't stay still very long, but usually long enough for me to get the task done. That skill was very useful when she was cutting around his ears; she was impressed when he sat so perfectly still. When she finished he got a toy and a "First Haircut" certificate. I was pleased that it went so well.

He still loves school. He often doesn't want to leave when I get there. He just wants me to come and play too. He has a little girlfriend there. She's a little older, and already walking. When I dropped him off one morning she dropped everything as soon as she saw him, and came running over to give him kisses and hold his hand. It was too cute!

He also got to see Santa at school. It was not scheduled, so I didn't get a chance to go over and take pictures. His teacher took some pictures, though, and has promised to send them to me. She told me that he was very interested in Santa, and just kept staring at him, but never cried. Santa gave him a wooden airplane in Isaac's favorite color - blue. How did Santa know that!?!

That wraps up another month of firsts, and continuing milestones. I can't wait to see what he does next!