Minneapolis 2010

We decided to go to Minneapolis for our family vacation this year. We thought it would be nice to go somewhere a little cooler than Austin in the middle of August. Unfortunately Minneapolis was having a heat wave while we were there, but we still had a great time.

We stayed at the Residence Inn in Edina. I highly recomend it for family travel. It connects directly to Edina's indoor Edinborough Park. There is a massive multi-level indoor play structure for kids, and Isaac had a great time climbing and exploring. We also enjoyed the Mall of America. Isaac enjoyed riding the rides, and there were several smaller rides for little kids to enjoy. The mall is very big with so much to see and do, so we had to go back a second day to see the aquarium.

Overall, it was a great family friendly vacation spot, but even with so much to see and do while we were there, Isaac's favorite part of the trip by far was getting to ride on an airplane!

4th of July 2010

We had a great time visiting our family in Kansas for Independence day. It was nice to make the drive in one day, so that we had more time to actually visit. Of course, on the drive up some guy hit us as we were parked in a McDonald's parking lot in El Dorado. We exchanged insurance info and documented everything. It was a bit of a bummer since we hadn't even made it to Iola yet, but as least it was just the bumper and no one was hurt. When we got up the next morning, though, the bumper was magically fixed! It had just popped right back into place - yay!

I wasn't sure how Isaac would handle the fireworks, but as usual, I worried for no reason. I mean, come on, he is a product of me and Michael, so of course he's going to be a natural born firebug, right? He was fascinated with sparklers, and loved stomping on the snap-n-pops with Brent and Dani, but he also adored watching the bigger fountains and such that Uncle Bill was setting off.

Overall is was a great trip. We had lots of great food, and a great time with family and friends. We took a different route home, and shaved quite a bit of time off the trip, so that was nice, especially since it put us in Waco just in time for dinner. We had great food while we were in Kansas, but for us nothing says welcome home to Texas quite like dinner at Chuy's.

Hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July!

Isaac at 14 months

Over this past month, Isaac has changed so much. First, he is finally walking! Yay! He decided to do this the week before Easter, and there's been no turning back. He walks everywhere. He's still a little unsteady on his feet at times, especially when he's tired, but overall he's doing very well. Of course with this new accomplishment comes a new level of independence. He now wants to walk everywhere all by himself. That's good and bad at this point. It's nice because I rarely have to carry him out to the car. It can be a challenge when he wants to walk in a busy parking lot, or in the store.

Walking is also fun because it adds a whole new element to dancing. At first, he started marching around with the beat, and now he's using his arms to spin in circles. I really need to grab the video camera the next time he does that; it's so funny to watch him "dance" until he's too dizzy to stand up.

He's been trying to say more words lately. He's getting at least the beginning sounds of several words, and we can usually get enough clues from his actions and environment to know what he's saying. He's also refining many of his signs. He regularly signs "more", "eat", "where/why", "bird", "airplane", "juice", "help", "please", and "toilet". He has also started nodding his head to indicate "yes". I know it frustrates him to understand a lot of what we're saying, and not be able to speak. Now I can ask him a question, and he can answer. That has been extremely helpful in bridging the communication gap!

The weather has been nice this month, so we've been spending more time at the park. Isaac really enjoys watching and playing with the other kids there. He's getting braver on the play-scape. I know that one day I'll look over to find him on the highest level. Thankfully he's content to just watch the older kids climb up there (for now), but I know he's taking mental notes, especially when they jump off the top!

We took him to the bike shop this month to look at balance bikes, but he's still just a little too short in his legs. Since that outing, though, he is now obsessed with bicycles. He shows me every one he sees, and tries to play with the other kids' bikes at the park. We're looking for something that will work for him for now, but we haven't had any luck yet.

Another tooth made an appearance this month - for a total of eight now. This has made biting into things a lot easier for him. His favorite new snack is an apple - a whole apple! He gets really mad now if I try to peel and slice it for him. He likes to bite into the whole thing!

It's been warm lately. It seems like summer is just around the corner. We're going to set up the swimming pool soon, so next month should be exciting around here too.

Blue Bonnets 2010

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and take pictures of Isaac in the blue bonnets. I think they turned out well. Let me know what you think!

Isaac at 13 months

I promised myself that after Isaac turned a year old, I would stop posting a monthly update unless he hit some major milestone. No new milestones this month, unfortunately. We have had a lot of fun this month, though, so there are a lot of pictures to share.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a friend's first birthday party at Zilker Park. Isaac had a great time playing on the play-scape there. He also loved the strawberries from the fruit tray; Michael shot a quick video of him chowing down on one. Just a few seconds before he got the video camera out, Isaac had a strawberry in each hand. He would take a big bite out of one, and then the other. Needless to say, he was a mess afterward - so glad I didn't wear white or some other light color that day!

Last week we ate at Chuy's and Isaac insisted on eating salsa and creamy jalapeño dip. Then he picked up a slice of jalapeño and bit into it. He screamed for 2 seconds, and then put it back in his mouth!

This weekend we took him to Dairy Queen for the first time. He loved it - especially since he had his own dish and spoon. On Saturday we went to the mall, and he loved watching and playing with the other kids there at the indoor play area.

At home he has discovered the Rock Band drums we've been keeping in our room while he's awake. It was so cute to watch him wield those drum sticks like he knew what he was doing! I also made a "bean box" for him and he has really enjoyed digging and exploring in it. One day he decided to crawl into the box, and stayed there long enough for us to take some pictures and video.

That's it for now. Hopefully next month I'll get to share that Isaac is walking - he's so close...

Isaac's First Birthday

Where has this past year gone?!? A little over a year ago, I was thinking that I would be pregnant forever, and now our little boy is a year old! I have to call him a little boy, because all trace of baby is pretty much gone.

For Isaac's first birthday we decided to keep it simple. We had a few friends over to celebrate, and Diana was able to come down for the weekend. We were all so happy to see her! Of course, it turned out especially good because just after she got here, Michael and I got sick. Isaac had given us his stomach bug, and we were both down for the count. I truly don't know what we would have done without her! Unfortunately, she caught it too, so on the day of the actual party she was sick. I hate that she came down for Isaac's birthday, and then ended up missing most of the party! Fortunately, it was just a 24 hour thing, so by the next day she was feeling better.

He seemed to enjoy the extra attention on his birthday. Thanks to all the family and friends who sent gifts for him. He kept wanting to stop and play with each new toy instead of putting them aside to open a new gift.

I made chocolate cake for his (our) birthday. At first he didn't know what to do with it - he just kept staring at it. Then, after he demanded a fork, he finally got down to the business of devouring cake. By the end, the fork didn't really keep him from getting messy; he had cake everywhere!

Isaac loved getting to see Oma-Nana. They had so much fun playing together all weekend. She brought Michael's old Tonka trucks, and the two of them spent a lot of time playing with them outside. He also loved having another person around to read to him. He constantly wanted her to read books and word cards with him. He loves to read!

That's pretty much it. The only big changes since last month are one more tooth, and final mastery over the stairs. He decided that this would be the weekend he would go down the stairs all by himself. He just did it one day, without any help or prompting from us. He still isn't walking, but hopefully he'll decide to do that soon. It's been an exciting and fun first year. I can't wait to see what the next one brings.

San Antonio Zoo 1-24-2010

We decided to take a quick getaway to San Antonio. We thought Isaac would enjoy the Zoo, so we went down for the weekend. It was a wonderful trip - quiet, and relaxing. We stayed in a suite at the Residence Inn downtown, which was wonderful because Isaac got his own room! So much better, and MUCH more relaxing for us!

The pictures are mostly of the animals we saw, but there are a couple of Isaac in there as well. Enjoy!

Isaac at 11 months

Another month has flown by! Isaac is so busy growing and learning. It's hard to keep up with him, and he's not even walking yet! He is standing for 15-30 seconds, though, so hopefully it won't be long. I would love for him to be walking by his first birthday! He has been so good this month - especially considering that I was sore after my surgery. He tolerated that whole experience really well. I'm so proud of him!

This month he's gained two more teeth, for a grand total of 6 now. He's eating pretty much the same things we eat, and he feeds himself almost exclusively. OMG, what a mess!!! Some days I think my house will never recover from having a child around!

He is signing a lot more, and we've been working on pointing. Right now he uses "more" to mean pretty much anything he wants or doesn't know the sign for! He has also started saying "uh-oh" - his new favorite phrase! He's also able to understand a lot more. He can follow simple instructions - it's so exciting!

In addition to trying to communicate more, he's also playing differently; throwing things harder/farther, filling and dumping containers, playing with simple chunky puzzles, and stacking blocks. Of course, he would still rather knock them over then stack them up any day!

Isaac also likes to "help" around the house. He closes any open door, always wants to turn the lights off, has to push the button to start my coffee every morning, and if someone is playing the piano he has to push the pedals. He also likes to brush his hair and his teeth - after mom has a go at it first, that is.

Now we're working on getting rid of his bottle, which is not easy. He drinks from a sippy cup, and a straw cup really well as long as it's water or juice. He just refuses to take his formula from anything other than a bottle. Oh well; we'll have to keep working on it.

That's it! Another busy month. Next month Oma-Nana is coming to see him for his birthday. We can't wait to see her!

The way NOT to end a Christmas vacation!

We left Kansas on the Sunday after Christmas, and made it past Oklahoma City before we stopped for the night. The trip seemed to be going off without a hitch, but after we got on the road Monday morning, I started to feel really sick. At first we thought I'd caught the bug Michael had on the way up, but after a while I was in so much pain I could barely tolerate the drive. We stopped at McDonald's for lunch and ended up being there almost two hours because I kept vomiting and having such horrible pain that I didn't want to get back into the car.

Once we finally left McDonald's we stopped at a convenience store for Dramamine - I only had the non-drowsy kind in my bag, and at that point I wanted the drug induced sleep that I usually get from a couple of regular Dramamine. Unfortunately, about 30 minutes after taking them, we had to pull over so that I could be sick again. So much for Dramamine and sleeping. :-(

So, we got back on the road - I just wanted to be home! Poor Isaac didn't know why Mom just kept moaning and crying in the front seat instead of playing with him. Several times I tried to turn around to talk to him, but each time a wave of pain and nausea would hit me and I thought I would pass out!

I believe Michael thought I was just being a wuss. We got home and he told me to take a nap and relax while he unloaded the car and took care of Isaac. After almost an hour of crying and thrashing about on the bed, I got up and told Michael to either take me to the hospital or call someone else to take me. I thought I was going to die!

At the ER they got us right in to triage. The nurse asked me to rate my pain on a 0-10 scale, and I said "12". When she asked me how my pain compared to child birth, she started moving a little faster when I told her it was so much worse than child birth! I'm serious - I'd rather give birth again with no drugs than to experience that pain ever again!

While the ER staff was trying to get all the admitting paper work done and generally seemed to take forever (although now that I'm not in pain I can admit that it probably wasn't really as long as it seemed at the time) Michael and Isaac waited in the room with me. It was so hard for me to have Isaac there because I kept trying to hide how much pain I was in so that I wouldn't upset him. That's probably why Michael didn't realize how bad it was until I wanted to go to the hospital. Then, of course, he knew there was something terribly wrong because I NEVER willingly go to any kind of doctor no matter what type of ailment I might be having.

I finally convinced Michael to take Isaac home. He stepped out for a few minutes to call Tom and Stephannie, who didn't hesitate to stay with Isaac for the night. Michael left for a while to take Isaac home and give Tom and Stephannie care instructions. Even though, I was still in excruciating pain, it was such a relief to me just to know that Isaac would be taken care of!

At some point a nurse came in and I just looked at her through tear-filled eyes and begged her to help me, and I'm not exaggerating! I'm not too proud to admit that even though I normally have quite a high pain tolerance, at that point I was literally begging for pain medicine. She gave me pitiful look, which I would normally hate, but in that moment I was glad for her pity, because maybe that meant that she'd hurry up with the medicine! She gave me some Zofran for the nausea, and then some type of Fentanyl for pain. Within minutes, I was finally able to relax and get a few deep breaths for the first time all day. The doctor came back to examine me again. He had tried before the pain medicine, but at that point I was in so much pain that I hurt EVERYWHERE he tried to touch! Once the pain was a little more controlled, he could do a more thorough exam. He told me that I probably had a ruptured ovarian cyst and that I'd probably be able to go home with pain meds that night. But just to be sure, they would do a CT scan and some blood work.

By the time Michael got back to the hospital the first dose of pain medicine was already wearing off and I was crying again. I know it wasn't easy for him to watch, but he stayed right beside me the whole time. After blood work, a few more doses of pain medicine, and a CT scan, the ER doctor finally came in to tell me that my white blood count was extremely high and that the CT scan showed appendicitis. They would start prepping me for surgery as soon as the surgical team arrived.

Once I signed all the forms and they took me into surgery, I was fine - relieved at least that they were going to make the pain go away for good. That is, until the anethesiologist tried to snap the oxygen mask on my face. The thrashing that started then had nothing to do with pain. I know that logically there was oxygen coming through the mask and I would not sufficate, but that did not stop the ensuing panic attack - guess I should have mentioned those to him before he tried to strap me down and put something over my face, huh? Thank goodness for a wonderful surgery nurse who calmed me down until the medicine kicked in enough for me to relax and not fight the mask. I remember that she asked me about my favorite relaxing vacation spot, and my mind immediately went to the south of France - the week that Michael and I spent there toward the end of our year in Europe was the best vacation ever! It was the last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep.

After surgery, the surgeon came to see me in recovery and showed me pictures of the most disgusting appendix and drainage that I'd ever seen - so glad they got that out of me!

I spent a little time in recovery before transferring to a room. Once there, I really should have tried to rest, but I was finally pain free and lucid for the first time all day. So, the only logical thing to do...Facebook! Isn't that sad?!? I took time to catch up a little and post a status update for everyone who was worried about me before I went to sleep.

I was able to go home the next day. I remember saying to Michael on the drive home that I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't think of anything really bad to say about anyone on the staff who'd cared for me - high praise from this nurse indeed! Michael stayed home the rest of the week so that I could fully recover before taking care of Isaac all day by myself.

Now, I'm fully recovered. I got a clean bill of health from the doctor last week. At that appointment he told me that the pathology report showed that the appendix was perforated, which at least explains the extreme pain and nausea I was having.

So, even though things are fine now, I wouldn't really recommend having an appendicitis attack on the last day of your vacation - or any other time really. I have to say, though, that when you have an emergency, you really learn who your friends are. Thanks again to Tom and Stepho for taking care of Isaac without hesitation and on such short notice. We also had several other friends offer help in a variety of ways - errands, shopping, child care, etc. Thanks to all of you for making us feel so loved! And finally, I have to thank my wonderful husband, who calmly handled the entire course of events and made me feel so much better during the process. I couldn't have gotten through it without him!

Click here if you want to see the surgery pics.