Christmas time! It is so fun getting Christmas cards & packages in the mail and making cookies and stuff. I had my recital for my students and it went well. Isaac got his Christmas present early from us - a table and chairs. He doesn't love it yet, but hopefully he will soon.
Isaac has his first major bruise from falling down. I think we've gone pretty long time without this happening. He hit his head on the coffee table trying to pick up his Mickey Mouse guitar and has a puffy purple bruise between his eyes. It makes me so sad to look at, but he doesn't mind it.
For any of you that would like to know about the new dance company I am dancing for, here are a collection of clips that the choreographer put together. The quality isn't that great in some of them, and I am only in the 2nd clip (front left). The other clips are from her show last year.
We went to a Halloween Party for kids at a nearby church. Isaac went as a chocolate chip cookie and had a good time. He is usually very very shy, but it seems like in situations where no one is paying attention to him, he is comfortable around a lot of people. The video at the end of this post is long and not totally eventful, but Ben would like to share it.
This weekend we went to Linvilla Farm to get some pumpkins. Isaac didn't reallly see the point in that. But he did like the apple cider doughnuts and the farm animals. And as usual, he mostly enjoyed walking around and touching a chain, caution tape or some sort of divider. Isaac loves these sorts of things and wherever we are, he will find them and laugh. My mom got Isaac a basketball hoop and he likes playing with it. Ben was smart and got him a ball that is too big, so he can learn slowly where the ball is supposed to go. These days Isaac always has something in his hands, a toy car, my phone, a block, my chapstick, so he doesn't have two free hands to put the ball in the basket yet, but he's working on it.
It's been a beautiful fall weekend here. We had a picnic yesterday and today spent some time in the backyard. Isaac likes walking around back there and touching everything.
Isaac spends most of his days walking around the house. He has recently conquered the stairs as well. So here is a little slice of how he spends his time .
Isaac started really walking last week, which is so exciting. He is so cute wandering around the house. Here is a video of him about two days after he really started walking a lot. We're so proud (and I think Isaac is too).
Our family has been traveling quite a bit the past couple weeks. Ben was gone two different weeks in North Jersey and Austin for work. Isaac and I went down to VA to see my mom and Walter, then we all flew to Tennessee for Ben's family reunion and then the next weekend we drove 9 hours each way to Maine for a friend's wedding. Each trip was fun and so glad we went, but what an exhausting 2 weeks. Isaac's first plane trip was fine, but one the way back, he screamed for most of the flight. The drive to Maine was difficult with lots of traffic and Isaac resisting sleep.
Anyway, we are home for awhile. And as usual, I did not take a lot of pictures of any of these trips, but here are the ones we have.
Isaac and I visited Lillian and Alice yesterday in NYC and we loved getting to know little Alice. It's so wonderful for Lillian and I to both be moms and spend time together with our babies. Here are some pictures from the day.
Isaac has been making a "fish face" the past few days. When making the face, he exhaled and happened to make a whistling noise. Of course, he thought this was hilarious. I tried to get him to repeat the original whistling session so that we could capture it on camera and share with everyone. So, here it is....whistling Isaac!
Ben, Isaac and I have just returned from Nags Head, NC, where we spent a wonderful week with my family - my Mom, Walter, Michelle, my sister Fiona and her 4 children, Mitchell, Lauren, Max and Scott (came all the way from South Africa) and my brother, Kevan and his daughter Maggie (from California). It was just an ideal week. The food was amazing, the weather was great, the water was warm, we loved having everyone get to know Isaac, and catching up with everyone. We are so grateful to have this time to relax and be somewhere beautiful.
This last weekend, we celebrated Isaac's first birthday. What a special milestone! Ben's mom, my mom and sister came for the occasion and we had a party with some of Isaac's friends. It's been a great year and it's been amazing to watch our little boy grow. He is now a pro at standing and cruising, especially with his little push walker. I am so thankful for a healthy and happy son and for all the support and love that our family has received over this year of learning and changing.
We took Isaac to Ocean City, NJ on Memorial Day for his first glance at the ocean and his first beach experience. We went with our friends, the Ku's, who have two older kids, love the beach and have all the gear. Isaac was unsure about the sand at first and when we put him down to stand on the sand, he would pick up one foot. But he immediately liked standing in the water and seeing the waves. Eventually, he liked the sand and watching all the people and being outside. I assumed we'd be there for about an hour or 2, but it was such a beautiful day and we were all having such a great time, we stayed about 4 hours. So, we are ready and prepared for our upcoming trip to the Outer Banks, NC with my family.
Also, this week Isaac turns 1 year old!! I am so excited to celebrate his first year of living and our first year of knowing him!
Isaac is practicing standing on his own, and he loves falling backwards. He's standing more and more on his own, so hopefully I'll get a picture of him standing upright soon!
Auntie Michelle came to visit this past week and we all enjoyed having her here. We went to Isaac's 9 month doctor's visit and he is healthy and happy. 20 lbs, 28+inches.
When I got home today, Ben showed me this. Isaac thinks the weirdest things are funny. In some of his books, each time he gets to a specific page he laughs at it. One of them is a picture of a board game. ?? But really, we don't care what is so funny, we just love to hear him laugh.
The weather has been such a relief this week. We went to Wissahickon Park last weekend for a walk on Saturday, which was fun. We can't wait for Spring!
Ben's parents, my mom, Walter and Michelle came to visit to celebrate Isaac's baptism this past weekend. It was a really special time and exciting to have them all here. Isaac did wonderfully at the service and we were all so proud of him. It seems as if the death grip of winter has loosened here in Philly, although anything is possible. Most of the snow has melted and the cold is not as severe. We are looking forward to spring!
Ben, Isaac and I went to NYC to shower our friend Lillian in anticipation of her new baby girl. It was a great time! We also attended Cynthia and Adam's wedding party that night too and Isaac made sure he wore his fanciest outfit. It's always great to see my dearest friends in New York and even more wonderful to celebrate the joys of their children and marriages.
