fun in the sun

This past Friday Leith had the day off and since San Diego has been graced with such gorgeous weather we decided to go for a little hike. There is a mountain trail in Torrey Pines which overlooks the ocean that I like to hike although I have never attempted it with a baby before. Thanks to our fabulous jogging stroller we were able to strap Isaiah in with some toys and head up the mountain! It was almost 80 degrees and a clear beautiful morning. Leith pushed Isaiah the entire way up and then back down again. We enjoyed a nice family lunch afterwards and then went home for nap time. What a great day!

Leith walking with Isaiah on our way back down the mountain

the view from the top!

happy to have daddy home for the day

cheese!

like father like son...

Does this little guy look like his daddy or what?!? I love it!

playdate!

As I mentioned in a previous post, my friend Melissa had a beautiful baby girl Eliana in November. Today I had the privilege of babysitting Eliana for a couple of hours. It was my first time watching two children under the age of one by myself but it actually was pretty chill and gave me confidence that I can handle having more children. The way Isaiah interacts with Eliana is so funny to me that I thought I'd share some snapshots of their little playdate.



"Who is that baby and what is she doing in my chair?"

she was quite taken with the fish

The smile on Isaiah's face was truly priceless! Love is in the air!

7 months

As I say every month, I cannot believe another month has gone by already! This past month went exceptionally fast because of the holidays and the fact that I am working again. But our busy schedules have not stopped Isaiah from his busy tasks of growing and development. As of last friday Isaiah is weighing in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 oz...yay! He's also added approximately one roll to each thigh which I believe to be quite an accomplishment. His newest habbit is screaming at the top of his lungs. Not because he's upset but just for the pure pleasure of hearing his own voice and getting a rise out of me. As soon as I shush him he laughs and screams again...I must admit its funny now but I'm sure when he laughs at my scolding later I won't think its so funny. This past month we have taken up the new hobby of jogging! I have never been a runner because I think it's torture to run for miles on end for pleasure, but since I have Isaiah all to myself most of the time I decided that jogging might be a good form of exercise for me and fun for isaiah to get out and see beautiful San Diego. So...thanks to my mother-in-law's help we were able to purchase a BOB jogging stroller! I have really been enjoying taking Isaiah out for runs (and walks) especially with this beautiful weather we have been having. I have even been inspired to run the half marathon in June with Sara! I figured having a baby wasn't enough of a challenge for me so I'd add on something else for the heck of it...lol. Call me crazy!

Isaiah has also added to his eating repretoire. In the last month or so we have started eating sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, pears, apples, and peaches. No wonder he has more rolls!

We have trully been having a blast with our little guy. Every stage he has hit has been so fun and as sad as we are to see him get bigger we are excited for the stages to come. Mommy and Daddy love you Isaiah!

bath time remains his favorite time of the day

messy baby!

Christmas...States Style

I have been working on this post for over a week now. Its been kinda crazy busy here at the States' household which is why i have had to sit down 3-4 times on separate occasions to write this!

Since Leith and I both work in healthcare there is always the very unfortunate requirement of having to work holidays. This year we were blessed to both have Christmas off so that we could enjoy our first christmas as a family of three! Leith even got a whole week off...during internship year...unheard of! So we decided to head up to LA to visit our families for the holidays. We started out the week by heading to Leith's mom's house the 18th and 19th where we just hung out at home and tried to stay dry since it was pouring rain. My friend Jen from college lives near by so she was able to stop by and visit. It was so great to see her and finally meet her boyfriend Johnny. Sunday night we headed to our best friends The Girards house and enjoyed a lovely christmas dinner with them and the Bodziaks and of course Moose (their bulldog). It was a great evening of eating, drinking, carrying babies, and watching football. Monday we headed over to APU where Leith and I both went to college and where we met. We were able to have lunch with a few old professors of ours and they had the chance to meet Isaiah. It was great to catch up and see some familiar faces again. I hadn't been back on campus since I graduated and I was shocked at all the changes they had made! That day we headed to my parents' house for the rest of the week. My older sister Mindy ended up in the hospital on Monday to be induced so on Tuesday we welcomed another little baby boy into our family! Dylan Ryan Schnieber was born on 12/21/10 at 1:30 pm weighing 6.4 lbs and measuring 19 inches long. What a great christmas gift for the entire family!

Leith and I were able to enjoy a couple of date nights that week thanks to my parents watching Isaiah for us. Actually, it was less of us asking them and more of them telling us to please leave so they could spend time with the baby :). Finally, on Christmas Eve we prepared for and enjoyed our traditional Londono christmas party, but of course not before we were completely shocked when we walked out to feed the dogs and discovered that our dog Brandi had given birth to 9 puppies! wow! We didn't even know she was pregnant...she hid it well! After scrambling to make room for the puppies and mama in the heated garage 2 hours before the party we were finally able to finish dinner and get the party started! I always love our christmas party because whenever my family gets together there is bound to be some good times. There is never a time when my family gets together that we don't bust out the conga drums and maracas and dance the night away. Even the babies wanted to join in and bang on the drums! Out of the 30+ people at the house that night were 3 babies celebrating their first christmas...what a joy! We were up until 3 in the morning singing and eating which made for a tired bunch Christmas morning. After opening gifts and having some breakfast, we headed out to Leith's moms house where we ate more and opened more presents. Of course they were mostly all for Isaiah. He doesn't need new toys for another 2 years! The next day we packed our bags, all of Isaiah's gifts, loaded 2 cars and headed back down to San Diego.

We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas with family and friends. We feel so blessed to have such great family and friends and felt so loved by everyone while we were home. We thank everyone for all the great gifts Isaiah received...he will enjoy them greatly! Below are a few snapshots of the our week at home....

Isaiah and his grandmas

Dylan Ryan Schneiber approximately 24 hrs old

Isaiah and his cousin Charlie

yay for presents!

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

6 months

Isaiah is six months old! yes, you heard me right...our little boy is half way through his first year of life. I cannot even put to words how fast time has flown by. In the past month I have returned to work as a nurse at UCSD. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be for me and I am thankful for all of those who prayed for me that week...it really helped! I am working perdiem so I have a minimun requirement of working 4 shifts per month which is so great!

Now onto more important subjects...Isaiah! What can I say to describe Isaiah these days? CURIOUS! He wants to touch, look, and eat everything! With all the brightly colored toys and gadgets that we have for him, his interest always falls to either my cell phone or the straps on the diaper bag which have become his new teething toy. He has two teeth! They are so cute when he smiles but not so cute when he bites considering I am still breastfeeding him...ouch! We just took him into his 6 month well-baby appointment and he is 26 inches and weighing in at 15 lbs. He's in the 10th percentile, but the doctor says he's doing just fine. We attempted to give him carrots a couple of weeks ago and lets just say he wasn't a big fan of them. Two weeks later he is still refusing to swallow and makes this horrible gagging noise, so last night we tried sweet potatoes and he seemed to like those better. Looks liks our son won't be a big carrot eater. We have been having so much fun with him in this stage of his development because he is so much more interactive and playful. He loves to smile and laugh when he's being tickled and he really loves jumping...ALL THE TIME!

We are looking forward to enjoying our first christmas together as a family with our little boy. I am sure that he will be showered with many gifts from his grandparents, but this year we have received the greatest gift of all...our precious baby boy. We love you son.

"Future USC Alum" compliments of uncle Brett and aunt Jess

Isaiah's new friend Eliana was born on 11/20/10 to our dear friends Hector and Melissa. Isaiah's already trying to make a move!

trying to eat mommy's brownie and ice cream

loves to mess with his daddy

its beginning to look alot like christmas...

This is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year! I think it's cuz I love the challenge of searching for the perfect christmas gift for someone and then seeing their face when they open it. Leith says its cuz I get to wear my cute scarves and boots. I will admit his reason is somewhat true! Well, this year we decided not to get a christmas tree for a couple reasons...1) the spot in our apartment where we used to place our christmas tree is home to Isaiah's swing and jumperoo, and 2) we will be gone for the entire week before christmas at our parents' house so we wont even be home to enjoy our tree on christmas. Although I love the smell of a fresh christmas tree, I must say I am somewhat relieved by the fact that I won't have to deal with all the work that goes into putting it up, decorating it, and then taking it all down.

So...in the effort to make this holiday season somewhat festive even without a christmas tree we put up some simple holiday decor and have been attempting to partake in as many holiday themed activities possible.

at "december nights" in balboa park...it was cold!

we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Sara's house and Isaiah got to see his first christmas tree!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!