cheeeeeeeeese!

"say cheese!"

"cheeeeeeeese!!!"

ten!

Isaiah has entered the double digits...10 months that is. Although the past 10 months have been a blast with him I must say that I think we have had the most fun this month so far. He has just developed so much lately and is surprising us with something new every day. Usually its somewhere he has managed to get himself that we never thought he would such as under tables and into closets where he also always manages to find things we never see such as crumbs, dust bunnies, and my never ending trail of bobby pins. So obviously we had to start baby proofing a bit (something we really wanted to wait to do when we were out of this apartment).

This month Leith's rotation at work has been much nicer than we expected so he's had some more time at home with us. Isaiah loves this of course. He has learned to play hide and seek with daddy and when he finds daddy he bursts into uncontrollable laughter. It's so cute! He's also graduated from his little bath chair and sits in the bath tub like a "big boy". (He's becoming a "big boy" way to fast for me!) He loves crawling around in the bath although he has taken a few dunks below the water when he gets too carried away.

He's been pulling himself up to stand on every possible object he finds and has started to take some steps with support....unbelievable! He's taken after his father in regards to eating. His new foods include cheerios, yogurt, cheese, pasta, and boiled veggies, but of course he prefers french fries and pizza. I kid you not...he has helped himself to others' fries and pizza and managed to consume them without a problem - obviously not without my freaking out when I realize what's in his mouth. The recent warm weather has allowed us to venture to the park quite often as well as experience Isaiah's first beach day! He wasn't very fond of the water or wet sand but enjoyed playing out in the sun!

We continue to attend out tuesday mommy group and sunday night bible study where he gets to play and interact with other kids (and steal their pizza). He remains my diligent training partner on my runs although as he grows its getting harder to run with the stroller. We have started working on plans for his first birthday which we can't believe is only 2 months away! Time flies when you're having so much fun!

playing at the beach

hanging out at the park with mommy!

eating avocadoes...my favorite!

daddy is already getting Isaiah used to the dumbells!

playing on the swings with daddy

seaworld

Leith had the last week of March off which was soooo exciting for us! Other than going to Sacramento we didn't do much but stay home and relax. After a few days of "relaxing" (between playtime, feeding time, and nap time for isaiah) we decided that we should take advantage of our military passes to seaworld and take isaiah for the first time. We new he wouldn't really get it or remember but it was a good reason to get out and do something different. After a great breakfast at the Original Pancake House we were off to Shamu-land! We spend a few hours there but then our hunger and isaiah's sleepiness kicked in and we decided to go home. Below are some highlights of the day!

the polar bear just woke up from his nap to see leith and isaiah staring at him

isaiah wasn't too fond of the starfish in the tidepool :(

going through the shark tank!

Sacramento

This past weekend we had the privilege of flying up to to Sacramento to visit our dear friends Aaron and Tami Powell. Leith and Aaron were best buds in med school and we've missed them alot since they moved in June so Aaron could start his residency at UC Davis. We were invited to a wedding in Lodi which is 45 minutes from the Powells so used it as an excuse to pay our friends a visit!

Unfortunately it rained all weekend so we were limited on activities but it was still fun to see Aaron and Tami and get a taste of what their life is like in Sacramento. They gave us a little tour of the neighborhood they live in which included the hospital where Aaron is working. We enjoyed a walk in the park and a trip to Crepeville which was amazing! It was my first crepe experience and I must say I was not dissappointed in the least.




Isaiah's first plane ride. He slept almost the entire way and found the turbulence very funny (mommy did not!)

Isaiah and Aaron doing the happy dance cuz Aaron had the day off...yay!

We had breakfast at this restaurant called "Orphan". Horrible name for a any establishment but the sign made it even worse! (the food was great though)

enjoying our orphan breakfast

all dressed up for Brad and Cambria's wedding

about to go for a run in the rain...crazy guys!

isaiah and tami

Thanks so much friends for having us! We enjoyed seeing you two and can't wait for you to come down to san diego next month. We miss you guys!

nine!

Isaiah is nine months old...wow! With each day he seems to be learning something new. This month was big for firsts for our little man. He started crawling last week which was very exciting for us since we were starting to wonder if he would crawl at all. Since the first time he crawled Leith and I have applauded him whenever he reaches his destination. Well, apparently he's come quite accustomed to it because whenever he starts to crawl he stops half-way and looks at me and claps...so precious!
He also is pulling himself up to standing and gets very excited for himself whenever he does. His third tooth broke through just yesterday and he was such a trooper through it all! Its amazing to us how happy he is all the time!
His vocabulary consists of "da-da" and "ba-ba" amongst other babbling. Its very entertaining to listen to him talk because he gets so emotionally involved in his conversations to the point where he's staring at you and talking soooo loudly as to be saying "are you listening to me?!?". Diaper changing has become quite the task around the States' household. Sometimes its a two man job, if not Isaiah manages to crawl away diaperless which I believe he enjoys quite a bit!
Isaiah's new favorite thing to do is wrestle with his daddy. I didn't think that he would learn to do this at this age but I guess it's in every boy's blood right? Leith will lay on the ground and Isaiah climbs all over him but not without a few smacks here and pokes and nose picking there.
He remains my marathon training buddy and is doing much better on my runs with me. Every day is so exciting with him because we never know what he's going to surprise us with! With that said here are a few highlights from this past month...enjoy!


i love bath time!

Isaiah and grandma at tia Shelsy's bridal shower


Isaiah and his cousin Molly

look where I crawled to mommy!

Love

Unfortunately, Leith was oncall today so we were unable to spend Valentine's Day together. As bummed as I was to be apart from Leith, I decided to make the most of it and spend the day with my little man! Last week Isaiah received his first valentine from his friend Eliana requesting a date for them and their mommys today. So Isaiah and I met with Melissa and Eliana today and had a great time having lunch followed by a baby photoshoot at my house. I must say that the entire day was completely for both mine and Melissa's entertainment, but I am hoping that when Eliana and Isaiah are older they will also be entertained by the photos we captured of them today.

Isaiah ready for our lunch date

mommy and her little valentine!


Melissa's mom made Isaiah this adorable owl hat...i love it!

i love this!

Happy Valentine's Day!

8 months

Today marks two big days for Isaiah. It's his first valentines day and he's 8 months old! I can definitely say that this month I have noticed the most change and growth in him so far. This past month has come with a few first for our little boy. He has learned how to feed himself his puff cracker snacks. At first he would bring his hand up to his mouth and then the puff would fall out and he would look quite confused as he sucked on his "puff-less" fingers. Now he actually places it in his mouth and chews away. With every successful transfer of puff from hand to mouth he gets an encouraging cheer from mommy and daddy which leads to a very proud smile on his face that screams "I did it!". He has also gotten up on his hands and knees after much manipulation on our part to get him to bend his legs. He has very ticklish thighs so whenever we touch him he just cracks up...its very cute! There hasn't been any crawling yet but he's rocking back and forth which I am told means he will be crawling soon! Another exciting first (especially for his daddy) was Isaiah's first super bowl experience. We spent the day at the Girard's home eating all day and watching the game. Isaiah was sporting his first home-made superbowl shirt which Leith and I are very proud of :)
Amongst our usual day to day activities we are also attending a mom's group every tuesday morning with moms and kids from church. It has been such a blessing to connect with other moms and support eachother through our busy mom lives. I am still training for the half-marathon in june so Isaiah and I have been doing alot of jogging. On wednesday mornings we go jogging with my friend Amber and her two kids which has been so great for us.

This past month has come and gone so quickly and I will repeat that we have enjoyed every minute of it! Isaiah you bring more joy to our lives than you can imagine! We love you!

so many toys to play with I don't even know where to start!

so happy post-bath

we love meal time!

hands and knees!

bedtime story

leith painted the back of the shirt

watching the game with daddy