8 months and on the move!

First off, apologies for the long post! Normally I like to do these updates shorthand style, but 7-8 months was big for this little boy, and with my blog being my main journal, I feel like I need to be thorough. 


Isaac is 8 months old and it seems like in the last week or two he has acquired several new skills a day, especially the last few days. I can barely keep up with how fast he's learning. I just finish processing that he's able to do something new, and wrapping my head around what that means in terms of baby proofing, then he pulls something else out of the bag and we start over.


He's been working on crawling since he was about 6.5 months, and finally after a month of hands and knees, rocking back and forth, moving legs but not arms, he figured out how to move a good couple feet across the carpet. In a week he has mastered crawling, will crawl really fast for something he's excited to reach, and can find you anywhere. Then as if crawling switched on a big light bulb he's also learned how to pull himself up on anything sturdy enough to let him, squirm out of his bumbo, and climb out of his bath. I think it goes without saying that I hardly let him out of my sight for longer than 5 seconds. The only place I can put him to go do laundry or even go to the bathroom is his crib or jumperoo. And since the crib is associated with sleep, something Isaac usually despises, I opt for the jumperoo 9 times out of 10. The days of having the bathroom and bedroom doors closed, and access to outlets blocked by furniture and bins have begun.

Loves to stand and play at his table

Getting into mischief

Isaac is starting to understand a few words and expressions now, and I never get bored of testing his knowledge. "Give mummy a kiss" is either met with a big slobbery open mouth kiss, or a shove in the face if he's not in the mood (watch out girls everywhere!). "Banana" leads to him frantically looking at the counter where the bananas are kept, expecting one of his favourite foods. "Headbutt" is something my dad used to do with us when we were little, and is exactly how it sounds, gently bumping foreheads together. This is something I've been teaching Isaac, mostly so he can do it with my dad, and he's really catching on. He also loves to give grampa cuddles and kisses, and for a typically un-cuddly boy, this always makes me smile.

As cute and smiley as he can be, he also has a mean temper. He's also got his daddy's muscular build, so every temper tantrum usually turns into a wrestling match...whether it's a diaper change or getting in his car seat. If he doesn't want to do it, he has no inhibitions about letting you know. The other day, he wanted to get out of his car seat faster than I was getting him out, and because of how strong he is and how rigid he goes when he's upset, I couldn't bend his arm to get him out of the straps. I actually had to unthread the strap from underneath the car seat to get him out. Maybe he's just getting all the terrible twos out early... wishful thinking.
 

Temper tantrum in full swing

 
     
Transitioning to solids has not been without its challenges. Isaac is a great eater...but has a very very limited tolerance when it comes to waiting for food if he's hungry. Usually his hungry time coincides with him waking up from a nap. This means I usually have to be pre-emptive with any solids I want to feed him...not too difficult right? Wrong. First, how long he will nap for can range from 30 mins to 2.5 hours and is near-impossible to predict. Second, he hates anything pureed unless it's fruit...or mixed with fruit, so we feed him very small cut up pieces of veggies or meat The problem with that is that if he's hungry, and you only give him a little nibble to keep him from choking, he gets mad that you're not feeding him fast enough and yet another tantrum ensues. I was worried he was gonna be a veg-hater, but just pureed veggies are on his blacklist, he'll eat small pieces of veggies with no complaints. He loves loves loves fruit-apples, peaches, pears, bananas, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, nectarines-kiwi is the only exception to the list so far.

So a hungry Isaac has to have rice cereal with fruit, or a bottle, because I usually have to prepare something fresh. Then he also will have a little of what we're eating when we eat, and he will eat ANYTHING that way, even things that are a little spicy. Tonight we had spaghetti with a tomato and garlic sauce and he was all over the diced tomatoes. I really like that he loves what we're eating...since that's what he'll be eating in a few months. I am going to try and work on having more things prepared for him, like cut up cooked veggies, but he loves eating what we eat so much more that sometimes it's easier to have him eat with us at meal times, and have rice cereal or a bottle when he's hungry. I may not be doing it 100% "right" but it's what's working for us right now, so I'll just keep on playing it by ear.

I think I could probably keep on going and on about how much he's changing, but I'll mercifully conclude with a brief list of anything else I can think of to say about him.

-cut top tooth a week ago, tooth #4 in progress (sucked so much more than the bottom teeth...)
-the above has led to a love for his soother (we'll see how this pans out...)
-loves to splash in the bath (I have to hide behind the shower curtain to avoid being drenched)
-loves peekaboo
-immediately crawls to daddy when he gets home from work
-starting to sleep through the night again after a month long hiatus
-never ever stays still-in 30 seconds wants to stand up, sit down, hang upside down, crawl off the couch, bounce, lie down and stand up again
-my most frequent uses: scratch post, trampoline, jungle gym.
-biggest mooch EVER. If he sees or hears  any evidence of food, he makes a beeline straight for you. He has tried to open my mouth with his fingers before... best to eat in hiding.
-keeps me busy, and tired, but I love him with every fiber of my being 

Happy 8 months little boy

 

Peace

Watching in a state of disbelief and sadness, as my hometown is being submerged under water, one thing has become very very clear to me: "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear". 

I'm actually in Calgary ironically, but my family's home is well away from danger, and we're just riding out the storm and watching the live coverage of possibly the most severe flood in settled history. They say that lines at the grocery store are 20-30 people deep at every cash register, bottled water is becoming scarce and people are clamouring to get gas and needed supplies. The news anchor even mentioned how the government recommended that everyone get emergency kits together after the 2005 flood, and a little cynically remarked "How many of us did that? I know I didn't".

The government isn't the only one who has warned us to be prepared in times of natural disasters. Our living prophets and other church leaders have counseled us for many many years to have a food storage, water, savings and anything else that may be needed in case of an emergency. I'm so grateful for parents who have listened to this council and I'm equally grateful that I know if this happened in Edmonton, that Gordon and I would also be alright. We have worked hard since we've been married to build a food and water storage, always have a savings and have 72 hours kits up to date. The peace that I feel because my parents are prepared is invaluable. The peace that I feel, knowing that Gordon and I are trying our best to be prepared with the resources we have, is equally great.

I'm so thankful for living prophets who lead and guide us. I know that no matter the storms that rage outside, if we are obedient to their counsel, we can have that inner peace that only comes from our Saviour,

Catch up

It's only been a week and a half since my last post but I already have so much catching up to do. It's been an abnormally insane week around here (here being our new place!). So I left off in my last post not knowing where we were going to move. The next day I went to see two of the places that Gordon liked best, and we were able to put in applications for both, even though we hoped for one in particular. Both landladies said they would get back to us the following day, after they had called our references, and told us that we weren't the only applicants so nothing was certain.

So resting on faith and prayers, Tuesday we anxiously waited for a phone call. The phone rang and it was about the place we really wanted. She started about by saying that all of the applicants had really good references and that it was a hard decision for her to make. My heart sank a little bit as I prepared myself to hear bad news. "We want to offer the place to you". Wait...WHAT?!? (no I didn't say that...) Gordon looked at me as I calmly said "We would be so thrilled", even though I was jumping for joy and anything but calm on the inside.

Within five days we had a new job and a new house. Windows of heaven. No doubt about it.

We're now living in a basement suite with a kitchen that would swallow my old one three times over. We have a dishwasher, super quiet neighbours, and great landlords. We only have a few odds and ends left to unpack and it's starting to feel like home. Good thing, because I'm not planning on moving anytime soon.

Packing with daddy

 Isaac turned 7 months last week and it's fun to see his personality (and boy does he have one!) emerge day by day, and see him discover new things. At 7 months he...

-weighs 17lbs 1oz, nearly 27 inches long (25-50th percentile)

-gets around by rolling and army crawling backwards

-so close to crawling! He starts by planking (which he can do for a long time) and then he tucks his knees under him and rocks back and forth while moving his legs. However his hands are glued to the ground, so he's not motoring anywhere quite yet. He also loves to attempt to bear crawl and do mountain climbers. Obviously he's watching me workout too much.

-says ba-ba, ma-ma, va-va, wa-wa and once in a while da-da OR a combination of any of them

-bananas are still his fav, but he also like apricots and pears, not a fan of kiwi. Definitely prefers fruit to veg like his mama, but I make him eat them anyway and I only let him have fruit for breakfast.

-also like random things Gordon gives him a taste of like bbq sauce, ketchup and my enchilada sauce. He won't eat his food if you're eating something else in front of him, or he stares at you with big puppy dog eyes begging you for a taste.

-sits up on his own

-started sleeping on his stomach

-started not sleeping through the night...laaaaame.

-NEVER smiles when we're outside taking a walk. He just sits in his stroller and pouts no matter what we do. Maybe it has to do with the fact that there was basically no sunlight for the first 3 months of his life.

Most recent/best picture of the boy boy

                                  
And finally in our catch-up.... my birthday on Tuesday!

It was pretty normal as days go. Isaac came with me to 10% Tuesday at Safeway for the first time and it wasn't a total disaster like I predicted. They didn't have any carts with the baby seats so he had to sit in the front part and he was a little too small. I had to hold his hands to keep him from falling over and push the cart at the same time. He stared down every stranger that looked at him without so much as cracking the slightest grin. Then right near the end he noticed there was a little key dangling from the cart (where you attach the other carts to) and immediately thought he should chew on it. He then proceeded to scream in the deli when I took it away from him. Sure it won't be the first time.

Gordon and I were able to go out to dinner sans Isaac. I forgot what it was like to eat a meal without
a) a baby trying to grab your fork, plate, glass etc.
b) a baby complaining that you're not giving him what you're eating
c) eating as fast as you can so you can tend to crying baby
d) all of the above

My gifts from him were "coupons" for a homemade dinner of my choice, a movie of my choice and time at the spa for a facial and pedicure. So excited! It'll be nice to have time to myself that isn't running errands.