HOOT, HOOT! Look WHOOO'S 1

We celebrated Isaiah's first birthday a little over a week ago. I FINALLY got my camera cord and have been trying to post about his birthday. Here are some of the pics. I think I could have kept adding pics, but don't want to bore you!

Here's the birthday boy, Isaiah Matthew! So BIG!

Now, let's get to the sweet stuff...cake!

The more he tasted, the more he loved!

Great Uncle CQ brought him the Toy Story 3 Space Car. It wasn't wrapped and it was an instant hit with all three of the wee ones. We got it out of the box first and had to ride it into the living room to open up the rest of the presents.






What a spoiled little boy you are, Isaiah! Here is some fun the kids were having with the new treasures!

Isaiah and Samuel


Isaiah and Ellie

Isaiah kept giving his cousin, Ellie, kisses. Wouldn't you know it that I never did capture his affection on film! :(

I have to say that we had a special visitor from afar that came to celebrate Isaiah's b-day. She is one of the best (in every way) friends I've ever known. Brian, Isaiah, and I are FOREVER grateful for your generosity, thoughfulness, and friendship! I say I don't deserve a friend like you...but I'm (we're) so thankful to have you!

The theme of the party was OWLS, in case you didn't notice the title. I found some really cute cake pics online and my sis, Alyssa, said she would make them. What a way to take some stress off me. They turned out even better than the pics I got offline. Thanks, Alyssa!

Mmmm, pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting...all made from scratch (just ask Alyssa about the "Cake Nazi")

By the way, I tried to download this one 3 times and it kept loading like this. Sorry,...


And what OWL party would be complete without these dizzy, made from scratch, chocolate owls with homemade buttercream frosting. Yes, again, the Cake Nazi struck!

It's hard to see because of the lighting, but I made a Happy Birthday banner. A lot of the decorations I had from one of my baby showers. Those decorations were made by my cousin, Amber! So, Amber, you were here in spirit!

We had a wonderful day and can't believe over a week has passed since this, our baby's, first milestone. Our special guest/friend made us remember how important family and friends are. We take everyday things for granted and a surprise visit can shake things up and put everything back into perspective. Like, how important the connections are that we have with the ones we love. Thanks to everyone!

it's coming...

the camera cord, that is. all the way from hong kong. said it would only take 8 to 10 days to ship. we'll see. get ready for some FALL posts! can't wait.

a picture is worth 1,000 words

i have lots of pics i want to share with you. some are of isaiah playing under the bathroom sink. others are of him watching the pigs out at the farm. i got my camera out, went to get my cord and it's gone. i know i threw it away. i remember distinctly thinking "i don't need two camera cords..." yeah, well, one was the camera cord and one is for the video camera. guess which one i tossed. hopefully, i get another cord in a week or two. until then, words will have to do.

so it is

My last half-week of freedom is gone...here are a few pics from my favorite moments.

Isaiah playing.

Lunch at one of our favorite LOCAL places on the river.

check out his top tooth

bath time

Right now at our house, we are busy! I'm starting to really look forward to fall (my favorite season), but am also getting really anxious about school starting. Most importantly, we are busy spending time with Isaiah. We marvel at him daily, so many moments we are caught in, loving him and being fascinated by him. Here are a few of the most recent shots of him playing. He's getting so big and in about a month will be ONE! He has 3 new teeth and is saying "mom, dad, hi, bye, bo-bo (that's a short "o" like in bottle), do (dog), tat (cat), no, be-but (belly button), tratr (tractor), mmm (moo), b-a-a-a (like a sheep)". He is taking steps too. The most he has taken at once is 12. Hard to believe that last year at this time he was still in my belly!

Some other things I have going on are getting ready for school to start, planning Isaiah's birthday party (and making some things), pulling ideas/resources for an upcoming bridal shower, working on my master's, and since this isn't enough, I bought some material and am making curtains for the living, dining, and kitchen. I have NEVER sewed before. I don't know what I'm thinking. My mom came over last night, along with her sewing machine, to get me started. I have to say that I don't think it's going to be too bad, just time consuming. We finished one panel last night.
This is the material for the living room. The material for the dining room is the same print, but it has a red background and the print is in white.


Here's the panel hanging in the living room. Not too bad for a beginner, right? I'll post more pics when I finish!


Looking forward to getting caught up (does that ever happen?) and soaking in the upcoming fall season with the ones I love.

whirlwind weekend

Wow! What a busy weekend we've had. It's been wonderful. It started with Aron, Erica, Belle, and Judah's arrival Thursday evening. I had been swimming and ended up staying at my mom's for dinner. Brian joined us and we had a nice visit. I forgot my camera.

Friday at noon was a birthday fish fry for Kyla. She invited Isaiah and I over to her parents' house (Brian was invited too, but was at work). Kyla prepared halibut fresh from her recent Alaskan adventures. It was delicious!

While there, we got to visit with Kyla's entire family. Here is Wyatt, who is 3 months younger than Isaiah, but almost as big!

Isaiah got to play with Wyatt and Owen. Aunt Pam had these huge trucks and Isaiah loved playing with them and Owen is such a great cousin, always ready to share.

Aunt Pam had a cat and Josh and Kim brought Muffin.

That evening, Alyssa had us over for my birthday dinner. It was delicious-all my favorites, including a blackberry cobbler.

Isaiah is very interested in Lucky.

After dinner we took some pics outside.

The kids

The guys

The gals

Then we walked to the playground for some fun!

Grace caught a toad.

We ended the evening by relaxing on the porch. Aron, Erica, and Judah joined us later after the rehearsal dinner. Belle was staying with cousin Chloe. What a perfect way to celebrate my birthday!

The next night was Seth and Alanna's wedding. The new pic at the top of Brian, Isaiah, and I is at the wedding. I didn't get many more pics as Isaiah was worn out!

Isaiah & Alyssa

Aron, Danielle, Samuel, & Ben

Ode to Lori...

My favorite Eskimo, Lori, is so wonderful. On my birthday, she was one of the first people to text me and wish me a Happy Birthday! She's on a four hour time difference and she was up and remembered me first thing. So, I started thinking of how I take her for granted and sometimes I'm not nearly as good to her as she is to me. For example, on the most recent girl trip that I didn't get to go on, she sent us back some goodies from Alaska. Can you believe that I didn't even thank her for all the goodies? What a inconsiderate "friend" I am. To try to make up for my inadequacies, I'm posting to her b/c I'm so unbelievably grateful for her and her friendship. This is Lori with Isaiah when he was about a month old. Yes, she flew here to meet him, another example of what an awesome friend she is.

The next few pictures are all of Isaiah wearing stuff she's sent him-they are in no particular order. By the way, I think she bought him more for Christmas than Brian and I did.

Here he is in his moose p.j.'s


His UK hat, just like daddy's. I'm telling you, this girl is amazing!

His warm and adorable winter hat.

His "Mom" House of Blues onesie.

His superman onseie and jeans.

"My Mom Rocks" bib.


And, most recently, new moose pj's! They say "I Moose be Dreaming" and this is Isaiah's tough face!

We love you Lori and are so thankful you are in our lives! Hugs and Kisses!