December Happening

Today we celebrated me passing my National Board Certification at my friend's restaurant (she is a manager), The Tam O'Shanter.  Now, if you live in or anywhere near LA, you have to go to the Tam, especially around Christmas time.  Jose ate a delicious filet and I had yummy fish entree, but the best part was the carolers.  Every year at Christmas time, the Tam has Christmas carolers who are fully decked in Old English costumes.  They go around to each and every table and take requests as to which Christmas carol you want to hear.  There were 4 of them (I think there always are) and they were great.  I loved them last year, but this year was the best.  Why?  Well, because of Isaac.  Now, Isaac loves music.  He grunts, screams, and sings along whenever we sing to him, when he hears a band play, and especially during the worship songs at church.  So today, Isaac was transfixed on the carolers.  I had wanted to hear Joy to the World and was pretty sure that was Isaac's choice for a Christmas hymn as well, but the carolers decided that Isaac was to hear Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.  As soon as the tenor handed Isaac his jingle bells, Isaac began to jingle them, Jose swears to the beat!  Isaac shook the jingle bells and looked at each singer giving us our own private concert.  Watching Isaac in his own private concert, looking from here to there, grunting, and screaming, made me so happy!  Our little one brings such joy and is such a gift to us.  We are so thankful for him.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, among other things!

I wonder if Isaac will get his two front teeth in in time for Christmas?  Only time will tell.
Here is a list of things that Isaac needs / wants (he doesn't really need anything) for Christmas:

• Wooden blocks, toys.  (We found great toys at Giggle, or toys called Plan Toys)
• Kids music in Spanish -Cri, Cri, really any Spanish kids cds, also hymns in Spanish.
• Putumayo Kids CDs - they are amazing!!  We don't have any yet.
• Hannah Anderson PJs and solid onesies
• Books in Spanish
• Instruments - Isaac really wants a drum that he can bang on.  Something like 12'' wide that is leather and is not too tall so he can sit and bang.
• Safe Sippy 2 - he needs another sippy cup.
• Bath toys!  He doesn't have any yet, but loves taking baths!
• Pedi ped shoes.  These are really cute shoes and he is almost growing out of his shoes.  Time for some new ones.
• Anything from the store Giggle that is appropriate for his age.  The people that work there are great and everything they have is amazing!!!

Happy Halloween!

Hmm, I can eat like Mommy and Daddy, right?

My two teeth

Isaac is almost 8 Months Old!

Wow, I can't believe how time has flown!  Isaac is almost 8 months old and is about to enter his first holiday season.  I just got great news, I passed my National Board Certification!  That means that my credential is valid in over 40 states, if we were ever to move.  It also means that I worked hard and it paid off.

I am starting a Spanish music class for kids, mostly so Isaac can be exposed to music in Spanish and have fun with other kids.  It is going off to a slow start, but I anticipate more participation after the holidays.  It is really fun for me because I am learning kids songs in Spanish to sing to Isaac and am breaking out my mom's old instruments from when she taught music.

Isaac is growing up so quickly.  He is just about ready to crawl.  He moves from sitting to his front on all fours.  Now he just needs to move!  I heard that babies start crawling backwards, so we are awaiting the backward crawls from our little crab!  Isaac has learned to pull himself up to standing in his crib.  This was a little bit scary because the crib was at the highest setting, so Jose immediately lowered it.  Now there is no risk of Isaac falling out!

A few days a week after school, I take Isaac to the park.  He loves to play in the sand.  He sits and puts the sand in his hand, lifts his hands up high, and watches the sand fall to the ground.  He loves to be pushed in the swing, and especially play with other kids.  Isaac starts grunting and flapping his arms when other kids his age are around.  He is going to make a lot of friends.

Pictures!

I forgot to mention that Isaac went apple and pumpkin picking. He found a pumpkin that was just his size!

6 & 7 Months Old

Isaac is having so much fun exploring everything!!! He loves to bang and pound, especially on the drum at his music class. He started going to a music class with Jose during the week on Mondays. I have been able to take him twice and love watching him get so excited about singing, shaking shakers, banging on the drum, and playing with his friends! He sprouted 2 new teeth and enjoys chomping on his Sophie the giraffe toy Grandma and Grandpa got for him. Isaac was a caterpillar for Halloween. He dressed up as one of his favorite toys - thank you Auntie Dawn! He had a great time playing with his friends at a Halloween get together. Isaac has started eating solids. Some of his favorites are sweet potatoes and apples. Believe it or not, he actually likes prunes! We will be starting chicken pretty soon. He really loves to make a mess when he eats! Isaac is a happy guy who loves to smile, flirt, and laugh. Isaac and I have enjoyed going to the farmer's market each week to buy his food. I am having fun with a recipe book from Uncle Nathan called Le Petit Appetite.

More 5 month Pictures!

5 months!

Isaac's 5th month has been so much fun! This month Isaac spent a lot of time living at Heather and David's house since we are working on remodeling our kitchen. Isaac loves playing with both Heather and David and now misses them a lot since we moved back in. He also had fun with his friend Ellie. I babysat her for 1 week at our house. This month he has been very talkative. He enjoys singing, playing the piano, going to music class with mom and dad, splashing in the bathtub, grabbing at everything he can find, and flirting! Isaac is quite the flirt. He smiles at everyone he meets. Just one smile and everyone is hooked. Other big milestones include eating solid foods toward the middle of the month. He loves sweet potatoes and is interested in avocados, but not bananas. Another huge milestone is that he sat up on his own for the first time this month!!!!! He can now sit up for ten minutes, provided that nothing to his side catches his interest! Isaac also loves reading and eating books. We have to be careful of what we give him to hold because he puts everything in his mouth!

Isaac is 4 Months Old!

Isaac is growing up very fast! This month he has been quite the traveller! He went to Northern California and visited Kennedy Meadows and went to a 4th of July picnic. He also spent a week at the beach at Pajaro Dunes. The beach was a little cold for a dip in the Pacific, but Isaac sure did love the feeling of the sand on his feet. After the beach, Isaac spent a few days as a city boy in San Francisco. We went to Golden Gate Park, met up with my friend from college Mallika's new baby boy Cadeo, had a picnic lunch at the Presidio, and flirted with everyone he met. Yes, Isaac is quite the flirt! He has a killer smile and long eye lashes - ladies watch out!

Isaac is quite the active boy. He is always standing and grabbing at everything. Everything he can grab he puts into his mouth! He loves to arch his back and bend over upside down. He loves to talk and sing. Isaac has many little friends whom he loves to grab. He went to his first movie this month at the Mommy and Me movies with my friend and her daughter. During the movie, Isaac held Ellie's hand (well, he really grabbed at it!).

We are remodeling our kitchen and bathroom and am staying at our friends Heather and David's house. Isaac loves it and loves to play with Heather and David. He is very excited to play with David's beard.

Isaac met his first dogs this month and actually let Garrett and Andrea's dog Nala lick his toes. That sure felt funny!

Isaac is 3 months old!!!

Isaac has had a very busy third month!!! Mom went back to school for three days and Isaac stayed at home with dad and friends. He played with his grandma a lot before she left for Washington D.C. and went to his cousin's high school graduation! This month Isaac enjoys playing with his hands, talking, and playing. He can lie on his tummy and lift his head up! He still loves his mobile and loves to grab at objects all around him. He is quite the flirt!!

Isaac is 2 Months Old!

Isaac is now 2 months old! He loves to watch his mobile go round and round and still loves to listen to music. He loves to sit in his bouncy chair and play with the dangling toys and mirrors. He has discovered his hands and grabs at toys in front of him. He loves to smile and talk with mom and dad. He is sleeping for about 2 four hour stretches during the night. He is so much fun to be around and play with. Boy is he alert! He especially likes going to Target (the bright red contrasted with white and the bright lights).

He is going on his first car trip to Los Gatos to visit his grandparents for the first time. We are praying for smooth sails because Isaac really does not like the car!

Isaac is 1 Month Old!

Isaac is now 1 month old. He loves to look in the mirror and smile when Mom looks at him in the mirror.
He loves to sit in his vibrating chair and look at high contrast pictures of cars and fish.
He absolutely loves music! He loves to listen to classical music and hear mom play the harp and the piano. I think we have a little musician in the making!
He also loves to get out and about on outings to the park, to the Rose Bowl, to the store, and to visit friends.

Isaac is a very strong boy and loves to move his head around, kick his legs. He just discovered that if he moves his arm when he is lying in his crib to play, he can hit his mirror toy and make it jingle!

More Isaac Pictures

Isaac is Born!!

This is long overdue and I apologize! Having a newborn means sitting down to start this many times and not being able to finish!!! This time I am determined.

Isaac Bonham Abraham was born on March 26, 2009 at 3:48 pm. He was 20 inches long and weighed 9 lbs 7.3 oz!

He is such a delight!

Our Registry.

By popular demand, I am posting our registry!

www.myregistry.com

Search by my name and you will find it!

Back to making dinner!

Let the Insanity Begin!

Things are now officially crazy! We have T minus 9 weeks to go to the due date. I am not so worried about to baby, but rather need to finish my work for my National Board Certification and get all of my work done for my fieldwork class and my law class for my Master's Degree. The comprehensive exams are at the end of June! Can I bring the baby in a baby carrier? Just kidding - maybe too much of a distraction for those around me. Somehow I will get through. Remember me in your prayers!

Jose and I had a wonderful mini-vacation in Los Angeles this past week. We went to Malibu and ate at a cute seafood restaurant right on PCH with a view of the ocean (The Reel Restaurant or something to that degree...), walked along the beach and saw a poor stranded baby seal (the worst part being some tourist was trying to push him back into the water - boy we let him have it!!!), and then some window shopping on Montana in Santa Monica.

Here are some pictures of the fun. Time for sleep. Tomorrow is my first day back to work from the vacation!

Hospital and Preschool Tour, all in the same day!

I am about to leave the house for the Preschool observation, followed by a hospital tour. Apparently in this day and age if you don't want to spend a million bucks on preschool starting at age 2 you have to sign up the day your child is born and pray that you will be accepted two years later! Pretty crazy, however, I am taking part in this. The preschool is Occidental College's Child Development Center and it is located less than a mile from our house. Many of my friends and coworkers at Eagle Rock Elementary send their children there and absolutely love it!

After that, I am off to the hospital, Good Samaritan, to take the tour with our doula so we will know where everything is when the baby is ready to enter this world =).

This is my last day of vacation and I feel good about going back to school, but like I still have a billion things to do!

Yesterday, Jose and I went to Malibu and Santa Monica, played on the sand, saw a baby seal resting on a big pile of rocks, ate a delicious lunch at a rustic beachfront restaurant, and finished the day off by shopping on Montana Ave in Santa Monica. What a great end to our vacation!

Here are some more pictures of the nene growing bigger in my belly!

Week 29

For those of you who want to see what I look like pregnant, here I am in November! I will post a new picture soon.

Our little Nenecito is kicking so much more! I feel him all the time. We cannot believe that he will be here in three months! During Christmas, I went to Los Gatos and got him some baby clothes, just in case! Yesterday, I got him a changing table and today I am going to pick up a crib from one of my friends. I have only three more days off to get this all accomplished before I go back to work and begin slaving away over my Master's fieldwork and my National Board work.

What do I have so far for the baby?
* crib so graciously given to us by one of my friends from work!
* changing table, sans pillow to keep him stable - IKEA
* a few cute clothes
* a cute newbee organic cotton beanie that I made - will post a picture
* a knit bib that he will not be able to use for some time, but hey, it was cute!
* a few burp clothes
* books - my biggest weakness! I just cannot stop buying them for him.
* a swing and a bouncer so graciously provided by my pastor and his wife

What else do I need?
*car seat
*stroller
and much much more!

DIY Projects for the Baby

So, I am sitting here, procrastinating and looking to create fun little items for the baby's room. My first DIY project, aside from knitting items that I have made for the baby, which I will post soon, during my breaks from studying, will be a high contrast baby mobile!

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-High-Contrast-Baby-Mobile/

Hopefully, mine will turn out great! The only unfortunate thing is that I just ran out of duct tape! Back to my real work I suppose!

Next up, sewing my own bibs and matching burp cloths!