Trip to Madras

This weekend we went to Madras to visit grandparents and friends. We drove over Friday afternoon leaving around 1pm so Isaiah would take his afternoon nap in the car. Isaiah did fairly well in the car (as this was his longest car ride). He slept for about 45min (so not a very long nap). He also had some moments of sadness in the car, but typically the sadness was quickly followed by giggles because Mommy and Daddy would do silly things to entertain him. We enjoyed our long weekend in Madras and now have even more pictures of our baby boy!

Isaiah loved visiting Larry and LaRee. LaRee had lots of fun toys for him to explore.
Isaiah wearing his train overalls from the Macy family.
Nonna bought a beach ball on Thursday at Target, but Isaiah loved it so much she let him have it to take this weekend.
Grandma was cooking in the kitchen and Isaiah came for a snuggle.
Sweet boy enjoying the sunshine!
Smiles and shadow fun!
We have noticed that Isaiah tends to laugh when someone in the room sneezes. However, this weekend we discovered that Isaiah laughs super hard even when we fake sneeze. Grandpa had fun sneezing for Isaiah.
Look at both those smiles!
Isaiah loves to play a hugging game. He enjoyed playing with Grandpa ...
...and with Daddy. He walks between the two people getting multiple hugs from us. It is so fun to play with him.
Isaiah loves relaxing with the glowworm. Grandpa had a turn holding Isaiah and the glowworm.
Grandma had a turn holding Isaiah and the glowworm.

This morning before church we went outside and had a small photo shoot...

Isaiah was laughing because Daddy was fake sneezing behind me.
Sitting in the grass... he is still not sure he likes the grass.
Still smiling and happy to be outside.
Walking with Daddy and trying to figure out how to walk on uneven grass.
His walking skills got a tiny bit better...still fairly nervous, but precious father son photo!
Happily sitting on the rock wall in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.
Titling his head as if we were doing professional photos...silly boy!
Isaiah getting snuggles from Daddy.
Daddy loving on his boy.
Isaiah's teeth have been bugging him so I am surprised we don't have more hands in our mouth photos.
Mommy and Isaiah
Sweet boy next to a lovely patch of yellow flowers.
Flying with Daddy # 1!
Flying with Daddy # 2!
Daddy and Isaiah
Isaiah learning how to read a book.
Oops...your book is upside down.
Playing with cups and reading a book.
We went to lunch at Applebee's and Isaiah experienced crayons. He didn't try to eat them so that is a success.
He even tried to color a little bit.
Isaiah got to meet Jesse. He loved the toys at the St. John home.
Jesse showed us how Analise likes her tongue brushed.
Travis and Isaiah playing with one of the coolest toys...we may need to buy this one!
Analise and Isaiah trying to play together.

First Trip to Round Table

Round Table is another one of our favorite restaurants. We went to Round Table to celebrate Isaiah's first birthday (when he wasn't home yet). We went to Round Table to celebrate when we got our travel call. And this evening we finally go to take Isaiah to this special place. I think he enjoyed it!
He got a new ball!
He liked eating pizza!
He loves his Daddy! (And doesn't he look adorable in overalls?)

Thursday with the Girls!

Today Isaiah and I went to see Sarah and Lily and Brook and Michaela. It was great to have a
Mommy's play date time!

Isaiah carefully and quietly watched baby Lily sleep. It was so precious!

Park Trip on Wednesday

Isaiah ended up taking an early nap on Wednesday (10:45-12:45) which allowed us to get out in the afternoon to run some errands. We went to my school again and visited my class during their specials time- music. Isaiah had fun watching the kids sing. He was much more comfortable and interested in exploring this time.

When we were done at my school it was fairly nice out (it has been rainy all week) so we took advantage of the park right next to my school and tried out the swings. He loved it, but I didn't have my camera.

So Wednesday evening (after pancakes for dinner) we took him to another park to swing (with the camera). Here are the pictures from our park trip:

Happy boy- he was all smiles on the swing!
Daddy had fun pushing Isaiah.
Isaiah enjoyed exploring bark chips... we had to tell him not to put them in his mouth though.
D and Isaiah hanging out together on the slide. Isaiah wasn't sure he was a fan of the slide yet.
Nate and Isaiah taking a walk around the park.
Mommy and Isaiah loving on each other.

I can't wait for better weather so we can go on more park trips!

Monday with Mommy

Monday morning Isaiah woke up early... thanks to the garbage truck. I went into his room at 6am and could tell he was still sleepy. I picked him up out of the crib and held/co-slept with him on the futon in his bedroom until about 7:45am. Thank goodness for a little more sleep. I did learn a lesson though-when I heard him at 6am I went right into his room. Well, not too long after holding him and having him lay on me...I really had to go the bathroom. I finally decided to put him back in the crib (he was super sad and cried) while I ran to the restroom. Lesson learned I will now go to the bathroom before going into his room in the morning.

Travis went back to work this week, but luckily my friend Heidi came to visit us Monday morning around 9:30am. He was a little slow to warm up to her, but eventually did. He liked the Eric Carle books she bought for him. Thanks Heidi!
He wasn't really interested in staying still for a picture with Heidi. Sorry Heidi, his is the best I got-for now.
Monday evening (while Travis was at class-wow a long day with just Mommy) I was trying to get creative to keep Isaiah entertained and happy before bedtime arrived so I let him play the piano. It was so cute! He was very gentle on the keys.
I think he thought it was pretty special to get to play the big piano. Maybe in a couple years he can start taking piano lessons.

Sunday Summary

We went to church again this week. Isaiah was a little more wiggly this week than last. He liked the music, but wasn't interested in a nap. Travis ended up taking him to the parents room where they had a good time.

After church we had lunch and then tried to get Isaiah down for a nap. He fell asleep in my arms but when I transferred him to the crib he woke up and then I wasn't able to get him to fall back asleep. We could tell he was still super tired so we decided to go for a drive.

On our drive we headed towards Salem. Our first exploration was of Willamette Mission State Park. It was pretty rainy (and we had a sleeping boy-thank goodness) so we didn't get out of the car to explore. However, when we drove around it seemed like a cool park that we will have to go back to sometime soon. After exploring the park we headed the rest of the way into Salem and went to the mall. We were able to return the Nordstrom's pair of Keens and we looked for pants(Jumping Bean brand was what I wanted since they fit Isaiah well in the waiste) at Kohl's, but for some crazy reason they only had shorts! Did I mention it is the end of May and we are still getting rain... we don't need shorts till August (if at all)!

In the evening we went to a community adoption group potluck. We brought strawberries to the potluck and they were very popular. Isaiah (and us) loved meeting other adoptive families that live within our community. We look forward to attending these monthly gatherings.

Adventure with Mommy

This past Saturday Travis had class all day so it was just Isaiah and Mommy. We stayed home for most of the day but we did make one venture out to REI.

After buying his Keen sandals last Monday I came home and checked my mailed and found I had an REI sale catalog. The Keen sandals we had just bought at Nordstroms for 40 were only 29 dollars at REI. As annoying as that is, I decided to repurchase the shoes so I could get the better sale price. And I also decided to buy the size we needed plus a size bigger in case we need it this summer season.

So on this rainy Saturday I ventured out of the house. My babe was tired and fell asleep on the drive to REI. I had to park super far out... this should have been my first clue I was going into REI madness! I tried to get Isaiah out of the carseat and let him keep sleeping... that failed, but for some reason I still brought his blanket. I guess in case he might fall asleep again in my arms while we got the shoes. That was a silly decision because that just meant one more thing to carry.

For those of you who know the Tualatin REI store when I walked in the door there was a line past customer service and into the backpack section. I should have known that was yet another bad sign. However, I continued to the shoes section where there were tons of people trying to buy shoes. Luckily I knew what I wanted and wouldn't need to try anything on so as soon as it was my turn I asked the lady for a size 5 and 6 shoe. She fairly quickly brought them out to me and away I went.

So with two boxes of toddler shoes in my hands plus carrying my son I next decided to check out the backpacks before getting in line. That just didn't work out too well so I quickly got in line. Being in line wasn't much easier. Isaiah got tired of me holding him and wanted to be down, but then he wouldn't stay by me so I ended up holding him anyways. Finally, I put the shoe boxes on the floor, held Isaiah and kicked the shoes boxes as I walked forward. At one point when Isaiah was down he had a small meltdown where he fell (sat) on the shoes boxes. Once I got to the cash register the clerk was super good with Isaiah and showed him his cool frog which distracted him enough so I could pay, get my shoes bagged (much easier to carry), and leave.

Ah, shopping with a toddler- I guess there is a learning curve!

Fantastic Friday

This morning/early afternoon (sometimes it is so difficult to actually get out of the house) I went to Sherwood Great Clips and got my hair cut. It has been months since I have gotten my hair cut (well my sister cut it not too long ago to tide me over, but I mean a real style hair cut). I now have a short hair cut that will be easier to style, and I love it! Isaiah played with Nonna during my hair cut (at the store-he did great!) so Daddy could work on homework.

Later in the afternoon when Isaiah was napping Daddy walked to Newberg Great Clips and got his hair cut. Isaiah needs a hair trim too, but we haven't decided how to tackle that one yet. So for now just Mommy and Daddy got hair cuts.

This evening we went to Red Robin. This is one of our favorite restaurants so we were excited to take Isaiah. Isaiah got to experience Red Robin for the atmosphere but wasn't really interested in the food yet. He enjoyed looking at the ceiling and all the fans. He also enjoyed some goldfish crackers, strawberry fruit strip, and apple sauce instead of Red Robin food. Hopefully some day he will enjoy the yummy hamburgers Red Robin has to offer.
Mommy and Isaiah at Red Robin just after we were seated.
Playing with the cup coaster after dinner. Still a happy boy even though he wasn't interested in any of the Red Robin food-not even the fries.

After Red Robin we went to Costco. Our shopping list included: fruit (strawberries and bananas), eggs, turkey, pepper jack cheese, multi-vitamins, and fiber-one granola bars. It was a successful shopping trip, although the walk out to the car was an adventure since it was pouring rain!
I wanted Travis to take a picture of Isaiah at Costco...since it was his first trip. We had the camera out and we were looking for a good spot. Then we saw these crazy gnomes and decided to take Isaiah's picture next to them in honor of Trav's co-worker, Lindsay who loves gnomes. But then we failed to take another real picture of Isaiah in Costco so this one will have to do.