Happy Birthday Isaac!

Even though it was a low key day it was still Isaac's Birthday!!  We went out this afternoon for some celebratory frozen yogurt.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little boy a mama could ever ask for.  Isaac, you have the best demeanor, always inquisitive, determined to figure out the mechanics of everything, a sensitive loving heart and your always full of laughter.

There are so many lovely things I love about you so I'll list a few.  :)

~ Your vocabulary is becoming more clear with each passing day but I still love playing toddler charades with you.  I'm at least getting quicker in figuring out your frustrations.  I love how you've decided to come and reach for my hand to lead me where you want to go when I don't understand.

~ I love hearing you through the monitor in the mornings when you wake up and say "mama".  It's the sweetest sound that warms my heart.

~ I love how you reach for me when I walk into your room.  Sometimes you reach for me then flop back down on your bed.  This is your way of telling me you want mama to rub your back or your tummy.  It's a lovely way to spend time with you in the mornings until you're ready to wake up.

~ For the most part you sleep through the night on a regular basis but when you do wake up I often find you holding up your blanket and puppy telling me you need that extra cuddle in the middle of the night.      You also let me know when your done rocking by pointing to your crib.

~ Often when I'm consoling or comforting you I feel your tiny hands patting my back as though your comforting me at the same time.  It's the cutest and sweetest thing I've ever experienced and it warms my heart every time.

~ As much as I try to encourage you and acknowledge you for a job well done I love how you clap for yourself when you know you've done a great job! May you always acknowledge yourself for a job well done and nurture a deep sense of self beyond the need for external gratification.

~ I love when you blow me kisses or give me kisses.

~ I'll never tire of your hugs.

~ You truly have the most delightful laugh.

~ Your independent streak is emerging and you're a strong determined little boy.  I'll always be here to nurture your development.

~ Your very sweet when it comes to sharing with others.

~ Anytime were at a playdate and there is a baby your natural curiosity and caring nature emerges.  You like to rock the babies in their carriers, put their pacifiers back in their mouths and pat their heads.  I know you're going to be an awesome big brother!

~ I love your response when I ask you where the baby is and you either pat my belly or you try to raise my shirt to look into my tummy.  I love when you hug my baby belly too.

Isaac, you've been the apple of my eye for two years.  I want you to know that will not change.  You will always been my baby, my first baby and my favorite big boy.  There are only a few more weeks to spoil you rotten as our only child which is exactly what we'll do!  My life wouldn't be the same without you and I'm truly blessed to call you my son and to be your mama.

Happy Birthday little buddy!

Isaac's First Movie Theater Experience

Today we ventured out for a new experience.  We joined some friends for a summer special at the Studio Movie Grill which is a dinner theater to watch "How to Train Your Dragon".

Initially Isaac wanted to sit on my lap until he figured out what was going.  However his reaction was priceless.  He giggled and oohed and awed at the sights and sounds of the movies.  I'm certainly glad we were in the very back row since sitting still is a bit of a challenge at this age but he stayed in his seat for the entire movie!

We even ordered some snacks too!

It's not the greatest picture but it's a small way to capture Isaac and his intrigue with the big screen.  :)

Isaac's 2nd Birthday Party

The party was planned, invitations were sent and it was officially Birthday Party Day!  I sent out invitations with a cute dump truck/construction theme, "Dump Everything...Isaac's Turning Two!"

I have to say that I can't believe Isaac is turning two....already!  I made Isaac a birthday shirt and created my own number two applique and machine stitched it in place.  I have to say I was pleased with the turnout considering it was my first time and it was perfect.

Nana (Sue) volunteered to make Isaac's birthday cake this year and it was an awesome construction cake made with cupcakes.  No need to cut the cake, just pull it apart and hand them out.

Nana also made some extra cupcakes just in case.

We had the yard all set up with baby pools, water sprinkler, play set, bouncy balls, bubbles, sand box, wagon, tricycle and little tikes cars.  There were plenty of activities to keep all the kiddos entertained.

The play set was a hit and certainly worth all of Frazer's effort. 

There were plenty of shovels, spades and trucks for the sand area.

Isaac was full of smiles.

With the kiddos entertained the mama's had a chance to catch up too!

Isaac loved his cake.  He wasn't sure where to start but he figured it out quick.

A dump truck full of crushed Oreo's was the perfect place to start.

Once the cupcakes were handed out Isaac had a ball playing with the cake display.  He was covered in icing from head to toe.  He was slinging icing off the table and everywhere...giggling the entire time.

We borrowed kid sized tables and chairs from the clubhouse in our neighborhood.  They were the perfect size for our little guests.  We had plenty of pizza and snacks for everyone too.

 All the kids received construction hat party favor along with a sand shovel and a pack of gummy candy shaped like tools.  I had all the hats and bags strung up and hanging on the fence.  They were so cute.

It was so nice to have everyone over to celebrate Isaac's special day.  It absolutely warmed my heart to be able to have all our friends over and have a yard full of kids running around playing.  It truly was a wonderful day and Isaac had a great time!

New Play Set

For some time now we've been looking at and discussion if we should get a play set of some sort for the back yard.  Isaac loves to go to the park to play on the slides and swings and it really would be nice to have something in our own yard for him and baby to be able to play on as they grow.

Late on a Saturday evening (5/25) I was glancing through my email and noticed and email from our home owners association with a message from a neighbor who was moving.  They had sold their home and were moving in two days and needed to get rid of the play set in their backyard.  It was free to anyone who could come and get it.

I showed Frazer the picture and while the set's a bit big for Isaac right now it's certainly something he could grow into.  I responded and stated we were interested but we would need help to move it to our yard considering my big baby belly.  Then we discovered this particular neighbor was only a few houses down so they were really close.  We walked down to take a look and wanted to make sure it was something Isaac was interested in.  Isaac loved it and we couldn't get him off of it.  :)

The following Monday (5/27) was a holiday, Memorial Day, and the day the play set became ours.

Every day that week Frazer worked a little bit each evening putting the play set back together.  The following weekend (6/1,2) Frazer decided some of the boards needed to be replaced so he replaced the upper decking of the tower to give it added strength.

The next two weeks he continued to work in the evenings putting pieces together, replacing the wood on the bench seats and table top of the picnic table as well as all the boards on the roof.  He even replaced the chimney and added a solar light.

We order replacement swings and trapeze bar since the old ones were a bit worn and the weekend of 6/15 Frazer decided to trip the old stain off with a deck wash.  When he was finished it looked amazing!  It's was like it was brand new again.

Frazer put in a tremendous amount of time and effort in to the play set to have it all ready and as good as new for Isaac's birthday party on 6/22.  He had planned to have the entire structure re-stained by the party but the weather posed a bit of delay.  Most of structure was re-stained with the exception of a few areas.

He took it a step further and added mulch to the area underneath.  It looks fantastic!  Frazer still wants to add some timbers to frame out the mulch area and perhaps add a bit more mulch and maybe a sandbox area but that will have to wait until after the birthday party. 

It's certainly a job well done!

Father's Day 2013

Happy Father's Day!  Isaac and I started preparations well in advance this year to make sure our special projects were completed in time.

Last year I had my sister help me with pictures of Isaac's holding letters to spell out Dad.

This year I wanted to make it a tradition and pulled out the same letters.  I had to take a lot of pictures to get three really good ones.  Isaac and I had lots of fun taking the pictures and resulting in numerous blooper pictures of Isaac tossing the letters in the air or spinning around with the letters that didn't make the cut.

It's already something I know I'll try to keep doing each year.  The transformation of Isaac last year to this year is just awesome! While last year's photo was made into a mouse pad for Frazer's office I decided to frame the pictures this year and keep them at home.

I also found a cute idea from a website (www.thebluebasket.blogspot.com) that had a template to print out to make a Father's Day car shirt.  The shirt is a little road way with a Fire House, Hospital, Playground, General Store, Gas Station and Home.  Everyday when Frazer get's home from work Isaac can't wait for papa to lay down on the floor so they can play.  I thought this would be perfect! Now papa can come home, put on his car shirt and Isaac can play with his cars on papa's back.  :)

We started the morning off with breakfast at the Pancake House and finished the evening out to dinner at Jim-n-Nicks barbecue for dinner.  Isaac wanted to sit with papa and when he climbed on papa's lap it was the perfect moment to wrap up the day.

Isaac's smile says it all.  This little boy loves his papa so much.  Frazer is the best partner and father I could ever ask for.  And to think he'll be holding two little one's next year for Father's Day!!

9 More Weeks

It's hard to believe I'm 31 3/4 weeks pregnant already!  Only 9 more weeks or 58 more days....but who's counting. ;)

Play at Ms. Hilary's

My silly little boy had a great time at Ms. Hilary's this morning playing with the kiddos.  He even had time to hang with mama to make silly faces.  :)

All the kiddos had fun chasing play butterflies and running around.

He seems to navigate to any toy that has Elmo on it.  He's a bit obsessed with Elmo at the moment.  Ms. Hilary was kind enough to fix lunch for all the kids and they were so cute sitting outside at the picnic table eating together.

Before it was time to go Isaac had to get a little bit more play time in when he spotted a piano that was just his size.

Good Fortune

To celebrate the completion of our interior renovations we went out for dinner this evening and Isaac experienced his first fortune cookie.

I hope this fortune will ring true throughout his lifetime.  He's a wonderful little boy with the greatest demeanor.  May he always surround himself with wonderful friends.

Checkout Time!

We were finally able to check out of the hotel and head home today!  Isaac and I took our time packing up and checking out.  It was a rainy morning and even though the floors were finished I wanted to wait as long as possible to get back in the house.  To kills some additional time we went out to Cracker Barrel for brunch.

I ordered Isaac's favorite and messiest breakfast possible, blackberry pancakes!

Believe it or not he did an excellent job with his pancakes and only managed to get the smallest amount of blackberries on him or his clothes.  I was very impressed!  After breakfast we ran a couple of quick errands then it was time to head home and get Isaac settled for a nap in his own bed.

As soon as we walked in I noticed a huge difference in the floors and they looked amazing!  The color of the floors was so much richer and the consistency was great.  I was also smart this time and brought in help for cleaning this time.  I spent three days cleaning and dusting after the last refinish process and certainly didn't have the energy to do that again.

Despite the hassle it was well worth the headache to have the floors refinished a second time.

Playground and Water Fun

Mr. Mischievous decided to put diaper cream all over his face in a matter of seconds that I had stepped away from the main area of the hotel room.  He seemed quite pleased with himself!

After breakfast we were in the process of packing up to head to the park when we were pinged to join some friends at the spray ground.  When Isaac and I first arrived it was obvious we weren't the only ones who thought the spray ground was a good choice for morning fun.  There were several daycare busses there too.  We went into the water park for a few minutes but Isaac decided quickly it was too crowded for him.  So, we went to the park right behind it for awhile until we met up with our friends.

Isaac had fun on the bouncy dinosaur.  He would rock back and forth for a couple of minutes and then he was off to the climbing structures and slides.  Once the crowds disappeared from the water park area we ventured back over there.

By the time it was time to leave Isaac was worn out.  He was a fussy boy when I made him change out of his wet clothes before we drove back.  It's a good thing he changed since he was sound asleep half way back to the hotel.

He was so tired I had to carry him back up to the room and he went straight to sleep for a nice long nap.

Lego Land

It's difficult to keep a little guy entertained in a hotel room and way too many things for him to get into. After breakfast we decided to venture downtown and check out Lego Land!

There was a brief introduction to how lego's were made followed by a quick amusement park type ride.  We walked through a mini lego structure of all the main landmarks of Atlanta that was actually pretty neat.  Then we made our way into the open play area.

Isaac found the perfect spot complete with buttons and knobs at his level to keep his attention.  He was fascinated and full of concentration as he studied the reaction to each button he pushed.  Then he was off to an open pit full of legos to play with.  The lego helicopter caught his attention....

When he'd had enough of that we decided to check out the short 4D movie.

Isaac wasn't too sure what to do with the glasses and it was his first time in a real theater.  The film was only 12 minutes long and he did a great job.  He loved feeling the wind and snow in the theater.

It was a great way to spend the morning.

Floor Refinishing....Round 2

We've spent the past week agonizing over what to do about the inconsistencies in the stain color of the hardwood floors.  The sales guy came out to take a look and admitted there crew messed up.  Apparently the machines used were not calibrated correctly which is what created a lighter stain color around the perimeter of each room.  The sanding wasn't completed properly which created the swirl marks along with a few other things.  We had a few options to consider.  (1) Have the floors refinished again.  (2) Propose a discount to be removed from the final invoice and leave the floors as is.  (3) Accept a voucher to have the floors refinished next year.

Well, the thought of having to empty all the rooms and clear out the furniture again was not high on my list.  We considered the discount but when you know the job wasn't completed properly it's hard to settle and I know I would always wonder what they were supposed to look like.  As much as I didn't want to go through the process of having them refinished again that what we chose and the work started this morning.

We had a new crew and instantly the experience was so much better.  They covered all the cabinets and counters which wasn't done the first time.  They also had a secure barrier to protect the family room full of furniture and carpet.

The floors were stripped and sanded in no time.

We debated if we should stick with the same color as last time, Jacobean, or if we should go darker to Ebony.  The crew was kind enough to test the darker color for me.  I even had a neighbor come over to get her opinion.  Both agreed that we should stick with the Jacobean.  The crew leader said every customer that's chosen Ebony has loved the color but hated the maintenance since it shows every spec of dirt and dust.

We stuck with Jacobean and are hoping for the best outcome possible.  Once the stain color was finalized Isaac and I were off to settle into the Marriott down the road since papa had checked us in on his way to work.

As soon as we were settled in the room Isaac climbed up for a quick snack.  Then we ventured out for some afternoon fun.

We went to a water spray ground so Isaac could run around and cool off.

The excitement and pure joy on Isaac's face is a sight I'll never tire of seeing.  His giggle is the sweetest sound.