Goodmorning!

Isaac's wearing his motorcycle shirt in honor of seeing Grandma & Grandpa M this weekend.

When nothing seems to go as planned...

We had one of those weekends when nothing seems to go as planned:

Case #1: Eric's Dad was supposed to visit Saturday night as his first stop on his Harley road trip. He was going to watch Isaac while we went to the Sounders game Saturday night. But due to a weird string of events leading to a motorcycle breakdown, he postponed his visit. We were very happy that he was safe, but totally bummed out that he wasn't going to visit.  Thankfully, my parents were very flexible and came over to babysit in a pinch.  They went to dinner at Barking Dog and played at Carkeek Park.  It looks like they had a blast!

Case #2:  On Saturday it went from a beautiful, sunny, warm spring day to a torrential downpour in the evening. I promise I'm not exaggerating.  We left for the Sounders game in t-shirts and lightweight sweaters, jazzed about the highly anticipated Sounders vs Portland Timbers match. We were not at all prepared for the rain that came later, and for the first time ever we left the game early because we were soaked. We felt like poor fans, but it was ridiculously wet! Apparently we weren't the only ones who didn't check the weather report; Qwest Field was completely sold out of ponchos. Once again, my parents came to the rescue and were rock stars for coming to pick us up.

From a sunny afternoon at El Chupacabra, to the Sounders "March to the Match" (right before it got nasty out)

Lessons learned: Be flexible; family rocks; be prepared... and most importantly just go with the flow and laugh when you want to cry!

Wishful for Sun

It's been a rainy, cold spring.  But after two days in a row of sun (!), I couldn't help but pull out all of Isaac's summer clothes, including rompers, short-alls, denim shorts, swim trunks and tshirts. It's probably premature... it's supposed to return to rain next week.  But don't his chubby legs look so cute in shorts!?

Sporting some of his "new" rags

Speaking of changing, I've updated the look of our blog... cause I'm visually ADD like that.

Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day! 

We had a laid-back weekend, consisting of walks, dinner with friends and enjoying a bit of sun in the backyard.  Didn't Eric do a good job capturing the backyard in bloom?

Sunday was Mother's Day.  Eric made me dutch babies for breakfast, we took the dog for a walk and had a leisurely morning.  Then after Isaac's nap we met my side of the family for brunch at Ponti in Fremont.  It was a wonderful meal and location (right on the Lake Union ship canal).

What a difference a year makes! Last year on Mother's Day, Isaac was only 1-month old and I still felt like a rookie. This year, I feel a little more deserving of the holiday :)

A few more pictures in a new May Photo Album. Enjoy!

13 Months: Snapshot

Isaac is so fun(ny) right now. Here are a few of his recent developments.

His favorite word this week is "Go Go".  It can mean Go Outside. Or dog-gy. Or Crow. Or That Thing Over There. Or Grandpa.  We love hearing the language "light" start to turn on!

He loves-loves-loves the outdoors. Almost as much as he loves the hose (or the shower nozzle, or the faucet).  We try to get outside as much as possible, both in our backyard and to the parks in our neighborhood. We love watching his pure wonder and exploration.  And, it tires out this busy-body!

Isaac at Carkeek Beach near our house

No caption needed

He's started nursing in the downward facing dog position. We usually breastfeed laying down, and he now maneuvers himself into this position all on his own. Hey, if it works just go with it?

He's got a sense of humor and rhythm.  Not sure who he got the later from, but it's cute to watch him dance around.

Lastly, he's mimicking us all the time, especially with food. It's a trip to see the brain develop! 

We're loving this adventure.

Edgefield Get-Away / Weekend with Grandpa

Oh, where to start in describing this magical place called McMenamins Edgefield?  It's hotel/brewery/winery/spa/distillery/food haven all on one campus just outside of Portland, OR.  Think summer camp meets spa meets winery.   Think awesomeness.

Anyway, our friends Heather & Jesse invited us there to celebrate her birthday last weekend.  Seeing as it's basically an adult playground (ie lots of booze), we decided to leave Isaac with a babysitter for the weekend. Eric's Dad happily agreed to hang out with the little dude while we had a weekend away.

And what a great weekend it was!  I had a lovely massage and Eric played countless holes of golf (I tried it too). We spent a few hours in the spa's soaking pool, enjoyed exploring the property and being with good friends. We ate a lot of good food and tasted even more great wine and beer.

It had been many months since we'd been away from Isaac overnight, and we missed him a lot.  So we were all excited for the reunion on Sunday. We came home to a happy baby, grandpa & doggy!

Here are a few photos from our weekend:

Friday lunch at Gorditos before leaving town

Part of the group at Friday night dinner (Alex, Heather, Andrew, Pam, Christina & Eric)  There were 16-20 people in our group!

Wine tasting Saturday with the ladies

Tasting Scotch

Golfing! (Eric's found a new hobby!)

Isaac & Grandpa had a pretty sweet weekend too; we're told they spent countless hours playing in the back yard and Isaac sure was talkative on Sunday.  So, we have no doubt it was a great weekend for everyone!

Monkeying Around

Thanks Grandma M for the Monkey bib! Here's Isaac modeling it:

And, Grandma modeling it too:

Swim Lessons

We already know that Isaac takes after his mom and is a little fish.  So we decided swim lessons would be a fun activity for him (thanks grandma M!)  Here is the little bug enjoying himself during his first lesson.

Easter Dinner

Easter dinner at my parent's house:

Eric & Isaac

Christina & Isaac

Easter Eggs!

Grandpa J & Isaac

Christina & Barbara

The dudes (sans Isaac): Mark, Justin & Eric

Lisa & boyfriend Justin

And a funny one from the weekend.  Hose+Isaac=love

A few more pictures from our sunny weekend are in our picassa album. Enjoy!

Fridays Rock

On Fridays I work a half day from home. I work when Isaac naps, and I get to chase him around the other part of the day. A flexible schedule is one of the great perks of my job, and I love the extra time with the little dude.

Today, we walked to the neighborhood park after lunch.  The playground was very busy with school-age kids (maybe on spring break or there with their school?).  Isaac was very curious about them, but cautious.  We had fun going down the slides together.  He's still a little ho-hum about the swings.

As you know, our wild and crazy guy just loves to get into everything.  He's all about figuring out how objects go together.  We've had our cabinets baby proofed for a while now, but occasionally I'll open the cupboards for him and let him pull out all of the pans and strainers.

One of his new favorite things is to play "one for me, one for you" while eating. Also known as feed the dog or feed the mamma.  When he starts to get full, he drops food on the floor for the dog (or Lodi takes it right out of his hand.... which we're trying to nip in the butt) or he wants to put the food in our mouths. I suppose it's his way of saying he's full...  And, sharing is never a bad thing either!