Weekend Adventures

The weekend in review: Thursday night Sounders game (won!), dog-sitting Sangie (Tony & Amanda's dog), home brewing a double IPA Saturday (I didn't take any photos of Kelly, Chris, Myrna and Lisa who were over to help brew!), and another Sounders game on Sunday (won again!)... and enjoying a bit of sunshine here and there...

Dog Whisperer (& Other Random Photos)

Isaac thinks Lodi (our doberman) is his best bud, and that he's completely in charge of him.  Example #1:  It's not unusual for Isaac to crawl into Lodi's crate with him first thing in the morning.  Lodi's not too sure about this, but at least he puts up with it....

Isaac looks proud; Lodi looks pretty defeated ....

Example #2:  Isaac also likes to "walk" the dog.  Here he is after a jog with mom, ready for his turn with the leash:

"my doggy"

Snuggles (he often does this when we say gentle... ie after he's been banging on the dog)

"Now let's get going!  Hi-Ya!"  this one cracks me up!

On a different note, we've been enjoying the June sun (when it decides to peak around the Seattle clouds).

Here is Isaac (in action!) at our neighborhood park - Carkeek Park

"ooh.... rocks"

And playing in his new pool in our backyard -- he loves it!!

Father's Day 2011

Father's Day at WA Brewers Fest June 19, 2011

We celebrated Dad's Day at the WA Brewers Festival at St. Edwards Park.  We met up with a few friends and braved the crowds & lines.  Eric enjoyed the large selection of beer to sample, Isaac enjoyed the hundreds of other kids there and I enjoyed chasing after Isaac as he ran after all those kids.

It was a long afternoon, and he fell asleep on my back by the end of the day: 

Out Cold

I admire Eric for the great Dad he is.  I just love:
- Watching Eric make Isaac laugh hysterically with his "hand monster/tickle monster" moves
- Seeing Isaac light up and say DaDa when Eric walks in the door
- Hearing Eric read quietly to Isaac before bed-time
- Overhearing the silly songs Eric makes up at bathtime
- The plethora of nicknames he's made up for Isaac... he's the king of clever in this household.
And it melts my heart when Eric says casually,  "Having Isaac was the best decision we've ever made".

Thanks for being a great Dad to our son, Eric!

Videos: Feeding Lodi & Swim Lessons

It's never too early to start chores, right?

{sorry for the choppy video...}

And, we attended Isaac's last swim lesson last night (it was a 6-week class). It was a lot of fun and Isaac does great in the water.  At the last class they got to "jump" from the side:

 We'll probably take a break from the lessons this summer, but plan to sign up again in the fall.

B.A.D. Party

A few more photos from the "B.A.D." (Birthday, Anniversary & Dad) party last weekend. My Dad thought of that name.  Isn't he clever? :)  My parents took these great family photos...

Dad & Daughters

The whole family! Eric, Isaac, Kelly, Myrna, DaNaesha, Janai, Christina, Barbara, Mark, Lisa & Chris

Happy Grandparents with all of the grand kids!

Happy couple: Justin & Lisa

Happy 40th Anniversary! (to Mom & Dad, and to Starbucks)

A (Second) Haircut & (more) Fun with Cousin Myrna

I'm proud to tell you that Eric is very handy. Over the years I've learned that he can change car brakes (among many other automobile fix-its),  make balloon animals, fix and remodel many areas of the house and he is a whiz in the kitchen (and with the Weber grill).  And now I've learned that Eric can also cut hair. He continues to amaze me!

Isaac's hair was getting a little shaggy, especially in the back. So Eric whipped out his clippers and gave Isaac a nice, short summer cut.   He sat very well for Eric... Here are photos of the 'before', 'during' and 'after':

Another highlight of our weekend was a great party at my parent's house; an early celebration for their 40th Wedding Anniversary (wow!), my sister Kelly's birthday and Father's day.  Despite the three big celebrations, most of the attention was on these two cuties, playing in the sandbox and the "pool."

Ruff Ruff

Isaac in the Dog's Crate.

Cousins Reunite

Isaac & Myrna meet again!

parallel play

silliness

Phinney Ridge Farmers Market & Dinner with the full Jabbusch family:

Literally 100+ kids at the market for Caspar Babypants live music

Myrna Dancing

grandpa Jabbusch

grandma Jabbusch

fun times. delicious salmon dinner.

As of Late (14 months)

At 14 months Isaac is now:

Waving bye-bye &
learning to blow a kiss

Stacking blocks 

and clapping at his accomplishment

Communicating what he wants...

going to the fridge and trying to open it [hungry!]...

pointing to the freezer [blueberries!]

signing for "more," "all-done" and "milk"

all done!

He is saying a few words,
although they're still very general and
all mean a few different things.
[dada, kaka, gogo, mama and hot]

Mr. dog-whisperer is throwing tennis balls...
especially for the doggy.

He mimics our doggy "click" call
and gives the dog lots of snuggles.

Lodi (the dog) is doing so great with his harassmentt...
I mean love.

We've had a sneak peak at
tantrums...

oh boy!

mostly when he's tired.
and they're brief and manageable.
we're trying to use techniques in the Happiest Toddler on the Block.
We'll keep you posted on how this goes...

He's conquered going UP stairs, 

and can almost go down them on his own.

And after months of sleeping through the night.
He's started night-waking again.
BOOOOOO......
we hear this is normal at this age.
but that doesnt make it easier...
Speaking of sleep, he's still a great napper and on a very consistent schedule.
taking 2 naps a day, about 1.5 hours each.
[so we shouldn't complain too much]


Lastly he loves to eat!
And if it was up to him, he'd survive on
frozen blueberries, 
bananas, 
cheese, 
pasta 
and mommy milk alone.

those are his current favorites.

Though he's very adventurous too.
Trying lots of spices and ethnic cuisine.
He's only really rejected things that are too sweet (or too spicy...)

we're [kind of thinking about] weaning...
he's still pretty interested in the boobies so we're following his lead...
and i'm not gonna lie...
I don't mind being on the breastfeeding 'diet plan' for a while longer!
I'm quite happy in my size 4 jeans (toot toot)

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

This memorial day weekend we stayed in town and enjoyed time with friends, gardening and even a little sunshine!

Friday: Eric was off Friday, so he and Isaac had a 'dudes day' while I went into the office. They went to Carkeek park, met me for lunch and ran a few errands.

Saturday: Lots of gardening and yard work + futbol.
Gardening: Isaac loves being outside, so it's a great motivator for us to get out there and work in the yard. We pull weeds, mow the lawn and tend to the plants while he plays with the hose, "helps" picking grass and plays fetch with the dog. 
Futbol: We went down to The Dray to watch the Man Utd v Barcelona match, and we had a small bbq to watched the Sounders game on TV (they beat Salt Lake 2-1... woot woot!).

A few photos of our yard this weekend.

Sunday:  More work around the house, and then dinner at our friend Bernadette's house (make your own calzones... yum!). 

Monday:  We enjoyed the holiday off with lunch at wing-dome, followed by a BBQ at Tony & Amanda's.

Isaac is growing leaps and bounds right now, especially in language development (verbal and non verbal).  And along with all this development is a sense of free will.  Evidence of his little "personality" starting to emerge:

But of course, there's always a sweet side (and even a few rare 'quiet moments')... especially when in mommy's arms...