A Mover and a Shaker

Just as predicted, Isaiah has fast become a mover and a shaker. Though not yet crawling, he is quick to get up on his knees and rock back and forth (until his forearms give out). He hasn't quite yet discovered the moving of the knees motion necessary to actually crawl, though he has long since learned to sort of slither backwards. He's definitely desperate for his independence, and few of his old toys keep him happy and content. In fact, the exersaucer is the only thing remotely on his list of "okay things to keep me occupied" but that's about it. I can only imagine the challenge of squeezing in a shower once he's actually on the go. Once a anti-belly boy, he spends countless hours propped up on his arms these days. I'll keep you posted as to when he finally succeeds at the crawling business!

I myself am keeping busy with, sadly, sights on my courses come fall. I was into the school yesterday to get some resources so as to spend some time planning this summer (as I'm full time English in first semester, I'll have a ton of marking as it is). I can't quite sink into school-mode, but I hope to not procrastinate as per usual. Ideally, I'd like to plan a large portion of each course in detail so that I can come home to spend time with Isaiah (and Greg, too). I can't believe how quickly my maternity leave has flown by. Now I have what everyone else has left... a measley 9 weeks of summer which will be gone in no time (yes, how dare I grumble, you non-teachers... but if you knew the work I do after hours through the 10 months I do work...).

So, I'd best be off to play with the little man... we're off on holidays in a few days, so don't expect a new post for some time (though hopefully I'll have some great material when I return to blogging world). We're going to spend a week at my dad and Carol's cottage with my grandma and her husband and my brother and his wife, so it will be some new firsts for Isaiah (like swimming in a lake). Hopefully lots of stories to share... so until then.

Happy 50th Birthday, Dad!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish my dad a happy 50th birthday! Seems like just yesterday you were getting a pie in the face on your 30th, and yet so much has happened since then (I was just a youngin'). I know you probably don't want the world to know your age, but too late! Hope you had a great day, and we're looking forward to seeing you on the weekend for dinner to celebrate another year! Love you!

Flip that House

For those of you who don't know, we own a rental house (our old home on Campbell Street). Anyhow, we recently lost the upstairs tennant and have since been in search of someone to replace him. Not any easy feat in Strathroy. So then we decided to get slightly ambitious, as really the apartment could use some work. The carpets in all but one bedroom definitely needed to be replaced, so we ripped them up on Monday night.

Low and behold, beautiful hardwood floors lay underneath, waiting to be discovered. Now they need some TLC, particularly as some paint has been spilled in certain sections (and a small print has even been preserved); overall, they're in fairly decent condition, and the living room area is actually looking quite well without any work.

That being said, it'd be ideal to really get in there and "flip" the house. It is extremely outdated and has potential to earn us far more income than it does now (now it basically pays for itself... for now). I was envisioning stainless steel appliances, new hardware, a completely new bathroom... in time. For now we have a few potential people interested to rent as of July 1st, which saves us from a bind a so-called friend put us in (I'll spare the details, but we had a "friend" sign to rent as of June 1st only to back out a few days later).

Though hey, if anyone ever knows of anyone who needs a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom apartment in Strathroy, be sure to let us know!

Swimming, swimming, in my swimming pool

What with the hot and sunny weather we've been having, we bought Isaiah his own baby pool (though I'm still hoping one day we'll put in a real pool as well). So far he's been in it twice (and soon three times, as again it's quite humid today). He's doing well "swimming" on his belly, but he isn't all that stable sitting on his own quite yet (I'm hoping any time soon). Still, it seems he likes to be outside, so I'm going to try to take advantage of every opportunity I have to get him outdoors. Afterall, summer really does seem to be the shortest season.

In fact, as I'm heading back to work in the fall, my maternity (well, technically now parental) leave is almost over. Isaiah is now almost 7 months and I'll be returning to work when he is 9 and 1/2. Anyhow, here's to enjoying warm days in the backyard until then!

Tricky Tricky

I figured out a trick for Isaiah to eat some meat... as either no one reads this blog or just no one had advice to give me on that subject. Now I give him a little bit of meat - which is still a huge battle - and then quickly follow with veggies. So far it has worked both times I've fed him. What a difference between the two - he turns his head and clamps his mouth shut for the meat but then as soon as he knows the spoon has vegetables he leans forward, widens his mouth, and licks the spoon clean. What an oddball!

He is, however, feeling under the weather (due to the soon-to-erupt teeth, I believe - I can see the white under his gums), so I'm not going to force the issue. If meat doesn't happen all the time, it's not the end of the world. Like I said, he's very healthy and continuing to grow like a weed. He's been wearing 12 month clothing for the longest time, and is now even into some 12-18. If he's anything like his daddy, he'll be an eater (but also long and lean). Good thing we put a full stand-up fridge and freezer in this new house - I can only imagine just how much food will be consumed. Pray for a girl next time (though that doesn't necessarily mean she won't eat just like Isaiah and daddy).

Anyhow, I'll try to get into more intellectual discussions at some point, it's just that my life at present revolves around feeding, changing and playing with Isaiah, so my blog tends to do the same!

Premonition

Greg had some freaky foresight today because just as I was leaving for my soccer game he said I'd score (and I did!). Weird. Though he also said he had a feeling he'd score as well, and he didn't (though apparently he almost did). I'm still incredibly out of shape, but I'm feeling better with each game (and obviously because I helped us to win today, which puts our season at 2-0-2 thus far). And good thing it didn't thunderstorm, though some rain would have been nice - it was muggy and the air was thick. Congrats to my teammates on playing well together - let's keep the winning streak going! :)

Blame the Vegetarian

I never thought I'd see it, but the time has come when Isaiah has proven to not like food. Don't worry, he still devours his vegetables and practically inhales his cereal - I can't seem to get the spoon in his mouth fast enough - but he does not like meat. Now everyone's first response has been to blame the vegetarian mom (so please don't leave a comment according to that belief - which I don't think is true - as I'd rather have some helpful advice). I have tried strained meats alone and as of late in combination with vegetables, thinking that would perhaps hide the taste of the meat. No luck. Guess he's not a meat 'n potatoes man... It's a real challenge to get him to give it a fair chance, and never before have meal times been such a battle of wills - me trying to provide nourishment, him puckering his lips and clamping his jaw shut tightly so as not to allow the spoon entry. Any helpful hints would be appreciated, as I'm not actually imposing my personal choice of being vegetarian on my son (and I've actually been trying to expand my meals to include meat, since that was my new year's resolution). At least there's no question of whether or not he looks healthy!!

See, he's only 6 months here and he's 30 inches long and likely by now about 19 lbs.! And cute as ever, if I do say so myself... even if he won't eat meat! :)