Oh No! It's Friday!

And I said I'd post Wednesday! Oh well. Things remain crazy here. We have houseguests - Sidonie and Ryan and their two ferrets - living with us, and we're trying as hard as we can to get the new room done before Newby comes. Jobs are still going well. We took a trip to Bradenton last weekend to visit Grammy and Papa - sat in traffic for almost 6 hours on what should have been a 2.5 hour trip. That was no fun, but the rest of the trip was very nice. I'm teaching... what... three or four classes a week. Just almost finished the geography curriculum I'm writing for elementary school kids. Well, the first semester of the course, anyway. So that's our crazy life at the moment. And Iain is approaching birthday number one! And Aunt Haylee is home from college for the weekend.

Anyway, a few choice pictures...
The roofers working hard to put on our new brown roof. I love brown roofs. Thank you so much everyone who helped in that sweltering heat!!

My cutie in the backyard swing (with disproportionate hand...)
And Iain with the ferrets. He laughs when they tickle his fingers with their whiskers.

What is wrong with blogger lately that it gets these pictures sideways??

It's Been Almost a Month

And anyone who still checks this blog wins the prize. I'm going to attempt to get back to my every Wednesday posting, so check back then and feel free to berate me if I don't get it done. :)

We've been rather busy around here. Jeremy started a new job, in early July, which he loves. I am trying to work part time in a few different areas. Iain is crawling fast and trying to stand. He's taken a total of three unassisted steps (two at one time, one at another). He's been saying a few words verbally like "bib," "bread," and "duck," and a few words in sign language like "please," "thank you," and "more." He still has four teeth: two on the bottom and two "fangs" on the top. You'll see those in a minute. He also has recently (as in less than a week ago) started going to bed much more easily and sleeping through the night or waking up briefly once. Amazing! You'll recall from a post around when we found out about Newby that he was sleeping well. It only lasted for about three weeks before he went back to "normal." But I think this time, it's a maturity thing as well as some new techniques on our part, so I think it'll stick.

Newby is growing strong. I had a sonogram two weeks ago and everything looks great. We didn't find out if it was a boy or girl; as we did with Iain, we're going to wait until he/she is born to see.

Okay, on to the pictures. I still haven't loaded the beach pictures onto my computer, but ice cream and teeth are here, plus some more for fun.

Our friends Lauren and Noah went out for ice cream with Iain and I. Here's Iain with his first taste of ice cream - he LOVED it. We have discovered that he, like his mama, has a sweet tooth. :)

And here's Noah enjoying his cone:
Teeth: a good one of the bottom teeth and a good?? one of the "fangs!" (sorry for the sideways one - not sure what happened there)

My little drummer: in the first one, I found Iain here in his room playing with his dad's drums. Looks like the cat who ate the canary, eh? The second one shows innovative drumming - over his head on the hallway wall.

And some random cute ones:


Note the last picture: he's standing on his own!

Alright, Alright

I know, it's been a long time. I have a lot to catch up on! Stay tuned for the beach, teeth, and icecream....

We'll start with our visit to Yaya's house a few weeks ago. Our little man loved crawling around, exploring, playing with the oinking pig flashlight, and of course, visiting with his great-grandmother. We enjoyed the trip, too.

We took our first trip to the beach, but that will have to wait because I don't yet have the pictures on this computer...

Ah the Fourth of July. We have a tradition in my family to spend the morning and early afternoon at Winter Park's 4th celebration. It's the same every year: free hot dogs and watermelon, kids' games and crafts, clogging (and they always try to make every song patriotic when we all know they just clog to the same songs they always do), good patriotic music, and the "scary guy." More about him later.

So this year was Iain's first time partaking in the bounty of Winter Park, and I have to say, he loved it. Especially the music. Here he is listening and dancing along:
The Nelsons were there too, so that was fun (especially watching them do the twist!) and Iain liked playing with "cousins." Here he is with Micah:
With his other great-grandmother Nan (who enjoyed the music as much as Iain did!):


And some random ones of our American boy (gotta love a boy in overalls!):




Note: the one with the lemonade can shows how Iain thinks sodas should be drunk: by licking the condensation off the bottom. We haven't told him that there are tastier, though less healthy, things inside the can.
Second Note: the one with a certain Aunt Haylee is in response to that late-night email she sent me, requesting a blog done in her honour.

Now, the Scary Guy. This is the guy we love to hate. DJ PJ or something like that. He is there every year, and he does the same thing every year: he lip-synchs to 50's music while standing in an old car. He wears wigs when he sings the girls' parts, and uses puppets frequently. His "minions" are two late-teen-age girls who wear very un-50's-like attire (poodle skirts, yes, but tube tops?) who dance half-heartedly at the foot of the car. He does some kid-friendly songs, inviting the kids up to the front of the stage to do the hokey-pokey or play with bubbles and hula hoops, and he also does the classics: Wooly Bully, Chantilly Lace, etc. We really are entertained by him, and like to mock him mercilessly. :) Kelsey really likes him, though.

And now for a special treat, I'm going to attempt to upload the video clip I took on my camera of Iain dancing to the music. Hope it works!!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingAnd finally, some random photos: Iain snoozing, my boy on a swing at the park, an adorable one of Iain clapping happily with Grammy and Papa on a recent visit, and my two boys playing the drums (they both love it!),

Funny Stories

Iain Learns About "No"
There is a shelf in our hallway that holds dvds, cds, and videos. Iain is not allowed to touch it, and he knows it. But the brightly-colored cases can sometimes be too much for him and he reaches slowly out to touch. One of us, watching the temptation call his name, will say firmly, "Iain, no. Don't touch that." Usually, that's all it takes. He smiles sunnily at us and goes about his business. Sometimes, however, he's not so obliging. He'll reach again, be reprimanded again, and whoever is doing the watching will start to go to him to give him the customary swat on the hand. When he hears the "no" again and knows what's coming, he shrieks with glee and takes off down the hall as fast as his hands and knees can carry him. Apparently, in Iain's mind, "no" means "run!"

Iain in the Laundry

Iain's "Growing" Vocabulary
He is a very vocal child. He says "da," "ma," "la," and "na." However, his favorite thing to say these days, and his response to every question he is asked, is "duh." We can use this to our advantage, making him seem brilliant, by only asking him things in which "duh" is the correct response. But more often, conversations go like this:

"Iain, see the duck? What is this? D-d-duck."
"Duh."
"That's right, it's a duck. Now how about this book. Can you say b-b-book?"
"Duh."
How about bug? B-b-bug?"
"Duh."

"Iain, would you like more Cheerios? Say m-m-more."
"Duh."

And so on. He does make us laugh, that boy!

Iain and Friends

So, no, I didn't get the movie clip up. But I did learn a little bit about HTML code and how to add things to this blog page: note the email subscription on the side (just for you, Phyllis!) and if you scroll down all the way to the bottom, there are two very cute counters telling you just how old Iain and Newby are (borrowed from Phyllis' blog:). So that took up all my blogging time for the day and the movie will have to wait. The two on the bottom are off-center, crowded and awkward - does anyone know how to fix that?

Now for some pictures. This is Iain doing his new trick: snorting!
I tried to get this one on the ticker, with no success. Cute, though, eh?
When I whipped out the camera to catch a snorting picture, my little ham immediately switched on the charm. He definitely isn't camera-shy!
And now, the Iain and Friends
Iain with Isabel:
Iain with Caiden:
And Iain with Dad (Father's Day picture):
Tune in next time for a funny story about Iain learning about the word "no."

It's Been a While

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. This Newby as we've been calling baby number two, has been giving me a run for my money. (We called Iain Little B. Maybe the next one will be Three B?) I've not been quite as sick as I was with Iain, which is such a blessing, but it's still been a rough few weeks. Iain is doing well - climbing, crawling, talking, getting into everything. He's such fun. :) Here's a picture of him sleeping today: crazy kid!
(by the way, Iain is still sleeping through the night almost every night. It never fails to seem like a miracle!)

Yesterday he and Noah went swimming. They seemed to enjoy it fairly well.

Grammy and Papa have been visiting the past few days. Iain loves being the center of attention, which of course he is when they are here. :)

And the house is coming along. No new pictures of that right now, but the framing is almost done. Sorry this is so short, but at least it's something, right? Next time, I'll try a short movie clip. Check back this week!

Family of Four

That's what we are! We confirmed the news on Mother's Day (the day before Iain's eight-month birthday) - we have another little one on the way! (What a Mother's Day gift!) We are thrilled and thankful for this new life. As best as we can figure, the baby is due around the first week of January, making him/her a winter baby. :) Please pray with us for this little one as he/she grows (especially that this one would be a great sleeper!).

Speaking of sleep, in a huge answer to prayer, Iain suddenly began sleeping almost through the night last Tuesday! He now usually needs help getting his pacifier once or twice a night, but no more nursing, no more bouncing, no more rocking. He just decided he'd had enough. This has been perfect timing, as we found out about the new little one not a week later and I sure need the extra sleep.

So join us in thanksgiving for these two miracles! :)

Sleeping, Playing, Swimming, Framing

Sleeping: Last night was the best sleep night of Iain's life! He was up and down from 7:30 until 10:00, but at 10, something kicked into gear. He slept right through his first feeding time (although I still woke up and checked on him:)), and didn't wake up until his second one at 3:00am! Then he went back to sleep in half an hour and slept until the ripe old hour of almost 7:00am! It was wonderful and I hope he does it again tonight!

Our other sleeping news is that Iain has discovered tummy-sleeping. Here's a cute shot we got of him right before he woke from his nap the other day.

Playing: Iain loves the walker.  Right now, his mobility is hindered by the train table, washer, and dryer in our dining room, but all that will be gone soon, giving him full reign of the tiled floor. He can move forwards and backwards and likes peeking around the fridge at me as I wash the dishes.

He also has decided that his new favorite toys are the plastic ABC book and the car-driving-thing (thanks Grammy and Aunt Gloria!). He likes to "read" his book while lying in a pile of other toys (like Scrooge McDuck swimming in his gold coins?), and he likes turning the car thing upside down and banging on the back of it. We frequently hear it counting "one-two-th-four-f-s-seven" as he never quite gives it enough time to get the words out before banging again. :)  (note: the book-reading thing is not new - look at the post "Some Updates" under the February archives)


Swimming: Here are a few pictures of Iain's first swim! Or rather, his first "sit and splash." He seemed to enjoy the water very much until he discovered the grass outside of the pool. Then that became much more interesting.

Framing: The framers were here on Saturday and got most of the bathroom done. There is a bit more electrical work that needs to be done before they can finish, so hopefully that will be taken care of tomorrow evening. Then the framers should be back (here's hoping!) Wednesday or Thursday late afternoon. No word on if they will be able to finish at that point or not.

Easter Pictures

For those of you who have been to my mom's house, I'm sure you remember the Easter pictures that run chronologically around the walls of her office. Every year since my first Easter, she's done pictures of us around Easter time. Some are cute and others...well, they were cute to her at the time. :) Anyway, I'm going to try to uphold the tradition. We didn't get a picture of Iain in his Easter suit on that Sunday, but we did get some last Saturday. We were in Tallahassee for a friend's wedding, so we plopped Iain down among the ducks at Lake Ella. Here is the result:


And just for fun: the other day after changing his diaper, I put Iain down in his crib so I could wash my hands. When I came back, he had pulled himself up on the side of the crib and was peeking out through the bars, looking like a little prisoner. :) It was the first time he had managed to pull up on the crib. Cute, eh?

Finally, a quick update on the house: we are hoping to get the framing done this weekend.