Merry Christmas to me

I got a couple of Christmas presents delivered this week and love them! First up is a Maytag washer and dryer that got delivered this evening and they have already done 3 loads of laundry. Isaac loves the dials and that he can see the clothes getting washed and dried. This wasn't supposed to be a Christmas present, but it is a huge upgrade from the Summer Infant video monitor we have. The range on this thing is amazing, it can handle up to 4 cameras, it doesn't have bright lights that keep me up at night, huge screen, and more. We got it from Costco.com so we could try it out and take it back easily if we didn't like it, but I love it. So we will be purchasing an additional camera from Amazon. The next test for this system is to see how it cycles through the different camera feeds.
It's funny because David saw this at Sam's Club last year and thought it would be a good baby monitor and he was right. It makes perfect sense really, a portable security system. I'd done a lot of research on video monitors that take more than one camera and wasn't happy with the reviews of any of the baby monitors. They all seem to have issues of some sort. Our Summer Infant video monitor has had problems with range (it struggles with range from Isaac's room to ours) and the volume dial (we've had it two year and it's worn, therefore it goes out at times). My only con so far is how high the volume can go. I like to crank it up when I'm in the shower and this one is limited to a 20, when I keep it on 11 at night. It's hard to say how well this one will work two year from now, but I love it and the reviews that I've read from others that use it for a baby monitor love it too.

Gearing up for a party

Here's the invitations we sent out to a couple of Isaac's friends. The truck says "Isaac is 2! Dump everything and truck on over for a party!" When you dump the back of the truck it gives the Where: Huang Construction Site and date and time.

Painting Playdate

23 week doctor appointment

Today seems to be one of those days that I need to count my blessings. I am so blessed with a husband that takes care of me and our family. I've had a rough couple of days and David has been awesome. Yesterday morning I hurt my back somehow and it got worse throughout the day. By the end of the day I was in too much pain and it had spread to my belly. I called the on call doctor and she recommended we go to the ER. Thankfully we have a good friend that lives in our neighborhood and she came to watch Isaac from 9pm to 1am. In the ER we found that I have, as David puts it, the most expensive UTI ever and ,as the nurse said, a crazy baby. They monitored the baby for a bit and I'm not having contractions and the baby is super active, it was kicking for 4 plus hours straight. They gave me some medicine for the pain and I was able to get a couple of pain-free hours of sleep.
This morning I had a regularly scheduled doctor appointment and everything seems to be going well, with the exception of my back pain. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or maybe it was the pain, but I got so frustrated at the pharmacies, yes I had to go to more than one, that I left crying and called David. Being the wonderfully caring husband he is, he came home with lunch to give me a break and let me rest. My back still hurts, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. They are thinking the back pain is probably muscles, but if it is from the UTI it should go away with the medicine. If it doesn't I'll be visiting a chiropractor.

A Weeks Worth of Weather

Just a week ago Isaac was playing outside with his Yehyeh in with the ice that had formed in his wheelbarrow. Then a few day ago we got our first snow and Isaac had to go out to see what this stuff was. This is also the day he discovered that his hands get really cold when playing in the snow. And today we got a good few inches. Isaac had so much fun playing with Dad that he tried to go out a little later, after he had warmed up, without shoes! He pretty good at sneaking out the doggy door.

23 week belly pic

Toddler Bed

David and Isaac disassembled the crib and put together Isaac's toddler bed. Isaac had so much fun helping dada and using dada's tools. They did this just before bedtime last night and while David bathed Isaac I put his room back together. When he walked into his room after the bath he went running into the bed. He was so excited that he wanted to so straight to sleep naked. Isaac slept all night in his bed! In fact I'm sure he slept better than me because I kept checking the video monitor to make sure he wasn't about to fall out of the bed.
Naptime today went ok, he went straight to bed and fell asleep but ended up falling out and waking up rather abruptly. So far tonight things are going well, he did get up to get a book to take to bed with him but he's asleep now. Thank you Mama and Baba for the Curious George sheets, I'm sure they are helping with the transition. Thank you Mom for the alphabet quilt, it fits the bed perfectly. Now we just have to teach him to stay under the covers.
The last picture is of Dorito under the twin bed during the construction, he doesn't like change.

Christmas Traditions

This week at my mom's bible study group we were asked about Christmas Traditions that are Christ centered that we grew up with and that we want to do with our family. I grew up in a house that did not go to church regularly and therefore didn't have any traditions that were Christ centered. Since we're a new family it's easy for us to start some new traditions. One we've started is making a birthday cake for Jesus, but I want to do more. Today I came across this and am inspired. Do you have any traditions that you'd like to share with us?

Chopstick Success