Mom-Mom-Mom's 90th birthday!

"Happy 90th Birthday" in Italian

Isaac is so lucky to get to know two of his great grandmothers.  This weekend we celebrated Mom-Mom-Mom Louise turning 90!

On Saturday we had everyone over for a delicious homemade Italian feast.  Everyone made something for the meal: Sandy made chicken parmesan, Mommy made homemade pasta, Aunt Margie made the sauce, Mommom Patti made garlic bread, and Kelly made cannoli poke cake...and it was all SO good! 

Thanks to Sandy and Buddy, here are some pictures from throughout the evening:

rolling and cutting 4 pounds of pasta

Here comes the birthday girl!

the guys helping out

 

pasta centerpieces (Thanks, Pinterest!)

Mangia!

Declan LOVED this Veggie Tales book!

Kelly is so funny!

kisses from Declan

yummy cannoli poke cake made by Kelly

 
On Sunday we went and got a full family portrait taken with all 16 of us. The only person missing was Kathy.  

Isaac was excited to go get his picture taken:

 Here is the whole gang:

When we got home, we had some more family time after Isaac's nap. 

On Monday Isaac had an eye exam.  The optometrist and office staff ate him up.  The doctor said she'd never gotten such a good exam from a baby as Isaac was so calm and cooperative the entire time.  He was a huge hit with everyone with his laughing and waving and they can't wait to see him again when we go back for his glasses. We tried on just a few to get an idea of what size he would need. 

Monday was Mommom's actual birthday so Isaac and Mommy stopped by for a visit after Isaac's eye exam. Isaac had a great time sitting with Mommom and drumming with Uncle Tony. 

Happy birthday, Mommom(mom)!

10 Months Old

Isaac is 10 months old!

• he weighs a little over 18 lbs.
• is still breastfed
• wearing 9-12 month clothes and cloth diapers
• has 8 teeth
• crawling on all fours very efficiently
• loves to cuddle
• says "dadda"
• loves his music table and rocking horse
• waves hello
• understands some words and phrases
• takes two naps a day
• holds himself up to standing and "walks" when holding onto someone's hands
• is very social and has no problem going from person to person 
• blows raspberries and slurps

Our photoshoot this month was exhausting and short lived.  On top of being extra wiggly, Isaac noticed his "tie" immediately and was completely fixated on exploring and getting it into his mouth. Mommy tried sticking it on his back and on the couch, but it didn't work out too well.  Even the dogs wouldn't stick around for very long as Isaac was kicking and grabbing like crazy. I can only imagine what the next month will hold!

this picture sums up the general struggle

3-Day Weekend

Isaac had a busy and fun 3-day weekend. 

On Thursday we visited Grandma Ernst to give her the digital picture frame we got her for Christmas, loaded with a couple hundred pictures of her great grandson. As always they had a great time together. 

On Saturday we had a visit from Jodi and Jarrett.  Isaac was really happy to see his pal and to share his toys.

On Sunday morning we had a makeup Christmas visit from Aunt Felicia.  She brought him a cool baby-version Radio Flyer push cart with shape sorter and a bunch of great books for his library.

Then we headed to Shepherdstown, WV to have a family dinner at Aunt Karen's beautiful new home.  Isaac had fun watching the wiener dogs (we agreed he will probably think that all dogs are wiener dogs after being surrounded by them in so many households!), playing with the nieces, playing the player piano with Daddy, singing along with Katie and Lucia, and just hanging out with his aunts, uncle, and grandparents.  

literally the center of attention

We had a really nice time listening to Lucia and Katie singing together.  All of the nieces have some really amazing talents. Here is a VIDEO of the girls singing Hallelujah. Isaac joined in toward the end.

singing along with the girls

After getting home a little after bedtime, Isaac wound up sleeping in on Monday morning until after 10am! Since Daddy was off from school he made us some yummy sprouted grain pancakes.  After playtime with Daddy and an afternoon walk with Mommy and the dogs, Isaac joined Mommy at choir practice where he had fun watching everyone sing from his "camping chair", and occassionally joining in with his impressive falsetto.  

hanging with Daddy before going to bed

Isaac continues to try new foods.  This week he tried beets, parsnips, and polenta in addition to his regular favorites. 

beet lips

Isaac kept saying "dadadadada" ALL week long.  However, one night this week when he woke in the middle of the night and sent Daddy in, Isaac cried louder and louder and then we heard "MOMMMM-my" two times! We haven't gotten him to repeat it during the day in a happier state, but he's been regularly making an "mmm" sound which we think will turn into "mama" any day now.

Some other new tricks...

Isaac is starting to pull himself up to standing a bit more:

He has been really entertained by being followed. Here he is giggling when Mommy followed he and Daddy up the stairs for bedtime.

When he is in his walker he heads to the sliding glass doors and stares outside.  The other day he pulled the curtains aside himself so he could check things out.

And he continues to be fascinated with checking out teeth and mouths, but he's also moved on to checking out ears and noses.  Maybe we have a future dentist or physician on our hands.

See ya soon for the 10 Month blog update!