Our Easter

On Saturday we went to a church Easter egg hunt and Caleb picked up very quickly how to hunt for Easter eggs. Derrick took Caleb around and Derrick said Caleb would find eggs he didn't even see. So on Sunday morning when I did a little egg hunt for Caleb he knew exactly what was going on and what would be in the eggs.


In the mid morning Caleb was jumping on our bed. He likes to jump forward and land on his tummy. Well, when he lunged forward he went too far and hit the window sill at the top of our bed and got this scratch:

He cried while it pussed and became a scab. Yesterday he noticed it in the mirror for the first time and said, "nose, nose" while touching it. He knew it was not normally on his face.
We went to church then headed right to Mark and Mary's house for Easter dinner. It was a good day.
Here's a video of Brynn:

Hiller Aviation Museum

This last Friday morning we went to the Hiller Aviation Museum. It was fun to go out for a family outing. We're totally taking advantage of Derrick's paternity leave and the fact that Brynn is portable.
The pictures above are of a portion of a 747. They have it made into a place where you can walk in, see where the passengers would sit (it was a 2 story plane) and then you can go into the cock pit:


There were lots of helicopters and airplanes inside. Caleb had fun but I think Derrick had more fun. He said it made him determined to fly.

Misc.

This is my angel baby:

She sleeps in 5-7 hour stretches...at night! She is so much easier to take care of than Caleb was. She sleeps more, eats easily and has less diapers that leak. The hardships I have with this baby are on my own body. I had a fever one day this week, we think from a small infection on my nipple. But I'm healing. It's slow and painful when nursing on that side but it should all be over soon.
Unfortunately, Caleb is starting to get a little jealous of her. Sometimes, if Brynn cries, he will try to cry louder. He also wants to get into our laps if we are holding her. But I don't think he hates her or wants to hurt her, he just wants our attention. He did hold her the other day and it was so cute:

A Caleb quirk: He doesn't like his hands to be dirty. If his hands are dirty from eating, he will pick up his sippy cup with his wrists. Even more so with the wrists than we show in this picture. For the first time this week he asked us to "keen" (clean) his hands in the middle of a meal. Funny boy.

Caleb's 2nd Birthday

To start off Caleb's birthday we took him to Vasona Park in Los Gatos. When we had Brynn, a lady at the hospital told us about this place and said our son would love it. She was right. Caleb's favorite part was the airplane. The park had a 1950's Air Force Jet that was hollowed out and made into a play structure. He also loved the train and firetruck:


For dinner we took him to Sweet Tomatoes (aka Souplantation) and he loved it, especially the jello. Then we went home and Caleb opened his presents. We tried to do web cam with my parents while he opened the gifts but our computer is having problems so it took a while. Here's what you missed Mom before web cam started working:

Caleb and Brynn

Caleb loves Brynn! He wishes she were awake more often. Here's a few stories of things that have happened:
1. I was sitting on the couch holding Brynn and Caleb walks up to me with arms wide open saying, "hold." We have never asked him if he wanted to hold her before, this was all his idea. We sit him on the couch and he practically grabs her from me as I am handing her over. He was done after literally 2 seconds but it was still cute.
2. Brynn was asleep in her car seat and Caleb walks up to her saying, "Hi Brynn. Baby. Rock." He starts rocking her in the car seat. Then he gently points to her face features saying them, "eyes, nose, tongue." I show Caleb her hands and say can you give her five. He gives her a five to one hand then the other.
3. Caleb knows what her feeding time is now. When I sit down in the rocking chair to feed her he likes to get the boppy pillow for me. He will then say, "Milk. Hungry." We tell him yes, the baby is hungry and is going to drink milk.
4. Caleb was getting out of the bath and asked to see Brynn. He brought two of his bath toys to show her and placed them on her and then said, "Up." He wanted her to wake up so she could look at them. He proceeded to show her one more toy.
Here's a video from yesterday. The only thing she wants to do when she's awake is eat and you will see that at the end of the video. She was checked at the doctor's office today and is already back to her birth weight. I have a feeling she will be a chubby baby.

Brynn Danielle Isaacson

Born: April 7th, 2011
Weight: 6 lbs 12 oz
Height: 19 inches

I went into labor around 5pm on April 6th. Contractions started off really inconsistant but all of a sudden they became close and intense around 10pm. We got into the hospital around 11. It took too long in my opinion to get that epidural. Why did they have to ask so many questions?! This epidural was a huge relief but not as much as it was with Caleb. I actually felt something, how dare that happen :) No, it wasn't too bad once I had the epidural. After less than 5 minutes of pushing she was out at 1:48am. Fast it was!



This picture is funny to Derrick and I because even though she is over a pound lighter than Caleb was, her thighs are thicker. Caleb had chicken legs.

After we were done with the delivery room we found out we could get a private room! That was a huge blessing because when we had Caleb we had a shared room and it was a nightmare. This room even had a fold out bed for Derrick.

Caleb had no idea Brynn was even there when he met her for the first time. I think he thought it was something that was just a part of the new hospital room he had never been in before.

But when we got home he noticed her a little more and it was cute:

We love her and I was so glad I got to come home from the hospital today instead of tomorrow. I've already gotten a 1 1/2 hour nap today and it was so nice. I'm feeling good and am excited to dress up my little girl in all the dresses and headbands I've made. Yes, the flower headband she is wearing on the top picture is a creation of mine out of a ribbon I got from a baby gift. This will be fun!

Sewing and Baby Update

Here are 2 little girl dresses I made. The one on the left is a pattern from the late seventies/early eighties, so I hope when I put it on her it won't look funky. I love the classic black with white polka dots though.
The one on the right is from a pattern I had but I totally did my own thing with it. I changed it from a full button up the front of the dress, to only the top half being buttoned up. I added elastic in the back waist to compensate for getting rid of the open up front. I also made my own sleeve pattern because I didn't like the way the sleeves looked with this style. This is my favorite dress thus far because one, it is stylish and two, I used black thread with red fabric (first time I've ever used contrasting thread).

Here are the 2 school house tunics I made, shirt versions. The first one I made is on the left and it is a little too big for me (which I am so bummed about because it turned out so cute!) so I'm hoping it fits my mom. We'll see when she comes out for the baby blessing in May.
The second one I made is on the right. I can't wait to try it on without my big belly! I also can't wait to make a dress version of this in a year when I am done nursing and can wear dresses again. Such a cute pattern!
Baby Update
I went to the doctor today. I'm almost 3cm dilated. Derrick really wants me to have this baby soon because he is looking forward to paternity leave. I'm indifferent to when she comes and am fine if it is early so I okayed the doctor to do a "membrane rub." I guess it's supposed to possibly jump start labor within 24 hours. I've been feeling cramping since the appointment but no contractions yet. We also went on about a 2 mile walk last night. We'll see what happens.

New Bed & Teething

Caleb got a new bed! We decided to go for a twin bed and just skip the toddler bed all together. We have yet to actually let him sleep in it because he is so good in his crib--has not climbed out once and he is just so comfortable there. Why change a good thing before we have to? We do his night time routine in the bed, read books there, and Caleb does have fun just playing on it. We got Lightning McQueen bedsheets and we just use my old comforter from before Derrick and I were married. For now, Caleb loves it. We'll see how much he likes it when he sleeps on it for the first time.

Caleb's first 16 teeth coming in didn't bother him one bit. Now, his 2 year old molars are coming in and he has been ten times more irritable than I've ever seen him. It has been that way since Sunday. He cries when he wakes up, he cries we don't give him what he wants, he cries when we do give him what he wants, he screams and thrashes and kicks and protests at everything. He hardly eats and nothing but tv will consistently make him calm. Even at the park he will all of a sudden start crying and lay down on the ground. I want my Caleb back! Hopefully it is just these teeth coming in and he will be back to normal soon. I did manage to get a sweet picture of him and a cute video with Dad (because he will have a few happy moments even with all the fits):

These pictures are so cute they made me wish I had a nice camera so that they would look even better. Like any kid Caleb loves to "help" in the kitchen; and like any person his favorite part was licking the batter at the end. I just love his messy little face!

I love Caleb, he loves me

Caleb and I were looking at videos on the camera, then Caleb wanted me to take a video of him. Here is what he did:

Since he started saying his numbers I asked him to count. He never says 6 or 7 so I always do the filling in:

Little Things to Remember:
1. Derrick took Caleb to a baptism while I was at my baby shower. As they were leaving the house Caleb called out "Mom, Mom." He wanted me to come. When they got to the church Caleb heard the prelude music on the piano and got really excited saying, "Mom, Mom." He was disappointed when he saw it wasn't me. I love that he loves me and shows it.
2. Caleb gets scared. When there is a loud part on his Cars movie for instance, he yells out, "Mom" and comes running to me. I will go and sit with him until the "scary" parts are over.
3. Caleb is so loving. Whenever I ask for a hug, he will usually come give me one, then he has to give Derrick one too. He can't give one parent a hug or a kiss without giving one to the other.

Utah

The first picture is of me. Why you ask, because I was an 8 month pregnant bridesmaid for my friend, Annette's wedding on Saturday.

Mom, this picture is for you...the Bresee family...click to enlarge:

The other big reason why we went was because Derrick's sister Julie is getting married in two weeks and I won't be able to go because I will be too far along in my pregnancy, which is so sad. However, I was able to go to Julie's bridal shower and see her in her dress. Here's a picture from the bridal shower:

Derrick's top priority in Utah...skiing. He went on Tuesday and it was perfect. The night before he went there was 18" of fresh snow fall and while he was skiing it was sunny and not too cold. His dad joined him for the last hour and a half.

On Sunday my siblings came up from BYU to have dinner with Derrick's family. It was nice to see them. That day Caleb only got a 15 minute nap in the car, so, by dinner time he was exhausted. Here's him in a daze:

On Monday we went down to BYU to see the Carl Bloch exhibit. Derrick's parents took Caleb to the Wilkinson Center and entertained him while we went on our own. The paintings were beautiful.
Then we all went to the Monte L. Bean Science Museum. We thought Caleb would like it more than he did but there were still a few things that interested him: the stairs and the trucks in the toddler play area. He did like seeing the animals when we first walked in but he was just tired. It was alright though, he is now adjusted to Utah time and that time will be our daylight savings time on Saturday night, so we're just going to keep him on that schedule for a few days and we'll all be good.

That night Derrick's college friend Patrick came over and we had a little jam session. It was fun to play with someone on the guitar again. It had been a while.

Funny pic (Can you see the two cats? This is how the cats are when the kids move out of the house, or so I hear):

Caleb loved the cats but they didn't return the love. They were always peaking around the corners to see if Caleb was there before they came out. When he saw them and started running toward them, they would run away.

Overall it was a fun trip. We love seeing family and it is so nice to get closer to them through talking and playing games and doing fun things together.

Children's Discovery Museum

The same friends who took us to the discovery museum last time took us again because their year pass was about to expire. We had so much fun!


When Caleb first went into this little mirror room he smiled so big. I wish I had the camera ready for that.

This was great too. There's a play intersection with real stoplights and pedestrian buttons. Caleb, like any kid, loves pressing buttons. I loved that he could press the buttons as much as he wanted and we didn't have to worry about disrupting traffic.

Smarter Than I Realize

Thinking about the video I posted yesterday, I tried something today. We always sing Caleb primary songs at night and occasionally at other times. I wondered if he knew the serious songs we sang to him as well as the fun ones. Here's what I did to find out:
Me (singing): Whenever I hear the song of a...
Caleb: bir (bird)
Me: Or look at the blue, blue...
Caleb: sky
Me: Whenever I feel the rain on my...
Caleb: face (while touching his cheeks)
Me: Or the wind as it rushes by. Whenever I touch a velvet...
Caleb: Woes (rose)
Me: Or walk by a lilac
Caleb: Twee (tree)
Me: I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world. Heavenly Father created for...
Caleb: Me
Yes, Caleb knew at least the end of every phrase! I couldn't believe it. These little people really do soak in everything.

Song and Story

Today before church I started singing head shoulders knees and toes to Caleb. While I was saying "knees and toes" over and over again, as the song goes, Caleb said "eyes". He knew what was coming. I started doing this and I'm so glad we caught it on camera because it is so cute (please ignore my half dried hair):

Here is a funny story about today: When we were walking out of church Caleb started fussing a bit in Derrick's arms. As I rummaged the diaper bag for the pacifier I asked Caleb, "Guess what Mommy has for you?" Caleb's response, "Candy." Wishful thinking bud.

Serious about Cake

We bought clearance Christmas cake mix and frosting in January and last night Derrick asked if I would make it. After the cake was out of the oven Caleb discovered it cooling on the table and he got very excited for it. When it was time to frost it Caleb climbed up on a chair to watch. First I touched the top of the cake to see if it was cool enough. Caleb imitated me and said, "pat, pat" while he patted the top of the cake seriously.
While I was taking off the frosting lid Caleb grabbed the butter knife I got out to frost the cake and said "cut". Luckily I stopped him just before he actually cut the cake (but he knows we do cut cake). I frosted the cake while Caleb played with the sprinkle packet it came with. Then as I was pouring the sprinkles over the cake Caleb was picking up the sprinkles that fell on the table and carefully placed them on top of the cake. It was adorable.
After that we enjoyed Christmas cake. Derrick took the rest to work with him today because we don't need at 13x9" pan of cake at our house. I'm limited in my exercise with this 33 week pregnant belly so cutting back on sweets is a need-to-do for me.

Farm/Park

After seeing this place on a friend's blog, and finding out it was free, I wanted to go. I had Saturday off of work because of President's Day weekend. The only bummer thing was that it had been raining for days. It was only lightly raining Saturday morning so we decided to go anyways. It was really cold but Caleb needed to get out of the house so bad!
We went to Emma Prusch Farm, which is a big open area with a park, picnic tables, a big barn, pens for animals and chickens roaming around. Caleb loved chasing them! It was nice because they never attacked and they would run away from Caleb but they weren't really scared of him so they never went too fast and Caleb could keep up pretty well.

In the barn we saw a sheep, goats and cows.

We were there for a little less than an hour but it was just what we needed after a week of being couped up.

We've Been Sick

A week and a half ago on Tuesday I started to get a sore throat, Wednesday I could hardly talk, Thursday I had a fever, Friday a runny nose started--fever gone but still no voice or energy. Saturday I felt better but still had a runny nose and sore throat. That day Derrick had a fever, cough and chest pains, Sunday Derrick still had a fever and bad chest pains--we went to urgent care to make sure Derrick didn't have pneumonia (he didn't) but we got some codine cough syrup subscribed. Monday and Tuesday Derrick stayed home from work because even though he didn't have a fever, he still felt awful. Wednesday Caleb gets the fever and a runny nose, Thursday the fever is gone by night time but as of right now he still has a Niagra Falls type of runny nose--I wipe, wipe, wipe all day long.

Did I mention for a week Derrick and I have gotten close to no sleep? Last night was the first time in over a week that we all slept through the night...yay! This is a time that makes me dread having a newborn again.

So, our Valentines Day consisted of sickness and a speghetti dinner with garlic bread and salad (which Derrick couldn't even enjoy because with this bug food sounds awful). However, I did get Derrick some nice shirts that he likes:

AND Derrick got me what I asked for which is a pattern I've wanted for almost a year now. I saw it on my favorite sewing blog and have wanted it since. Take a look here at the Schoolhouse Tunic (second topic on this post). So cute right? The pattern though is $15. $15 for a pattern?! My limit is about $7. I finally asked for it and I'm so excited to have it. I'm going make a shirt version of it since you can't really wear dresses while nursing a baby (and I'll make a dress of it in about a year when I can wear them again). I bought the fabric yesterday and can't wait to start on it. Won't this fabric look so cute with a dark brown undershirt? I'm so excited to have a cute new shirt to wear after the baby comes!

Gloves and Books

Just like Caleb loves putting on our shoes, he loves imitating us in other ways too. That includes putting on the gloves I wear to do the dishes. He cracks up when he sees this video because he thinks the word "yucky" is pretty much the funniest word there is.

Caleb loves reading. Every morning the first thing he asks for is "books." We picked up this book from the library and it has been a favorite.

Tie and Nursery

Since we have 1pm church this year we have to put Caleb down for his nap at 11 and wake him just in time to get to church. As I was putting his church shirt on before his nap I told him we were going to church today. He automatically put his hand to his neck and said, "tie, tie." I told him we would put it on after his nap. He kept saying, "tie, tie" until I put him down.
When I woke Caleb up I put him straight in the car and just brought his shoes and tie with me to put on in the car. As I was putting on his shoes he said "tie, tie" and pointed again to his neck. As soon as that tie was on, he didn't say another word about it. How cute that he knows ties go on for church!
Also for a nursery update: Caleb LOVES nursery with a passion. He wants to go to nursery the second we get to church and by the end of sacrament meeting he is begging to go to nursery. We don't even have to walk him in the room, he just runs in and is happy. When we come to pick him up, he runs away from us. It is too funny but we are so glad he loves it.

Musically Inclined

Today we got the new Friend magazine in the mail and it has a picture of a snowman on the front. The magazine was sitting on the kitchen table and Caleb climbs on a chair and sees it. First he says "Snowman" then he raises his hands in the air and says, "Tall, tall, tall". I couldn't believe it. Sure, we've sung him "Once There Was a Snowman" before but I couldn't believe that 1. Caleb made the connection and 2. he said the words. He is so smart!
Sticking with the music theme, here's Caleb playing his guitar. He got it as a gift from our neighbor for his first birthday but didn't have interest in it at that age. I pulled it out a few days ago and he has loved it. It is so cute when he sings along with his playing.