9 months old!

Isaac is 9 months old today! We'll go for his 9 month check up next week to see how much he's grown the past few months. At 7 months, he was 18lbs 50z. So I expect he's probably around 19 lbs.

This week he started crawling, and now he follows me around the house! It's so cute!!


Noah and Isaac are starting to play together every day in our little play area. Noah has been good so far about helping monitor just what is going in Isaac's mouth. So far, Noah has told me when Isaac is eating books, cords, and paper! I guess it's time for Mommy to kick it up a notch about making sure there are no little things on the floor.

Isaac makes a huge mess on the floor (and pulls his bibs off) when it's time to eat. He's been eating almost everything we eat in small pieces. He loves rice, Cheerios, beans, peas, corn, bread, green beans, bananas and applesauce. (He hates any vegetable puree that has to be spoon-fed though!) He still nurses 5 times a day, and we're working on teaching him how to drink from a sippy cup.

Isaac is on the move. Note the babyproofed outlets. We have to be so careful about everything with a little one who is exploring.

Isaac is standing well while holding onto things. He just started doing this, and it really transformed him in my mind to a pre-walker / pre-toddler instead of just a baby.

Here he is playing with the blocks and cars with Noah (who is scooting away).

Daddy & Noah Weekend

Jason and Noah enjoyed getting away for the weekend to go to Splash Universe for a family gathering. Mommy was stuck at home with pinkeye, and Isaac kind of has to stay with me since he's still nursing. That didn't stop Jason and Noah from having a good time. Noah was thrilled both go to the waterpark and to see his grandparents. :)

Noah enjoyed hanging out with Uncle James and Aunt Lauren too.

Grandpa Gary is reading stories to Noah and second-cousin Leah. These two year olds enjoyed playing together at the hotel.

Another day of fun in the water park. Jason and Noah explore the pools.

Family hanging out by the poolside, watching the little ones play.

Noah kept crying and asking if he could go back to the water park after he got home!

Cookie Fun

These photos are from Christmastime. Noah and I made lots of cookies and special treats this year. Below is peppermint bark, puppy chow and dipped oreos. The peppermint bark was a new recipe that had baker's semi-sweet chocolate on the bottom and white chocolate on top. It was very rich! Of course everyone loves oreos and puppy chow too!

Good thing that time of year only comes around once!



Noah helped a little with the cut out sugar cookies. He helped cut them, put them on the pan, and lick out the bowl after I frosted! :) We made these mostly to give to our neighbors in our new neighborhood.

After a cookie swap with several friends, we had cookie plates that were full of variety. Each friend brought several dozen of one kind of cookie, and then we all traded cookies! I loved the pretzel turtles and the peanut butter fudge.

The four of us spent a Saturday afternoon meeting more of our neighbors and passing out these delicious plates.

Life

The most dangerous place to be in America is inside the womb of a woman.

Here are some of the early photos of Isaac (top) and Noah (bottom).

I heard on the radio this week that TWO of every ten known pregnancies is aborted.

In New York City, make that number FOUR of every ten.

The top two reasons cited for abortions are finances and disruption of work/school/life.

Abortion is our nation's vilest, sickest wrong. It is the murder of defenseless, pre-born life. This Sunday is the Sanctity of Life Weekend. It marks the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, Roe v. Wade. Every single life is sacred in God's sight. Should we not also view life accordingly?

We must get behind ministries that support women in crisis pregnancies such as pregnancy resource centers, adoption agencies and maternity homes. These organizations provide resources for women who ARE choosing life for their precious babies. We must also pray to end abortion. Murder should never be an acceptable alternative for a disruption of life.

Pro-LIFE should be more than a statement of position. It should be an action step.

With that, I am excited to begin working for The O'Connor House, a local maternity home for women in crisis pregnancies!

Peanut Butter and Jelly

I had to post this picture simply because it demonstrates my son's affinity for peanut butter and jelly.

One day last week, Noah asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast.

I said no, since we eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches most days of the week for lunch already.

So then he asked for toast. I made him two pieces of toast and asked him what he wanted on it.

"Peanut butter on one and jelly on the other!"

Photo Outtakes

Just in case you thought getting the typical Christmas card pictures is easy with kids involved....check out a few of these photo outtakes! Good thing we had patient siblings taking the pictures!

2011 Goals

I am a big fan of goal-setting, so I thought I would share my goals for this year. Last year I made four goals (which were all 90-100% completed), but this year I thought I would go all out and make lots of goals. The important thing for me is that they are mostly objective and measurable, and I can log progress towards them.

Here are some of my goals. We'll see how it turns out!

Spiritual

• Finish my 2010 plan to read through the Bible (which was close to being finished)
• Read through the Bible again!

Physical

• Exercise 3x/week and log it
• Run two half marathons and two 5Ks

Mental

• Read 12 books and log them
• Learn 12 skills and log them

Professional

• Explore online writing options (I have a few going already...but there are more out there!)
• Explore other professional opportunities

Financial

• Eliminate student loan (big, scary goal right here!!)
• Continue updating Quicken, evaluating budget and setting goals

Marriage

• Plan at least one date night per month
• Take Dynamic Marriage course at our church

Children

• Teach Noah 12 Bible verses
• Continue to use Scriptural words like "kind, patient, joy, self-control," etc.
• Work through preschool/kindergarten skill chart
• Begin using a chore chart

Out with the Old, in with the New: New Years Eve 2010

We enjoyed a busy day celebrating New Years Eve with lots of family. Christine and Anna had fun playing with Isaac.







Charis, a friend we taught with in Nicaragua several years ago, came over for lunch and for the afternoon. She lives in Dayton but made the drive all the way to see us and to see Luke and Ellen.

We spent lots of time hanging out with family, watching movies and playing cards.

Uncle James did the honors of reading Noah his last bedtime stories of 2010. Noah, of course, picked one of his favorite books, If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Noah really likes this book because Noah really likes muffins (even though the book is not really that much about muffins).

Christmas Marathon Weekend

Christmas weekend was a marathon of family gatherings for us. We celebrated Christmas six times before it was all said and done.

We're thankful to be part of such great families that just keep growing! (The Rosenberger side will have two more babies in 2011!)