Taste of Madison

The three of us went to the Taste of Madison today and it was so much fun! The weather was perfect and we met up with Ashley and a couple of her friends. Isaiah was well behaved and even got to roam around on the capital lawn a bit for a while. The top video on the bar at left is from when Isaiah managed to stand up on his own for several seconds! Unfortunately, I wasn't taping a few minutes earlier when he was standing on his own for a good 45 seconds or so. Who knew it could be so entertaining to watch a kid standing up?

Isaiah's Scrapbook - A Work in Progress

Here is a slideshow with a sampling of a few of the pages I've made for Isaiah's scrapbook so far. I'm hard at work on it to have it all up to date by his birthday! Let me know what you think so far.

A big thanks to Ashley and Nichole for motivating me to get my butt in gear and get back to work on my scrapbook. I'm so thankful because I've really enjoyed the creative outlet it provides and I've felt so much better ever since I've started again. Thanks, girls!

Isaiah's New Shirt, Homeskillet

If you've seen the movie Juno, you'll understand why I was so psyched to get Isaiah this shirt. If you haven't....well, you'll probably just be confused.

Scrapbooking!

It took some doing, but I was able to dig out my scrapbook supplies out of the messy closet and got two new pages completed for the first time since Isaiah was about a month old! It's nice to be able to shut the door of the office and just do something fun and creative. I'm a little annoyed because I swore that I had more refill sheets for Isaiah's scrapbook in the boxes with the rest of the stuff, but I can't find them anywhere. Add it to the list of errands for our next trip to Madison. My goal is to have his scrapbook caught up for his birthday so I can have it out at the party for people to look at.

Ashley - Thanks for the awesome storage bag (the big one for paper and stuff). It is really going to come in handy!

The dog's gonna get it

Oh, I could have killed Brian tonight. Not for real of course, so don't go calling PETA on me. I love my dog to pieces, but I was simply FURIOUS. I had Isaiah asleep and he had been quiet in his crib for over an hour when the stupid mutt started barking at the neighbors across the street when they came home. Isaiah woke up and just screamed for a good 10 minutes before passing back out. Grrrrr......that dog is lucky I love him so much or he would have been in for it!!

Photos available on Snapfish

I've uploaded my favorites from our photo shoot with Jenn Van Wyk onto Snapfish so you can order prints of any of them if you would like. It was really cool of her to put all the shots on a disc for me that I have complete digital rights to. Woohoo!

Be sure to check out the 9 Month photos too, as there are a bunch of new ones in there as well.

If you are not a member of the "Isaiah's Room" group room on Snapfish and would like to be, just let me know. I keep it pretty up to date with recent pictures of the rugrat.

Karma, baby.

Evan had better not go on another business trip again....EVER! I started getting the crap beat out of me the second he left. I don't know if it was karma coming back to bite me in the rear end or what, but between Sunday and right now (Tuesday night) I have:

• Earned a wicked bruise from running into a corner of a counter at work


• Been spontaneously and violently ill (I won't go into any more detail than that)


• Aggravated a muscle in my left arm/shoulder so badly that I can't even dress myself without screaming in pain


• Had to drive back home with a nine month old WAILING at the top of his bloody little lungs for an hour and 17 minutes while I panic and try everything I can think of to help him, but to no avail.

Seriously, he had better not leave me alone again!

Despite all the butt-kicking I received over the past couple days, I did still have a very enjoyable visit back to Waupun. My mom's situation remains the same, but I think it did her some good to see her grandson for a while. I was fortunate enough that my sister was able to come over to visit for the day as well and she was the one who took this lovely photo of Isaiah and me. Other than that, it's back to the normal week once Evan gets home from the airport. Hopefully my arm will be feeling better by tomorrow or work tomorrow night is going to be really difficult. Karma sucks.

Isaiah's Birthday Party

I know his birthday is in November. Yes, I realize that it is only August. I understand that the fact that I'm starting to plan this already officially constitutes me as a freak.

Now that we have that out of the way, can we move on?

Isaiah's birthday party is going to be on Saturday, November 8th. Mark your calendars! It will probably be at 2:00 pm or so and is going to be at my restaurant, Leystra's Venture, in Sauk City. I'm going to book the back room for us so we can decorate and everything and I don't have to worry about cleaning up the house after a big party. I figure I'll get some light fare from the restaurant (light sandwiches, soda, etc) and have a few people bring some cold salads and desserts. I'll be sending out invites as the party gets closer, but I really could use some suggestions for planning the other aspects of the party: decorations, theme, etc. Any ideas?

Trip out East

Something cool has come up. I get to go out East and visit two of my companies vendors. I have never been East so I am looking forward to the trip. First I'll be going to New Jersey, then Virginia near Norfolk. It would be nice to visit the shipyards while I'm near there, unfortunately, the security is pretty high and we won't be going in. Oh well, some other time maybe. With the work my company does for the Navy, the chances of my eventually seeing it are pretty good. I'll be leaving on my trip this Sunday, and coming back Tuesday night.

Happy Birthday

It's my birthday today! So, what's on the schedule for the day I turn 25? I'm having lunch with my two favorite men and then I have to work tonight. I know, I know.....I party too hard. I'll try to calm it down some for my 26th.

Isaiah Outdoor Photos

A friend of mine from back in college is starting her own photography business and is building her portfolio so she offered to take some photos of Isaiah for free, so we went over there tonight for a casual photo shoot. We had a great time and Isaiah had a lot of fun crawling around in the grass after her dog! He so loves dogs. I've posted the link to her website below so you can check out the entire shoot!

http://www.jennvanwyk.com/Jenn_Van_Wyk/Gallery.html

New Videos

In case you haven't noticed, there is a video bar on the left side of the screen that allows you to watch videos from my YouTube account right on this blog. The newer videos will always be on top. I added a video from Sunday of Isaiah taking a couple steps with the help of his Grandma and I'm in the process of uploading a couple more from yesterday and today. So, be sure to take a peek over at that video bar when you check out this page. You just might see something new!

The Olympics

Great googly moogly!! Are you watching the Olympics??!! If not, why not? I've just been blown away by what I've seen in the past couple days out of our American athletes. Michael Phelps is just a freak of nature. How anyone can swim like that is beyond the realm of my understanding, but I'm sure glad he's on our team. The men's relay was a really exciting, classic finish that was amazing to watch. And it didn't hurt that they beat the French team that was talking trash to the media about how they were going to "smash" the Americans.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0811_hd_swb_hl_l0194

Talk to the gold medal, baby.

And then Michael Phelps manages to absolutely SHATTER his own world record by about a mile and half in an individual swim.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0810_hd_swb_hl_l1626r1

It will be really neat to see if he can pull off winning 8 gold medals. How cool is that??

Isaiah's First Brewer Game!

Our family had an AMAZING time yesterday taking Isaiah to his very first Brewer game! The weather was great, except for a 10 minute downpour, but the best part was that Isaiah was absolutely perfect. He didn't fuss or cry, but was just happy and content the whole time. He napped when we wanted him to and he slept the whole way home and we were able to put him right to bed from his carseat. We couldn't have asked for a better experience for his first baseball game! Here are a few photos from the day. I'll have more up on Snapfish later for those of you who check Isaiah's Room, but I only have time before work this morning for a little appetizer.

Oh, and Isaiah officially turned 9 months old yesterday as well! Hard to believe that he's getting to be that big already, isn't it? He wants to walk so badly, so we have a feeling that it won't be too long before we really start chasing him around. That should be fun!

Time Out!

I absolutely LOVE watching the show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" on TLC....I figure if they can make life work with a set of twins and a set of sextuplets, I can make my life work with the hand I've been dealt. Anyway, they have this handy dandy little Time Out mats set out in set spots throughout their house where they send the kids when it's time for a time out. I love the idea because then there is a consistent location for time out every time, which creates a routine...something we know that all kids inherently need. This may seem a bit premature, but Isaiah technically becomes a toddler in only 3 months! I totally want a couple of these mats though. Think Evan will go sit on one if he gets in trouble?

I hate canoeing

Maribeth - This one's for you. We'll always have that stupid canoe. Sorry you heard me swear so much....but I really had a horrible time on that river. We'll love you forever for it.

The little things

I was reminded once again today that it is the little things that we do for others that seems to make the biggest impact sometimes. Something that seems so small and insignificant to us can end up being encouraging, uplifting, or even life changing for someone else.

After Isaiah's 6 month photos, I sent an email to Emily asking about when I might expect the proofs to be completed. She replied that she had fallen a bit behind, but that the order was in so it should be arriving shortly. Not thinking anything of it, I replied with this email.

Don't worry about "getting behind." You are a very busy lady, so I totally understand. You must be thrilled with how well your business is going though. God truly blessed you with an amazing talent and it must just be so exciting to be able to do what you love and have it be so successful.

Today at Isaiah's 9 month photo shoot, Emily and I were talking about how busy she has been with her business. Seven weddings this month and she's coaching gymnastics to boot. Girl is working her tail off and is burning out a bit. On my way out the door, I reminded her to try to take some time to relax for herself and to not worry about getting behind and to just focus on how well the business is doing. All of a sudden, she asked me to come behind the counter into her office. Posted above her desk was my email, printed out in lovely large script. She said, "Whenever I feel overwhelmed or stressed, I just read what you said and it always makes me feel better. It meant so much to me that you said that."

We both started crying.

Welcome to the Jets, Brett.

And while we're on the topic of things that frustrate the heck out of me.....Brett freakin Favre.

Traded to the New York stinkin' Jets. Unbelievable. Is this really how you wanted to go out, Brett? It just wasn't good enough to have the entire state of Wisconsin bowing down to you and your legacy when you "retired." It just wasn't enough when legendary athletes of past and present paid homage to your greatness on and off the field. Nope, not enough. Instead, you have to act like a little kid who changes his mind about quitting the team and goes up to the coach at the last minute, "Put me in coach!" That's not the way it works, my friend. The team moved on. YOU RETIRED!!! They can't just start over in AUGUST just because you have a sudden change of heart, even if you are the best quarterback ever to play the game. Best of luck in New York, Brett. You won't see me crying.

By the way, I have a framed flood damaged Brett Favre poster for sale. I'll sell it to ya cheap.

Teething!!!!

What is it about teething that turns an otherwise sweet little angel baby into something straight out of a horror movie? Seriously, when Isaiah is working on cutting a tooth he is an absolute BEAST to be around. His nose is constantly pouring out snot, he won't eat, he won't sleep, and he just cries and cries and cries. Teething sucks.

Here's to hoping that Tooth #3 that he's working on right now comes out soon so Mommy can get some of her sanity back!

Just look at him doing his "evil genius" laugh.....creepy.

Starting this whole blog thing

I've always been a sucker for peer pressure. All the other cool kids seem to have a blog, so I say, "Why not us?" So, here we go. I tend to spend a rather unhealthy amount of time at the computer more days a week than I care to admit, so I can take the time out to update this site with what's happening in our family. I figure those who love us and miss us terribly will read it on a regular basis and pine away, thinking of how much they want to hang out with us. Those who don't really care will check to see if there any cool photos and then move on. Fine by me!

So, here we go!