Back in April (that’s right, April), Erin and I took the little guy out to take pictures in the bluebonnets. Isaac took a nap on the way up there (yay!) and when we got there he was ready to go.

Let's Go Take Pictures!

So we took him out into the field to find a patch of bluebonnets to take pictures in. This was easier said than done, as the crop of flowers was relatively weak this year and we waited a little late in the season to go. But we managed to find a spot that was good enough for pictures.

Dad and Isaac in the Bluebonnets

Mom and Isaac in the Bluebonnets

Isaac even managed to sit in the grass long enough for us to take some good shots of him (well, he’s not sitting for some)

Some poses, however, weren’t such a big hit.

All in all it was a good day. Lots of cute pictures and a good time together. We’ll be back next year for sure, when hopefully there will be a lot more bluebonnets.

But, more importantly, it’s time to celebrate Isaac’s 10 month birthday. We had flank steak with corn on the cob and squash for dinner and that kid MOWED through it. He wolfed down the meat, he gummed that corn until it gave in and he took two big slices of squash down for the count.

And he posed for pictures after dinner.

Here’s a quick recap of the whole thing, starting two days earlier.

While Isaac’s been sick, Honey and Dude had tickets to a James Taylor concert up in The Woodlands, so they stayed with us Friday night. Honey’s mom made cookies for all of us, but especially for Isaac. It was his first real cookie and definitely his first taste of icing.

All right, I'm just going to have a little taste

Savoring the sweet taste of icing

Oh yeah, that's the good stuff!

After a bit of Isaac munching, the cookie got a little…messy. Which is a nice way of saying Honey and the couch needed to be wiped off.

Oh yeah, look at that shine

But alas, that didn’t stop him from trying to share. I swear, the kid’s got some great manners, just not the best timing.

Try it Momma!

On Easter morning Isaac slept in until 9, which was a treat in and of itself. Of course he woke up 2 or 3 times during the night so him sleeping a little later than normal wasn’t the biggest surprise on the planet. After he was fully awake it was time for him to enjoy his Easter baskets. And enjoy them he did.

Now this is some tasty reading

Checking to make sure there's nothing on the bottom

Oh, something on the side!

After he was done with his Easter basket we changed him into some clothes we didn’t mind potentially getting grass stains on and headed outside to do an Easter egg “hunt”. Erin had loaded about 10 eggs up with Cheerios, Puffs and Yogurt bites.

First Egg Found!

Don't know why it's here but I'm gonna eat it!

Hey, you can't eat this!

After finding the one on the ground and then a few on the deck we brought him into the grass to “find” the remaining few.

There's an egg out there!

But it turns out we don’t let him crawl in the grass nearly enough, so he wasn’t going anywhere to get the eggs.

Yeah, I'm not gonna go get that

So momma got the eggs for him and allowed him to taste the goodness hidden inside.

Oooooooooh, I want those

And that’s when Isaac decided he was a fan of Easter eggs.

I love these!

After the hunt we gave him the rest of his breakfast and got him dressed for church. Then we took some pictures beforehand because we figured (rightly so it turns out) that he wouldn’t be up for it when we got back from church.

Hey everyone, I got my momma!

And I got my daddy!

So a Happy Easter to everyone!

Hi, my name is Isaac and I'm 9 Months

I’ll compress some of the others and post them soon.

When we got there, Erin threw Isaac up in a back carry and away we went. I didn’t carry him for a few reasons. 1) I’d sweat WAY WAY too much and 2) I had to leave for rugby soon.

Beth, Robyn and the boys had already started picking. Usually the front of the site is completely ravaged because people don’t bother going to the back, but this time apparently people had only picked at the back and the front was good to go.

One thing that is a fact about picking berries. The boys LOVE it.

With the help of both boys (Barrett repeatedly said “I’m picking pretty strawberries”) we got our two buckets picked in ridiculously fast fashion.

The boys, however, were not the only only ones taste testing the merchandise.

Unfortunately, Isaac isn’t old enough to taste any of our pickings, but he will be soon. Next year he’ll be running up and down the rows “picking” strawberries. Just like his older cousin Hunter.

Hunter Running the Rows

So now we’re going through approximately 10 pounds of strawberries in one week. We’ve made strawberry sorbet, we’ve had a bowl of strawberries a day, strawberries and ice cream and pretty much any other way you can eat strawberries.

He’s an extremely curious boy with a strong grasp. Anything you’re holding is the most interesting thing in the world to him. And boy oh boy does he like “reading” the mail. Although he reads differently than most. Osmosis through the mouth I guess.

8 Months Old

So Happy Birthday Isaac!

Unfortunately, due to some injuries, some of the D3 players were used in the D1 game, but the upshot was that I got to start because of that. Not the way I wanted it to go, but that’s life I guess.

Erin and Isaac missed the opening kick due to napping, but she got an example of a kickoff regardless.

One of the ways to restart the game after the ball goes out of bounds in rugby is called a line out. This consists of putting up to 7 guys per team in a line, with a 1 yard gap in between, and throwing the ball in the middle of the gap to see who gets it. The jumper can be lifted as high as you want to grab it, the only stipulation is the throw has to be straight. Well, I got to jump. A lot. And it was fun. I had two guys lifting me who were 6 foot plus and I was getting pretty high up there. Here’s Erin’s favorite example:

Our best guess is that my head is around 11 feet high. Hey, I could dunk! Sadly, that’s about the only way I possibly could.

Here’s a montage of what a line out looks like.

Getting Ready for the Throw

Get in Position and Jump

Trust Your Lifters and Reach for Ball

Secure the Ball

The only thing Erin didn’t get a picture of was me passing the ball back to the scrum half to start play. The key to a successful jump? Keep your legs straight so you don’t kick your lifters in the boys. Standard penalty for kicking a lifter  there is a punch to the face. It’s pretty fair.

I have to share this next montage because it was hilarious. I got straight steamrolled making a play I had to make.

Ball's Loose, Have to Pick Up

Just Picked Up, Driven Back by Tackler

Tackler Takes Me Down About 5 yards Back From Where I Picked Up

Manage to Place Ball Behind Me

Team Gets There and Rucks Over

The guy hit me literally a split second after I picked it up, so I had no footing, and back I went. It was not a pleasant ride but kind of funny at the same time. Apparently someone around Erin saw it and said “What kind of tackling is THAT?”

And, in our final montage, a scrum. For those of you who haven’t come out to see one of my rugby games yet, first off shame on you. Second off, you’ll see a LOT of these because there are many blunders.

The Pack Gets into the Crouch

The Props Touch Each Other to Make Sure They're the Proper Distance

Then there’s a pause.

Engage, Everyone Surges and Slams into Each Other

It can get tiring, but it’s also a lot of fun if your pack is the one pushing the other around. On the flip side, it’s incredibly demoralizing to get pushed around as a pack.

While we ended up losing the game 24-17, it’s apparently likely that we’ll end up getting a forfeit due to an ineligible player playing for McAllen. Not exactly how we wanted it to go, but since we’re in the playoff hunt, we’ll take it any way we can get it.

Next game is this Saturday at the Westland YMCA pitch. Come out!

At first it was going to be Erin with all three boys because I had a rugby game, but the game was rescheduled due to the other team not being able to field a team, so I was able to help her out. To say she was relieved would probably be an understatement.

When the boys got to our house the play room was immediately assaulted. As some of you may know, Isaac and I have been on a musical journey through the iPod, and Barrett decided he would be in charge of what songs we listened to.

What he didn’t realize was that it was on Brooks & Dunn and that was it. Which was fine because it didn’t let the music that little ears shouldn’t hear play. B&D are a safe choice.

As is the case with pretty much every time the boys come over, they instantly regressed in the play room.

Yes, that’s Hunter on the play mat that babies use for tummy time. What can you say, he enjoyed it.

The brothers also took turns (very well I might add) playing some basketball.

Then, a very interesting thing happened.

Hunter started playing with Isaac and Erin,

While Barrett and I played a new version of “catch.” In our game we were passing a ball back and forth, but Barrett had to be on the letter I called out before I would throw it to him. Let me tell you, the kid knows his stuff. Then he changed it up a little and I would call the letter out and he would tell me what body part of his I had to hit. Don’t worry, the ball was nice and soft.

And, in our final act in the front room, I wore Barrett. Apparently when Barrett and Roger went camping they went hiking. A little ways in Barrett got tired and Roger had to carry him on his shoulders for two-ish miles. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like a ton of fun. So the other day, when Roger came by for something, we had him try on the Boba we bought to see what he thought. He liked it but wasn’t sure what Barrett would think.

Well, it seemed to be a hit. It was the first time I’ve worn him since he was a baby and could fit in the Moby.

We asked him if he would be okay with Daddy doing this to him when they went camping and he said yes, so victory us!

After we finished up in the front room it was quiet time in the living room watching movies. Hunter PASSED OUT on the love seat and Barrett chilled on the couch until Robyn and Roger got back from the wedding.

It was fun, but I informed Erin afterward that if she really wants three kids she shouldn’t let this happen very often.

I almost forgot to mention, Barrett the photographer showed up towards the end of the day (right before quiet time). Here’s his beautiful work.

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]]> http://erinandadam.com/home/babysitting-the-boys/feed 0 http://erinandadam.com/home/erins-birthday-in-yorktown http://erinandadam.com/home/erins-birthday-in-yorktown#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:49:28 +0000 adam http://erinandadam.com/?p=1082 For Erin’s birthday this year we headed to Yorktown to see her family. Well, we weren’t there for her actual birthday, but it was close enough, just a day off.

We know that Isaac isn’t the best car sleeper, so we played a little trick on him. We followed his morning routine just like normal, but when I took off with him for a walk Erin packed up the car so we’d be ready when I got back. Once Isaac passed out I called Erin and told her we were headed back. As soon as we arrived back at the house we loaded Isaac, still asleep, in the car and took off. We made it halfway to Yorktown before he woke up. VICTORY US!

When we got there, Isaac was in a good mood and ready to see his Honey and Dude. He also got to see something at their house that he rarely gets to see at our house.

That’s right, TV.

Erin and I aren’t really sure why he’s only wearing his diaper in this (and following) pictures, but you can most likely narrow it down to one of three things: pee leakage, poop leakage or massive spit up.

But even though the TV was on, it didn’t completely capture his attention. No, sometimes he had to remind himself just who exactly was holding him.

And, in case you forgot, he’s really cute.

That afternoon, Ruth and Harold came by to visit “us” (let’s admit it, they came to see Isaac) for a bit. Based on how Isaac acted, I think he’s quite fond of the two of them.

I mean, Isaac has quite the impact on Harold. Seeing the two of them together you might think he was 5 years old.

I don’t have any photos of Isaac with Ruth, but here’s one of him looking at her.

Since the last time Isaac was in Yorktown, he’s started doing many things, one of them being eating solids. So Honey got the chance to feed the little man breakfast on Friday. He was a pretty big fan, but definitely needed to be changed afterward.

After Friday’s morning nap, Beth and I dropped Erin, Isaac and Gil off at Gil’s parents before the two of us went to a business meeting. When we finished up we headed back to meet them all and found them hanging out in the living room. Since Isaac is still teething he’s still big on putting things in his mouth and chewing on them. Well now he had a new toy.

Yes, that is what you think it is. A fireplace sweeper was being used as a teether. Pretty genius if you ask me.

Around mid-afternoon we headed back out to Honey and Dude’s house where Isaac got to do something he hadn’t ever done before. Swing!

But the fun didn’t stop at swinging. Oh no. Isaac also got to go see the cows, one of Barrett and Hunter’s favorite activities in the whole world. Now Isaac had never been out on the golf cart before, but he somehow managed to fight off its sleeping powers and stayed awake the whole time they were out.

The afternoon out wiped out Erin and Honey, so they went off to take naps. Isaac, however, was a champ and stayed up to hang out with his Dude.

When Dude decided Honey had been napping long enough, the two of them hatched a scheme. As you can see in the picture, Isaac was very into the plan, it may have been partially his idea.

Knowing that she couldn’t get mad at Isaac for waking her up, Dude snuck up on her and had him do a stealth attack. It worked and he got away clean.

Saturday morning we packed up and headed home in order to get back for my friend’s daughter’s baptism on Sunday. It was a great weekend all around. Not only that but we had an entire day to get Isaac back into his home routine (though that bombed due to a lunch after the friend’s daughter’s baptism, but that’s for another day).

]]> http://erinandadam.com/home/erins-birthday-in-yorktown/feed 0 http://erinandadam.com/home/like-a-top http://erinandadam.com/home/like-a-top#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:34:10 +0000 adam http://erinandadam.com/?p=1079 So Isaac really, really wants to start crawling. He can get himself up into the crawling position, but then his legs slide out from under him or he just reaches for something, doesn’t move his legs, and belly flops.

But he has started doing something that is ridiculously cute.

He spins.

It’s gotten to the point that you put him in his crib to sleep, and by the time you hear him awake on the monitor he’s turned himself 180 degrees.  It’s really quite amusing.