Isaiah at Nine Months

-9 mth STATs: Weight-19lbs 5 oz, Height-28.5 inches

-Loves to crawl under things. Crawls under the coffee table to get to the other side. Crawls under our bed and under the dining room table.

-Has become picky with eating. When I sit him in his high chair to eat he starts to pout and turn his heads away. He never denies his bottle of formula. He drinks 8 oz's if it is a meal or has one 2nd generation pack and then drinks 4-6 oz to wash it down.

-Takes two naps a day. Wakes up at 6 0r 7 am then plays till 930 and takes his first morning nap (2hrs long). Then up for the afternoon then another nap around 3pm. Bed time was becoming later (9pm) but if that 2nd nap gets skipped he is down by 8pm.

-Started to not like his bath. He stands at the edge just waiting for me to pull him out. He will not sit in the bath. He will go on his knees but he refuses to sit on his butt. Come to think about it, he doesn't do much sitting out of the bath either (I need to get some toys in there).

-Started climbing the stairs and loves to climb up on the banister ledge and look over the banister.

-Loves opening all the kitchen cabinets and pull anything I let him get his hands onto out.

-He has quite the imagination. He will discover something new (a lid to a pan, the tousle to our blinds) and spend the next fifteen minutes crawling around with it and chattering away.

-When I start to sing to him especially "AHHHHH SHAWBANYA" from Lion King he will open his mouth wide and with a very serious look on his face start to join in with me with this long drawn our AHHHHHHHH.

-He hates when I get in the shower. He cries and bangs on the shower doors until I am done. Can't wait till he is over this phase!

-His top two teeth are in, along with his bottom two teeth.

-On Thanksgiving night after spending the day/evening with Jaime's family we came home and he finally broke out with the "dada, da da, dada." No mama yet:(

-He gives these delicious kisses when you least expect them. He opens his mouth and softly plants his lips on your cheek. Sometimes they come when I am taking him out of his crib following a nap (LOVE THAT!)

-He loves when I put on the Christmas music. The song he gets most excited to hear is, " You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

-We took him to visit Santa and he couldn't stop staring at Santa or all the lovely, festive Christmas decorations. We were able to work a half smile out of him for the photo.

-Likes to pull the ornaments off our tree and unplug the lights, but for the most part if you keep him occupied with other things he will leave the tree alone.

-He has started to stand a couple seconds on his own. He will be holding onto something then let go for a few seconds, smile, then return to holding onto the stable object.

-Still not sleeping through the night. Wakes up once to drink 6 oz around 1230-2am.

-Just getting ready to switch him over to the forward facing car seat.

Outfits

I cannot say enough charming things about my mother-in-law. She sends over delicious home cooked meals seemingly on all those days when there is no food in the house, she helps take care of Isaiah when I go to work, she takes Isaiah on weekends so Jaime and I can go out of town, she even buys Isaiah adorable outfits. It is these outfits that sometimes make me chuckle inside. He looks absolutely adorable, but sometimes they take me by surprise. It was a few weeks ago that I stopped by Grandma Betty's house to pick him up after work. He had these baby blue cotton overalls on with a stripped long sleeve shirt. To top it all off, he was playing by the fireplace that is surrounded by brick. I felt like if Isaiah could talk he would turn to me in an English Accent and say "Hello mummy." I didn't have a camera that day, but the next time I dressed him in this outfit I couldn't resist snapping several shots of him.

"The Very Silly Sheep" by Jack Tickle

I've been reading this book to Isaiah from the time he was two months. At three months I started to notice an indisputable positive response every time we would sit down to read this particular book. I don't even have to open the front page for him to become tickled. As we pull it off the book shelf together he immediately gets this huge grin on his face. There are many other books that are read to him, but nothing captivates his attention like this one. He becomes giddy as I read the TITLE and he starts to coo and aw as I begin to read the pages. I love reading this book to him. I will probably be able to recite it to him twenty years from now because we have read it a million times over:)

ISAIAH JACOB TORRES

On a daily basis I am constantly saying, "Isaiah come with Mommy, Isaiah look who's home (it's Papa), Isaiah be careful or Isaiah do you want to read some books?" Usually I am talking to the back of Isaiah's handsome round head, but recently he has been turning in response to his name. It is such an awesome feeling knowing that he is verbally understanding the name given to him.

It wasn't an easy task naming him, Isaiah. If Jaime had his way he would have been named Dominic. If I would of gotten my way I would have named him Nicholas (the irony is that with either one of those names he probably would of gone by Nick). Anyhow, neither one of us were willing to join the other in their "favorite boy name" so we had to come up with one that we both liked together.

Last Christmas, December 2009, as my Mom, Caleb, Jaime and I were chilling by the fire we went through countless names. And Isaiah was brought up. Who brought it up? I don't remember. Maybe my brother or Jaime with their colossal memories can fill in that part of the story:) But Jaime and I both liked the name right away (which rarely happened). Mom and Caleb were very agreeable to it too. So as days passed and after researching the meaning, the prophet, and the spelling we both felt like this would be a very fitting name for the type of son/man we wanted to raise.

In my personal journal dated (12/31/09) I wrote:

"Isaiah was a prophet in the old testament that spoke the truth (telling of the coming of Christ) when no one wanted to hear/believe him. I hope my son has the same convictions and courage; to be a man that BOLDLY stands up for what he believes in. The prophet Isaiah was a prophet which also means he was a LEADER.I want all these characteristics for my son. We are naming you after a great man-

whether you believe him to be myth or not (I still question) he is recorded in history to be an

honorable, strong, Godly person. To my son-Isaiah I pray you to be these things. I love you

MOM (30.5 weeks)".

I say his name with pride. And this past week as Isaiah has turned to me as I call out to him is a moment I never want to forget.

Isaiah at Eight Months

-His two bottom teeth are completely in.

-Has now upgraded to the Big Boy bath. I put the baby tub away(that sat within the bathtub) and he is loving the plethora of water and new territory to explore. Sometimes I put the shower head on or lay him down on his back to float. It makes him nervous at first but then he warms up to all the fun to be had:)

-Crawls up to either Jaime and I and then pulls himself up to a standing position using one of our legs for support.

-Put the gate up at the bottom of the stairs.

-Noticing strangers but them warms right up to them. Really stares at your face, examining every little wrinkle. . .I mean detail.

-Still eating 2nd generation Gerber food. We have tried to give him the 3rd generation with the little chunks but it makes him gag.

- He loves sucking/chewing on cucumbers, celery, or chunks of meat. Last night we were eating at one of our favorite Thai food restaurants and we gave him a slice of Nom Tuc (steak) and he became entranced with this piece of meat. He through a fit when we had to change it out because he had mauled and sucked the life out of the first piece.

-He is on to his second cold of the season:(. I have to hold him down and suction both sides of his nostrils to get all the mucous out. Last month this task was so much easier. He is getting so much stronger and his arms are becoming longer it is becoming quite an ordeal. It's not our favorite times of the day, but if you saw how he struggles to drink his bottle and breathe you would understand why it has to be done.

-He loves to be read and sang too.

-He loves opening and closing drawers and cabinets.

-He has become very aware of other children and loves to watch them.

-Typically drinks 8 oz's although sometimes he still only prefers six.

-Still not sleeping through the night! Need to make mention how TIRED, GRUMPY, and ANNOYED I am throughout the middle of the night when he awakes for no apparent reason. Last week we thought it was because of his cold and teething so we catered to his every grimace. But now it is backlashing on us because he is know waking continually and expecting our full attention at Midnight, two-thirty, four, and six. I'm wondering now if it has anything to do with him not using a pacifier? As a newborn he never acted that interested in it, so we DID NOT encourage the habit. But he just might be a better sleeper if he used one. Maybe I'll give it a try? J/K!!!!!! I guess I'm fighting my battle now instead of later when most mothers will be having to take the pacifiers away.

PART-TIME

On September 20, 2010 I started my new job. It has been a wonderful change. St Agnes has always held a great standing in the Fresno area and after becoming one of their employees I now see why. They are truly a hospital that strives for excellence and professionalism each and everyday. It is a Catholic owned hospital so every morning one of the original Sister's that founded the hospital (over seventy years ago) delivers a morning prayer over the intercom. And then every time a baby is born a lullaby chimes over the intercom. How can you not smile knowing someone has just been blessed with a baby?

One of the reason' s I decided to take this job is because it was part-time. And although my hours as a perfusionist will never be 9-5, M-F (cardiac surgery will never be predictable) what it means is that I will only be working 26 weeks out of the year and my call time has been cut by three quarters! I have been very happy with my decision.

Sleepy Eyes and Football Sunday

Being a transplant from Texas my dear husband is and will forever be a DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL FAN. The powerful influence of making Isaiah a fan as well has already begun.

If you want to do your father proud Isaiah you will become a loyal follower too. On the up side, the owner Jerry Jones knows how to build a stadium and one day we will all go and enjoy its OPULENCE together.

Learning the word- NO!

For the most part Jaime and I have decided that instead of completely rearranging and child proofing our house we want Isaiah to learn he has boundaries and this is OUR house not HIS. So I was determined to leave the fire tools out but after he almost pulled the darn thing on top of himself it has now been moved into the downstairs closet. Score: Isaiah-ONE / Mom&Dad-TWO (the dog food bowls and fire place doors remain in their designated location).

Position-Upright @ 7mths

Isaiah has mastered crawling. In fact he loves to crawl around the house and see all the items he can pull himself up on. Then he loves to stand there and take it all in.

TWO OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Isaiah LOVES these two adorable creatures just as much as his Mama and Papa do!

Taking the Lead-7 mths

Most of the time Isaiah prefers us to still hold his bottle for him but I've been working on him taking over the task:)

Isaiah at Seven Months

-Grunts

-Crawls and pulls himself up on anything he can -the couch, the coffee table, his jumperoo

-Most content just standing at the coffee table

-Wearing 6-9 mth clothing

-drinking 6 ozs of formula at a feeding

-loves all his food, but stopped liking cereal

-started shaking his head no

-Two bottom teeth have broken through

-Loves playing on the couch. His imagination runs wild as he lunges back and forth on the sofa.

- Took him to Penny's to get pictures taken and he was my little angel. He waited patiently before he got his picture, he flashed the camera some OUTRAGEOUSLY ADORABLE smiles, and then he passed out on my shoulder while it took me a good half an hour to figure out which pics I wanted to buy. *Note to self-Never go get pics on Sunday. The studio was a ZOO.

-ATTITUDE. Slams his legs vigorously when changing his diaper because he does not like to lay down.

-He flips himself to be burped. He will be sound asleep, last suck of the bottle and WHAM! he is throtling is body over to be burped (guess he knows the routine).

-Talks back to us. We will be having a conversation and he will start to chime in with the "Uh, Uh, Uh cave man talk".

-We put his swing up:(. He would want to pull himself up onto it so needless to say it became a hazard.

-I had to take down his mobile before he busted it in two.

-STILL NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. Every night is different. Sometimes it will be one or two feedings, other nights it might be four or five times of fussing (we think his teeth were a big factor).

-He adores his dogs. He has started to play tug-a-war with Quincy and thinks it is hilarious. Nugget always greets him with me when he wakes in the morning or from a nap and he gets this huge grin every time Nugget waddles in to say hello.

-Jaime and I left left him for a weekend getaway/wedding in Napa for the first time. He wasn't even phased that we were gone. Grandma Betty watched him at the house and when we arrived home Sunday afternoon he was all smiles to see us both.

-Will always stop his fussing if I start singing "The Wheels on the Bus." HE LOVES THAT SONG.

-HE IS THE BEST SON A MOM OR DAD COULD EVER ASK FOR. Every day, every week, and every month Jaime and I are so enamored by how happy, healthy, adventurous, strong and loving our little man is.

Bath Time @ 6 mths

What a difference a camera makes. The previous bath time post was shot with Jaime's I-phone. These were shot with our Canon.

Change Much?

I can not get over the change in looks and movements in Isaiah in the last six months. And even though his looks and physical abilities have changed it's like this baby is THE EXACT same baby I have known since I first met and held him for the first time. Maybe we are spirits after all living in an outer shell?

THE STINK EYE-NO MORE!

Starting at about one month well into his fifth month Isaiah's right eye would continually fill with "gunk." His pediatrician said it was a clogged tear duct and most infants grow out of it at six months. So the waiting began. . . and IT IS SO NICE NOT TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH GUNK ANY LONGER!!!!

Crawling @ 6 mths

Everyday Isaiah is perfecting his crawling skills. The only MAJOR problem is he has yet to perfect his sitting. So when he goes to take a break instead of going into the sitting position he flops onto his back. Not a pleasurable experience when you are on COLD, HARD tile or the corner of the wall gets in your way. We experienced his first "oooooowwwww I just hurt myself cry," yesterday morning when he whammed his head. He also has a huge knot on the back of his head to prove it. Hopefully he gets the hang of "sit'n PURDY" soon;).

Mr Bumbo @ 6mths

It use to be the bouncy chair that I would always refer to when I needed to take a shower but now Isaiah hates to be in the tilted back position and would much rather sit in his bumbo.

Isaiah at Six Months

Six months, half a year, two out of three trimesters, January through June, June through December, six months is a lengthy amount of time and I am in total disbelief that Isaiah has been with us that long!

Today was a great day with Isaiah. All day I have been relishing in the fact that we HAVE MADE it six months. Six months of little to no sleep, my female body on the mend, LOTS of erratic hormones, learning how to take care/adjust to a newborn, going back to work, working 47+ hour work weeks, pumping my longest case ever (10 hrs), and having our longest ECMO patient (20 days). No wonder I don't know where the time has gone. Anyway, back to our great day. . .

In the last week Isaiah has been getting up in the crawl stance but today he took his first inch forward. He then goes into the army crawl. It is so exciting to watch. Grandma Betty even had to come over to check it out. He also figured out how to drink from his sippy cup and was taking more initiative holding his bottle. So here is what else my STUD MUFFIN is up to:

-Rolls over when changing his diaper.

-Gets frustrated when he can't bring things that hang over his head (ie the stuffed sheep on the swing mobile or the toys that hang from his car seat handle) to his mouth.

-We had ONE GLORIOUS NIGHT during August that Isaiah slept from 7pm-7am. Not one peep out of him. We even went out to breakfast that next morning to celebrate. The celebration was short lived. Isaiah is now only waking up once in the night to drink 6 ozs of formula and 1-2 x a night fussing but a pacifier and warm blanket usually put him right back to sleep.

-He is taking two naps a day and goes to bed at 7 or 8pm.

-He is wearing 6-9mths clothes.

-No sign of teeth but still a GRIP of drool.
-His hair is coming back!!!

Bath Time

We give Isaiah a bath every evening before he goes to bed. On our way to the tub we sing "bath time for the baby, it's bath time for the baby," and he grins from ear to ear.

Isaiah at Five Months

A Sunday Afternoon hanging out with Grandpa Torres.

My oh my. . .my baby boy keeps getting sweeter and more ram bumptious by the day! Here is what he is up to at five months.

-Started rolling. One evening I went to pull the pizza out of the oven (great way to lose the baby weight I know:) and when I came back into the front room he had rolled to the other side of the rug.

-Loves to jump in his "Barn Yard Jumperoo."

-Loves to stand

- Discovered his feet and is constantly trying to put them in his mouth.

-Loves to eat sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, apples and pears. He is not a fan of anything else IE (peas, bananas, or mangoes).

-He much rather be in the sitting position than lying down. His high chair was in the re-cline position and we had to change that to suite his needs. Also, he trys to sit himself up when we are dressing or changing his diaper.

-His bedtime is around 7-8pm. It has been wonderful to have some quiet evenings:)

-He is still waking up to drink 6 Oz's at 11pm and 4 am.

Isaiah is 4 mths!!

What a month this has been! June 1st I went back to work so it has been one crazy month (A TOTAL BLUR) if I'm going to be completly honest with you. But none the less my baby has been growing and changing TREMONDOUSLY. For starters he has lost the majority of his hair this past month:( His nick name has changed from Bugaboo to Baldy. I have been vacuuming up his hair from his bouncy chair, his swing, his crib sheets and even in his bath water I find his hair floating. He has grown out of all his 3mth clothes and is now wearing 6mth outfits. His new talking method is he takes these deep breaths and then screams. On June 22nd we went out to Sushi for our 2nd wedding anniversity and it was such a riot to have Isaiah there with us. He was so excited that evening. He kept doing that new scream of his which made our night. Who needs candles and romance when you have a 4 mth old?!? Isaiah is also improving tremondously with his manual dexterity. He is able to hold his rattle and bring it to his mouth at will. While feeding him his rice cereal he always wants to help me bring the spoon to his mouth. For the most part he is still drinking 4 ozs but every now and then will drink six. We just started to feed him rice cereal two times a day for lunch and dinner along with a bottle. He drools (hence the picture) but no sign of teeth yet. His 4 mth stats are: Weight-14 lbs 8 oz, Height-25.25", and head circumference-41.5 cm.

Isaiah Eats Rice Cereal for the First Time

Let the Good Times Roll

Jaime and I had no hesitation getting Isaiah in our pool. Anyone who knows Fresno, knows the heat is brutal here in the summer and the only way to survive is to be near a body of water. When we can't be reached you now know where to find us.

Isaiah at Three Months

This last month was by far the hardest month thus far. The natural high of having a new born was gone and sleep deprivation was in full effect. Isaiah is sleeping better, but it is still not ideal. Thanks to my wonderful friend Kami who supported me through texts and phone calls I began to get Isaiah on some sort of sleeping routine and gradually let him "cry it out." He is still waking up every three hours at night to eat. At least he is quicker at drinking his 4 oz's, getting burped and then back to sleep.

Isaiah at three months is a hoot. He is constantly grinning. I love getting him up in the morning because right away when I walk in and peek over his crib he gives me his adorable smile and starts flailing is arms and legs in excitement. We also bought him a bouncy chair that he has been enjoying tremendously. I now have a fun place for him to hang out while I shower and get ready for the day. Isaiah is beginning to drool but I do not feel any teeth breaking through. He loves his baths and if I get him in the bath before exhaustion hits he is a maniac. . .kicking and pushing his bum up out of the water with the pads of his feet. We are having so much fun getting to know our little man and the personality he possesses.