Vacation Pics part 2

Some photos from today...

Vacation Pics

We are enjoying a nice, relaxing family vacation with Kevin's Mom and Dad, and his sister, her husband, and their 22-month-old daughter, Morgan. This is our first vacation with a little one. And it's not quite the same as travelling without a baby. He's offering some great entertainment, though. He has TWO teeth coming through (on the bottom), and I think you can see them in the second photo. Isaac has been quite amused with his cousin Morgan. I think she likes him too! Here are some pics...

busy, busy, BUSY!!

As I type this, our house sits in a mess of boxed-up belongings. The U-haul is scheduled for tomorrow morning. And I guess we're ready. I have been so emotional today. I hate good-byes. And I struggle with change. Man are we going to miss this place...these friends. As our time here winds to a close, I am growing more and more sentimental. I got choked up when I walked Mona down our street this morning. As I drove down to our local grocery store, I wondered if it would be my last trip there. I have been fighting back tears all day...it's probably only a matter of time before I completely lose it. Maybe when we're pulling away from our home for the last time. Or RIGHT NOW as I even THINK about that!

Sure...we'll be back to visit. And as great as that sounds to help us cope with the reality of this change, the truth is that it's just not the same. As I make promises to stay in touch with our beloved friends here, I wonder deep down if I will truly be able to keep my promise. I hope with all of my heart that I do! I guess time will tell.

I think Isaac is handling the move quite well. He has been sleeping in his pack-n-play for three nights in a row now, since his crib is in pieces. And at the risk of jinxing myself, he has slept for 11-12 hours STRAIGHT for all three nights! WOW! It has been AMAZING. He is doing so well!! And after three full months of "teething" guess who FINALLY has a REAL tooth popping through!! :) It's on his lower front and middle. His precious smile will start looking differently from now on! Here are some recent photos of our little guy...

Grama and Grampa Ober came this past weekend to help us out with packing up! Grama is staying through Wednesday to help us pack! And boy has she been a help!! Isaac also loves spending time swinging with his Grama.

We decided to try on our Halloween costume. What a cute little ducky he is! :) Let's hope he still fits in it in a couple months!!This neighborhood that we're leaving has LOTS of loving children. Here is one of the girls holding Isaac at our surprise going-away party. We're going to miss living on this awesome street!

We spent Sunday afternoon hanging out with our friends at a local park. Isaac was exploring dirt, grass, and sticks on the ground for the first time!! Surprisingly, they didn't go in his mouth!

Would the Real Isaac Ober please stand up?

He's learning how to stand up all by himself!

American Baby Photo Contest...

So I thought it would be fun to enter Isaac into the American Baby cover photo contest. If you think he's got what it takes to be on the cover of a baby magazine, click on the link below to rate the photos and recommend them!! :) Thanks!!

http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=265000665&fromSearch=

So here's what is up with the Obers...

A few months ago, Kevin and I started talking about our future. Where do we want to raise our children? Did we see ourselves living and raising them here in Cincinnati? Or was there any chance that we'd want to ever move to be closer to our families? We spent some time thinking and praying about where we'd like to be and where God would like us to be.

We both felt that living closer to family with our children was something that we desired. We have grown to love our community here and are SO sad to be leaving our wonderful friends!! But we also have peace knowing that we are making the best decision for our growing family.

So once we decided that yes, we did in fact want to eventually move back, the next question was WHEN? Then my bright idea was..."Why not now?" We knew that this is a horrible market to sell a home in, and figured that it would take quite a bit of time before our house would sell. Although, we were REALLY hoping to sell it before Isaac started crawling so we didn't have to go around and baby-proof the place right before leaving. And that is exactly what happened! Praise God!!

So first item: sell house. Check! On to the next thing...Kevin's job. This was one of the hardest parts of our decision to leave Cincinnati. Kevin works for an AMAZING company and REALLY loves what he does. Not many people can say that these days. He has wonderful benefits and loves the people he works with. How could he leave such a perfect job? Then we started day-dreaming. WHAT IF he didn't have to leave exactly? WHAT IF he could still work for them, but from home? WHAT IF they would let him do that? Well after much thought Kevin decided to simply ask, and we were amazed to find out that they are allowing him to work from home in Indy!! We are SO excited about this opportunity. Kevin is so happy to not have to leave the company that he has really loved working for! What a blessing! Praise God!!

So first sell the house...then figure out the job situation...check! Now finding a new home. Though we figured this step to be the least stressful, it has actually proven to be the most challenging part of all. After driving back and forth between Cincy and Indy, and seeing almost 30 homes, we finally found one that we are excited about! The house is pretty similar in size to our current house, though it has a bit more living space. If you are on our mailing list (as in you receive a Christmas card from us each year), we will send out an announcement with our new address once we get settled. If you are not on our mailing list, and would like to be, please shoot us an email and we'd be happy to add you!! :)

So we are moving a week from today! And as we have boxes scattered everywhere, life is feeling a bit chaotic. We will be packing up and loading the truck on Wednesday, closing on our house here on Thursday, driving to Indy, closing on our new house on Friday, cleaning and unpacking a little that day, then unloading the truck and moving in on Saturday. After all of this craziness, we leave for a week-long family vacation on Sunday morning!! AH! Sooooo...all that to say that after this week, you can expect me to be MIA from this blog for awhile. :)

Okay...I think that's about it. Sorry for the lengthiness of this post. I just wanted to fill everyone in on what's going on and how we got to where we are!

When I was 6 months old...

I turned six months old on August 2nd, 1981. Here's a photo of me from August of that year:

Any resemblance to our little one??

6-month stats!!

Isaac had his 6-month check-up this morning...and it went well. He's a healthy little guy! The doctor was quite impressed with his development (I guess babies typically start crawling closer to 9 months these days). And apparently he looks chunkier than he really is!! He is 26.5 inches long and weighs 18lbs 3oz. That puts him in the 50th percentile for length and the 65th for weight. All around, he's quite average in size and is growing beautifully.

I asked about what to do with the bathing situation. The answer: It's going to take 2 people to bathe him now. :) And about the fact that he STILL screams while in his car seat: Yep...some babies just don't like the car seat. UGH. The doctor even mentioned that once Isaac gets a bit older, he may be able to figure out how to get OUT of the seat...and we'll have to resort to DUCK TAPE! Are you serious?? Oh I hope he learns to enjoy the car seat better!!

And as usual, Isaac was a champ with his shots. Just cried for a quick second until I picked him up. Such a trooper! :) We'll be sad to leave our pediatrician here, and now we need to find a new one in the Indy area...SOON!

6 months old!!!

My sweet, sweet son. You are six months old today! Half a year! I can hardly believe it. You are just the best little guy ever! Your smile is so precious...oh how I love to see you smile. And you do it a lot, too.

My favorite times with you are when you wake up first thing in the morning. You usually wake up talking and cooing at the animals on your crib bumper. SO cute! And then I talk to you before you see me. In a really soft voice, I will usually say something like, "Good morning sweet baby. Is that my boy that I see?" You turn your little head around, searching for the familiar voice. Then your eyes find me. And that moment right there....that's my favorite. Because you light up. Your precious blue eyes get so big, and you smile from ear to ear. And then your whole body wiggles in excitement as you discover me watching you. Oh...I love those moments!

I also LOVE to make you laugh. You have the greatest little cackle. You are quite ticklish...all over. I have fun tickling you. You also laugh a lot at Mona. You get REALLY giddy around her. It's the funniest thing. She loves to bring you her toys...and you try to put them in your mouth! Yuck! You guys are growing to be best buds!

You are getting SO close to being able to crawl. And I have a feeling that once you start moving, you are never going to stop! You look so cute when you get up on all fours. Though I am nervous to have you start crawling, I am looking forward to it as well. I think you are going to be so much happier once you figure it out! You are still getting quite frustrated with not being able to move. Patience, my son...patience.
You have gotten quite difficult to change lately. We no longer can give you diaper changes on the changing table, as you try to flip OFF of the table entirely!! Diaper changes have become a war zone in this house. You vs Us. You REALLY don't like laying flat on your back. You twist and turn...regardless of the mess that's in your diaper! We try singing to you and giving you new toys to distract you during the changes. And I am learning how to change your diaper while you're up on your hands and knees.

Another challenge has been trying to give you a bath. We had been having you lay on your back in the tub, but lately you've been rolling over onto your belly, and then onto your hands and knees. So I have also been learning how to bathe you in that position. :) We are going to be getting you a big boy bath seat before your next bath!

You are still waking up a couple of times throughout the night to nurse. Every now and then you will sleep throughout most of the night...I really appreciate those nights! :) Before I had you, I thought I'd only nurse for 3-6 months. But it's going so well...and you won't take formula, so it looks like we'll be nursing for a bit longer...and I'm okay with that.

You are SUCH a blessing to us, sweet Isaac. I love you more than words can say. Things have been SO crazy around here lately (with selling the house and moving), and I don't feel like I've been the best mom for you. I want to get better about interacting with you and playing more with you. Hopefully when we get settled in our new house, I will develop a system that works well for us! You are awesome. And I praise God for you EVERY day!!

Love, Mommy

We're moving!!!