Isaac's first day of school!!

So today was Isaac's first day of preschool! Though he is smiling in these pictures (taken before we went), he was telling me all morning that he didn't want to go. UGH. Then as the director of the school was walking him out to the van, he yells, "I didn't like my school, mommy." I tried to encourage him and said, "I'm sure there was something that you liked about it." To which he replied, "No, I didn't. I didn't like my school!" I smiled at the director as she turned to walk away! I hope his little attitude changes soon, or else he's not gonna be such a fun student! :( But at least I have some adorable photos from his first day! Check them out...

Naomi's 15-month stats...

height: 29 inches
weight: 18lb11oz
head circumference: 17.75 inches

She is doing great on all levels, EXCEPT her growth. She was on a good growth curve until she began eating solid foods. And since then, she keeps dropping lower and lower. She is just under the 3rd percentile for weight, and around the 10th for her height. So the doctor collected a urine sample (via catheterization...NOT fun), and we made a quick trip to the hospital for LOTS of blood work. They are most concerned about the possibility of celiac disease. I have NO CLUE what's up with her. I just know that she's a little different. She will NOT drink milk. She throws up when she eats certain foods, for no apparent reason. And she gets really cranky after eating others. But overall, she eats VERY well. She can sometimes have a bloated belly, which looks funny on such a tiny little thing. She's also very hyper-mobile, meaning that her joints bend WELL beyond the normal range of motion.

Anyway...I'll update when I know more about the results from the blood work. It would be nice to at least have some answers to this mystery. But if all comes back normal, then perhaps we just have a little lady! Who knows...maybe she's destined to be an gymnast!! ;) Hehe.

Here's a list of some of her current words (though I may be missing some, as she's adding to them daily): mommy, daddy, isaac, nana, papa, doggie, ball, bite, bike, mine, shoes, eat, cup, owie, outside, nigh-night, no, kiki, yeah, baby, banana, more, go, bubble, water, and phone. And she's signing: more, please, and all done

I guess I should blog about this too...

I've been living with a little secret for the past month or so. At the end of July, we found out that we were expecting again. We were SO excited, as we have been trying for several months now. We were planning to wait until we confirmed that it was a viable pregnancy (by seeing/hearing a heartbeat) before sharing the news with EVERYone. But sadly, this little one didn't make it very long. We went in around 7 weeks, and the ultrasound showed that we were two weeks behind...which I pretty much knew was impossible. But we still had hope, and went back for another ultrasound a week later. So I would have been just about 8 weeks along, but it showed virtually NOTHING growing inside my womb. The yolk sac had just about disappeared. We are heart-broken. There is nothing quite like being filled with such hope and joy when finding out that there is a new little life growing within...only to have it ripped away. *sigh*

I had a D&C this past Wednesday, and am recovering quite well. Still feeling a bit crampy...but I'm managing. I have good days and bad days, emotionally. But we are not discouraged and look forward to trying again. I guess I'll just have a host of little angels to welcome me when I die! ;) Since this is our third miscarriage, we are technically eligible for genetic testing. We are still undecided as to whether we will go through with it or not. Part of me likes the idea of having some answers, but then another part of me just wants to be thankful for the two little miracles that we DO have...and just forget about it! :)

Anyway...just thought I'd take a minute to share a little about what's been going on with us.

Recent Pics...

Just a few pics from the past week or so. These first ones are from when Isaac was playing in the sprinkler. He LOVED drinking the water! SO cute! :)
This is Isaac with his BIG boy bike! He is a little speed racer on that thing! It's so funny seeing this little boy on such a big bike...but boy does he FLY! :) And speaking of big-boy stuff...we've JUST transitioned him into his big boy bed this weekend. He's doing GREAT. He's sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor and is LOVING it! :)

And yes...that is a HUGE bloody scrape on his knee! He keeps falling in the SAME spot, busting up the scab over and over again! Poor guy! But he doesn't seem to worried about it, does he? ;)

Naomi is doing well...walking and even running sometimes! We had her follow-up hip appointment, and the doctor said everything looks GREAT! :) YAY!! She's also adding to her vocabulary daily. We'll have her 15-month check-up this week. I'll update with her new stats! :)

Naomi's first steps...

Sorry for the delay in getting this up here! :) Naomi is walking around like crazy these days. We were utterly amazed as she went from literally taking her first unassisted step to full-time walking in ONE week. This transition from first step to full-time walking took Isaac THREE MONTHS!! She had both of us scratching our heads! :) Anyway...here's a little clip to show her in action! :)

A video of Isaac...

Just one for now...I have a couple of Naomi, but need to find the time to get them up here! :)

Two posts in ONE day!! :)

How about THAT!?! Two blog posts in ONE day! Got some more pics to put up here!! And I thought I'd add some "Isaac-isms" that we've been writing down over the past month. This kid is constantly cracking us up. Here's a little glimpse as to why:

Daddy, can you open these batteries for me, Daddy? If you open them for me, that would be SWEET! :)

Oh yeah...that would be a good idea!

(while grunting) I'm trying to get the poop out of my butt.

As he was getting ready to take a bite of food, I warned him that it was too hot. To which he responded: "It's not too hot, mommy." Then as he pulls the food away from his mouth, "Oh...it SURE IS hot!"

As we are putting him down for a nap, he says, "I don't really like sleeping."

His diaper got HUGE when swimming with grandma. He turns to her and asks, "Grandma, does my butt look big?" :)

hospital: "hoss-ta-bol"

At dinner one evening, he held up a chicken nugget and said to us, "Hey guys...do you KNOW what is in these nuggets?" I tried not to laugh too hard and answered, "I'm pretty sure there's chicken in there, buddy!" :)

Another dinner time funny: We were eating cut green beans, and Isaac took two of them, stood them up on the table and started laughing. Then through his own little giggles, says, "They're VEGGIE TALES!!" LOL!

I gave him his bowl of cereal, but forgot his spoon...to which he responds: "Um...actually mommy, I need a spoon!" I apologized and got it for him...he said, "Thanks, mommy. And I probably need a bib too, so I don't get my cereal all over my clothes."

Who IS this child? He is constantly cracking us up! And it's a good thing, too, because we have lots of not-so fun moments right now as well. He's really good at testing us and our boundaries these days. He has even gone as far as ASKING for a spanking: "Daddy...you need to give me a spanking because I threw my food on the floor!" And says it totally smiling like he's proud of his disobedience. UGH! Not quite sure what to do with this child!! :)
And just a few for Naomi:
Naomi's words: baby, bubble, ball, banana, isaac, thank you, more, doggie, shoe, mommy, daddy, nana, papa, kiki, no, yeah, eat, go, outside, and ni-nigh, and she's even said, "what is dat?" as she points to things

She'll wake up crying hysterically, and as she calms down, she'll point to the floor and say, "It-a-da doggie." (It's a doggie!) :) We think she's dreaming about dogs. Hehe. Hopefully one of the days this week, I'll be able to get up some new videos of the kids. Especially since miss thang has started walking!! It's SO cute!! :)

Photos, photos, and more photos!!

So I know I've been slacking on the photos lately...so here are a few! It's not that I haven't been taking them...it's just that I haven't been putting them up here! Next I'll need to make some time to get some videos up. I have the worst memory of anyone I know...so I *NEED* to do this for my sake!! :) Anyway...here they are in all their glory! :)

Little miss flexible...(Nana sometimes calls her "Miss Bendy")


What happens when mommy takes a work call for 15 minutes:

Naomi has discovered a new use for my flip-flops. She LOVES to use them as wings!! SO cute!
Isaac LOVES his cousin, Morgan!! :)

New look...

Not quite sure what I'm gonna do with this blog yet. The looks of it, that is. I can't decide. So in the meantime, I'm just keeping it simple. I have a GAZILLION things to blog about, and zero time to do it! UGH. Okay...so I watched an hour of TV tonight instead of blogging! Haha! And it was the first time in probably 3 months that I've done that! But I need a break from reality. And it was good. :) Life is good. I can't wait to share the fun stuff that's been going on...like Naomi's new words and video of her WALKING!! And about the fact that Isaac will be starting pre-school NEXT month!! A "real" blog post is coming in the near future (hopefully). Hehe. I have most of it written, but I just don't have the videos or photos to go with it...and let's face it, plain text is pretty boring! :) I recently got a new computer, and we've been working on transferring everything over to this one. So I need to relocate the photos and stuff. Anyway...now I'm rambling. It's bedtime. And I hope with every ounce of my being that my kids decide to sleep a full night's worth of sleep! They've been waking up before 7am most mornings (and Naomi before 6am on occasion). Makes for some REALLY tired babies...and one VERY tired mama!! :) I miss the days when I had a son who slept in until 10am!! Where have those days gone?? :)

Change is coming.

It seems as though I've completely fallen off the blogging planet! Geesh! This season is a crazy one for us to be sure. And it hasn't been without major stress. I realized this past week that I have been working WAY too many hours. Pretty much if I'm awake...I'm working. Either working, playing, caring for, or whatever else I do with the kiddos...or when they go to sleep...I start working on business related stuff. Always. There is ALWAYS something hanging over my head. I have a perpetually never-ending list of "to-do's" for my business. And it's been weighing me down lately.

I don't know what it is to sit down and enjoy a good book or watch a TV show or take a walk on a nice evening. All I know these days is work, work, and more work. Soooooo...I decided to make myself a schedule. I built in three days off every week (one of them being today, hence the time to blog). :) And by off...that means that during the kids' naps I am not allowing myself to do anything work-related. And when they go to bed...again...nothing work-related. It's ME time. I can enjoy some time hanging out with my hubby or social-networking online (Facebook, blogging, etc)...or dare I say that I might begin a new book? ;)

I waited SO many years to be a mommy. And my DREAM was to stay at home so that I could spend quality time with them and joyfully raise them. I did not plan to be an entrepreneur...running what would be considered by some, a fairly successful business. I didn't intend to be a working mom. But here I am. It all kind of just fell into my lap. And please don't get me wrong...I REALLY do LOVE being a photographer. I do. I just have not been good about prioritizing my time and managing my work. And therefore, I have become a stressed-out, always exhausted, highly impatient, not-completely-here kind of mommy. And that just breaks my heart.

So things are going to change. They have to. I am at the end of my rope in so many ways! I am excited to have a new work "schedule!" :) I am looking forward to having days OFF...though for anyone who is a mommy...you know that you never really truly get one of those! ;) Hehe. But at least days off of my other job. It'll be good. And hopefully that'll mean I get to spend some more time better documenting my own family's life!

I keep thinking in the back of my head how funny all of this is, really. I have this post about how stressed I am with my business, and yet I am currently in the running for "BEST Portrait Photographer" in central Indiana - a title that I would be honored to receive! I'm SO thankful that there isn't a category for "BEST mommy" in central Indiana...cause sadly, I would probably rank closer to the bottom of that one! I need to do some life re-arranging here and really focus on what matters most to me.

More later! I'm off to enjoy more of my "FREE" time!! :)