Update

We had a good Father's Day last weekend. On Friday, we celebrated with Wes's dad. His parents and brother came over for dinner, and we spent time talking afterwards. On Saturday, we celebrated Wes's Father's Day. It was a little broken up though, because Wes had inadvertently agreed to perform a wedding ceremony that day. Then on Sunday, we had my parents and sister over to celebrate with my dad. It was a busy weekend, but a good kind of busy.

Isaac reached another milestone today. This morning during tummy time, he rolled over onto his back! I was videotaping him, and he became a little fussy. Thinking that tummy time was over, I turned off the video camera and went to go pick him up. Before I could, he rolled over. So hoping that he would do it again, I put him back on his stomach and quickly got ready with the camera. Much to my delight, he did roll over again. Before long, he's going to be rolling over from his back to his stomach and then crawling. How exciting!

Next week, we're going to be on vacation. We plan on taking it very easy, and I'm looking forward to having some quality time as a family. It's hard to believe that four months have already passed since Isaac has been born. Just one more month, and then I'll be back at work. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone.

Things I Hear Often

• "He's such a pretty baby. Boys aren't supposed to be pretty, but he is!"
  I would have to agree that Isaac is a very handsome baby. We're probably going to have to beat off all the girls with a stick when he gets older!
  


• "He seems like such a happy baby!"
  Isaac is a very happy baby. He has a pretty pleasant temperament. He's quite the flirt too, smiling all the time at different people that he meets.
  


• "His eyes are some of the prettiest blue eyes I've seen!"
  Yes, Isaac definitely got Wes's eyes. And that's actually the same thing I said about Wes, as his eyes were the first thing I noticed when I met him. People also comment about how long Isaac's eyelashes are, which is another trait he got from Wes.
  


• "I can't decide who he looks like. I think he's a combination of the two of you."
  When he was first born, everyone said Isaac looked exactly like me. Now, though, I do see both of us reflected in him. From the eyes up, he looks like Wes. From the nose down, he looks like me.
  


• "His face looks different since the last time I saw him!"
  Yes, his face seems to be changing every day. I can't tell as much, since I'm around him all the time. I notice it the most when I look at pictures.
  
  
• "He's so alert!"
  Isaac does have the ability to concentrate for a long time, especially for a baby. I took him to church on Wednesday night and kept him with me instead of putting him in the nursery. He sat in my lap and was quiet for the entire lesson - a total of 30 minutes. I jokingly told Wes that he was better behaved than some of the teenagers.

And the thing I hear the most?

• "That's a big baby!!!"
  Yes, he most definitely is. When I took him to the doctor on Monday, he weighed in at 14 pounds, 14 ounces. I think I am going to be really strong by the time I go back to work!

First Beach Trip

Isaac is just about over his cold now. He's had a slight temperature every day since I last took him to the doctor, but the doctor said it's not anything to worry about. I took him back to the doctor yesterday so he could be rechecked, and Patty said he is fine.

Isaac went on his first trip to the beach on Saturday. I was a little apprehensive about it, because the pediatrician told me not to put any sunscreen on him before six months. It has something to do with the chemicals in the sunscreen, and it can also interfere with the baby's perspiration. Dr. Ramos said it would be fine to go, but just to cover him up. Patty, the nurse practioner, said it would be better not to go, warning that the sun's rays are reflected off the sand and the water. Well every year, Wes's mom's family goes to the beach together, and this was it, so we decided to take him.

Right as we were getting ready to walk out the door, Isaac let us know that he was hungry. We knew it would be close to the time we had to leave, but we were hoping that we'd be able to travel for at least a little while before he needed to eat. It didn't happen though, so we ended up leaving an hour later than we planned. It takes a little over an hour to drive to the beach, so by the time we got there, all of the good parking spots were gone. We ended up parking over a mile away from where Wes's family was. By the time we got there, we were about two hours late, which is pretty comical. Normally, we are one of the first ones there. Somehow I don't think that'll be the case anymore, at least not for another few years. But, thankfully, Isaac slept through everything. He didn't wake up until just a few minutes before we arrived.

Since Isaac wasn't allowed to wear sunscreen, we had a canopy set up for him. If he didn't get sunburned, I was worried that Isaac would be fussy from being too hot. That didn't happen though. Wes's dad found a battery-operated fan, and we put that on him the whole time. Wes and I had also bought a baby pool so he could cool off. When it was time to nurse him, I went to Wes's dad's truck to do so. So he was fine. We got some really cute pictures of him playing in his baby pool, which I'll have to post later. We took them with Wes's phone, and Wes is at work right now. All in all, we had a great time. I can't wait for next year, when Isaac will be able to build sand castles, play beach games, and go in the water!

Back to Work

I went back to work this week, but only for three days. The students have gone home for the summer, but I had to go in for three days of post-planning. I had some comp time saved up from work I'd done while I was out on maternity leave, so I was able to leave early each day. I also decided to work through lunch, so in actuality I really only worked three half days. My mom took off work so she could watch Isaac for me, and I knew he was being well-cared for. Still, it was hard to leave him. The first day I was back, I called to see how things were going before an hour had elapsed. Of course, he was fine. He really enjoyed spending time with his grandma.

The first day back at work, I was glad to be back and get some things done in my classroom. I felt refreshed after I left, after having a little break from child-rearing responsibilities. The second day, I struggled a little more. I paid attention to every little thing when I got back to my mom's, afraid that our bond would not be as good after being away from him two days in a row. He did act a little differently, but I realized later that it was because he was sick. By the third day, I did better and felt better about working, but I still missed him terribly. This week was a good trial run for me, though, to get an idea of what it will be like when I really go back to work at the end of the summer, to start another school year. My first day of pre-planning is on July 28th, and I'm sure it will be here before I know it!

Isaac is still sick. He had a fever on Tuesday of 100.3, so I took him to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon. We saw Patty, the nurse practioner, this time. Patty listened to his lungs, inspected his ears and mouth, and she said that he is clear. He's been coughing, but that's due to some mucous in the back of his throat. The nurse took a few drops of blood, which confirmed that he does have a viral infection. They didn't prescribe any medication though, saying that it would be better for his body to work it out. They didn't even want me to give him Tylenol unless his fever got up to 101, saying that the fever would help fight the infection. All she told me to do is continue putting breastmilk in his nose before he eats, like I did before when he was congested.

I'm thinking Isaac probably got sick from being around people at church, because that is the only time he's around large crowds. For some reason, people love to touch babies' hands and feet, and you know what happens next. The hands and feet go in the baby's mouth. I usually wipe them off (after the people leave, of course), but apparently that wasn't enough this time. I can't quarantine him forever though. This is just part of life. If he's around people--whether it's at church, or the store, or a daycare--he's going to pick up germs. We'll just have to be more careful with him from now on. I really wish that he could just give his cold to me and let me fight it, since my immune system is stronger. I wonder if that's how God felt about us, when He sent His Son to die for us.

As far as what else is new, bathtime has become a daily activity now. It's part of our nighttime routine. Even though he's not really dirty every night, I think it's good to have that as part of our bedtime routine. When I was preparing to go back to work, I quickly realized that we need to have some things in place to let Isaac know it's nighttime and time to go to sleep. Plus, it's a good bonding activity, and he loves it. Wes bought these "disco duckies" (rubber duckies that light up), and Isaac loves looking at them while he's taking a bath.

Another first that Isaac had this week is Vacation Bible School (VBS). VBS was going on all week at our church, but I only took him on Monday night. The theme was a luau, and I had the perfect outfit to dress him in for the occassion. Everyone thought he was so cute and oohed and aahed over him. I thought I might help out where needed, but I quickly realized that was not going to happen. Isaac demanded most of my attention, as he should. I spent half my time taking care of his needs--nursing him, changing his diapers, cleaning up his spit-up, etc. The rest of the time was spent walking around taking pictures and talking to people.

Now for some pictures!