Our quirky, lovely neighborhood

I am convinced we live in the best neighborhood on the planet.  It is this little pocket of quirky, off-beat, kind-hearted, loving people, and we can walk to most anywhere we need to go.  I can't tell you how many neighbors, young and old, have offered to babysit Isaac.  And now as a mostly stay-at-home mom, I am even more grateful for the fact that if Isaac and I need a little social interaction, all I need to do is go for a stroll around the block and I am bound to run into someone and be invited in for a cup of tea.  Or, we just get out and walk to the store and run into people in the aisles.  Or, we go sit at the neighborhood coffee shop, Coppa, and in no time Isaac will be in someone's arms.      

This past weekend our neighbors offered us a little more sweet quirkiness:

We received this homemade oil-wick candle from our neighbor, Becca, in honor of the solstice.  She also happened to be our midwife for the first half of our pregnancy.  She also saw me walking by one day and said, "Anne!  I have something for you!"  I waited and she returned with a  container of Bon Ami wrapped in a pretty ribbon.  I looked at her with a puzzled look on my face and she said, "When I was at your house the other day, I noticed your sink was dirty.  This'll shine that right up."  She is a Martha Stewart follower, no doubt.  And sure enough, it did!  :)

And our awesome next door neighbor, Rosanne, welcomed her college daughter, Aileen, home for winter break with a house full of 2600 balloons….  Yes, she did.  2600.  Isaac and I had to go see it for ourselves.

Quirky and awesome.  That's our 'hood, "The Flats" :)

Thank Goodness for Dolly and Taleah!

Isaac received his first piece of mail the other day - from Dolly Parton.  That's right, he is an official enrollee in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  I had never heard of this before becoming a parent, and it is such a cool program.  Every child registered in the program receives one free book in the mail for the first five years of life.  Evidently the first book is always The Little Engine That Could, and then from there it's a surprise every month.  

Who knows, maybe all these books we read him will put him on the path to reading voraciously like his papa!

Another great program we are a part of is "Parents As Teachers."  Again, I had never heard of this before entering parenthood, and I am loving it!  It is a free home-visit parent support program from birth to three years old.  Our rep is Taleah, who has background and training in child development and every three weeks she comes to our house and performs assessments, educates us about where Isaac is developmentally and how we can engage him in the best ways (games, playing, toys, etc), and is just there to be a soundboard for Brian and me as we move through this whole parenthood thing.

She is lovely and has been a huge help to us!  We are so thankful for this form of support.

Juneau Pseudo-Grandparents

When I worked at the birth center, I was fortunate to meet Euming Suewing.  He was the janitor and he and I would have nice conversations between my massages or at the end of my shift.  Over time, we shared lots of laughs and good talks.  Having heard me share my woes about being far from family, when I told him I was pregnant Euming simply said, "You mean I'm gonna be a grandparent again????"  

The other day Isaac and I were walking to the post office, and Euming spotted us on one of his breaks while driving the city bus.  He yelled out, "Anne, get that boy over here!"  So we went over to say hi and snapped this photo.

He and his wife Kerrie are fantastic people, plain and simple.  They moved up here from Washington to be closer to their grandchildren.  There was a time before Isaac was born that I thought I might have to return to my state job for 30 days to avoid paying extra money for our insurance premiums.  While we were figuring out logistics, Kerrie offered to be our childcare for Isaac during that temporary time.  Thankfully, I didn't have to actually return to work for anything and it was moot, but it meant a lot to us to have Kerrie's offer in our back pocket if need be.

The other day we had Euming and Kerrie over for Sunday brunch.  Isaac was smitten with Euming's facial hair, and was super giggly during his antics. 

We remain thankful for the ways that this Juneau community loves on us as a new little family!

All Smiles!

The Vander Naalds are finding all kinds of reasons to smile these days....

Like, carrots!

And guilty pleasures! (Thank you Secret Santa!)

And Dutch Baby pancakes after a long run!

Isaac goes to church

Isaac seems to be the only baby that has attended our church with any regularity lately.  Lucky for him, there are lots of welcoming arms ready to hold him.  Here are some glimpses of his time hanging out with Nancy, one of our favorite ladies from church.  She is a long-distance grandparent, so she delights in getting to love on a little one close by.  More specifically, our little one :)  (And yes, there were real chickens in our fellowship hall, to promote the Heifer Project gift-buying…)

Morning hang out time by the fire and Christmas tree

Isaac's mornings are pretty leisurely.  He wakes up, eats, and then we hang out and "play" by the fire.  The other morning Maude decided she was ready to join in the fun and came over and laid down next to Isaac just like this.  In his pre-crawling phase, he kicks and scoots backwards a lot right now.  He did so, right into Maude's chest, and Maude didn't seem to mind one bit.  The pellet stove makes us all feel a little more warm and fuzzy...

We made the one-block trek to our local tree farm the other night and picked out our Christmas tree.  Gotta love a neighborhood that is so charmingly walkable!

 

When we brought Isaac down this morning to see the tree all decorated and lit up, he just gazed at it and smiled.  So cute!

Happy 6 Months, Isaac

Half a year has already flown by with Isaac in our midst!  December 2nd was his 6-month birthday, and Mama took the opportunity to have fun with yet another photo shoot.  

As you can see, Isaac showcased his many looks for the photo shoot.

Look #1: Joyful Boy

Look #2: Swimsuit Model-to-Be Boy

 Look #3: Future Crossfitter Boy

 Look #4: Intimidating Boy

Look #5: Sweet Boy

Look #6: Daddy's Boy

And, finally…..Mama's Favorite Boy :)