Double digits

Isaac is 4 weeks old today and after gaining a whole pound last week, he is up to ten pounds!  

(notice the "rocket man" themed blanket, sent by my sweet cousin)

Isaac is 3 weeks old!

Today was Isaac's 3-week check-up at the house with our midwife, Debbie.  He gained 10 oz. last week and has surpassed his birth weight, woohoo!

 You can imagine our sleep-deprived commentary added to these next couple pics….

And, here is our attempt at capturing that amazing hair of his.  We washed it last night, so it was a little extra fluffy today.

And, a couple involuntary smiles for your viewing pleasure (with mohawk included)...

My Boys

burpy boys

sleepy boys

outdoor boys….and Maude

happy boys

watchful boys (see the float plane?)

alert boy

peaceful boy

Glimpses of Isaac

Here are some little glimpses of our man, Isaac:

Mama can't keep her hands off him!  Literally.  Hooray for infant massage!

 

We are getting out of the house and trying to do fun things in these early days, including a trip to the Alaska Brewing Company for some free samples:

Brian has learned to wear the baby wrap and he and Isaac enjoy long walks to give me some peace and quiet to rest a little more.

We have no idea who he looks like…

Finally Home

After quite the birthing adventure, we are enjoying some R&R in the peace and quiet of our home and community.  We have been inundated with flowers, food, and homecoming kindness from our neighbors and friends, all while respecting our need for space and privacy.

Isaac seems to be enjoying the wireless life.  He is breast feeding like a champ and getting lots of skin to skin time with mom and dad.  The hospital kept him from becoming too sick, and we feel like now we finally get to start nursing him back to health in our home.  Literally.  I am a milk truck.  :)

Brian sporting his baby beard and our makeshift crib.  We aspire to be like the Finnish!

I am finally able to truly rest after the birth.  Brian is waiting on me and keeping me comfy while I lounge around and let my body recover.  All seems to be going well on that front, thankfully.  Maude agrees.

The Waiting Place

Although we do not have a baby in our midst yet, we have already received two gifts of meals from friends and are having no problem finding ways to fill our days as we wait.  Instead of thinking of this time as watching water boil, we are looking at it as a gift from our little one to use for some extra fun and good stuff!  

As a friend said yesterday, "At least this isn't like a job interview where you don't know if they're going to call you back."  We know we "got the job" - we just don't know the hire date :)

Mama-to-be on the "due date"

Our baby may not have arrived on the due date, but this little character did.  He seems to feel at home in our tree…we're still figuring out how to respond to that, haha!  Thankfully he and Maude have not yet crossed paths.

While we wait, we count rhubarb stalks and porcupine quills...

…and while baking a cobbler, I realize that I am dressed like a rhubarb stalk, albeit not as "stalk-like" these days :)

Maude chases butterflies in our yard, which is so cute our neighbor nicknamed her the "Anne Geddes dog" :)

Brian goes for long runs in the sunshine.  He even did a Sea Coast Relay out the road this past Saturday morning with some of his co-workers.  

Maude and I take long walks along the docks to say hi to all the tourists.  So many cruise shippers miss their dogs while on vacation and are more than happy to love on Maude.

And we cuddle.

And we actually pass by the new bbq food cart when it's open and pull in for some tasty pulled pork!  I ask the woman how hot the spicy sauce is (to help prompt the baby out) and she tells me in her best southern twang that what I really need to do is "go 4-wheelin' down Engineer's Cutoff Road - it's real bumpy" :)

We get to help our neighbors.  Here, Brian helps save Rosanne's lilac bush after her sewer pipe breaks and she has to tear up her deck.  An impromptu work party of neighbors ensues until 11:30pm, including my good-hearted hubby.  We were walking home from a date night and he passed by and asked what was going on and said, "I'll be right over!"  The next day, consequently, another neighbor went into the hospital and we were able to visit and bring them some food.  Lots of life happening on our corner!

And we "man-nest": also known as clearing out our small garage so that we can actually fit our car into it.  I can't tell you how happy this made Brian yesterday.  "Efficient use of space" = this man's joy :)

 

Community Cuteness

Our neighborhood is a sweet little community, filled with cute kiddos like these two:

Henry.  Henry is 4 years old and loves to ask me questions about the baby.  On this particular day, I heard a faint little knock on the door and found him simply wanting to "bring a treat for Brian and Anne" - a little flower and two pieces of candy.  He then peppered me with questions about the baby:  where is its head?  Where are its legs?  Is any of it up there ( pointing to my chest)? Is it hard for it to come out?  Where will it come out? (Meaning, where in our home...) he then tells me with that cute smile that he came out by the fireplace :)

This is Saana.  She is also 4 years old and comes to kiss my belly every time she sees me.  She also says things like, "Anne, when your baby grows and learns to talk, I will speak to it and it will speak back to me, right?"  This is a photo texted to me by her babysitter saying, "I am looking like Anne!" :)

This is the baby clothing we have been given from friends, near and far:

Here are Brian and Maude demonstrating good labor support :)