Out of Hand: June 2012

Birthday Medley

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

We've had a great morning so far! I am basking in excellent weather, good coffee, and cheesy (but heartwarming) songs!

Photography is one of those skills I've wanted to develop for a long time but never seem to have the time. But this morning Isaac and I went out for a practice shoot. Thankfully, it was beautiful!

Focus is my biggest challenge. For example, how do I get that bench in focus? The camera wanted to focus on the leaves above.

We were also out a little later than prime time. It was about three hours after sunrise. There were some nice views in the shade, although the sunshine appears to have thrown off the brightness of the photos a tad.

One weekend when Rich has off I'll get some sunrise shots. I feel so grateful to have a lot of beautiful scenery to shoot. Photos of people are my favorite, though challenging to take, mostly because my prime subject is often in motion. This morning we shamelessly took photos of passers by. My camera has a 14x zoom so we probably eluded most people.

Except her. I think she was on to us:

I took these just to prove that the biker plowed through the stop sign without stopping -- sigh :(

It's worth mentioning the zoom on this camera is very good for a point and shoot! It captured these birds nicely, though they were quite a distance. First there was a large one.

Then there were about one hundred, some of whom are below.

These smaller birds were quite friendly. (Notice the cute one at the bottom right.) When Isaac finally realized that they were there, he was elated.

Isaac was very interested in eating dirt and wood chips. I'm not sure where he learned that. He passes grass, leaves, kid things, etc., for dirt.

Have I mentioned that it's hard to get a good photo of him because he's always on the go?

He will, however, be somewhat still while eating/playing with dirt.

Here's proof that he has a tooth!

In addition to all of this fun, Rich took me out to Restuarant Eve on Saturday night for a very special dinner. Restaurant Eve is one of those places that subtly suggests you wear a tie or coat, replaces the silverware between servings, and otherwise takes its food very seriously. (Some may call it "stiff.") Everything we ate was gourmet and delicious with the exception of a salmon pate, but mostly because we weren't into the super-fishy flavor. We really enjoyed being together for this unique experience.

Afterward, Rich agreed to get some photos of us. I purchased this $19 tripod to help prevent blur. Though it was dark, and I completely don't have night photography mastered, here is what we have. I don't like the flash because it ruins the mood of the photo. But without the flash the photos are blurry...

This is the view of National Harbor and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Old Town Alexandria.

Tonight we are having a nice dinner with Roxane and going out for ice cream afterward. Thank you for the sweet phone calls and greetings! I always have a great birthday because the weather is so nice and friends and family touch base. If only all babies could be born in June! ;)

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Okay, I'll take a free drink but unfortunately will be forced to boycott you in the furture. I've been thinking about this for a while but finally read about Starbucks' agenda this week. I'm offended that in order to get people on board Starbucks has collapsesd into one the opposing ideas of "treating one another with respect and dignity" (which no one argues) and aggressively promoting and financially supporting efforts to legalize same-sex marriage (which is extremely controversial). This is not about benefits for domestic partners or civil unions. It's about changing the definition of marriage.

I have been a Starbucks Gold Rewards Member since 2010. It appears that Starbucks also owns Seattle's Best Coffee, Evolution Fresh, Tazo Tea, Torrefazione Italia Coffee, and La Boulange. Time to check out the local coffee shops!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

This picture cracks me up. Isaac is constantly testing his physical abilities, speed and strength. He wants to do everything he possibly can. Last weekend he did a three-point stand. Yesterday, he pushed up the garbage can lid and proceeded to go through the overflowing garbage as fast as he could while I was focused on something else. Sharp kiddo. Today he tried to escape from our home while I was talking to a service man at the front door. Have I mentioned that he's become MUCH FASTER at crawling? Perhpas now I'll FINALLY lose my last ten pounds!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

This activity provides endless thrill and amusement.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Dad took Isaac for a nice long walk today and visited little Clair. They brought a rose, which Isaac tried to rip apart and eat. He was fascinated by a flag and several long plants. Everyone was able to spend some extra time with Dad today. We are so happy!

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

-Matthew 19:14

But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells. -3 Peter 3:13

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Ideally, we'd do this every weekend, but it seems to happen once a month. We go out other times, but often bring Isaac with us. Last weekend, my sisters were kind enough to come over and watch him while we went to dinner and enjoyed a nice walk. This makes me so happy!

Not that I don't love this! (Notice child under table.)

Blinds raised to prevent ruin from yanking.

But I need a little of this to keep my sanity.

And some fresh air.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Yes, I know, boring! But laundry is a big part of my life now. And it's even bigger because we live on the third floor of our condo building with the laundry machines in the basement. (All in all, we love our home. The location is outstanding -- both beautifully landscaped and close to everything we need. It's very pretty and cozy. This is the only drawback.) The good news is that I can run two loads at once. I do the laundry at least once a week and have been looking for ways to make it more efficient. So feel free to leave advice. Here is our current system:

Our loads are normally soiled, whites, darks, brights, and delicates. There's a significant number of pieces that require line drying and no fabric softener. So I've been doing them together even though there is a variety of colors. The ergo baby carrier to the right needs to be washed, too, but I also use it to carry Isaac on my back while hauling the laundry up and down six flights of stairs. I'm trying to time the washing of it so that I don't need it suddenly when it's in the washer!

One of the tips I've been given is not to skimp on washing agents. This has certainly been true for us as far as our dishes were concerned (thank you, Roxane!). Cascade is the only thing that gets them clean. We also use Jet Dry to reduce dry-spotting. When it comes to laundry, I've heard that it's best to spend the extra money on Tide. It has a milder scent and seems to leave clothes brighter, longer. So I've been using Tide, Downy (except for delicates), and OxiClean. An additional agent I've been trying on our clothes is Purex. We have at least one load per week that needs an extra boost -- normally workout clothes and wash rags. The load needed something more in order to completely remove the soiled smell. The downside of these crystals is that they have an almost overpowering scent -- even a small amount can dominate a load.

My final quandary is reducing humidity in general. I know that our air conditioner takes care of a lot of this. We also have new vinyl windows. I often run a humidifier in Isaac's room, however, because he gets congested. His room has taken on a musty smell recently. I was also surprised to discover that our mattress pad was causing our bed to smell -- not the sheets as I had previously thought. The mattress pad requires a wash of its own and three dry cycles to dry completely. Anyway, I took care of the bed on Tuesday along with the car seat padding (thanks to Isaac's blow out), a couple of quilts, and the necessary towels. Today we finished everything else.

So, how often do you wash your bed sheets and towels. And which cleaning agents do you use? Is there a better way to prevent clothes from becoming soiled (or retaining a soiled smell)? Thanks!

Milestones

Six months of drooling, three months of eating teething biscuits, and one day of gnawing on my knee and Isaac FINALLY has one tooth! He doesn't realize what a milestone this is, though we keep feeling around in there and telling him he has a tooth and pointing to our own teeth with exuberance. It appears that the second bottom front tooth will not be far behind the first one. He's been really cranky and sleepy.

This is the closest thing to a photo of that new tooth (bottom front right) I have.

This week I also decided not to carry him in the carseat more than necessary. That includes when I'm at the store. It turns out that he enjoys trips to the store MUCH more when he's in the front and looking around (and reaching) at all of the exciting new things. We made a three-hour trip to the Walmart superstore because I was determined not to shop more than once this week. Baby food: check. Detergents: check. Groceries: check.

In addition to riding in the front seat, Isaac has been enjoying moving everything that he's strong enough to move. He seems particularly excited when he realizes that he can move something, like this set of boxes.

He has also begun the age of following mom around and hanging onto her.

And of yelling from his height chair. I found it particularly funny that he yelled so loud he lost his breath here.

Large and In Charge:

He's learned to clap as well, although he doesn't like to do it on command.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

It's hard to believe that Isaac's already spent as much time ex utero as he has in utero. He's grown so much since September. His measurements are 18 lbs., 4 oz. (15th%); 29.5 in. (87th%); and 18 in. head circumference (63rd%).

I asked the doctor is it was okay that his head percentile went down so far. Apparently it's not that his head stopped growing as much but that other babies had massive growth in that area. They are more concerned about the baby's individual growth than the comparisons. According to him, Isaac looks great! Or as my obstetrician told us, "He is PERFECT!"