dino-mite!

isaac has this cool book of dinosaur stencils. while lauryn was napping, isaac & i decided to work on his stencils in the kitchen. here he is at work:

here are some of the finished stencils on WHITE (this is important further on in the story) copy paper, we later fill in the eyes, mouth, etc. & color.

here is one of the stencils that isaac did & he was quite confused when he couldn't pick it up to move it...

that's because the stencil is drawn RIGHT ON MY TABLE! the white copy paper pretty much blends in with the table itself, as you can see above in picture #2. isaac & i laughed so hard! it is one of my favorite times with him. some moms might have been mad, but i thought it was DINO-mite! :)

conversations with isaac

for those of you who know isaac well, you know that you don't just converse with him in a simple way. he's got questions & concerns about normal, everyday things...more so than most kids in my opinion. here are a few examples from the last few days.

here is dennis & isaac & dolly g'ma having a conversation about dennis when he was young & fell asleep while eating spaghetti. isaac is soooo intrigued with this story. he asks dennis about it everytime dennis makes spaghetti (which isaac LOVES!) i even overheard him telling his friend michael about the story.
anyway, dennis was telling isaac the story AGAIN & isaac had some questions about it that dennis couldn't answer saying he'd have to talk to his g'ma about it. so one evening he did:

i ~ daddy, tell me again about the time you fell asleep while eating spaghetti

d ~ one day when i was eating spaghetti, i was so tired that i fell asleep right in my spaghetti

i ~ yeah, but when i put my head down [on the counter] only my forehead touches. was only your forehead in the spaghetti?

d ~ we'll have to call g'ma & ask her about it

so one day on the phone she had to explain in detail how it all went down!

then yesterday when we were in the car, we drove past a denny's. this jogged isaac's memory of a month ago when dennis, lauryn, & i went to eat at denny's while he was in preschool.

i ~ is this the denny's you, daddy, & lauryn ate at?

j ~ no, we ate at the one kinda by target

i ~ oh, i don't know where that one is

j ~ you've been there before with us. well, i guess it's not real close to target. actually it's closer to chuck e. cheese

i ~ is it on the same side of the street [as chuch e. cheese} or on the other side of the street?

j ~ mmm...it's across the street

i ~ is it in the same parking lot?

j ~ no, it's in a different parking lot

i ~ mommy is it-

j ~ no isaac! now let's be done talking about it PLEASE!

he cracks us up because he can go on & on & on about things, especially when we're driving. generally the conversations are longer than this but this is what i could remember!

pictures from chicago

as promised here are the photos from my trip to the windy city...

our flowers from our husbands on valentine's day...



we also had chicago style pizza delivered...


movie we watched...

it was so nice to be taken care of by our guys on valentine's day...thank you!!


lilia & her mommy...she adores dee...it was so touching to see how she just stares lovingly at her mom in awe...


my mom with lilia


nate with lilia...she's wearing a shirt that says daddy's little cupcake!


lilia & moi





my brother & me out at a place called lulu's to eat...ironic since that was lilia's nickname while she was in utero (we still call her that though...)
nate has 2 weeks in detroit for mamma mia (5 hrs. from chi.) & came home late sunday night after his show to see lilia & dee one more time before they left for the cold frozen tundra of north dakota. mom, dee, & lilia flew out monday morning so i had the better part of the day to spend with nate before catching my flight. nate decided that i needed to be sushi-ized. i'm a sushi virgin...have no interest in even trying it. he convinced me that with someone who knows sushi that i'd probably like it. so i was secretly pleased when we got to the restaurant & he realized when we sat down to eat that it wasn't a sushi place like he thought. lucky me...:) next time nate...well, maybe.
it was my brother who planned this little get-away for me to meet my neice & surprise dee. i couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to meet lilia as a newborn. thank you millions!!! i will treasure my time spent with my little love bug below...

new blog addition

i've got a new addition to my blog ~ just check to the right below the pictures to the "blogs i check". notice that my mom has a blog! i helped her create one while we were in chicago. so feel free to check it out!

meeting lilia

hi everyone! it's been awhile since i've posted. i'm in chicago visiting by new niece lilia, her mom deeann, & my mom who has been here for about 3 weeks. my brother is on tour with mamma mia again but is close enough to come home on sundays after the evening show & heads back to where he needs to be on tues. mornings. nate contacted me in jan. about coming to visit & i was SOOOO EXCITED knowing that i'd get to see lilia when she's an itty bitty baby! so the plan was set in motion to surprise dee.
i arrived on valentine's day on their doorstep at 9:30 AM. mom had told me when i get here to buzz (they live in a 6 unit condo) & say i have a pkg. of course dee asks, "who's the carrier?" & i freeze finally say fed ex & she heads down to get me. she was so surprised to see me!
i got to hold my little valentine right away. she is simply adorable!!! lilia has grown a lot since she was born & i could instantly see the difference compared to her newborn pictures. she's got a round face with "those" cheeks...you know the ones i'm talking about, the ones you can't resist kissing!!
we've had a great time so far. on valentine's day we went out for lunch, mom & i shopped while dee took lilia for her first set of shots ~ sorry lilia, it's not a fair trade off at all! i got a killer set of boots & you had tender legs for the better part of the day ~ poor thing! that evening our husbands took care of us ~ they arranged for pizza & salad to be delivered to us, along with some flowers (beautiful tulips & irises), & romantic comedies for us to have a couple of movie nights. friday we stayed home, relaxed with lilia, played scrabble (mom & i are having quite the scrabble tourney), & just hung out. saturday we went shopping, & more cuddling, & more scrabble, & more movies. today we are just about ready to leave for church & will head out for lunch. i get back to lv late tomorrow night so will post photos upon my return.

i must be sleep deprived...

isaac has been sick since the afternoon of his birthday (sat.) ~ poor guy! he's missed school this week along with sunday school which makes him sad. last night, in the middle of the night, his coughing woke us up. i got up to get him some medicine & some water & found that in addition to him feeling terrible, his pj's & bedding needed to be changed. as dennis & i are changing him at 2:00 AM, he's half asleep & says, "do you mind if i take a bath?" i found that funny! he had just a quick sponge bath before hopping into our bed. i started the washer & stripped his bedding to throw in with his pajamas. you know how loud the washer can be...because of this i neglected to hear dennis walking behind me to get something & when i turned around, i screamed & my heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. this is the second time in a 24 hour period i had this feeling. the first time early the previous morning was much worse, by far!!! i had gone to sleep with isaac the night before when he woke up again from a coughing fit. i got up at 5:30 AM & went into lauryn's room to check on her on my way back to my bed. i didn't see her...thought it strange i didn't hear her if she had woken up & dennis had come to get her. i walked into our room & couldn't make her out on our bed.
j ~ "please tell me you have lauryn in here"
d ~ pops up & says "no"
j ~ "omg" & runs back to lauryn's room
at this point i'm terrified! it's amazing how much can run through your mind & the emotions you feel in a matter of seconds. i get to her room where i finally spot her underneath a small blankie in a sea of blankets on her big bed. whew ~ crisis averted!

happy 5th birthday isaac!!!!!

yesterday we realized that our 3 lb. 6 oz. premature baby boy had magically...



turned 5!

where did the time go???


we clearly remember the day that isaac joined our family. talk about being scared & excited all at once. our boy started out tiny but has always had a big heart. dennis talks about how isaac's dr. in nicu, dr. kingo, was administering some medicine to isaac when he turned to look at dennis, & said in his heavily accented english, "what is your son's name again?" dennis replied & then dr. kingo looked back at isaac & said, "isaac, i don't need your help." the nurses too were amazed at how isaac managed to move around in his incubator & would always pull his nasal canula off.

so yesterday, to celebrate his birthday, isaac decided to take some of his friends bowling. they had a blast, but around the 7th frame, they all decided they'd had enough. it was time for cake & presents. i'll explain the pictures below so you know who they all are.
1. brinley ~ our neighbor down the street. her mom is tara, if you ever check her blog.
2. carson ~ he is a crack up! isaac goes to sunday school with him.
3. kaiden ~ isaac played t-ball & soccer with this cutie.
4. a.j. ~ he also goes to our church. he & isaac sing in the children's choir together.
5. isaac with his birthday cake
6. andrew ~ he lives down the street. isaac & andrew played t-ball & soccer together.
7. michael ~ isaac & michael played soccer together when they had just turned 3. they also go to preschool together.
8. the gang
9. lauryn's bowling shoes. i just thought they were so cute! the shoes were the smallest they had & were still too big for her. :)



after bowling, we headed home with michael in tow so that the boys could have a sleepover. they played so hard for so long, that when it was time for bed, they crashed immediately!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC ~ WE LOVE YOU!!!!!