Dance Party

U2 rocks, we all know that.  Isaiah, sporting excellent taste as usual, decided that they were the band of choice for his first foray into the world of dance.  Welcome to his first public recital.

We have also acquired another new skill.......undressing for fun, hence the missing sock, etc. :0).

Isaiah's First Word!!!

It's official, Isaiah has said his first word!!!

"Doggie"

Is anybody surprised?  Poor kid was destined to have that be his first word, talk about being a victim of one's surroundings.  Isaiah has been saying other words as well, like "mama" and "papa," but they seem to extend to any person he likes or wants to be held by.  Lindsey claims he has been saying "doggie" to specifically mean our dogs for a while now, but Paul has been more skeptical (amazing, Lindsey the optimist and Paul the pessimist for once!).  This last Monday, however, brought undeniable proof that Isaiah knows what "doggie" means.  As with many strokes of genius, this moment occurred when Isaiah was sitting on the pot making a doo-dee.  Because of this, we edited the video so you only see his upper half.  What you cannot see is that this whole time he is reaching out to Hailey while he says "doggie."  To see the unedited version, you'll have to come over for a visit.  So... without further ado, here is Isaiah and his first word!

Thanksgiving 2011

We had a very memorable and wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  We got to eat turkey, stuffing, olives and everything else twice.  We spent Thanksgiving day with some of our new friends in Missoula and then, unexpectedly, left Friday morning to visit with Lindsey's family in eastern Washington.

Isaiah ate his first olive off his finger (mom was so proud), danced with Aunt Chelsea and taught her to retrieve graham crackers for him, and tried to eat great grandpa's oxygen cord again.  Here's a taste of our fun times.

The Giggles

We haven't been posting too many pictures lately due to some camera struggles.  Don't panic, we are working to rectify the situation as soon as possible.  For those of you who are going through withdrawal, never fear, the video camera is here.  So, in lieu of photos we will try to post some videos for you to enjoy. 

In this wonderful video Isaiah gets the giggles and you can try to guess which adult is pretending to bark :0).  Have fun!

MY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Today we celebrated my first birthday.  It was amazing and everything went according to my plan!  Lots of friends and family came to Melissa and Becca's house in Spokane to hold me and celebrate with me.  I opened presents before we did anything else and boy did I get some great stuff - an airplane, lots of balls, clothes, a couple of trains and more - wow!  Mom and dad had soup, bread and salads for everone to eat and then there was the cake - yum!  The adults enjoyed catching up while all of us kids played with the new toys.  It was a great day!

We also celebrated with my birth family on the 9th (mom and dad's camera battery died, so we don't have any photos, which is a HUGE bummer).  I got to see Tawni, Aunt Kelli, Uncle Gabe, Grandpa and Grandma Neimi, and Great Grandma Pam.  We had fun playing together, opening presents, eating cake and sharing a meal.  I love hanging out with my birth family - they are so much fun!

In the background you can see the "happy birthday isaiah" sign that mom made for me.  Isn't it cool!

Look at all that yummy soup!  I skipped the soup and went straight for the delicious garlic bread (hopefully no one could smell my breath) and then cake.

Cake!!!!!!  My Auntie Chris, who couldn't make it, brought these great cakes.  Boy were they yummy.

People enjoying my birthday.  Left to Right: Grandma Gale, Aunt Becky, Bryan Pruess, Mike, Spencer and Derek Littrel, Sarita Preuss.  Mom is in the background trying to give dad directions to Melissa and Becca's house - he was a bit late since his plane couldn't land due to the fog.

Grandma Janie watches over the kiddos.  Left to Right: Zack, Anton, Isaiah, Spencer

Aunt Becky, cousins Isaac and Zack, and Uncle Nate came all the way from Seattle to see me.

More people holding me - what a great day!  Left to Right: Aunt Alex, Aunt Jolyne, Grandma Gale (in the background), Great Grandma Reiswig, Grandma Janie

Mom had a great time chatting with her Auntie's friends!  Left to Right: Melissa, Mom, Kenna

Opening presents!!!!  Yeah!!!!!!  I played with my See n' Say while cousin Zack helped Mom open presents.  They did a great job, which gave me more time to play.

Here's my cool new airplane.  I ride this thing all over the kitchen.  It has a moving propeller, plays music and I can stuff things under the seat - shhh - dont' tell Mom.

Everyone is watching me open presents.  I love being the center of attention, but this opening of gifts has been quite the marathon since everyone was so generous - thank you!!!!

Whoa everyone - look at what I got!

I played with this toy rock for quite a while.  I could chew on it, roll it, drool on it and throw it.  What fun!

Smiling as usual.

The Grandpas chatting it up.

Staci Littrel is holding me while I blow out the candles on my birthday cake.  What a fun end to a great day.  I can't wait for next year.

My First Backpacking Trip

Here I am about to embark on the most ridiculous trip my parents have thought up yet!  Yes, if you can believe it, they decided to go backpacking with an 11 month old and three large dogs.  What were they thinking?! If you ask them, I'm not even sure they can tell you.

Stop taking pictures and let's get this show in the road.  I love hiking so I'm quite excited about what I think will be another fun trek into the mountains.  It's pretty great to sit up high, see beautiful places and nap on the move.  

Skye is looking quite handsome in his first ever dog pack.  In order to help lighten the load he carried the dog food and the dog bowls.  Those of you who know Skye are probably not shocked to hear that this thing barely slowed him down.

Mom and the dogs enjoying the view after the hardest part of our hike.  Pretty incredible from my vantage point.

I am currently hanging out in our three man backpacking tent where we would spend a very long night sleeping (or not) with three large dogs and about 10 daddy long leg spiders that couldn't just stay on the ceiling of the tent.  Creepy (in the extreme)!

We were ready to hike out as soon as the sun hit the eastern horizon.  Yep, we were that excited to get home.  The view on the way out was amazing - look at the morning sun on those hills.

Dad and I have now become one with this pack.  That's what happens when you spend hours strapped into or onto something.  

Bundled up and loving the view.

That's where we were.  Maybe it was worth it after all.  I mean we did have fun walking up the creek and eating dinner by the lake.  We also enjoyed the campsite, watching the sun rise over the lake and the dogs had fun running around.  Hmmm....maybe if there hadn't been any spiders.  

Fun with Friends

Some of our good friends from Spokane (Bryan, Sarita, and Evan) came for a visit.  We went to the Children's Museum, the Carousel, and Big Sky Brewery among other things.  We had fun playing, catching up, and eating (mmm, the chicken pot pie was delicious).  I particularly enjoyed following Evan around. 

Here we are at the Children's Museum.  Look at that slide and those trucks!  This is kid heaven I'm thinking :0).

Look at this ride!  We traveled in style, by bike, down to the Children's Museum.  Mom says we're heavy, but I think she's just complaining.

Look at me!  I'm riding a dragon.  This is probably the closest I will ever come to living out the dragon scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.  Wait, I think Mom is the one who said that.

Evan and Sarita took the safe route and rode a horse.  After my hair was almost singed by the dragon, I was rethinking my choice.  Well, there is always next time.

Look at that dragon, not to mention the blur that is the background.  We were FLYING!

Apparently the grass is not greener on the other side.  It just looked like more asphalt and wood chips.  Imagine that!  After this disappointing discovery mom and dad chased me back and forth for a bit until I collapsed in a fit of giggles.

I found the green grass.  Go me!

Whew!  This is one crazy slide.  Mom and dad insisted that I go down it twice.  I think they both wanted to ride it to tell you the truth.

Whoa!  We made it down again.

The Wedding

Last Saturday my Aunt Lacey and her fiance Danny tied the knot.  We had a great time.  The wedding was beautiful (especially Aunt Lacey), the food was amazing and the after party was, well let's just say it was unforgettable in many ways.  I had a blast and so did mom and dad!  Lots of people held me and danced with me and the wedding cupcakes were delicious (Grandma and Aunt Scooter helped me sneak a taste)!

I am all dressed up in my wedding finery and ready to go watch a wedding.

This is the fantastic photo booth that provided all of the guests with hours of entertainment.    I sure had fun posing.

Uncle Dan, stealing my thunder.  Hmph.

He let me have the bigger frame, so all is forgiven.

Great Grandpa walked with Aunt Lacey and Aunt Scooter down the aisle. 

The bride and groom enjoying the moment.

Things got weirder in the photobooth...

For the record, I was never in favor of this pose.

Here is Mommy and her brother and cousins. I've decided that being in a picture frame can make a person cooky.

Ah, my family... Really, they can be quite more stately than they appear to be here!

Uncle Dan. The picture says the rest.

Uncle Kit deep in contemplation.

Here's me with Mommy and Grandpa Stewart. Finally people are acting normal again!

I'm considering my Uncle Dan for a moment. You never know about people who wear orange ties.