in case you didn't know...

yes, we are pregnant!  i thought the widget on the side there was a nice touch!  we are due december 13th and find out the gender in july.  elise thinks it's just "a baby".  she can't quite grasp the boy or girl concept.  although if we talk about it long enough, she'll say it's another izie boy.  guess that's all she knows!  she's also convinced she has a baby in her belly too.  and even told daddy last night that she needed some food to feed the baby in her belly so she wouldn't feel sick...you can tell what she's been hearing me say, huh?  isaac, of course, has no idea.  but i'm hoping we can at least get him convinced there's something in there, like we did when elise was his age.  i am very excited though at this new little one on the way.  in case you haven't done the math yet, we will have three kids, ages three and under.  (yeah, i know your eyes are all big right now and you're possibly say "whew" out loud to yourself :) but we are very ok with that...it's a bit overwhelming and scary...but having kids always is!  people will have lots of comments for us, i'm sure.  but we have felt all along that we'd like to have our kids close together.  God has been very kind to bless us with that thus far.  so if you think of it, please pray for a continued healthy pregnancy, baby and delivery...and for the upcoming transition from two kids to three...from one per parent, to being outnumbered!  and keep checking back to see the status on this cool widget! (yeah, i just like using the word "widget" cause i can!)

one year old

our little baby boy is one year old!  i cannot fathom how quickly this year has gone.  it seems just yesterday, we were in the hospital, he was jaundice, i had low iron, he was nursing like a mad man, and he was so little...now...he tries to keep up with his sister (and cousins...and the dog for that matter), he likes to splash in the dog's water bowl (we're working on that), he has a smile and snuggle that melt your heart every time, he likes to put things in and out, he loves his tools (hence the cake decor), he can climb stairs, crawl, walk, open cabinets, pull things out of any drawer he can get into, chase the vacuum, pull covers out of the outlets, and put anything and everything into his mouth!  it's amazing to me how you can already see personality traits blossoming in one so little as well.  our isaac is persistent, determined, not easily swayed or distracted.  he's sweet, kind, strong yet gentle, curious, easy going, social, and always on the move.  only he could spend part of our winter ER visit flirting with the nurses.  only our izie-boy will chase the vacuum (while i'm using it...no matter how many times i move him) and try to climb on top of it.  only my little snuggle buggle bear will nestle into my neck when it's naptime or bed time and play with my hair while i sing to him.  he is such a blessing.  before his birth, i remember that being prayed for our family...that isaac would be a blessing to us.  he certainly is.  thank You, God, for our little boy.

(last one eating...)

when the phone camera will have to do

how many times have you wanted your camera and either couldn't find it or just couldn't get to it in time?  you knew the moment would be gone...so, here are a few pics i captured on my phone from lately. 

elise showing isaac the ropes in the tupperware cabinet

isaac caught in the act...

and then hamming it up!

elise has "her guys" that go with her just about everywhere.  on this morning, the collected grew as she added two dogs to the gang. 

the gang's all here

you'll have to excuse how out of order these pictures are.  i'm having a terrible time trying to insert them in the order i want!  anyway, here are some pics from aunt laura's visit with nora...including new baby cousin jael...and our times together (after nora's hospital stay and broken foot that is!)  they were quite the troopers and still managed to enjoy day trips to the museum and zoo!  miss you guys already!

six little ducks

if you've ever watched Barney, you've probably heard the six little ducks song, while watching kids waddle and dance with their umbrellas, while wearing rain boots. well...elise has officially brought this song from the video to our living room :)

 

 

 

 

 

our little man

our little boy is turning one in less than a month and i can harldy take it in.  here are a few recent pics of his great smile, 6 teeth, short hair, crazy crawling, cruising, playing, watching out the window, and yes, even walking (7 steps has been his max thus far).  he's a snuggly bundle of joy and i love him more each day.

no matter how thin he seems to get, those chubby legs are his trademark!

after just having his hair trimmed to match daddy's, his mouthful of hair made him look like he was growing a beard already!

already fixing stuff like his daddy...

thirty

my 30th birthday was wonderful.  my sweet sisters from church threw me a surprise party which was such a blessing.  it was sweet time to fellowship, enjoy eachother's company without children around, and be blessed by their encouragement.  then we had a great dinner with my folks.  the next day (my actual birthday) justin had off because of the morning rain...so we took to the kids to the aquarium.  elise was so sweet with her genuine excitement.  all we kept hearing was, "oh my goodness!  oh my goodness!"  as we left, we attempted a family photo...enjoy :)  thanks to all who made it a great birthday!