great-grandparents

Isn't Isaiah blessed to have great-grandparents? Here he is meeting his Nanny and Papa for the first time. I think they're enamored by his smiles.

My mom reminded me last week that my grandparents were the same age as Isaiah's great-grandparents are when I was born! No wonder I think they're so young for being D.'s grandparents!

a new toy

I used some of our gift cards last week... Target is far away when you live in Oxford, so I waited until we were in NC, closer to civilization! I got Isaiah this tummy time mat. It's shaped like a surfboard and it has little fishes and toys he can reach for. He has figured out what toys are for, and he likes grabbing for them! This helps him enjoy being on his tummy a little more, and it's really amazing to watch him use his muscles and his brain as he reaches for the toys. I think he's a genius, don't you?

a few firsts

We traveled to North Carolina last week while D. was on a mission trip in Biloxi. The traveling and transitions were a little stressful, but spending time with our family was such a blessing! Isaiah met his Uncle Miles, cousin Anna and Aunt Ashley for the first time. Ashley successfully avoided my camera, but here are a few pictures of him with Miles and Anna. Anna kept saying, "Isn't baby Isaiah so cute?" and "I am very gentle with baby Isaiah." She also read him a story, as you can see.

more pictures of the week to come...

a big boy

We went to the doctor on Friday for Isaiah's 2 month checkup. He weighs 14 pounds, 7 ounces and he is 24 inches long. He is growing so fast and changing so much. He got his vaccinations, which was a little stressful for me, but he cried a little and then it was all over. Today, I went through his clothes, and a lot of his 6 month size clothes fit him already!

The really exciting news is that he appears to have grown out of his colic (or whatever it was that was making him so fussy). He is like a different baby! He really doesn't cry now unless he has an urgent issue to communicate to us (i.e. I'm hungry). We are very thankful that he's grown out of it a little early, and we're having fun with our happier, more agreeable baby.

family portrait

This is our first family portrait since Isaiah's birth! I don't count the one we took in the hospital because I was sweaty and disheveled. Spring is here and we are enjoying it so much. Isaiah is too, obviously.

family resemblance

This is a photo of my dad, then me, then Isaiah. You can see a definite family resemblance in the furrowed brow, can't you? D. and I both have what we call "moments" when we look at Isaiah and see ourselves. We'll say: "I'm having a moment!" It is the strangest and most amazing feeling. I can't begin to describe it. It makes me think about how God says we're made in his image. I hope He looks at me from time to time and sees himself.

play time

Look at his eyes! Isaiah likes watching his mobile. When I wind it up and turn on the music, he always calms right down. He's learning how to focus on objects now and watch them too, so he's learning while he plays.

bath time

Isaiah is enjoying bathtime much more now. Doesn't he look like he's having fun? I think the way he sticks his tongue out to taste the water is so cute.

sleepy?

The baby books say to lay an infant down while he is "drowsy but awake" so he can learn to fall asleep on his own. That way we won't be rocking him to sleep until he's 5. As you can see, Isaiah can fall asleep on his own now! He does it at night too... most of the time. Last night was not a good example, but hopefully tonight will be better.

Happy one month birthday!

Isaiah was one month old yesterday. He is growing so fast... I put away his 0-3 month onesies yesterday! We are definitely in love.

a few smiles

Catching his smiles on camera is difficult, but here are a few. It's so much fun when he smiles up at us as we're talking to him.

he's buff!

Isaiah has been lifting up his head since he was just a few days old, but now he's getting really strong. He likes his tummy time.

he's smiling!

Isaiah has starting smiling at us lately. We haven't been successful at getting a picture of it yet, but he has dimples! We had fun these past two weeks with his Nana and MeeMaw, and now we're officially on our own. Hopefully we'll survive!
Here are a few pictures of Isaiah and D. We like his wrinkly forehead.

our 2 week old

Isaiah is two weeks old tonight... It's hard to believe that he was still inside of me two weeks ago! We went to the Doctor today for our two week checkup, and he now weighs 10 pounds and he's 22 inches long. He's growing so well, and we are so proud of him. :)

Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks.

We went on our first outing to the Square last Saturday, and Isaiah slept the whole time.
As you can see, Isaiah likes milk, but he doesn't like baths.

handsome boy

We are having lots of fun with Isaiah. We've been getting to know him for over a week now, and we think he has a great personality. He's pretty laid back--he doesn't cry unless he has a good reason, and he likes to lay on the baby gym and look at all the toys. He likes to eat a lot, and he sleeps very well. He's been sleeping better and better every night, which makes us very happy.

Isaiah Astin Merricks

He's here! After an afternoon of sporadic contractions on Thursday, some fairly consistent ones started about 7pm. At 8:15 we called the doctor who encouraged us to go to the hospital if they continued for another 45 minutes. So, at 9pm we packed up our things and went to the hospital.

The admission process and check-in took a while, and at 10:15pm we were in a labor and delivery room. By this time, only a few contractions had been really intense, and so we thought we were in for a long night. A nurse was entering some info in to the computer, and Corrie asked, "Is this real? Is this really going to happen tonight?" The nurse responded, "Well, they said you're already between 7 and 8 centimeters and 90% effaced." Corrie and I just looked at each other and started laughing...because that was not what we were expecting!

The next few hours were harder, and at 1:33am on Jan 5th, Isaiah made his arrival. Corrie was incredible and delivered naturally with no epidural.

Isaiah is 9 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches long. He is a very healthy little boy, who also has a very healthy appetite. He and his mom are doing just fine. We're all at home and trying to adjust to our new life together.

Still waiting

We're still here and still waiting!

My due date is this coming Wednesday, January 3rd. Last week the Doctor said that he would measure the baby this week (Tuesday) and make a decision from there. Either we'll induce, have a C-section, or keep waiting! Yesterday I had contractions for 5 hours, but they were sporadic and they stopped in the evening. That was a little disappointing. That's all the news for now.

38 weeks

We took a few pictures today... hopefully they will be the last! This week is the 38th... we're full term and 2 weeks from our due date. Hopefully he will be early. :)

waiting

We are about 2 1/2 weeks from our due date and we are just waiting. It's fun to be in this waiting stage because we are enjoying things we won't be able to do for a long time, like going to see movies or going shopping spontaneously. It's also a little difficult, mainly because being this pregnant is not so much fun. I can't sleep much longer than 2 hours without having to wake up and roll over to the other side because my hip hurts. But I guess that's all preparation for lack of sleep for the next few months. We are going for lots of walks, and today we raked leaves for several hours... all in an attempt to hurry him along. It doesn't seem to be helping much yet!

That's where we are, though!
Merry Christmas.

A big family

D.'s sister and aunt gave us a baby party with all of D.'s family (and some of mine too). We had a wonderful time, and we were so blessed with gifts for our little boy. We've put all of our gifts in their places and we're ready for when he arrives! I told the doctor yesterday that I thought next week would be good. :) We are trying to enjoy the waiting and live in anticipation. Advent is good to remind us of how important that is.

time with Anna

Sorry I'm a little slow... we have been so busy these last weeks, but yesterday I turned in a 20 page paper on the blues, and just two more to finish! I can't believe this semester is almost over.

We are so blessed to have the cutest niece in the entire world. We got to hang out with her over the Thanksgiving week and we even went to her birthday party! I thought these pictures were so cute, so I wanted to post them.

Face to Face

Here he is!

We went to the doctor today but didn't see the doctor. He was stuck at the hospital helping another doctor with surgery, so they gave us an ultrasound. We got to see all 4 chambers of the heart, the kidneys, the bladder, the stomach, and his chest moving up and down as if he were breathing.

The nurse said he's in the head down position, which is right where he needs to be. She also said he's measuring to be about 6 lbs 13 oz! In case you're wondering, that's big...especially in week 35! We're not sure what this means yet, but we might get that tax deduction afterall!

The pictures are of his face. If you can't see it in the wide shot, concentrate on the other one. Think of it as the left side of his face - chin slightly tucked down, nose in full view, eye closed with eyelid showing and cheek just under the eye. It took me forever to see it, but now I can't miss it. A good looking thing, isn't he?

Wesley girls

Some of the Wesley girls gave us a little baby shower. It was a lot of fun, and we have some little clothes for him now.

Rigby

We got a new camera this week... Refurbished from eBay! D. is experimenting by taking lots of pictures. Rigby is 7 months old now, and she's a lot of fun to have around. She makes me smile because she is always happy to see me.

32 weeks

Here I am at 32 weeks... It's starting to look like Fall here, although it hasn't gotten really cold yet, so I think it's a good compromise. It's hard to believe we're only 8 weeks away!

the crib arrived!

The crib arrived yesterday, and D. put it together in under an hour! It really looks like someone's room now, doesn't it?