aunt and grandpa

We had a fun weekend with more visitors... we just missed Nana, who is on the other side of the world! Isaiah is so blessed to have so many people who are crazy about him.

Photography 101

So... I'm not a big fan of studio portraits. D. and I bought each other a nice camera for Christmas (that is seriously all we bought each other) and we've been experimenting with taking baby photos ourselves. Now, my dad has taught me well... In fact, he is known for the phrase "If you can read, you can knit" in our family. (I believe that his knitting experiment was unsuccessful, however.) If I had a question about anything, or I wasn't sure how things worked, he always recommended a book. My dad is not a fan of buying books either-- "Why would you buy a book when you can borrow it from the library for free?"

This week I checked out some books from the library about taking pictures of babies, and here is what I learned... just in case you're interested:

1. Don't use the flash.

I had really already figured this one out through experimentation only, but in order to capture natural color, natural light is best. Full shade or the light from a window or open door is the way to go.

2. Take lots of pictures.

By lots, the authors mean hundreds. I think you can see that I've mastered this one already.

3. Get really close to your subject.

I learned some good stuff about how close you can get and still have clarity (about 2 feet), and I am working on this one.

Anyway, I will continue to practice and memorize the other rules in the book. Let me know what you think of the results.

he's getting bigger...

We put Isaiah in the exersaucer and the jumper for the first time last week. He is definitely into the exersaucer. As soon as I put him in, he goes a little crazy grabbing whichever toy is in front of him. I think he needs a little more time on the jumper. He doesn't quite realize what's going on when he's in there.

merricks family photo

wedding weekend... a little late

Two weekends ago, we all traveled to Virgina for D.'s cousin's wedding. We survived both flights and had a great time visiting with D.'s family. Isaiah got to meet a lot of family members who he's never met before, and they all commented on how amazing and handsome he is, of course!

This post is delayed because we have both been sick! Both of us (Isaiah and I) have been to the doctor twice since we got home from VA. I think we are both officially on the mend now.

baby laughs

This afternoon as I was holding Isaiah he just cracked up. I really mean that. I have never heard him laugh so hard. The more I talked to him, the more he laughed. D. and I couldn't help cracking up ourselves. I think baby laughs send some type of special endorphins to my brain. It makes me so happy when he laughs... He is amazing.

rolling along

Isaiah rolled over today... front to back. You can see the "in action" photo here. D. wasn't here to see it, but I'm sure he'll roll over again. No worries there. It is amazing how much he's changing. He has so much more personality now--I get a lot of drool covered smiles. He laughs a lot now too. He enjoyed laughing with his Pop (my dad) this week.

spring "break"?

My family came to visit us for their spring break this week. I'm not sure that it was much of a break, but it was a lot of fun! They should get a medal for driving all the way out here with a 2 year old! The weather wasn't as nice as I hoped it would be, but we went for some walks, took trips to the park, and we discovered that a local kids' bookstore has a great indoor play area. We also celebrated my fast-approaching 28th birthday.

Easter baby

Here are our Easter pictures--Isaiah is shockingly handsome, isn't he? We had such a wonderful Easter. We're part of a new church that is being planted here in Oxford, and we enjoyed the early morning sunrise service with our church community. It was really a wonderful thing. We went to the formal Methodist church for the 11 o'clock service, (we like a little liturgy) and we were late as usual. Babies don't work well with schedules. It makes me laugh because now D. can't be mad at me for being late any more. Anyway, we ended up in the "overflow" watching the service on video from the gym. It wasn't so bad, though. Both of us took turns going to the back and walking Isaiah around anyway. We met with The Orchard again on Sunday night. It was amazing--a new church on Easter! We saw the day in a new way.

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.