thefritzes.net » isaac

Stormy Monday

amy — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:46:59 +0000

I was all set for another steamy day, but at about 11:30 the clouds were rolling in and by shortly after noon the temperature dropped to 68 degrees and the rain started pouring. Audrey and Ethan were declaring that they were going to die. Audrey was saying, “We’re going to Heaven!”. Isaac was copying her We survived. There was a ton of rain in a very short time. There are some tree limbs down here and there. Half a tree seems to have fallen over the Luce Line trail east of town. Our basement has stayed dry. It really makes us think that our earlier flooding was due to how saturated the ground was and not as much about a particular heavy rain storm.

Ethan started working on his “+1″ math facts today. If only all days were this easy! After we finished our school work, I let the kids watch an episode of Liberty’s Kids on netflix. It’s an animated show set against the American Revolutionary War. They enjoy it and it’s a little break for me. Swimming lessons were canceled for the evening because of a power outage. That meant that I could get my run in earlier.

Nathan and the kid finished their evening by playing outside and pulling weeds from the rockbeds!

They filled up the wagon a couple of times.

Earlier this afternoon, while Isaac was napping, I worked on some things on the computer. When I got up to do something else, I found Audrey napping in the middle of the den.

She was wearing her “princess” mask” and was fast asleep.

And, a bonus photo from the other day:

We call this the lion princess. I can’t believe she pulled this costume out and then put her princess dress on over it. That’s our girl!

Running again (sort of)

amy — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 01:24:33 +0000

I’m so thankful that the pain in my knee seems to be gone! I’m taking it very slow and working through the couch to 5k program again. I’m accelerating it a little because I think I’m just going to run every other day instead of 3 times a week. So, some weeks that will be 3 times and some weeks it will be 4. It’s been hot, but I have a water bottle and it’s really not that bad since I’m only running for 90 seconds at a time right now!

If I’m feeling good, I may try to do the nickle dickle race in Waconia in September, but I’m not training for anything right now. It’s just in the back of my mind as a possibility.

We spent some time at the park this afternoon and I was able to get some good photos:

I think we’re going to do a beach morning tomorrow! With Nathan along it’s always more fun! I do less calling out, “Don’t go out so far!”

Fun Photos

amy — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:17:17 +0000

Audrey has the cutest gun. Yes, that’s a gun made out of bristle blocks. Daddy helped.

Isaac loves parfait.

All Mondays Should Be Like This!

amy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:33:16 +0000

It’s Monday and I didn’t want today to feel like a gloomy Monday. I wanted to do something to really enjoy the day. After doing a few tasks around the house, I told Ethan and I Audrey that we were going to do something. I didn’t tell them what it was. I just let them follow me to Audrey’s room where I pulled out Audrey’s swimming suit. Then I went to the boys’ room and grabbed their suits. Immediately, Audrey was exclaiming, “Are we going to swimming lessons?” “Are we going to the beach?” Even Isaac was excited.

So, we spent the morning at the beach and the weather was perfect. I’ve never seen my kids happier than when they are playing in the water. It was an added bonus that we ran into some people we knew from our church. We shared beach toys and they helped watch the boys when I took Audrey to the bathroom (so much easier than having to take all three when they would rather be playing).

We did school this afternoon and wrapped up the day with swimming lessons. Ethan has lessons at the same time as the Baker kids. Audrey looks forward to seeing “Erica’s sister” when we go. Poor Audrey was a little confused when I explained that is was Tim’s sister, not Erica’s. I got to hear all about the Warrior Dash that Kristen did. Crazy! I can’t even imagine a race that had enough people that had starting times all day for 2 days.

I got out and ran a tiny bit tonight. It was mostly walking since I’m trying to be patient with increasing running. I’m basically starting the Couch to 5k over again. I know that I have the endurance to run farther than I am now, it’s just the physical part I want to be careful about.

How about a photo? This morning, all three waving to Nathan as he left:

Happy Birthday, Dear Isaac

amy — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:39:05 +0000

2 years old already?

For a few months Nathan and I were content that Audrey would be our last child. Then we lost my mom and I didn’t know how I would feel about raising a child that my mom never knew. Somewhere along the line we decided again, that when we pictured our kitchen table in the future, it just didn’t seem full enough. We wanted one more child. And God gave us Isaac. The last of our “vowels”. We have no plans to add an “O” or a “U” to the mix!

I don’t miss pregnancy and I wont miss having to figure out feeding schedules and nap schedules for a newborn, but I’ll miss the toddler stage. I love the enthusiasm, getting to know their personality as they begin to talk, soft- kissable cheeks with the remnants of baby fat, how you run with your head down and fists pumping and hearing “hold you” when he wants me to pick him up.

Happy Birthday, Isaac. You make my job more exciting!

Isaac’s birth story can be found here, here, and here.

Transitions for Isaac

amy — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:14:50 +0000

I was a bit nervous about how things would go when we took down the crib. I am amazed and so thankful that the transition has gone so well. It was right before Isaac was 22 months. I believe that timeline puts him between the ages that we transitioned Ethan and Audrey. Ethan was older than 2 when we made the switch. I think Audrey was 20 or 21 months. He has gotten out of bed a couple of times, but it’s been manageable and he’s been compliant when I’ve had to put him back in bed. In the morning, Isaac has gotten up a little early a couple of times. He’s still learning that he’s supposed to stay in bed until the light comes on. Once the light turns on, all the kids come into our room and snuggle into our bed. Audrey hears the commotion. That’s how she knows it’s okay to get up.

Because the bed transition went well, we decided it was time to tackle the big one- sort of. We’ve eliminated all pacifier use except for bedtime and nap time. Again, I thought it would be a lot harder, but Isaac has only asked for it a couple of times. He’s talking much more without that darn thing in his mouth. I’m hoping that within a couple of days of not having the paci during the day that he’ll forget to ask for it at nap or bedtime. If he doesn’t “forget” on his own, I think next week will be the week that we’ll just toss them and deal with the aftermath. It might not be that bad. The other changes haven’t been. It makes me more optimistic.

Stretches for IT Band Syndrome relief

amy — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:13:55 +0000

Sidelying TFL – IT Band stretch.

Supine Hamstring Stretch

These work best when your toddler isn’t lying on top of you. It’s perfectly acceptable for him to join in on his own though. You can even make it a family event and have more children join in on the fun.

Isaac’s Bed (and a few other shots)

amy — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:06:52 +0000

Isaac’s bed isn’t really that pretty to look at. He doesn’t have any cool bedding. He does have a noodle though! That’s attached to the side of his bed to keep him from rolling out at night. The side rail wasn’t working well because Isaac couldn’t figure out that he didn’t need to dive head first over it to get out. We’ll probably try it again in a month or so.

The gang’s all here. The boys let Audrey enter.

Finally, here’s Audrey looking so pleased with herself. Notice that she has given up most of her bed to her stuffed animals. In fact, they get to sleep under the sheet. Audrey is choosing to sleep on the end of the bed where the sheet is tucked. So, she’s just under the top cover.

Isaac at 21 Months

amy — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:09:53 +0000

I have always loved the toddler age. I love their size. I love the laughter that happens all the time. I love hearing them talk with toddler pronunciations. I love the way they walk and run. I love the snuggles that happen right after nap time. It’s a fun stage.

Isaac loves to run around in circles and fall onto the floor in a great big plop. It’s not uncommon to find him in the tupperware cabinet. He’s also enjoying his new freedom of going up and down the basement stairs all by himself whenever he likes. At any given time he has at least 3 bruises on his head in various stages of healing. He is obsessed with dinosaurs and loves to be chased. In a few short months, Isaac will be 2!

I Love Daylight Saving Time!

amy — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 01:24:15 +0000

I know it doesn’t change the number of hours in the day or the actual number of daylight hours we have, but I love the little extra boost it give to mother nature as spring is arriving and it’s not dark so early in the evening. Also, it’s much easier, as a mom of young children, the morning of the time change, when it’s the “spring ahead” season. When my clock says that it’s 7:00, their little brains will feel like it’s still 6:00. At least it will be like this for a little while.

According to the ever popular and sometimes wrong, wikipedia:

Although daylight saving time is considered to be correct, daylight savings time is commonly used.^[110] The form daylight saving time uses the present participle saving as an adjective, as in labor saving device; the first two words are sometimes hyphenated, as in daylight-saving time. The common variants daylight savings time and daylight savings use savings by analogy to savings account.

I guess it doesn’t really matter what you call it. Both ways of saying it come to the same general meaning.

How about a photo? Here’s Isaac. He’s running away and “hiding” because he wants to wear his brother’s shoes!