Sunshine!

After battling the stomach flu all week long (it started with Joshua, then came to me, back to Joshua, then to Leah, and finally to David), we were grateful to see a warm (for this time of year) and sunny afternoon that allowed us to spend some time outside after naps today. David's still recovering after being extremely sick Friday night and yesterday, but the kids both seem to be getting back to normal. Leah seemed to enjoy the swing (she went into the "zone," just like Joshua used to do) and those little fingers went straight into her mouth!

A single shot sans fingers :)

(Note the adorable Tar Heel hoodie--on loan

from my friend Katherine...gotta start 'em young!)

Joshua was over the moon excited to get outside!
(Although you can't tell it from this picture...

we're back to the blank stare face in most

pictures these days...oh well.)

Joshua loves climbing up the ladder to the

club house all by himself.

And he LOVES the slide!

"Mommy say: Ready, set, go!"

Leah was ready to go inside at this point...

So Joshua leaned over and said, "It's okay, baby girl."

Haha...guess he's heard me say that a time or twenty!

***

Today reminded me yet again how grateful I am for a big backyard and a wonderful playset given to us by our friends the Saunders. I am so over winter weather and SO ready for spring!

Finger pictures

My mom thinks that Leah's obsession with her fingers is adorable, so here are a few more pictures for her :)

That looks says, "As long as I've got these two fingers, I'm good, Mommy...well, that's until I decide I need to be held, and then I can't promise you anything." Silly precious girl :)

Weekend visitors

We had 2 visitors at our home this weekend! Uncle Jon came to see us on Sunday...like any smart Isgett, he knows that he gets baby snuggles all to himself if he comes out to our house. If you wait until a big Isgett get-together in Durham, you have to share the baby with too many other people! :)

L-O-V-E this picture! How cute are they?!

Leah was in baby heaven--someone who wanted

to hold her non-stop! As you can also see in this

picture, she is quite intrigued with her own hands.

And Grandma came to visit for the whole 3-day

weekend--hooray!

Leah was watching Joshua, as usual :)

Joshie and his buddy Gramma :)

She is president of the Joshua fan club...I love

to see how much my parents and David's parents

love our little ones!

***

We finished up Leah's nursery, made a trip out to Carter's near the airport (baby girl clothes are SO stinkin' cute, and that's coming from someone who doesn't care at all about adult clothes), and watched fun movies. Mom always offers to take us out for dinner one night when she's here, but because of our disastrous outing to Ruby Tuesdays for my free birthday meal the previous weekend (David and I have sworn off trying to eat out with Leah until she gets over her evening fussies and extreme clingy-ness...it was not fun), we just brought dinner home with us, which was still a treat! We also had Leah's 4 month appointment yesterday, and the doctor said she looks great--she was 25% for everything (13lbs 4oz for weight), so it looks like she's following Mommy's growth curve and will be on the petite end, but she sure makes petite look cute and chubby! We are big fans of bank holidays around here, because Daddy had Monday off from work and got to spend 3 whole days at home with us. All in all, it was a great weekend--we love when Grandma comes to visit :)

Who needs a pacifier...

...when you have delicious fingers like these?

A number of weeks ago, little Leah discovered her pointer and middle fingers on her left hand. Now, her right hand will do if her her left hand is occupied, but she definitely favors her left hand. She can be found sucking on those two fingers almost all the time...laying down, sitting in her swing or Bumbo chair, in the bathtub, and sleeping at night. I must admit, it is pretty stinkin' cute :)

"Fingers, what fingers? I don't know

what you're talking about, Mommy."

Pretty cute, don't you think? :)

Smiles for Daddy

No need for captions...just Leah loving her Daddy :)

Playtime

Just a few pictures of playtime on the playmat:

Wearing one of her new sleepers from

Grandma Martha...too cute!

I have no idea why Blogger loaded the picture
this way...it should be horizontal and not
vertical.


This is the "Mommy, I need to be held NOW"
face I get way too many times a day

Who needs to jump when you can just

spin around on one foot?

Joshua's version of a group shot ;)

If you have to turn 30...

...it helps to have a sweet and thoughtful husband to make a seemingly mundane day special.

David usually gets home from work around 6:15pm, and usually calls when he's about 30 minutes away so that I can get dinner ready (sometimes traffic on I-40 makes him later, so that's why he calls). He called last night around 5:30pm to say that traffic was a little heavy, so I waited to get dinner going.

At 6:00pm, there was a knock at the front door. It was already dark outside and I didn't have the porch light on, so I was a little surprised that someone was at the door. When I turned on the light, I could see David out the window, and when I opened the door, I saw that somebody had been fibbing about traffic problems :)

David had worked through lunch so that he could leave a little early. He picked up our favorite pasta dish (Pasta Milano) and bread from Macaroni Grill, my favorite flowers (gerbera daisies), and quite possibly the sweetest card I've ever received. He figured if we couldn't go out for my birthday, he'd bring it all home to me. (We jokingly said that we could pretend Leah fussing as we ate--which she always does because we're not paying her enough attention, in her opinion--was the random Italian singer they always have walking around at Macaroni Grill). David TOTALLY surprised me and definitely my day. It made turning 30 *slightly* easier :)

New Year, huh?

I can't believe it is already 2011...I feel like my internal calendar kind of stopped when Leah was born in September, so the fact that she is already four months old is crazy to me. Add to that the fact that my 30th birthday is today...I'm pretty much in denial ;)

Just to catch up on the last couple of weeks...

We went down to Greenville on Christmas day to my Aunt Sydney and Uncle Paul's home to celebrate with my mom's side of the family--there were a number of family members there who met Leah for the first time. Let me tell you--doing a day trip with 2 kids that still nap and all the stuff that goes along with that is exhausting! We spent as much time in the car as we did there, but we had such a nice time with family, and the food my Uncle Paul made was delicious! Everyone was so generous to our little family. I especially love the beautiful new books my cousin Tifanie got the kids: The Polar Express for Joshua and a Fancy Nancy book for Leah. And as usual, I took my camera and didn't take a single picture. But I also had a gassy (and therefore very fussy) baby to take care of, so that's my excuse for this time ;)

My grandma was extremely generous this year and David and I used our gift money from her to buy a nice new DSLR camera. We've had a point-and-shoot for years, and it is really difficult to get good pictures of kids on the move. We were looking for something that would be easy for beginners to use, but also had nice capabilities for when we have time to learn (someday, right?) Our new camera came yesterday and we're so happy to have it!

After our day in Greenville, my parents and brother came up to stay with us for the rest of the weekend. Grandma and Grandpa got all kinds of great presents for the kids, including church clothes, "Mater's Tall Tales" DVD, some new books, and a new Lightning McQueen car that makes all kinds of noise (and thankfully has an "off" switch that Mommy uses 90% of the time!) for Joshua, and some precious new clothes and decorations to finish the nursery for Leah. My brother brought up his Blu-Ray of "Inception" to christen our new player--AMAZING. We also gave gifts in my parents' honor through Oxfam: two school uniforms so that a child could attend school (in honor of my mom) and building tools (in honor of my dad). My brother had to work on Monday, so they weren't able to stay long, but we loved having them here!

Joshua's not big on coloring (his nursery coloring pages come home looking brand-new...we have to search on the page for some light marking in a corner somewhere to see that he actually did some coloring), but we worked on a page in his Cars coloring book this morning. I colored in Mater's name for him, but he did the rest. Can you see how thrilled he is to show me the finished product? haha :)

At least I got a smile out of him :)

Love that crazy boy!

Joshie's masterpiece

She will not look at the camera...ever.

Like I was saying...

And again. Oh well...at least she's a cutie :)

***

Joshua has been exploding with his language recently--saying tons of new words and phrases everyday and saying lots of older words more clearly. He loves to talk on the phone to family (and press the number buttons in their ears to make it beep). He's also got a few songs that he likes to sing for us: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (which I have sung to him every night before bed since he was little), the Snowman song from nursery, and the first verse of the hymn "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" (which David likes to sing to him). Is there anything sweeter than hearing a little one sing? Leah likes to communicate by cooing and babbling these days--it is pretty sweet as well (and much better than the fussing and crying I hear when she wants to be held...which is pretty much all the time!) There's your little update on what's been going on here :)