Introducing.....Olive Ella Isaac!

Olive Ella Isaac
born exactly two weeks early on Thursday, July 24th at 8:22 p.m.
She weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 19 inches long.
Mama and baby are healthy, and she is absolutely a dream!
Details and more pictures coming soon!

Olive is almost here!

I'm currently 38 weeks pregnant with our daughter (can you believe it!? a girl!!!) Olive. This pregnancy has definitely been challenging, particularly for the first 5 months. I am definitely ready for her to be here, but still not completely satisfied that I have everything done that I want to with the house, her room, etc...probably just that crazy nesting instinct that guys don't particularly understand entirely! ;) I have an appointment with my OB on Wed. to see how much more I have progressed, and he has suggested scheduling an induction for this upcoming weekend. I'm not totally sold on the idea yet, although I recently received some extremely encouraging news from a friend of Suzanne's...who was basically in the same situation I am and she just had a healthy baby girl after an induction and 5-hour labor! So that gave me hope! I will ask a TON of questions on Wednesday until I feel like I have my answer.

And although it may sound crazy, I have a plan! There is an Italian restaurant, Scalini's, in Atlanta that is known for their eggplant parmesan that puts nearly due preggo women into labor within 48 hours of eating the dish! I've been to the restaurant before and have looked at their "baby wall" filled with 300 pics of babies born after their Mamas ate the eggplant parm! The restaurant has graciously posted the recipe online. So I am thinking of scheduling the induction for Saturday and then having Roby make me the delish dish and eating it like crazy friday night and sat. day and praying that I will go into labor naturally and that God will make Olive an eggplant baby! ha! Wouldn't that be a story to tell the grandkids! Who knows if I'll go through with it, just one of my crazy ideas! (By the way, they aren't quite sure what it is about the entree that sends women into labor. Some theorize that it isn't even the eggplant, but the combination of herbs such as oregano and basil that may have a labor-inducing effect.) If you want to check out the baby wall: http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm

So the next time I write here, our little bambino will have arrived! And, as always, we really would appreciate your prayers during this exciting, yet stressful, time! Thanks!

Loooong overdue Owen update!

It has been so long since I have updated everyone on what's been going on with the O-man! His second year has been exciting, but has held some challenges. If it tells you anything, we've recently invested in The Strong Willed Child by Dr. Dobson, as well as The No-Cry Discipline Solution. Don't get me wrong, he is thee sweetest, most loving, affectionate child, but he just likes to say No! alot and has very selective hearing. :) I suppose this is common 2-year-old behavior though! Let's see, where to begin? Let's start with his obsessions!

He still loves construction vehicles/trucks, particularly diggers, and can distinguish between front loaders, excavators, cranes, bucket trucks, brush trucks, garbage trucks, recycling trucks- you get the picture! There is a lot of construction going on around here, so he is forever pointing everything out to me.

Owen also continues his unabashed adoration for robots, so thank goodness Wall-E recently came out! We took him to the drive-in movies to see it and he was spellbound! Oh and dinosaurs, he has his little menagerie of dinosaur figures and can distinguish which ones are which- "The one with a frill is a Triceratops, the one with the spikes is a Stegosaurus, the big one is a T-Rex, the one that flies is a Pterodactyl." I think I learn right along with him!

Another activity he absolutely enjoys is putting together puzzles. He has a dinosaur floor puzzle that he has basically memorized where every piece goes and can put it together in record time! We have since moved on to a smaller 24-piece Green Eggs and Ham puzzle, which he mastered in one night!

Owen loves singing, specifically "Jesus Loves the Little Children" (which is SO sweet-sounding coming from his adorable little voice), "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "Ba Ba Black Sheep," "Tomorrow" (I think that's the name...the one from Annie) and, of course, the alphabet song...which he now sings "O O O O P" because he knows everyone gets a kick out of it!

He still has a hard time pronouncing some words, but some are way too cute to correct, like Fuperman, and Fippa Ja Jones (for his Skippy John Jones book), Bump Truck, "pasta" instead of hosta, and for awhile grasshoppers were "ass boppers" :) There are so many more, but I can't recall them all right now. I have started teaching him how to sound things out like "Duh, Duh, dump truck," and he can say it correctly if he really tries. But now when we don't understand something he is saying, he will say Duh, Duh and then the word, whether it begins with a D or not. Hey! At least he is trying! :)

A few other random things, he *loves* to snuggle, and he isn't quite gentle either so he basically rolls all over you and jams his face into yours...so it will be interesting how we will get him to be gentle with Olive, who he can't wait to meet by the way! He talks to her every day and calls her "olve" and says she is a ladybug. He tells her stories and enjoys laying his head on my belly when she has hiccups and thinks it's hilarious that he can feel her move. He is already so generous toward her, always wanting to help get things ready for her, like paint her room, and is excited that she will be using his old crib, swing, toys, etc. Not one ounce of jealousy about her using all his stuff..he even gave up his room for her without a whimper. Hopefully he won't be jealous of her when she arrives, but I am thinking he is just going to be so happy that she is here! So cute!

Owen signs I love you the correct way and tells us all the time, says his name is Owen Isaac Anders Isaac, starts his made up stories by saying "one a time," plays a game where he says, "you are a digger, I am a bucket truck," loves his new big boy twin bed, is very polite and even says, "Excuse me Mama, I would like to say something" if he is interrupting a conversation, loves taking showers, would wear his rain boots every day inside and out if I would let him, and enjoys dancing-even trying to break dance.

And, drumroll please, he is almost fully potty trained! Yippee! I decided to start trying while reinforcements were here and was just so determined to not have two kids in diapers. For awhile he has been using his Elmo Potty before bath time, but just didn't want to proceed any further. I am ALL for bribing...and that's all it took. At first it was a matchbox every time he actually went, if you know what I mean, and then I ran out of cars. So then Roby made a potty sticker chart/grid. Every time equals one sticker. Once he gets 5 stickers he gets some of a Hershey's candy bar, second five it's an ice cream cone, third set it's a dinosaur figure, fourth it's a matchbox, and last five it's a book. This system has worked like a charm! I'm proud to say that today he has finished his whole first chart and hasn't had an accident at all! He will even tell us in public places when he has to go! Now, if only he would stop being lazy about peeing in his pull-ups...we are almost there though!

I realize this was A TON of info on our little guy, but I really haven't written a proper update for him in over a year!

Owen's artwork

Owen has exhibited an interest in all things artistic since a young age (hmmmm, taking after his designer daddy perhaps?) and has always loved drawing, whether with colored pencils, pens, crayons, markers, etc. His favorite tool is the magnetic doodle pro that he is constantly drawing on. Because of the very zen nature of the doodler (erase it after you draw it...just like the monks who draw on the sand and let the waves lap away their art), i have to take pictures of his creations. He generally tells me what the subject of each masterpiece is, and I love the way he interprets things and sees the world! Here are his pieces starting from when he just turned two until recently! I hope you enjoy his creative endeavors as much as I do!

His very first work of art...a dump truck!

Pablo (the blue penguin character to the left of the doodler)

Bee

Gate

Snake

Backyardigan's house

Unidentified

My personal favorite-Dada :)

Stegosaurus

Triceratops

"Hummingbird whale"

Owen's interpretation of the Lady and the Tramp picture from this book:

Jacob's arrival!

Our close friends Shannon and Steve used to live down the street from us in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA- now they live in Bishop, Northern California. We are bummed being so far away from them, but thankfully we have been able to see each other on a few occasions since we moved down South. We were sooooooooo thrilled to learn of Shan's pregnancy, and how awesome that we could be preggo at the same time! I *love* that!

On Shannon's birthday, May 31st, Shan received the biggest birthday surprise ever-Jacob decided to come 10 days early! After an 8-hour labor and natural delivery (so proud of you girl!), Jacob arrived weighing in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and measuring 20" long. We can't wait to meet the little guy! Congratulations guys!

(Oh, and are we still on for the arranged marriage between Jacob and Olive down the road? ;)

Stephanie's baby shower

The Bingo girls threw a baby shower for Stephanie at Aimee's house, which was decorated with irises fresh from her amazing garden and glowing Indian stars we used at our wedding reception! Alyson made a diaper cake complete with le bebe's name. We all had a wonderful time celebrating the impending arrival of Adrian Alexander, who made his arrival on May 14th! He is the sweetest little thing, quite the sleeper, and has a wonderful fuzzy head. It's so fun to watch how Owen's buddy Isaac loves on his baby brother!

The Mama-to-be!

Aly and Aimmee grilled up a delish supper!

Jen is our resident drink maker...on the menu for that night? virgin frozen pina coladas (made with real pineapple juice, coconut, etc., not a mix, and for the non-preggos, )

Here he is!!!

Philly family visit!

Roby's parents, Pappa and Mummy, recently visited us for 2 months to help me with Owen while Roby went on several business trips. They are SO helpful, everything from cooking (I pretty much ate chicken curry with Naan, Biryani, and iced chais for 2 months straight! Which is good for Olive, since she'll hopefully have a taste for Indian food like Owen does!), cleaning, watching Owen, re-arranging the garage, painting the nursery and Owen's new room, shopping, crocheting Olive two blankets, landscaping, etc. Wow! What would I have done without them? While they were here, we celebrated my birthday, Pappa's birthday, our 5th wedding anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day and their 40th anniversary! Alot of celebrations going on!

For part of their stay, Roby's brother Rony, sister-in-law Rani, and our nieces Isabel and Anngelina drove down from Philly for a week and a family friend Jose Uncle, his wife and daughter, Alicia, flew out. We had quite a full house there for awhile, but had a fantastic time hanging out and doing some touristy things. Chattanooga isn't called the Scenic City for nothing!

Summer fun with Ammachy

Aboard the Southern Belle river boat on the Tennessee River

Rani is due a few weeks after I am! Everyone predicts they are finally having a boy, but we won't know until August!

The captain blew the horn just as I tried to snap a pic of the proud grandparents!

We took the kids to Coolidge Park, and they absolutely loved playing in the fountains, although Anngelina and Owen were a bit more apprehensive and needed their Daddies by their sides. Rony and Roby didn't have trunks with them, but it didn't stop them from having a good time!

Happy birthday Pappa!

Wow, 32 already? Crazy!

Roby and I have been married 5 years and together 8! Since we had visitors in town, we haven't yet properly celebrated, but hopefully we will get a chance to soon! (yeah right, i really envision that happening with a baby due any minute! ;)

Isabel is a budding Rachel Ray and enjoys learning about cooking. Here she is putting the mint leaves she picked from my backyard in the iced team maker. For our cookout, she also helped me prepare the potato salad and mac and cheese! I love that she has such an interest in the culinary arts!

Jose Uncle with his family

Our friends Sherine and John were recently married and decided to go on a year-long honeymoon, driving cross-country visiting various friends, relatives and sites, ending up on the left coast to live in CA for a year. What an awesome idea! They happened to be visiting relatives in Atlanta and drove up to have breakfast with us so we could visit for awhile. Good luck on your adventure guys!

Owen rocked at helping paint Olive's nursery (we primed this wall with magnetic primer) a grass green and his room a chill blue. Thankfully we are getting new carpet in tomorrow so we didn't have to worry about him spilling.

Owen loves his Appachan and Ammachy!
He was sad to see them go, asking if he could go to Philadelphia with them. While dropping them off at the airport, Ammachy gave him some money for ice cream (all grandmothers are the same aren't they? :) and he said the bill was a plane ticket so he could go too. Awwww.