Nebraska

Six weeks went much faster and was much busier than I had anticipated. The following are some highlights of our time in Nebraska that haven't yet made the blog...

Grandma
Isaac and Grandma Anne are the picture of mutual adoration. Isaac looked forward to smiling at her when he got up in the morning, sitting on the front porch with her and watching the trucks go by, and lunging for whatever necklace she happened to be wearing.


Grandpa
Part of our purpose in coming to Nebraska for these six weeks was to give me the chance to work on my dissertation while my dad watched Isaac. Almost every morning, Grandpa took Isaac on a 5 mile walk around my hometown. Pretty much everyone in town knows Isaac and enjoyed seeing a softer side of Mr. Burton. On mornings when they didn't walk, Isaac was a little confused and usually spent a least a little bit of time looking around for Grandpa. I'm not sure what either of them will do with their mornings when we get home.




Uncle Justin!
Nearly all time with Uncle Justin requires an exclamation point. Isaac LOVES Uncle Justin. And Uncle Justin tosses him in the air, holds him upside down, and flies him around the house. It was Justin who taught Isaac the anticipation inherent in counting to three, since counting to three with Justin almost always means you're about to be shot straight up in the air.



Burton Family Gathering
The last weekend in August, my dad's family had a reunion in Western Nebraska. Isaac enjoyed being passed among my dad's brother and sisters, falling instantly and madly in love with my cousin's daughters, viewing the polar bear at Olie's Big Game Bar and Grill, and generally entertaining everyone.



Great Grandma
During our stay, Isaac was able to visit with my mom's mom a few different times. Whenever Great Grandma leaned in for a smile, she was almost always rewarded with a smile in return which pretty much delighted her every time.


Babysitting
Isaac helped my mom and me babysit my cousin Cassie's two kids while she, her husband, and her parents were away at a wedding. Much hilarity ensued.


Baldwin Family Gathering
The Baldwin family gathered at our house on September 12 and Isaac got his first full fledge taste of the people, the noise, and the general hilarity that are part of Baldwin family gatherings. We look forward to many such gatherings in the future. A mini version with my mom and my aunt Betty will take place in Salt Lake City at my aunt Connie's house in just a couple of weeks.

Sleep Away

Isaac and I headed to Lincoln on Friday to visit a few friends. We'd originally intended to drive first to Nebraska City to see some friends there, but by the time we'd gone a distance that should have taken a little over an hour, we'd had to stop four times for Isaac to get out of his car seat and calm down. The kid was just not having a car trip. So we scrapped the Nebraska City plan and finally made it as far as Lincoln where we went to Target and then hung out at Barnes & Noble until it was time to go meet Keller. Keller, who has just turned two, has all sorts of interesting things to talk about, not to mention some serious dance moves. Keller's mom and dad, Katie and Butch are also awesome. After some really good take-out from The Oven, my favorite restaurant in Lincoln, and some quality time with Keller and company, Isaac and I headed out again for a sleep over with his cousins. My cousin and his wife were at the Nebraska football game in Seattle, but their boys, Caden and Ian, were home and Aunt Judy was babysitting for the weekend. Caden was there to greet us and to meet Isaac, but Ian (who'd already met Isaac during our August family reunion), although he tried so hard to stay awake for us, was sacked out on the couch when we arrived. We apologize for being so late, but, like Ian, Isaac was fast asleep as well. The next morning, when everyone was up and energized, Isaac had a busy time letting Caden, Ian, and Aunt Judy entertain him.

Keller

Keller, Katie, and Baby Ike

Playing ball for the first time.

Caden hanging out under the coffee table

and looking strikingly like his dad Phillip.

Ian reading Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes to Isaac

Cuddling.

Cereal

About two weeks ago, Isaac has his first taste of rice cereal. The baby books as well as my mom prepared me for rejection--he won't like it at first, he'll spit it out, there will be more cereal on him than in him. Isaac likes to do most things in front of an audience here in Nebraska, and cereal was no exception. Gathered around the high chair were my mom, dad, grandma, and aunt. Isaac surprised us all when he took to it right away, leaning toward the spoon, swallowing the entire first bite, and eventually grabbing onto my arm to make sure I was going to put each subsequent spoonful in his mouth. He ate the entire bowl and definitely made a very distinctive "Mmmmm," at one point. Really. The first bowl was pretty runny, but I've been gradually thickening it. He's been less interested in the last couple days, so I haven't decided yet if I'm making it too thick now or if he's just bored of rice and would like something newer and more exciting. Next on the menu is oatmeal--a food Ricci loves but about which I am less than enthusiastic. We'll be interested to see where Isaac stands on the issue. Vegetables, I've decided, will wait till we get back to Idaho so Ricci can be there for that first.

"What's this Mom?"

"Interesting..."

"More please..."

"Woah. I totally love this stuff."

Uncle Gabe and Uncle Felix

Last weekend, as part of his Nebraska adventures, Isaac traveled to Hershey, Nebraska to meet Ricci's uncles, Gabe and Felix. When we drove into town, we were greeted by a parade down main street. Apparently the parade had nothing to do with us, but it did make navigating the small town of Hershey surprisingly tricky. Both Gabe and Felix had Isaac laughing and smiling during our entire visit. Isaac had a great time with his uncles, and we hope to see them again on his next trip to Nebraska.

Isaac and Uncle Gabe

Isaac and Uncle Felix

5 Month Photo Shoot

Months 4 & 5

I'm ridiculously behind on updating the blog. This update will be quick but should get everyone up to speed. Isaac is now just over five months old and he's an entirely different baby almost every week. First of all, he's a big guy. He was a little over 16lbs at his four month check up and is about 19 or 20 lbs now. He rolls over (from his back to his stomach constantly but only a couple times from his stomach to his back--he mostly just whines and waits for you to flip him when he's ready to be on his back again). When I'm trying to get him to go to sleep and he's not quite ready, he enjoys taking the pacifier out of his mouth, examining it at great length and then attempting, in slow motion and usually unsuccessfully, to put it back in his mouth. He also really sweetly (though sometimes he's a little grabby) touches our faces when we hold him, and he often grabs us around the neck now when we pick him up. He's also honing his reaching and grabbing skills in general, and if he can get his hands on it he puts it in his mouth. Overall, he's more aware of what hew wants and how he wants it to happen, and he enjoys letting us now with little shouts and the occasional screech. His favorite song is Little Bunny Foo Foo, his favorite book is Moo Ba La La La, and he very much enjoys chewing on his toes.

He's been through a lot of travel and one big change in the last two months as well. In August, we moved to a new apartment. While it's smaller than our old basement apartment, the new place is part of a complex of married student housing on the campus Ricci attends. There are lots of kids around and great outdoor space both in front of and behind our little townhouse. We have an actual entrance with sidewalk rather than an unpaved grassy hill and there are lots more people to see and talk to. Grandma Anne and Grandpa Gene (once again) came to help with the move. We totally couldn't have done it without them.

Just after we moved to the new apartment, we threw another wild card his way and flew to Arizona to visit Ricci's family. We had a great time and Isaac loves his Grandma Jenny. His Aunt Kristi also drove down from Phoenix to spend the weekend with us. One of the best parts of being there was the way Isaac's little face lit up every time his Aunt Vanessa came into the room. He followed her with his eyes constantly and gave her a big grin when she looked at him. I'll get some Arizona photos up soon.

Ricci headed out to his first clinical year rotation on August 16th. This rotation is in a pediatrics clinic in Southern Utah, so when he left for Utah, Isaac and I headed to Nebraska to spend the six weeks Ricci will be away with Grandma Anne and Grandpa Gene. I'll update lots more on Nebraska in future posts. So far the rotation seems to be going well for Ricci, and Isaac is enjoying having his Grandma and Grandpa around to do whatever he tells them to.

Below are some photographic highlights of the last 8 weeks in the life of Isaac James Soto. As always, he's a total rock star and we love, love, love having him around.

Spitting up for Grandma and Grandpa.

The new place.

Sleeping Fat Man.

"Yup. I totally just rolled over. On purpose!"

"Mmmm. Toes."

Isaac and Puppy.

Angie and Family

Recently Angie, Mommy's friend from high school, stopped by with her husband and her two little girls. Angie lived next door to Uncle Pete and Aunt Connie in Salt Lake City when Mommy stayed there in the summers to watch Jill and Eric. It's amazing that those summers were seventeen years ago. Angie's little girls are 2 1/2 and 1. It's always great to see them all and the girls get cuter and smarter each time we visit.