Walky Talky

This is Ryan writing under the pseudonym of my wife. I hope this keep you guessing about who is writing all these posts and for that matter who is doing the sewing and cooking. Our little guy has been busy this last week. After Grandma Maddy got Isaac a large ball for his B-day he has started to say the word ball ("baaaa") probably at least 100 times per day. Sara says that when he wakes up from his nap he just starts off "baaaa" "baaaa" He will find the ball in the front room and just pound the shnikes (sha-nikes) out of it and chase it all over the room. Thats the talky. Just tonight he started walking on his own. It took a little coaxing (dad had to stick a toy in his mouth not unlike a dog with a bone), but he took some steps on his own. He is about as stable as his papa on ice skates. Needless to say we had to brush the carpet out of his teeth because he turfed it so hard a couple times. Thats the walky. We have included a couple of clips--hope you all enjoy. It is exciting to see little Ike grow.

Salsa Recipe

My friend Jenni makes some great salsa and ever since Ryan and I first tried it I knew that we needed the recipe. Jenni is a busy girl but I finally tricked her into coming over this afternoon to teach me how to make it. It is even better than I remembered! She gave me permission to share it, so here is the recipe--- as close as I could get it---she basically just throws in all the ingredients and adds stuff until it "tastes good". I am writing this down for myself more than anyone else right now since it's still fresh on my mind. I just hope I can duplicate it without her help next time!

Jenni's Salsa

• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
• garlic cloves, minced (to taste--I used approx. 10)
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
• juice from 1 lemon
• juice from 1 lime
• 8 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
• leaves from 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 small cans diced green chilis
• 1/2 cup jalapeños from a jar, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup peppercinis from a jar, finely chopped
• Italian seasoning, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• onion powder, to taste
• poultry seasoning, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add spices to taste. Make sure to have a lot of chips handy!

The master cook herself, "testing" the salsa

I gave Isaac some salsa and he loved it, jalapeños and all (it kind of puts him in a trance, as you can see from said photo) Sorry about the mediocre picture--our camera wasn't as fast as Isaac was and he always ate the salsa off the chips faster than I could snap a picture.

The only Easter picture of Isaac, enjoying his first peep. I forgot to post it earlier this week.

Word Candy

I just wanted to give a little shout-out to my amazing sister and her online business. She is doing a give-away this week on the following blog: www.ilovegiveaways.blogspot.com, so if you want to win some free vinyl lettering, go sign up!

Here is the link to her online business: www.wordcandyvinyl.blogspot.com.

Good luck with the give-away!

Still Obsessed

I still can't get enough of sewing! Here are a few projects that have been keeping me busy. The only problem is that once I start something, I can't rest until I stop! I figure I better get in as much as I can while baby #2 is still yet to arrive. My friend Lisa and I each made one of these capes for an auction that was held a couple of weeks ago to raise money for a little boy with Leukemia. They sold for $42 (for the two of them). Hooray! We were happy that they at least covered the cost of the material that was purchased to make them. My sister made my 3 year-old nephew one of these and he can't get enough of it! Here is an online tutorial if you want to make your little one a super-hero cape of his/her own.

This is a blanket I made for baby #2

This is my latest project--nursing aprons (aka "Hooter Hiders")--they keep you modest if you ever have to nurse your baby in public. I have wanted to buy one since Isaac was born but they cost anywhere from $35-$45 which is just too pricey. I went online yesterday to see if I could find any on sale and I ran into this tutorial. Hooray! I was able to make one for myself and one for my sister-in-law (who's expecting her first baby any day now) for just a few bucks. The only thing that I did different than the tutorial was add a couple of pockets to the hooty for storing burp towels, nursing pads, etc. Definitely not as professional as the real deal but way cheaper!

Spring Break Vacation

This past Friday, in honor of the beginning of Spring Break, Ryan's parents, Lynn and Mary-Ann, came to visit us. We had so much fun spending time with them and traveling to several different attractions here in the Midwest. We started out by meeting them in Kansas City. We got our fill of delicious bbq at Jack Stacks and visited the famous Plaza. It was still too cold for the fountains to be turned on, so we will have to make a return trip to see all of that.

We stayed over in Kansas City and the next day headed out to a bunch of Church history sites, including Independence, Liberty Jail, Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahmen, and the grave site of John Whitmer in Kingston, Missouri (population 287). My personal favorite was Adam-Ondi-Ahmen--it was really beautiful even in the bleak early spring---I can't imagine what it will look like in late spring/early summer.

Mary-Ann and Isaac at Liberty Jail.

Ryan, Isaac, and Me at Adam-Ondi-Ahmen in Kansas

Isaac falling asleep on Lynn after traveling from KC (my favorite picture of the bunch)

After our religion overload, we headed back to Des Moines and decided we needed a little bit of materialism--so we planned a trip to the Mall of America. So fun! We drove to Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon. Upon arriving there, we did a little drive-by of downtown and stopped at the sculpture garden (even though it was pitch black, muddy, snowy, and 10 o'clock at night). It was actually really cool--I can only imagine how cool the sculptures would be in the daylight!

Ryan and Isaac at the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis--we drove a long way to get a picture of that huge spoon with the cherry on in (can you see it?). It was about 10pm and most of the sculptures weren't visible, but thanks to Ryan's exceptional navigational skills and Lynn's big city driving know-how, we only got lost half a dozen times before finding the garden. It was totally worth it.

We stayed over in Minneapolis that night and woke up the next morning and headed to the MOA. There are over 500 stores in that mall! It was enormous. I must say that the coolest part of the mall was the underground aquarium. There were tons of sharks and other sea creatures. I think even Isaac was impressed.

Ryan and Isaac at Lego land in the Mall of AmericaRyan at the aquarium --notice the sharks swimming behind him

Me and the sea turtles--one of the things on my list of "Things to do before I die" is to go to Costa Rica and see baby sea turtles hatch and crawl up from the sand.

This freaky creature followed us the entire length of his section of the aquarium with his little eye on us the entire time! All that separated us was a thin piece of glass/plastic.

Isaac with the "Shark Bunny" outside of the aquarium.

After checking out all of the fish in the aquarium, we had really worked up an appetite--so we headed to Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant to eat some to those delicious creatures.

We then made the trek back to Des Moines. I have to hand it to Lynn and Mary-Ann--I think they had put almost 2000 miles on their odometer in a matter of 5 days--and they still had to drive back to SLC! Isaac didn't do too bad himself--only one major meltdown over the course of traveling through 4 different states.

On Tuesday we gave them a grand tour of Des Moines and had a travel-free day. It was great. We were sad to say goodbye to them on Wednesday morning but knew they couldn't sleep on the air mattress in our living room forever (though we offered!). They spoiled us rotten while they were here and we loved having their company. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Now that Lynn and Mary-Ann have left us, Spring break hasn't been nearly as exciting, though we did make it to the park yesterday. It has been so fun to spend time with Ryan all day. I keep trying to convince him to quit school so we can be a stay-at-home family every day, but it's not working very well. He said he would consider it if I could come up with a better alternative than medical school. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We took Isaac to the park yesterday since it was so beautiful outside (he's still a little bit young to enjoy the playground).

Statistics and Pictures

I took Isaac to the doctor for his 12 month check-up yesterday. It turns out he weighs 20 lbs, 12 oz., which puts him in the 25th percentile for weight (which is consistent with where he's been). He is 29 inches long, which puts him in the 35th percentile for height. His head circumference, on the other hand, was 7.5 inches (I think), putting him in the 75th percentile for head size. Large heads sort of run on both sides of his family, so he doesn't stand a chance. Since he turned one this week, I thought I would blog about a few of his favorite things (for the record). Isaac loves:

• Wrestling with his dad.
• Throwing the ball back and forth with his dad.
• Dancing in the living room with his mom.
• Yelling for no good reason in the most inopportune places (like church)--not because he's upset--but because he just likes the sound of his own voice.
• "Reading" books by himself or with his mom (dad contributes every once in awhile as well).
• The sound of Ryan's keys in the door--he applauds Ryan every time he comes home--the clapping usually starts before he even opens the door.
• quesadillas
• yogurt
• beets
• throwing his sippy cup from his high chair to the floor (we're working on breaking him of this habit but decided it would be best to start the "tough-love" discipline AFTER Grandma leaves to go home from her upcoming visit).
• Standing up on his own, though he still shows no desire to walk (yet)
• Taking baths--he would spend all day in the tub if I let him.

Here are a few pictures from his little party the other night that I couldn't get posted earlier because of technical difficulties.

Happy Friday everyone! And Happy Spring Break!!! Isaac and Alec playing while the older kids helped me make cupcakes.

Austin cracked the eggs for the cake. While Nora did the mixing. Aren't they cute kids?

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Isaac and Ryan shortly after Isaac was born

I can't believe my little boy is a year old today! I have been so sentimental all morning just looking at pictures of when he was first born and even reading his "birth story" (yes, I actually wrote down what happened a couple of weeks after he was born) that I have even gotten misty-eyed a few times. So misty-eyed that I decided to post the story that I wrote a year ago. Feel free to stop reading now. Don't say I didn't warn you.

March 20, 2007

The following is sort of a journal/letter to Isaac Mitchell Payne. As his mother, I wanted to write about the experiences of the past 10 days. It has been an adventure and emotional roller coaster to say the least, but I feel like I am not the same person that I was before he was born and I wanted to write these memories and feelings down before I start to forget them.

Early Friday morning, March 9th, I woke up at about 1am in a mad rush to the bathroom. It was not unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom--in fact, it happened every night because I was 8 1/2 months pregnant and my poor bladder couldn't last through an entire night's sleep! This little bathroom excursion was different, though. I have never had to go to the bathroom that bad, and I remember thinking "This is so much! I don't remember drinking this much water last night!" The thought came to my head that my water might have broken. I had heard that when your water breaks it often feels like you have to use the bathroom really bad. I quickly convinced myself that that couldn't be possible--I was still 2 weeks away from my due date and not at all ready for him to come!! I didn't even wake Ryan up--I was convinced that it was a false alarm and that there was no need to wake him--plus, I was kind of embarrassed--hello, I’m 28 years old and I wet my pants! Still I went into Isaac's nursery and started reading a book that we received from our birthing class. It said that if your water breaks, you should notify your doctor immediately. Still unconvinced, I went back to bed to try and get some sleep, but I still kept wondering if my water really did break. I finally woke Ryan up at 2am and told him the news. He, of course, was unsure as well. We went upstairs and looked up a couple of things on WebMD.com (since it's an all-knowing website just like Wikepedia) and decided to call the hospital. They told us to come right in. I thought for sure they would send me home because I wasn’t having contractions or any other signs of labor. I showered and did my hair so that Ryan could drop me off at work after our little hospital visit.

Soon after we got to the hospital they tested the fluid to find out whether it really was amniotic fluid. I called the long-term sub that I had arranged and told her that I thought my water had broke, but not to tell anyone that I was in labor just in case I wet my pants. I did not want to go to work on Monday after everyone thought my water had broke and inform them all that it was just a weak bladder. I called the secretary and told her that I wasn’t feeling well. A few minutes later the doctors came in and informed me that my water indeed did break. I called Aby (the sub) back and let her know that I would need her 2 weeks early. She was ecstatic and told me it would be no problem.

25 hours after being admitted to the hospital and 29 hours after my water broke, Isaac Mitchell Payne was born. It took my body about 24 and ½ hours to jump-start itself and get ready for Isaac to come. Once I was dilated enough, I only had to push 3 times before he popped out. I was thankful for that because the pain medication had begun to wear off and I didn’t have much left in me. They placed him on my stomach and had Ryan cut the umbilical cord. It was a rush of emotions and exhaustion, so I really don’t remember all of my thoughts except that I was so happy he had finally come and I was worried that I was going to fall off of the bed because the nurse let my leg go and because of the epidural I couldn’t lift it back on the table by myself! Ryan and the nurse cleaned Isaac up and Ryan brought him right over to me. He looked exactly like his dad’s baby pictures!! I remember being so happy that he looked like Ryan—I had told Ryan on the way to the hospital, “I hope he looks just like you!” He did get my brown hair and his feet are exactly like mine (poor guy!), but other than that, he’s his daddy’s boy. He is beautiful. Everything else in the hospital went pretty much routine. We had the best nurses ever—one in particular was named Kathy. She called Isaac “peanut” because he was the smallest baby in the nursery-5 lbs, 15oz, and 18 inches long. Ginger, the nurse who took care of the babies in the nursery fell in love with him as well. We wanted to keep him in our room most of the time and she asked us to bring him back so she could take care of him! The day Isaac was brought home from the hospital

On Monday morning the 12th of March we were discharged from the hospital. Isaac’s doctor, Shana Eborn, let us know that his billirubin levels were a little bit higher than normal and she wanted to have his blood tested on Wednesday to make sure that he wasn’t in danger of jaundice. We weren’t too concerned because we knew that jaundice was a common illness among newborn babies.

On Wednesday morning we took him to the doctor and they got a sample of his blood. Dr. Eborn called us back on Wednesday afternoon and told us that we needed to rush him to Primary Children’s Medical Center because his billirubin levels had skyrocketed from an 11 to a 24. When levels get into the 30s and 40s they can be very dangerous and even cause brain damage in infants. Ryan and I packed a bag and drove him to the emergency room. I was, of course, extremely worried about him. Just before we left for the hospital, Ryan and Devin gave Isaac a blessing. It was one of the most tender things I have ever seen—Ryan loves Isaac so much, even at only four days old. I held Isaac during the blessing and listened as Ryan blessed him with the ability to overcome his jaundice and be strong. I felt a peace come over me and I knew he would be ok.

After he was admitted to the hospital we met with several doctors who explained the possible side effects of high levels of billirubin (i.e. spotting on the brain and permanent damage) as well as the high likelihood that everything would work out just fine. He was admitted into the RTU (Rapid Therapy Unit) at Primary Children’s and they quickly hooked him up to monitors and put him under the florescent lights. It was a very emotional time for me. I was so concerned about Isaac and I was also dealing with the pain and discomfort of having just gone through labor 4 days earlier. I remember calling my mother and just sobbing. I tried to explain to her that Isaac’s condition was a very common one and that everything was going to work out fine, but I couldn’t completely convince myself of that. She began to cry as well and when I said “It happens to newborn babies all of the time,” she said, “I know, but it’s different when it’s your newborn baby.” That was exactly how I felt. I knew in my heart of hearts that he would be ok, but it was still so heart-wrenching to see him hooked up to so many monitors and not be able to hold him. I felt like I was abandoning him somehow. I was so grateful that Ryan was there with me. I don’t know how parents with sick children do it. It was so sad to be in that hospital and see so many sick kids. My heart went out to them and their parents. For the first time in my life I knew what my mom meant when she used to say “This is going to hurt me a lot more than it hurts you.” I just wanted to take his pain away and make him better.

Ryan was such a support that night in the hospital. He had to sleep on the floor because it was against fire code to have more than one fold-out bed in the room. He never complained about it once. He just slept on the tile floor. He was also so concerned about both Isaac’s and my well-being. I don’t know what I would do without that man! He is so amazing and such a strength to me. I really feel like I can do anything with him by my side.

All of the technicians and nurses were also wonderful. Two different lactation specialists came and watched me feed him and gave me invaluable information about nursing him. That really was a blessing in disguise because Isaac has become such a good eater due to the information and techniques that they taught us. I never would have had that if he had not been admitted to the hospital. I remember walking into the bathroom the morning after Isaac had been admitted to the hospital. It was Thursday, March 15th. I just felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. I remember feeling so helpless and discouraged, almost like I was watching someone go through the experience instead of myself and there was nothing I could do to help. I came back to the room and just broke down and started sobbing. Ryan seemed to make everything better. He comforted me and calmed me down and I felt like I could go through it. Being able to hold and feed Isaac also helped so much. It gave me the hope I needed. Looking back in retrospect, it doesn’t seem like it was such a big deal, but those 24 hours were the hardest of my life. I’m sure that post-partum emotions played a BIG part, but more than anything I just wanted my son and family to be ok. I learned a lot about myself in those hours.

The night of the 15th the doctor came and told us that Isaac’s billirubin levels had gone down from 24 to 14, a significant drop, and that he would be able to be discharged. After they came and unhooked him from the monitors they let me hold him and gave us a few minutes alone. I just started sobbing. I can’t remember when I have ever cried quite like that. I just held him and I remember him looking up at me and the tears just wouldn’t stop. I truly felt the love of a mother. I have never loved something quite like I love Isaac. Isaac and I a couple of days after he was declared "jaundice-free"

Looking back, I realize that Isaac being sick was nothing compared to what some people have seen their children suffer through, but at the time it was the hardest thing I have ever done. But I am so grateful to have had the experience, however small and insignificant it might seem to someone else, it really helped prepare me for motherhood. The day Isaac was discharged from Primary Children's

If you are still reading this, you have no one to blame but yourself because I totally warned you at the beginning...

Death of a Cupcake

Last night it was our turn to babysit for Saturday Night Kid's Club. We decided that since it was so close to Isaac's birthday (he turns one tomorrow), we would have a little party with his friends. Granted, he will never remember any of it, but hopefully he will enjoy the pictures one day. Austin's birthday is also coming up in a few days, so we celebrated his big day as well. I'm having problems downloading any pictures, so hopefully I'll get that worked out soon and post them as well as the video.

Here is a video of Isaac eating his first cupcake. I apologize that it is turned sideways--I don't know what I was thinking and as far as I know you can't rotate them. He totally destroys the cupcake. It's great.

Trimester 3 Here We Come

Six down, three to go. Even though the time has flown by, I can't believe I have 3 more months to go! I'm already waddling like I'm 36 weeks pregnant and I grunt every chance I get! I have definitely gotten a lot bigger a lot faster with baby #2 than I did with Isaac, but I try not to complain too much (try being the operative word, of course). The prize in the end is well worth it.

Good Eats

Once a month a bunch of girls living here in Des Moines get together for Recipe Club. Anyone and everyone is invited. There is usually a theme and each girl makes a recipe regarding that theme. Then, they bring their food to the party along with copies of recipe to share with the group (or they post their recipes on this blog.

Erin and Cassie

Last night it was my turn to host the party. The theme I chose was "International Food," So everyone brought foods from different countries. All of the food was SO GOOD!! We had everything from Greek salads to crab wontons to chocolate Italian cakes to sushi.

Ryan and Isaac had a boys night out while the girls came over. The parties are always very well attended (hello? who doesn't love good food?), and I tried to explain this to Ryan, but I think he was a little surprised when he came home to put Isaac to bed (which didn't work out too well since Isaac quickly discovered it would be much more fun to stay up where the party was than go to sleep) and saw our apartment full of people.

When Isaac and Ryan did come home, Isaac was a little shocked to see so many strangers in his house and was clinging to Ryan and I like glue. I mentioned this to Ryan later on that night after everyone had left. "Did you notice how wary of all the girls Isaac was when you first came home?" I said.

"Isaac?" Ryan replied, "What about me? I was more scared than anybody. When I came home and looked around, there were like 15 different conversations going on at once and all of you talking together made this weird buzzing noise. I've never heard anything like it."

He retreated very quickly to our bedroom and stayed there until all the girls left. What does he expect when you get a bunch of women together with a lot of food? He didn't mind having the party here, though, because he got to eat a bunch of the food that I saved for him after everyone left.

In all my haste as hostess I forgot to take pictures of all of the good food. I did take a picture of the cookies I made earlier that day. By the time I remembered to take a picture of all of the other food, most of it had been eaten!

Polka-dot kisses cookies (recipe courtesy of Ryan's South African Mother)

Isaac with Laura Lee (after he got over the shock of all the people)

My Latest Obsession

is sewing. I absolutely love it. It all started when my friend Skye taught me how to make a baby blanket. Now I just can't stop. I get together with a few of my girlfriends once a week just to sew. Lucky for me, they all know what they are doing and are patient with me and all my questions (like how to thread a bobbin, because I didn't even know how to do that--but I do now!). They have even been kind enough to let me use their sewing machines (thank you, girls!!) until I remembered last week that Mary-Ann, Ryan's mom, left her sewing machine here last time she came to visit us (Thank you, Mary-Ann! I am putting it to good use and it works like a charm!!)My latest project is this rag quilt.

This is the "quilt side"

This is the "rag side" My only issue now is deciding what to sew next...

The Secret Life of Bees

My sister recommended this book to me ages ago and I finally took the opportunity to read it. It was excellent. It takes place during the civil rights movement in South Carolina, so there are a lot of racial issues that the main character, Lily, is confronted with. She ends up living with a house full of African-American women, which baffles everyone because she is a 14 year-old Caucasian girl. It is very well written, even though it is the author's first novel. I would recommend it to just about anyone (especially you, Kandis).

Isaac Takes a Stand

Here is the latest video of our pride and joy. It was taken about a month ago, before our camera broke. Please ignore my high-pitched voice and concentrate on how long he stands by himself---I counted 17 seconds but I think I was being quite conservative since the video is 34 seconds long.

Lately he loves to crawl over to us, pull himself up, and then throw his hands in the air as soon as we shout "stand up!"

Being his mother, I think it's the cutest thing ever.