One Year Down

On Tuesday Ryan took his final test of the year--hooray! It is so great to have him around more and not have to think about him studying (which I'm sure is much more of a relief to him than me). He did great this year and worked really hard, and we are really enjoying our time here (although back in February I had my doubts about surviving the subzero temperatures in the Midwest).

To celebrate him completing his first year, our fabulous friends, Logan and Ashley, took Isaac for the night and we went out on a date. It was wonderful (thanks guys!). Isaac did great with Ashley (or so she says), though when she first came over he thought she was here to babysit the house, and that he was going out with us. He kept waving to her and saying "bye! bye!"

First, we scored some free food at the new Chipotle restaurant that just opened up. I ordered the spiciest thing on the menu in hopes of inducing labor, but she's being stubborn and staying put for now. The food was great. We took it to-go and ate at a nearby park.

After that, we did a little shopping and bought little Isaac a new book (he is fascinated with word books lately--so we found a "100 first words book" and he loves to point out the dog, ball, and car. Only 97 more words to master.

After shopping we took a long walk around Grey's Lake where I made Ryan hold my hand pretty much the whole time because there was no stroller to push. He was a trooper and hardly complained at all :)

After the walk we headed home and Ryan whipped up a batch of Orange Julius for Ashley and Logan and I. It was a great night and a great start to the summer. Only 9 days 'til my due date! Something tells me I'll have to don that ugly brown shirt for one more photo op! For every one's sake I hope she hurries up!

Hurry Up and Wait

19 more days until her due date. Can I survive that long?? I hope so. I am actually feeling really really good, so I don't have an excuse for complaining, but that never stopped me before, now did it? I just want to meet her! I am past the point of hoping she comes after Ryan finishes his last final---I hope she comes today. He can study in the hospital, right? I am really trying to take advantage of these last few weeks with just Isaac (really, Mary-Ann, I am!), but it is easier said than done. Two are twice as fun as one, right?

I even packed my bag this morning (most of it, anyway), which I have been putting off out of pure laziness. I found this dress online a few weeks ago and decided that I had to get it for her so she could look all cute the day she leaves the hospital. The little bonnet that goes with it is my favorite!

Anyone have any labor-inducing tricks?

Take two

Apparently some people could not see the video of Isaac walking and wanted some new footage. Whatever PaPa Payne wants he seems to get. Here is our little guy making his way down the hall of our apartment building.

Nose Dive

This video clip was taken a little while ago. Isaac loves to climb up on the couch and then dive off. We've since convinced him that feet first is a little bit more comfortable and safe than plummeting off head first. He even taught Fisch how to do it when he was out here for a visit. This next video was taken just this morning. He is becoming quite the little walker. We practice walking down the hall outside of our apartment everyday (in order to prepare him to become a big brother) and he loves it! In the video he is in the hall just outside our apartment. He gets better everyday and has gone from turfing it 20 times each practice session (on average) to turfing it only 2 or 3 times. He is becoming quite independent and insists on feeding himself and walking on his own, and he does NOT appreciate it when we try to help him (tantrums usually in sue shortly thereafter if we do try to carry him or feed him). Even with his newfound independence, we love watching him learn new things (tantrums and all).

1 Month to Go!!

Here is the latest picture of growing baby #2. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see the little baby on our countdown ticker in her last month!! It's no secret that I hope this is the LAST post about my belly. We can't wait to meet her! She is due in 4 weeks, but I am hope hope hoping that she comes in two or three. Here's to the next picture of her being OUTSIDE the womb!

Feliz Cinco de mayo!

Ever since we moved to Des Moines I have been in search of a good Mexican restaurant. I mean really, who doesn't love some good Mexican food? Let's just say that I still haven't found what I'm looking for. So far, all we have been able to find is cafeteria Mexican, which I simply cannot deal with. There are two types of Mexican I love--the authentic "bring-on-the-mole" kind, and the Cafe Rio "fake Mexican" kind. Since there is no Red Iguana here in Iowa and no Cafe Rio, we decided to do our best to bring Cafe Rio to us in honor of Cinco de mayo. Thanks to a Relief Society Enrichment activity awhile back, I had the recipe for the Cafe Rio pork salad (yum!!). It still wasn't quite as good as the real thing (no one yelled "free meal" and there were no cinnamon mints or anything), but it was still good and will hopefully be enough for us until we can get the "real deal" again this summer. In other news, Isaac is getting more fun everyday! He is so proud of himself and his new found mobility. He loves to practice walking and gets really upset when we try to carry him anywhere. He is also picking up new words all of the time. His latest favorites are "hi" and "bye"--it just makes me smile every time he says them! We sure do love him.