Week in Review

We are still here, blog friends. For whatever reason, my desire to blog has somewhat diminished over the past week or so. However, it is not for lack of adorable Isaac stories or crazy Phillips' family antics. Here is the past week's highlights, for those of you who have been anxiously checking this site over the past seven days hoping for an update.

Monday: Isaac and I ventured out to a new park. The reason we had to go to a new park rather than our standard favorite was that the week before I had let him explore the beautiful fountain at our normal park. This fountain has waterfalls that spill over the sides which you can walk up and touch. Since it was at least 80 degrees outside, I allowed Isaac to splash in the waterfall and play in the water. By the time we were ready to leave, he was one soaked and happy baby. I literally poured water out of his shoes and had to wring out his socks. However, we have not gone back to the park since then to give him time to forget how fun the waterfall at the fountain can be and avoid the desire to play in the water every time we visit this establishment. Isaac---being one who is hesitant to change and all things different--didn't really care for the new park and clung to me at all times. He was not at all impressed by the fun house mirrors or baby slides.

Tuesday: Isaac quietly sat on the blue diamond on the reading mat at the library during story time like the good boy that he is. Of course he had one hand placed firmly on my leg in case I decided to leave him there, but enjoyed his twenty minutes of literary time nonetheless. However, each week I am amazed at the parents who miss the large sign at the front of the room that reads "Please take out children who are being noisy or disruptive." and allow their precious darlings to cry, talk loudly, or run around the room during story time. Drives me crazy. Isaac was given a sticker on his hand for sitting quietly. He kept that hand in a fist the rest of the morning and wouldn't move it. Hilarious! That night I put Isaac to bed early so I could watch the finale of Dancing With the Stars. Loved, loved, loved Emmitt and all of his dances. I did not care for Mario's freestyle and felt like most nine year olds with a year of hiphop dance experience could do the same dance. However, I was glad to see Jesse Spano and Kelly Kapowski cheering on AC Slater from the audience!

Wednesday: Isaac and I bundled up against the wind and headed out to my old school to eat lunch with some friends and show off the baby. We haven't visited since last school year and Isaac was quite curious about all the children. Because the weather kept a lot of parents at home (and not making useless trips up to the school) we were able to hang out with my friend Paula in the school's office (she is the attendance clerk). Isaac had a great time sitting in her lap and eating crackers and then playing with an old soccer ball behind her desk. Fun times. I love catching up with old co-workers and rehashing some of the "interesting" days spent in my classroom. I did not see any former students due to an outbreak of chicken pox in the 5th grade (There has been speculation that the chicken pox vaccine might not be effective. Kids currently in 5th and 6th grade were some of the first to be vaccinated and it seems like they are not immune to the new strain. When Isaac is older, I am seriously considering exposing him to the chicken pox if ever given the chance. What the medical community fears about the chicken pox vaccine is that it won't be effective against various strains and mutations and a bunch of people will get the pox as an adult, which can be rather serious. That is your medical tidbit for the day.)
After trying countless times to put in a vote for Emmitt the night before (unsuccessfully, I might add), I was nervous all day over who would win Dancing with the Stars. I am not even sure why I cared so much, but I did. My parents were in the Grand Caymans last week (for business---they don't often holiday in exotic locations....unless Branson counts!), where they attempted to vote for Emmitt as well. They were devastated to discover that the 1-800 number did not work out of the United States. I was quite ecstatic when Emmitt one and thought that Mario might cry. I do feel sorry for his partner, Katarina, as she seemed to really be into their relationship. I am sure Mario dropped her like a bad habit about thirty minutes after the final taping in search of Dancing With the Stars groupies.

Thursday: Is it bad that I don't remember a thing about what I did last Thursday???? (Oh, now I remember that I did go to Anne Taylor that night---without the baby---in search of maternity clothes. No the AT is not making a maternity line, but they do carry tunic sweaters and t-shirts that will fit over my belly. I am constantly searching for anti-maternity clothes for some reason. Thanks, Kelli, for my coupon!)

Friday: Early Friday morning, Isaac escorted me to a doctor's appointment. This particular doctor is Indian and Isaac is fascinated by her accent. She affectionately calls him her boyfriend and likes to show him off to the nurses. They have formed this unusual relationship. After a short morning nap, we loaded back up in the car and headed down to see Alison and Morgan. Morgan was quite excited to see Isaac and the two of them had a lot of fun playing together (or playing side by side with the occasional glance given to the other). However, there always seems to be a meltdown point when we get together with these loved friends. This point came as Alison and I were finishing up our lunches (the kids had already eaten and resumed playing). Morgan somehow fell off a bench in the kitchen and hit her head, which caused great sadness. It was at that point that I heard Isaac screech and saw him crawling in my direction as fast as possible. I figured he suddenly felt sad when he heard Morgan crying. Oh no. He had spotted one of Alison's cats and was gleefully chasing it. The boy who is hesitant to really venture out was now crawling under coffee tables, behind couches, and under end tables to get this poor cat. Isaac did manage to grab him a few times. Finally, we decided for the cat's sanity to put him away in another room, safe from the hands of Isaac. Isaac had such a good time with his friend Morgan that he cried when I put him in the carseat to go home.

Saturday: We welcomed Isaac's new friend, Brandon Scott Kasberg, into the world! Yippee! Now Isaac will not be the only boy at 1017 Washington reunions. That morning, Tobe and I left the baby with the grandparents and loaded up the car to head out for the big city of Sweetwater, Texas. All of Tobe's college buddies get together each year for a game of football and a pre-Thanksgiving feast. While the boys play football, the wives sit around and talk. Years ago it was decided to cater in the food so no one has to cook. I had a fabulous time talking with this wife and with two other super cool wives as well. On the way to Sweetwater, Tobe and I stopped off at the ACU campus in search of the infamous walking track that we had been unable to locate in June while in Abilene. We finally saw it and was quite impressed with the new Jacob's Ladder sculpture. We spent a good 30 minutes shopping in the ACU bookstore, often giggling over the joke of "Hey, I need to buy a scantron." or "Where are the Kojie license plate covers?" Yeah, we are quite the comedians in the Phillips' family. We did manage to score the ACU Centennial Coffee Table Book for $35 (they were originally charging $100 when it first came out. Despite the obvious lack of sales, the book is actually quite interesting and worth the money. However, it is obvious that one of the editors was biased towards a particular women's social club. Social clubs are barely mentioned and the only pictures are those of just one club. Not that it really matters, but I felt like for my $35 they could have at least thrown in something about club life. Perhaps they will make a supplement for the book which includes information on all the clubs. I would even loan them my 1995 Kojie Christmas social sweatshirt to take a picture as archival data.) Tobe and I quickly realized that the fastest way to feel old is to walk around your former college campus while classes are in session. The students looked like children and I often felt the need to ask them if their parents knew where they were. Getting old is the pits.

Sunday: Before getting Isaac back, Tobe and I ventured out to the movies. We caught the new James Bond flick and we were quite impressed. The movie could stand to lose about 15 minutes because it is a bit long, but the overall quality was very enjoyable. It appears that this film finally broke away from the James Bond cheesiness that personified all of the Pierce Brosnon Bond films (for instance, Denise Richards as a scientist????). I like the new Bond, but often felt like he looked like Clinton Kelly from TLC's What Not to Wear. This was a bit distracting at times, but I was able to get past it. I recommend this movie if you are searching for something to catch during the upcoming holiday season.

Monday (today): In search of some last-minute Thanksgiving food items, Isaac and I went to Wal-Mart. Because I am easily distracted in any type of retail establishment, we immediately headed towards the Christmas section and bypassed the food. Isaac loved looking at all things sparkly and bright. I placed a Santa hat on his head to see what he would do and he just beamed all over himself. He rode around during the remainder of our shopping trip with that hat on his head, happily eating fruit puffs out of his snack trap. Most people we passed had to comment on the hat to Isaac and he would simply pat it proudly. Too cute. That boy loves hats for some reason.
Tonight he had a meltdown because we would not let him take his bath early. We were all playing in the living room after supper when Isaac crawled off to the hall. He then proceeded to knock repeatedly on the bathroom door to get someone to open it. When he realized that there was no one inside the bathroom to open the door and that neither Tobe nor I would open it, he fell to pieces. That kid loves his bath and bedtime. We were able to distract him for a while and hold off the whole bedtime routine until a more appropriate time. Every so often Isaac would sign more and then frantically point to the bathroom. I might have wanted to video tape this to show him one day when he refuses to take a bath. He was quite giddy when it actually became time to bathe and go to sleep.

As I type this, I just noticed a hole in the knee of my jeans. I suppose this is from crawling on the floor with the baby. These are my favorite jeans and I am now quite sad about this hole. Tobe told me to go get a new pair, but I purchased these over a year ago off the sale rack at Target. These jeans were supposed to get me through the next month or so of pregnancy before I might be forced to dig out my Gap maternity jeans.

There you go, blog friends. That was the highlights of our week. I promise to be a better blogger and share every juicy detail of our upcoming holiday season. By the way, if you are wanting to live closer to casa de Phillips' (lets be honest, who doesn't???), the house behind us was foreclosed on and the bank is selling it dirt cheap!

In closing, I will leave you with pictures of our 15 month old heading off to college....

The computer has finally returned home with a clean bill of health. However, our 15 month old is another story. What started as a runny nose on Tuesday morning quickly turned into a coughing, feverish, snotty little boy by the end of the day. Fortunately Isaac's well-baby 15 month check-up was on Wednesday so we were able to get the cold examined as well. The doctor confirmed he indeed had a cold, but that his ears looked good for the time being. We are quite thankful that Isaac is not prone to the baby drama that is ear infections.

For the most part Isaac is still perky and happy despite the continuous stream of mucus out of his nose and the nagging cough. Food is not his favorite and we have been lucky to get a little fruit and some veggies down him. I made him his own big pot of mac and cheese (a usual favorite that he has to battle his father for) but even that was met with a half-hearted attempt to eat. Because he has not reached that lovely developmental milestone of being able to blow his nose, we do have to pull out the infamous nose aspirator and suction out his nasal passages. He hates this. Tobe has to hold his arms and head still while I suction. After we finish, Tobe and I clap and cheer for Isaac for being so brave. The other night the sweet boy sadly clapped along with us.

Aside from the cold, the doctor said Isaac was growing beautifully. We are happy to report that he has gained two pounds and is up to 21.9 lbs (he didn't gain a full pound between his 9 month appt and his 12 month appt--he has his Uncle Andrew's metabolism) and is 32 inches long. The doctor felt like his walking was coming along and contributed his hesitation to personality rather than ability. She said that his muscle tone looked great, which is always a good thing to hear. It was a year on Halloween that we discovered Isaac had torticollis and began physical therapy to strengthen his neck. We stopped PT in June because Isaac was doing so well and because he spent one whole session crying (and they billed us for it!). The neck tilt is gone (with the exception of when he is super tired or going through a growth spurt) and all muscles look great. We will continue to monitor this, but it appears to be a problem of the past!





Baby #2 also went to the doctor this week for its monthly check-up. I ventured alone to the doctor's office while Tobe and Isaac played at home (we didn't want to expose everyone to Isaac's cold). I was able to read two back issues of Child magazine and 1/2 issue of Oprah (the pulled back curly hair look is starting to look incredibly out-of-control....) before visiting with the nurse practitioner (My doctor was booked and the office allows you to see this certain nurse before you hit week 30). Baby looks great and the heartbeat was 170. I have a new medicine for the migraines, which seems to be helping. This one is growing and getting bigger with each day. My instructor for the Mommy and Me fitness class did make quite the deal about just how much my stomach had grown since the last class. I did not find this amusing and wanted to point out that I had just eaten before coming which does make the tummy protrude a bit. During pregnancy, I find it amusing how in the same day someone can tell you how you barely look pregnant and then 45 minutes later someone else remarks about how huge you are and that baby must be ready to pop out at any minute. I asked Tobe yesterday in the middle of Pottery Barn if I looked fat or pregnant. He sweetly replied that I am in the stage where no one can really tell----that from behind I look normal and that from the front it is more of a question mark. He then offered to buy me half of Pottery Barn, but I think he was just trying to change the topic of conversation.....



In closing here are some funny Isaac antics:



** Early one morning while we were in Arkansas, my mom noticed the lights in Isaac's room (AKA "the Cousins Room") were going on and off. She opened the door to discover a 15 month old standing in his crib, smiling a large toothy grin, with a chubby baby hand firmly grasping the light switch. Seems the crib was perfectly placed next to the light switch. Every time Isaac took a nap after that we had to roll the crib out from the wall to prevent anymore light shows.



**Yesterday Tobe went to retrieve Isaac from his bed after a peaceful night's rest. He walked in to discover all blankets and the loved giraffe on the floor (usual occurrence). Joining them......Isaac's PJ pants. One happy t-shirt and diaper-clad baby was standing in the crib pointing out the pile of discarded things.



**Last night we gave Isaac his usual dose of cough medicine after eating supper. Cough medicine tastes gross, even to children whose favorite food happens to be sweet peas. Tobe held Isaac head while I blocked his arms and administered the medicine. Isaac immediately clamped his mouth and teeth shut. Apparently the whole scenario struck him as funny and he started to smile, all the while attempting to keep his mouth shut and the medicine out. Needless to say a smiling baby cannot kept his mouth shut for long and we got the medicine in and were all giggling afterwards.



** Isaac dances by moving his shoulders back and forth. He will do this on command if music is playing but does this spontaneously if he hears a song that really speaks to him. Friday we were in a store when Smashmouth came on----Isaac instantly began "dancing" in the stroller. I hope this does not reflect his future taste in music.



Finally...here are our Halloween pictures.

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A woman and her two children were killed in a hit and run accident while legally crossing the street Friday night in Denver. This lady was the sister of a friend I used to teach with. My friend and her sister were born and raised in a small town in Arkansas about 45 minutes from where I grew-up. Please keep this family in your prayers. The husband of the lady killed was also involved in the accident and is in the hospital but is expected to recover from his injuries. I believe the two men in the truck that hit this family have been found and arrested. Tragic. Why can people just not be idiots while driving? I don't know how many people I see talking on the phone, messing with the radio, or texting someone all while driving horribly. A few months ago a man swerved off the road ---while talking on his cell phone--- and barely missed hitting Isaac and me while we walked on the sidewalk. Really.....who is so important that they must talk on their cell phone while driving and endanger everyone else on the road? I don't know if the driver of this truck involved in the Denver accident was on the phone or not, but the whole incident makes me angry. Tobe and I are big against people talking on the phone while driving. Ten years ago no one had that much to say to their fellow man that they had a need to talk to them while driving. Read the studies about how people who drive and talk on the phone (including those who use hands-free pieces) are worse drivers than people who are intoxicated. I encourage you to hang up your cell phone while driving and simply drive. Use the time to talk to the people in your car or sing along to the radio (unless it is Smashmouth and then I urge you to quickly change the station).

Welcome to the 80's

It feels like 1989 all over again at casa de Phillips. Our computer decided to become ill yesterday afternoon and we had to put it in the ol computer shop (AKA Best Buy). Didn't realize how much I rely on a piece of technology until it was gone. A lot of what I do/need during the day is stored on the hard drive (to do list, phone numbers, email, etc...). Thankfully Tobe brings his laptop home at the end of each work day and I can plug myself back in for a bit and get my technology fix. Hopefully the computer will be back and working in a few days but for now I have to actually call my husband on the phone to ask him a question or find the weather channel on TV to know what the temperature is outside. Barbaric, I tell you.

Because the home computer is not functioning, there will be no Halloween pictures of Isaac for now. However here are few points of interest about our past week.

1. We took Isaac trick or treating on Main Street on Halloween. He rode stoically in his stroller and gripped his pumpkin for dear life. He did enjoy taking out pieces of candy once a store owner placed it in his pumpkin. Tobe and I managed to pull the good candy out (Paydays, Snickers, Rolos, Twix) and leave the less desirable pieces to be sorted (Tootsie Rolls, Suckers, Mints). It was a fun evening and Isaac was the only lion sporting his costume. The amusing part of the evening was how his lion mane kept riding up in the back, thus covering his eyes. I would look down and realize that Isaac couldn't even see what was going on sometimes. However, he never once complained. What a good baby.

2. Wednesday morning Isaac and I boarded a plane for Arkansas to spend some time with my family. Tobe joined us there Thursday evening. Fun times.

3. Fall actually exists in other parts of the country. Fall foliage was quite beautiful in Arkansas and we enjoyed every red, yellow, and orange leaf and the cool temperatures. If you want to see Tobe lose his cool, mention that the local temperatures are going to be in the 80's this week. Does Texas even have seasons anymore?

4. For those Camp WyldeWood campers from back in the day, Tobe was introduced to B Rock. We wanted to enjoy our fall experience so we hiked up B Rock. It was beautiful and the perfect exercise between lunch eaten at a buffet and supper eaten at a buffet. (Don't ask.)

5.Apparently I looked pretty rough at dinner Saturday night. My mom looked at me across the table and said I looked incredibly pale and Tobe confirmed her remark. I attempted to remind them that I AM pale, but they said I was almost completely white. I found this odd since I felt very flushed at the moment. My mom took me to the bathroom (yes, like I was five...but isn't it comforting to have your mom take care of you?) and I splashed some water on myself. The paleness returned to my natural shade of pale and the flush feeling disappeared. However food has become my enemy and nothing sounds good---not even junk food. The things we do for our children. However, this will pass and I often read that morning sickness is a sign of a healthy baby.

6. Airport security. This could be a post within itself. I believe I have blogged about my struggles with traveling with a baby and a stroller before. I also believe I have mentioned that I have had to take Isaac's shoes off to be x-rayed, because most shoe bombers are 15 month old children. When we left the metroplex on Wednesday, I had to declare the food I was carrying in the diaper bag. However, I only had to declare the apple juice and the apple sauce--the bananas and cheerios I had were fine. The lady at security told me it was a good thing I had juice because they would have to pour water out. (I didn't mention it was 3/4 juice and 1/4 water). Fine. When we left Little Rock yesterday, the people at security told me I could only have milk and they would have to pour out the juice (However they reassured me I could purchase more juice once I entered the airport---for $4 a bottle!!!!). These security people told me water or milk were okay, but not juice!!! I pointed out the discrepancy and they said Love Field was wrong. These security people did not care about any other food that was in the diaper bag and I did not have to fill out any type of food declaring what I was bringing on the plane (as I did at Love Field). They dumped out my juice into a trash can and handed the sippy cup back, which still had big drops of liquid inside. Now if I was a terrorist (and you know I fit the profile), what if those trace drops were all I needed to cause havoc? Also, what if I wanted the deadly liquid to explode when it was poured into the measly airport trashcan? I believe these "Measures" our government has attempted to put in place in airports are worthless and provide a false sense of security. If airports in neighboring states can't get the policy correct, what is going on in airports across the country. The ironic thing---also inside of my diaper bag was a plastic bag containing three unusual looking syringes filled with an odd colored lotion. I forgot on the first flight that they were in the diaper bag and did not "declare" them. Not one security person asked about these mysterious syringes and the diaper bag only went through the x-ray once and was not searched. They felt the need to pour out a 15 month olds juice and tell me I could not carry diaper rash cream on the plane, but no one thought twice about these mysterious syringes. Hmmm. What if the contents of those syringes could have been combined to cause major devastation on the plane and security just let them pass right on through (By the way, the syringes hold my morning sickness medicine that I apply directly to my wrists. However, there was no prescription written on them and they were in a simple ziploc bag. ) Also, I predict the Terror Alert Threat Level will go down from orange after elections are over tomorrow. Another thing that makes one say "hmmmm".

7. We had severe storms in our area last night and I thought lightening had struck a tree in the backyard. The storm woke me up around 2am. Shortly after that I saw a huge streak of lightening, a large flash, and heard a loud boom all at the same time. I expected the oak tree in the back yard to come crashing through the window at any moment. My response---to grab onto Tobe as hard as possible. Apparently I am more "flight" than "fight" when it comes to disaster. Fortunately our tree--nor our house--was hit. We aren't sure what was hit, but it was quite close. Isaac did not wake up once during that whole storm. That poor baby was worn out after all his potential terrorist activities were thwarted earlier that day at the airport....

8. If you did not participate in early voting these past few weeks (I did and once again the polling place was out of "I voted" stickers), I encourage you to head out tomorrow and vote. My grandmother plans on voting in peak voting hours tomorrow to enjoy the crowds (she used to work the polls but isn't this year). I won't relay any political feelings here, but I am not very excited about the preliminary results of the Texas race for governor. Get out tomorrow and vote. Enjoy the crowds. Perhaps you will get one of those nifty "I voted" stickers.....

Have a great evening. If you are feeling extremely generous, feel free to drop off a new computer by casa de Phillips so we can return to 2006!