I love this picture of the two of them together. It is the first one we have. There are more pictures from this photo shoot to come so stay tuned.

Isaac is just starting to take an interest in Tessa. That is, other than swiping her toys. He has been funny. I have been surprised at how possessive he has been of his old toys that Tessa now plays with. Does he really remember? He seems to. He is most possessive of the toys that were his earlier in his life.

We have been teaching him to share but you know how that goes with a toddler. Although, today Ben reported that she was crying (I was sleeping in) and he went over and got some of his favorites of her toys and took them to her. Offering them in exchange for her crying to stop. So cute.

And then they were all sitting on the couch Isaac grabbed her hand to hold. He was a little taken aback when she proceeded to suck his thumb. So funny.

At any rate, I have some more posts lined up for you this week to share their cuteness and growth.

Thanks Isaac and Tessa for making me a mom. You make it seem so easy!

Tricia has spent an amazing amount of time lately trying to find ways to save money. With the birth of our son, our decision for her to stay home and my new business, things are a bit tight. It’s so easy for us as husbands to miss all the effort that goes into keeping our homes in order, our babies (not to mention ourselves) fed and all the other crazy things my wife manages to squeeze into a day. So, while it may all seem mundane or routine to you, Tricia, it is making a difference and it does not go unrecognized.

I thank the Lord that he’s given me such an amazing homemaker as my wife, and I pray that He help me to demonstrate that appreciation every day.

It started with watching the footage from the US Airways 1549 crash victims. Specifically, the Today Show interview with the parents traveling with a toddler and a 9 month old! I was weeping just listening to them retell their ordeal, thinking of myself sitting in their place, and rejoicing at the God that I serve.

Then the last few days I have been moved by the blogging community and their call to prayers for baby Harper! This woman has over 30,000 people from all over the world praying for her and her new baby girl! How incredibly amazing!

So many times in these last few days I have clutched on to Isaac, buried my head, and wept. Wept for the gratefulness at having a son. The blessing of being well and that he is well. The blessing of having his arms wrapped around my neck. The blessing of rocking him as he is fussing for the umpteenth hour that day. The blessing of just being able to be there.

I don’t really have time to be launching new websites but believe me, being around these ladies is all but contagious! Who isn’t looking for instant community? For a complete stranger to join you in a prayer vigil for your ailing child? To mourn with you when you experience heartaches and celebrate with you when you achieve victories?

I hear a lot of grief from any and everyone about how the internet is corrupting our lives and our children. How it is a scary place these days. And I am with you on being cautious. BUT I’m not sure what SAHM’s did before the blogosphere and I am sure glad that I don’t have to know. I love my new community of believers! So what if I feel like a stalker, am tapped into the internet more hours in the day than I sleep, and have more friends whom I have never met than those that I have! I have community, I have prayer warriors!

When I got Isaac up for the morning I did my inaugural finger in Isaac’s mouth (to check for those bottom teeth). This has been a daily occurrence ever since I noticed the two swollen places on his bottom gums (ouch, they really look sore). However, I was in for a nice surprise when my finger grazed something sharp. Turns out the right one decided to finally break through! Okay, so Santa came a little late this year for Isaac (he asked for this tooth for Christmas). The left one is still working it’s way through but we are expecting it’s arrival soon!

Then it was time to start on a vegetable this week. I was going to start it earlier in the week but wanted to start it at the morning feeding (he eats better at this time and less chance of night time effects if there are allergies). However, I also know that Ben enjoys being around for these “new” moments and I try to include him as much as I can. So TODAY was the day. After much debate we decided to start with peas. So here is how it went!

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We dressed him (in the most appropriate bib), made the food, got the camera ready, and braced ourselves for the shower we might soon be experiencing. The verdict: no dice, just plain and simple eating of the food! Really, there were a few funny faces as he was trying to figure out what was different, but other than that it was smooth sailing. Some days I ask Ben to pinch me to see if I am awake or dreaming. Nothing seems to phase this kid! Then again it is food, and he is a Callahan; eating, growing and pooping come with the DNA!

So the first bout of veggies went off without a hitch. He ate 1/3 of the jar of peas (yes, I used a jar, it was free and organic and I haven’t had time to make my own peas yet) PLUS his 2 tablespoons of cereal, and his 3 oz of bottle! Wowsers! We will see what tomorrow brings!

More details and pictures coming with next week’s 5 months old post!

I am instituting a new uniform around here (at least for the first week). My supervisor approves but suggests it needs a few more spit-up stains to be truely acceptable! Oh yeah, and the new hairstyle as well! I call this the “who has time to shower?” style? (and when little hands are just going to pull it all out of your head anyway, does it need to be washed? I say no.

Now don’t get me wrong. TOTALLY NOT implying that staying at home is a lesser version of life where I get to sit around in my pj pants for the afternoon eating bon-bons and watching soap operas. Just giving myself permission to have a little fun for a few days. To watch the laundry pile up to extrodinary heights. To cuddle a few extra minutes each day wih my son. To lavish my husband with homecooked meals. To sync my iPhone (Ben that one is for you ). To work on that up and coming blog – oooo, so exciting! I suppose I should admit that there will likely be alot of “tweeting” and Facebook Scrabble in my near future as well.

But in all seriousness It is so exciting to know that my family is my primary focus. They are so amazing. I am so blessed. Today is a fantastic day for me! Today is the first day of a life I never dreamed of having! Watch out mommihood here I come!

As we exited the theater he took me to his home. We arrived and there were shutters on the windows and the warm glow of light from a television shone through the window. There was my mother sitting on the couch, awaiting our arrival. There was jovial conversation, then her departure.

The handsome man then escorted me to a room that held a baby. As I peered in the crib I saw a tiny baby boy with soft chubby cheeks. He had the most beautiful smell and the smallest of breaths. I looked from the man to the baby and back again. I slipped out of the room.

I lay down and the man lay beside me. It appeared that he was my husband and the baby laying in the next room was my son. . . and then I woke up.

It appears that I wasn’t dreaming at all. I was, in fact, awake the whole time. That tall, handsome, kind, gentle, patient and loving man is my husband. The orange painted walls and warm, cozy home is my own. That beautiful cherub faced baby laying in the crib is my son. And this is my life. My real life. Not a dream. Well, not a dream that I have to wake up from.

I suppose if you told me 20 years ago my life would be this great, that God could be this good to me, I would NEVER have believed you. It surely is not possible. I am so very glad it is. I am certain I have no earthly comprehension of what heaven will be like, but if (and I know there shouldn’t even be an if there) God is even a fraction of as generous on the other side of this life as He has been to me on this earth I can’t wait to be there.

Lord, thank you so very much for my undeserved life. For my mother. For my family. For my husband. For my son. For my Salvation. Thank you. . .for dreams come true.

So I have been debating how to fill you in on all of the great things that we have been up to without filling your inbox with a million posts. So I have decided that I will do this really long post with event highlights and set up a gallery of pictures for each. If you are so inclined, you can click on over to the galleries (through the titles of the event) and view the captions for more detailed information about the happenings! So grab a cup of coffee, get in your favorite comfy chair, put your feet up – because here it goes!

Kaiden, Eric and Shanda Party

The Christmas week started with a gathering at my grandparents to celebrate the arrival of my brother Eric, his wife Shanda, and their son Kaiden (18 months). It had been a long time since much of the extended family had seen them so my grandparents invited a slew of us over for a great dinner and time to hang out with one another. This was Isaac and Kaiden’s first meeting. It was so much fun! Kaiden is absolutely adorable!

Please be in prayer for all of them as one of the reasons for their visit is that Eric leaves tomorrow (January 2) for a 6 month deployment to Qatar. He likes his deployment site but is very sad about being away from his family (understandably). And Shanda is way out there in Dover, Delaware on her own with an 18 month old! We will miss him!

Christmas Eve Afternoon

Our good friends Jeremy and Cortney came over with their two boys, Evan and Carter for a little gift exchange and photo session. We took a few family Christmas shots and got great pictures of the boys together! What a blessing to have them around and with boys so close in age to Isaac. Evan did a great job for this boys’ photo.

Christmas Eve

It has become somewhat of a tradition to spend Christmas Eve at my mom’s house. With Eric in town she asked in advanced for us to reserve the evening. She made a GREAT meal (and it was all on the table at the same time)! It was a great evening together but quite tiring. That Kaiden is a fireball of entertainment! And those cheeks are so kissable!

We were really blessed by the gift exchange and grandma made true on the shirt that she bought Isaac that said “What Santa doesn’t bring me Grandma will”!

Christmas Morning

We spent the morning together as a family. This was so nice! Isaac gets up at 8:00 am and we had to wake him up as he didn’t exactly want to go to bed the night before which made for a long night. It was a great morning though. I would say the highlight of the morning included cuddling as a family. My presents from Ben included a new photo printer/scanner/copier which will be AWESOME for the prints that I want to do. I also got a winter coat, which was much needed. And this AWESOME t-shirt!

Christmas Afternoon

We spent Christmas afternoon with Ben’s family. It was a great time with everyone together. Of course Isaac practically slept through the whole thing as he was so warn out from the night before! Isaac got to hang out with his grandparents and Uncle Paul for a while which was so cool! And we got some great musical gifts from Uncle Jesse, Aunt Naomi, and Grace. The highlight for sure was the great wagon that Isaac got and the Garmin GPS unit Ben and I got! (Isaac asked to use the Garmin with the wagon but Ben is insisting it be used in the new Outlander).

Christmas Evening

On to my dad’s house for the evening. This is always a lot of craziness with four dogs (my sister brings her two), a cat, 2 toddlers, and 2 wiggle worms rolling about! We caused everything to be a bit rushed because we couldn’t foresee keeping Isaac out late again as he had such a rough 24 hours already. (Let’s just say I wasn’t sure I had the patience to put him through it again either. There is just something about a fussy baby when you know that you caused the fussiness). At any rate, it was a great time. I got more great items for playing in the kitchen; including a food mill that I will use for making Isaac some baby food. Isaac’s favorite toy thus far from there is this rolling ball from Aunt Sarah, Uncle Rick, Noah, and Gabriel.

Day After Christmas

We headed back over to the Callahan’s as we had the wagon to pick up (did you see the size of that thing)! And there were presents that didn’t get opened by Isaac because he was sleeping so much. And let’s be honest here, Ben and I had forgotten our swimsuits on Christmas Day and were looking for a dip in the new hot tub! Turns out while we were taking our warm dip and Gram and Gramps were watching Isaac, he decided to roll over from back to front for the first time! We were so excited to hear that! He has been trying for several days and was almost there. He has done it in the days to follow which is so very exciting!

Reisert Family Christmas

My mom’s side of the family is still getting together for Christmas and other holidays. I have such an amazing relationship with so many of these people because of all the time we spent together as kids that it is wonderful to get to see them at least once a year. There were quite a few missing that live far away, were sick, or had to work; but it was fun! We ate (of course) had our crazy gift exchange game, played a new card game, and visited with all the new babies. Julie, Jessica and I were all pregnant together (and tried to get pictures along the way) so it was fun to have the 3 babies together for a photo op! This picture by far says so much! Aaron LOVED trying to pull Libbie’s hair – Isaac just looks frightened. But if you ask me this picture is a true depiction of what this whole family get together feels like (not that I don’t love it anyway)!

New Year’s Eve Morning

Ben went into work to sign papers to become Forge, LLC! He and three great guys that he has been working with for some time have decided to team together to become one company. We are so excited about the opportunity to grow with these families. We have been in much prayer over this move and really feel that the Lord has provided in such an amazing way for our family in 2009 through this merge.

New Year’s Eve

Three years ago Ben and I threw a New Year’s Eve party complete with a theme and costume contest. We had no real intentions of continuing it until everyone asked us the following year what the theme was and what time the party was starting! So the tradition began. This year however, we needed to cut back the party as we have a newborn and less space to host people (so if you weren’t invited this year please don’t be offended). It was pretty much a Forge and Family party!

The theme this year was Disney or Disney/Pixar. I pretty much decided the theme because I had a costume already and didn’t want to have to worry about one more thing this holiday season. Ben decided to go along with the theme and be the ship wrecked Prince Eric and Isaac completed the ensemble as Sabastian. The pictures from this event are a must see! The past years (ringing in 2007, ringing in 2008) are great too! (Now that I have posted all this we will likely have to rent space for ringing in 2010.

January 1, 2009

We are excited all of the festivities are over! We are resting and relaxing as a family today! We are looking forward to 2009 and all the great things in store for us ahead. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me. I can hardly believe that all of these things happened in a week and a half!

Happy New Year!

Isaac turned 4 months over a week ago and we got the green light at his doctor’s appointment. I also anticipated that he might be ready as he has been studiously watching us eat and gets quite upset if we are both eating in front of him. However, with Christmas and crazy routines the last several days I decided to put it off another week until life simmered down.

I was also warned by several of my friends that the first few feedings can be a bit tricky. And that most kids don’t really like the experience/food the first time. So I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, or what to wear! But apparently my son takes after his father in more ways than one. . .because he ate all of the rice cereal I prepared!

Now don’t get me wrong, there were a few great faces like this one along the way. But it seemed that the texture and spoon perplexed him the most. Once he got past that he scarfed the cereal right down! He ended up eating about 3/4 of a tablespoon in all! Sweet! We’ll see if he does it again tomorrow (maybe today was beginners luck)!

http://www.intoapicture.com/isaaciser08/