Visiting with Friends!

Part of the fun of being a new mom and being off for 12 weeks is getting to go out and be social! That being said, I didn't really start doing this until about 2 weeks ago...and I am definitely keeping my schedule full!

My friend Jessica stopped by with her son Beckett who is 4 months old a couple weeks ago and brought us some YUMMY cookies and Spaghetti sauce. It was so nice to see her...as we haven't gotten together in a LONG time...like maybe since her wedding when I made her wedding cake? It was nice to get some advice and feedback about being a mom from her. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any pictures of Beckett and Zac together..so here is a picture of her wedding cake ;)

Then I got together with my friend Cindy who had Madeline about 3 weeks before Zac. It was fun to sit and share stories about the development of the kids...about getting advice from people who you don't want it from....and to just look at the two kids side by side. While Madeline is 3 weeks older, she is about 1 pound less...and it was amazing how much difference that pound makes! When Cindy sends me the picture we took, I'll post it here...we have a side by side of the two with them making the same 'archer' pose!

On Monday, I went to my friend Amy's house out in the country and had a fabulous time with her...again, discussing 'mommy hood'. It is amazing how much of an instant bond you have with other moms out there. The topic of conversation most certainly ends up being about the kiddos....I wonder if there will ever be a day where I actually talk about something other than Zac! :) Amy has a son Paul, and he was born the beginning of May...so about 2 months older than Zac and ready to start cereal any day now! Aren't the two of them looking so cute??

Amy gave me some pointers for my Bread Project and recommended a great book called "The Bread Bakers Apprentice". I've been reading it and LOVING it!

Tuesday, I went to Borders to buy this book and one called "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes" with my friend Carissa (Who is expecting a little one in December). Zac did great with his first visit to a bookstore! I saw some of the cutest books in the kids section....but it is a bit premature to begin buying them....maybe some relatives will give Zac books instead of Toys if they want to give him presents? (hint hint!)

Today I'm off to buy a Pizza Peel and the base ingredients for my French Baguette (which I WILL master in the next month!). I can't wait for the taste tests of this project!

Bathtime!

Zac absolutely loves bathtime! He loves to splash around in the water and is so relaxed afterwards! Check out how cute he is when he is drying off! It is so funny how his hair is curly when it is wet, and then it goes into its crazy, straight, looks like I just got out of bed look when it gets dry!

Hangin' with Cousin Mariah!

On Tuesday, August 25th, Mariah came over to hang out with Zac and I for the day. He decided to really start interacting with his mobile fish friends right as she got there. He was smiling and talking and laughing at the little things as they spun around above his head on the swing! These are the first smiles I've FINALLY caught on the camera!

After some playing, Zac got hungry...so I had Mariah give him his bottle...and I discovered this was her first time feeding a kid! She did an awesome job...but didn't want to burp him because he always throws such a FIT when you interrupt his dinnertime. He's going to be like his mom and not answer the phone during dinner when he gets older...HA HA.



After he ate, we went to Cancun for some yummy Mexican for lunch (and Zac slept), then we went to the movie theater to see Julie and Julia (and he slept, then ate)....then we headed to TJ Maxx to get me some non-pregnant jeans! Yay. One size bigger than normal....but that isn't too shabby. Hopefully I'll be back into my pre-pregnant jeans by Thanksgiving! (Then I have the bigger ones to wear on Thanksgiving day for all the yummy food!)

Julie and Julia inspired me to take up a food baking project for the last month of my time off from work and home with Zac. I am going to try to embark on a bread making mission. My goal is to make REAL french bread like we bought on the streets of Paris. I have yet to find anywhere here that makes a baguette like those!!

Zac takes Sanders to a Sheep Herding Lesson!

On Wednesday, August 26th, Zac wanted to take Sanders up to Muncie to visit Ferreh's farm and let him herd some sheep. He'd heard a lot about it from me......so when he asked to take the pup up there, how could I refuse? So, we decked Zac out in his Osh Kosh overalls and headed out to the farm!

When we got there, Sanders was excited as always! He was sooo glad to be back. We had a really good couple of lessons and Sanders seemed a lot more interested in the sheep and wanting to work with me during the lesson while Zac sat on the sidelines as a spectator being quiet and just taking in the good country air!

After the lesson, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Thackery's house and ended up getting to play with a teddy bear while I got to can Tomato Juice for my first time. :)

Zac's first Colts game!

On August 20th, we took Zac to see his first Colts' game! We donned Zac in his Colts outfit from Aunt Lela and headed out! We went to the Colts vs. Eagles pre-season game (no Michael Vick at this game, thank goodness!). Can you believe you have to have a ticket to take a child of ANY age to the game? That's right...a full price ticket. Fortunately, it was a preseason game and our friend Cindy had 2 tickets for sale for really cheap!

Zac did really well with the lights and the noise for most of the time. There were a couple times when the crowd got LOUD and he freaked a bit...but I was able to console him pretty quickly by walking out into the concourse where it was a bit quieter. I forgot how loud Colts games are!!

We also ended up finding out Tony's cousin Ronnie was at the game...so we got to sit and hang with him!

Crabby Zac!

Well, he hasn't been THAT crabby....except for around 8/9ish every night. But I think that is because he starts to get sleepy from the long days we have.

We snapped this picture on Monday at Grandma and Grandpa Thackery's house. I think it is just adorable!

The first 3 weeks with Zac!

It is hard to believe that 3 weeks have already passed since the birth of Zac and we haven't officially updated the blog...so here goes the 3 week catch up!

Seeing as how our son was LOVING his home in what was a very comfy uterus, the doctor mad the decision to induce labor on Tuesday, July 14th. At 9:45AM, they broke my water, and at 10:30AM, pitocin was started to begin labor. After a relatively short labor, Isaac Anthony Halsey was born at 6:40PM at Community North Hospital in Indianapolis. He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20 inches long with a 14.5" circumference for his head. Below is a picture of us with the doctor about 20-30 minutes after he was born! We were so lucky to have our entire family there to meet the little guy after he was born. I think in total, we counted 16 family members! We even had a cheering section that came in immediately after the epidural was administered and I was at about 5cm dilated!! I love my nieces and nephew! They definitely made the labor process entertaining (which would not have been possible without the epidural!)

Zac came out with a TON of hair...which is always the first comment we get when someone meets the little guy! The other thing he came out with was a touch of jaundice...enough that we had to put him on this device known as a Biliblanket which delivers UV light to break down the bilirubin which builds up and causes the jaundice. Unfortunately, as cute as he was as a glow worm.....it was NOT fun to have to carry him around for 3 days wrapped up in a cocoon with the glow worm light. It made for some challenging feeding sessions and sleep sessions...but we endured through it all. Then we found out the little man was tongue tied which was making feeding a very challenging/sore event. So, we took him to an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist and had his frenulum clipped to fix the tongue tie (lift up your tongue and look at that little flimsy flap of skin that connects your tongue to the bottom of your mouth...that is a frenulum) and hopefully help with the feeding (as well as possible speech problems in the future). We are continuing to work through this and the guy gets 'physical therapy' now from us, as we try to strengthen his tongue and make it stick out farther than his bottom gum line.

We've also been so lucky to have so many friends/family helping us out by watching the little guy and fixing us food, and bringing us goodies for the kiddo and ourselves. This entire event has really showed us how much love people have in their hearts and we really feel blessed to have everyone in our lives.

Here are some pictures from our first 3 weeks!
A family photo at the hospital
4 Generations of Halseys!
Our little man giving the 'Pickup Truck' wave!
A snooze with Daddy!
In the hospital, the kiddo didn't want to miss a thing! Always bright eyed and looking around!
1.5 weeks old at home with Mom!