C's Blog

Late last night, Isaac and I sat in the rocker in his nursery. I was reading my magazine to him, as I do sometimes when he's restless.

For the first time, my magazine didn't satisfy him. So, I picked up one of his books and read it to him. I opened the first page and he laughed out loud at the picture on the page.

Page after page, he laughed and laughed. It was one of the coolest Mom moments I've had yet.

Needless to say, I was laughing right along with Isaac. And I cried a few happy tears, too. : )

p.s. The hilarious book was one given to him by his Rara (my sister Sara), called "Baby Einstein: Mirror Me!" I highly recommend it.

Isaac fits into his first baseball cap. He seemed to like it, too.

Click on the photos below to see the big boy in his hat:

   

I received an email this morning from Carol Chui wishing me a Happy Chinese New Year. Carol is Chinese. We met her through my sister Kristin. When Kristin lived in San Francisco, she shared an apartment with Carol and she's one of the coolest and nicest people that I've ever known. So cool, in fact, that my family adopted her as an additional daughter and sister of the Hoyne family.

Here is an excerpt from her email:
"Gong Xi Fa Cai - that's Happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin (or Gong Hey Fatt Choy in Cantonese)!! Today is the first day of Chinese New Year and this year, it's the year of the Rooster. So may the year of the Rooster bring happiness, good health, luck and prosperity to my favourite American family!"

I think the year of the Rooster is going to be a great one. Kristin and Carlos will be married in Portugal in June and Angie, John, and Reese will welcome another member of their family in August.

Last year (2004) was the year of the Monkey. Click on the photos below to see some recent photos of our little Monkey:

      

Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and yours!

Bryan 's parents gave Isaac a Baby Einstein Discover & Play™ Activity Gym for Christmas and it's one of his favorite things. It's basically a jungle gym for infants with a giant star at the top that lights up and plays music. He loves this toy so much that he smiles, and sometimes laughs, when you lay him underneath it.

The other day, he was having so much fun that I decided to join him under the star: (Click on the photos below tosee bigger versions.)

      

My sister, Angie, emailed us all today after her doctor's appointment. She's due with her second baby in early August.

The baby is doing very well and the status of her pregnancy is great. Receiving her email this morning, though, makes me miss them a lot, especially my niece Reese.

   

There's got to be something that's imprinted on my genes that makes my heart ache when I haven't seen my niece in a while. They live in Kansas City and the last time we saw them was Christmas. Hopefully we'll be able to go visit them soon.

I wonder if my sisters feel the same way about Isaac?

Isaac doesn't realize this, and he may never realize it, but he just made my day.

I'm lucky to have found a day care that is close enough to my work where I can go visit Isaac at lunch. I look forward to the days that he is there for this reason.

Today, I showed up and nursed him for a little while and then he snuggled in and fell asleep. I love it when he does that. It relaxes me. It made my day.

Here is a photo that I took of Isaac last weekend at Sara & Ryan's house. He's getting pretty strong:

Speaking of Sara & Ryan, today is Ryan's birthday! YAY!

Ryan is my sister, Sara's, fiancée. They haven't set a date yet, but they want to get married next spring.

Ryan is one of the silliest brother-in-laws that I will have. He is also one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met in my entire life. He's going to be an awesome Uncle to Isaac.

Happy Birthday, Ry! : )

I hope it's a great one!