Well, my blogging has become scarce these days, and I figured it was high time to write a brief update.  We are thoroughly enjoying school being out until the end of January.  Daniel has lots of church work to do to get caught up after a busy semester, but still has much more time on his hands than during the semester, so we are enjoying him very much lately.  I am officially 29 weeks pregnant on Saturday, so that is pretty exciting.  I ended up getting diagnosed with gestational diabetes again, but we can’t really complain.  The baby is still healthy and active and while my diet over the holidays is really not much to be envied, I am happy to comply with doctor’s orders if it means the baby isn’t going to be affected by my diabetes.  For anyone that lives close to us, if you visit us in the hospital when the baby comes, we have one requirement: you MUST bring something sweet!  Empty-handed visitors will be turned away at the door and sent to the vending machine for a candy bar or some other carb-filled goody. 

Isaiah has been cracking us up even more than usual in the recent weeks as his language skills continue to develop.  A notable quote from today would be:

While looking for his underwear after a bath, he yelled ”Unnerwear!!!!  Where ah you?”

Here is a recent pic of Isaiah having cookies and milk with Grandma and Grandpa Burton (via Skype).

Isaiah accidentally flipped off of the couch tonight.  We are talking a head first, feet in the air, flip around and land on your back kind of flip.  I was sitting right next to him, but it he lost control so quickly I couldn’t catch him.  He wasn’t jumping, he just was trying to sit down and totally lost his balance.  He cried, but he really was only concerned that he dropped what he was holding.  The funny part was when I described it to Daniel while Isaiah sat on my lap.  Isaiah demonstrated the flip for Daniel with his arm, then said “I scared.”  We said, “You were scared?” He shrugged his shoulders and stated matter-of-factly, “I’m okay, I safe.”

This evening while I was making dinner, Isaiah was happily entertaining himself.  I heard giggling and lots and lots of babbling, so I peeked into the living room to find Isaiah talking to his reflection in a mylar balloon.  He would babble some long story, say “bye bye!” and then turn the balloon around and say “hi” to the picture of Mickey Mouse on the other side.  Then he would repeat the babbling and say “bye bye” to Mickey before turning the balloon around again and starting all over.  Daniel was watching too and when our eyes met, he said “Isaiah really really needs a sibling.”   Mylar balloons and baby sisters…same thing.

Please take a minute to watch this new ad put out yesterday by Americans United for Life Action and pass the word.

Today as I was helping Isaiah put on his shoes, I accidentally burped in his ear (I’ll blame it on being pregnant).  He immediately said “gross.”  I started cracking up and he looked at me with a disgusted look on his face and said it again, “gross!”

We made a game of getting ready for bed this evening and when I put Isaiah’s shirt over his head I only pulled it down as far as his face, then I stuck his hat on top.  With his face completely covered, he gleefully turned around towards Daniel, started feeling around and said “Daddy!  Eh AH you?”

At this moment Isaiah is supposed to be napping.  He has been in his bed for two hours now and I am pretty sure he hasn’t slept a wink.  I have heard him singing, kicking the wall, talking to his stuffed animals and I think he has perhaps even been jumping on the bed.   Why have I not gone in there, you ask?  Because in between all of the noise, I keep hearing quiet for a few minutes and I think, maybe, just maybe he has fallen asleep!  He is 26 months old and for the past week, this has been the norm.  On the days he has fallen asleep, going to sleep at night becomes a problem.  I so do not want his daytime naps to end.  But I have a recollection of something my mother once told me about myself that has struck me with dread.  She said that when I was around two, she would go in to check on me at night after I had been in bed for a couple hours already and there I would be, wide awake, staring at the ceiling.   She decided that my daytime naps might be the culprit, so she stopped giving me naps and that was just what I needed.  Can you imagine it?  A two-year old not needing naps anymore?  I have never heard of that happening, except in my case.  Perhaps my mom was wrong and if she had just stuck it out a bit longer I may have grown out of the phase, but who knows.  All I know is that I am really, really hoping that Isaiah is not about to take after his mother!

We added another question to Isaiah’s rep of catechism questions. 

Question: How can you glorify God?

Correct Answer: By loving and obeying him.

Isaiah’s answer: Hugs and obey.

I think Isaiah has equivocated hugs with love, since we always say “give me love” when we mean “give me a hug.”  I love how the mind of a two-year old works!

[Update: So all of these voicemail boxes are full....hopefully with lots of messages urging these Senators to protect life.  Please go to the AUL blog and website and stay up to date on what is happening in your country.  If you are a believer, I especially hope you would heed the call to speak up for the lives of those who are oppressed and have no voice.]

I received this email from Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life today.  If you want to have your voice heard to protect health-care workers’ conscience rights (which will affect your access to pro-life doctors) and to prevent federal funding of abortion, please read this and do what the letter requests.  I only wish I saw this email sooner today!  But you should be able to call these numbers and leave messages even if it is after hours.  Here is the email:

Tomorrow is an important day in health care reform for pro-life America.  The U.S. Senate Finance Committee will continue mark up of Sen. Baucus’s health care bill.  Currently, Sen. Baucus’s bill allows qualified health plans to provide coverage for all abortions and mandates that at least one plan in each state exchange provide coverage of all abortions.  Thankfully, we have another chance to protect and defend life in health care reform.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has filed several amendments that would prevent government funding for abortion and would protect current conscience laws for health workers.

Here are the pro-life amendments being considered for a vote tomorrow (for a more detailed explanation, please go to the AUL blog):

• Hatch Amdt. #C14 (355): Prohibits authorized or appropriated federal funds under this bill from being used for elective abortions and plans that cover such abortions. 
• Hatch Amdt. #C13 (354): Protection for the right of conscience.
• Hatch Amdt. #C12 (353): Prohibits federal funds under this bill from being used to pay for assisted suicide and offers conscience protections to providers or plans refusing to offer assisted suicide services.

Please CALL the Finance Committee Senators today and urge them to support Sen. Hatch’s amendments to exclude abortion funding & protect conscience rights for health workers:

• MAX BAUCUS, MT (202) 224-2651
• JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV (202) 224-6472
• KENT CONRAD, ND (202) 224-2043
• JEFF BINGAMAN, NM (202) 224-5521
• JOHN F. KERRY, MA (202) 224-2742
• BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR (202) 224-4843
• RON WYDEN, OR (202) 224-5244
• CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY (202) 224-6542
• DEBBIE STABENOW, MI (202) 224-4822
• MARIA CANTWELL, WA (202) 224-3441
• BILL NELSON, FL (202) 224-5274
• ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ (202) 224-4744
• THOMAS CARPER, DE (202) 224-2441
• CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA (202) 224-3744
• ORRIN G. HATCH, UT (Sponsor of Amendments) (202) 224-5251
• OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME (202) 224-5344
• JON KYL, AZ (202) 224-4521
• JIM BUNNING, KY (202) 224-4343
• MIKE CRAPO, ID (202) 224-6142
• PAT ROBERTS, KS (202) 224-4774
• JOHN ENSIGN, NV (202) 224-6244
• MIKE ENZI, WY (202) 224-3424
• JOHN CORNYN, TX  (202) 224-2934

For Life, Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D. President & CEO

I finally figured out how to embed youtube videos directly on our blog (thank you Leslie Blair!)  Now that I know how to do it, I feel kind of dumb since it was so easy and right under my nose the whole time.  Anyway, here are a couple of new Isaiah videos for you (mostly to please the Grandmas).  Enjoy!