Oct 3 - Back to Lair o the Bear

We're back to the days of needing an hour to get out the door...Jonah needs to nurse right before we leave, two kids need diaper changes, Isaac needs shoes and a jacket.



But eventually we made it to this beautiful place, which has shown up in the blog several times now...Lair o the Bear, just about a half hour away in Morrison.

Our leader below, who always insists on getting a map from the box at the entrance.


Jonah's first hike at 6 days old.


This was the first time we didn't jump in the creek here...We thought it was a little too cold, and luckily Isaac agreed.

Views from the path...


A short hike, then it was time to play catch with the UVA football Taylor brought for Isaac. He loved it.












Headed back for lunch.

And a few pictures from later that afternoon, as I learned to juggle the constant nursing of a newborn with the constant attention a toddler needs...

Oct 1 - more pics

In these photos, you can see the bright red W on Jonah's chin. You could call it newborn rash, but my mom and I said that was his Wilbur. A gift from Popoo, I think.

These are all my mom's photos...love that little profile.

And big brother Isaac, who narrates his life in the 3rd person, calling himself either "fireman," "workers," or "farmer." Obviously, this is fireman below.

Sept 30 - a few pictures

My parents came to help us out and worked so hard while they were here, they must have left exhausted. My dad cooked pasta with homemade meat sauce, halibut with lemon-lime sauce, and mushroom risotto with chicken in mushroom sauce. He also made Isaac (and usually us) breakfast every morning - French toast or scrambled eggs. Luckily he took the night off on his birthday. My mom made her yummy lemon chicken one night too...Besides the amazing food, my parents gave Isaac all the attention he craved and left our downstairs clean each night. It made having a second child seem almost easy...until they went home.

Above, Isaac and my dad getting lunch at Pasquini's while I took Jonah to his first doctor visit.

Below: my little boys.


Below - I know I look exhausted here, but I was sleeping pretty well for the first few days!

Sept 27: Jonah Wilbur Platt!

He is here! Jonah was born on Sunday, September 27, at 4:33 am.

8 lb 4.5 oz, 20 1/2 inches

2 days of intermittent but painful contractions, until I woke up to an awful one at about 1:30 am on the 27th. After debating whether or not to go to the hospital, my water broke, the contractions were suddenly unbelievably painful and started coming 1-2 minutes apart, and I was having visions of having this baby in the car. We were lucky to have a group of wonderful friends who had volunteered to come watch Isaac, and my friend Megan arrived just 16 minutes after I called her. Yes, I was counting the minutes, wondering if we should have left hours ago!
We arrived at the hospital around 3 am, and Jonah was born just an hour and a half later. He was ready - just a single contraction and he was out. An uncomplicated, unmedicated birth - and we are once again the new, very lucky parents of a beautiful baby boy.


I am constantly struck by how big Isaac looks in this picture - look at those long legs!
He slept through everything, and by the time he woke up, Adam had returned, with a bag of bagels. Isaac ate two of them - a nice treat for the new and apparently hungry big brother. They came to the hospital right after breakfast. I heard Isaac's little voice in the hallway and couldn't wait to see him.
He had missed me too - he came charging in with such a light in his eyes and his beautiful smile - straight to the bed, where he dove into my arms and burrowed into my lap.
After all these months of waiting for the baby and kissing, hugging, and talking to my belly ("talk baby") when he needed comfort, Isaac was fascinated to look over and see Jonah for the first time.



Adam went with Jonah when he had his first bath, while Isaac stayed with me to snuggle and read books.

Sept 20 - Sunday morning in the backyard

One of Isaac's favorite phrases is "Go backyard, YAYYYY!" And then he runs to the back door, fully expecting that one of us will be right behind him. Adam also loves to go in the backyard, so he takes Isaac out most every day in nice weather. There's always work to be done - picking up dog poop, picking raspberries and veggies from the garden, cutting the grass - and Isaac has his work too. "You farmer," he says, and then climbs on the broken tractor our neighbors rescued from the dump - his new very favorite toy. In fact, I have to be careful not to say the word "tractor" or he'll be running to the door and then crying if I'm not dressed yet or some other silly excuse prevents us from going out.


Below, our garden! Raspberry bushes in front, planted just in May but already producing bowls of yummy berries. Inside the fence are potatoes, broccoli, beets, and green beans (the only disappointment - somehow managed to be tough and mushy at the same time) and tomatoes.

Isaac going into his cave...

"Lions not there anymore. Just Isaac."

And the parking lot...Isaac's favorite game inside and out. Sometimes it seems like he spends all day making them, then moving them piece by piece (rolling them across floor) to a new location because "This parking lot closed now." He is all boy, but he is my child: the end result is a neat row of vehicles, whether it's a double line of cars and trucks at the foot of the stairs or the large-vehicle parking lot pictured below.


Back on the beloved tractor...

Aug 27 - Lair o the Bear

Trying to catch up...We tried to meet up with friends at our new favorite toddler hiking spot, Lair o the Bear, but Isaac slept in and we almost missed everyone. Luckily, Leanne and Jack stayed and had lunch with us. The boys ate for a while and then had a great time running around together.

Their favorite game was picking up handfuls of gravel and dumping it on their heads...Leanne got a great picture of this below.

Running...

Then Isaac discovered the grill, which was full of soot.

Leanne captured this for us too, since Isaac won't let me get a good picture of him these days.

Below - the face I got.

Isaac loves caves ("might be lion in there...lion sleeping now..."), and this was his cave - a little hole in the dirt.

The boys took turns in the cave.