Happy Hanukkah 2007!

We really enjoyed celebrating Hanukkah this year with Isaac. He was so cute as he watched with delight as Ben lit the candles each night and we said the blessings. By the third or fourth night he deinitely knew what was going on and reached right for the shamas to help daddy light the other candles. Also, he received his very first yarmulka from his Zeyda and Grama, just for the occasion.

We also played dreidel and Isaac even tried to spin the dreidel himself. He figured out that it was supposed to spin, but didn't quite know how to make it do that. Daddy, of course, is the dreidel pro and even came up with fun variations on the basic game that we can play with all our nieces and nephews when we celebrate with them this weekend. He's got a wicked spin!

In other news, we are enoying the little bit of snow we've had so far - that is when we're not disliking it for the fact that Ben has to drive in it every weekday. Isaac still absolutely loves being outside and now the snow is a whole new adventure. We can't wait to build snow forts and snow men in he yard! Isaac has also recently discovered how to climb up on things using the assistance of a little bucket that he has claimed as his own. This afternoon, he put it upside down next to the couch and then climbed up on it like a step and then onto the couch. Voila! He was soooo proud of himself. So cute!

I am now 27 weeks along with Bun2 and here are a few more pics of him from a recent ultrasound I had. I love the detail of his little face in the first one. To me he already looks like his big brother. Hey, a mommy can dream! I am loving how "fast" this pregnancy seems to be going by. However, I feel as big as a house already and I've still 3 months to go! YIKES!

Our love to all of you. Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate and Merry Christmas to everyone else! Have a warm and lovely holiday season!

MORE PICS HERE

Chicken Little

We had a little "Harvest Party" with our congregation at the end of October and we dressed Isaac up as Chicken Little. He won the prize for "Cutest Costume" of course! It wasn't a hard decision especially since one of the judges was his aunt. A friend and I coordinated the whole event for the kids and everyone had a blast!

Happy Fall and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

More Chicken Little pics HERE.

Baby Boy 2...the Sandler way!

Well, if that's not enough to give it away, then, yes we are having another little boy. We are very excited and even though we'd loved to have had a little girl next as well, it will be great for Isaac to have a playmate so close in age. The official due date is: March 17, 2008.

Here is "Bun the 2nd's" first photograph...

Be sure to check out more recent pics of Isaac!

Baby Steps!

Isaac took his first step (it was really more like a tiny little shuffle) about 3-4 weeks ago and he is now (after experimenting with it for several days) fully walking! He has become so fond of his new found skill that he has transferred most of his mobile time from crawling to walking. He can go pretty decent distances now and loves to follow mommy and daddy around!

We ventured outside with his new skill and he now loves to walk from the house to the car holding onto mommy's hand!

A little Isaac update: Isaac is growing and changing so much. We get to see more of his personality all the time. And he is such a little boy. He loves funny or loud noises - he laughs hysterically when we reproduce them for him. He loves playing "pound on the puppy" (not really, he's actually pretty gentle). It goes something like this: he follows Avi (our little dog) around or just comes over to him when he's napping and just pats and pats on him, on his head, on his belly and maybe tries to climb over him until Avi eventually has had enough. Isaac thinks it's great fun and it again makes him laugh. He really has the greatest laugh. I know we're biased, but I have really never heard a laugh that makes me laugh every time! He is named so well!

Isaac's other favorite thing is to play "climb on daddy". He's already wrestling at just over a year old! He is very boy in this way too. He loves standing up tall and then letting himself just "fall" onto Ben. They can play like this for a long time. He also gets so excited when daddy comes home for the day. He wants to be held right away by Ben and reaches for him until he does so. We are loving seeing how he is emotionally connecting with us more and more.

So, we are enjoying all the new adventures of toddler-hood. I am excited to get Isaac outside more to explore now that he is walking - I just know he will love the piles of leaves laying everywhere. Those are some of my favorite fall memories and I can't wait watch him enjoy them as well!

Lastly, a little pregnancy update: I am now 21 weeks along and we will announce in a soon coming blog update if Isaac will have a little brother or sister! This time has been a bit more suspenseful since we knew from the beginning with Isaac. I'll post some prego pics here pretty soon, I promise.

Check out Isaac's latest pics HERE.

The Big ONE!

Isaac had his first birthday a couple of weeks ago. Sept. 10th was the big day and it falls right in between mommy and daddy's birthdays as well. We had a little party for him, just a few friends and family. It was really for us since we're sure he won't remember it. It's great to get some pictures for showing him later, though.

Cake and Isaac BEFORE...

Cake and Isaac AFTER!

It looks more like the cake attacked him rather than the other way around! Anyway, he had fun and went to bed with way too much sugar in his system. Won't do that again for a while!

Ben had a wonderful birthday with a bunch of "the guys" where they played tournament poker for the evening. He didn't win "the big pot" but he had a great time and is now trying to figure out how to play better for the next tournament he'd like to host. We didn't have enough poker chips for the party so we ended up getting him a whole new set of chips as well and they are really nice - almost like what the professionals play with! He loves them!

My birthday was nice, although, I am officially not a 20-something anymore. It's a bit of a shock at first, but I know this year and the next ten will be as rewarding and special as the past ten. I had a fun time wandering around Spokane with Ben and some friends since we were there for a conference during my birthday. A friend bought me a delicious latte and a slice of huckleberry lemon cake at a sweet little "French" cafe in Spokane to celebrate. I also had a lovely party earlier in the week and got a new hair cut and color as a result! Never thought I'd be brave enough to try brunette with highlights! I'll have to post some pics soon.

In other "growing" news, I am now 17 weeks along with baby #2 and this next month we'll find out what we're having. Of course, we would love for this one to be a girl. We've both always wanted a little boy then a little girl. Although, in accordance with Sandler gene's, I have always been disuaded from hoping for any chance of a girl. Ah, well, a mommy can still hope anyway!

And now to leave you with a little "Ahhhh Moment"...

They are soooo cute! Be sure to check a bunch more pics of Isaac HERE!

BIG NEWS!

We just found out this last weekend that we are expecting our second baby!!!!!!!!! It was totally unexpected news, but we are thrilled and can't wait to share our lives with this new little one. It looks like we are about 6 weeks along, so from what we can calculate the due date would be approximately the end of March or beginning of April. So, Isaac and his little brother or sister will be about 1 1/2 years apart. Not bad!

We'll be sure to update you as things go along and there will be lots more pics and updates on Isaac and our whole little family! Guess we'll have to rename our blog, too!

Summertime Fun!

Summer is in full swing here in the Flathead Valley and we're enjoying it as much as possible. The most popular thing to do here is to go to the lake, go camping and grill lots. We've done two out of the three so far this year.

We took Isaac to the lake (Flathead Lake) for the first time about 2 weeks ago for a nice evening grilling and swimming with friends. We took him in the fairly cold water and little by little let him further into the water. He went nuts!! He absolutely loved it! He started kicking his legs and splashing with Ben and laughing at the whole thing. It was great - such a little water baby!

We haven't been camping yet with Isaac, but we intend to soon. The weather here has been really hot by Montana standards - over 100 degrees several times last week. But it's fine as long as you can get to the lake and cool off.

We also had a chance to take Isaac to his first circus. He was thoroughly unimpressed as he played with his shoes and random other things out of his diaper bag for the entire time. But we still had fun!

Be sure to check out lots more recent pics of Isaac here.

Catching up...

Again it has been way too long since our last post. I'd wanted to share Passover pics and lots of other recent fun stuff, so... even though it's late at least it's not never!

We did have a really nice Passover. It was very large as usual, what with the entire MT Sandler clan represented. I am fine tuning making all the holiday dishes and I felt the most confident this year making everything than I have since we got married! It's like Mom Sandler's recipes are finally becoming my own! Thank you Mom! Also, Ben is getting better and better at making the seder streamlined so that includes all the important parts but also does a good job at making it fun and applicable for the kids. This year he did a fun "Deal or No Deal" version of bartering for the afikomen. The kids loved it and Jerry (one of our nephews) made $10!

This was Isaac's first Passover, which of course he won't remember, but it was really fun for us. We actually gave him a piece of matza to play with and suck on and he loved it. He got it all over his face!

Since then spring and even the beginning of summer have really fallen upon us and it's been wonderful to get outside with Isaac. Ben and I have taken him for walks, along with puppy Avi, which, mind you is a handful! Isaac loves hanging over the front of his stroller and watching as the pavement goes by. We let Isaac sit and explore in the grass the other day and he loved trying to eat grass, dandilions and he even had a little rock in his hand - ready to stick it in his mouth!! He is reaching for everything these days! The whole world is his adventure!

Isaac is growing up so fast - already he has taken a few "very assisted" walking steps. Although he doesn't really like the crawling position much yet, he is so very ready to walk and stand. Also, on his 8-month-day (not sure what else to call that), May 10th, he popped his first tooth through! Yeah!!!! (even if there was a little fussiness that ensued!)

We are just loving this adventure and can't wait for what's coming next. For lots more pics of Isaac click here.

And now for a little segment we like to call...

HATS!!!

Isaac and I were just having fun the other day and since every now and then I have to go through his wardrobe and try things on to see what fits and what's out - we tried it with his HATS!! And now some shots with props!

We've been having so much fun, though! Isaac is now 51/2 months old and he is so happy and strong. It seems he has skipped right over the rolling over thing and gone straight to sitting up all by himself. About two weeks ago, I tried just sitting him up and letting him hold himself up and sure enough, he stayed upright for about 5-10 minutes!!

He "talks" all the time now and laughs when we play peek-a-boo and when Avi tries to lick him. He loves watching things; he's a very observant little guy. He smiles easily at anyone that talks or smiles at him and generally, just is in a great mood all the time.

Isaac and I have been going to a play group of about 5 moms and babies his age a couple times a month. This has been really fun, since the babies get to "play" with each other and each other's toys and it gives us moms a little time out to have some "adult conversation". Several of the gals in the group were old friends or people I'd worked with so it has made for an easy group of friends. Be sure to check out more of Isaac's latest pics!

Holidays, Dedication and the day to day...

[Just a little disclaimer: I thought I had posted this about a month ago and it turns out I never finished it - ughhhh! So, if this seems really late, well, that's because it is! :o)]

Well, things have been busy and I've been amiss in updating Isaac's blog! Starting in mid-December and through the New Year, Ben's side of the family from out East came to visit for the holidays. We'd been so excited about this big family gathering since many of us hadn't seen each other for at least a few years. We had planned some great family time as well as a big family photo (19 people in all)! Try gettin' all those people to smile at the same time!

Here's about the best we did!

Then on December 31st, 2006 Ben and I dedicated Isaac to God. It was such an amazing and wonderful morning, as the whole congregation shared in blessing him and speaking encouragement to us and to Isaac. Isaac's Zeyda(Grandpa), Abraham Sandler led the dedication and we prayed some special prayers over Isaac, both from Jewish tradition and those that came from our hearts.

In other news, the Eagles didn't make it to the SuperBowl :o( , but we had our littlest Eagle fan all decked out anyway. We've had a great holiday season and we hope you all did too!

"GOOOOO EAGLES!!!"