He gives and takes away...

We haven't posted in a while and so I wanted to catch you all up on our family happenings. Unfortunately, some of those happenings of late have been sad ones. My (Ellie) father passed away (after 7 long years of battling cancer) two weeks ago this past Wednesday. And so this last week was a whirlwind for us as we spent most of the week in Helena with my mom preparing for and attending the funeral.

I am truly amazed though, that in my grief and all that losing a loved one means, that God has brought so much joy to temper it all - in the form of our sweet babies. Even though our littlest is not yet born, I am so excited for his coming and appreciate more and more each day the gift that he is to our family. And then Isaac, of course, is an amazing source of comfort and joy - that in the times of loss the gift and newness of life that he possesses is so sweet to me! This was most real when as I sat and watched the pallbearers bring my dad's casket to the graveside and I was suddenly overcome with emotion and cried and cried, I buried my face in Isaac's little head as he sat on my lap and I smelled his baby hair and thought - only you, Lord, could give me such comfort in this way. I am so thankful that He never leaves us alone. The rest of the day of the funeral I had such strength and hope for the future and joy in knowing where my Daddy is that all the grief just seemed to melt away in the waves of His mercy. This is what a life with Him is all about. Knowing He is right there with you!

On a brighter note, Isaac is doing just great. He had a bout with a pretty nasty virus about 4 weeks ago and ran a fever that made us pretty nervous. But he is through it and bounced back just fine. He was the delight of his grandma and great grandma and great aunts this last week as his sweet personality just warms to most everyone he meets. He loves to play with any dog he meets and is quite "talkative" in his baby babble. He is walking so fast now, it's practically a run and it's always with much determination - he knows just where he's going and what he wants. He has figured out that the fridge holds food as well as one particular cupboard and shows me when he wants food. He has figured out how to turn the TV on and off and delights in doing this at his whim. He now knows how to climb onto the sofa with the assistance of his little "bucket-stool" which he also sits on to watch TV occasionally. It's just the right height for him. He also can climb up and back down any stairs and loves doing this just for fun. He can also back himself off the sofa and our bed - and the bed is a feat since it is quite tall. He's pretty fearless all around and so much fun to watch! He also loves to play outside in the snow especially if Avi comes out in the yard with him.

In pregnany news: I am now 32 weeks along and really getting excited. Just today I pulled out some "coming home" clothes for our new little guy. The thrill of imagining this new little one coming into our lives washed over me again as it did with Isaac and I realized just how soon it will be. We do have a name picked out now and we'll share it with you all very soon. In the meantime, here are a few "belly pics" to show just how big a boy we have coming!

Our best to all our friends and family - we love you! For lots more recent pics click HERE

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!