A Year Old and Loving It!

Today marked a historical day in our house. It was only a year ago that Chris and I were holding our little 7 lb .08 oz baby boy, Iszak.  He's growing like a wild weed,big smiles, laughing non-stop and making all kinds of sounds, saying dada, eating all kinds of fruits and vegatables, loves spaghetti with loads of sauce and of course ice cream.

Iszak was lucky enough to start celebrating his birthday a week before his actual day. We attended a BBQ at our friend's house and brought a birthday cake for dessert. It was one of the best tasting cakes ever. Yeah, so Iszak had 3 cakes to celebrate his 1st birthday. Yet, we only allowed him to divulge in one of the 3 on his actual birthday.

On June 6th,  we went to the Hogle  Zoo for the first time with Iszak. We invited some friends and their kids to join us. Daniel made the best cake ever and went well beyond my expectations. I only asked for a monkey hanging from a branch, but actually got this:

                                                          

Thanks for the impressive cake! All I was expecting was a sheet cake.

A spotlight of Iszak's first trip to the zoo.

We love you!!

Highlight's from Iszak's birthday on 6.7.09

Iszak didn't want to dig into the cake with his hands, no he expected it to be spoon fed. We managed to get Iszak to take the spoon and was loving it! At the very end, Iszak grabbed the cake and ice cream with his hands. Overall, it was a fabulous weekend and non-stop excitement.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY ISZAK!!

                     

Back in the Saddle Once Again

I've taken a break from blogging for a couple of weeks. Now it's time to get some updates and post a few pictures of what's been happening lately.

We did make it to Alaska on Wednesday, May 20th after a long day of traveling and through multiple TSA checkpoints in Salt Lake and Seattle. Yes, I did have to go retrieve luggage and turn around to check it back onto another plane. Note to one's self.. never do it that way with a squirmy 11.5 month old and expect to make it a quick process.

Disclaimer now:

Not a lot of pictures were taken on this trip, as it was constant wedding preparation the majority of the time. I had a blast actually, because I think there was more connection between me and the family this time. There's a stronger bond and I wouldn't have asked for anything more.

I got to talk more with Jennifer and have one on one time. We actually have more things in common, so we plan on spending more time together. Actually started planning the next trip already which includes camping.

It's really cool to have that older sibling connection with a female, as I haven't had that in my life.. nothing against my older brother, but we had too many differences. He simply grew up too fast.

Here's the steps with Iszak displaying that he was done traveling, as these are from driving down to Soldotna from Anchorage.

1) Pretty happy being chill

2) Maybe I'll will see what blowing bubbles brings me

3) Getting comfortable & adding some fiber to my diet

4) I'm just mad now and want out

These chain of events happened within a 2o minute period and yet 1.5 hours left of travel via car.

Yet, he was superb on all 3 airplane rides. Iszak was still a big act in the show as the wedding photographer loved how photogenic he was the entire time. Who wouldn't be with Iszak's big smile that he loves to share with everyone.

Overall, the wedding was fantastic and the ceremony was amazing. Patience and Mike were a beautiful Bride & Groom!

The weather was perfect and we saw quite a bit of wildlife, which is always neat. Especially when we can point out to Iszak, that those big brown things staring back at us from the road are called a Moose.

We enjoyed a bonfire & roasting hot dogs on the Kenai Beach on our last night in Soldotna. Where we spent that time with Chris' brother, Josh and his fiance, Jennifer.

On Saturday afternoon, we packed up to travel back to Anchorage. We spent the last 10 hours in Anchorage, prior to boarding a plane to come home.

I miss Alaska and the beauty that the state has to share. It's such a unique place to visit and explore, truthfully a picture or video doesn't do justice until you see it for yourself.

Three Days and Counting

Only 3 more days left!

We're getting excited to see the family and also nervous as Iszak is having separation anxiety issues of his parents... more so his mommy. I have an idea that I will have to be with him 24/7  as he just screams looking for his parents.  Good thing that Iszak is pretty great out in public and loves people.

I hope it's not as bad as I make it.

Other things happening in our world.. other than Alaska. We're planning Iszak's 1st Birthday party at the Zoo on June 6th. As my mom has this crazy idea to take him there and has been talking about it since he was a month old. 

12 Days Left

A little less than 2 weeks, until we're landing in Anchorage, Alaska. It's piling into a rental car and driving 150 miles south to a town called, Soldotna. Chris' beloved hometown, Soldotna is where he spent the majority of his childhood. Soldotna is located on the banks of the famous Kenai River, which is well known for all varieties of salmon fishing.  In 2001, Chris packed up and moved to Orem, Utah.  Heck, we're not here to talk about Chris' journey from Alaska to Utah... that's for another day.

I thought it would be fun to give a brief introduction about Alaska. As many people rarely have a chance to visit Alaska.

Here's what a map of Alaska looks like:

Few Facts about Alaska:

• Largest state in the USA, 2 times the size of Texas
• Has tallest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley at 20,320 ft
• Capital: Juneau, which is the only American capital that's not accessible by road
• State Tree: Sitka Spruce
• State Flower: Forget-Me-Not
• State Marine Mammal: Bowhead Whale
• State Gem: Jade
• State Mineral: Gold
• State Sport: Dog Mushing (Dog Sled Racing)

This is where we'll be spending the majority of our time, on the Kenai Peninsula:

A Chance To Make A Difference

Check out Maggie's story.

Ever since it became apparent that the economy was heading down hill I have made it a point to find ways that I can to serve and help others. It was my little way of creating insurance through karma I guess. Well, I won't go into details but I will just say it works and highly recommend it.

For those of you that would like to start your own karma insurance program here is an opportunity for you:

Maggie is a little girl in my friend's neighborhood. Some people in the neighborhood are holding a fundraiser on May 15th & 16th to help Maggie's family out with the overwhelming expenses involved with her medical care and also to help her get to Boston to see the specialist she needs to see. This trip involves getting a ventilator while on the plane among many other things I am sure.

So what can you do?

• Donate to the yard sale. I will even come get your donations just email me or call me. If it's easier, you can bring the donations to me.
  
• Donate to the bake sale and/or boutique sale, again I would be happy to pick things up for you.
  
• Come spend some $$$ at the fundraiser.
  

Copy and paste this to your own blog to spread the word about helping this little girl!

Thanks,

Jessica

A believer in that good goes around.

Baby Jaws

This is what my sister does for fun, while babysitting my child. 

Now Iszak is our little star in the making.

Countdown to Alaska

Yippee! Only 27 more days, until our little family boards an airplane to head to The Last Frontier! It's been less than a year ago that we were in Alaska visiting. Iszak was only 2 months old during that trip, because of course the family had to meet their first grandson/nephew sooner than later! 

As we were flying back home last August, we decided that we weren't going to go back for a few years.. 5 to be exact! There's plenty of places to see in Utah and neighboring states that  Chris hasn't seen and the excitement to show Iszak as well for the first time. It was less then 2 weeks of being home, that we found out that not only 1 sibling... but 2 got engaged. Darn it, back up to Alaska! Our plan so far hasn't worked in our favor.  A wedding on May 22nd and another on August 9th. 

I imagine that someone else had a hand in this plan to make sure their grandson was getting the attention and love from Baba! As it has been 11 years this month of Chris' father's passing. 

As I think about Chris interacting with Iszak and developing their father/son relationship, it's amazing and priceless to watch them. I'm thankful to have such a loving husband that would do anything for Iszak and myself on a daily basis.  I can only imagine how Chris' dad was as a father with unconditional love, nurturing and admiration for his own children.  A wonderful father,that I'm sure of, as all of the 3 kids are very respectful as adults. 

 

Thinking about it more and more.. I'm excited for Iszak to see his daddy's side of the  family more often  as we currently live in different states. Plus who wouldn't want to go to Alaska, right?? 

I really enjoy spending time with the family too, as I haven't gotten to know them as well as I've hoped, with the long distance between us. I do have to give myself kudos for doing a better job in keeping the phone lines busy talking to mom in Alaska. 

One night, Chris had called his mom to chat as they usually do on the weekends. We put the phone up to Iszak to "talk" to his Baba (Babushka is grandma in Russian) and he actually made joyful sounds and laughed with her. It was priceless! I'm sure once Iszak is talking non-stop, then learning the phone number.. we won't have any say  in what our child does when the phone is dialing to Alaska! 

Congrats to Patience & Mike!  

Congrats to Josh & Jennifer!

Here's some pictures of Iszak's 1st trip to Alaska, August 2008:

Expressions that Iszak made while riding in the car.

Iszak making faces at his toys in Homer, AK.

Chris, Patience, Josh (siblings)

and a bundled up Iszak

Baba and Iszak