Clapping

Nate is getting so big. He's gotten into clapping - which he seems to have confused clapping with the sign for "more"(which has been helpful at mealtime - until now). But we're working on separating the two. He is babbling alot, making all sorts of new sounds, he says "buh" when we go to read a book. Sometimes as he's looking at books on his own he'll just say the B sound over and over quietly to himself. Its so cute! Here's a pix of him taking a bath at the lake - he loved the bubbles from the jets!

Little Steps

I can't believe how big Nate is getting! At 10 months old now, he's taken a few steps with his walking toy, and he cruises around no problem with us holding his hands. He's gotten tooth number two. He eats anything and everything we put in front of him and some things that we don't. We are very much enjoying his sweet spirit, he's such a happy little guy. We'll be going to the lake soon and if the water's warm enough he'll get his first "swim". If not soon, by the end of the summer at least.
I've had a couple of wedding gigs recently and another one in a few weeks. I'm enjoying doing wedding pictures and each one is more relaxed than the last for me. There is so much pressure with wedding pictures, but I'm feeling more comfortable and confident. Here is a collage from a friend of mine's wedding.

Old Friends

Dangit... I tried to fix this post... but I think the pix that I want to post are too high res... and I'm too lazy to do anything about it. Oh, well.... the pix were of me, Jess and Jules (we looked really cute), and one of all the CCFers at Jesse and Carrie's wedding. I haven't see that many CCFers in the same room outside of Vincennes! It was great to catch up with a few people I hadn't seen in a long time. It made me miss the old days a little. Miss and love you all!

Teeth

Nate got his first tooth a few weeks ago and he's sprouting another one as I type. He's cruising around all over the place now. He moves from couch to table to mommy's leg, etc without missing a beat. And thankfully he's getting the hang of getting down on his own, for awhile he would pull himself up with no problem but then whine for help when he wanted to get down. He is very interested in all things forbidden, if he shouldn't have it, he wants it. I know its a phase and he'll outgrow it in like 25years when he's married and has a wife and his own kids. Ha! We love him so much, he's a real joy.

New Toys

Now that Nate is getting bigger his toys are too. He really likes sitting on the toy car, though he hasn't gotten the hang of getting places on it. And the jumperoo is now at the lakehouse... it took him most of the weekend to figure out that he could jump instead of just stand there and play w/ the gadgets and stuff on it. He's so much fun to watch and listen to - he's babbling alot.
** Also ~ Nate has picked up signing! We have been trying out Baby Sign language and they recommend that you only work on one word at a time so we've been working on "more" (during meal time, etc) for awhile now and he's doing it! Its so cute! We're excited to see our work paying off.

First Field Trip

We went to the Children's Museum w/ Zach, Janice, Jeremiah and Jess. We all had a good time. Nate explored the toddler area. Jeremiah checked everything out, but isn't quite ready for exploring yet.

Into Everything

Nate is exploring every nook and cranny now that he can get around on his own. He thinks he owns everything and that everything needs to be eaten. His newly found freedom has made him a little more high maintenance... he certainly is letting us know if he's not getting what he wants... though he has been a little sicky lately so that may be contributing to his moods. We're hoping to work on our deck this weekend... we're really looking forward to having a nice space for having BBQs and such once we start getting some real spring weather here soon.

Karyn & Isaac's Wedding

One of my long time friends, Karyn, got married yesterday... she is such a sweetheart and we were so happy when she found Isaac(we call him Isaac#2), who is such a great guy. The wedding came together beautifully (they used alot of the flowers that we used in my sister Shannon's wedding last year). It was such a meaningful and special ceremony joining two wonderful people. I was the official photographer and while I did have some nerves, I think everything went rather well and am pretty pleased with how the pictures turned out. I certainly hope they are happy with them too! Anyway, congrats to Karyn & Isaac!

Collage

I know most of these pix have been posted before but I love this collage of Nate (its my wallpaper on my desktop right now) and wanted to share it with you all.
I've slacked on The Lord's Table... I've let distractions come in the way of me sticking to the study, but have kept up with the eating schedule. I've lost another couple of pounds which is encouraging. And Isaac's parents gave us their treadmill so hopefully I'll continue to take advantage of that and keep active as winter lingers... I'm ready for warm weather so Nate and I can play outside on the deck that we are getting ready to build - yeah!

PhotoBooth

Aren't we all so cute?!? Isaac doesn't understand why I'd want to spend $3.00 do get my pix taken in a booth when we could use our own camera etc and do it ourselves... there's just something about it that I like. At least he humors me once in awhile.

Crawling!

Just a couple of nights ago... Nate took his first "steps" forward crawling! He was pretty wobbly at first but he's starting to get the hang of it now. Its exciting but certainly harder to keep him out of stuff now. We're going to have to buy baby gates and move some things out of reach. He's so much fun!
Isaac and I (after much deliberation) bought a new camera for my growing business. I'll have it in time for my friend's wedding next weekend. I've got weddings in March, April and May... yeah! Its exciting!

my 26th birthday

Sunday was my 26th birthday. I had a hard time getting into the "birthday spirit"... maybe I'm lame but it seems that birthdays just aren't as cool anymore. When you're a kid b-days are awesome, you look forward to it all year long! Party, cake, presents... whats not to like!?! Then you have your 18th & 21st birthdays which are kinda cool milestones, you get to vote and drink. After 21 there aren't any more cool ages, every other milestone age is one where people wear black to your party and talk about the Grim Reaper... whats fun about that? Anyway, despite my lack of enthusiasm about my birthday we enjoyed great food and fellowship with friends and family and it was a great day. Nate tried out his handy dandy portable booster seat when we had dinner at my parents' place. He looks so big sitting there by himself. And pretty cute too!

Waking Up Happy

Nate usually wakes up babbling to himself in his bed for awhile. Then he plays with Mom and Dad, laughing and talking up a storm. He's such a cutie pie! He makes it a joy to get up in the morning.

Super Bowl Party

A couple of my girl friends from college came in town this weekend. We really enjoyed visiting with them. We went to a hotel for "girls nite" and had a blast. We played this game called "Things... humor in a box". Its so cool, but better played in a larger group.
Our church had a Super Bowl party Sunday night. It was alot of fun. Nate had his first moonwalk experience. He tried to eat the green dragon's horn. It was cute.
I'm having a Mary Kay party tomorrow. I've been to parties before but never done one myself. It'll be mostly family so it'll be pretty laid back. I'm looking forward to it.

Six Month Pictures..... finally!

I found a night when Nate didn't have any scratches or rashes or runny nose! Jess and Lauren were over and they helped me get some cute smiles from the little guy and I am really pleased with how the pictures turned out. He looks like such a little man in the cute preppy outfit that Grandma Deb got him for Christmas. I know I am bias... but he's so darn cute! Don't ya just want to eat him up!?! He's getting so strong, he's sitting really well on his own and will get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth... it won't be too long before he's crawling all over and driving me crazy!

Retreat

The three of us went on a retreat with several other couples from church this weekend. I really appreciated not being the only nursing mother to bring along her baby. It was a really good time of fellowship and reflection on where our church body has been and is going. We have a great group of people.
Update on The Lord's Table. Both Isaac and I have been seeing results. Its really helped me to be doing this together, we both really enjoy and appreciate being able to talk together about the day's lesson and what we've been learning. I'm a good 25lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight (50+ under the weight I was just before Nate was born), and have gotten into a size jean that I haven't been in for years. I'm hoping by my birthday to feel ready to go shopping for new clothes. Already alot of my clothes are too big but I'm not ready for a new wardrobe yet, I've still got alot of weight yet to lose. The Lord has blessed us through The Lord's Table and we hope to have continued success losing the weight and gaining Christ in our lives.

New Cousin for Nate!

Isaac's brother Zach and his wife Janice had little Jeremiah James (J.J.) Penrod on Wednesday morning. He is so cute! He was 5lbs 10oz and I think 18inches. He's so tiny, especially when his daddy (who is a big guy) is holding him. We all are very happy J.J. is finally here and Nate is looking forward to meeting him when he comes home from the hospital. Isaac says Nate will eat him - as he tries to do with everything anymore.

Bathtime in the Big Tub!

Nate had so much fun in the big bathtub. Isn't he cute!? He and Daddy splashed around together! I love my boys!
I'm really hoping to do his 6mos pix this week sometime... I didn't really care for his haircut at first (shorter than what I had wanted). And he had a rash on his face the other night. Now he's got red runny nose... so we'll see how things go this week if I get the pix done.

Six Months Old!

Nate had his 6mos checkup yesterday. All is well... Dr. Bain (a nice guy, but a little goofy for a doctor) says that Nate is a perfect baby. He was such a little trooper for his shots... the first one he didn't even cry... then the next two were too much for him. He's been sitting on his own pretty well lately. And he's getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. Tonite is a big night... Nate is getting his first real haircut. I gave him a little trim at 4mos but it wasn't very good so we are getting professional help this time. So, once he gets his hair cut I'll hopefully being doing his 6mos pix soon.
Isaac and I have both lost 15lbs since we started The Lord's Table course. Its been a real help that we're going through it together. Satan has been trying to put up road blocks and it'd be alot harder if we weren't supporting eachother right now. I've had my eyes opened to some changes I need to make... but actually making those changes isn't easy so please pray for me.

Happy 2006

We hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. We had a wonderful vacation over the holidays. We enjoyed visiting with friends and family. But I think we were all a little worn out by all the excitement of Nate's first Christmas. He did seem to get into the presents... well, eating them anyway. Everything ends up in that boy's mouth! He got a Family Guy bib w/ Stewie saying "Why you sick little moo cow!". That gift was more for Isaac than for Nate. We got to spend some time with some other babies and Nate is taking more of an interest now than he used to. He and my cousin Jett (as seen below) are 1mo apart in age and they were so cute together at a family gathering.

Merry Christmas!

Well, I'm not getting my Christmas cards out in time for you to get them before Christmas, so I wanted to go ahead and wish everyone a great holiday. Please don't forget the real reason we celebrate this time of year. Take time to read through the Christmas story (we usually read in Luke). Its especially neat for me to think about the birth of our Savior since we just gave birth to our own firstborn not too long ago. How must Mary have felt knowing what a special child she had born... wow! What a special person she must have been for God to have chosen her to carry His son. Again, we wish you the best during this special season and in the year to come!
Love,
Isaac, Lawana & Nate

All Smiles

Its gotten harder to catch Nate's smiles on camera. Even though the smiles are more frequent, he gets distracted by the flash and ends up with a curious look instead of the previous smile. However, this is a particularly good pix of him smiling. Isn't it the cutest smile?!? I know its getting late but I'm still hoping to take pictures of Isaac, Nate and I for our Christmas cards. Being a photographer, you'd think we'd be on top of our own pictures.... but no.

5 months old!

Nate had his first real attempt at eating on his 5mo birthday. I've given him little bits of bread and other small soft foods a few other times but this time I mashed up some banana with some breast milk and gave it a shot. Nate did alright... I think he got more on his hands than he did in his mouth... but all in all it was pretty good. We didn't make too big a mess, all things considered. His bib says IRS Deduction! Ha!

Indy had a huge snow storm last night. We got between 7-8 inches of snow in this area! Thats more than we usually get the whole month of December! Crazy!

Isaac and I would appreciate prayer as we continue together thru "The Lord's Table". It's an online course learning to create better view of food and eating habits, while learning to focus on Christ and turning to Him instead of food for comfort, etc. We're both seeing results physically and spiritually (after a week and a half) but have a long way to go before we've gotten past our old habits. If you are interested in the course its available (along w/ courses on other topics) at: www.settingcaptivesfree.com .

Eat Yer Foot!

This is a game my dad (Pop) played with all of us when we were kids and now we all play it with Nate. He loves to "eat" his feet! He's so much fun. He rolled over several times this morning! Though I think most of them were accidents!

S'bucks

Here are our friends' girls: Celia, Elizabeth, Catherine, Lydia and Anna at the grand opening of a Starbucks. We all enjoyed the free hot chocolate! Mmmmm..... good.



This is Cindy Wright's brother, Tommy Day. He was playing for the grand opening. He's a very talented musician. You can check him out at www.tommyday.com. I seem to be his un-official photographer... alot of the pix on his website are ones that I've taken. He's a really cool guy.



Nate was tired out from all the activity, and all the kisses from the little girls (he had chocoate on his face from them!). On our way home Nate fell asleep with his book leaning up against his face... it was so cute!

Roll Over... Roll Over

Here Nate is on his tummy, all smiling and happy.... But he has that look in his eye... he's getting ready for something... (can you tell that mommy tried to cut his hair.... its a mess... I'm gonna have to find someone to fix it.... but he's still cute - even w/ chopped up hair).


Here Nate is demonstrating how strong he's getting, pushing with both his arms and legs - smashing his face into the carpet... but what can ya do?


Ta Da! Nate has successfully rolled over onto his back! I know its a common every day baby thing.... but its cool!

Nake' Time!

Nate is starting to like having his clothes off. So now we play a little before he gets his bath. He is getting so big. He has rolled over a couple of times but always in bed, so we still have not actually seen him do it (unassisted anyway). We really have alot of fun with him. He is laughing now, but he makes us work for it.
I sprained my ankle a week ago. I'm feeling better, but its still pretty uncomfortable. I was very thankful that Isaac happened to be on vacation last week, so he was around to help me while I was laid up not being able to walk the first few days after the sprain. We had a nice week together.

Chicago Trip

Here are me and the girls (my sis Lauren, and my gal pals: Julie, Jess and Cindy) getting ready to ride the "L" in Chicago this past weekend. We all went to Chi-town to visit Cindy. We had a great time visiting and seeing the city. It was a beautiful day and we went to the Sky Deck at the top of the Sears tower, had a great view of downtown, then we went to the Art Institute. And we of course had to have some Chicago style pizza and chilidogs. Mmmm good!

Here is Nate being the life of the party at dinner Saturday night. We went to this Ethiopian restaurante near Cindy's house. Pix below shows the selection of food we had at our table. We got several meat entrees (when they say its spicy, they mean it!) and a couple side dishes (vegetable dishes and cheese) - all was served on this spongey bread. No silverware, we just used the bread to pick up and eat the food. It was cool. Not everyone was as into it as Cindy but we all enjoyed the experience.


Thanks to Cindy and her sister and their roomate for their hospiatality and for fixing me up when I sprained my ankle right before we left.

Cuteness

Here is a 4 month pix of Nate. Isn't he the sweetest thing? I wish I could capture more of his emerging personality. He's babbling and smiling so much now. He's responding and interacting with people more and more. I can't believe how active he has become. This is such an amazing time, watching every little change in his developement. We are so blessed by him!

Wedding

I did pictures for another wedding last week. The nicest couple - Brian and Kristen Talbert. I was really thankful that the weather stayed nice long enough for us to get some pretty outdoor shots - it stormed pretty bad later that evening.
I've got a few family pictures lined up before the holidays. I am really wanting to get some more professional equiptment but I don't know if/when I'll be able to afford what I want. But for now I'm doing the best I can with what I have. Don't forget I have a website now:
www.unforgettable-photography.com

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4 months old!

Now four months old, Nate and his daddy just chill on the couch. They are so cute together! You should see Nate's face light up in a big smile when Isaac comes home from work. Its really sweet!

This week the youth group had "Family Week" at Jeremy(youth minister) and Cindy's. It was a great time for the kids to build relationships. Nate got to help cook dinner for all those teenagers. I wish I could get the pix to load... it was pretty cute.

Fall Family Fun Festival

Isaac and Nate got their picture taken with Home Star Runner at our church's fall festival. Our pastor's wife, a sweetheart of a lady, emailed the whole church saying how cool it was to have "Lone" Star Runner at the party. I got the biggest kick out of that!

Dimples

I did some senior pix as part of the barter w/ the doula. Her son (the youngest of four boys) has the biggest dimples I've ever seen! He seems like such a nice guy. He wanted some of his pix done w/ his grandparents. Aw...
I've got another wedding gig coming up next weekend! And its not for anyone that I know already! This is a real, strangers coming to me for my services, job! I really hope it goes as well as the last one.
We're going to the lake this weekend... ah, looking forward to relaxing. Its supposed to be nice weather. Its rained almost every time we've been up there this year! Ew. Anyway, gotta run.

Wedding Pix

John and Jenny's wedding was simple and elegant. I was honored to be a part of it and felt that things went pretty well. I'm pretty proud of how the pictures turned out and I hope they like them as much as I do. Aren't they a cute couple? Aw...

This Week...

Thursday Deb, Dane, Isaac's cousin Jenna (she's 4yr) and Nate and I went to the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County. We met up with some of my family. Grandma (my mom), Hannah and Kyle were at Billie Creek Village in Rockville reenacting a 1900s one room school house with some other home-school families. I have some of the greatest memories of doing that growing up. We've been going there during the Covered Bridge Festival for 10+ years now! Maybe Nate and I will go dressed up next year!


Nate and Daddy hard at work at the family business - Penrod Counseling Center. Somehow alot less work gets done when Nate is there... hmm... I can't imagine why! jk

Faces!

Nate has many of the cutest faces you'll ever see! Here are just a few of my favorites!