Raising Isaac ... As a Way of Life.

2007-08-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

SORRY - We are taking a short hiatus from this blog ... BUT we can always be found at www.thishandmadelife.blogspot.com. Do drop by.

Love,
Us

July 18, 2007 - Owl Program at Corinna Library.

2007-07-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

July 17, 2007 - My Sleeping Princes.

2007-07-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2007 - Planting Roses at Bobo's.

2007-07-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

July 15, 2007 - See Me?

2007-07-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

July 14, 2007 - Bobo's Big Yard Sale.

2007-07-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2007 - Sleeping Over Bobo's House.

2007-07-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

July 12, 2007 - Sporting a New Bag.

2007-07-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2007 - Attending 3-D Photo Slide Show at Corinna Library

2007-07-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

2007-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2007 - Keeping Cool With Ice Water.

2007-07-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2007 - Lovin Nanu.

2007-07-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

July 8, 2007 - Asleep on the ATV (While Riding).

2007-07-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

July 7, 2007 - Late Night Elmo Movie.

2007-07-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

July 6, 2007 - Hanging With Rose.

July 5, 2007 - Trusting Daddy.

2007-07-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2007 - Daddy Dressed Me.

2007-07-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2007 - Oblivious to the Rainbow.

2007-07-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2007 - Happily Making a Mess.

2007-07-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

July 1, 2007 - Lovin' Jack (again).

2007-07-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, he is wearing the same clothes as the day before. That often happens when you have a sleepover and you don't fall asleep until 2 AM!!!! Notice that Meg had the good sense to change though :)

June 30, 2007 - Sleepover Party!

2007-07-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2007 - Tired, Messy Boy

2007-06-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

June 28, 2007 - Hanging Out in Bed

2007-06-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

June 27, 2007 - Lovin' on Daddy at Moose Point State Park

2007-06-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

June 26, 2007 - Cooling Off at Home

2007-06-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

June 25, 2007 - Lincolnville Beach

2007-06-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

June 24, 2007 - Petting Goats w/ Daddy

2007-06-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

June 23, 2007 - Riding the Mule w/ Bobo & Meg

2007-06-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

June 22, 2007 - Smelling Flowers w/ Daddy.

2007-06-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2007 - Lovin' PopUp.

2007-06-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

June 20, 2007 - Painting, Sort Of

2007-06-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

June 19, 2007 - Banana Nut Bread for Daddy

2007-06-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2007 - Topless Dancing for the Chickens

2007-06-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

June 17, 2007 - In Bobo's New Garage

2007-06-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

June 16, 2007 - Meeting Jack's Puppies.

2007-06-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2007 - Wading at Sebasticook

2007-06-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

June 14, 2007 - Playing with Daddy

2007-06-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

June 13, 2007 - Swinging with Sydney

2007-06-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

June 12, 2007 - Chasing Chickens.

2007-06-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

June 11, 2007 - Feeling MUCH Better!

2007-06-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

June 10, 2007 - Who's Yoda?

2007-06-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

June 09, 2007 - Sick Day / Missing a Family Celebration

2007-06-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2007 - Happily Ransacking the Playroom.

2007-06-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

June 07, 2007 - The Chicken Charmer.

2007-06-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

June 06, 2007 - Helping With the Laundry

2007-06-06T17:37:00.001-07:00

June 05, 2007 - Dancing on the Table.

2007-06-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, I feel the need to change this up a bit. Especially considering that I am often unable to upload the days photos to this site on the exact day that I take the photos (have I confused you?). So, I am now going to title the "Photo of the Day" with the date the photo was taken, as well as a simple title. Let's see how this goes :)

Day # 7.

2007-06-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Day # 6.

2007-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ugh!!!! I missed two days of photographs due to misplacing my camera. But I shall persist in this endeavor! So, though days 4 & 5 are a wash, here is Day #6. Enjoy.

Day # 3.

2007-05-31T18:28:00.001-07:00

Day # 2.

2007-05-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Day # 1.

2007-05-29T12:26:00.001-07:00

I have totally neglected this blog - and I am sorry (to Isaac mostly). But I have been using my family blog : This Handmade Life to share all the joys of raising my sweet Isaac and therefore have had little to say here. So ...

I am going to change it up a little. I am going to use this blog to take post a daily photo of my son and see how far it goes. I am actually pretty excited by this. I mean, imagine photographing my son daily for however many years I stick with it! It would be so amazing to watch his growth.

So, today begins our daily photographing journey. And here is photo # 1 :

I am also going to do my best to just let the photos speak for themselves. I will simply label them by the day. This ought to be interesting :)

Love,

Jodi

Isaac's One Year Anniversary!

2007-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

To read about how we celebrated Isaac's 1st "Gotcha" Day, please click on the above photo.
Love,
Jodi

Future Chicken Farmer?

2007-05-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Isaac is *wild* for our pet chickens. He always willing to help feed them, water them, and round them up at night. Here he is, in his farmer attire, getting ready to pay the chickens a visit inside their coop...

And here are some of those chickens, after Isaac caught them raiding the feed bin...

Love,

Jodi

Loving Sesame Street.

2007-05-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Park.

2007-04-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Meaghan enjoyed the first REAL day of Spring (first warm weather of the season) today at the Brewer Park. It was Isaac's first true playground experience. He loved it! He absolutely loved the excitement of so many other children. He made a few friends but was most interested in the bark mulch (see photos below for proof of this).

Isaac surprised me with his confidence in exploring all the large (and I would think - fairly daunting) playground equipment. He navigated it like a pro and often had more confidence in his abilities than was good for him! But I was pleased to see that he has no known fears and no feelings of inadequacy.

As for Meaghan, oh my sweet Meaghan... she is growing up ... and was VERY friendly with a boy from her school. I snapped a photo that speaks volumes ... and has me worried that my baby is growing up. Time to lock her in the closet, right?

Enjoy the photos.

Love,

Jodi

Isaac's First Easter!

2007-04-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Isaac enjoyed his Easter basket from Grandma Bobo & Poppy on "Easter-Eve". To see photos of his first Easter basket from the Easter bunny ... please click here.

Love,
Jodi

Funworld!

2007-04-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Halis and my very first date was April 14, 1995 at Funworld in Nashua, NH. It is a huge arcade. I was just 15 years old. Halis was 16 and had his drivers license for just a week or two. So, Funworld is a major part of our history ... though it is likely one of the tackiest places on earth.

A couple years ago, we took Meaghan there ... and this past weekend, we took Isaac. It is becoming a family tradition to make pilgramages to this hallowed ground (where the Sirimoglu-Renshaw family first began).

Isaac and Meaghan both loved it. Although we didn't have much time ... and the arcade gave both of us old folks major headaches ... we still managed to have some fun...

Love,
Jodi

Isaac's Birthday Celebration!

2007-03-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

ISAAC IS NOW 2!!!

He had a wonderful birthday party. Please click on the photo below to read the details on our other blog, "This Handmade Life".

Love,

Jodi

Fun-filled Wednesday.

2007-02-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is always a favorite for Isaac. He attends a special dance class and then gets to visit with his favorite horses at a local farm. But today was even more special, as he also got to hang out with his favorite girl, Rose. Her Mommy is the dance teacher. The classes take place in a studio at their home.

Here he is playing with the parachute at his dance class:

Here are his fellow *adorable* classmates:

Here is Isaac pointing to his favorite horse. We feed them carrots every Wednesday. They are very sweet horses ... and really BIG!

Rose just loves Isaac. And Isaac loves her ... but not so much when he is eating :)

After lunch, Rose's Mom, Summer and I were chatting ... and when it seemed like we were able to chat longer than usual, I went and checked on our all-too-quiet children. This is how I found them:

Summer had a great idea to go for a walk on the lake. It was a beautiful 40 degrees today (awesome weather for February in Maine).

Thank you Rose, Summer, horses & classmates for a great day today! We look forward to next Wednesday :)

Love,

Jodi

The Children's Museum / January

2007-02-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

One of Isaac's favorite places on Earth (thus far) is the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor, Maine. It is about 45 minutes from our house. And thanks to my Uncle Bill, Isaac has a membership there. So, we go as frequently as possible.

Isaac especially loves that he can just explore the whole museum with wild abandon. He can touch everything and Mommy never tells him "no"! What sheer delight for a 2-year old!

As soon as he enters the building, he heads right to the train set. After a few minutes, he goes to say "Hi" to the turtles, fish, snakes and lizards. Then it is off to explore the many floors of various activities, his favorite of which is the giant "lite bright" set. Here are some photos:

Thanks for looking & feel free to share your own Children's Museum pics.

Love,

Jodi & Isaac

Isaac is FABULOUS!

2007-01-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

My son just LOVES to look *FABULOUS* in his Mommy's scarves!

(Picture taken some time in mid-January).

Millionaire by 21?

2007-01-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

I have been tossing around this idea (between Halis and I) about putting away enough money for Isaac so that when he is 21 years old, he will already be a millionaire. That way he can choose to do whatever he wants in life, without money being an object (I am secretly hoping that he spends his life travelling). Of course, Mommy and Daddy would dole it out appropriately ... but I believe that we will raise a responsible human being who will be wise with his money (my fingers are crossed).

I know this is a lofty idea, but I believe that ALL things are possible!

Isaac has his own bank account right now and every week he puts money (coins found around the house) into it and delivers it to the lovely ladies at Sebasticook Valley Savings Bank. He has quite a bit saved already. And we plan to invest every birthday dollar, found penny, and lemonade stand earnings :)

But, I must tell you that I just did the calculations ... and Isaac and I had better get to work on selling some lemonade because the numbers are staggering! If I want Isaac to be a Millionaire by 21, then we need to put away or invest $52,631.58 per year! (*gulp*).

Well, okay then! We will just have to start one penny at a time. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Got a penny to spare?

Our Best Christmas Morning EVER!

2006-12-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

OUR BEST CHRISTMAS MORNING EVER

The tree was lovingly decorated ...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ...

The house was made festive ...

And alas ... on the holiest of days, the gifts for our own "prince of peace" arrived ...

And Isaac was happy at the discovery of them ...

And Daddy was happy that Mommy gave him an entire hockey outfit so that they can play together on the ice ...

Mommy was so happy to share this special day with her boy (finally) ...

And Grammy Bobo and Poppy came to share the love and laughter as well ...

Isaac enjoyed the quilt and pillow that Mommy made for his baby dolls ...

And Santa was VERY good to him this year! He brought Isaac his own ATV ...

Ok, Ok, that is not his ATV ... but check out what Grammy Bobo and Poppy got for him! His very own wheels! And he is SO good at driving it ... at only 21 months old!!! ...

Wow! Grandparents rock!

What an amazing Christmas. We spent it just the way that we wanted to ... at home with eachother ... enjoying every moment with the baby boy that we have waited our whole lives for. It was absolutely perfect.

Thank you God.

Oh yeah, and we had the best laughs at watching this little man drive around on his new wheels. We hope you do too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1XcBFiT8LI

Merry Christmas to All!

2006-12-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

MeRrY ChRiStMaS!

Lots of Love to all our family and friends - at this joyous season & always!

Happy Solstice, Happy Hannakuh, Happy Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad & Joyeaux Noel!

Isaac's First Snow Storm!

2006-12-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

To see a short video of Isaac's first trek through the snow, please click HERE.

Isaac's First Haircut & First Visit With Santa

2006-12-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that it has been a month since my last post. And more than that, I cannot believe how much Isaac has grown and changed within that month. His vocabulary has improved greatly, his gross motor skills are such that he has mastered some toddler basketball skills, and he can tell you just about every sound that can possibly be made by any given farm animal (goose, duck, dog, cat, frog, chicken, chick, rooster, cow, sheep, pig, turkey, horse and goat). His "cock-a-doodle-doo" is a favorite around here.

And today, he went to the mall and got his first haircut! What a big boy he was too. We were shocked at how good he was through the whole process. Here is a photo:

And here is his "after" shot taken later that evening with a face full of spaghetti sauce:

Prior to his haircut, Isaac also met Santa for the first time. And frankly, like so many young toddlers around the world... he hated every second of it! Here are some photos:

But he did love the toddler "merry-go-round" that costs a $1 for about 2 minutes! And he thought it was very important to ride it OVER and OVER again.

And because Mommy is always the one who is taking pictures, one might wonder whether or not I truly exist, seeing as Daddy is always the one being photographed with Isaac. Well, on most days I do exist ... and I also got a haircut today at the mall. Here is a photo of my much shorter mane. I am SO happy with it:

We had such a great day together at the mall... a simple pleasure that we don't ever seem to have the time for. We got to do a little shopping, eat some Chinese food & ice cream, get haircuts, and play on silly mechanical rides. It was such a treat just to spend the day together in "the outside world"!

And at the end of the day, Isaac took a nice long bath ... until he pooped in it. Really, he did. Just like Caddyshack. Anyway, we leave you with this photo:

Goodnight :)

Isaac's First Halloween

2006-11-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen a more gorgeous giraffe in all your life?

Isaac had a great time trick-or-treating. Although he was initially thoroughly confused at the idea that we would walk up to the front door of someone's house, knock on it, and then NOT enter into it once they had opened the door. However, he soon adjusted to the fact that we were not staying over at anyone's house, but rather, we were just looking for them to hand us some candy!

And even more than that, Isaac had no idea what candy was or why he might want some. Yeah for Mommy and Daddy! More candy for us. But by the fourth or fifth house, he got the idea that once a stranger handed you a treat, you then put it into your "trick-or-treat" bag and then saunter off to the next house. He just had a great time walking around and yelling "Hello!" to all of the other kids out walking the streets ... no matter how funny or scary they looked.

We also dropped by our local fire station for an ice cream and some apple cider. That was the highlight of Isaac's evening!

Isaac Befriends the Seagulls of Bangor

2006-10-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, Isaac and I took a stroll by the Penobscot River in Bangor in an effort to befriend some seagulls. It was such a great time! I took some video of Isaac chasing the seagulls and throwing foood for them. I will upload it later. But for now, here are some sweet photos:

Isaac is officially "ours" in every way!

2006-10-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

On September 27th, 2006, the State of Maine officially recognized our international adoption of Isaac. At this court appearance he also had his name legally changed from Watson Metellus Sirimoglu to Isaac Watson Renshaw-Sirimoglu. We were so happy to have finished this final stage in the adoption process (although we still have 4 home visits until our adoption is truly complete).

Isaac's Grammy (Gisele Renshaw) attended the court appearance. And we all celebrated afterward with a meal and a tour through Toys R Us. Here are some photos of the event:

Mommy, Daddy, Isaac, the "Judge" and Grammy.

Playing with Grammy's glasses.

Isaac's favorite toy at Toys R Us.

That evening, we had our good friends, the Stankevitzs) over to celebrate the occassion. I made a simple cake, the kids got naked (for reasons unknown) and we enjoyed some laughs. Here are some photos:

Mommy and Isaac - blowing out the red, white & blue candles.

Isaac's friends Zoe and Alyssa and their Mommy, Auntie Michelle.

Daddy and his good friend, Ryan.

Isaac likes the cake!

Later that night, Isaac got his jammies on and watched an Elmo movie in the bed that he shares with his Mommy and Daddy. As he watched his movie, we watched him and reflected on what a wonderful life that we have begun creating - together.

Sleep peacefully, our little man, Mommy and Daddy are here for you always.

Article I Wrote Before Isaac Came Home

2006-09-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Who hasn't "googled" their name on the internet? If you haven't, you'll be surprised by what you may find. I google my name every once in a while to find out what the world thinks I am up to. Here is what I found today:

http://maineindymedia.org/newswire/display/3304/index.php

It is an article that I wrote regarding my fundraising efforts during Isaac's adoption. Wow, what a different space Halis and I were in at that time. Our son wasn't home yet, and every thought and deed centered on trying to get him home. Now he is home safe and happy, and every thought and deed centers on raising him in a nurturing atmosphere.

The above article was featured in at least 3 newspapers and a couple of internet sites. We raised about $500 for Isaac's orphanage. But better than that, we raised alot of awareness regarding the plight of Haiti and Haitian adoption. I still have people come up to me to ask questions about adoption because they remember the article. I am thankful! Sometimes, in our local area, people will come to Isaac and say, "I saw your picture in the paper when you were still in Haiti." It is wonderful that he gets recognized. It opens dialogue.

Isaac Gets His Day in Court!

2006-09-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, September 27th, 2006, Isaac will be readopted in the state of Maine. Though he is already considered a US citizen and his adoption has been recognized by the United States, this readoption is necessary in order to change his name, secure his Social Security number and obtain a US passport. On this day his name will officially be changed from Watson Metellus to Isaac Watson Renshaw-Sirimoglu.

We are SO excited! This is the last time we have to petition the courts for anything related to Isaac's adoption. Hooray! (But we still have to endure 3 more home visits from a caseworker before he is considered completely "ours". Ugh!)

Anyway, for anyone interested in attending, we are going to celebrate this occassion with a visit to the Maine Discovery Museum and lunch at Portla's (both in downtown Bangor). The Superior Court proceeding is at 9am on Sept. 27 (Click HERE for directions). It should last about an hour (including pictures taken with the judge). Afterward we will walk over to the museum and then walk over to Portla's at lunchtime.

Admission to the museum is $5 per person and lunch at Portla's usually runs just $5 per person as well.

PLEASE JOIN US IF YOU CAN.

Isaac Playing w/ Mommy's Scarves, Sept 3rd

2006-09-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Isaac and the Chickens

2006-08-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Halis and I are often asked whether or not Isaac enjoys our chickens. I took a couple of photos today that I think will answer those questions. Here is Isaac with Snuggle Bug:

Treasures of the Kitchen Cabinets

2006-08-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Isaac has now fully discovered some of the many treasures that lie just beyond the kitchen cabinet doors.

Devon's 11th Birthday Party / Isaac's 1st Party 8/20/06

2006-08-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

NOE Visit.

2006-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, Isaac and I went to visit our friends at NOE. It had been almost 3 months since we had made a visit and it was high time that Isaac saw his "Aunties & Uncles" from my former workplace. We had a great time (although being there reminded me of how much I miss everyone). Isaac passed out kisses and high-5s all around. He also melted a few hearts with his irresistable charm! Here are a couple of photos:

This is Jolene and Isaac. He kept reaching for Jolene to hold him and then he would lay his head down on her chest. She loved it.

This is Gail and Isaac. They enjoyed some delicious salt & vinegar chips together. Yummm... thank you Sherri!

Trouble Comes in Twos

2006-08-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Isaac and his dog, Jack, make quite a pair.

They are inseperable and love to be "naughty" together. As I am typing this, they are in the front yard playing together. Isaac is riding his tractor, while Jack is running around him in circles with a long piece of rope in his mouth. The more he runs, the more he winds the rope around Isaac and the tractor, and the more Isaac laughs.

Sometimes I wonder if they think they are brothers.

This morning, I caught Isaac feeding his breakfast to Jack. As you can see by the following picture, Isaac thought it was hilarious that he was caught.

Isaac's Shoelaces

2006-08-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here is today's photo of Isaac:

Isaac has a "thing" for shoelaces, ribbons, scarves and anything else that he can wrap around his neck. He was so proud of these shoelaces today.

Don't you just love that face? It is simply amazing. He is so wonderful to be around.