This is a text based diary of Isaac's progress and activities.  The newest events are on the top.  Hyperlinks take you to the related item in the website.

April 25, 2009

Isaac asked to wear "unda pants" today.  Maybe because his cousin Grant gave him the idea, but since Spiderman was on the back of the under wear and he can't see Spiderman if it's in back, then he had to wear them backwards.  It sort of looks like a thong, but what the heck!  We've enter the next stage!

November 22, 2007

Mom, Dad, and I flew to Los Angeles to visit brother Shannon.  We did lots of fun things including spending two days in Disneyland.  It was a great time.  I acclimated to the time change by staying up all night and throwing up all over Mom and Dad in their bed at the hotel.  After that I felt great!  It was a blast and I enjoyed playing with my brother and Kelly.

November 8, 2007

I turned two today!  Lots of relatives came over and gave me things.  Is this something I can expect from now on?  Thanks for the presents everybody.  We had Nemo cupcakes and went to the aquarium to see the sharks.  Way cool!

August 28, 2007

My Moms took me to the Minnesota State Fair this week.  I ate lots of things and rode around in the stroller.  There were lots of people there.  I also went down the Giant slide with my Mom.  It was fun, but she was pretty scared.  I wasn't.

August 8, 2007

Mom, Dad, and Birth Mom Shannon took me to see a Twins game.  I didn't know what was going on, but the two ladies in front of me were very nice and gave me some beads.  I got to eat lots of great treats.  I had a good time.

July 3, 2007

Buddy died this morning.  He was 13 years old and went peacefully.  Buddy was a good dog and will be greatly missed.  Even though "Buddy" was Isaac's first word, he doesn't seem to realize that he isn't here anymore and we guess that is a good thing.

January 5, 2007

It's been a busy holiday season.  We went to Duluth for Christmas with the family.  I had a great time with the family: Uncle Mike, Aunt Lisa, cousin Grant, Grandma Faye and Grandpa Fritz.  Oh, and of course, Mom, Dad, and Buddy.  I had fun opening presents and had my first sled ride in the snow.  If you want to watch the video you will need to click here to get QuickTime.

December 1, 2006

Isaac decided to start walking today.  He'd been taking a few steps here and there, but today he began walking from one spot to another.  Time to move the sharp objects up a little higher.  Here's a link to the video of Isaac taking a few faltering steps.  It's a QuickTime movie so if you need to download QuickTime, click here.

November 3, 2006

Carleen, Isaac and Dave fly to California to visit brother Shannon.  Isaac traveled very well and made lots of friends on the plane.  It was great to see Shannon.  We visited the Los Angeles zoo, traveled the walk walk of stars on Hollywood Boulevard and visited the beach.

October 25, 2006

Isaac is standing quite a bit.  Usually when he isn't paying attention. He'll even take a few short steps but when he realizes what he's doing, he goes down to his knees.

October 7, 2006

Isaac gets goes to the barber for his first haircut.  He had his long locks shorn and looks more like a little man.

June 12, 2006

Isaac gets his first tooth.  Surprising how one little tooth can bite!

April 14, 2006

Today was Isaac's day in court.  His adoption hearing took about 10 minutes and went well.   Grandma and Grandpa Kerttula were in attendance.  We answered some simple questions and Isaac was declared by Judge Alton as a permanent member of the family!  A few tears were shed, pictures taken and of course a few fees paid.  Isaac went home with his new and "official" name; Isaac Shannon Stauffer.  We hope this was his only appearance in Juvenile Court!

March 24, 2006

Isaac rolled over today!  Unfortunately no one actually saw him.  He was lying in his jungle gym on his back and started making sounds like he was irritated.  Upon investigation, he was found on his stomach.  What could happen next?

March 10, 2006

Isaac is now on rice cereal.  He gets a very excited look on his face when he gets his first mouth full in the morning.  He gets so worked up about his next bite that he opens his mouth and shakes his head back and forth.  This makes it hard to get the next bite in his mouth!

March 8, 2006

Today is Isaac's 4 month doctor visit.  He weighs 15 pounds 2 ounces (50th percentile), is 25 inches long (50th percentile) and his head is 16 3/4 inches in diameter (65th percentile).  He also got his second batch of shots.  He's not happy to get them, but gets over them pretty quickly.  

Since the last update, Isaac is smiling on demand and sleeping through the night.  He is a very happy baby.

January 13, 2006

Birth-Mom Shannon came to visit Isaac. It was great to visit with her and watch her with Isaac.  We got to know Shannon a little better later that week when Dave's son Shannon came to visit.  We all went out to dinner at Don Pablo's.  On January 20, Carleen, Dave, Isaac and Birth-Mom Shannon participated in panel at Children's Home Society.  The panel told their adoption story to a group of people that were just starting their adoption process.  We look forward to having Shannon continue to be an important part of our family.

January 4, 2006

Today was Isaac's 2 month doctor appointment.  He is doing great!  He is 10 pounds 12 ounces and 23 inches long.  He went from not even on the charts to between the 25 to 50 percentile.  He also got his shots today, three of them.  He did fine, we did OK.  He is now off the high calorie formula and on the normal stuff.  We hope that will help his grunting/gassy/constipation or what ever it is.  Isaac's brother Shannon is coming to visit next week

December 6, 2005

Isaac had his 2 week doctor's appointment and weigh-in today.  He is doing great and presently weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces.  That is almost 3 pounds over his birth weight.  He even has a new chin!   The next visit the doctor will be in 1 month, when his shots are due.  After that, we will start taking him out in public to see the world.  Schedule your visit now!

December 3, 2005

It's Saturday morning, four inches of very soft snow fell overnight and it's still falling.  David just got done cleaning last years soot off the gas fireplace glass so we can warm up the family room for Isaac.  He's been home for 2 weeks, gaining weight and personality.  He is pushing 7 pounds now.  We will find out for sure at his next doctors appointment in 4 days.  Grandma Faye is here helping us for a few weeks and we really appreciate the help and the extra sleep.  Isaac seems to be focusing on people and objects and remaining awake much more.  We'll try to have Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures posted for the next major update.

November 21, 2005 - Day 14

Isaac came home Saturday, November 19th.  Shannon, his birth Mom and Dodi, his birth Grandmother came to see him at the hospital that morning before he left.  It was a sad, happy, scary day altogether.  If you wonder why there hasn't been an update for the last two days, it's because we've been "occupied".  There is nothing like sleeping in two hour or less increments for several days at a time.  While it is no surprise, it is still a shock to the system.  Everything seems to be going well.  He's eating, sleeping and pooping on a pretty regular schedule, and so are we.  It's great to have him home!

November 18, 2005 - Day 11

Isaac hit 5 pounds today and is eating every 2 to 3 hours.  His face and neck look like they actually have a little fat on them.   He is a little cranky because he got circumcised today.  That would make me cranky too!  After we fed him we noticed a "smell" coming from him. We took off his diaper and all hell broke loose.  He puked from the front end, had a nasty poop out the back end and, while we were trying to clean him up and avoid irritating his circumcision, he peed all over himself, us and the bed!  That was all the excitement we could stand on a Friday night.

While it isn't official, we expect him to be discharged tomorrow.  Pretty exciting!

November 17, 2005 - Day 10

Isaac is out of the incubator.  He is apparently on a growth spurt.  He's been waking up every 2 hours today wanting to eat, so he's off the scheduled feeding and now eating on demand.  Kind of like his dad.  The doctors have him on a 24 hour recording of all his vital signs.  If there are no glitches, he will pretty much be ready to come home.

It's been both good and bad that Isaac has been in the NICU.  OK the bad side is pretty low.  Mainly the numerous trips to the hospital and not having him at home.  And at first it was sort of scary that he had to be there.  On the good side... He's been getting excellent care from some pretty terrific people.  We are getting training in taking care of him from experts on feeding, bathing and handling.  We can actually go home and sleep at night (that's a big one), but it won't last.  Another good thing is his birth mom, Shannon, got to spend more time with him than she originally intended.  We are really looking forward to getting him home and thinking it will happen very soon.

November 16, 2005 - Day 9

Looks like he made it out of the incubator today.  He's been out for over 12 hours and still holding his temperature.  He was awake when I walked into his room tonight.  That's a first!  He's taking the bottle 5 of 8 of his feedings.  Another good sign.  What could be better?

November 15, 2005 - Day 8

Isaac is making incremental progress everyday.  He is gaining weight, eating better and developing his personality.  Isaac was born a little early and hasn't yet developed all the abilities to sustain himself... but he's getting close!

He has three milestones to hit before going home.  1) The first is to get off CPAP.  He was getting room air under slight pressure up his nose to help him breath and keep fluid out of his lungs.  He did that on the first day.  2) He needs to maintain his own body temperature.  He was taken out of the incubator a couple days ago for about 2 hours, but just couldn't do it.  So he's back in for a bit longer.  3) He needs to be able to take all his meals by bottle for 24 to 48 hours.  As of this update he is taking most of his nutrition by bottle, but he just doesn't have the stamina yet.  But he's close.  I'm guessing about 5 to 10 days will get him home.

It's only been a few days, but it already seems like Isaac has been part of the family for a lot longer.