Onward & Upward

Not content to work on crawling...Izzy has now started pulling herself up on things. As you can imagine, this has lead to many bumps to the pride and a couple of bumps to the noggin as well. At least our living room still has carpet! As I sit here and reflect on what to write, Izzy is busily talking to the lion on her exersaucer...from the OUTSIDE.....and now she's fallen over and bumped her head on the wall. (2 minutes elapse) Ok, crisis averted....bruised pride mended with a hug and a kiss and a new cold teething ring. Ooooh yes...the teething personality is back! The break was nice, but we knew it was inevitable that more teeth would come. I don't feel or see any sort of bumps or openings in the gums yet, but the other signs follow what we've seen before with the first 2 teeth.

Anyway, not to say that Isabelle hasn't been working on other things....she can now easily get back to a seated position from her hands and knees/feet, which is a big help to mom and dad since she doesn't get frustrated and "stuck" every 5 seconds anymore. Now it takes her a bit longer to work herself into somewhere that 1. she probably shouldn't be and 2. that she can't readily get out of. She IS crawling a little further and further as the time passes, but she doesn't seem all that interested in distance crawling yet...especially since she's discovered that she can get herself fully upright if she tries hard enough. This led us to, just this morning, lower her crib mattress to the lowest position. This morning and after a nap yesterday, we found her up on her knees in her crib at the railing when it was time to get up. It was definitely time to lower it.

Isabelle seems to be talking more now too. She'll "talk" to one of her toys, or seems to hum to herself as she concentrates hard on doing something (like pulling herself up or reaching for something before falling over.. :P). Her sense of humor seems to be developing too. The other day as I was tearing junk mail in half, she started cracking up. Not sure why, but I didn't need to know why....I made sure I ripped each and every piece of junk mail that day at least twice, just to hear her laugh. She'll also crack up at seemingly random things in particular both when you are talking to her and when she thinks no one is watching. She's a nut!

Isabelle "helping" mom.

Laughing at her own joke in the swing.

Hee hee hee

Here's Izzy in her camo in honor of opening day...

Hat, Mittens & The BIG Tub!

This week marks the end of the first week using the big bathtub. Isabelle loves to splash in the water and chase her rubber duckie around. However, mom wasn't too thrilled with how slick her little butt was on the tub floor. Talk about a low coefficient of friction! So the first couple of baths were fairly tense for mom. This weekend though, we picked up a bath mat for the tub. IT ROCKS! Tonight's bath was a much more relaxed affair, making it more fun for mom to watch Izzy play instead of fearing that she was going to slip and conk her head.

We also had a grocery store adventure today. Nothing special about the trip except for the fact that we needed to wear hat and mittens on the way there. Isabelle didn't mind the hat. The mittens, though, just slowed her down too much!

I'll be right there, mom!

What's that you say? Don't mind the sweet potato on my jammies....I put them there for effect!
Ready to head to the store. If it gets much colder, we'll have to add the winter coat!

Something New Every Day!

Today, as Isabelle and I were reading a couple of the Usborne touchy-feely books (thanks Aunt Linda!), I noticed when I would point and run my finger over the texture part of the page that the narrative talks about, Izzy would take her finger and aim it for those spots as well. Within the next few pages, she was going for the textured portions herself! Now these books are a whole new game to her. She seemed to really be concentrating on the textures and the differences between the slick pages and whatever texture was on the page. See...what did I tell you about that pointer finger and her thinking?

Anyway, next today we got out an activity table that Aunt Terri has given us. She's a bit too young to stand at the table and play yet, but what we found out this evening is that if we take the top off, and put a few blocks & toys in the storage space under the table, it's just the right height for Izzy to sit next to and dig out what she wants. This is a new thing for her! To see a bunch of things and just be able to reach in and GET what you want without having to lean or work to crawl to them! How COOL is THAT!

The other thing I saw for the first time today was Izzy taking one toy in one hand and comparing it with another toy in her other hand, and then trying to bump them together. Up to this point, it has just been one thing at a time. The physical milestones are awesome to see, but what I find cooler yet is to see her eyes light up when she makes a thought connection or when she gets excited over a discovery. I have a feeling that now, more than ever, Izzy will become quite the curious little monkey.

Last night, Dan and I went out to Texas Road House for supper. We weren't sure how Izzy was going to do with it being close to bedtime and it being the end of the day and everything. Her curiosity made it a good experience. There were plenty of things to listen to, watch, and new things to try to make a grab for. She even got a bit of Dad's sweet potato that she got to explore and eat all by herself without Mom or Dad feeding it her! As she put the first un-pureed piece of sweet potato in her mouth, about 5 different expressions flitted across her face in the span of about 5 seconds. Once she got over the texture shock, she loved it! She did very well with this outing, but by the time dinner was over, it was time to go....the evening melt-down from being past bedtime was eminent.

The other thing I should mention, I probably should have mentioned awhile ago. For about the past month, Isabelle has absolutely HATED her car seat and car rides unless it is nap time. She's always loved car rides up to this point. Dan and I both agree that this is more about her being slowed down by the seat than her hating trips. Belted in her seat, there isn't much to explore, and toys get old fast! However, her new tones when she has a fit, and her current dislike for the seat are making me dread the impending drive to IA...

A Year Ago Today....

Today is my birthday. Those of you who know me well, know which one. Those of you who know me better know that it's an anniversary of a certain number rather than the addition of yet another year. LoL. Whatever we tell ourselves, right?

Anyway, a year ago today while taking a bath was the very first time I felt Isabelle kick. What a difference a year can make! At that time, I could barely imagine that what I was feeling would become our beloved little girl. At that time I had no idea how many things children are; they are joy, pain, happiness, frustration, discovery, everything in between, and a million other things that no one can ever tell you about until you experience it yourself. At that time I couldn't have imagined just how far they wiggle into your heart and wrap themselves tight within it. At that time I would have called you crazy if you would have told me that thinking about her getting hurt, or having her heart broken by someone, or thinking she might inherit a mess of a world would make me so sick. What a difference a year can make...

A Mover & A Shaker

This week has been a BIG week in Isabelle's world, bigger than most. Last Saturday, I was about to head off to a girls' day in Madison with some friends for some adult time, leaving Daddy with his daughter overnight for the first time. As I was getting ready to go and talking with Dan, Izzy was playing on the floor, and lo and behold she had figured out what to do with her hands while trying to crawl. So, we now have a crawler on our hands. She doesn't make it far, but she can work herself into the weirdest places. Next, no sooner were we recovering from that shock when we noticed that when she works it just right, she can go from her hands and knees back to a sitting position. I *almost* didn't want to leave that morning just to see what she did next! Madison was a blast, and Dan did an excellent job at home.

This week, we've been exploring making our own baby food. We currently have sweet potato, avocado, and green beans in the freezer. It's a bit of work, but it's quite a bit cheaper than buying Gerber all the time. Izzy hasn't eaten any of it yet, I'll have to get back to you with the results.

Today has yielded another discovery. No sooner has Isabelle started crawling....but this morning I caught her pulling herself up on one of her toys. I saw her JUST in time to see her execute a spectacular 3-point wipe out. Someone needs to tell this girl that she's only 7 months old and she needn't be so hard on herself as she gets frustrated when she can't do something she thinks she should be able to. Since she is now mobile I now know why parents dread quiet.

More yoga....side plank anyone?

Don't I look like I am up to something?

Precious cargo

Yep. Definitely up to something!

Practicing.

Here is a picture for those of you that quip "Your daughter is always so HAPPY!" We have our days just like everyone else.... :P

What a Trooper!

Wednesday Isabelle was able to get her 6 month shots. When she went in for her 6 month well check, she had a cold and the doc would rather be safe than sorry....and so would we! So yesterday we went in. Let me preface this by saying I hate seeing Izzy hurt. I HATE it. That is not a word I use lightly. So, I expected the worst when we went in. My favorite nurse came in, got things lined up, she had me hold Izzy's arms, and almost that quickly it was over with, 1, 2, 3. Did Izzy cry? Sure, but I picked her up after the third poke and she almost instantly stopped crying and started eying the nurse over as she started trying to use me as her personal jungle gym (her new thing). The rest of the day she was in a great mood too. I just shook my head....she never ceases to surprise me. Today however, she had a rough day. This time we had a little reaction to the shots. Nothing major, some local swelling, loss of appetite (she only ate 2 oz at the sitter all day), and some fussiness. After a bottle and a nap though, she seemed to be on the mend. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Besides using Mom and Dad as instruments for practice climbing, Izzy is becoming more mobile all the time. No crawling yet, but she's getting really good at getting where she wants to go by rolling and rotating around. There are times now also where she will study you when you are talking to her like she's trying to figure out what you're saying or like she's trying to figure out how to make the same sounds...I'm not sure which. She is starting to respond to her name, but mom or dad calling to her is not always the most exciting thing going on. Izzy, just yesterday, has also successfully fed herself 3 little puffs. Now that she's been successful with a few, she seems more eager to try more self feeding. Any suggestions out there for other appropriate finger foods for a curious 7 month old? Most of the time she still forgets to let go of the puff once she brings it to her mouth....and then forgets that it's stuck to her hand....but we're working on it. The other fine motor skill she's working on is the one-finger poke. She pokes that little finger at everything, from textures to toys, and yes even at Magnum's ear. It's a good thing that Magnum has bonded with Izzy so well...he's had his fair share of little cheek tugs at the mercy of little hands already. He doesn't seem to mind too much tho. He will just look at me patiently and sigh....or start giving Izzy kisses and then the giggling begins!

The other thing I have noticed is that if I'm carrying her and something is juuuust out of her sight, like around a corner, she will lean out and try to see around the corner to spot what she is looking for. When she does this she raises her eyebrows like she's about to see something really good! I need to try to capture my little goofball doing this before the expression is gone.

That's the thing about these little ones. They do so many things you would like to preserve, and then before you know it they've moved onto the next thing and it's gone. This journey has been so much different that I thought it would be, and it's effected me so much more and deeply than I thought anything ever could. It's amazing what's there, what lies dormant for our kids within us that we know nothing about until they are with us.

Izzy and Magnum between Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween. Note both parties seem to HATE this extra attention.

See what I mean about calling her name not being the most exciting thing going on at the moment?

Enjoying some swing time in this great November weather.

Baby engineer hard at work...note the finger...it seems to come out when she's thinking...

We will miss this weather when it's gone!