Sunday, April 20, 2008

5 months old!


Yesterday Isabelle turned 5 months old.  She is growing so fast!  When I came back from work on Thursday, I was holding her in my arms and getting myself a drink of water (Yes, I can multitask...sometimes).  Isabelle reached for the glass, put both hands on it and started bitting the rim.  I realized that she is a very observant baby.  Since then, she has started eating real food.  Her first food was a banana.  As you can see in the video, she is a very good eater, which does not surprise any of us.  I guess that explains all of her lovely rolls!



Last month Erin had a lacrosse game at Disney Wide World of Sports.  It was fun to take Isabelle to see her Aunt Erin play.  At first she was a little scared by all the screaming, but then she got used to it.  Charles would hold her up high in the air and cheer every time Erin's team made a goal.  


Our nephews, Caden and Masen having fun at Erin's game




Every year Ma has her family Easter picnic.  This year she was on a cruise in Mexico for Easter so we had a little picnic last minute.  Two weeks later when Ma got back and Carol and the girls came in town we had another Easter picnic.  We all had a great time playing games and soaking up the sun.



In the afternoons, Isabelle loves to watch Ellen.  So when Ellen's show came to Orlando I tried to get tickets but they were all gone.  So we went to Universal's City Walk anyways and went to Ellen's Riff Raff Street Party.  We got to see Ellen's show from a distance and up on the big screen.  We also got to see the Jonas Brothers perform.  Laila managed to work her way up toward the front of the stage like a champ, so we saw her on the big screen a few times. Hopefully next year we will get seats for the show so we wont have to stand on our tiptoes squeezed among hundreds of other people just to get a look at Ellen.



Isabelle has had so much fun these past couple weeks.  She has had a lot of firsts.  We got a season pass to Wet 'n Wild and went there a few times while Carol and her girls were here. Isabelle also got to go on her first sailing trip.  Brad's dad took us out on his sail boat for an afternoon of fun. You can see on the video that Isabelle had a blast, especially when Brad entertained her!  Isabelle and I go to the Y almost every day.  Isabelle has grown fond of the workers in the child care and they all love her of course.  Sometimes after working out I take Isabelle for a nice swim.  She loves the water... just like her mama.  Isabelle has also mastered sitting up.  She is very proud of her accomplishments.  She likes to sit tall and look around to make sure everyone notices how well she is doing.  She is quite the crowd pleaser.  She absolutely thrives on attention from anyone around.





Isabelle doing her Marilyn Monroe pose with her Aunt Ashley




The church had its annual rodeo last month at the church ranch, so of course we had to go.  It was Charles and Isabelle's first rodeo.  It was fun to see kids chasing after little pigs and the bulls and barrels and horses and everything.   





Her eyes are still blue... we are keeping our fingers crossed!



Check out the great video Charles put together of Isabelle eating her first solid food and more fun stuff.


Sunday, March 9, 2008

Isn't She Lovely?

Last week we bought a new Mac and Charles and I have had fun playing with it.  We recommend a Mac to anyone who might be looking to buy a new computer.  Charles put together this little video of Isabelle in hardly no time at all.  So here it is for your enjoyment.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

3 months old

We can't believe how fast Isabelle is growing and how strong she is getting. We started using her Bumbo chair about two or three weeks ago and ever since then she has really developed her upper body strength. She loves sitting in her chair. She surprised all of us last week when she sat up on her own. She stayed upright for probably 30 seconds or so. She doesn't have sitting up completely mastered...she usually starts falling forward after a little bit, but she is doing a great job. Isabelle also loves standing up...of course with our help, but it is her favorite thing to do and she will often push herself up into the standing position. Every day we are eager to see what she will do next to surprise us.


Isabelle's first day sitting up


Who needs to suck on a thumb when you could stick your whole fist in your mouth?



Isabelle and mommy matching in purple



Dining out with mommy and Daddy, Isabelle likes having her own seat.


Isabelle and mommy


Every morning Isabelle calls her dad at work. She can be quite the chatter box. Getting Isabelle's phone call is Charles' favorite part of the day.



Isabelle loves hanging out with her best friend Kayla. Ruth, Adam and their three kids moved here from Atlanta in August. We love having them around.



In January Isabelle and I went to Atlanta for a week to spend time with Carol and her family. It was Isabelle's first plane trip and she slept through it all, both on the way there and on the way back. We had a great time with Carol, Brian and the twins, although I was sick most of the trip. Charles flew there for the weekend and we all went to Carol's friends lake house. It was gorgeous and it snowed most of the time we were there.

Isabelle's first plane trip


Isabelle with her Aunt Carol and cousin Chloe on the Marta


Becca and Cassidy on the Marta


Aren't I cute?


Isabelle with her cousins in their matching hats Nana got them.



One of Isabelle's classic sleeping positions

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Isabelle's First Christmas


Isabelle had a great first Christmas. Charles' mom was still with us here in Florida and his Dad and sister Elise joined us as well. It was a full house. As tradition goes, the Saturday before Christmas we went down to Vero Beach for Ma's Christmas party. It was Isabelle's first time to Vero and first time to the beach. Like all of us, she loved it there. Isabelle finally got to meet most of my family. Christmas day we got up and had a nice big breakfast. We opened presents and then headed over to my mom's house and joined the rest of the family. Ma also drove up, which is a tradition she started a couple years ago. We love having her there with us at Christmas. Of course we played lots of games and enjoyed each others company. I think Isabelle enjoyed her first Christmas, but I am excited for next year when she will be able to open her presents herself and really have fun!

Isabelle's first trip to the beach...she slept through it all.


Isabelle loves her cousins Chloe and Cassidy. Carol and her family were able to come and spend a week with us here in Florida over the girls' Christmas break.


Isabelle with Grammy and Pappy


Isabelle has a special connection with her Great Uncle Kenny


Isabelle and mommy love to match their clothes!


Can you kiss a baby too much?


4 generations on Christmas day

We had family pictures done while everyone was in town. Isabelle slept through most of the day.


We had Isabelle's baby blessing on December 30th. Isabelle wore the same dress that Chloe and Cassidy wore for their blessing. Brian's mom made it. It was beautiful and a perfect fit. Charles gave her a beautiful blessing. It was a special day. Thank you to everyone who came!

Mommy, Grandpa and Isabelle after Isabelle's blessing


Mommy, Daddy and Isabelle Marie


My dad came over for the blessing and he had bought Carolina shirts and jerseys for everyone.



I had to go back to work at the first of the year. So we had to practice having Isabelle take a bottle. She did amazingly well. Charles gave her her first bottle. She seemed a little confused at first that Charles was able to feed her, but took it without a problem. Fortunately I am only working part time. My mom watches Isabelle for me when I work. The first couple days my mom had her, Isabelle didn't want to take the bottle. After a while my mom turned on the Price is Right and right away Isabelle took the bottle. The next day she did the same thing and sure enough the Price is Right did the job again. I guess I watch a little too much tv when I am home with her.Isabelle's first bottle



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Thursday, December 20, 2007

1 Month old

Isabelle is now one month old! It seems that time suddenly accelerates! Isabelle is still a very good baby and gets her mommy and daddy to laugh a lot. Recently, we went to my work Christmas party and dressed her in a cute Christmas outfit. She had a large bow in her hair. When Becca got out of the car, she found Isabelle dressed up as Zorro, sleeping in her car seat. Needless to say the bow was a little big!
She got to see Santa for the first time at the KPMG Christmas party.

Izorobelle!


With Santa!


With Grandpa Steve and Santa's hat!

Are you Jellin'?

A real cutie

We're going to have to get a third couch.

Isabelle loves going in the tubbie!


Nice, clean and comfy!
Look at my new Boppy chair!

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Nana is just so much fun to be around!

Monday, December 10, 2007

3 weeks old

Isabelle is 3 weeks old today. It has gone by fast and slow at the same time. The recovery has been a lot harder than I could ever have imagined, but fortunately I have family here who has helped me get through it. The last few days I have started feeling better and I have gotten out a bit. If my home scale is right, Isabelle has put on about a pound from her original birth weight ...she is a GOOD eater. Her biggest accomplishment is sleeping through the night. At least I consider it through the night. For the past week she has been going to sleep around 11 PM and then sleeps till about 6:00 AM. Then she eats and goes back to sleep till about 9:30 or 10:00. So I really can't complain about that. We absolutely love having her here in our home. It has been an adjustment, but a wonderful one.

Isabelle loves her car seat

Just hanging out

Isabelle and mommy