First Birthday Videos

Isabella Is One Year Old

Where to begin? (I'm crying already!)

As you all know Isabella turned a year old on December 4th. It has been a long and beautiful year. A little over a year ago Isabella came into our lives a teeny 6lbs 12.8 oz and 20" long. Today she is 18 lbs 8 oz and 29 " long! There is no doubt that she takes after her Daddy in that department. She has a long thin body with supermodel legs and monkey arms. She is still slowly working on some curly brown hair which will be just adorable when it gets here. Her eyes have decided on brown, they are so big and "yummy chocolaty", she can definitely melt you with those eyes. Those eyes combines with her adorable toothy little smile (6 teeth!) are deadly.

She has such a little personality and we can see a lot of Jonathan and me in her. She is very very independent and strong willed as well. Once she gets something into her head there is no stopping her! This has led to epic tantrums which we have to completely ignore. She is quite smart and if she ever thought that screaming, crying, or wallowing on the floor would get her attention or whatever it was she wanted we would be in trouble. BIG TROUBLE! She is also very sweet and something of a comedian as well. When she wants attention she will say "Heyyyyyyyy" and then laugh and laugh. And how could I forget how fearless she is? She is afraid of nothing! Bugs, lizards, crabs, swans, geese, heights, thunderstorms, her Uncle Keith constantly yelling at her trying to scare her...nothing can shake her.

Isa loves music as much as anything. She has several different pianos and there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't play with each and every one of them them. Sometimes she even sings us beautiful songs while playing the piano or playing a drum. Isn't it amazing how a baby can turn anything into a drum? When she isn't busy making music she is busy dancing to it. She can really shake it, and she must have gotten that from someone else because she didn't get it from me or Jonathan. She is starting to play more with her baby dolls and other toys now. Her favorite thing by far are books and going outside. We read to her several times a day, and sometimes she even reads to us. She will hold her books and turn through the pages examining every page very carefully before continuing to the next. Doing anything outside makes her happy, whether it be playing on the porch, a wagon or stroller ride, or a walk around the yard...she is in heaven!

She isn't walking yet, but I honestly think its just laziness on her part. She has taken a step or two once or twice, but anytime she starts to walk she will just fall to her bottom and then crawl the rest of the way. She can crawl at the speed of light, it's crazy. As far as eating goes, we have no problems there! HOORAY! She is finally eating like a champ, she doesn't have problems with anything anymore. She is so good about trying and eating new things, it's almost too easy. She is so not weird about food, who does she take after? Surely not me or Jonathan, we are food freaks. She is talking and signing like a champ. She says Mama, Mommy, Dada, Daddy, Bad Dad, Nana, Hey, Bye, baby, all done, Mumu (sometimes), and she is trying to say Isa. I don't think I left anything out. Her signing is making great progress as well. She is finally signing on a regular basis and we couldn't be happier.

She is our baby, our Isabella, and she is perfect to us just the way she is.

Isa's One Year Check Up

Isabella had her appointment today, she is 100% healthy! My big girl (baby) is 18 lbs 8 oz, 29" long, and her head is 18". The doctor said she is long and thin just like her Daddy. He even commented on her long arms and legs. Her hemangioma is almost completely gone and he didn't even notice it without us bringing it to his attention.

One year update coming soon!

Swan Lake

Yesterday we took a much needed break from packing to get outside. I had found information about this lake online and we thought it would be cool to check out. The reason it's called Swan Lake is because it's the only lake in the States that has all 8 breeds of swans. The weather was nice, about 77 and sunny. We had a really good time getting outside and seeing this beautiful lake. Isabella loved everything about the trip, but especially the birds! She was fearless feeding the geese, but we kept her away from the swans (evil birds). She even got to play on the playground a little before we left. I have a video of her laughing on the slides that I will post later today.

The Sweetest Thing

Night before last Isabella and Jonathan fell asleep on our bed reading. How adorable is this?

Bye Bye Bottle

Today makes five days since Isabella had her last bottle! She had been showing very little interest in her bottles for some time so we decided to go ahead and see if we could ween her off, and it worked. Right now she is still taking formula in her sippy cup, but next week we are going to start working in cow's milk. No bottles...no formula...praise the Lord! This is going to make our lives so much easier. While it is very exciting it is also very sad because this really is big girl territory. What happened to my baby?

Next we are going to start trying to take the paci. Now that's terrifying! We are going to start off slowly, only allowing her to have it at naps and at bedtime,then work towards no paci at all. She loves her paci a lot more then she ever loved her bottle so I don't expect it will be as easy to get away from her.

Happy Halloween

We drove down to Georgia for Halloween, it was HOT, but we had a great time. Isabella was a chicken, a very cute chicken.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Isabella is tryng to make an "Itsy Bitsy Spider" now when we sing the song. This isnt the best video, but I wanted to go ahead and get it posted. Please excuse my horrible singing!

More food, Daddy!

** After quite a long hiatus I'm back, and I'm just going to get right back in here like nothing ever happened***

Jonathan was feeding Isabella last night and she seemed to be particularly hungry. After she finished her food she was sitting in her chair while we finished our food. Without complaining she sat for a while and played with her toy. Jonathan noticed that she was clapping, we said "YAY" and clapped with her. (This of course is a favorite game of hers.) This time she didn't smile, she didn't laugh, she just stopped. She sat quietly and we started eating again, mentioning that "that was weird". All of the sudden she yelled and when Jonathan looked at her she did the sign for food! She wasn't clapping at all, she was asking for MORE! More food, Daddy.

We are so happy with the progress Isabella is making with her signing. She is learning the signs faster than she is using them, she would much rather screech than use non verbal communication (oh joy). We aren't giving up, though.

Isa's First Tooth

Yesterday morning "Tooth Watch 09" finally found something, a tiny little edge of a tooth in Isabella's mouth! An early present for me or a late one for Jonathan? Either way it was super exciting! She isn't making it easy to look around there or, God forbid, get a picture. If only her tongue would go away for a minute or two!

Monkey See Monkey Do

For Jonathan's birthday I surprised him with a trip to Go Ape! Go Ape is a set up in a local forest here. You go up in the trees, like apes, and basically navigate an obstacle course in the air. It was crazy, but great fun. There are 5 "stations" in all, each more extreme than the next. Each ended with a zip line which was great fun...great until you had to land. Boo for crash landing! Did I mention I crash landed a lot? When we got home I not only had to clean mulch out of my shoes but also out of my BRA! Jonathan, of course, was a pro. He could have ripped through that course in an hour I'm sure, but I was there slowing him down. We finished in a respectable 3 hours. hehe I almost broke my ankle on the tarzan swing, I lost my very expensive sunglasses, and parking cost us about $12. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Not for a while though, my muscles need a very long time to heal. Who knew monkeying around would make you so sore?

To learn more about Go Ape go here: http://www.goape.co.uk/

To see more pictures go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105746&id=518621883&l=cd9c5463e8

Birthday Cake

I have had a lot of fun making and experimenting with cakes lately. Keeping with the monkey/ape theme of Jonathan birthday (more to come on that in the next blog) I made him a cake shaped like a monkey's head! It could use some work, but I still thought it was cute. Jonathan loved it and thats all that matters. I LOVE seeing him smile. This cake was a joke made from a leftover piece of cake. Its supposed to be a baboon's butt!

Happy Birthday J!

Happy Birthday to the best husband, father, and friend I have ever know. Isa and I love you so much! xoxo

Creepy

233 Years for America, 7 Months for Isa

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Picture Update Part II

She was playing and fell asleep on top of her turtle.


This is why Mommy has to keep the curtains pulled back.
It didnt even phase her, she was still playing with it wrapped
around here.



Must be a good nap.




Just cute!

Picture Update

She is trying to crawl, she is already a master scooter!


What a silly hat.



Sleeping like an angel. (Not in Mommy's arms!)




Sharing is caring.

My Little Fish

We took our first trip to the pool in Bury on Saturday. It was a blast! There are three pools, one with a pirate ship, and two big flumes to enjoy. Isabella took to the water really well, she was like a baby fish! As soon as Jonathan put her in the water she started kicking, it was awesome. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to take picture or videos (it wasn't posted) but I did get this when we first got there!

Playdate At The Park

Rachel and I took Isabella and Riley to the park for the first time last week. They had alot of fun playing and watching the other kids. We tried the swings and the slides. Isabella enjoyed the swings more than the slide. It was a fun time getting out and doing something different with the babies.

I Hold My Bottle

Special Ops Baby

We were trying to do laundry and Isabella was playing! Isa got Daddy's hat and tried to eat it, we thought we would show her what it really was. I think she liked it.

Rubber Ducky

My friend Keisha sent us many very cool things for Isabella when she was born. One of our favorite gifts was an inflatable rubber ducky tub. We waited ever so patiently for her to be big enough to use it.

She absolutely loves her rubber ducky tub. Thanks so much Auntie Keisha!

Six (and a half) Months Old

It's so hard to believe that our little Isabella is already so big. Every day I look at her and I think of what a blessing she is in our lives. The happiness and joy she bring us is beyond words. These pictures were taken by yours truly at the park on Father's Day. To see more pictures click here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=102509&id=518621883&l=712785862b.

Carrots

Isabella is teething so she puts everything in her mouth. I cut a carrot in half for her and Riley to share. She liked it a lot. Don't worry she doesn't have any teeth and it was VERY thick so there was no danger of her breaking a piece off and choking on it.

Beach Bums

Yesterday we had a really rare beautiful summer day in England. We packed up and took Isabella to the beach for the first time ever! Jonathan and I both love the beach so much we couldn't wait to take her and see what she thought. In the beginning she wasn't so sure about it, but after a nice nap and a diaper change she was ready to play. Watching her discover new things is amazing. It's so much fun helping her discover and explore new things. You never know how much joy a child can bring you until you have one. We had a great time!