On The Move

Well, Art and I have entered a new stage of parenting this week...nervousness. We got back from Florida last week and a few days later Izzy started to crawl. She had been attempting it for awhile, but couldn't quite get her hands going well enough to go. One day we saw her try picking her hands up, while laying down in between. Then the next day, she was off. She crawls all over the house now and is taking advantage of her new skill. She was curious before she could move all around and now there's no stopping her. The baby gate is up the outlets are covered. She's already starting to pull herself up onto things too. It's just a matter of time before she starts walking. We're just amazed at how early she's doing these things. And here we thought parenting was easy! Here is a video of her crawling.

Florida Trip

We recently went on a trip to Florida and had such a great time. We had the pleasure of staying with Art's sister Suzanne and our niece Brianna while we were there. We got to do so much in the 5 days we were there too. The first night we were there we enjoyed a dinner out with family, including Art's other sister Amanda. That was a treat because she had never met Izzy before and she just happened to be in Orlando on business. The next day Art's Uncle Toby and Aunt Shirley came to visit and we got our first peak at Disney World. We spent the evening at Epcot to watch a great fireworks and laser show. The next day we ventured out to Magic Kingdom. Izzy was so excited that she hardly slept. I think we were all beat at the end of the day, but it was so worth it.

The following day we spent at Sea World. That was a lot of fun, especially when my cousin Cathy and her family met us there. There were lots of first meetings when their family arrived. Her whole family had never met Izzy and we had never met Cathy's beautiful daughter Ava. It was such a treat seeing her son Eli again too. The last time we saw him was at our wedding and he was just 5 or 6 months old. We took in the dolphin show and the Shamu show at Sea World and Art even got up the courage to ride a roller coaster called Manta.

We spent our last day in Florida at Cocoa Beach watching the space shuttle lift off. That was definitely something to see and a once in a lifetime opportunity. Izzy didn't like the beach very much, but Art and I enjoyed it tremendously. We had such a great trip out there, it was very nice to get away for awhile and see a lot of our family that we don't get to see very often. It was a whole new experience for us traveling with a baby, but well worth it!

Winter Wonderland

Just when we were starting to really enjoy the nice, warm, fall weather...it snows. Not just a light dusting either, a full on blizzard. The snow started on Tuesday night and didn't stop all day Wednesday. It looks like we probably got about 12-14 inches. Izzy has really liked looking out the windows at the snow. We thought about taking her out in the snow because we do have a full snowsuit for her, but we don't have any boots for her little feet. If this snow storm is any indication of how this winter is going to be, she'll get another chance. We're really looking forward to going to FL in a couple of weeks to warm up! Below is a little video of Izzy observing the snow from our kitchen window.

Pumpkin Patch

After over a week of very cold weather, including snow, the sun finally came out today. We were going to try to go to the pumpkin patch a few weekends ago and didn't get to because of the weather. We thought we'd embrace the warm sunshine this afternoon and introduce Izzy to her first pumpkin patch experience. Honestly it was a little challenging carrying a baby and pumpkins, while wheeling around a wheel barrel, but we still enjoyed it tremendously. We decided that it will be more fun next year when Izzy can run around the patch on her own!

6 Month Stats

Yesterday we took Izzy to the doctor for her 6 month checkup. She weighed 15 pounds 6 1/2 ounces and was 26 1/4 inches long. She's growing so well and is hitting all of the milestones that she should be. We ended the day yesterday with a beautiful child dedication ceremony at our church. Yesterday was a proud day for Art and I in so many ways.

Big Bath Tub

Well there's one thing that's for sure, our little one just keeps on growing. She has now outgrown her baby bath tub. She is barely under water in it at all anymore and the poor thing gets too cold. We went out and got all the essentials needed for a safe and fun bath time experience in the regular tub. She absolutely loved it. The timing worked out perfectly because then last week Izzy started swimming lessons. We go to swimming lessons twice a week. Right now Izzy is working on blowing bubbles, kicking, and floating on her tummy or back. She also gets to practice going under the water. She's not a big fan of that! She's so funny because now she's trying to splash and kick more in the bath tub as well.

First Time Camping

It seems like Izzy has been experiencing a lot of new "firsts" lately. A few weeks back my whole family was going camping near Estes Park and we decided to join in the fun for a day. We were originally planning on staying the night, but after my folks filled us in on how cold it had gotten the night before, we decided to make it an all day trip instead. We got to Hermit Park early morning and stayed until the campfire died out. We had so much fun kayaking on Lake Estes and taking a great hike that leads to an amazing view of the area. Izzy hardly slept the entire day. She loves being outside so much, there was just too much to look at! Her first camping trip was definitely a success and we can't wait until next year when we can stay for a few days.