Christmas

Christmas at our house this year was so much fun. It was definitely one to remember. It's so much fun having a little one around to enjoy the holidays with. Izzy didn't really understand the whole idea of opening presents, but we all sure got a kick out of watching her look at the Christmas trees and the gift bags and the wrapping paper. We started out of Christmas extravaganza celebrating on Christmas Eve with my side of the family. Izzy had a lot of fun playing with her uncles and the toys they got for her. She was infatuated with the buttons on her Grandpa's shirt too! Christmas morning we spent at our house as a family. Art and I filled up Izzy's stocking with some of the toys she's already played with and that she's familiar with. She didn't mind on bit that there wasn't anything new in her stocking. I think she liked seeing our reaction to things better than anything else!

Santa brought Izzy a great new wagon. We can't wait for the weather to warm up so that we can take if for a spin outside. We kept it in the house for a few days after Christmas so that Izzy could play with it. Thank goodness the little seats inside have seat belts because I think we'll be needing them for our little wiggle worm. In the afternoon on Christmas Day we celebrated with Art's side of the family. We had a wonderfully huge meal and got to spend some great time chatting with everyone. By early evening Izzy was tuckered out (so were Art and I). It was all so much fun and so many wonderful memories were made. Thanks to our family and friends for your generosity and hospitality toward our family during this holiday season! We're so excited to see what 2010 has in store for us.

Jump Izzy Jump

Poor little Izzy has been fighting a bad cold now for about a week. Her nose is runny constantly and she's having trouble sleeping because of it. Consequently, Art and I aren't getting much sleep either. Regardless of how she's feeling, she's still finding all sorts of new things to try and get into. Back in July we got her a little bouncer that hangs in the doorway. We haven't put her in it very much since then because she would just sit there. Lately though, I've been putting her in that in the morning when I'm getting ready so that she doesn't get into too much. Lo and behold, she has figured it out. Here is a video of her jumping.

Thanksgiving

Izzy's first Thanksgiving was definitely a success. We started out the day by walking the 5K Turkey Trot. We bundled up Izzy a ton to make sure she stayed nice and warm. She fell asleep about halfway through the race, but woke up for her big finish. Art and I love starting Thanksgiving morning with this walk. I never feel as bad about eating a ton after a nice long walk in the morning. After our trot, we went home and got ready for our day of eating. We first went to Nana & Papa's house (Art's grandparents) for an early afternoon meal. They live on a golf course and we spent a good part of the afternoon enjoying the sun out back. After eating we played a hearty game of Bingo. After that is was straight on over to my parents house for dinner. By the end of my mom's great meal, we were stuffed. At both meals, Izzy tried lots of new foods. She ate lots of green beans, cranberries, turkey, mashed potatoes, and yams. She especially liked the pumpkin pie. The day was so wonderful and when we got home, we were beat, but we couldn't stop talking about what a great day it turned out to be!

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.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Goodness, where to start. Izzy has been awake during the day more now and I feel like I hardly have any time to do things, including updating my blog! Yesterday Izzy turned 5 months old, which is amazing to me. She's learning how to sit right now. She can sit for a minute or 2 all by herself. She also loves to "walk" around the house with us holding her hands. Apparently not all babies her age can do this because everyone seems very impressed that she can. At her 4 month doctor appointment she weighed in at 13 pounds 3 ounces and was 26 inches tall. She is still off the charts for her height. Still taking after Daddy in that respect! Not much is new with Art and I. We're just continuing to enjoy our new daughter and each other! Here are some of the things we've been up to lately...

We recently took a trip to Boulder/Niwot and went kayaking with Art's Aunt Lesa on Boulder Reservoir. Izzy got to wear her bathing suit for the first time. It was really windy and not all that warm out, so we didn't put her in the water like we had hoped to. She'll get her chance next month when we start swimming

lessons!

A few weeks ago we went to Colorado Springs to see my brother and to attend a wedding that Art was a groomsman in. It was a great wedding (Congratulations Mike & Annie)! It was so much fun to spend time with my brother Brian and his girlfriend Renee.

While we were in the Springs, we took Izzy on her first trip to the zoo. If anyone ever gets a chance to go to the zoo in CO Springs, do it. It's a really fun thing to do there. You get to feed giraffes and go up a ski lift thing. The entire zoo is literally in the mountains, so you feel as if you're in the wilderness the entire time.

It seems like everyday our little one learns to do something new. We both love being parents tremendously and couldn't be happier right now!

Swinging

We've had fun taking Izzy to the park lately. Since she's been trying to sit up on her own more now, we thought we'd try out some swinging. She seemed to like it a lot!

Birthday Surprises

My birthday was on Monday and it was a simply great day. Well turning 28 made me feel old, but other than that it was fantastic! Art surprised me in so many ways. He got the cutest picture of Izzy framed for us to hang up in the nursery. He also got me a new piano book full of Billy Joel songs. He likes it when I play songs he knows instead of classical all the time! We went on a great bike ride around town in the morning and then went out to eat at Bonefish Grill for dinner. Sneaky guy surprises me by pulling another present out of the trunk when we got there. It was a new digital camera, and it's pink! Throughout dinner I noticed he was kind of looking off out the windows. I thought maybe he was looking at the sky because it was stormy and there was a rainbow. When we went to leave, we walked out the doors of the restaurant and there's a limo outside. The driver was holding a sign with Jill Aldrich written on it. The stinker got me a limo ride for the rest of the evening. Oh gosh, it was great. We brought Izzy with, which was really fun. I think she was all confused because she was in a car, but not in her car seat. We drove all around the area. It was a beautiful night out. It was so romantic. Izzy went to sleep eventually, so we got to enjoy some time by ourselves too. It was such a great birthday with my new little family!

New Noises

Here is as little video of Izzy and the new sounds she makes. This was during her tummy time. You can see in the video how high she's holding up her head now too.

Bath Time

Izzy has really grown to love her bath time. She's starting to try to splash in the water or she just lays there and looks completely relaxed. She always looks so adorable after she's done and she's all wrapped up in her little hooded towl. Those things were a great invention by someone! Izzy is just getting to be more fun each day. She's discovering new sounds to make. She squeals a lot now when she's happy. She also rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time yesterday. When she lays on her tummy, she can hold her head up really straight and she leans up on her elbows now. I just can't get over the fact that she's 3 1/2 months old. I know I say that in every post, but it's so true. The time is flying by.

Blast From the Past

It's been a lot of fun finding some of my old outfits from when I was a baby and trying them on Isabella. My parents found an old picture of me in a little blue dress that I had. So naturally we had to try to replicate the picture. Here are the results...

July 4th Celebration

Well, Izzy's first 4th of July has come and gone. She loved it! When it was time for the fireworks to go off, she was just staring at the sky like she was waiting with great anticipation.

Ok, maybe not that in depth, but she was definitely looking up at them. She didn't get scared at all. We had her nice and bundled up because it got pretty chilly during the fireworks after all the rain we had that day. We watched the fireworks on Cattail Golf Course where Art's grandparents now live. It was fun to spend the day with his side of the family. Then the day after, we went to my folks house for a bbq. Izzy is so loved, she had 2 different 4th of July dresses. It was nice having the holiday spread over 2 days, that way she got to wear both dresses! When we were at my parents house, my mom also found some of my old bonnets that we tried out on Izzy (and on me too). They were a bit big on her, but she still looked cute! I got all teary eyed about it being her first 4th of July. She's already getting so big and some of her firsts have already passed. It's just amazing that she's 3 months old already!

Video of Izzy "Talking"

Izzy has been doing new things everyday lately. She has been smiling all the time and cooing a lot more. This little video (Izzy is 10 weeks old there) is my attempt to capture her "talking." It turned out a little bit different than I thought it would :) Babies have a mind of their own. I assure you that I was sitting right there with her the whole time. It was just too cute and funny, couldn't help laughing!

Our New House

Last weekend we painted the entire exterior of our house. Well when I say we, I mean Brian, David (my brothers), and Art. They worked all weekend, including on Father's Day. Brian came down on Thursday from Colorado Springs to start the job. For those of you that don't know, he works for College Pro Painting and offered to paint our house for us. We didn't realize how much the house needed it until the job was finished. It looks amazing. We thought some rainy weather was going to get in our way, and it did a bit, but in the end it all got finished. Thanks Brian and David for your hard work and for dedicating your weekend to our home. And thank you to my loving husband for pitching in, especially on your first Father's Day.
Before...

This was when we first bought our house. You'll also notice the horrible shape that our yard was in. Art has worked so hard the last 3 years to get our grass in good shape. You can actually walk on it now!

After...
Our house is now a great grey color. The peaks and the front door are a bit darker shade than the body. We loved the yellow that we had, but unfortunately that is not a choice through our home owners association anymore. We love the new look!

2 Month Check Up

We had Izzy's 2 month doctor's appointment this week. She's growing like a weed. She weighed in at 11 pounds 1.5 ounces. She was 7 pounds 6 ounces when she was born, so she's put on just a tad bit of weight :) She's in the 95th percentile for her weight. Then here's the thing that shocked us. She is 24 1/2 inches long. She's off the chart for her height. Guess she's going to be tall like her daddy. She did so good at the appointment, even during the shots. She's already growing up too fast!

Time Flies

Art and I just celebrated our 3 year anniversary this week. I can't believe it's been 3 years since we got married. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday. We were looking back and talking about how great our wedding day was. Some days it's hard to remember what it was like before our little bundle of joy arrived! We had a really nice night out at a French restaurant, just the two of us. It was very nice to reconnect with some "us" time. But of course, I still can't resist posting some new pictures of us with Izzy!

7 Weeks Old

This week Izzy really started smiling a lot. She started out just randomly doing it, but now she'll smile if you make a weird noise, or talk to her funny, or even do a little dance. She's getting quite the little personality already. She's so sweet in the morning right after she wakes up and eats. She smiles at everything. She's also started cooing a lot more. She really sounds like she's trying to talk to us sometimes. Poor little thing hasn't started growing back all of her hair yet though. She was born with hair all over, then most of it has fallen out on the top. She's got this funny ring of hair around the bottom of her head. We call it her Old Man Hair. She looks like George Costanza on Seinfeld. It's very slowly growing back in on top. We can't tell yet if it's coming in dark again or if it's more blond. We shall see. Very hard to believe that she's already going to be 2 months old later this week. It's going too fast already. Today Izzy is 8 weeks old!

Tummy Time

We try to have Izzy do tummy time at least once a day so that her neck can get stronger to hold up that big noggin' she's got! On this particular day during tummy time, she kind of propped herself on her side. It was almost like a half roll. She can hold her head up about 45 degrees now for maybe about 10 seconds when she's on her belly. When we hold her in a standing or sitting position she can hold her head up all by herself! Doesn't sound like a lot, but we sure are proud of her!

Mountain Poop Outfit

A few weeks ago my Mom went through some of my old baby stuff and found some cute little outfits that I used to wear. One outfit she found is referred to as my "mountain poop outfit." Apparently when I was a baby and we'd go camping, my parents would put me in this one particular outfit because it was long sleeved and had pants, yet it was all one piece. Inevitably every time they'd put me in this outfit, I'd have a major blowout. The outfit is still in great shape after all these years and it's really cute. So we put Izzy in it! She looked adorable. I love this picture too because it looks like she's telling us all a secret. She was 6 weeks old in this picture. She's growing so fast! When she starts crying really hard, she sometimes likes to stand up to see around the room. We call it her angry walk. Here she is doing her angry walk while in my old outfit. She looks cute even when she's crying.

Isabella's First Pictures

Izzy is now 3 weeks old and doing great! She seems to grow a little more each day and discovers something new to do along with her growth! Her new favorite thing to do is blow little bubbles on her lips. She sleeps pretty well during the night, in about 3-4 hour increments. About a week ago, we took her to get her picture taken. They came out great. We got some really nice family shots as well. Lots of people asked me to see some close up shots of her. There are a few here that couldn't get more close up! Double click on any of the pictures to see it larger. Enjoy.