New Tricks

Our little Izzy turned 10 months old the day before Valentine's Day and a few days later...she took her first step. She has now perfected going from a squatting position to standing. She started doing that on Monday. Then on Tuesday she took a step. She's so proud of herself after she stands up that she claps for herself most of the time. She hasn't taken more than one step, but you can tell she's thinking about trying it. It just amazes me how fast she picks things up. One day she couldn't stand up and all and the next day she could. Several times today Art and I just sat there and watched her try all her new skills. This evening when we were watching some tv, she even stood up on our bed and jumped. It would be hard for me to stand up on a squishy bed and she did it over and over with no problem. Here is a video of her standing up on the bed. She got pretty close to the edge at one point (as you'll see, I almost drop the camera to catch her)!

Valentine's Day

In Loveland there are lots of traditions around Valentine's Day and one of them is all the hearts that get put up around town. This year I was lucky enough to have my sweetheart get a heart for me. Thanks babe, I love you too!

9 Month Appointment

We had Izzy's 9 month doctor appointment yesterday. She's doing so great! She weighed in at 18 pounds 5 ounces which was in the 45th percentile. She was 29 1/2 inches tall which was in the 95th percentile. She's our tall, skinny girl I guess. The doctor is always impressed with how much she can do for her age. She's going through a bit of separation anxiety right now, so she cried a few times when the doctor was doing his exam, but other than that she was a trooper. It's just incredible to me how big she is already. She's trying to say all different sounds now. She has said "mama" for a month or so and just started saying what sounds like "dada" the other day. Art was really excited about that. It's so much fun watching her grow and change a little bit every day.

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.