Isabelle's First Trip to the Zoo!

Last Friday, we took Isabelle for her first trip to the zoo. My dad was in town from Chicago, so we all piled in the car and drove to the Fort Worth Zoo. It is a beautiful zoo! I wasn't sure how Isabelle would react, but she loves to be outside so I knew she'd at least have fun being in the outdoors all day.

Here we are at the entrance.

The Meerkats were BY FAR Isabelle's favorite animal. I, too, am a huge fan of them. When we got to the Meerkat Mounds, there were none to be found. Then, one lone sweetie pie emerged from a hole in the ground and gave us quite a show at the glass window. Isabelle was squealing with delight at this little guy!

We ventured though Monkey Land (as I like to call it). I'm not sure if she really knew what she was looking at, but we all really enjoyed the show the primates put on for us. It was a beautiful day (sunny, 70 degrees), so all of the animals were out and about enjoying the day.

My little monkey (yes, she was attired in a monkey shirt to mark the occasion of course) is very tempermental when it comes to being in the stroller. She either loves it or hates it. Luckly for us, the first part of our zoo trip she loved it! Here are a couple of pics of her chillin' in the stroller.

This is her pacifier, by the way. She will only suck those two fingers on her right hand. It's pretty funny.

After we ventured out of Ape World, Brendan decided to put her in the carrier so she would have a better view of the animals. Smart Daddy! Once we did this, she really started noticing everything. The giraffes were spectacular! You can see them in the background here.

We ate lunch and then walked through the Texas Wild! exhibit. It has different sections that show all the various landscapes of Texas and the wildlife found there. This picture was taken right after I pushed Isabelle through the aquatic section. She was screaming her head off while in the stroller, so I obliged and cuddled her after several minutes of listening to her cry!

While exiting the Texas Wild exhibit, we came upon this wishing well. Brendan tossed a quarter in as Isabelle watched it drop to the bottom. Too cute!

We strolled through the zoo on our way back to the front. It is such a beautiful place!

When you get to the front of the zoo, there is a wonderful flamingo area. They were very fiesty that day! Isabelle was fascinated with them.

Here's a family photo. I was so glad my dad was able to visit and join us at the zoo.

On our way out we stopped at the gift shop--I really wanted a stuffed Meerkat for her to mark the occasion. You can see by the way she is holding on to it, that she loved him!

Within 5 minutes of being in the car, she was out for the count! Mr. Meerkat was happy to relax with her on the drive home. Our trip to the zoo was wonderful, one that we will always remember. It was so neat to experience it with my little girl. It was like see it for the first time all over again. I can't wait for all of the other adventures that lie ahead!

Isabelle Is Growing Up!

Our little girl is growing up!

Isabelle is now getting her two bottom teeth. It is causing her some pain, but she is handling it pretty well. Also, she is saying Da-Da all the time! We talk about Dada ALL DAY LONG while he is a work. We also get a Ma-Ma mixed in there, but we're on a 90/10 split of how often she says Dada vs. Mama. It's hard to come to grips that my once tiny baby is now old enough to actually say words!

She is on a pretty good schedule, gets up at 7 am, gets 4 big bottles of milk each day plus 3 solid meals of veggies/fruit/cereal, and two to three naps, and then is in bed by 7 pm. As for new foods: I've tried giving her yogurt but it makes her gag. :-) We will venture into meats next month I think. I have tried giving her cereal puffs, but there's a problem. I have born a baby that does not like to put things in her mouth. Does this even exist???? The only thing she puts in her mouth are her fingers/hands/feet. She refuses to hold her bottle or the sippy cup, does not mouth her toys, and certainly will not put cold teething rings in there! She also does not like to have her hands touched. This makes it problematic when I try to grab her hand to SHOW her how to put things in her mouth, like food! Also, if you try to put something in her mouth she doesn't want, she zips her lips so tight I don't think a wrench could open it. Oh, our little Isabelle sure is something!

She loves playing in her jumperoo, and has started to roll over from her back to her tummy--but only on her own terms! I know she can roll both ways (I've seen her do it), she just doesn't want to have anything to do with it. She can sit well, and holds on to furniture while standing if I put her that way. She is pretty far off from crawling and pulling up on things I think.

So here we go with some recent pictures:

I am finally able to get her in these pretty party dresses that have been hanging in her closet since I was PREGNANT! Even though we don't have many fancy things to go to, I've started putting her in dresses for regular occasions like visiting friends. Here are some shots of her "all dolled up!"

We recently went to Loew's for a few things, and decided to try putting her in the shopping cart for the first time. It lasted about 15 minutes, and then the back arching began. I think we need another month or so before she is really sturdy. But the shopping cart cover worked great, and she loved getting pushed around.

I get together every week with Amanda and Tori for mommy/baby playdates. Since the weather has been nicer, we are going on walks and taking the kids to the park. We are almost to the age where they will start playing together!

I recently made a big batch of blueberry puree for Isabelle. I mix them in with apples, mangos, and pears. She loves them! But, it is impossible for her to eat blueberries without getting what I call the "Blueberry Beard."

Every couple of weeks, I go through her closet and drawers to make sure we are wearing all of her outfits, as to not miss out on anything. I have been doing pretty good, but the other day found this precious pink dress with matching bonnet--in a 3 month size. Dang! Missed the boat on that one, but I put the bonnet on her anyway and got a very cute picture of her.

Here she is on her favorite couch spot, grabbing those sweet little feet!!!

Grandma's Visit

Here are some photos from late January/early February.

Such a wonderful present! Miss Isabelle!




We are at my Godson Douglas's baptism here at Robin and Kyle's house. With only the three of us at home, we rarely get a photo with all three of us in it!

She just started sitting up really well, so I had to snap a photo of her in this precious one piece lace outfit.

Oh, how Grandma Seal would make her laugh! Here, my mom is saying the word "Squeaking!" over and over again in a high voice. I tried and she just stared at me blankly.

Our big snowstorm! We have learned that Isabelle is not a fan of the snow. God I hope she is a pool girl like me in the summer!

My mom built this snowman. Hershey Kisses for eyes, and wooden spoons for arms. :-)

I had to wake Isabelle from her nap one day so that we could leave for church, so I took the chance to snap a pic of her sleeping. We are still working on her naps, some days are better than others, but she does love her crib and her little lavendar bear blankie that she is holding on to here.

Grandma's visit meant lots of new toys, and lots of playtime! Isabelle is not a big mover, she just sits in the corner of the couch and plays. This is good for me since I'm not having to chase after her yet!

Grandma took over meal duty while here. Isabelle loved it!

Here she is with her hero--aka Daddy!

I can't get enough pics of her sitting. I think it is so precious!

Valentine's Day Baby Party

On February 13th, I hosted a Valentine's Day baby party for my mommy friends! Many of us had gotten together for a pregnancy party last summer, and now it was time to celebrate with the babies. 9 ladies were able to attend, plus me, so that makes 11 babies! (Tori in the bottom right corner is the mommy of twins, which upped our baby count!) Here we are in a group photo. Landon was the oldest at 10 months, and Ryan was the youngest at 7 weeks.

I laid out a nice spread of food with the help of my mom who was visiting from Chicago. We had pinwheels, fruit, cream cheese spread, sausage balls, and cherry tomatoes filled with chicken salad and avocado. We also had some pink punch (not spiked though, darnit!).

Here are me and my mom in front of the beautiful Valentine's cake. It just wouldn't be a party without cake!

My friend Melissa is a baby photographer. She set up upstairs in the game room and did photo shoots with each of the babies. Here is Luke striking a pose!

I am very blessed to have wonderful friends. Becky (left) and Robin both asked me to be their baby's godmother. I was so honored and in the last few weeks was able to be at both of their baptisms. Here I am taking a pic with Annie and Douglas, my Christian children (as Robin likes to say!).

Here is my godson Douglas giving me a very serious look.

With so many babies in the house, it made me think of the Octomom and how CRAZY her house must be! A baby was always needing to be fed, changed, put down for a nap, etc. But each of these mommies has taken to motherhood so well! We all love our little bundles of joy and had fun talking about it for the afternoon. Here are me, Robin with Douglas, Christine with Chase (standing in back), and Jennifer with Everett and Jenna with Ryan (sitting).

I am so lucky to have a neighbor right down the street who also has a little one! Christine and I got to take lots of walks together when the weather was warmer, and are looking forward to starting again soon once this cold stuff moves out of here.

Annabelle and Isabelle are sure to be great friends as they grow up!!! Their daddies have been friends since kindergarden, and we are super excited to be raising kids at the same time.

Kate just couldn't take it anymore. She had to take a nap! Her twin sister Ellie was sleeping on the couch!

Another group shot: from left to right. Robin/Douglas, Rachel/Landon, Jennifer/Everett, and Becky/Annabelle. Lots of new friendships were made!

Here are Rachel and I with Landon and Isabelle. I met Rachel at Brendan's work holiday dinner. Our husbands both work in the same area at Texas Health Hospital in Dallas. We randomly sat next to each other and learned how much we had in common!

We got to spend alot of time just hanging out with the babies. It was alot of fun! There were no meltdowns or catastrophies to mention. Just babies and mommies having a great day!

January Fun!

January has been a fun month so far! Isabelle turned 6 months old, and I have to say this is the most fun we've had. She is very interactive, and every day is doing something new that I'm proud of. At our 6 month visit to the doctor, we learned that she is in the 11th% of weight at 13 lbs 15 oz. She may be little, but she sure has a strong will!

Here she is sitting on the couch with Libby. They adore each other. I can't tell you how many people freaked me out before I had the baby by saying, "Your dog will be so jealous and you won't be able to pay any attention to her." Well, actually Libby gets more attention than ever now that she's not locked in a crate for 13 hours a day like she was when I worked, and she never leaves Isabelle's side.


The other day I had Isabelle in her jumperoo (below), and Libby ran by with a toy and Isabelle busted out laughing! I started playing tug of war with Libby and she laughed even harder! I have a feeling that Libby is going to be the source of much entertainment in the coming months.

Okay, so if you watch Modern Family on ABC you'll understand why I had the crazy idea to try out a baby gym with Isabelle. (If you don't watch the show, you are seriously missing out on some great comedy.) It seemed like a great idea, but after going, I realized that sitting on the floor with my immobile baby moving her arms back and forth was not worth the $400 is would cost. I think we might go back in a year or so when she is walking and needs to burn off energy. Anyway, we were allowed to explore the gym, so I put her on the "parellel bars." Heehee.

Here's she is enjoying some tummy time in the bathroom after a bath.

Isabelle gets to play with her friends every week. Luke is her best friend--they are already noticing each other and interacting.

We went to Austin to visit Brendan's brother Jason and his family. Here is Isabelle with her cousin Ella and Aunt Kristy. Ella loves Isabelle and couldn't get enough of her.

Here I am with Jason before dinner. The sling is a great tool for the early evening when it's not quite time for Isabelle to go to bed, but she's fussy and wants to be held. She's my little kangaroo baby! And yes, I was wearing my snowflake pajama pants during the day. Sue me.

Each morning I get Isabelle from her crib when she wakes up and feed her in my bed where Miss Libby is still lounging. Libby was laying with her head out of the covers (I did not pose her like that!) so I thought it would be cute to get a shot with the baby.

I like to show Isabelle all the things I do in the kitchen, so I put her in the bumbo on the counter. All you safety nerds out there are probably wagging your finger at me, but I don't care! :-) She likes seeing what I'm doing, and we have nice conversation while I work.

Here she is in her little hat going for a walk. My friend Tori calls it her Mother Goose bonnet, I call it her grandma hat. (No offense to all you grandma's out there!) She really enjoys being outside and especially loves the swing!!!

Here she is in the swing at the park. This day we went with Amanda and Luke.

Here are Isabelle and Luke swinging at the park.

We are having so much fun every day, and feel truly blessed that we get to take care of this precious angel!