From a Baby to a Toddler

This photo was taken by the amazing Bethany Blair Photography. She looks so grown up here!

Belle is definitely acting more like a toddler instead of a baby now. Last night, she yelled the entire way home from dinner. It was an angry yell instead of the cry of a baby, and it was simply because she didn't want to be in her carseat.  She has been doing this more and more lately and we're not sure what to do.  This morning, Sean took her to daycare and he said that Belle immediately crawled to one of the baby boys that is in her class and grabbed the toy out of his hand. There were plenty of other toys for her to play with mind you.  Then, she looked up and smiled at her daddy like she did something good.  So, how do you teach an 11-month-old not throw temper trantrums and to share?  I've told her "no" before when she's tried to pull my glasses or earrings off, but she thinks it is just a game.  Parenting, things are always changing!

Sean's Office

A majority of our time has been spent getting Sean's office to open October 1st.  Now that the craziness has subsided, we are settling into our new life.  Sean loves his job and we are really enjoying our new town.  God has blessed us beyond belief and we are very grateful!  Here are some photos from the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on October 19, 2012.

10 and 11 Months Old

I know that I've been terrible at blogging lately!  I've gotten out of the habit, and even missed Isabelle's 10 month post. She has changed so much over the past two months.  Here's a little update on our favorite little lady:

-Her next check-up isn't until she is a year old, but we did have to go to the doctor in October so she could get a flu shot.  If I remember correctly she weighed 18 pounds and 4 ounces.  The same month, she also came down with her first ear infection and thrush.  Luckily, we caught it early and she didn't feel bad.  I was able to stay home with her for three days and we had lots of fun.  I even took her to the park for the first time and she got to swing like a big girl!

-She still wears some 9 month clothes and is transitioning to 12 month clothes.  She still wears size 3 diapers, but they are getting snug.  I love dressing her, but finding winter clothes is hard.  Most of the pants made now for baby girls are thin leggings, and she is spending a lot of time on the floor so I've been trying to find warmer clothes.  After going a whole summer barefoot, she did not like wearing anything on her feet.  Belle would instantly pull off her socks as soon as I put them on her, but after being persistent I'm proud to say that she wears socks and shoes with no fuss! 

-Our daughter is sitting up with no problem now, and her favorite place to be is on the floor playing with her toys.  She also started consistently army crawling at the beginning of November.  She won't get on all fours to crawl, but I don't think she ever will since she gets wherever she wants to go now.  One day, I left her in the living room playing with her toys while I went to the bathroom.  Usually, whenever I leave the room she cries for me because momma always has to be in eyesight.  Well, I forgot that she was mobile because the next thing I knew she was halfway down the hallway crying for me and crawling to find me.  It was funny and pitiful at the same time!

-We've been working on her standing skills lately.  I got her a baby activity table that plays music and she loves to stand and push and the buttons.  I think it has really helped because her daycare teacher told me today that Isabelle pulled herself up to standing to reach a toy on the shelf!  I haven't seen her do it at home yet, but I'm sure she will do it soon!

-We've realized that our daughter loves attention.  As soon as we drop her off, she crawls to her favorite toys to play, then she'll crawl across the room to see her baby friends, and then goes back to do the same thing again.  They've told me that every time someone walks into the room she will "talk" to them and wave.  Oh, I almost forgot, she learned to wave!  At first, Belle would only wave backwards to herself, but now she will wave her entire arm if you tell her to "wave bye-bye."  If she gets really excited she will wave both arms and smile really big!  We went to a cabin a few weeks ago with Sean's family and she was the only child there.  Of course, she had a ball because everyone was giving her lots of attention.  It is like she knew the spotlight was on her because she talked more than normal and was in a very good mood the entire time!

-Speaking of talking, Isabelle has said her first words!  She says "mama" when she is hungry, tired, or generally when something is wrong.  She says "dada" when she's happy and wants to play.  It makes sense because she wants me at night to comfort her and put her to bed, but dad is definitely the more fun parent to play with!  This mama is a little jealous because she says "dada" more than "mama," but I can't complain because she is so cute when she talks.  The monster noises have officially stopped, I guess now that she has figured out that she can say words, growling isn't as fun ;-)

-Isabelle can feed herself finger foods now, and just this month has been eating more table food over baby food.  Daycare has really helped her progress because they asked if they could start feeding her the food they prepare.  Well, apparently that is what she wanted all along because she loves to eat!  Belle will eat most things, but her favorites are pancakes, chicken, scrambled eggs, any type of bread, pasta, all fruits, most vegetables except the green ones, and even steak!  She only takes three 6 oz bottles of formula now because she eats so much food now.  I've even had to start cooking dinner regularly just so I have something to feed her!  Over Thanksgiving we plan on transitioning to a sippy cup with whole milk so she'll be completely off bottles by the time she is a year old.  I'm not quite ready to get rid of the pacifier yet because she loves it so much.  She doesn't really need it anymore for soothing, but she just likes to have it nearby just in case.

-She is a great sleeper and typically falls asleep between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. and will sleep until about 6:30 or 7:00 a.m.  One weekend when we were at my mom's house she set a record and slept until almost 10:00 in the morning!  My mom got worried and asked me if I needed to check on her, but she was fine and just needed her beauty rest.

-Since we've moved Isabelle has gotten used to longer car rides.  She usually does pretty good for about 2/3 of the 3-hour drive, but then she'll get fussy at the end.  We've found that it is best to travel when she is about to nap so everyone has a peaceful trip.

-At home, she will take an hour nap in the mid-morning and a two-hour nap in the afternoon.  At daycare, she will take a 30 minute nap in the morning and a one-hour nap in the afternoon because she's a pretty light sleeper during the day.  Fortunately, she will take a nap in her crib now instead of a swing.

-Isabelle is such a sweet baby and our interactions are getting so much more fun!  For example, she loves to feed people.  If she has a cracker in her hand, if you open your mouth like you want a bite, she will extend her arm and try to put it in your mouth.  Sometimes if you're too slow she'll snatch it back so you have to be really quick.  When you do take a bite she smiles and thinks it is the best thing ever.  Also, we've been teaching her to give kisses.  She just learned to "kiss" today, and if you put your cheek up to her mouth she will open her mouth just a little. 

-My favorite mommy moment so far happened this week.  I try and read to Isabelle everyday and usually she just sits there quietly or tries to rip the pages of the book.  Well, this time I was reading a book about a puppy.  Every time I would read the words "woof,woof!" she would turn around to look at me and laugh.  She did this the entire story and I really felt like she "got it."  Moments like that melt my heart!

Isabelle, you're our precious baby and I can't believe you'll be turning a year old in less than a month.  We love you more and more each day and it is hard to remember our lives before having you.  Can't wait to spend the holidays with you sweet girl!

Love,
Momma

 10 month photo

 Love a smiling baby

 Her new trick!

 Isabelle's new favorite toy

 Visit to the pumpkin patch

 Happy Halloween!

 Sock monkey baby

 Trick-or-treating at my office

 Whetstone Cabin Weekend 2012

 So cute in her hat and fuzzy boots!

 Love my little family

 11 month photo

 Always on the move

 Future Mozart

Before I Forget

There a few things that I forgot to write in Isabelle's 9 Month post, and I just remembered them now:

-I don't know if I've ever written about this before, but our daughter has always been very vocal and likes to experiment with her voice.  Her favorite lately is making "monster" noises.  Basically, she growls like she is trying to sound like a lion and she does it over and over.  She has scared people at Wal-Mart before because they don't expect such a sound to come from a little baby.  Well, since she has started daycare she has even been doing it for them.  Isabelle will growl, her teacher will go "oh scary!" and act surprised, and she will think it is the funniest thing in the world.  Today her teacher told me that one of the parents was wondering why her daughter started making growling noises because she had never made them before.  Well, she figured out that her baby was learning it from Isabelle!  I'm so proud :-)

-On the drive to our new town, we were taking separate cars and Isabelle was riding with her daddy with me following behind.  The night before she had been sleeping in the crib at grandma's and when she woke up she had a crick in her neck.  Well, I guess that made her feel bad, because when Sean stopped for gas she saw that she had thrown up all over and soaked her outfit.  He called me in a panic, and I stopped too.  For a moment we thought she had a seizure and even called an ambulance to the gas station.  They looked her over and she seemed fine to them.  We knew she had a glazed look in her eyes and she was still holding her head sideways.  We took her to the hospital (since it was a Saturday), waited there forever, and she eventually started feeling better.  The doctor didn't really say much, but to watch her to see if anything else happened.  The next day, she woke up happy and acting normal.  We figured out that she just carsick from the combination of a crick in her neck and perhaps her daddy's driving.  It sure did worry us for a bit, and you can put this down as her second time in the ER thanks to her newbie parents!

-Belle is really starting to show her personality by acting more like a toddler than a baby.  For example, we have been letting her hold her sippy cup so she learns to drink from it.  After awhile, she starts flinging it around and hits it on the table.  When we take it away from her, she cries instantly.  Such a drama queen :-)

-Last night I was eating a fudgesicle and Isabelle was sitting in my lap.  I decided to give her a bite and at first it was too cold for her.  Then, she started turning around and looking up at me with puppy dog eyes asking for more.  I gave in and we shared the treat with her loving every bit of it with chocolate all over her face.  Once the fudgesicle was all gone she got upset and started crying!  We had to give her a bath just to get her mind off it.  Apparently she is a chocolate lover!

-This sweet girl is happiest when both of us are at home.  Usually Sean gets her ready in the morning and takes her to daycare and I pick her up in the afternoon.  I try to get to work early so I can get off work earlier.  One morning I was running late for work so I was there when she was getting up.  Isabelle was acting extra happy that morning and squealing in delight.  She kept looking at me, then at him, and she would smile really big.  Sean told me she was just happy because the whole family was together.  I have to say, I'm happiest when we're all together too.

9 Months Old

Hello,

I know this post is a week late, but I wanted to document what's been going on with our sweet pea lately.  She is 9 months old now and growing by leaps and bounds.  We went for her check-up on Friday and she is 17 pounds 6 ounces and 27 inches tall.  She still wears 9 month clothes and some 6 month sizes.  The doctor said she had excellent gross and fine motor skills.  I was a little concerned that she wasn't crawling yet, but he didn't seem worried because she is on track based on her adjusted age due to being premature.  No shots this visit, so I'm pretty sure Belle was happy about that.  Here's a glimpse of what she's been up to lately:

-Right before we moved she started rolling consistently from her back to her stomach.  Now she is all over the place.  I will put her on the floor and in a few minutes she will have rolled to the other side of the room.  She hasn't gotten up and rocked on her knees yet, but she is able to get toys out of her reach by wiggling like a worm.  This also means she is sleeping on her stomach now.  At first I was worried about her ability to breathe and would go check on her at night, but I had to let it go. 

-She is also sitting up like a pro!  We love being able to go to restaurants and put her in a high chair.  Our trips to the store are so much more fun because she can sit up in the shopping cart and look around.  I credit daycare for getting her to sit up more they don't hold her all the time like we were doing at home.  If we sit her on the playmat, she is fine as long as she has a toy to play with.  We're still working on getting her to sit up more consistently. 

-Her new favorite toy is the exersaucer!  We pulled it out of storage, and Belle loves being able to "stand up" in it and swivel to play with the toys.  It definitely keeps her entertained for awhile.  You still have to be in eyesight though or she'll whine until she can see you again.  I love that she actually plays with toys now.  However, she's not as crazy about storytime anymore because she gets antsy.  I'll try reading her a book, and before I'm done she wiggles out of my lap onto the floor.  She's definitely a busy little bee now!  The only time she wants to cuddle is when I feed her a bottle and rock her to sleep.  Guess I'll be doing that as long as possible because momma needs some snuggle time.

-Isabelle can feed herself puffs, yogurt melts, and pretty much any bite-size foods that aren't too slippery.  She loves eating crackers when we go to a restaurant, and it keeps her busy while we eat.  She still eats baby food for the most part because when I try giving her regular food she still gags a little.  I think this will change by next month because she is getting four more teeth on the top!  I didn't believe it at first when her teacher told me she was teething, but surely enough, I looked and she will have a mouthful of teeth soon.  I didn't know even know she was teething because she never drools, doesn't chew on many things, and isn't very fussy.

-Her adjustment to daycare has gone pretty smoothly.  She only cried the first day, and besides being cranky a few times from teething and a diaper rash, she is doing well.  Now when we drop her off she is happy and smiling when she goes to her teachers.  It definitely puts my mind at ease knowing that she is happy there.  I think she was ready for daycare because staying at home, even with grandma, was getting boring for her.  She loves the social interaction that comes with being around other babies.  She doesn't drink much of her bottle while there because she gets distracted pretty easily, but she eats baby food just fine for them.  I think she's becoming disinterested in formula because food tastes so much better!  She only drinks four 5 to 6 ounce bottles a day now.  She eats two snacks and two meals of baby food a day.  Isabelle got into a really good daycare, and we are so blessed she is doing well there.

-The baby got her first diaper rash in a really long time because she started soaking through her diaper at night.  She usually wears size 3 Pampers 12-hour diapers, but the diaper couldn't handle her sleeping on her tummy.  I had to wake up and change her until I found a diaper that worked, and trust me, it wasn't fun for either of us.  I found Fisher Price diapers online and they work like a charm!  They are a little on the thick side, so she only wears them at night.

-Isabelle's hair is growing fast, but only on the top.  It is now long enough that I can put a little bow barette in it.  It is a good thing too, because she pulls of the headbands as soon as I put them in.  She also loves to pull hair and necklaces, so momma cut her hair short and stopped wearing necklaces for the time being.

-She is sleeping longer at night because she's tired when she gets back from daycare.  Belle usually goes to bed around 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. and wakes up from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.  Sean sometimes has to wake her up to go to daycare, but on the weekends she knows it is her time to sleep in.  One Saturday morning, she slept until 8:30 a.m. which was a big deal for us!

-Isabelle has learned to smile for the camera now!  She started smiling so big it crinkles her cute little nose.  We also love her "fake smile" where she will smile halfway when she is unsure about something or she meets a new person.

-We've been working on teaching her how to do things lately.  We are showing her how to wave bye and to clap her hands.  Belle loves to turn the lights off when we leave a room.  Her baby babble has many more syllables now, and sometimes I think she is saying "mama" and "dada."  She has always been a vocal baby, so I have a feeling she will say her first word soon!

I'm sure there are things that I'm failing to document, but those are the big milestones thus far.  Time is flying by way too fast.  Daddy even commented that you are starting to look more like a toddler than a baby.  Sweet daughter, we love you so much and thank God for having this time with you!

Love,
Momma

I told her to "Smile" and this is what she did!

First time using the exersaucer

Belle in leg warmers

For some reason I couldn't get her to smile for her 9 month photo.

Now we know why, headbands are itchy!

Loving the sock monkey Grandma gave her.

Sitting up and actually playing by herself!

 Isabelle's loves the exersaucer and knows how to use each toy now.

 Coordinating family photo, love it!

 WPS!

Our Little Razorback

 Yay and Grandpa came to visit, they missed her so much!