Time with Family and Friends

Now that we are moving soon, we are making an effort to spend extra time with family and friends.  It has been so nice to see our extended family and friends that we don't see very much anymore since having the baby.  I realized that I have tons of photos of Isabelle, just not very many of her with others.  I've tried to remedy this by making sure to take pictures of her with the people that love this sweet girl.  Enjoy!

P.S.:  I will be updating this post as I get more photos of her with everyone.

My dad and Belle's Taa ("Taa" is Cambodian for grandfather).  He was trying to get her to use a crayon and color this past Friday night.  Dad was the same way with me growing up, always teaching and I'm grateful!

 He brings Isabelle three storybooks every time he comes to visit and reads them to her.  She is going to have a massive library.

My grandmother, me, and Belle.  She is my stepdad's mother and I grew up living next door for many years in my childhood.

Isabelle checking Grandma out 

Belle with her great-grandmother

7 Months Old

Dear Belle,

I can't believe you are seven months old today!  It seems like you just turned six months old yesterday, so I'm caught a little off guard that another month has already passed.  I would say the biggest change with you this month are that you are finally teething! Earlier this week mommy felt your bottom front left tooth poke through.  You don't seem to be in any pain, but you are chewing on everything like your pacifier, Sophie the giraffe, and fingers.  Belle, you have become a pro at rolling over, and now whenever I put you on your belly you simply roll over which can make it difficult to do tummy time.  We're not sure when you will crawl because it doesn't seem to interest you at the moment.  Daddy has worked with you on sitting up this week, and you even sat up during your bath tonight with little help.  We have a feeling you will be sitting up by next month for sure.  Sweet girl you love to talk, babble, and even screech!  We love to hear your voice so keep it up.  Your newest trick is that you can now put your own pacifier in your mouth.  One day, mommy was carrying you around and you even tried to put it in my mouth!  Maybe I was talking to much and you wanted me to be quiet ;-)

Here are a few things I want to remember:

-You now wear size 3 diapers and 6 to 12 month clothes depending on the brand.  Now that you are eating baby food, mom's learned not to spend a lot of money on clothes because they get stained so easily!

-You are eating more and more food every day, but you still are kind of a picky eater.  If you don't want to eat something you let us know and fuss until we give you something you do like.  I'm going to have to try and sneak some different foods in somehow.  We tried puffs the other day, but you aren't quite ready for "solid" foods.  You did have your first taste of watermelon and strawberries the other day and loved them!

-You take 5 to 6 six ounce bottles of Infamil baby formula a day and eat twice the amount of baby food than you did last month.  We usually give you one container of vegetables and half a container of fruit at lunch and dinner.  Some mornings you feel like eating oatmeal or cereal, and other mornings you just prefer a bottle.

-Isabelle, you will drink from your sippy cup when you are thirsty, but if you aren't it doesn't interest you.  We still haven't gotten you to hold the cup on your own yet.

-You are still sleeping through the night.  We put you to sleep from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. and you wake up between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m.

-You naps vary during the day, but we have a feeling you are getting plenty of rest at Grandma's!

-You are a happy baby and love attention!  We are happy to give it to you because we know this stage won't last long.  Sweet girl, you are growing up too fast.  Mommy and Daddy are trying to soak up every moment because you will be a toddler in a few short months. *Tear*

Representin' for Daddy's work.  Don't you think that this face should be on a commercial?

Belle sitting up like a big girl in the bathtub tonight.

She was trying so hard to sit up on her own during the 7 month photo!

This girl loves her pacifier.

 Teething, wonder how long it will take?


-

Before I Forget

Here's another random, before I forget post:

-Last Saturday morning we were still getting ready so we brought Belle into our room and laid her on the bed.  We always place her head on a pillow like a "big girl" in the middle of the bed, and talk to her while we get dressed.  The next thing I know, Sean says laughing, "Look at her!"  All I see is a pillow with tiny feet sticking out from underneath.  Now that she's older she decided that it would be fun to slide off the pillow, wiggle around, and end up with her entire body under the pillow.  Oh, by the way, she thought it was hilarious.  We ended up making a game of it and everytime we would lift the pillow off of her she would laugh and smile.  I'm pretty sure this was her first attempt at playing hide-and-seek! 

These photos aren't from the first time she played hide-and-seek, but it gives you an idea of her new favorite game:

-I bought her this jumper that hangs from a door thinking that she would love it because she loves to jump when we hold her and let her stand up in our laps.  She doesn't know what to do when we put her in it and whines until we take her out.  (Update:  We have tried to put her in it more and she kind of enjoys it now, just not for long.)

-Sean discovered the other day that Belle loves to bounce on the bed.  He laid her down and started making the bed bounce enough to were she would lift up in the air a bit.  She thinks it is the best thing ever, and now I'm pretty sure she is a daredevil!

-This child is addicted to being outside, even in 100+ degree heat.  So we oblige and take her on walks every evening.  It works like clockwork, we put her in the stroller and she is asleep within 15 minutes.

-We figured out that babies get tired of eating the same thing, so now I'm trying to find new things to feed her.  We can tell when she doesn't like something because she won't open her mouth and turns her head away.  Green beans, no.  Sweet peas, no  Even fruits that are a bit tart, no.  A delicious baked sweet potato, no.  If she does like something she will open her mouth wide and makes noises like she wants more.  For about a week I was feeding her oatmeal with mushed up banana for breakfast.  She loved it and couldn't get enough.  Then a few days ago I would try to feed it to her and she refused to eat it.  So I switched things up a bit and gave her rice cereal and she gobbled it up.  Apparently, this child needs variety!  The hardest thing is trying to find foods that don't have too much texture because she doesn't have any teeth yet. I tried to feed her Baby Mum-Mums, but all she did was chew on it and would not swallow.  At Kid's Day Out they said she ate puffs, but I have my doubts.  I'm going to have to brainstorm a bit because I want her to be able to eat anything we eat pretty soon. 

Sorry for the random post, but I want to jot these things down before I forget!


Here are some of my favorite photos from her six month photo shoot:

Yes, we are wearing matching dresses, and yes I love it!  For some reason, Sean refused to match us ;-)