The Whetstones: November 2012

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