End Of Year Updates

If you are reading this, you are probably noticing some changes on the blog.  If you have been reading throughout the summer, you may have noticed some more subtle changes over the last few months.  2018 has been a year filled with many changes, many of which I have kept to myself.

For those who have noticed the lack of "family" postings, there is a reason.  Andrew and I separated over the summer and our divorce will be final just after the first of the year.  It was not a decision that was reached lightly, however it was the decision that was best for our family.  No, I'm not going to get into the details.  If you see us and would like to ask for additional information, we will each share what we feel comfortable sharing. 

As you might have seen from Facebook, the house is on the market.  With the market slowing down right now, we haven't had any bites on it.  I'm hopeful after the first of the year the market will pick up and we will get it sold.  It's been a blessing in disguise to not battle moving during the semester and to keep Izzy's life a normal as possible.  Once our house is sold, my hope is to purchase another home for Izzy and I. 

I finished up my first semester of law school this week.  It was as much work as I expected, but I'm proud of myself for keeping up with it.  I would not have made it through without a lot of help from friends and family.  A huge thank you to my parents for taking Izzy for the day on the weekends I had assignments due or tests to study for.  I have some amazing classmates and friends who kept me in check and kept me going.  A few in particular saved my butt more than once!  It was a bit of an adjustment to be back in school again.  I definitely had to adjust my study style.  Things are a little different now than they were eight years ago when I finished my undergrad education.  I'm now enjoying a little rest and relaxation.  It was an odd feeling putting Izzy to bed this week knowing I had no reading to do after she went to sleep!  Classes don't start again until January 22nd.  My goal is to relax through the end of the year and after the first of the year re-group and come up with a plan for next semester.  So much of the first semester of law school was figuring out how to make it through the next two and a half years, and now I feel like I have a better handle on it. 

Izzy continues to be a very busy toddler.  We have had a busy fall with a trip to the pumpkin patch, her baptism, Thanksgiving, and of course a daily dose of sass.  Her personality continues to develop daily; she really is a great mix of both Andrew and I.  I think we are going to have quite the daredevil on our hands!  Her vocabulary is certainly expanding and I have had to monitor some of the things I say.  I try not to burst out laughing when phrases like "oh my gosh" comes out of her mouth.  Sometimes I just have to look away from her to regain my composure.  She brings me so much joy.  Yes, sometimes (daily) she pushes me to my limits, but I love that little turkey to pieces.  Her laughter is the best sound.  Hearing her scream "mommy" as she runs across the room when I pick her up from daycare makes my heart explode! 

Izzy had her first trip to the dentist in October.  She wasn't a huge fan, but we did manage to survive the trip.  She has actually been much better recently about letting me brush her teeth, so I'm glad I don't have to battle that every day now.  At the time of her appointment, her two year molars were coming in, which explained a lot about her attitude at that point.  Honestly though, I think we got pretty lucky will all of her teeth coming through.  I don't ever remember it being overwhelmingly terrible. 

Izzy was baptized at our church in October.  I was reminded why most people baptize children when they are babies.... patience was not on the top of the list that day.  But, she certainly was entertaining.  Pictures weren't easy to capture; she had reached the end of her rope by the time the service was over!  The picture below accurately captures the wild look in her eye as she was waving the candle around and attempting to (and in some cases succeeding at) hitting people with it. 

I haven't measured her or weighed her recently, but I don't think her height has changed a ton since her last checkup in October.  She is still in 2T and 3T clothes.  She does have some 24 month pants.  3T pants would probably fall off of her.  Although in shirts and dresses, 3T is what I go with most of the time.  Hello long torso!  She has the permanent belly shirt issue much like I remember having.  She is still in size 7 shoes, but there are still some size 6 shoes she can wear.  It amazes and annoys me how much variation there is in sizing for kids clothing and shoes. 

I'm looking forward to spending some down time with Izzy over the next couple of weeks (perhaps in our new matching Harry Potter pajamas) now that I'm not totally stressed about classes.  I'm back to "just working" while I'm on break from school.  I really do feel beyond grateful and blessed for the opportunities I have had this year.  Even on the hardest days, I pinch myself and realize I'm going after a dream I have had for many years.  It isn't easy, and there are many days I seriously question my sanity in all of it, but the best way to get through it is to keep going.  At the end of the day, I remind myself that I'm teaching Izzy to not give up and to always go after your dreams even when it feels like everything is pushing against you.   

2 Year Update

Yup, we have a two year old on our hands.  And man, are we knee deep in two year tantrums.  Tantrums over the wrong snack, the wrong sippy cup, the wrong book... generally speaking, a tantrum can happen at any time over any issue.  It's not all doom and gloom though.  While Izzy does a great job of testing my patience almost daily, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  Some days I might trade it for five minutes of peace when she has been imitating a tornado siren for 15 minutes while flinging herself on the floor!

I realize this post is several weeks behind her actual birthday, but life happens.  The last month has been intense.  I had midterms for one of my classes and a large writing assignment due right around her birthday, so that took priority for a minute. 

We just went in this week for our big two year checkup, so we are officially weighing in at 31 lbs (it took some doing to get her to even stand on the scale).  She is measuring right at 3 ft tall.  Still in the 90 + percentile for both height and weight.  She is in size 2t and 3t clothes.  2t pants and 2t and 3t shirts depending on the length.  Hello long torso (sorry kid, you get that from both mom and dad).  I thought she was going to be in size 6 for shoes this fall.  WRONG!! She pretty much jumped from size 5 to size 7 over the summer.  It's harder to tell in sandals, but when I went to buy her tennis shoes for the fall and winter, I realized her feet had grown more than I thought.  Needless to say, there were a couple pairs of shoes that she never wore.  She is still solidly in size 5 diapers.  Daycare is working with her on potty training, and she tells us now when she needs a diaper change.  Progress, but we aren't forcing the issue at home either. 

She is a chatter box from the minute she wakes up until the minute she passes out at night.  Her vocabulary has grown leaps and bounds over the last several months.  She is counting to ten, knows her ABC's (for the most part), is pretty solid on her colors, knows most of the primary body parts and some of the more obscure ones like eyebrows. 

Her personality continues to shine through more and more each day.  She has never really been overly affectionate, but she's big into mommy snuggles right now.  Some days when I feel like a punching bag to the adult world, there is no better feeling than a big hug from Izzy.  She reminds me often to stop and breathe.  She's quite observant of people and will often come hug my leg when I'm stressing over something.  Note to self, you may think you're holding it together, but kids are more observant than we give them credit for; even at a young age. 

Some of her favorite things are: being outside, jumping off of things, books, coloring, stickers, balloons, fruit snacks (just got a lecture on that from the dentist this week), water, owls, Elmo, and music.  Not so favorite things: brushing teeth, being told no, and sitting down to eat a meal. 

Even though school has kept me busy, I try and make sure we are getting out and about on the weekends. We were able to get two year photos done in September.  It may have taken us two weekends to get them done thanks to a rainstorm, but I think the end result on both accounts was great!  I can't say enough great things about Chelsea Kyaw Photo.  She was amazing to work with and I love how all our photos turned out!  I can't wait to get them printed and up on the walls. 

Looking ahead to the next few weeks (since we are that close to the end of October), we still have a busy couple of weeks.  I'm excited for Halloween fun with Izzy this year, including carving pumpkins from our trip to the pumpkin patch this last weekend. 

23 Months Old

One more month... one more month until we hit the terrible twos!  I look back at pictures from a year ago and can't believe how much Izzy has changed.  Last year she was just starting to walk and she wasn't really talking.  Now she's a walking, talking machine.  

She's holding at 30 lbs; she feels like quite the load when I pick her up.  She's right around 36 inches tall; once again on upper end of the range for her age.  She's in size five diapers still; have I mentioned I'll be glad when those are a thing of the past?  She's holding pretty firm at 2T clothes.  Some pants she still wears 24 months in.  I have a feeling we might run into issues with pants for her this fall.  Some of the 2T shorts she has are too big in the waist, and end up being around her butt by the end of the day.  I'm guessing 24 month pants are going to be too short for her this fall, so we might have some pant falling down issues.  We've already encountered issues with dresses being too short... even though it's her diaper sticking out the bottom of dresses, we don't need to start that trend now.  

Izzy's amassing quite the shoe collection.  She ranges between sizes five and six for shoes.  Size six shoes are a little too big still, but she has some awesome size 6 boots to wear this fall!  This weekend, we are getting her two year pictures taken, and I'm totally excited!  Although, I really hope she cooperates a little better than she did with her first year pictures.  In her defense, we took those photos the day after getting back from vacation last year and she had been stuck in the car a lot, had too much fruit (hello upset tummy), and was working on a couple of teeth.  This year, we are only working on a couple of molars that have so far been a non issue.  Fingers crossed the happy Izzy shows up for photos! 

This girl loves music and loves to dance.  She isn't afraid to get her grove on and shake her booty.  She cracks me up; she can't sit still when a good beat comes on.  I often see her wiggling in her car seat while we are driving.  She also always has a book in her hands.  She loves to have me read to her, but she's starting to get particular about reading her own stories too.  Most nights when I pick her up from daycare, she sitting in the corner reading.  Speaking of daycare, she is doing quite well.  Now that summer is over, they are getting back to a curriculum.  Although she isn't in preschool yet, they are working with her the basics like numbers, letters and colors.  The other night she blew me away when she counted to three unprompted.  She still gets her colors confused, but she's cute when she shows me a red leaf and tells me it's purple.  They have also been working on potty training at daycare.  I'm not pushing the matter at home just yet.  As she becomes more aware of the concept, however, she has started announcing whenever anyone goes to the bathroom, so that's fun!  If you come over, prepare to have it announced when you go to the bathroom... you've been warned.   

I finally got Izzy's first dental appointment on the books.  Better late than never.  It's still a battle to brush her teeth, so I'm hoping the dentists office isn't totally traumatizing.  Luckily, the appointment isn't until October, so we have a little while to prepare.  Now that we are rounding the corner into September, I'm looking forward to all the fun fall things with Izzy in the coming months.  Hopefully we will enjoy another trip to the pumpkin patch in October, and some trick r treating at Living History Farms.  I hope we make it out to do some apple picking this fall too.  

Things at the house got a little crazy two weeks ago when my law school classes started.  I'm busy, but it's a good kind of busy.  I love being back in the classroom.  I love the mental exercise; I love the challenge.  The days are long with all the readings and trying to get time in with Izzy while putting in as much time at work as possible, but I wouldn't trade it.  I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity I have to chase a long time dream.  I know Izzy wont remember the long nights and the stacks of books covering the house.  Hopefully what she does remember is  mommy loves her and made time for her and to always chase your dreams even when the path isn't clear.  

22 Month Update

Again, I'm a week or so late on this update... it's getting harder and harder to get these things done on time, and life is weeks away from getting even crazier.  Izzy is constantly on the go these days.  I am grateful that she can entertain herself for a bit; it allows me to get some things done while she is awake.  Although, she is never too far from my side. 

She's grown a fair bit this month.  She shot up to 35" and is weighing in at just over 30 lbs. this month.  She is wearing size 5 diapers.  For clothes, she is mostly in 2T.  She has a few 3T things that she wears. Mostly tops for the length and dresses.  The 24 month items she wears are mostly shorts.  For shoes, she's in size 5's and some 6's.  I'm finding there is quite a bit of variation in sizing for the different brands of shoes.  I think for the fall, she will probably be wearing 2T and 3T tops and 2T pants. 

 That face!!!

Have I mentioned Izzy's love of all things water?  She loves splashing around.  I bought a bigger pool for her for the last part of the summer.  She loves it!  Every morning she looks out the patio door and says "bye bye splash splash". 

Izzy's other favorite thing is bubbles.  I can't hind them from her; she finds them no matter where they are at!  She hasn't quite figured out how to blow bubbles.  She gets it every once in a while, but mostly we just drench the deck in bubbles. 

This month we also tried out a bath bomb that we got on Amazon Prime day!  She wasn't sure what to think at first, but loved it after it started to color the water.  It smelled amazing too!

We experienced a bit of my childhood with the Summerfest parade.  We actually made it to two parades this year.  She was better prepared the second time around for capturing candy.  Mostly, I think people loved her adorable face and just threw some candy her way.  I told her she might have to work for it at some point!

We tried our first corn on the cob this month!  The first bite she ate only the end, but she got the hang of it quickly.  She made pretty good work for it for her first time around!

 Izzy's first selfie!  

Izzy's room at daycare is working on potty training.  She's gotten pretty good about telling us when she has gone number two and immediately wants out of her diaper.  Seems like potty training might be in our future... HELP ME!!! 

Her vocabulary has really expanded this last month.  She started stringing words together and chats up a storm now.  I've started monitoring my words more because she has started to repeat the things I'm saying.  It's hard to believe we are rounding the final corner on two years old!  

This next month is going to get crazy!  Law school orientation starts on the 14th and classes start on the 20th.  I'm terrified, but excited!  It's been 8 years since I was in school, I hope I remember how to study... 

21 Months Old

This last month was filled with lots of activities.  Izzy took her first vacation at the end of May/beginning of June. Her first plane ride, first trip to the ocean, and her first interaction with Disney! 

We finally managed to get Izzy in for her 18 month checkup this month.  She weighed in around 29 lbs and 12 oz and measured about 35 inches.  She remains in the upper 90th percentile for her height and weight.  She is in size 5 diapers now, and is wearing 24 month and 2T clothing.  She still has a couple of 18 month clothing items she can squeeze into.  She is wearing size 5 and 6 shoes.  

Right after Memorial Day, we flew out to California to visit some friends who moved out there a few years ago.  Before the trip, I was super anxious about flying with a toddler.  Izzy did pretty well on her first plane ride.  The boredom was real with her though.  Luckily, she slept through one of the flights.  Thank goodness for water markers and fruit snacks.  We did end up purchasing a Britax stroller cart off Amazon for $70, and let me tell you it was worth EVERY penny.  We strapped her car seat to the cart, strapped her into her car seat, and easily wheeled her through the airport.  She loved it!  My tips for flying: have lots of snacks for the plane ride, distractions, take a patience pill before going through security and pack the diaper bag accordingly.  

 Here we go! She loved takeoff and landing! 

 Waking up from her nap as we land in California.  

Landing in Phoenix 

 Izzy's first look at the ocean! 

Sometimes she amazes me with the things she eats; she was mowing down oysters.  

Dinner with Goofy and friends.  She wasn't a fan of the characters coming up to her.  

I wanted a photo of her with the sign... this is what I got.  

Our trip to the ocean!  She loved the splash splash! 

Waving bye to California! 

A few weekends ago, we made our first trip to the zoo.  Of course we found all of the spots with water!  We finally had to pull her away so other kids could have a turn at the window. She loved seeing all of the animals, and I know will be going back again!  

That rounds out the highlights of month 21 for us.  Izzy is a happy, healthy toddler.  What more could we ask for?  She drives me crazy some days, but what mama isn't driven to the edge of insanity by her kids from time to time?  We are big into experimenting with emotions and getting our way right now.  Meltdowns happen over some of the craziest things... the wrong color fruit snack, the wrong cup, I took the banana out of the peel... you get the picture here.  Some days, I can only laugh and try to remind myself it is just a phase!  This child is fearless in her pursuits.  When she falls, she bounces right back up without missing a step.  She always reminds me to live each day to the fullest and love the little things in life.  

20 Month Update

Alright, so once again I'm late on this post... life has been a little crazy the last few weeks with a vacation thrown into the mix.  Just before my 31st birthday, Izzy passed the 20 month mark.  Is it possible we have already entered into the terrible 2's?  Meltdowns have ensued over pretty much nothing.  Offering the wrong snack is apparently the end of the world now.

Izzy hasn't grown at all this month in terms of her height, and has actually lost a pound.  I think it's from all the running around outside she does.  At daycare they tell me she is quite the busy bee.  They always ask if she ever sits still at home.  The answer to that is NO! 

She is still measuring in just shy of 34 inches and about 28.5 lbs.  She is wearing 24 month and 2T clothes.  She is in size 5 diapers at this point.  Her feet are between size 5 and 6 for shoes.  It depends on the brand and style of shoe.

This girl is into everything outside these days... she loved helping me plant flowers this year.  This included throwing dirt around, and helping us weed the flower bed. 

An unintended dip in the river.  She will find water wherever she can!  "Splash splash" she always says.  I guess the lesson here is always have a swimsuit on hand or a change of clothes. 

 Being her cute self.  She isn't always throwing a fit about something.  Sometimes she's cute and smiley!

 Girl getting her shopping on.  Teaching her from a young age! 

Those eyes get me all the time.  She has her daddy to thank for those (and her mama's DNA for not ruining her chances for blue eyes).

Her vocabulary is really taking off these days.  Many words, including "no" she is very clear on.  More is another word she knows quite well.  Please is a sometimes thing.  Mommy and daddy are quite clear these days.  There's nothing better than having her come running toward me at the end of the day when I pick her up from daycare as she yells out "mommy", it always puts a smile on my face!

This month has been filled with excitement so far.  Izzy took her first plane ride!  More on that in the 21 month update.  We actually go to the doctor for her 18 month checkup (yes, I realize it's a little overdue).  I hope to take in all the fun summer activities with Izzy this summer.  On our summer bucket list: take in a baseball game, play at a splash pad, go to the pool, visit the farmers market, go to the zoo, and eat lots of ice cream!!  She does have her mamas sweet tooth!