11 Months Old

Izzy had another big month this month.  She experienced her first state fair.  She tried a few bites of funnel cake, some delicious port, a pickle, some ice cream from Bauders.  She even managed to get a nap in during her state fair trip.

Izzy continues to work on her walking and is now running around when she is in the house.  She's quick; it amazes me how fast she can get places.

Unfortunately, we had another month where we we had to be out of daycare for a day.  Some stomach bug, which also landed us a trip to the doctor to get a return slip for daycare.  Luckily, we haven't been there since early in the year for an illness.

On the bright side, we got to officially weigh and measure Izzy for her 11 month milestone.  She is officially weighing 23 lbs and 14 oz.  She measures 30 3/4 inches tall.  We just finished all her size 3 diapers and moved to size 4.  She is in mostly 12 month and 12-18 month clothing.  She has a few 9 month shorts that are still pretty big on her.  Once again the variation in clothing sizes amazes me.  A lot of this month was spent working on her upper two front teeth; they have really been kicking her butt.  

Izzy is becoming quite daring these days.  For those following me on Facebook, you saw the photo last week of Izzy climbing on the dishwasher.  Watching her get off was quite entertaining.

She has figured out how to climb the stairs, but is pretty good about listening when I say no.  We have a gate to put up at the bottom of the stairs, but I don't like to put it up all the time because that is the Buddy and Maya's only safe access to water.  No doesn't always work with Izzy.  Sometimes she just looks at me and smiles when I say it.  She is doing a great job of testing her boundaries these days.  Her personality is really starting to come through.  She's fiercely independent (can't imagine where she got that from), strong willed and determined.  She can be quick to anger when you interrupt something she is "working on".  Her smile lights up the room.  Just like her daddy, her blue eyes sparkle and can make everything better.  Her laugh is infectious and I often hear it throughout the day even when she isn't with me.

It's amazes how such a tiny person can truly turn life upside down.  There are days she drives me to the end of my rope.  However, I can't imagine life without her smile in it.  We are continuing on with our nursing journey; just one month shy of my goal.  I thought Izzy had night weaned a few months ago, but now that these teeth broke through, she's back on the bandwagon.  I'm not sure how long we will continue our nursing journey beyond her first birthday, but I do enjoy the bond with her.  Back in May, I decided to invest in a keepsake to remind myself of the bond she and I have shared this first year of her life.  I found a semi-local jewelry maker who specializes in breast-milk jewelry.

Some of the women who shared their stories about why they got jewelry made were inspiring.  Women who lost their babies but continued pumping to provide for other babies in need.  Women who has nursed for a decade or more combined for multiple children.  Getting 11 months in to the journey, I appreciate the commitment it takes to breastfeed over the long haul.

This next month is going to be a whirlwind, I imagine.  Izzy started off her 11th month by moving to the toddler room at daycare.  So far, so good.  Aside from a few bites from other kiddos in her new room, she seems to be fitting in well.  We are gearing up to head off on Izzy's first big adventure across state lines.  Actually, it will also be Buddy and Maya's first adventure out of the state with us.  It will be interesting for sure! We are all excited about it.  Trying to coordinate travel gear for two adults, a child and two dogs is A LOT different than it was when it was just Andrew and I.

Of course before we know it, I will be writing Izzy's one year update.  Excuse me while I go cry in the corner now....

10 Months Old

Ten months in, I suppose it's time to finally admit Izzy will turn one if I like it or not.  I have started looking ahead to her first birthday and am in full on outfit planning mode for her first photos.  I'm probably way overthinking/planning this, but she only turns one once, right?  Part of my acceptance that she is turning one was ordering the invites for her party.  They are still sitting on the table; right where I put them when I brought them home.  Yes, I will eventually open the box and address them, just not today.

Many days, I find my inner dialogue reminding me to slow down, enjoy each day and each moment.  One thing having Izzy has taught me is to enjoy the little moments in life more.  The big things will get done, and does it really matter if every speck of dust is picked up off the floor or the dishes sit in the sink an extra day?  More and more the answer is no.

The most exciting development in Izzy's world this last month was that she learned to walk.  Just a week shy of turning ten months old, she took her first steps.  She is still crawling most places, but is getting more and more daring with how far she is willing to walk.  Every now and then I throw a pair of shoes on her feet; that really messes with her.  I know it won't be too long before she's running all over the house.  She is already climbing the stairs.  We found out she knew that trick when we caught her playing with the dogs water bowl we moved onto the stairs so she couldn't get to it.  She's a quick little bugger.

She didn't really grow in height or weight this last month, which is fine by me.  I didn't want to buy three different sizes for her summer wardrobe!  I have given up on putting her in one piece outfits for the most part; other than dresses.  I bought her several 12 month rompers for the summer thinking she could wear those all summer.  Wrong!  I have to tug on them to get them snapped.  I'm in the same boat with her 12 month onesies.  Thank you, Old Navy for making longer clothing for kids.  Their 12-18 month clothes have been a life saver.  She is constantly pushing the limits on Carters clothing.  I do love the looks of Target's Cat&Jack line, I'm not 100% convinced on the quality.  But, she grows so fast, she's never really in anything long enough for it to be a problem.  Separates are our friends these days. I can't think of a single clothing item (other than pajamas) that she has worn more than a handful of times.

She's still wearing size three diapers at the moment.  Although, we only have a few packs left, so we will probably bump up to size 4 when she goes through those.  She's been in size 4's for overnight diapers for a while now.

Our daily reports from daycare always entertain us.  Several months ago, she put a kid in a choke hold because he pulled at her bangs.  After that, I think she and this kid got along swimingly.  This past week, I went to pick her up and they told me she worked for about 15 minutes at mastering standing up from a seated position without holding on to anything.  I can tell she is trying to master several skills right now because she is extra crabby.  She always is when she's trying to learn something new.  She did the same thing before she started to crawl; takes after her dad!

We have been lucky so far that Izzy hasn't encountered any food allergies.  When we first started solids, she seemed to have an issue with oatmeal, but she has shown no signs of any issues now.  She does love her fruit.  I can't say I blame her.  This is the time of year I could probably eat fruit by the pound.  She was on a veggie protest for a few weeks, but seems to be coming back around now.  Right now, she's working on her two top teeth, so she likes anything she can chomp down on; including my hand.  I've said "no bite" more times than I can count in the last few weeks.  On the bright side, she has not tried to bite any of the kids at daycare.

Just a note on the "bad" for the month, because you can't have the good without a little bit of bad.  We started off Izzy's 10th month with hand foot and mouth.  That is a nasty little bug that spreads like wildfire.  Luckily, she only ever had a fever for about 36 hours and didn't ever develop sores in her mouth.  She did, however, have them on her hands and feet and is still suffering the aftermath.  It looks like the nails on both her little toes are going to fall off as is part of her thumb nail.  We will all survive and move on, I just feel bad for her.  A not so fun highlight for me was being vomited on while in the middle of the mall food court.  Thanks to Izzy we all had a little run in with the stomach flu last weekend at some point.  I know that won't be the last time for that experience!

Looking ahead to the next month, I'm sure Izzy will continue to perfect her walking skills.  She will probably be running by the end of the month.  The state fair is coming up; we might have to introduce Izzy to the ultimate people watching experience!  Girl takes after her mom; always watching!  It's hard to believe August is right around the corner.  Where is the summer going?

We have a few house projects we would like to finish up before we wrap up project season.  Andrew has been hard at work the last few weekends with projects.  I don't get to help him with projects as much these days since I'm usually busy trying to chase down Izzy.   But, we make it work!

9 Months In, 9 Months Out

Izzy has officially been in the outside world as long as she was on the inside. 

Here's Izzy at 9 months in:

 

And Izzy at 9 months out:  

Of course, this month was even more lively than last month with her.  She's learning new tricks daily!  She started crawling right when she turned 8 months old.  Now I would say she is run/crawling.  I don't know if that's a thing, but I just made it one.  Needless to say, she is moving across the house swiftly these days.  We have spent the month trying to get all things out of reach that aren't appropriate for little hands: the dogs water bowls, toilet water, and anything breakable sitting in places less than three feet off the ground.  We have also tried to figure out which pieces of furniture need to be strapped down since miss mover thinks she needs to be standing at all times.  I guess crawling and sitting really weren't cutting it for her anymore.  

I finally came to terms with the fact that she is growing and bought some vacuum bags to pack up the clothes she has outgrown.  For now, we are hanging onto them.  It remains to be decided if Izzy will be an only child.  Probably depends on the time of day you ask the question!  She still fits in a few of her 6-9 month clothes, but for the most part is in 9 month and 12 month outfits.  She has the curse of her mom and dad when it comes to shirts... they are all belly shirts.  Sorry kid... a long torso will do that to you. 

Turns out, I might have measured her wrong last month.  I blame Izzy; she was moving too much to get an accurate read.  She did have her 9 month check up at the doctors office this week and was measuring just shy of 30 inches.  She hasn't gained any weight over the last month, and remains at 22 lbs.  I'm guessing her weight gain will start to level off now.  Although, with the way she eats some days, I don't know.  The kid could probably throw back an entire carton of blueberries if I let her.  She also loves cheese and black olives.  This last month we introduced her to some fish, beans, turkey, and a little bit of hamburger.  Andrew thought it was pretty hysterical to watch her mow down some lentil curry.  She also went after some salmon pretty seriously, so that's good.  I have found we have to give her veggies and meats before fruit, or she will fill herself up on fruit.  It wasn't so much of an issue when she was first starting out on foods.  Probably because I didn't leave her much of a choice since I was feeding her.

We have enjoyed quite a bit of time outside this past month as the temperatures climbed.  We bought her a pool, which she loves to splash in and Maya likes to drink from.

 On days where we don't feel like getting completely wet, we still play in the water on the deck. 

Since you asked (if you didn't, pretend you did), that is her Harry Potter onesie we purchased while on vacation last year at Universal Studios.  We decided, even before we knew the gender, that our child was likely to be a Ravenclaw.  So far, she holds pretty true to that.  Time will tell; her personality is developing quickly.  

She also loves to splash in the bath.  After fighting to wash her hair for months, I finally broke down and got her one of those bath hat/visors.  Let me tell you, this thing has been a LIFE SAVER.

And here we are post bath when we are supposed to be going to sleep...

The question we always get asked is, "is she sleeping through the night".  With a few exceptions, yes, she is now sleeping through the night.  I have enjoyed several uninterrupted nights of sleep, and they have been the most glorious things ever.  It's been well over a year since I was able to sleep through the night.  Of course, gone are the days of sleeping in until 10 am on Saturday's. That was nice while it lasted.  I look forward to retirement when I can enjoy those days again.  I experienced my first real "mom" moment this past month.  I had to be gone a couple of hours for two nights in a row a few weeks ago for work, which meant Andrew was in charge of dinner and the nighttime routine.  On the first night, I came home to find Izzy sleeping on our bed with Andrew sitting next to her reading.  She had just fallen asleep when I got home shortly before 9. I knew it was going to be rough because I had only been away for two other nights.  I picked Izzy up to carry her into her room, and for a minute I couldn't even move.  I just held her close and let the tears run down my cheeks.  I missed that little girl more than I thought was possible.  Even in the moments when she has pushed me to my limit, I try to remind myself to enjoy those moments.  They will only last for a short period and in the blink of an eye they will be gone and I will be longing for the days when life was simple with her and I was worried only about her not eating veggies for dinner.  

Also, in case inquiring minds would like to know, we continue on with our nursing journey.  There are days when I really detest pumping.  Ok, that's most days actually.  However, I know I do it for her benefit.  We have officially made it 3/4 of the way to my goal of one year.  I may not be supplying all the milk she gets, but every little bit I can get her is a win.  These last three months are going to be a push.  Since mother nature reared her ugly head again (it was nice while those 16 months lasted), my supply has taken a pretty serious hit.  Again, another part of the nursing journey they don't tell you in the two hour breastfeeding class in the hospital... 

Now we look on to the next month. Izzy kicked it off with a real bang by coming down with hand, foot and mouth.  Andrew and I have been splitting duty this week since we have to keep Izzy home until her sores are scabbed over.  As difficult as it is to try and work and make sure someone is with her, it's kind of nice having her home for a few extra days; I do miss her when she is at daycare.  

We are also making the big change to the convertible car seats this coming weekend so we can have them checked next week at the car seat safety check they hold once a month at a local car dealership.  She's is seriously getting too big to lug around in the infant carrier, and most of the time we end of taking her out of it anyway.  More evidence that she is growing up way too fast. I started to look ahead to her first birthday; got seriously sad, and then put it out of my mind.  I'm going to have to force myself to think about it here before too long.  

As a final note, if you are wondering about the flooring project, I promise we are seriously almost done.  Really, it is mostly done.  The final piece of furniture came back up out of the basement a few weeks ago, and the final set of boxes is now sitting in the dining room waiting for me to unpack.  I can see the light at the end of the remodeling tunnel!

I leave you with a photo of Maya enjoying her birthday treat earlier this month.  Miss Maya celebrated her 5th birthday this year!  She keeps life in this house fun, and keep Buddy young. 

 

8 Months Old

Izzy has actually been eight months old now for a week, but it's been a busy week and I'm just getting a minute to sit down and collect my thoughts on her last month.  I think every month is busier and busier with her.  Every month we seem to reach a milestone with her.  At seven months, she popped her first two teeth.  At eight months, she started crawling.  Since she started crawling, we spent the last week baby proofing the house.  The gate is up in our upstairs hallway to keep her from falling down the stairs.  Every day she is getting a little quicker.  I feel bad for her poor knees; they are all red. Other than putting lotion on them at night, there isn't much else to do for her. 

 We started off the month with a haircut!  

 I celebrated my first Mother's Day with this cutie.  

Most of this past month was spent working up to crawling.  We discovered she was able to get quite far just by bouncing around on her tush.  We also discovered she was able to get herself upright when I looked in her monitor one night.  We also discovered that it's not easy to complete a home renovation project with a seven month old.  However, we are nearing completion on the flooring project.  We need to get a couple pieces of furniture back up on the main level and then I will take some photos to share.  I think the floor looks amazing!  It was a huge undertaking, but it was worth it.  Once again, credit goes to Andrew for his handy work!   

Motherhood lesson #12346489: soaking clothes with metallic lettering in oxiclean will take the metallic off.  This was the only time she got to wear this onesie before I jacked up the lettering.    

Izzy has been exploring more foods this past month.  I think blueberries might be her favorite.  It's hard to tell; she hasn't really come across any foods she doesn't like.  We are transitioning from pureed foods over to finger foods.  It's so much easier to get myself dinner while it's still warm when I can put food on her tray and let her go at it while I'm cooking dinner.  Cleanup is a little messier now.  Girl loves herself some chicken, cheese, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, peas, carrots, green beans.... 

Obviously, this girl loves her food since she has no concerns about being underweight.  She is solid at 22 lbs.  She has outpaced a few of her friends who are months older than she is.  To go with her weight though, she is 30 inches long and remains in the 99th percentile.  I have put all of her 6-9 month tops and onesies away.  She does still fit into 6 month and 6-9 month bottoms.  She has a few 9 month rompers, but I think her days in those are numbered.  I have pulled out most of her 12 month clothes from storage.  Fingers crossed she will be in those most of the summer since all the 18 month clothes I have collected for her are for fall and winter.  I have really had to be disciplined about not buying her any more clothes.  She seriously does not need anything else.  It's so hard though!   

I'm sure this next month is going to be full of even more adventures with her.  We bought a pool so she could play in the water this summer.  Her new obsession is pulling herself up on things; let's see how long it is before she is walking.  Then we are really in trouble! 

7 Months Old

We have crossed the half way point to Izzy's first year. The last month has been another eventful one for Izzy. We celebrated her first Ester. No, we didn't make her hunt for Easter eggs this year.  We figured that might be kind of cruel since she can't walk or crawl.  Don't worry, she still got a few things in her Easter basket. Her "basket" from mom and dad was more like a box at the front door delivered from Toys R Us.  She got a few new noise making toys, including a drum to teach her colors and numbers in English and Spanish!  

One of Izzy's noise makes from the Easter Bunny. 

We finally got Izzy in for her six month  check up about a week before she turned seven months old. Better late than never, right?  She weighed in at 20 lbs and 2.5 oz and measured 28 inches long. Again, she hit the 99th percentile for her height, and was up in the 94th percentile for her weight.  By all accounts, she is a very happy, healthy little girl, and for that we are beyond grateful! 

I have finally had to come to terms with her growth, and put the clothes she has outgrown away.  Reality sunk in when daycare told me I needed to put her in bigger pants because her pants were too tight.  So much for trying  to squeeze her into things! I was just telling a friend, I'm not sure why I cram her into things when she has adorable clothes in the next five sizes.  Denial.... that's why. We finally got through all our size 2 diapers and moved her up to size 3. Not a minute too soon either because she was really busting out of size 2's. I noticed daycare just moved her up to size 4 diapers... I can't seem to keep up.  

A few days before her seven month marker, our little lady decided to pop two teeth. She had a runny nose for a week prior to that, so I suspected it was coming.  She had been working on those darn things since Christmas! They are just busy working their way up now.  Now that she has her two bottom front teeth, I feel better about giving her some not so pureed foods. Speaking of foods, she hasn't encountered anything she doesn't like.  We have given her a few of the big allergy foods including peanut butter and eggs. We have done eggs a few times without issue.  She loves flinging them around more  than she loves eating them, but that's the story with pretty much every food right now.  She had a bit of peanut butter with some banana this past weekend, and really seemed to enjoy that.  We will try a little more peanut butter again here soon.  We have also introduced some chicken and turkey into her diet as well as some whole milk yogurt.  The dogs have both decided this screaming thing is alright since she throws food on the floor.  Anyone who gives Buddy food is instantly his best friend! 

While she isn't crawling yet, that doesn't mean she isn't mobile.  I'm amazed at just how far she can pull and scoot herself.  I have to keep a pretty close eye on her these days.  She is much more stable when she is sitting now.  She can twist around and look at something without toppling over!  She loves sticking anything and everything in her mouth except the frozen teething rings.  Luckily, she does seem to like sucking on ice cubes in the mesh feeders.  Although she has never been  a fan of the pacifier, she does like to chew on it, or put it in her mouth and pull it out to listen to the pop it makes.  She cracks me up daily!

Her latest love is attempting to pull herself up. She isn't strong enough just yet to actually pull herself up, but she likes to try!  She loves to stand and look around.  She's like her mama; always watching!  She has also already mastered the stink eye, so that's going to be a problem.  She is more of a morning person, again like her mama!  Although, she is not so much a fan of the mornings when I have to wake her up.  Then she's a little more like her dad.  She's also saying "dada" like a pro these days.  Hopefully I hear a mama sometime! 

In case you were wondering about our flooring project, it isn't done yet.  However, we are making progress.  Andrew took a weeks vacation and got all the flooring down.  It looks amazing and really changes the look of the house.  We also painted the living room.  It was finally time to say goodbye to the poop brown color we have been looking at since we moved in.  

This was my attempt to pick a color.  The funny thing is, I didn't 

end up going with any of these colors.  

Here is the newly painted living room before the flooring

went in.  Huge thanks to Andrew's mom because she did 

most of the painting while I was trying to wrestle with Izzy. 

The goal is to get the rest of the baseboard and the quarter round up this weekend so that we can put furniture back in the rooms.  Eating on a metal chair in the middle of the kitchen the last month has really lost its luster.  

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

We made it through our first half year of parenthood!  It's been a ride so far, and I know it's only going to get better from here.  We had a pretty exciting month; lots of developments.

Unfortunately, we kicked the month off with some sort of respiratory junk that was going around at daycare.  I seriously questioned if the kids at daycare are ever "healthy".  It seems there is always one kid with something.  After a trip to the doctor, we found ourselves with a five day dose of Prednisone.  Apparently, we weren't the only ones with that prescription.  It took three pharmacies to find the meds.  Luckily, whatever she had seemed to clear up pretty quick and she was back up and running in no time.  Unfortunately, she was sleeping in the rock and play to help with the congestion and we are still suffering from that bad habit...  

As of last check, our not quite so little lady was weighing in at 18 1/2 lbs and measuring about 27 1/2 inches.  Once again, I was trying to cram her into clothes for too long, and we almost missed the 6-9 month window.  She is still in six month pants; 9 month pants pretty much just fall off of her.  She actually still has a few pairs of 3-6 month pants that fit.  It's crazy how much the different brands of clothes vary in size.  I have been hitting the clearance racks and trying to stock up on clothes for next fall and winter.  I'm banking on her being in 18 and 24 month clothing, so let's hope she sticks with that, or I'm in trouble.  I also hit up a big consignment sale at the fairgrounds a few weekends ago and was able to score some good deals on summer clothes.

Onto the fun stuff... Izzy's latest trick; sitting up!   She can't pull herself up without help just yet, so she only sits up when we put her that way.  She is also still working on her core, so she topples over if she leans too far to one side.  In the last week, she has figured out how to turn her head to look at something behind her without falling over.

A few weeks ago, we finally saw Izzy roll over for the first time.  I figured she could do it, but she was being shy.  Now that she has figured out how to sit up on her own, she doesn't like to be flat on the ground, so she hasn't really been rolling over a lot since then.

My favorite development this past month was hearing her laugh.  We were outside chatting with our neighbors and their dog was barking at us all.  Izzy thought it was hilarious.  I think we were all laughing at her little laugh before too long!  It was pretty much the best sound ever; I might be bias though.

 

We have introduced a few more foods this last week.  She loves sweet potatoes (knows what's good for her), bananas, apples, and pears.  We will circle back to green beans here shortly and add in some carrots, peas, and pumpkin.  I'm working on making our own baby food; so much cheaper.  We bought a new blender for $32 from Target (thank you Cartwheel)!  Our current blender doesn't have the puree setting, and frankly I think the thing is kind of worthless (bad research prior to purchasing on my end).  So, we bought a little bit of an upgraded version with a few more bells and whistles.  Tonight, I whipped up some cinnamon apples for her.  She wasn't quite sure what to think initially, but she got into it after a few bites.  The faces she makes when she she tries new foods are quite hilarious!  We plan on doing a combination of purees and baby lead weaning.  She is still working on the same stinking teeth... man do I hope these things come through soon.  Since we hit six months, that also means we hit my second breastfeeding goal on our way to 1 year.  No, she isn't exclusively breastfed, but some is better than none as I like to remind myself. 

 This past weekend, we had a blast with Andrew family celebrating Izzy.  Luckily, she was in a good mood for us all and was quite the ham for everyone! 

In case you are all sick of baby updates and ready some of the "classic blog content", have no fear our annual project season is here!  This year we have decided to re-do the floors on our main level.  After watching Buddy chew at the carpet in the living room looking for treat crumbs, and then watching Izzy rub her face in the carpet, I decided the carpet had to go.  Andrew pulled up the carpet in our dining room today; I was seriously disgusted.  I know the living room is going to be ten times worse.  We will be putting down wood laminate, and I'm so looking forward to having something a little more sanitary on the floor.  Stay tuned for the post project update!

Five Months Old

It's been five quick months since we welcomed our baby girl into our lives.  A little over a year ago,  we found out we were expecting.  It was early March of last year when we heard our baby girls heartbeat for the first time; a sound I will not soon forget!  I knew in that moment our lives were changing, but I couldn't imagine just how much.  My heart is full as I watch our little girl grow every day and explore the world around her. 

This past month has been a full one for our little lady.  We had our first call from daycare to pick up our sick kiddo.  Whatever stomach bug she contracted quickly passed without much issue.  A few days of a low grade fever, and some fun diapers later, the incident was a distant memory.  Babies first fever of course had me worried out of my mind, but we made it through!

At her four month check up in January, we got the OK to start exploring solids.  After Izzy showed obvious interest in our eating habits, I decided to give it a go with her.  After much research, I started her off with oatmeal rather than rice cereal.  The first day went great; she couldn't get enough of it.  By the second and third day, she wasn't as interested.  By day four, I noticed she had broken out in a rash on her tummy and chest.  Needless to say, we were done with oatmeal.  I waited a week before trying again with vegetables.  We made it through three days each of butternut squash, green beans, and sweet potatoes.  My girl loved herself some sweet potatoes (gets that from her mama)! 

Luckily, none of those caused her to break out in a rash like the oatmeal did.  However, after battling with some diaper rash issues, I decided to pause with the solids.  While I think Izzy is ready to start on foods, I'm not 100% convinced her tummy is.  I think we will give her system another month to mature, and start back up with solids at six months. 

We are still on tooth watch.  Every morning I check to see if those little devils have busted through her gums.  So far, no sign of them, but the amount of drool such a small child is able to produce is astounding.  Everything goes in her mouth these days; Andrew likes to ask Izzy how her "hand sandwich" is since she is constantly cramming her hands in her mouth.  Her hands are certainly busy all day; same with her feet.  Shortly before she turned four months old, we put together the activity bouncer we were gifted at her baby shower in November.  The first few times she sat in it, she just sat there with her hands down by her sides.  Now, she grabs at all the toys and has figured out how to spin herself around.  We recently started the drop it, pick it up game.  I used to say "there is no way I'm indulging my child in that game".  Now, I find myself mindlessly picking up toys as she throws them on the floor for the tenth time.  I have seen a saying on Facebook to the effect of "parenting was a lot easier when I was talking about my hypothetical children".  I laugh every time I see this because the statement couldn't be more true!

We still aren't rolling over, but man we are getting dangerously close.  Daycare says she has rolled over a couple of times for them.  She does tend to get more tummy time at daycare, so I totally believe it.  I think she is the only one at daycare now who isn't rolling over, so I fully expect she will get on the bus with the other babes here shortly.  The baby closest in age to her at daycare was born about three weeks before she was, so I think they "hang out" together.  Perhaps she will give into peer pressure.  Just because she isn't rolling over doesn't mean she isn't mobile.  While she hasn't figured out how to get herself across a room just yet, she can kick her legs hard enough to pull her whole body a fair distance.  She has also mastered the full body rotation when she is down on the ground.  She is working on sitting up unsupported at the moment; still needs to work on some core muscles (who doesn't)!  I joked with Andrew this weekend that Izzy will probably skip crawling and go straight to walking; she always wants to stand.  If she is fussy, stand her up and she is content.  I can hold her by only her hands, and she will support her weight on her legs.  From time to time, she will even take a step or two.  Really this is all just too fast for me and time can go ahead and slow down.  While I enjoy all the fun changes, sometimes I long to return to the days when she was in the womb and I carried her with me wherever I went.  At least then I knew she was safe and protected.

I have my days where I struggle entrusting her care to others.  I haven't had a full on melt down while leaving daycare, but it's safe to say I spend most of the day with Izzy on my mind.  It's true what they say about your child being a piece of your heart walking around on the outside of your body.  Some days, my anxiety gets the best of me and I have to remind myself that everything is fine and she is safe.  Having Izzy has forced me to reflect on my own childhood.  While I might have been annoyed with my mom at times, I realize now she was trying to protect me the best she could.  Ahh, the mama bear instincts!

With the weather being so nice recently, we have been trying to get out on walks more (especially since I can't seem to find the time to get my butt back in the gym).  While I was still on maternity leave and the temps were still high enough, we would go on walks in the afternoon.  I tried putting her in her stroller and walking the dogs at the same time; that was a total cluster.  I have since found wearing her and walking the dogs is much simpler for all of us!  Luckily, she is pretty cooperative with me wearing her, and I have figured out how to get her strapped in without a second set of hands.  Her mood dictates if I wear her facing me or facing out, and I quickly know if we picked the wrong direction.  Have I mentioned this child has quite the attitude already (stop laughing, mom).  She has no problems letting you know what she does and doesn't like.    

This past month we have tried to master the art of a bedtime routine.  I finally got wise and realized by putting her to bed at 8 or 9:00, she was overly tired and I was just causing more drama for all involved.  I bumped her bedtime up to between 7 and 8:00 and we are all much happier as a result.  She usually goes down without a fight as long as I catch her at the right moment.  At the first sign of her rubbing her eyes, we are off to start our nighttime routine.  Some nights that means we are getting ready for bed at 6:30 and some nights we start our routine at 7:15.  It makes me sad when I only get to spend an hour or two at most with her at night, but I also don't want to suffer the wrath of an overly tired kiddo. 

Our current battle is getting her to sleep in her crib without her arms being swaddled.  We were making progress until she got sick with a cold.  Right now, we are just doing whatever we can to get her to sleep as well as possible, which means sleeping in her rock and play.  We don't want to make a habit of letting her sleep in her rock and play, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get a sick babe to sleep.  Once she gets past this hump, we will be back to working with her on sleeping in her crib with her arms free.

I'm amazed how fast our baby is growing both physically and emotionally.  She has darn near busted out the bottoms of her six month sleep and play outfits.  She has a few one piece outfits in 9 months, but we will probably just move straight to 12 month outfits.  Granted, she will be swimming in them for a while, but at least I knew she will get to wear some of them more than once.  She has some adorable outfits I have only been able to get her in one time before she outgrew them.  I was sad this weekend as I pulled the last of her three month pants out of her dresser.  But, I decided she shouldn't have to suffer through wearing high water pants when she has a slew of six month pants waiting to be worn.

We are five months in on our parenting adventure, and can't wait to see what's in store for us this next month!