We have liftoff...

It's official, my days of carefree parenting are over. No more leaving the room trusting Isabella to stay on her mat and play. After a week of scooting, squirming and slithering, Isabella finally started crawling today. She was so excited to discover things that seemed out of reach, no longer are out of reach. That's great for her, terrifying for me...

Dallas Arboretum

Today we met a Kim and Jordan (and Jordan's daddy Rob) from playgroup at the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy the one unusually warm day we've had in a while. Beth and Guy and their daughter Liat (also from playgroup) met up with us after a while. It was extremely windy when we first got there and thought we may have made a mistake, but them the wind died down and the sun came out - it was beautiful. We were there for a couple of hours, but only got a little over an hour of "good" Isabella. The rest of the time was either "hungry" Isabella or "sleepy" Isabella. We still had a great time. You'll see in the later pictures what "sleepy" Isabella looks like :)

Dinner with Ari and Ellen

We had dinner with two of Isabella's favorite people: Ari and Ellen Bond. We went out for sushi then came back to the house where Isabella opened a Chanukah present from them. She had a more success with the paper than she did with her first attempt in San Antonio. (That one was my fault though because I unknowingly picked the thickest possible paper to wrap her gift.) Here are some pictures from that as well as a couple from the amazing moon (and some of Izzy playing) on Friday night...

A Visit to Daddy's Office...

It's hard to believe it's taken 8 months for Isabella to visit David at work. After several requests from his coworkers, we finally arranged for her to visit today. She had a great time seeing all of the new faces. She even had her picture taken in her Daddy's chair...

Isabella is 8 mo. old...

Wow. It's even weird to say it. 8 months. Isabella can say da-da, ba-ba, ga-ga, ha-ha, and wa-wa. She's so close to knowing that "da-da" is her daddy, so now we're working on MAMA! We're not even close, but it can't hurt to try. She can wave bye-bye (sort of). She has the finger curling part down, she just doesn't know she's supposed to raise her hand when she does it. She sort of waves down by her side. It's cute nonetheless. She can get up on all fours and rock (a little bit), but she has no interest in crawling at this point. She gets around by rolling back and forth or scooting backwards. She still doesn't have any more teeth other than the one she got a couple of days before Thanksgiving. You can still just see the top of it. I'm wondering if it's ever going to come all the way in. I think that's all I can update for now...I'll keep you posted if things change :)

Isabella isn't scheduled to go back to the Dr. until next month (for her 9 mo. check-up), but we ended up making a trip today to have her looked at. As it turns out, Isabella has her first ear infection. Fortunately, we caught it early so her discomfort is minimal at this point (at least as far as we can tell). I noticed she'd been pulling on her ear a couple of time in the last 48 hours, so I called the Dr. this morning to get her in. She's taking "yummy" bubble gum amoxicillin. Hopefully she'll be feeling much better in the next 24 hours or so.

Isabella was put on the scale with her clothes and diaper on (they only take them off for well-visits). She was 16 lbs. 1 oz. fully clothed. She's definitely gotten longer. She's a little over 27" it seems (I measured her at home, but I'm not sure how accurate that is), but we'll find out next month for sure.

Here are a few pictures we took on her 8 mo. birthday:

Too Funny...

I went in to Isabella's room to check on her while she was napping this afternoon. This is what I saw (I knew she loved her "Cuddles," but I had no idea how close they were):

Meeting A New Friend...

After a 6-hour drive home on Friday, we headed over to David Laves' parents' house to finally meet their new son! David Laves and my David were Fraternity Brothers in college. David and Kristina's son Austin is only 3 days older than Isabella. Its amazing how many babies were born last April...

Isabella was her usual "social" self and talked the entire visit. She admired the fact that Austin can crawl already. We're hoping she picked up a few pointers from him...

Thanksgiving in San Antonio

A few months ago David had a Wells Fargo weekend meeting get moved to the weekend before Thanksgiving, which worked out well for us. We were already planning on going down there so we just rearranged our schedule a bit. Instead of going down Wed. through Sunday, we went Fri. through Fri. It ended up being a great thing because we got back to Dallas and still had our entire weekend to recuperate. Isabella had so much fun with her Grammy and Jiddo. She was a complete angel most of the time. The only time she was fussy was when she was tired or in pain...she ended up cutting her two bottom teeth while we were there. SO EXCITING! On Saturday night Isabella got to open an early Chanukah present (from her Uncle Nathan, Aunt Dawn, Aaron and Arianna) since she wouldn't be with them in December. As I anticipated, she was more interested in the paper than the gift itself. On Monday Isabella went with her cousins Aaron and Arianna to get their pictures taken. It was adorable until Isabella decided she'd had enough and started crying. She definitely has some of David in her :). Tuesday Isabella attended a four-generation lunch with her great-grandma Honey, her Grammy, her Aunt Dawn, cousin Arianna, soon-to-be Aunt Rachel (Randy's fiancee) and some family friends. It was a lot of fun and Isabella talked through much of the meal. We had to leave early because she was tired and needed to go down for a nap (this child sleeps a ton). Wednesday David had the day off, so we spent it together running errands and relaxing. Thanksgiving lunch was at Nathan and Dawn's house. The food was great, as was the company. We left, full of turkey (or salami), and watched football the rest of the afternoon and night. I'd say Isabella really enjoyed herself and she can't wait to go back to San Antonio to visit everyone.

Random Video

While uploading videos and photos from Ryan and Michelle's wedding and Thanksgiving, I discovered a video we took right before we left town. I'd completely forgotten we recorded this one...

Ryan and Michelle's Wedding Weekend...

This weekend was Ryan and Michelle's long-awaited wedding. We left for Austin on Thursday morning and met David's parents there where we gave up Isabella for 3 long days. It was our first time leaving her overnight and I don't foresee another any time soon. It was REALLY difficult for me. Thursday night I went to Michelle's shower at the Whole Foods Culinary Center to make delicious food. It was a great idea for a shower and I really enjoyed the experience. I went from there to Eddie V's to meet David, Josh and his wife Michelle. I rode in the most pimped-out cab EVER. The driver had black lights and rugs and 3 flat screen TVs. It was crazy. Only in Austin.

On Friday we worked out in the morning and spent the early part of the day running errands. David and Josh had to be at the rehearsal at 4:30 so I tagged along. Wedding rehearsals are so much more enjoyable when they are someone else's. After watching Greg Carlson break in to his own house to proudly wear his McCougerson Jacket, we headed to Z Tejas for a fabulous rehearsal dinner.

On wedding day, we went to lunch at Nordstrom Cafe (an old favorite) and spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for the wedding. The wedding was at the Driskill Hotel (one of the oldest and nicest hotels in Austin). It was absolutely gorgeous.

By the time Sunday came around, I was MORE THAN READY to see my Isabella again. I couldn't get her out of her Grammy and Jiddo's car fast enough. I knew they took good care of her while I was in Austin, but I still thought about her all the time. Wouldn't you?

Sunday in the Park

We've started talking family walks on weekends. Isabella loves the outdoors and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous. On our walk, we stopped at the park in our neighborhood and introduced Isabella to the swing and the slide. She seemed to enjoy herself...

Happy Halloween!

Isabella had a very eventful Halloween. She ran errands with me in the morning, then we headed to the library to do some early voting. We waited in line for about 45 minutes. By the time we got up to the front of the line, I read a sign saying "voting for Collin County only." We live in Dallas County. Oops. I called David at work and had him look up the correct location. We drove 20 minutes to the new place and waited in line for another 45 minutes. It was worth it though, I know the lines would've been twice as long on Tuesday. Isabella was such a good sport through the whole thing. She was a huge hit in the long lines. We got home in enough time to bathe her and put on her costume (as well as my own). We went to our friends, Marc and Jenn Weinstein's home for dinner and trick-or-treating. Isabella and I decorated a small pumpkin (well, I decorated and she sat and sucked on her hand). Because of the early voting, Isabella missed her afternoon nap. She fell asleep after the pumpkin decorating. She slept through dinner (which helped because David and I ate uninterrupted). After dinner (around 6:30ish) we headed out with Jason and Ryan (Marc and Jenn's sons)and Jake (Jill and Eliot Schuler's son). Isabella slept through the first half of the houses. She finally woke up and had so much fun. In fact, one older couple said we could have every piece of candy in the bowl if they could have Isabella. Needless to say, I declined the offer. Jason and Jake were adorable. They insisted on getting candy for Isabella at every house. They actually told the people they needed "another piece for Isabella." Once they saw the little kitten, they were fine with giving out another piece :). David and I were rolling in chocolate. Thanks Isabella! After that we headed to our second party of the night at Kevin and Nicole Cooper's house. We didn't stay but 20 minutes because we had to get home to feed Isabella and put her to bed. She was exhausted by the time we got home, but had a fabulous time. She was smiling at everyone the whole night. She's definitely a social butterfly.


Here are some pictures of Isabella posing with her cousin Rachel and Ryan Weinstein:



Here's a little video as well:

Playgroup - Halloween

I'd been looking forward to today for about a month. Since our playgroup meets on Mondays, this was our Halloween celebration. All of the babies (at least the ones that could come) dressed up and we took picture after picture after picture. Isabella went as a kitten. She was perrrrfectly (pun intended) happy in the costume, but when I drew on her whiskers this morning, she was not thrilled with me. She got over it immediately, but screamed during the application. Because she squirmed quite a bit, her whiskers aren't even and her nose is only slightly filled in (but it's ok, she looked adorable anyway). All of her friends dressed up as well. Her friend Jeffrey Rubenstein was a giraffe, Kaden Miller was a lobster, Josh Padek was a lion, Jordan Velevis was a ladybug, Sarah Orkin was a bunny, Alyssa Dolman was a butterfly, Andon Chernow was a monkey and both Brody Wolfson and Maya Rothstein were pumpkins (I was shocked there was only one duplicate). Isabella had a great time for the most part and can't wait for Friday so she can wear her costume again.

The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch!

This morning David and I took Isabella for her first "on location" photo shoot. She was so mesmerized by her new surroundings, she looked at the camera very infrequently. That being said, I still think we got some pretty cute pictures. (You can judge for yourselves, of course!) We weren't sure what our obligation was so we went ahead and bought a pumpkin that will, no doubt, rot by our front door. We didn't realize how inflation had affected the price of pumpkins, but indeed it had. We paid $7 for the second to smallest size pumpkin. There was to be no "up-selling" at those prices...

TGIF

I guess you're never too young to appreciate the greatness of Fridays. Isabella is no exception. She must've known her Daddy was coming home because she was as happy as can be.

If my precious Isabella has a flaw (contrary to popular belief, it IS a possibility), it would be the fact that no matter how much talking or playing she is doing, the minute I want to capture it on film...she stops. She's stubborn like that.

Take a look...

Sooo Big!

While playing with Isabella this afternoon, she absolutely made my day when she showed me "how big" she was. I was, of course, very excited. To make sure it wasn't a coincidence, I waited a few minutes and asked her again. Her arms went up in the air. I waited a few more minutes and asked her a third time - again, she raised her arms above her head. She doesn't do it quite as well in the video, but I did the best I could to capture it. She's not the most cooperative little girl when it comes to humoring me on video. Just as an added bonus, I've included some footage of her sitting up and playing with her toys. Enjoy!

Happy Half Birthday to You...

Isabella is now 6 months old. Can you believe it? I sure can't. Looking back at her 3 and 4 month pictures, she's changed SO much. She looks so much older (at least to me she does). She's a very talkative, active little girl. She has mastered the "barrel roll" and loves to do it in her crib, on the floor...just about everywhere. When she's on her stomach (where she's MUCH happier now) she tries to move. So far, she's to the point where she does a "downward facing dog" (for those of you yoga fans). For those unfamiliar with that terminology, she lifts her tush in the air with her hands and feet still on the ground. I have a feeling she may start crawling fairly soon. She goes to the Doctor on Monday for her 3rd set of vaccines and official height and weight measurements. Her estimated weight is about 14 lbs (give or take) and height is 24", but we'll know for sure in a couple of days.

Unlike previous photo sessions, there are significantly fewer pictures in this series. She is a lot less patient and tolerant of my photo shoots than in the past. Here's the best I could do:

Sitting Pretty

I must admit, Isabella's had a pretty successful year thus far (I know the New Year began Monday night, but we're off to a great start). She is, for the most part, over her tummy-time aversion. In fact, we've had 3 nights in a row where she only woke up for about 30 seconds and went back to sleep until 7 or so. BIG improvement from the past couple of weeks. She knows how to roll from her tummy to her back and proved it to me several times in playgroup yesterday.

The most exciting bit of news, however, is she can officially sit up on her own. We were sitting on the floor together (as we do a lot). Usually, she leans up against me to play with her toys. Today she leaned forward and didn't fold herself in half. I thought maybe I was imagining things, so I moved back a little to see if she'd stay. She did. I was so excited. Of course, the first thing I did was grab the camera...Enjoy!!!

Recent Visit to KC

Isabella and I just got back to Dallas from a 4-day stay in Kansas City. David was in Chicago for a bachelor party, so rather than staying at home by ourselves, we decided to visit KC. Isabella went to her first Major League Baseball game. She watched the Royals beat the White Sox. While she was there, she witnessed an inside-the-park homerun. It was very exciting. Isabella discovered the fun of splashing and kicking water during her bath. It was the cutest thing in the world. The video of that is probably one of my favorites so far. We both had a great time in KC and can't wait to go back in December.

Over the past week or so, Isabella has started eating vegetables. We started with sweet peas. It took her a couple of days to tolerate them, but by the end of the 3rd day, she was actually opening her mouth and wanting more. I took a video when she first started...she wasn't too happy. She just completed her sweet potato trial (so far those are her favorite) and today we will be trying green beans. In addition, she started playing in her excersaucer/activity center. Her feet barely touch the bottom, but they make enough contact that she can rotate the seat to play with all of the toys. She absolutely loves it.

Recently Isabella has discovered the wonders of sleeping on her stomach. She's not a big fan... In fact, she hates it. Isabella went from sleeping 12-13 hours a night to waking up screaming 3-4 times a night because she woke up on her stomach. She is fully capable of rolling to her back again, but for some reason she doesn't do it. After dealing with this for almost 2 weeks, the pediatrician has given us permission to let her cry for however long it takes. So now she cries during the day (we are to put her on her stomach as often as we can) and at night. It's fabulous. I have video evidence if you don't believe that my little angel can be such a pain in the tush.

Here are some pictures/video from the weekend and a few random pictures/videos from the past two weeks:

Isabella enjoying yet another meal:

I'm not quite sure what is so entertaining about watching Isabella eat her cereal, but whatever it is keeps me so amused (and a few of you as well, so you say). Whether or not she actually likes the cereal is still up in the air, but there's something about it that makes her coo and smile. When she's not overly tired, it's one of my favorite parts of the day. In this particular video, David actually did the feeding and I recorded (this will become apparent when you see the amount of hair on the arm that's feeding her). Here's yet another meal-time video:

A House Divided...

Isabella has now officially been introduced to college football. In order for her to be a neutral observer, it was imperative she wear apparel from both KU and UT. Her first outfit consisted of a UT onesie and a KU bow in her hair w/KU socks. The socks, however, didn't fit well (a wee bit large) so they didn't stay on but a matter of seconds. She wore outfit number two (her KU National Championship t-shirt from her Great-Uncle Mark and a UT hat) after drenching the first outfit in spit-up. Because the UT game started so late, she only got to watch KU shut out LA Tech. Maybe next week she'll see both. This poor child is going to be so confused...

Too cute not to share...

After finishing her cereal, Isabella was talking my ear off. I decided to grab the camera and record our "conversation." It was too adorable...

David and Sara's 30th Birthday Party

This past weekend was David and Sara's 30th Birthday Fiesta! I attempted to surprise David with his parents, but he was suspicious for over a month and knew they'd be here. I was extremely disappointed that I wasn't successful with the surprise. I'll get him one day.

We had a great turnout at the party and a good time was had by all. Here are some photos and videos from the bash:

Visit to KC

In her 4+ months of life, Isabella is becoming well-traveled. She just made her second trip to Kansas City to celebrate her Great-grandfather Ray's 85th birthday. She got to see so many family members including her cousin Allison and her boyfriend Chad who happened to be in Kansas City at the same time. She was so excited to finally meet them and can't wait to see them again in December. She got her first KC BBQ experience (unfortunately it will be some time before she gets to taste it) when we, along with her Mimi, Papa and Aunt Meagan went to Fiorella's Jack Stack BBQ. Because that's where we had our rehearsal dinner, it's a "must eat" every time we're in KC. It's just as good each and every time. Isabella was showered with gifts this trip. Lucky little thing. Her Mimi and Papa brought her a gorgeous dress back from Greece, a Marionette Doll from Venice as well as some nesting dolls from Croatia. Her Great-grandparents (the Rays) brought her back a beautiful Star of David necklace from the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. She even got a couple of cute teethers and a toy from her Great-grandma Betty as well as a Pat the Bunny book from her Great-aunt Julie and family (she really did rip the paper...it was so cute).

All in all she had a great weekend (she slept great while she was there) and can't wait to go back in 4 weeks! Here are the pics from the weekend:

My Little Girl is Growing Up...

Isabella tried rice cereal for the first time Sunday night. The feeding went surprisingly well. I expected most of the cereal to end up on her face and bib, but much to my amazement, she actually swallowed 90% of it (she was only given a tablespoon). The cereal did its job. She's back to sleeping 10-11 consecutive hours. I guess she really did need it. Here are a few pics of her sitting in her high chair before the feeding and in the Bumbo seat during the feeding. David and I weren't smart enough to figure out the harness system on the highchair at first so we decided to feed her in the Bumbo until we could decipher the code :) David figured it out while she was eating so last night I fed her in her high chair. I'll be honest, feeding #2 wasn't quite as pleasant as feeding #1. She still ate about 2/3 of her tablespoon of rice cereal, but screamed bloody murder in between bites. She was just REALLY tired, so I've decided to feed her the cereal with her 5:00p feeding instead of her 8:00p. It takes quite a bit of time so in order to get her to bed at her usual time, I just have to it earlier in the day.

I've included a couple of random bath photos that were too cute to pass up. They are a little blurry b/c she wouldn't stop moving, but you'll get the gist...

Isabella at 4 months...

As I sit here and listen to Isabella talking to herself in her crib (she is supposed to be napping), I can't believe 4 months have already gone by. Looking back at her first photos, I can't believe how different she looks and acts. She has a wonderful personality. At playgroup today, she did not stop talking the ENTIRE time. It didn't matter who was talking, she wanted to be heard and talked louder and louder. I guess she gets that from her father... She laughs and coos all day long. It's so wonderful to see. She has her "diva" moments, of course, but then again, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. She's just a happy baby and I couldn't ask for anything better...

As I did last month, I took a series of "home" portraits. I hope you enjoy!

Visit to San Antonio

We just arrived home last night from our trip to San Antonio. David had quarterly meetings there Monday and Tuesday, so Isabella and I made the trip with him and we went up early to spend the weekend with Ike, Sandy and the kids who had gone to S.A. for a Wiggles concert. Isabella had so much fun with all of her cousins. She got to go to a San Antonio Missions game (the San Diego Padres AA team). It was her first of many sporting events. She behaved perfectly. She was an absolute angel. She didn't make a fuss even once throughout the night. Not even the fireworks after the game made her cry! On Sunday she took pictures with all 5 of her cousins including Arianna who is only a month younger than Isabella. She was very patient with all of picture-taking. On Monday she helped make kreplach with Honey, her Grammy and I. Although she wasn't aware of it, this was actually her second time making them (I'd made them last year when I was 6 weeks pregnant with her. This was a much less nauseating experience). :) Tuesday we drove back to Dallas in record time. She, of course, was an angel on the drive allowing us to only stop once along the way. We'd fed her right before we left and right when we got home. It was perfect! (The playmat video and bath pics/video are from last night when we got home.) Stay tuned for the next post as Isabella will be celebrating her 4-month birthday on Friday. I, of course, will be taking TONS of photos again.

The past two weeks in review:

I sincerely apologize for the tardiness of this post. I know there are some of you who check frequently for new postings and I feel as though I have let you down. My bad. So much has happened in the last two weeks. Isabella is walking and talking now. JUST KIDDING! In all seriousness, here's a brief summary of these past couple of weeks:

* Isabella slept 12 consecutive hours for the first time. If that weren't enough, she was still sleepy and went back to sleep for another 2+ hours. WHAT AN ANGEL!!!

* Isabella doesn't hate tummy time quite as much anymore because she can hold her head up and play with the toys on the mat.

* Isabella discovered the wonders of the Bumbo chair. She absolutely loves sitting in it.

* Unrelated to Isabella, David and I finally began purchasing furniture for our empty living room. We bought a sofa and cocktail table last weekend.

We leave for San Antonio on Friday, so next week's post (don't expect it any earlier than Wednesday because we don't return to Dallas until Tuesday) will have a ton of pictures. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here are the photos since the last posting:

Missing Videos

Apparently I'm not computer savvy enough to attach videos to the blog, so with a little help from David, here are the videos from Isabella's 3 month B-day:

Isabella's Party

This weekend was Isabella's party (since I opted not to have a shower before she was born). Her cousin Sara and Aunt Meagan were nice enough to co-host the party. She had a wonderful time, as did I. She enjoyed everyone that attended, especially her Aunt Meagan who made the long journey down to Dallas just for the event. The decor was adorable and the food was delicious. The restaurant, Bonnie Ruth's, did a fabulous job. They personalized menus and baked some of the best cupcakes I've ever had. They topped it all off with chocolate covered strawberries and a champaign toast. Here are some photos from the party (and two from afterwards):

Isabella's 3-Month Birthday

It's hard to believe that 3 months have passed. Children really do grow faster than I care to admit. I can't believe how much she has grown over the past 13 weeks. It truly saddens me how quickly time flies.

On a brighter note, with the growth has come a whole new world of sleep! Isabella gave us a gift of our own on her 3-month birthday. She slept 10 hours! As if that wasn't great enough, two days later she managed to top that by sleeping 11 1/2 hours. What an angel!!!

To celebrate her 3 months of life, I decided to do my own home version of a photo shoot. She was a great sport about it, so I hope you enjoy viewing the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Happy 4th of July!

We hosted our First Annual 4th of July Party yesterday. We spent most of the afternoon and evening in the pool...that was until the Rudy's BBQ was served. Isabella showed her Patriotic side by sporting her red, white and blue outfit. I was so preoccupied trying to take pictures of Isabella that I failed to capture the festivities. Sorry about that...

Isabella made a big step in the growing process Thursday night. She rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time. We were so proud of her. It happened unexpectedly so I didn't have time to get the video camera to capture it. Maybe next time...

Here are the few photos I did take of the 4th and some random photos of Isabella:

Happy Summer!

We spent the last few days in Kansas City for my cousin's wedding. The weather, with the abnormally low humidity, was absolutely PERFECT! It's a good thing considering the wedding and all of its festivities were outside. Isabella had a great time traveling to Kansas City for the first time and was an angel. She got to meet her Great Grandma Betty for the first time as well catch up with some familiar faces who were dying to see her again. All in all she had a great trip. Evidence is below...

Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day and I got a great gift from Isabella and Mom. They got me a digital picture frame for my office so I can watch her grow and brag about her while I am busy at work. Isabella went out for her first dinner with us. They took me to Texas de Brazil and she was an absolute angel. Another baby started crying about 1/3 of the way through dinner and I thought it was going to be baby's talking back and forth in code but she didn't take the young man's bait. We were both so very proud of her. Completely unrelated...

Isabella was introduced to the play mat at Grammy's house and really loved it so she had to have one to play with in her own house. She really likes it and has lots of new friends to play with as a result. She really loves the monkey but none of that is evident in the video below. But she does eloquently verbalize her feelings in some language that I can't quite decipher...but I am getting better at it! Videos and pictures below...

Visit to San Antonio

Isabella took a car ride longer than 5 miles for the first time in her life last weekend. We went to San Antonio for Arianna's naming and she was an absolute joy to travel with. When we got there I informed Marisa that I stopped 5 fewer times with a 2 month old baby than when Marisa was pregnant...thankfully that is over with! Isabella was excited to see some new surroundings and meet her cousins for the first time. They all had a great time together! Other than some sleeping issues she was a complete angel the entire trip. Attached are the pictures and some videos.

happy, clean Isabella

Tonight was bath night for Isabella. She absolutely loves them. In fact, she was so happy afterwards I had to record a few seconds of it. I would've had photos to go along with the video, but I'm an idiot and deleted them off of the camera thinking they had downloaded to iPhoto. Ooops. They were fantastic too. Lesson learned I guess.

Isabella's 2 Month Appointment

It's hard to believe 8 weeks have passed. Time really does fly when you're having fun! Isabella had her 8 week/2 month appt. today and here's what we learned:

1. She is now a whopping 9 lbs. 10 oz.
2. She is 21 3/4 inches long.
3. She is teething (getting her bottom 2 teeth).
4. She hates shots, but recovers quickly.
5. She can get her ears pierced at her 9 month appointment.
6. Her head measures in only the 10th percentile, so David refers to her as a reverse bobble-head doll...

She had her first 5 immunizations today (4 shots, 1 oral). Let us tell you, we have never heard her scream so loud...but as soon as they were done, she was quiet as a mouse. We were so proud of her. All things considered she did a phenomenal job.

Here are a few post-appointment pictures (as well as a few taken over the weekend. Yes, she does own more than the one pink outfit, it just so happens that's what she wore last Thursday as well). Enjoy!

Memorial Day 2008

Isabella went swimming for the first time. She was very content in the water for the entire 45 seconds she spent in the pool. Please ignore the rather large bald spot that is prevalent throughout the video! She got to play with her cousin Rachel again the day before. New pics and now video below...

Isabella Hangin' Out

Here are some new random pics of Isabella hangin' out at the house...bath pictures included. She is so into her personal hygiene...we are lucky I haven't had the urge to brush her gums!

Isabella's Naming

Mother's Day 2008-
We had Isabella's baby naming today. We went to the synagogue yesterday and she was named at the Torah and then today we had a naming at the house. Her Hebrew name is Michal Chaya and she is named after Marisa's grandfather Moe Deutch and my aunt Linda Tawil. Both of theses people were very special parts of our lives that meant so much to us. It was a very special time for our family and we were so thrilled that so many people were able to join us. Pics will be added soon...

Isabella's First Bath

Isabella had her first bath tonight. It was a real hit with her. Adopting good hygiene habits at such a young age...we are so proud! New pics below...

Isabella & Rachel

Isabella had her two week appt. today and everything was great. She was back above her birth weight at 6lbs, 1oz and was 20 inches long. She also got to go meet her new cousin Rachel for the first time. These two precious girls are 6 days apart! Pics below...

Passover with Isabella

Leaning left for the evening and eating bitter herbs wasn't such a rushed affair after all. Grammy had a two minute sedar ready to go if we were in the hospital but lucky for everyone Isabella had other plans. She was dressed for the occasion in the slightly big outfit that reads kosher for passover. Pics below...

Isabella Comes Home

We brought Isabella home from the hospital on Saturday, April 12th. She was very pleased with all of the work we did on her room! She gave a rousing yawn and then off to bed in her comfortable new crib. Below are pictures hanging out at the house...which is all we will be doing for the foreseeable future...

Welcome Isabella Madison

Isabella Madison was born today at 5:56 PM. Her measurements were 5 lbs 9 oz 17 inches long. She had quite an eventful first few hours. Pictures are below...

Rock Chalk Jayhawks!

We went to the doctor today for what seemed like our usual every week exam. We were expecting him to tell us that he would see us again next week to see how the baby was progressing. Boy did he have different news for us. We checked into the hospital that night and got to watch the national championship game from labor and delivery. I believe the nurse told Marisa she was one of a kind! Attached are some pics from right before we went to the hospital and from labor and delivery...