The Great Outdoors

We've hit a bit of a rough patch in our house.  I can feel six new teeth under Isabella's gums, Clint's classes started up again last week, and I've started looking for part-time evening/weekend work (which is depressing for a number of reasons).  I thought I'd share a few photos I took last week while playing outside.  Isabella LOVES being outdoors.  She's fascinated by plants, and now rocks.  Maybe she'll be a Botanist or a Geologist?  I wanted to take her to Horticulture Park this weekend, but Saturday was rainy and there was no way I'd be able to drag Clint away from the tv on the first Sunday of football season.  You'll have to settle for photos of her playing in our front yard.

Sporting her White Sox cap.  Clint bought this the day we found out we were having a girl, and it's finally starting to fit!

Checking out one of the bushes

"Ooh rocks!"

"I better get in there for a closer look."

"I think this would look better over here."

Her little collection

"Oh, hi Mom!"

13 Months Old

I'm debating whether I should stick with monthly updates or switch to quarterly, what do you all think? Let me know in the comments.

Isabella is 13 months old today!  She is walking everywhere now and getting quite good at it.  You can tell she's really proud of herself and her mama is pretty proud too. :)  She is working on more and more words too.  She is just growing up so fast.  All of a sudden she looks so big to me.  I think she must have had a growth spurt recently.  We're having a hard time pulling some of her 12 month tops over her head.  What can I say, the child has a big brain.

I feel like she's changing and learning so much now that it's hard to keep track, but here are some new things going on this month:

-Walking!

-Saying "thank you" frequently and appropriately

-Says "uh oh" when she drops something

-Purposefully feeds Audrey from her tray, and tells her thank you when she accepts it

-Not a fan of cows milk, at all.  I'm only offering it once a day right now and water the rest of the time.  I want to make sure she gets plenty of liquids.  She still nurses each morning and we're giving her lots of cheese and yogurt to make up for the milk she's not getting.

-She's starting to enjoy the zoo!  We took her to Columbian Park this weekend and she got so excited seeing the animals.  She was jabbering non-stop.  I think the monkeys were her favorite.  I'm hoping to make it to the Indy Zoo sometime this month.

-Giving hugs all the time.  If you ask her for a hug she snuggles up close to you,  pats your shoulder, and says "Aw." Adorable.  She likes to give her toys hugs to... and a box of raisins. 

-"Talks" on the phone.

-Absolutely loves to go outside.  If she's cranky all you have to do is head outside and her mood improves instantly.

I've been seriously slacking when it comes to photos lately, but here are a few for you to enjoy.


On the carousel with Daddy at Indiana Beach

checking out the goats at Columbian Park

The Singing Dogs

Swinging at the park

Update to Monday's post

This post is solely about breastfeeding, so if you're not interested stop reading now.

I've already told you all that Isabella dropped nap nursing on Friday, and didn't nurse before bed on Monday.  Tuesday morning she refused to nurse and was cranky all day.  Her temperature was slightly elevated, but stayed below 100, so I assumed it was a mild reaction to the shots she received the day before.  She always runs a slight fever and is cranky the day after shots.  I didn't even attempt to nurse at nap.

She wasn't eating solids well, but I assumed that was either due to teething pain, or her irritability for the shots.  Then during dinner she got sick.  I immediately got her into a bath and she was back to her normal happy self.  It occurred to me that we may have been in the midst of a nursing strike due to her upset tummy.  At bedtime she tolerated the cradle position so I attempted to nurse, with come success.  She turned in and actually latched for a moment, but ultimately did not nurse. 

I started to really question if she was really weaning because and had noticed during the day that she had shown interest, but became upset when I actually tried to nurse.  I decided to do some research on La Leche League's website and kellymom.com and read that children rarely self-wean before 18-24 months, generally wean gradually rather than suddenly, and usually act normally otherwise.  I emailed the lactation consultant about and decided to try to get her to latch in the morning.  Yesterday morning she woke earlier than usual so I thought I'd try to nurse her back to sleep and it worked!  She has been nursing normally ever since!  I know that she eats solids well and would be fine if we stopped nursing now, but if I don't mind it and she still want to nurse, why not?  I know that some people don't get extended nursing, but it is such an amazing bonding experience for mom and baby and it's not like the health/nutritional benefits stop at one year.  The American Academy of Pediatrics's official stance on breastfeeding states that, "It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."  The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until the age of two.  If I've learned one thing as a mother it's that the old saying has some truth: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

One Year Old!

I still can't believe I have a one year old.  I think I will just say she's 12 months old that way I can remain at least partially in denial about the whole thing. 

We kept things pretty low key Friday.  I made her favorite dinner (mac & cheese, naturally) and we gave her one of her gifts, a toddler-sized Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sofa.  She loves it.  Saturday was her party (more on that later), and we took her to the Columbian Park Zoo and the Petsmart "zoo" on Sunday.

Today was her 12 month appointment.  She is perfectly healthy and measuring at 29 1/4 inches tall and 18 lbs 12 oz.  That puts her in the 50% for height and 14% for weight.  The NP said she appears to be following her growth curve nicely.  I asked about her thumb-sucking, but the NP said that since she only does it when she's tired or upset we shouldn't worry about it.  She needs it for comfort at this point and we don't really need to worry about it until she's two.

I was completely open to the idea of continuing to nurse her until at least 18 months, if not beyond.  She was only nursing three times a day (morning, naptime, and bedtime), but as of her birthday she appears to be self-weaning.  She has refused to nurse at naptime since Friday and tonight she refused to nurse before bed.  I'm sad to see it end.  I will miss the special closeness and hate to see her give up the health benefits.  Maybe she'll continue the morning nursing session, but we'll see.  We started offering her whole milk at lunch on Sunday.  She is definitely not a fan. 

The last couple months have been a bit of a blur to me, so I can't really remember exactly everything that is new this month and what isn't, but here are some things that come to mind:

-Standing on her own for longer periods of time
-Taking a few unassisted steps
-Pushing anything she possibly can around the house (boxes, baskets,etc.)  She likes to put her sippy cup in a basket and push it around he living room.
-Learning more and more words! Solme things we've heard her say:  Mama, Dada, dog (sounds a lot like dada), cat, bye-bye, baby, woof, and thank you
-Likes t pucker up and make kissy faces
-Will give you a hug when asked
-Tries to share her sippy cup with Mommy
-Experiencing Stranger Awarenss, if anyone other than Mommy or Daddy gets too close she freaks out
-Can find her tummy (and Mommy's!), as well as nose and mouth, but not as consistent with the last two

Just one picture for now, I'll share more sometime this week.


On her birthday:

Happy Birthday Isabella!

Today is Isabella's first birthday!  Where has the time gone?  I don't want to spend her birthday blogging, but I thought I'd type up a quick post while she enjoys her Mickey Mouse pancake. :) 

This year has been the most challenging, exhausting, confusing, and just plain WONDERFUL year of my life.  This little girl is just so special and everyday I am amazed by the depth of my love for her.  I would do anything for this kid.  I am so proud to be her mama.

I'll post the regular monthly update Monday after her doctor appointment, but she finally took her first completely unassisted steps yesterday!  She's been able to take a few steps on her own for a while now, but only if we stood her up in the middle of the room and had her walk to us.  Yesterday was the firs time she let go of a piece of furniture all on her own and walked to me.  Hello toddlerhood!  




In honor of her birthday, the first photo:

She's Kind of a Big Deal

Isabella received a very special piece of mail recently:


Check out the return address

Seems fitting, you know since Isabella is clearly destined for greatness.  Maybe someday her signature will be printed at the bottom of these!

The timing was perfect, just in time for her birthday.  I guess we're lucky that I didn't remember to send my request until April. ;)

11 Months

Note: I wrote this Tuesday, but didn't have the chance to post it until now.

Isabella is 11 months old today!  In one month we will be celebrating her first birthday.  I can hardly believe it!  It's party central at out house.  I'm finishing up some party projects, making more and more lists, and scoping out potential birthday gifts.  Oddly enough, my hardest dilemma seems to be deciding on a flavor for her smash cake.  Pathetic, eh?  I keep thinking funfetti would be cute and festive, bu maybe I should "go all out" and make chocolate instead.  Decisions, decisions.

The Big Scary Monster is up to some new tricks this month:
-Still working on a couple of teeth, they seem to be giving her a lot of trouble lately
-Still cruising, but she can take a few steps on her own if we stand her up, she just won't attempt it on her own
-She usually gets an afternoon snack, and sometimes a morning snack
-Only nursing 3-4 times a day on average
-Sleep is excellent when her teeth aren't bother her.  She goes to bed 7-7:30pm and I don't usually have to go to her about 7am.  Sometimes I hear her wake during the night, but she usually puts herself right back to sleep.
-Singing!  It's so cute!  Especially when I sing to her and she sings back.
-We still haven't declared an official first word.  Clint is pretty convinced that she says dada, but she says it all the time, and she says it when she sees Audrey as well so I don't think she's quite there.  She only seems to make the mama sound when she's upset.  She seems to really be working on doggie and kitty cat.  Last night she spotted Bianca, and we both swore it sounded like she said "kitty cat."  We realize that it's probably a little too complex for her at this point, but it sounded just like it.
-She mimics our cat, Brenna.  She started making these odd sounds seemingly out of nowhere and one night Brenna was making her own strange little noises at the same time.  We realized that must be where she gets it.
-She's waving and clapping.
-Knows who Mommy, Daddy, Doggie, and Kitty are and will look for us if we ask her, "Where's your doggie?"  She can also find her baby doll if we ask her where the baby is.
-Recognizes the signs for milk, eat, drink and more, but won't do them herself.  We're working on mommy, daddy, dog, cat, and ball.
-Takes her baths in the 'big girl tub'  now.

I've been terrible about taking pictures this month.  The camera never seems to be in same room we are, and it's hard to get any pictures because she comes straight at me trying to get the camera!  She loves her electronics.


The aftermath of Hurricane Isabella

Hi Mom!  Doggies are great for pulling up!

Check out my new wheels!

Look at me go!

First pigtails!  So what if they're ridiculous?!

Our voracious reader.