7 Months

Isabella, you had your 7 month birthday almost a week ago! How much has changed for all of us in 7 months! The two weeks following your 6 month birthday we were reminded of how things were when you were 6 days old. You were waking up (and therefore we were waking up) every hour or couple of hours. You were having some congestion, and other than that we are not sure what was going on. After the first week of these shenanigans Daddy and his mentor were in some serious prayer that you would go back to your previous sleep patterns! After another week, right before we lost our minds, you were back to sleeping about 7-8 hours, eating, and sleeping another 3-4 hours. We have still had some rough nights here and there, but none in a stretch that long.
You are becoming more aware and notice now when I leave the room or take something from you (such as when you are chewing on something you shouldn't) and sometimes you will cry for me to come back or to give you something back. You are a rolling pro, but still no crawling. We have been continuing to try some solid foods every day, and you have gotten better at eating, but sometimes you still wear more than you eat. This month you have enjoyed: being outside more, splashing your feet in your tub, pears, and chewing on everything you possibly can. You continue to have great smiles and sweet babbles.

Now for your 7 month chair/zebra pics:





We love you sweet, beautiful girl!
Mommy and Daddy

Girls in hats

Easter 2011 post; AKA picture overload

I was sad that I had to miss my annual egg dying with my mom this year so I asked a friend if she had some eggs we could dye.

My little helper preferred to splash in the water, leaving her with green tipped finger nails. :)




Just a few eggs to satisfy my traditionalist heart.


Eggs dyed- check; Easter basket filled- check


Isabella preferred to eat her basket. This is probably the one and only year I can get away with putting pureed prunes in her basket. Sorry Isabella! :)


With Daddy before church.





With her 2010 buddies at church.





After church we were off to my Mom's house for Easter lunch. Every year my mom makes an egg shaped cookie cake that is yum-O!


This year I made this Patience Coconut Cake.


Family picture- check out that tongue!


Happy girl!


Participating in the post-holiday-lunch-Sunday-afternoon-ritual!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from our dainty little girl!

Happy Birthday Ava!

Today is Miss Ava's first birthday! Happy Birthday Ava!

Isabella attended her girlfriend's first birthday party last weekend. Ava has been showing her everything she needs to know about sitting up, crawling, beginning to walk, first foods, and now- how to enjoy your first cake!



Yum!


Heather and I with our sweet girls.


Watching her first bubbles fly by.
Isabella got some bubbles for a party favor and watched in wonder as daddy blew them.


Tired, happy girl, with party favor in hand.
She made it through the party like a champ. But after she had partied hard, she was asleep before we pulled out of their neighborhood, which is not far at all!

Happy birthday Ava bear! It has been so fun watching you change over this year!

First finds tongue?

Our girl's big excitement the last few days has been wagging her tongue around. Our baby book and baby calendar have places to record firsts. First sits up, first finds hands, first grasps objects, first finds feet, first rolls over, and so on. But there is nothing about "first finds tongue and profusely sticks it out".

Here I go, getting excited!


A little more...


Little more...


And sorry for posting this picture of you Isabella...but you were so happy, thoroughly entertaining yourself, and not interested in looking normal for Mom's pictures.


One of the only normal pics of the bunch.


And again, in her bath that night, happy as can be, sticking her tongue out as far as she possibly can.


I'll leave you with this picture, taken a week ago...before she found her tongue.

Friday

Perfect day for lunch with a friend to hear their exciting news and
plenty of cuddles inside our nest with the crazy Oklahoma wind blowing about outside.

Current favs

When there is little blog inspiration, I can always go for some favorite things.

1. The greek gods yogurt. I tried to like greek yogurt when I was pregnant for the extra protein and calcium. But most of the ones I tried I thought were bitter and with a gross texture. A couple of months ago my cousin introduced me to this brand of greek yogurt, and I.LOVE.IT! Probably a good thing I didn't know about it when I was pregnant as I would hate to have an aversion to it now. I have only seen it at Akins, Crest, and Homeland. The last time I picked some up at Akins the cashier said to me, "Oh my goodness, this stuff is sinful!". I would have to agree. The greek gods honey yogurt- delish!


2. At Isabella's 4 mo appt she had some rough patches of dry skin on her legs. The pediatrician recommended California baby cream. While the smell is not great, it has worked great for our baby. No more scaly patches.



3. Her little clothes. I know some day this will get old for me, but folding her clothes is still one of my favorite things. I love all of her tiny shirts, pants, skirts, socks. They are all so sweet! I have a certain way I like them folded so they all fit in the drawers and closet organizers. (Mom, I don't know what you were talking about when you mentioned type A personality...)


4. Morning walks. We have been taking morning walks and it has been fabulous during this time of year. Soft breezes, birds singing, time to talk to God. Isabella loves being outside and looking around at everything. Today she could not make it home for morning nap and dozed off a few streets from home.


5. Dear baby blog. I've been enjoying reading this blog and following this girl's pregnancy. She is beautiful pregnant, a good writer, and I love some of their family traditions they are starting. We are going to incorporate a few into our family traditions. I loved this post yesterday. Sometimes I wish I had been more calm in the final hours of delivery with Isabella. But it is what it is. I loved the description of the "animal self" and how she describes her fear and experiences. I feel the same. And sometimes it just feels good to know you share common fears, thoughts, and hopes with other people. Even people you don't know. It is interesting how the "blog world" connects us with people we may never know.

6. Printable weekly calendar from the Jones Design Company. The PDF can be downloaded from this post. I printed it that week and have used it ever since.

7. Isabella's laugh. This is currently one of both of our favorite delights these days. I took this video toward the end of this laughing streak, so she is a bit worn out of it all. So fun!

List update

I guess since it is about to be mid-April I should do a list update! Blogging has not been a priority lately!

Restaurants:
My 5th out of 10 new restaurants was Hefner Grill out on lake Hefner. I had the California burger with shoe string fries. It was delicious! And berries and creme for desert- which was also yummy! Nice atmosphere, quiet, good lake views- I would go back.

The 6th new restaurant was Sauced. We had an eat around OKC deal for there, and had been wanting to try it. We did take out, so I'm not sure what the restaurant is like, but our pizza was so good! We got 1/2 Hawaiian and 1/2 supreme. It was huge! I got three meals out of my half. So good and we will definitely order from them again!

Books:
My 6th book was the Color Purple for book club. I didn't love it. But I also kept reading and read it pretty fast to find out what was going to happen.

7th book- Starting Solids by Annabel Karmel. This book was helpful and has stages broken down in ages, 0-6, 6-9, and 10-12 months. There are recipes for each stage and suggestions for finger foods and so on as the child gets older.

8th book- First Meals and More by Annabel Karmel. This book would have been better to have read while pregnant or a few months ago as it covers more breastfeeding/formula information, but there was also helpful info on starting solids along with more recipes. If I was going to buy one I would get the one above.

9th book- Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. Loved, loved this book. I read this lady's blog and I got her book for Christmas. The whole premise is creating a home and family life that is simple enough that you can truly enjoy it. Not having so many things that your home is cluttered and difficult to take care of, not having such a busy schedule that time for family and doing things you enjoy is crowded out, not having so many financial obligations that you are stressed in that area, and so on. I can't say enough good things about the book. I had Michael read some parts of it and we had some really good conversation about what we want for our family and our home. I think it is so important to be intentional in these areas. This book has also spurred me on to do some organizing and decluttering I have been wanting to do. The author is also big on using products in your home and for your body that are not full of harmful chemicals. There are several recipes in the back of the book. I decided to try her all-purpose cleaner.

All you need is 1/4 c white vinegar, 2 T of baking soda, 1/4 gallon hot water, spray bottle, and optional essential oil for scent. I got some orange oil at Akins. It smells good and seems to work well also. I am debating trying out the homemade laundry soap.

That's all for now. We worked in the garage for several hours last Sunday afternoon and have made good progress toward that goal. I will keep plugging away!

Sunday, SUNday

We enjoyed a lovely day today with lots of family time. I am loving the warm, sunny weather.

We had our first snow cone of the season at my favorite snow cone stand, Island ice. I love the crazy birds they have outside their window! Orange&Pina colada for me and peach for Michael.

After church today we napped, ran some errands, went on a walk, made dinner, and did some cleaning. My kind of day.


We made this Easter egg garland tonight. It is just eggs strung on fishing line. Simple, bright, and fun.

Lastly, here is my girl all dressed up for church in a dress her Nana mailed to her:




And my favorite picture today-

I got a picture of them rocking this morning while I was getting ready. So sweet, I love seeing her with her daddy.
Have a great week everyone!