First Haircut

Garrett and I finally broke down and decided it was time to give Isabella her first haircut.  I must admit it was pretty difficult.  I was sad to see those baby curls go.  Afterwards we both agreed her hair looked better. 

Here is a before photo.  Notice the long wispy hair in the back.

Here is an after photo.

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  It was extra special as it was Isabella's first Christmas.  We spent the morning at home as a family.  We had fun openning stockings, a few gifts, and hanging out around the Christmas tree together.

Mid morning we journeyed out to my parents house.  There we also got to spend time with my brother, his wife, and my sweet niece Kyah.  Let me tell you, when you have little ones around your schedule is dictated by theirs.  You fit in the socializing, gifts, food, etc inbetween their naps and feeding times.  We finally made it through all the gifts late afternoon.  At which time we headed to our next destination.

We finished off the day at Garrett's side of the family.  This year the gathering was held and Nate and Sarah's.  The food, company, and gifts were great.  Poor Jackson, Isabella's cousin was not feeling well.  Now we know he came down with an ear infection in both ears.  He decided to join Isabella in her misery. 

We didn't take many photos on our camera so I can only post a few until I get others from the Grandparents.

Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve was different than priors.  Not only because this year we have Isabella, but also because this year we only had to attend one service.  Normally every year Garrett and I attend two services, the first being our own church with his family and the second being my childhood church with my family.  It happened to work out this year that both sides of the family attended our church.  What a blessing it was. 

Here are a few photos from Christmas Eve.

A family of three this year.

Isabella with cousin Jackson

Isabella with Cousin Kyah

First cold and ear infection

Well I am sad to report that Isabella came down with her first cold and ear infection right before Christmas.  On the 20th, she didn't nap well, was a little fussy, and sneezed alot.  We had an inkling that she was coming down with something.  Well the next morning she was pretty congested and snotty, and very fuusy.  Being a first time parent, and overprotective at that, I decided I should probably take her in to the pediatrician.  Knowing my luck if I didn't she would probably need to be seen on Christmas when they wouldn't be open.  I called and made an appointment.  I felt a little silly, and thought they probably would think I was being silly.  However, it turned out she had an ear infection and the doctor was glad I brought her in.  After a few days of being on antibiotics and Tylenol Isbella finally became her joyous self again and the sparkle returned to her eyes.  I think she is finally on the mend, but we will see after her appointment on the 30th. 

6 Month Check-Up and Photos

As always I am behind in my blog postings.  So you are getting a bunch all at once.  On October 3rd, Isabella turned 6 months old.  At her six month check up she measured 25 1/2 inches in length which is 50th percentile and weighed a whopping 13lbs 2oz which is 5th-10th percentile.  The doctor had no issues with her weight and said she was growing excellent.  Everything checked out well.

A few highlights/updates of her progress and growth are that she is rolling all over the place.  She can sit up and is pretty sturdy in doing so.  I anticipate it won't be too long until she is crawling.  She is now eating rice cereal, oatmeal, avacado, sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, and zucchini.  When I say now eating, I mean has tried.  A few of these she absolutely refuses to eat, or I can get her to eat a little if I hide it in her cereal. 

We had her 6 month photos taken on October 1st.  Below are some of those photos. 

Gymboree

Today, October 18th Isabella attended her first play and learn class at Gymboree.  Her sitter Angela took her.  Angela said she did great and had a lot of fun.  She really loved playing with the balls.  Angela was so gracious to capture a few photos so we could share in the experience.  Isabella will be attending this class weekly.

Pumpkin Patch

On October 8th, we took Isabella to Maris Farms Pumpkin Patch.  We had the pleasure of sharing this experience with both sets of Grandparents, Isabella's Aunt Sarah, Uncle Nate, and cousin Jackson, and Garrett's cousin Jared.  Isabella was in a great mood for the event.  So great that I think she tuckered herself out and was knocked out at the end of the trip which you will see from the photos.

5 month photos

We tried somewhere new for Isabella's 5 month photos.  This time we went to JC Penney's.  She wasn't in the best of mood, but we were still able to get a few cute photos.  The hat was made for Isabella by my good friend Stephanie Kraft.

Trip to Oregon

Isabella was already 5 months old and hadn't met any one from my mom's side of the family, including her Great Grandma Bonnie.  We knew a trip was in order.  Over labor day weekend, we (me, my husband, my mom, and my brother's family) made the trek down to Salem, OR.  Considering the distance Isabella did pretty well.  My uncle Charlie hosted a cornfest family get together.  It was so great to get to see everyone, and have them all meet Isabella.  Here are a few photos from the trip.

 

First Boat Trip

Time keeps flying by.  I haven't been good at keeping up on the blog.  On August 28th, Isabella went out on the Puget Sound for the first time.  The first minute or so she seemed a bit scared, but after that she was a pro.  Here are some photos from our time out.

RIce Cereal

Isabella has started staring intently at and reaching for food that others are eating.  The doctor said when this occurs she is ready to start solid food.  Therefore, we started Isabella on rice cereal on August 27th.  She loved it and Garrett couldn't feed it to her fast enough.  Here are a few photos from the experience.

4 Month Check Up and Photos

Today I took Isabella in for her 4 month check up.  She is doing great.  Below are her stats:

Height: 24"  (50th percentile)
Weight: 11 lbs 10 oz  (10th percentile)
Head Circ: 16"  (45th percentile)

As you can tell from her stats she is a long and lean baby.  Not too much chub on her.  Not surprising considering how active she is all the time.

Also, we took Isabella in last Saturday to have her 4 month photos taken.  Instead of having to drive to either Lynnwood or Tacoma to have them done at Picture People, I decided to go to Sears.  Below is a link to all the photos.  There are a lot on the Sears website, but we only ordered a few.

Isabella's 4 month photos

3 Month Photos

Below are Isabella's 3 month photos.  These were taken on July 4th.  We were only able to get one smile out of her during the whole photo shoot.  Despite that we think they turned out pretty well.  Hope you all enjoy.

It has been awhile

It has been awhile since my last post. Time sure does seem to fly by.  I thought I would give a quick update and share some photos.  I have returned to work.  I went back June 27th.  It is hard, but I am doing it.  It makes it a little easier when you know she is being taken care of by people who love her.  Isabella spends the week with Grandma Terpening and Grandma Curtis.  However, it will become much harder in the fall when we have to find childcare.

A few new things with Isabella.  She is now smiling and laughing regularly.   I am loving this stage.  And just recently she has begun rolling over from her front to her back.  I guess she really disliked tummy time and decided she would be an early roller.  And tonight as I am writing this she has begun rolling over from her back to her tummy.  I think we have a mover on our hands.

Here are some photos:

This is my first day back to work.  Isabella is being dropped off at Grandma Terpening's house.  I may look happy, but was sad to be leaving her.

It just so happened that my second day back to work, Isabella and I were both wearing purple.  Grandma Terpening had to capture a photo.

Here is a photo of Isabella doing some tummy time at Grandma's house.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Isabella got to hang out with her cousin Kyah.  Here is a photo of the two of them together.

Here are some photos taken of Isabella on recently when she was laughing and smiling.

Stay tuned.  My goal is to have her 3 month photos posted by this weekend.

Can you find Isabella?

Yesterday as I prepared to walk to the mailbox I put Isabella in the following outfit to keep her warm. She was so darn cute in the outfit I was inspired to take some photos.  In the beginning she started out happy, which eventually led tad bit of crying, and in the end resulted in her taking a nap.  I couldn't resist hiding her in with her stuffed animals. Enjoy.

Two Month Photos and Check-up Statistics

We just had Isabella's two month check-up today on June 6th. She is now 9 lbs 14 oz, which is in the 25-30th percentile. She is 22.1 inches long. Her height didn't change much since her last appointment. For height she is now in the 50th percentile. Her head circumference is 15.2, which is also in the 50th percentile.

On June 2nd, we had two month photos taken of Isabella. Attached below is a slideshow of those photos.

Seattle Arboretum

This past weekend was the first nice weekend of weather since who could remember.  We decided to get out and enjoy it.  We went to the Arboretum in Seattle.  Isabella did great.  I think she loved riding around in her stroller out in nature.  By the end she was totally wiped out.  Below are some photos from our journey.

Approaching Two Months

Isabella is almost two month's old.  People always say to cherish the time because it goes by so fast.  I am beginning to understand what they mean.  Everyday she seems to grow and change.  If I had more time (which there is little of when taking care of an infant) I would love to post more updates and photos on the blog of her progess.  Until then you will have to work with the sporadic postings.

Recent happenings:  Isabella got to visit with her Great Grandparents (Curtis') last week.  See photo below of her hanging out with Great Grandpa. 

Great Grandpa Curtis

Isabella also got to venture up to Bellingham over Memorial Day Weekend to spend time with her Aunt and Uncle, and Grandparents (Terpening's).  Below are some of the photos from that trip.  It looks like one of the photos from this trip was able to capture a real smile.  See photo below.  Over the past week Isabella has been learning to smile.  It is so much fun to see.

Happy the car ride up to Bellingham is over.

Snuggling with Uncle Dustin

The Family - Isabella is in the stroller.

Here are a few other photos since last blog postsing: