More pics from last weekend

Okay, so I found some more pics from last weekend when my sister was here. I found these on my 13-year-old niece's myspace page!!! Nice. Enough said.

Izzy's illness has escalated from an ear infection to bronchilitis. She is on breathing treatments in addition to her antibiotics. Never a dull moment...

Easter Weekend...

Sportin' the ears...
Cousin Taylor
Blurry, yes...but she looks just like me as a baby here!!
Aunt Kimmy

My sister and her kids, Taylor & Dylan, came down for Easter weekend. It was quite uneventful, but that's just how we like it! We watched Izzy show off, played lots of Mexican Train Dominos and baked Nana's famous apple pie. Yummy! Sunday morning was quite a treat, not only did Mike surprise us all with an Easter egg hunt...but the kids joined Mike and I for our long run on the Monon! Dylan rollerbladed and went to the skate park at Monon Center while Taylor walked Izzy in the jogger so Mike and I could run HANDS FREE! It was quite a treat! It was so much fun to have my sister and the kids here for Easter!

Unfortunately, Izzy has come down with her first fever and cold :( She started coughing Monday morning. Tuesday she continued the cough and then started gagging on her sinus drainage. And this morning she gagged herself so badly that she vomitted - quite scary at 5am!!! We went to the pediatrician this afternoon and turns out Izzy has her first ear infection - poor girl. Hopefully the amoxicillin will take care of that and her nasty cough. Fortunately, she is still sleeping long through the night. Phew!

Mike's mom, Cathy, came down Tuesday and Wednesday to help us out around the house and with Izzy. She was a God-send...taking care of our sick Izzy & cleaning the house/doing chores & simply loving on our little girl when she needed it most. I just cannot thank her enough!

Sorry there aren't more pictures...it's quite out of character for me NOT to have more. But I suppose I was just enjoying the moments with my family. That...and I am sick now, too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

We tried peas today for the 1st time. After pureeing them...they turned NEON!!! Tomorrow's diapers should be very interesting!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Izzy's shirt says 'Mommy's Good Luck Charm'

Today is also Katie Monster's 7th Birthday.

Big day in the McCulloch household: We visited our first daycare (!!) and started weaning one of Izzy's daytime nursing sessions. I don't really want to pump three times a day when I return to work...not so fun at a new job. I am giving myself 15 days to wean 3 daytime nursing times...and Izzy took her first bottle (frozen milk for now - slowly adding formula) today like a champ! I was very nervous...but she did great. Now how I handle the missed nursing will be another story. I thought about drinking a beer to help with the oncoming pain/discomfort, but my girlfriend told me the barley helps the milk come in. Guess I won't be doing that! So it's either shots of vodka or ibuprofen :) Wish us luck.

The daycare visit wasn't as bad as I anticipated, either. No tears out of me (so far)! One visit down, three to go. We're hoping to make our decision by Friday. It makes me feel a lot better now that I can see what she will be doing on a daily basis and who will be handling her. Plus, she's almost 6 months old....it's not like she'll be 6 weeks. A very good friend keeps telling me babies are very resilient and will deal much better with the change than the mommies. And my mom keeps telling me - this too shall pass. These next few weeks will be quite transitional for us all (sigh).

Busy Weekend!!!

Izzy received several Easter packages in the mail...this one was from her Great Aunt Gail in Austin. Izzy got her first stuffed duck...we call him Quacker :)
Last Thursday night we went to Irish night at the Riviera Club in Broadripple. Izzy loved watching all the other kids and the Irish dancers!!! Her shirt says 'Rub my belly for good luck.' Too cute.
Super cute.
Another one of Izzy's Easter packages included these fun new bunny ears. She wore them for quite some time...not minding them or us laughing at her :) She's our little snuggle bunny. Friday night Mike went to the Big Ten Basketball Tournament downtown Indy with his cousins from Wisconsin, while I stayed in with Izzy.

Saturday night our friends, Deanna & Pat, had their annual St. Patty's Party. Green beer was enjoyed by all...and lots of games and laughter. Last year we were pregnant at this party, so we had to drink twice the amount of green beer to make up for it :) From L-R: Natalie Gilbert (DZ sister), Deanna Murphy (hostess), me, Cheryl Summners.

A day with Connor...

Izzy & Connor
Izzy smooching Connor - how could you not want to? Look at those big blues!!!

Connor & Deanna


Today Izzy hung out at the Murphy house...playing, laughing, and crying with Deanna and Connor!!! A very big thank you to D for coming through in a pinch for me by watching Izzy. As always, Izzy had a great time and even learned about a new & fun toy...the Jumperoo!!! If only we had one at home for her to master the art of jumping like Connor does so well!!!


Today was a crazy day for me...as most of you know, I am interviewing to get back into the full-time workforce (don't worry, I'm still keeping my real estate license in case any of you were interested in buying or selling :). I had an important interview this afternoon that was changed at the last second and I was in desperate need of a sitter for Izzalicious. Deanna graceously accepted the challenge of watching two bambinos under the age of 6 months. I'm going to have to get used to handing her off to others - as I return to work and have to send her to daycare. UGH! Thank goodness for the help of great friends like D to help in the transition!


Izzy survived...as I know she will in the future at daycare. It's the question of will I survive? I've still not unwound from the excitement of all the activity in one day! Phew!

Bananas and Carrots!!!

Izzy loves her sweet bananas!

She is still trying to get used to the carrots...

Izzy has officially been eating solids for a week now. She had bananas for the first 4 days..and loves them. Then we switched to carrots; Izzy is definitely eating them, but just not with the same gusto that she inhales the bananas with. Still eating the cereal, of course.

I just had to add the pic of Izzy and Katie Monster...the dogs are definitely more interested in Izzy now that she is talking and moving around more. Playtime on the floor is often times shared with one or both dogs. Too cute!

Playdate with Ellana & Bennet

Tummy time for Izzy & Ellana

Holding hands...
Sandi & Ellana

This last Friday Izzy and I spent the afternoon at Sandi, Ellana & Bennet's house for a playdate. It was fun seeing the girls study each other and perform their tricks. Sandi gave me a lot of helpful tips for feeding Izzy solids and weaning Izzy from nursing (scary!!!). Ellana is just a few weeks younger than Izzy and it was such fun...

March is here...

Scotty outfit...thanks Kristina!!
Giggling after smooches from mommy & daddy
Peek!!
Favorite part of the day...CEREAL!!!
Second favorite part of the day - BATHTIME!!!

Grandma Anna & Grandpa
Miniature Daschound outfit...thanks Portia & Mindy!!!

This weekend my dad & step-mom came down for a quick visit from Michigan. We hung out, of course, to watch Izzy play and laugh and show off. She has been rolling over like crazy all week..from her tummy to her back. And she's trying hard to get from her back to her tummy. She is SO CLOSE and keeps working on it whenever she is on the floor. Her cereal consumption is at an all-time high...she cannot get enough these days. Bananas...here we come!!!

And I just had to post pictures of some of her new outfits...Izzy had to show off her scottish terrier outfit for Grandma Anna, and the wiener dog outfit for daddy and Katie Monster. There is even a little dog toy attached to the pocket on the bib/overall that she played with and gummed on all day. Super cute!!!

Mike and I celebrated the new month of March with our first long run on the Monon Trail Saturday. We are training for our annual Mini Marathon (13.2 miles) in May. This run was extra fun (and challenging), as we brought little miss Izzy along with us in the jogger. It was a sunny, beautiful day and Izzy slept the ENTIRE run. I think this may be a new Saturday morning nap tradition for her (if we can stand pushing the jogger as the miles increase!).

Johnny Jump-Up

As Isabelle is getting stronger and stronger...we are able to introduce her to new toys! Her Exer-Saucer is still a lot of fun for her; she continues to amaze us when she jumps, stands and constantly turns in circles to play with toys and watch us & the dogs. With all this activity, we pulled out the Johnny Jump-Up yesterday to see what she would do...as noted in the above pics, she didn't do much of anything! She tasted it (everything goes in her mouth these days) and tried rotating herself in it (like she does in the Saucer). She even stood up in it a few times. No jumping yet. Johnny must be bored :)

Every day is something new with her...it's SO much fun! New things in her repertoire this week include:

- While on her tummy, she has rolled over twice to her back

-Also when on her tummy, she lifts her butt and pulls her knees under her (!!!)

-Eating a LOT of cereal...and it keeps getting thicker and thicker! She loves it and even opens her mouth when the spoon comes to her.

-Watches the dogs intently as they move around her

-While on her back, she lifts her head and shoulders up, as if trying to sit up. No more bouncy seat for this gal, she wants to be upright at all times!

-Sleeps almost 12 hours at night...uninterrupted!!!

Each week she changes so much, it's incredible to see her grow and develop these amazing skills. Can't wait for yet another fun week with girl...

Amelia Island...First Family Vaca

Ryan, Court, Aly, Izzy, Mikey and KellyIzzy's first look at the ocean

Courtney & Aly playing in the sand
Izzy girl's sand experience

Family beach photo
Getting her feet wet
Izzalicious loves her daddy!

Just had to...All dressed up for some cocktails
The girls saying goodbye...for now!

We just returned from our first family vacation on Amelia Island (Florida) with our good friends: Courtney, Ryan & Alyson from Minneapolis. Courtney's parents have a beautiful home just seconds from the beach and were gracious enough to invite us down for some R&R.

We had so much fun over the course of the past 5 days!!! The boys golfed EVERY day while the girls hung out at the beach, the pool, the shops and playing lots of GAMES!!! The evenings were filled with delicious meals, flowing drinks, and lots of laughs. Aly & Izzy had fun exploring each other playing...while Mike and I learned a lot about what life with a toddler will be like in 1 year from now. It was also very special to witness how such a dear friend has blossomed into such a wonderful mother.

We are so thankful for the invitation and the generosity of the Griffin/Noble family for a lifetime full of memories!

ps-LOTS more pics from the vaca on the link to the right

Cereal for dinner...

We have had two nights of cereal here...and Izzy has loved it! She swallows most of what goes into her mouth, and the rest gets spit out. The first night we tried feeding her in the bouncy seat...stripped down, as we had no idea what to expect. But we found feeding her in the high chair was much easier for her to swallow. Girl seems to really enjoy the new taste in her mouth and we have a great time watching her with this new evening event!

Another notable mention, Izzy's acid reflux has disappeared since she has been "upright" in her exer-saucer during play time. I kept reading and hearing this would happen once they are off their backs, and it's true! She seems much happier during and after feedings, and there is significantly less spit-up out of her. Love the progress!

Guess who is 4 months old?!?!?

Isabelle turned 4 months old yesterday!!! And to celebrate, we went to the pediatrician's this morning for some shots!! We have just changed pediatricians and today's visit was the MOST informative visit with Izzy we have ever had. In fact, we spent over an hour there and learned a lot. She is right on track with growth and milestones...we learned that she will crawl a little later than her friends that sleep on their tummies, as Izzy is a back sleeper.

Changes to Izzy's current lifestyle include: starting rice cereal tomorrow morning, no more swaddling for naps and nighttime, and we are to let her cry at night if she wakes (i.e. no more middle of the night feedings or nuking)! We tried this last one last night...she woke at 4am and we let her cry herself back to sleep. Now that I know the pillow over my head drowns her cries out, I can move forward. Plus, they say it only takes 3-5 days of this behavior until she will learn to just stay asleep. We'll see. I feel bad for my in-laws that are staying overnight tomorrow while Mike and I go to a wine and cheese party. Maybe I should tell them to pack ear plugs!

Izzy's 4 Month Stats:

Weight 14 lb. 11 oz. - 75% percentile

Height 25" - 75% percentile

Head 41.5 cm - 75% percentile

Looks like we have a chunky monkey!!!