First trip to the lake this summer...

Izzy walked up and down the stairs ALL weekend. We finally had to barricade them off from her!
Izzy's favorite new word and activity: BUBBLES!

Izzy and Grandpa Berger blew bubbles for a LONG time

Izzy found a new way to use the beer coozies. Creative.

Driving the boat with Grandpa

Another one of Grandma Berger's fine hair styles. Mike and I were sleeping in. We woke to find hair gel and accessories in Izzy's hair. Can you tell she always wanted a little girl?!

Driving the boat with daddy
Stinking cute!
Getting used to wearing dresses...
Believe it or not, she is actually slimming down :)

We had a wonderful family trip up to the lake this weekend. The weather was in the mid 80's and perfect for boat rides. The water was still a bit too chilly to swim in...so we found other activities to pass the time: boating, bubbles, popsicles, up & down stairs, and long walks. Was a very relaxing weekend and we can't wait to get back for more lake time real soon!

Busy weekend...

Playing with puzzles at the library

More puzzles

Luke found the jewelry basket!

I love how Izzy is looking at Luke in this pic

Izzy would slide first, turn around and great Luke on his way down

Luke LOVES swinging...

Izzy does not

Timid at the Children's Museum's carousel

Iz and mommy

Jaime & Luke in the tree house

Izzy kept on peering out of the oversized playhouse, her fave

Luke wasn't a fan of the playhouse

This weekend boasted beautiful weather and lots of fun activities for us. Friday night we had friends over for a long walk and dinner. Saturday was 77 degrees...so while Mike was out on a long run, Izzy and I walked to the library for reading/song hour. My mom had taken her last week and said it was quite an event, so we had to check it out. Izzy loved being read to and singing/dancing with lots of other kids. Super fun, and I can see us there a ton in the Fall when I'm home with a new little babe.

When we got back home, Izzy went down for a nap and Luke came over for a few hours while Jaime went to a wedding. It was so fun to watch a little boy play...he threw balls and played more quietly than Izzy does (she's a rambler/mumbler). As SOON as Izzy woke up, I grabbed Luke and we went up the the nursery...Izzy was ear-to-ear grinning and Luke ran to the crib and tried to push his head through the bars of the crib to get to Iz. I swear they are best friends, it's too cute. Izzy was so excited to see him that she couldn't even sit in her high chair for a snack. So we immediately loaded the two kiddos up in joggers and took them to the park. Having Luke there with her made her a bit more ambitious: girl went down the slide and ran all over the park b/c that's what her best bud was doing. During a drink/snack break, Luke even kissed Izzy...I cried. Watching these two grow up together is just priceless.

Sunday was rainy so we headed downtown with the Fellers to hit up the Children's Museum. Mike had just been there with Izzy (and my mom) so he knew what she liked and didn't. The carousel wasn't among her favorites. But we tried it anyway...and she was timid, but tolerated it better than last time. She, of course, found every play house in the building and was hard to tear away from the faux food. Nonetheless, it was a fun visit and we'll be headed back there soon...both the Fellers and us have memberships now! Fun!!!

Izzy's 18 month check-up

Isabelle turned 18 months old a few weeks ago and we celebrated with a trip to the pediatrician. Was fun, as my mom was able to go with us and witness the fun of bringing Izzy to the doc. She truly is a ham and loves any attention from new faces. Quite the show-off, she is. Her 18 month stats are:

-Weight 23 lbs 11 oz (50% percentile)

-Height 30 3/4 inches (20% percentile)

-Head 47 cm (75% percentile)

She continues to grow and maintain a steady pattern on her growth charts. Darn if that head won't stop growing, though!!!

Tea for two...

My mom was here for almost a week, and in that week she and Izzy were able to do a lot of quality bonding together. Mom picked up on a lot of her new fascinations, which include lots of reading & pretend play. They took trips to the Children's Museum and also the library, where they were able to explore both of these traits. Mom fed into Izzy's new found interests by reading to her before bedtime for upwards of an hour (this was hard to break Izzy of once mom left!) and buying Izzy a new tea set and pretend food/kitchen accessories. Needless to say, Izzy loves the new toys. She walks around with the little teacups and wants to "cheers" you and pretend she is pouring and sipping. She also pretends to cut the food and eat the faux food. Super cute. We had a great visit with mom and it was hard to say goodbye to her...especially Izzy :(

Izzy's going to have a SISTER!!!

Her profile
The "money shot"

3D pic...top right corner is her head and face (closed eyes, nose, lips) and her big belly

Another 3D pic...profile of her face and her hands are near her chin


This morning my mom, Mike, Isabelle and I ventured out to the OBGYN for our 20 week ultrasound. We learned that baby Mac #2 is a GIRL and is perfectly healthy and growing EXACTLY on target with my due date. All body parts are present and perfect: 4 chambers of the heart, all lobes of the brain, kidneys...you name it. We also discovered I have an anterior placenta (placenta is closest to the front of my belly, in between the baby and my belly). This means the kicks I feel are going to be less impactful, as there is a large cushion separating the baby and my tummy wall. Very interesting, as I had never heard of this and now I have 2 friends that also have an anterior placenta. Regardless, doctor isn't worried and says this is perfectly normal. Bottom line, we have a healthy, thriving baby and we are so lucky to be going through all of this again! Izzy's going to have a sister!!!

Happy Easter

We dyed some Easter eggs last night...Mike made a delicious ham dinner
Sitting down for dinnerIzzy enjoyed it...

A long, brisk walk

Cousin Taylor pushed Izzy

Aunt Kimmy snuggling

Reading with Grand Roo

This weekend was a beautiful one in Indy...not ONE single cloud in the sky and absolutely sunny! My mom flew in from Lake Tahoe and my sister and her kids drove down from Chicago for the holiday (mom is staying all week). We did the normal Keel things: ate, napped, went on long walks, played dominoes, dyed Easter eggs and played with Izzy. Was a good time. Now, back to the normal workweek. Sort of a big week, as we have our 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday to determine if baby Mac is growing and developing well and also to find out the gender. Stay tuned for the big news!!!

Such a girl..

Izzy loves her jewelry...taking it on and off all day long. Such a girl!

Always wants to be read to...

And is now starting to read to herself...

This weekend was another one spent at home without any major plans. Same old walks outside, playing in the backyard, napping, shopping and eating out. 'Tis our favorite way to spend the weekend.

Isabelle has always loved books (since she was teeny weeny)...but recently she's taken to reading them herself. Pointing to the pictures and "talking" like mommy does. In fact, Izzy will cry all the way through her nighttime diaper change and the second we sit down to read, she gets absolutely still and very in tune with the books for the 10-15 minutes that we read. Also, a new talent and skill Izzy loves is putting puzzles together and taking them apart. We have a bunch and she gets so excited when she completes one. Super cute.

My dad and step mom just sent me a note saying they hadn't seen any pictures of me on the blog lately. Um, there is reason for that...I'm rapidly getting larger and therefore try to stear clear of the pics. I am 19 weeks today, almost 1/2 way through. I feel the exact same as I did when I was pregnant with Iz; however, I'm obviously bigger sooner and have been feeling baby kick for about 3 weeks now (I felt Izzy at 19 weeks). Amazing...look how much smaller I was at 20 weeks with Isabelle:

I want a tan and long hair. ASAP. Wishful thinking...