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!!!

Grandparents visit...and other fun pics

Grandma & Grandpa Berger
Snuggling with Grandma

This weekend was my 31st birthday...and to celebrate, Mike's parents came down to spend some time with us and Isabelle. Izzy took a the longest nap ever - nearly 3 hours - while the grandparents waited patiently for her to wake. She was then able to show off all her new toys and tricks (exersaucer et al). We all ventured out to Muldoon's in downtown Carmel for lunch...where you can see Izzy kept herself entertained with her hands constantly in her mouth! Thought the above pic looked like she was trying to whistle!

This picture of Izzy girl in her crib is documented because every morning we find her in a VERY different position than where we left her the night before. We lay her near the top of her crib horizontally and we have been finding her near the bottom of her crib diagonally or sometimes perpendicular! Last night I went in to check on her and her legs were resting up on the bumper and she was fast asleep...Mike and I were trying so hard to not laugh and wake her up. It was just too cute! She must do a lot of movin' and shakin' in her crib...

Izzy's got a new activity...

The Exer-Saucer!!!
Learning to move and shake...
Loving the new toy...
We've officially become THAT house...
SMILING!!!

We have officially become THAT house...we vowed we would never let it happen. We even had extra storage built into our entertainment center and built-ins in our basement for this very reason. We now have FOUR very colorful, music-making, bulky toys in our living room. Sigh. We have to walk around them, as we can't go over them, we can't go under them (can you tell what our recent favorite book is?!?!) to walk through the room. But what FUN these toys bring to our Izzy girl!!!

Mike pulled the Exer-Saucer out from the basement this past weekend in anticipation for our Florida trip. Our friends we are going down there with (Court & Ryan) said there is an exer-saucer at the house for Izzy...this motivated us to break ours out for a test spin. She loves it! The toys, the 360 degree views, the upright position...so much fun for her (and it gives us yet another option to entertain her)!

Cold Weekend in Indy...

Mom & Izzy girl
Grandpa Bob
Luke Duke sleeping on his belly (in the middle of the living room!)Jaime & Luke
Beautiful baby Iz
Katie & Mindy

Katie and Izzy snuggling

This weekend was a CHILLY one here in Indy...record low temps!

We had some visitors on Saturday, Mike's dad (Grandpa Bob) and step mom (Grandma Laura) drove down for the day. Of course Bob (Villa) helped Mike with some household repairs while the girls hung out with Izzy. Izzy showed off all her new tricks: holding and grabbing for toys, TALKING (ba ba and ga ga) and lots of smiling.

Sunday we ventured to Katie & Rick's house to watch the Patriots win (sigh). Kate and Rick are from Beantown...so of course they hosted and gloated (nicely). I just realized I took no pictures of the boys...they were all in K&R's new finished basement while the women/babies were up by the fire. Sorry boys...and thanks to the Falciones for hosting a fun party!

One year ago today...

One year ago today was a very poignant and incredibly amazing day for me: Izzy was transferred back into my body after being created (conceived) in a petri dish just days before. That is the most bizarre thing to say, but it's true.

This was our second time attempting this procedure and we were very nervous, hopeful, scared, you name it. Mike and I had to wake up very early and go in to start preparing for what is called an Embryo Transfer. The doctor showed us a picture of three embryos...each 5 to 8 cells big. One of those embryos was Isabelle...and I'm still in awe that we have a picture of her when she was just a few cells big. The miracle of science is incredible. I'm not a very religious person, but thank God we tried a second time...as the doctor got the science just right the 2nd time around.

It's been one year since Izzy has been a part of our world. We will never forget the journey we travelled to bring her here. I told her this morning while she was nursing and I will tell her for the rest of my life how she was made with love...and a petri dish.

So big...

It's another jammie day at our house...and I just thought I'd snap a few pics of Izzy girl. She is getting so long!!! She talks non-stop (cooing, but we have conversations!), kicks her feet like crazy and bats at her hanging birds. Oh yeah, and her hands are in her mouth quite often. She is growing like a weed...it's so fun to witness everyday!

Inaugural Gathering of the Funsters...

Izzy with her (sorority) Grandma!
Molly & Maggie
Clay & Mike
Izzy & Kel
Big girl in her Bumbo!

Last night we had dinner at Clay & Maggie Bowden's house for the first gathering of the Funsters 2008. This is a group of 4 couples that plan 4 outings throughout the year. Maggie got this idea from her parents that have been doing this for years and years...doing many fun things and making a lifetime of memories. We are excited the planning is underway for the year...there are talks of tobogganing, weekend trips to IU and Cincinnati, and camping to name a few. Can't wait to get this started!

Also, Kelly's sorority mom, Brandi Keyton Allen, from IU Delta Zeta is a part of the Funsters (I haven't seen her in almost 10 years!). Crazy what a small world it is! She noticed right away that Izzy was decked out in DZ colors...love it.

Go COLTS and IU today...big day for us here in Indy!

One Non-blonde...

Gone are the days of my blonde hair. I have been wanting to do this for a while now...I've been shopping around with hair dressers and each time I ask to go dark. Each time I leave with blonde hair. But THIS time I fell in love with my new stylist. THIS time I didn't leave with blonde hair and "low lights." THIS time the girl was excited as I was and we talked "color" for over 30 minutes. As I sat in the chair (in front of the mirror, as when you go dark, you no longer need to sit under the old ladies' head-heater) staring at my sopping hair change from blonde, to red, to brown...I panicked as the colors changed. Then the wash and long wait for the cut and style...my stylist made me wait until she was complete until the big reveal. She turned me around, and I LOVED IT! It's quite dark, darker than my true light brown/dark blonde color. But I love it.

Mike keeps giving me double takes. I keep stopping when I walk by a mirror to do a double take. But Izzy, that girl doesn't know a thing has changed. First glance at me...and she gave me her huge smile that told me she knew who I was. That was all I needed to realize that nothing had really changed...girl still loves her mommy, brown hair and all.

Babies Galore!

The McCullochs
Jaime, Molly & Izzy
Luke Duke
Cooper
Bryant

Izzalicious

Last night we went to the Feller's house to celebrate Jaime's 30th birthday and Jeremy's 31st birthday. There was YUMMY food, fun friends, and lots of babies! In total, there were 4 babies in attendance, all of which were born in October 2007! It was fun to see how different each baby was in size (the oldest was the smallest and the youngest was the biggest-14 pounds!!!). The boys enjoyed playing Jeremy's new Wii and the girls gossiped, of course. Happy Birthday Fellers and and thanks for a FUN night!

More pics...

Self portrait with new camera...
Such a chunk...
Snug time with Grand Roo...
Aunt Kimmy...
I LOVE THESE CHEEKS!!!

We got a new camera for Christmas (thanks Dad & Anna)....so I've been playing around with it and having a fun time taking MORE pics of Izzy girl. She's growing leaps and bounds: sitting up in her Bumbo, holding her head HIGH during tummy time (so what if it's to watch the t.v.!?), taking all her naps in her crib, and she's even started to sleep for 9-10 hour stretches at night! GO IZZY!

New Years Eve 2007

Mikey & Kelly
Kelly, Jaime, Katie & Sandi
Mikey, Jason, Jeremy & Ricky
Katie & Rick
Jaime & Jeremy

Jason & Sandi

We rang in the New Year last night with 6 of our closest friends in Carmel at the Oak Hill Mansion. There were several hundred people in attendance, of which our group was the youngest by far! Next year we are going to have a bigger group and represent the 30-something age group. The Mansion served a delicious meal and had a 6 piece band. The girls did a lot of dancing, while the couples on the dance floor shot us dirty looks. Everyone else was dancing with their dates...while we girls were singing and dancing out loud, disrupting their dance space. Guess that was an age gap issue.

We had a blast and hope to be back next year! Happy New Year to all!