Crawling!

In the last few weeks, our little Isabelle has gotten pretty mobile! About a month ago she started scooting a little bit on her belly, forward and backward. A week later she was getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. Next, she was doing the "army crawl" and getting around pretty well with that. Last week, she started officially crawling and now there's no stopping her! She's all over the place and getting into everything. We've had to do some rearranging and babyproofing for sure! She's already getting daring and is trying to pull up on things. Gone are the days that I can sit her down somewhere and know that she won't go anywhere! Oh well, it's so fun to watch her doing new things all the time.

Swim Class

I know you can't tell by her face, but she's having fun....really!








This summer, Isabelle took a swim class at the rec center. Obviously, she didn't learn how to swim, but we played fun games and helped her get used to being in the water. However, we did get to the point where we could dunk her under the water without a problem. We would sing "London Bridge" and when we got to "my fair lady" I would blow in her face, which caused her to hold her breath, and dunk her under the water. She actually did really well with it. She never cried, coughed or sputtered at all. She definitely had a surprised look on her face when she came up though! We plan to continue with swim classes so she'll be really comfortable in water and learn to swim at an early age.

Trip to Erie

Isabelle meets Jeremy's Aunt Linda



Hanging with Jeremy's cousin PJ, his wife Jenn, and baby Lilly


Niagara Falls


They're only 3 weeks apart, but Isabelle looks so little!!


A couple of weeks ago, me, Jeremy, his mom Mary, and Isabelle made the 13 hour drive up to Erie, Pennsylvania. We had a very busy 5 days while we were there. We made our rounds visiting all of the family members. We also went to a few family get togethers and a graduation party. One day, Jeremy and I made the 2 hour trip up to Niagara Falls. The falls were beautiful and we really enjoyed ourselves. Isabelle also got to meet her 2nd cousin Lilly. Isabelle is only 3 weeks younger than Lilly, but much more petite! It was fun to see them play together. I wasn't sure how the driving would be, but it actually was much better than I thought. We decided driving through the night would be best for Isabelle in hopes that she would sleep a large portion of the trip. She was really good the whole trip, but it definitely helped that Mary was in the back seat entertaining her and giving her snacks the whole time! We had a good time, but it was still a pretty exhausting trip. However, we know Jeremy's family was anxious to meet sweet Isabelle, so we were glad to be able to get up there this summer.

4th of July

Gotta love the shirt!


Isabelle and her second cousins


Little Miss Firecracker!



This year for the 4th of July we were up in Erie, PA visiting Jeremy's family. We went to a family picnic during the day then to his uncle's house that night for another 4th of July party. We had a good time and Isabelle was a little social butterfly being passed around to everybody. She got to meet a lot of new family members for the first time. We stayed inside for the fireworks, but watched them through the window. Believe it or not, it was pretty chilly up there!! Here are some pictures from that day. Of course, we're all in our 4th of July gear!! ( such dorks!)

8 Months Old!

Today our precious baby girl turned 8 months old. I know I sound like a broken record, but I truly can't believe it's been 8 months already since she's been born. This past month has been a really big one for Isabelle...and for us too! Last month Isabelle was completely weaned from breastfeeding and she started sleeping through the night!! YAY!!! The beginning of the month started a little rough as we were trying to transition her to formula. She was actually throwing up quite often and having trouble with it. We took her to the doctor and learned she had acid reflux. After starting her on some medication, she's now drinking up the formula like a champ! We started reintroducing solid foods this past week, and she's doing okay with it. We learned that we have a very independent little girl and does not like being fed by a spoon. So, we've been experimenting with a lot of different finger foods that she can feed herself. It's so freeing for me to be done breastfeeding. I loved giving her the very best nutrition she could get, but working a full time job the pumping just got to be too much. I figured nearly 8 months of breastmilk was pretty good. As far as sleeping through the night, I prayed and prayed that she would just start doing it on her own without having to take any drastic measures like letting her cry....and praise God my prayer was answered!! She just gradually woke up less and less until she would sleep usually a full 12 hours. Her naps have gotten pretty consistent and we have a pretty rigid schedule now. As far as teething, she's still drooling like a faucet and chewing on everything in sight, but still no teeth. She's started "scooching" all over the place, but not officially crawling yet. However, when she sees something she wants, she does whatever she needs to do to get to it! All in all, it's been a great month and we look forward to the new adventures this next month will hold as she's getting more and more mobile!