Is that a smile I see? Finally caught one on film! Since she is happiest in the morning I snuck in with a camera- She didn't even see it coming. My little Bell is so precious. She is growing up and it is going too fast. I don't know what happened because those first few weeks seemed to DRAG on and I thought staying home was the worst thing ever. It is amazing what regular sleep can do for you I guess. I love being with my girl all day. Now I sound like every other mom when I say "Enjoy it because it goes too fast!"

Summer Fun at Mindy and Doug's

On Saturday we got together with our friends at Mindy and Doug's house. It had been a while since we had seen everyone and it was fun to have a chance to eat, drink, play some Wii Fit and catch up. Mindy and Doug have the most kid friendly house and big yard with lots of fun things to do. It was fun to get out but we were home by 7pm to put Isabel to bed. I had to laugh because Jason said he remembers a time not too long ago when parties used to start at 7pm... Yum.... Bell wishes she could eat snacks too

Lilly is so cute and great with the babies!

Casey, Cammy, and Stacy

Vinny

Bell hanging out with the guys- Jason, Jeff, Doug, Matt and little Zack.

The Shell Family (Patrick and Maggie were a little camera shy)

Meg and Zack

Jason and little Doug

Isabel with her "silly monkey" t-shirt and new hat (got to love the accessories)

20 Weeks

Isabel is starting to get the hang of eating now! She has a little cereal twice a day and at least 1/3 of it probably ends up in her stomach. (The rest is on her face, hands, ears, clothes, and the floor) It is fun even if it isn't very filling yet. We have been enjoying our summer together and I am starting to get sad now that my maternity leave is coming to a close. Yes, I still have 4 weeks left but I know how fast things go once August hits. It will be time to get back into my classroom and blow the dust off my things. We are still working out the details of Isabel's daycare and I know that until we have that settled I won't be able to relax.

Oh well... for now I will just enjoy every day I have left with her. She is my BFF- hanging out with me, shopping, watching tv, doing laundry, visiting friends and family etc. What a little personality she has now. Her new fave game is "peek a boo" and she makes the funniest noises. (Sometimes we think she is part cat) She is definitely happiest in the morning and a little cranky before bed.

Hi Ho Hi Ho - It's Off to Dwight We Go!

We spent the night in Dwight with Jason's family this weekend. This was our first overnight as a family. I can't believe how much you need to pack for a baby for such a short trip! On Saturday night Don and MaryAnn Moushon came up for dinner because they had not met Isabel yet. On Sunday morning Isabel went to the Dwight Methodist Church and saw her Grandpa preach. She got a little rowdy during the church service and had to go outside for a little nap. Her Grandma had fun showing her off to the people at church though. Getting ready to go visit the Grandma and Grandpa. Isabel kicked off her cute polka dot tennis shoes about 6 times before I gave up on them. I'm not sure she is as interested in accessories as I am.
Mary Ann Moushon meets Bell. Mary Ann and Donn have lots of grandkids so they are pros.

Isabel slept in her Pack N Play for the first time and she did great! Went to bed at 8pm and woke up at 6am. We were pleasantly surprised.

Isabel's hats were the big joke of the weekend. Jason thought she looked like a little German baby or a character out of the Sound of Music. She was also compared to Santa's little elf. I thought she looked adorable though!

19 weeks... (I think)

I am starting to lose track of the weeks now ... so it is easier to remember that Isabel is already 4 1/2 months old. She is making lots of noises and is very smiley early in the day (especially when she sees her daddy) I used to be able to take her anywhere and she would fall asleep in her stroller or car seat but now she is wide awake and alert when we go places. I have learned to hang close to home if it is nap time and she usually goes down without too much trouble. She also sleeps through the night well - going to bed around 7:30 and waking up somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00 and then going back down for another two hours or so. (Uh-oh ... I probably shouldn't have said that- seems whenever I think we have a schedule going she throws me for a loop :) Here is my little cutie with her telephone.... she loves it. Does this mean we are in trouble during adolescence? We are still diligently doing our tummy time but Bell seems to be in no hurry to roll over. Of course being the worried mom I consulted all of my books to find out how we could encourage her to do it, but I think we'll just have to be patient and let her do it in her own time. ( Naturally!)

Wredling "Moms Club"

There really must have been something in the water at school last year because so many of us girls had a baby or were expecting. Today Michelle, Rachel, Tracy, Tracey, and I walked Peck Farm in Geneva with our little ones. We are just soaking up these summer days before it is back to school.

Max Dockum is the newest addittion to our group. Only 5 weeks old! Tracey looks beautiful and is adjusting to life as a new momma. I can hardly remember Bell being that little even though it was only a few months ago.

Yummm...cereal!

At our 4 month appointment we got the go ahead for Isabel to begin eating cereal. How exciting! Her first meal. Of course Jason and I broke out the video camera... it was pretty funny. We made the rice cereal so runny that it pretty much fell right off the spoon but she seemed to like the whole process. Of course more of it ended up on her bib than in her mouth.

She got a little impatient with us and grabbed for the spoon herself. Of course when she tried to put it in her mouth she usually just hit herself in the forehead with it (still working on that hand-eye coordination!)

4 Months!

On Monday, Mandy and I took Isabel to her four month doctor's appointment. She wasn't thrilled about getting more shots but she seemed to do better this time afterwards. No fever and just a little crabby. The doctor said she weighs 15 pounds and is 26 inches long! Yes- she is officially a GIANT baby. I think she will be as tall as her mom by her 6 month appointment. We also got the good news that we can start rice cereal this month. That should be entertaining.

Here is a picture of Isabel with a monkey she got from the zoo. You can tell she must like it because she is eating it. (That is what she does with everything she likes!)

Okay- so I staged this picture. As brilliant as my baby girl is she is not ACTUALLY sitting in her chair and reading a book yet. I do try to read to her fairly often. She has a very short attention span though. Her faves right now are Goodnight Moon and How Much Do I Love You. Of course I know she likes these books because she trys to eat them :).

Happy "First" Fourth!

Isabel started the day by going to her first parade. Too bad it was gray and rainy! She didn't seem to mind the police and fire sirens and enjoyed sitting on my lap and looking at everything.Arian and Donn stopped by with Jacqueline for a few minutes. Isabel was crabby but Jacqueline was sweet and tried to give her love! (Yes- Bell is bigger than her too! :)

Showing off her stylish holiday socks

Loving her Aunt Mandy as usual

The rest of the day was a wash weather-wise. We went to Diane Kerruish's house for some snacks aftr the parade and then back to my parents hoping to swim. No such luck. The weather finally started to clear in the evening but we decided to skip the fireworks this year and put Bell to sleep instead. (I know- we are so wild and crazy) Happy "First" Fourth Isabel!

Brookfield Zoo

Isabel got to visit Brookfield Zoo for the first time last Friday. The weather cooperated and we spent the morning seeing the animals. The baboons and giraffe were Bell's favorites. (She slept through the rest!)In her Brookfield Zoo baseball cap- thanks Grandma!

The polar bears were awesome- I'm not really sure why this one had green fur though.

Jason had Dippin' Dots for the first time. What rock has he been living under?!

My family may have been embarassed to walk around the zoo with me in this hat.

Not sure if you can see the ostrich in the background. It was pecking at the fence and then relieved itself in front of us. Not the prettiest bird.

The giraffes were AWESOME! Isabel is kind of a giraffe herself with those long legs so we knew she would like these guys.

Grandma and Grandpa hadn't been to the zoo since Mandy and I were kids. They said it was even more fun this time around.

Week 17

Although you would never guess it by this crabby look on Bell's face- Week 17 was a good one. She actually took several naps during the day and went to bed well at night. I was home every day and we had lots of time to play. We can't believe how big she is now. Really- she is bigger than almost all of my friend's babies that are older than her. So funny because she started out teeny. We love it though. She is a future athlete for sure! Isabel decided that she loves this stuffed giraffe that she got from one of my coworkers. (Pretty much everything she loves she puts in her mouth now) This week we went for a walk using the Baby Bjorn. She is finally big enough to face forward so she enjoyed looking at all of the neighborhood sights. Her head still seemed pretty wobbly to me but she seemed to really enjoy it.

These are pictures of Bell's new favorite thing to do. Suck her thumb and eat her blanket! This is endlessly entertaining to her.

Now this picture took some doing on my part because Isabel and Lucky still refuse to acknowledge one another. Lucky is much more interested in Isabel's toys than in her. Sometimes when Jason and I are giving Isabel too much attention Lucky performs little "tricks" to get our attention... ( "Look what I can do!) like he'll race up and down the hallway as fast as he can or he'll roll onto his back and wiggle around. He even gets up in the glider and rocks in it when I am changing Bell's diaper. She is so not impressed.

The fact that Isabel NEVER smiles for the camera is starting to become a running joke. I have pretty much given up trying. Now we try to see just how crabby she can look in every picture. You would think she has a pretty hard life by her expressions in these pics.