8 months

Isabella (as my grandmother put it today) is "legally" 8 months old. Time has truly flown. I can't even believe another month of her life has passed.

It seems like so little time has gone by, but so much has changed for her. She has two bottom teeth now, and she's eating more finger foods (cheerios, peas, crackers, etc.) She is looking more like she might crawl soon. She is pushing way up on her arms now, and kicking/pushing with her feet. She's not going far yet, but she's not right where you left her anymore either. She continues to babble constantly, which is really fun to hear. No words yet, but we're listening for them! Her personality is becoming more evident; she's generally a very happy little girl. She's always watching what's going on around her and learning new things constantly.

I fall more in love with her everyday, and it's clear that her daddy adores her as well. I've been told before, but it seems everytime I blink she's grown up a little more and I'm always surprised.

Isabella intently studying the peas she should be eating

Isabella's taken an interest in studying the law with her daddy

We made it

Isabella and I made it through the weekend without John and through Isabella's first ear infection. She's feeling much better now, but we saw the doctor on Friday and she wasn't feeling very good then. I've discovered that she loves (thankfully) the taste of amoxicillin and she can eat Cheerios. She couldn't get the cheerio to her mouth because it got stuck in her palm but she can eat them now. (My dad says that's the step before chocolate. I think he can't wait to let her try it, and I'm trying to hold him off for a little longer.) I was worried that her sleep pattern would be off again, since she'd been sick, but she did pretty well last night (9 hours and only up once.) So, we made it through the weekend with a few new discoveries and a now-smiling little girl.

Happy Birthday, baby!

It's John's birthday today! We celebrated John's birthday a little early because again, the army has decided that he should be away (this time in Mississippi) on his birthday and Valentine's day. You can probably hear the note of bitterness in my voice, but I do realize that the army can't take things like birthdays into consideration for every person before making these decisions. I just hate anytime that he has to be away from us, but especially for special occasions. Anyway, we still celebrated together last weekend. John and I had lunch on Friday and birthday cupcakes at Edgar's. Then I sent him for a surprise massage, which he followed by 9 holes of golf. (It was a beautiful afternoon, about 75 degrees and sunny.) Then we went to dinner at Ocean that evening. And for the big birthday finale, we went to see Ruben Studdard in Ain't Misbehavin' on Saturday. It was an awesome show, by the way. To top it all off, we had birthday cake with his mom and Martin following the show. It was a wonderful weekend.

So, happy birthday, baby! I miss you as always, and I hope it's a wonderful day!

Miss Independent holding her own bottle

I love this expression!

Sleeping patterns and Extreme measures

Isabella hasn't really gotten the hang of sleeping through the night. This isn't a secret to those who are around me and John because we're always tired. I think I've finally hit the bottom though, and have decided that it's time for drastic measures. So, we're trying the "cry it out" method. I've interviewed parents of all ages and most have tried this with at least one or more children. Most tell me that it works wonders, so we're trying it. On Thursday night we attempted it once and Isabella cried for a full hour before falling asleep. On Friday, it was better; she cried for 15 minutes and woke several times that night, but the crying didn't last any more than 15 minutes at a time. It's gradually decreased until last night, and she slept from 8:30 pm-4:30 am without waking! She only cried for 3-4 minutes when I put her down in her bed. Now I will say that I've "broken the rules" and picked her up from her crib when she's really upset and I've gotten her out of her bed to change her diaper, but I think we've all handled this adjustment very well. Now, if this trend will continue, I can begin my am workouts again and feel rested at the same time. I will be meeting my resolution, decreasing the frequency at which I seem to be sick, and improving my general mood, all at one time.

For those of you blessed parents that haven't had any sleep issues, be thankful. But be prepared for the next child because everyone I spoke with had some sleep issues with at least one! I'm praying that John and I are blessed with more children, but I'm hoping that the next one is a better sleeper!

Isabella is trying out her new umbrella stroller that grandma gave her for Christmas

Here she is demonstrating the rain protection