6 months

Here are just a few of mine and John's favorites from her 6 month photo shoot!

They were taken December 27, 2008.

Happy 2009!

Here's to the beginning of a new year, a fresh start, and all that. John and I went for a wonderful date (just the two of us thanks to my Aunt Kathy) at Fox Valley in Helena. It was great food and nice to just relax and enjoy being together. John and I slept through the turning of the year, which officially makes us old! But I have to say that I enjoyed the sleep more than I would have enjoyed trying to stay up. We did play with the idea of trying to keep Isabella up to enjoy her first new year, but quickly dismissed that one.

I've only made one official resolution for the year, and I'm hoping by making it known, I will be held accountable to doing it. So, my resolution this year is to finish the quilt (I started while I was pregnant) by the end of March. Unofficially, I'd like to get into a more regular (or lets just say it... any) workout at all. I really need to get back to a strength training workout again. Although I've lost all my baby weight, I think I'm losing all my muscle along with it. So, there they are... my resolutions, even if they are way too generic.

I hope everyone had a wonderful new year and continue to enjoy 2009!

***We only received a few of these cards because they were a bonus from the 6 month pictures we had made. I will post some of my favorites at a later time!

What a difference a half makes

Isabella is 1/2 a year old now! How much my life (and hers) has changed in a short 6 months. She's grown so much. She's 26.5 inches tall, and 15 lbs. 8 oz. Her height is in the 70th percentile and her weight is in the 50th. Dr. Dudgeon is very pleased by her growth and development and especially her health, since she hasn't really been sick these first 6 months. She's had a little congestion which he said was some nasal drainage and not in her chest/lungs; he calls this "daycareitis" and says it will happen occasionally but not to worry. So, we're very happy. Isabella suffered through 4 more shots and tore up all the paper on the exam table, one of which she enjoyed immensely and the other not so much... I'll let you guess which I'm referring to. One very big change from the first few months is the decrease in crying for no reason. Now she's pretty happy and usually cries only when hungry, tired, or bored. We are the proud parents of a 1/2 year old and let me tell you that 1/2 makes a BIG difference!

This is John's favorite outfit. He picked it out when we first found out we were expecting Isabella and has waited for her to be old enough to wear it!

Merry Christmas!

And can I just say... What an exhausting day! Isabella wouldn't take a nap all morning because there was just too much going on for her to go to sleep and possibly miss something! She was too cute, though. She really enjoyed opening gifts even if she didn't know what was going on. I'd help her put her hand on some paper and she'd rip it off. She was actually quite good at it, but I'd have to pry the paper away from her so she could finish opening the gift.

I can't wait for next year when she'll be more excited about everything. I'm so looking forward to the next few years!

John, Isabella, and I all went to John's mom's loft downtown for breakfast, and enjoyed time with his family. Our little neices are so cute; Sophia's three years old and Ellie's two. They were fun to watch as they played with their new toys. There's just something so joyful about watching children on Christmas morning. Isabella spent time with her grandparents and cousins, and her daddy read a book to her. She was so sweet and fun.

I love this tradition that John's mom has with her tree. She puts up picture ornaments every year, and it's so fun to see the changes in her family over the years.

Sophia and Ellie opening their gifts

Giving her grandma some love

Quality daddy and Isabella time

Catching a few quick zzz's before going to Mimi's house

Then we went to my grandmother's house for lunch, and enjoyed time with my family. We don't exchange gifts anymore because our family has grown so large, instead we play "dirty Santa" and exchange our gifts that way. It's usually very funny and brings some good laughs. We watched a video of our family over many Christmases, and it was so great to see my mom laughing and my great grandparents opening gifts. What a special day sharing this first Christmas with Isabella. We were extremely exhausted, but very happy and content. And I'm pretty sure neither John nor I ate again the rest of the day.

Mimi bought this Christmas dress for Isabella

Uncle Lindsay helping Isabella open her gift

She likes it!

my Aunt Kathy is the best at getting Isabella to sleep... too bad it was just before lunch began

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I hope everyone has enjoyed this season with lots of quality family time, and hopefully not too much stress. I was going to put this picture on a card to send out, but the stress involved and time away from family to get it done... well, it just didn't happen.

We've had a wonderful Christmas, though. Isabella is really growing. She's learned to transfer objects from one hand to the other. She found her toes and can almost get them to her mouth. She loves to use her tongue to make noises now. I'm constantly laughing at all the funny faces and noises she makes! I love to watch the look of wonder when she sees something for the first time, and the look of concentration when she's faced with a new task or learns a new skill. I'm awed by her sweet innocence. She's such a special gift. It brings me and John closer also, sharing this sweet, special little girl together, and I'm so very thankful to be blessed with Isabella and John.

Isabella's been standing for a while (with support of course).

Me and Isabella in her cute little Santa outfit

One of my favorite takes for our Christmas picture... I love that John's smiling so serenely while he strangles Rocky to hold him in the picture!

Me, dad, and Isabella at our family Christmas party

My cousin's fiance, Kasey, gave these elephant slippers to Isabella. She thinks it's so convenient having these stuffed animals attached to her feet for easy access!

Aunt Lauren and Uncle Cody came for a visit

What a mess

Isabella is learning to eat new foods this month. She's loving sweet potatoes; apples and bananas aren't far behind on the favorites list. I have to ask... Is being messy with food more fun? John says he's just playing in the pictures below when I point out how messy he is when feeding her. Maybe I'm just too serious about wanting food to get into her tummy, but I wanted to demonstrate the difference in mine and John's feeding styles.

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:
I must say that nursing is much less messy and less time consuming, but at least I have a husband who helps feed her. And I do realize that it's going to get much messier in the future, so this isn't a true complaint.

Our special gift

John took Isabella to see Santa as a surprise for me! I wanted to start the tradition even if she won't understand this year. Isabella doesn't seem to interested in Santa yet, but John said she was getting hungry. He waited for 30 minutes to get her to Santa, so he was relieved that this blank expression doesn't include tears and flailing limbs. It's still sweet despite the missing smile.

And Santa said that Isabella was our special gift this Christmas! I agree.