Happy Halloween!

My little pumpkin had her 4 month doctor's visit today. John took her since he's out of class today. She's officially 13 lbs. 9 oz. and 24 1/2 inches long, which puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and height. She's almost doubled her birth weight now!

She's really enjoying halloween, as you can see in these pictures, but she did not enjoy the doctor's visit. She seems to have this ability to know when we're trying to talk to the doctor and she cries (or screams) so loudly that it's hard to hear what he's saying. Without fail, it's happened everytime. And yes, it's before she's had her shots, which she also disliked. She's so upset afterwards that I hated not being there to help comfort her, but at the same time I'm very glad not to be the one taking her. It's tough as the parent to watch her experience something so painful, especially when she doesn't understand the reason for it.

Anyways, this week has been full of Halloween spirit at our house. We carved our pumpkin and John watched a scary movie (because I do NOT watch scary movies.) We had planned to watch Charlie Brown's Halloween movie, but our DVR messed up the recording and we watched Barak Obama's 30 minute show instead. I will go out on a limb and say it wasn't nearly as fun to watch as Charlie Brown.

4 months ago...

I can't believe Isabella was only born 4 months ago. I truly can't imagine my life without her in it. It seems like she's been a part of this family for much longer. She's growing so much. Everyday I see the changes and the new things she's learning. She started making new noises, lately it's pursing her lips together and blowing. And of course, she loves making little bubbles with her mouth. She started laughing a week or two ago, and although she doesn't do it regularly, it's such a sweet reward when you finally hear it. Rolling from her tummy to her back is pretty easy for her now, although she's still not rolling all the way from her back to her tummy yet. I'm not sure she really wants to be on her tummy, though. I thought she might be going through a growth spurt and may not be getting full, so I tried giving her some organic brown rice cereal (in an attempt to buy the healthiest kind, sounds good, huh?) and she made alot of faces. We'll be trying again, of course, but maybe later. I'm sure it'll be hard to get used to eating with a spoon. And she's seeing her pediatrician tomorrow for vaccinations and a check up, so we'll see what he says. I'm anxious to see how much she's grown, by the numbers anyways.

These are the pictures that were taken of her at daycare. I thought they did a great job! I'm so excited to have something professional.

Oh, she's not really sitting up by herself yet, although this picture makes it look like she is. What a big girl!

Race for the Cure

This year's race was important for me, but a little sad. Last year when I ran, it was with lots of family in celebration of my mom's continued fight with breast cancer. This year I ran by myself (well, John ran too, but not with me... I'm too slow for him) and I had to fight back tears through the first mile of the run. This year, my mom wasn't here when I finished to tell about the enthusiastic crowd of supporters and fellow survivors. It's almost been one year since I lost her to breast cancer, and I wanted to run to remember her and her amazing strength and courage in the face of a terrible and unfair disease. More than anything, I wish she were here with me, but I thought about her and we shared a special time together while I ran this weekend.


I ran for my mom, but I also ran for me and my daughter, my sister, and for all the important women in my life. One day, I hope we know enough to stop the spread of this disease. This race, the Race for the Cure, is about hope and empowerment, about remembering and looking forward. I hope I'm able to run every year until we've found the cure we're running for.

Living for the weekend...

Isabella is 3 months old. I've been back at work for a little over 3 weeks now (which explains why I haven't posted in 3 weeks) and it's going well. I'm enjoying being back at work, but I really miss my little angel. She's so much fun! I have always looked forward to weekends, but she gives me one more reason to love my time off from work. I can't wait to spend two full days with her!

My little angel climbing on her boppy!

One weekend recently, Isabella made friends with Fletcher (Isn't he too cute?!) and Mary and I got to catch up on what it's like being moms. I miss my friends from PT school, since most have moved away.This next picture is Isabella getting ready for her first Halloween. This cute little black cat outfit is a gift from my Aunt Kathy. Isn't she so cute?!

Isabella is all ready for church... notice her handmade booties from Brazil... they're a gift from Mary Virginia in an attempt to begin Isabella's international shoe collection.I have learned that it's very difficult to go anywhere without Isabella because I have to explain to everyone where she is if she's not with me. And I've learned that I'm not the one people want to see; it's definitely her! We're at my cousin's bridal tea, in these next two pictures.Rylee, Isabella's cousin, is holding her at the tea. She's so sweet with Isabella.
We also love grilling out with family on the weekends and watching the football games. Here we are at my dad's house out on the deck.And playing on the floor while watching football, of course it looks like we're way more interested in Isabella at the moment. (I'm sure it's not Alabama that's on right now or we wouldn't have so much of John's attention!)
Isabella's personality has really developed alot this last month. She's learning to squeal (really loudly) and coo and smile. I even think I've heard a laugh or two. She's rolling all the time now, although mostly from her tummy to back. She's more alert and playful during the day and is sleeping 9-10 hours in a row (what a blessing!) at night. She's changing and growing so much, and I fall more in love with her everyday. I may be having a stressful day, but as soon as I pick her up from daycare all the stress from the day melts away with her smile. Becoming a mom is one of the best things I've ever done!

The dreaded day is here...

Well, as I knew it would eventually, the day to return to work and hand my little angel over to complete strangers is here. It's not that I really dread returning to work or that I don't like daycares, because I think both are wonderful. I'm actually happy to return to work to see my friends and patients again, excited even. Isabella's just learning so much everyday. She's becoming interested in patterns and textures, follows toys and mom and dad with her eyes, and she's learning that she's the one she sees when she looks in the mirror. Rolling (at least onto her side) has become more common and she's cooing or "talking" to me and John now. How am I supposed to hand her over to someone who doesn't know her to spend the best part of her waking hours with them (and not me?) It should be me comforting her when she cries and laughing delightedly at her newest facial expression.

I realize that every parent returning to work experiences these emotions on some level, and I'm definitely looking at all the positives. Daycare is great for social skills and learning to be comfortable in new environments. We may not get quantity but we can definitely make it quality time together when I see her in the evenings. I feel confident that she's in good hands, but a huge part of me just wants them to be mine. I've been assured that it gets easier, and I know it will. It's just hard for us to part for so many hours when we've been together constantly for the last year. I love this little girl more than I imagined possible.

Isabella getting ready to head off to daycare.

Showing off her strong neck muscles!!

Sweet dreams

As Isabella drifted off to sleep last night, she opened her eyes one last time to make sure I was still there, she smiled and drifted back to sleep. I love letting her know how safe she is and that I'm always going to take care of her. And I wish I could drift to sleep that easily knowing that everything is already taken care of. There are no plans I have to make or things I need to work out in my head before I fall asleep. If I could trust God so much, sleep would be so much more restful.

My other favorite part of the day is when I get her up in the morning. This morning she was already awake when I peaked into her crib. When she saw me, her face lit up with a huge grin. I love knowing she's so happy to see me first thing in the morning. It's an incredible feeling.

(And no, she doesn't sleep in her boppy on the floor. I just thought these were sweet pictures!)

WAR EAGLE!!

Here's my little Auburn fan! John says I made her wear this outfit, but as you can see she looks quite happy to have it on. In fact, I think she's saying WAR EAGLE, HEY!

Saturday for lunch we met her grandparents, Martin and Marga, and her aunt Rebecca for lunch at PF Chang's. We all had a great time catching up.

Isabella's first meal at PF Chang's... I think she liked it!

Later that evening we visited my friends, Sarah and Brian and grilled out at their house. (John was on a golf trip this weekend, so we were on our own. Another reason why I was able to "force" Isabella to wear her AU outfit without objections from John.)

Sarah's such a natural with babies, isn't she?! She looks like she's ready to be a mommy!