My first tooth!

Well today is a momentous occasion for us...Isabel cut her first tooth!!! She has been pretty temperamental these last few days, especially at bedtime. And she has been pretty wakeful at night as well. I felt inside her mouth this morning, and sure enough, I felt the tip of her bottom left front tooth (or as David would say, "her left mandibular central incisor), just poking above the gums. I have so many emotions. Excitement that she hit such an exciting milestone; relief that maybe sleeping will get a bit easier, and mommy can get more done around the house because she isn't always holding her whiny little angel; sadness because there really is no turning back now, she is growing up. She looks so much older to me already. She is no longer a little baby, she is getting so much closer to being a toddling little munchkin. It is hard to explain, but she has just grown up so much and I will never have that little bundle in my arms that just laid there and looked at me with such amazement. And because she is growing so fast, it makes me a little scared. Scared that I won't know what to do as she grows up and won't know what to teach her. Scared that one day she won't want to hang around me and I won't be the center of her universe. I love that kid more than I can comprehend. I know there will be plenty more "firsts" that I can experience with her, I just wish they would slow down in their approachment. This mommy stuff is pretty emotional, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Happy Day!

Isabel was in such a good mood yesterday, she even gave a smile to the camera. She has so much spice, it is funny to see her grow and learn everyday. Her hair is getting longer as you can see in this little ponytail that she let me do. I think she is starting to teethe a bit more seriously. She is drooling SO much more and I swear I can see some changes in her gums on her bottom jaw. It will probably still be a month or more away, but I am sure it will still be sooner than I want. She is so happy and so much fun.

Can't you just see the mischief in her face. I know she will be a handful when she starts crawling and getting into everything, but I can't help but love her. She has the sweetest spirit, I don't know how I got so lucky to have her in our family. Everyday I learn and grow as a mother and hope I will be someone she will still want to be around when she is older.

I love this shot because you can see her ponytail really good. She doesn't really like me to mess with her hair because she is always shaking her head and trying to see what I'm doing. So I hae learned to be really fast on my toes and distract her with something cool (i.e. anything that is not her toy is SO intriguing) while I work.

She is getting good and raising her hands to me when she wants to be picked up. She was sitting in her high chair when David got home yesterday and when she saw him, she went crazy. Her feet started kicking and she put her arms out and started flapping them, which means she REALLY wants to be picked up. They then proceeded to laugh and play together while I got dinner ready. It is so cute to see how she recognizes him and wants him home. Usually the last half hour or hour before she gets home she starts to get a little fussy. I figure it is because she is tired, but the second he comes in the door, she becomes so happy and hyper, I know that Isabel has missed her daddy. David loves it because he is always so afraid she will forget him because he is gone so much, but how could you forget someone as wonderful as him?

Who knew that an 8 month old could wink? JK, I don't know how I got this, but she was blinking at the flash, and her eyes were a bit delayed from each other. What a cutie, I just wanna give her a big 'ol kiss!

Happy Halloween

My Sweet Hubby had to study for most of the day on Saturday, so he brought home these roses to me as a peace offering. He is always spoiling me and he still treats me like a queen. I feel like the luckiest girl to have such a sweet husband and daughter. Isabel was so cute. We put the flowers in front of her and she looked at them for a second and then she got a big grin on her face, like she knew they were for her and was so tickled. She kept trying to eat them though, so we are still learning they are for smelling and looking at, not eating.

09.21.07 Six month shots

These were Isabel's 6 month pictures that my good friend took of her last month. She was so serious, but we got some cute shots. I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing. I just have to remember to cherish every moment I have with her, because soon she will be all grown up (as hard as that is to believe, I can see now how all mothers say that).

Trick or Treat

Grandma Bailey sent her this cute Halloween Bib. She had just gotten up from her nap and we were getting ready for the Halloween Party at the Dental School. This girl loves to get out and go, so she was ready to party. Don't you just want to give her all your candy?

Taming the tiger!

We were at Sam's Club on Saturday and decided to take Isabel down the toy isle. She had lots of fun looking at the toys and playing with the ones that made noise. They had these cute animals that you could sit on, and she knew just what to do. She grabbed onto his ears and started trying to rock on it, it was so funny. We are excited for Christmas and can't wait to see what she does with some new toys. I think we could just let her open the presents, and she would have the most fun doing that and playing with the paper. Maybe we should take advantage of her cheap entertainment while she is young and doesn't know any different.

I wanna go huntin'

Saturday was the opening day of the Pheasant hunt, so of course David wanted to go. At 6:30 am, Isabel was up and squealing in her crib. I think she knew Dad was gonna go have fun, and she wanted to be a part of it. She was playing and laughing with David before he left and we got these cute pictures.

Big girl

I had Isabel stand up and she grabbed on to her exersaucer all by herself. I had my hand behind her, but she didn't need me, she could hold on and play with the toys all by herself. I think she may be walking before she tries crawling. I put her on her tummy and she pumps her legs in the air like crazy, but she hasn't learned to push off from the ground to get anywhere. But the second that she thinks you may be helping her stand up, she goes crazy and starts jumping, and she will even move her feet a little bit to resemble steps. Isabel is really active and a little busy body. If someone is doing something, she wants to see and be a part of it. She is definitely the life of the party.

Where did she go?

Because she is her father's daughter, we had to get Isabel this little camo outfit. David loves it, but it is almost too small now, so he may have to get her more clothes so she can go huntin' with her daddy. David wanted to take her to school so he put her in his backpack. She was having lots of fun, but of course gets all serious when the camera is out. She also likes the pumpkin and was trying to eat it. She is starting to put EVERYTHING in her mouth (i.e., walmart receipt, the chain on the playground swing-yuk!, my hands, and anything else within reach).

All bundled up

We go for a walk every morning with Summer and her girls. This week it is getting a little bit colder, so we had to get all bundled up. I love this hat because it has so much attitude, just like Isabel. She doesn't think it is very cool yet and gets mad when I put it on. The coat is also not her favorite thing. It is so big that her hands don't even come close to coming out, so it might as well be a straight jacket for her since she can't play with anything. But she enjoys getting out still, so she will just sit in the stroller and enjoy the scenery. She is so special, one smile from her and my heart melts. I never thought I could have this much love for someone! She is truly a bundle of joy!

Random Photos...

Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks. David sat her down in front of a cabelas magazine and she really had fun with it. Of course she would rather eat it than look at the pictures, but she enjoyed making noises with pages. David also loves to push her around in a laundry basket. She doesn't quite know what to make of it, but I know it won't be long until she wants to do that for hours. She is really getting good at giggling, and also at getting the hiccups while doing so. There is also a shot of our wonderful shish kabobs that we made a few weeks ago. We are trying to get as much use out of our grill before it gets too cold outside.

My two eyes - Oct. 11th

I love this pic. She is always so curious when the camera is out, she let me get close without attacking the camera. She had just woken up from a nap and has the cutest look.

I have tried to upload other pics, but every time I try and do more than one, the computer freezes. So we will just do this one and I will try more later when I have time.

Isabel is 7 1/2 months old today. Wow, I can't believe how time flies. She is so wonderful, David and I always talk about how we have been blessed with such a good baby. When I think about how many things could have gone wrong and tried to go wrong in getting her here, I know that I am so blessed by my Heavenly Father. David always jokes that if all our kids are like Isabel, he wants at least 8! Now, she is a great baby, but we may have to draw the line somewhere. I will just take it one kid at a time, and I am having so much fun with her.

Winter Quarters Visitor's Center - Oct. 10

Last Wednesday, we headed up to the Winter Quarters Visitors Center that is across the street from the temple. We found out they are showing the Joseph Smith movie that plays at Temple Square. We weren't able to see it before we moved, so we were excited to find out it is playing out here also. Outside of the VC, there were so many pretty flowers, so we had to get some with Isabel. She wouldn't take her eyes off the flowers, she wanted to get to them so bad. The sun was pretty bright, so I couldn't get her to look at me. The leaf that David is holding her above was bigger than she is. There is very pretty vegetation out here because it is such a wet climate.

The Joseph Smith movie was amazing, I am so glad we got to see it.

October 10 - My little pumpkin pie

Isabel found the pumpkin that we bought to carve. She would look at it and then pat it and even try to eat it. We contemplated just carving it out with two leg holes and sitting her in it. It would be pretty darn cute, but I have a feeling Isabel wouldn't think it was such a good idea. So we found another costume for her. We will post pics after Halloween so you can see what she was.

It was kind of a hot day here, so we sat Isabel in front of the fan to cool off for a second. She loves the fan! Her hair is pretty crazy anyway, but the fan gave her hair a bit mor pizazz. Isabel even did a little posing (i.e. look at the second picture), what a total girl huh?

A baby and her friend!

We babysat our friends' daughter a couple weeks ago. Isabel was having so much fun with someone else her size in the house. She kept laughing at her, and as you can see, she was even picking on her a bit. Don't let her size fool you, Isabel is what we like to call "spicy". I finally got her to smile at me while I have the camera. Usually, she will be laughing like crazy, and the second she sees the camera, she gets all serious. So, we got some cute faces from her. She is such a funny girl.

A swingin' good time!

Isabel loves to swing. It doesn't matter what mood she is in, when I sit her in there, she gets such a big smile on her face. She will just sit there and look up at the leaves on the trees and swing for as long as I will let her. Occasionally she will acknowledge me and give me another smile, but she just loves to watch the world around her. I think she may be a people watcher like me because she would much rather watch people around her than play with a toy.