Purple Dress

Not much time to post...Isabelle's cold is gone, but now we are dealing with the oh so fun effects of daylight savings time. Can you say 5AM?????????????????

However, she wore a dress to church today (one of Jackie's) and she was so cute in it. Her Oma and Opa are visiting this weekend, and she has had so much fun playing with them and showing them all her toys and games. Ben and I are about to leave for our first night without her while Mom babysits. I'm oh so nervous, and yet looking forward to a break at the same time. I know we will miss her SO much!!! She is changing so much right now and understanding more and more every day.

Thanks for a fun visit, Oma and Opa! We can't wait until you come back. 

Piano

Enough said. Watch and see.

Thanksgiving 2006

I'm trying out a new option for posting photos. I enjoy Picasa so much (thanks Bear) and today read a post by someone who's trying Picasa web albums. Have a look at the album and tell me if you like this better than looking at the Flickr site. At present, it seems easier to upload than to Flickr.

These photos are from Thanksgiving weekend, where Mom, Dad, Jo and Rika visited. We did end up having a turkey dinner, after much searching for the turkey! (Next year I will preorder....). Here's also a few videos of us.

Isabelle is with Rika on the floor for the first time. The last time they were together was before Isabelle could sit up. Rika lost a ball down that vent last Christmas (before the cover was put back on) and she immediately remembered and was looking for it. Watch how Isabelle imitates Rika by putting her head down to dig. Very cute.

It was a beautiful weekend so we spent a good chunk of time outside. This is in our backyard.

Last of all, here's where Rika shines. A ball. A good sized lawn. Need we say more?

Thanksgiving 2006

Playing

This is a good example of how Isabelle plays. She goes from thing to thing, and usually makes the loudest noise she can with the item by shaking it or dropping it on the floor. She has recently perfected the art of pulling all the books/diapers off the shelf.

BTW, Isabelle has had a bad cold the past few days and so we have been just doing everything we can to make the little patient comfortable. I haven't even bothered to mark all the wakeups on Trixie, but for the most part she has been putting herself back to sleep. She just makes noise when she realizes that she can't breathe through her nose. Wednesday was a beautiful day so we went for three walks, and then after Isabelle went to bed, I listened to Ben and other members of The New Midwest playing live on WYCE. They also played a track from the new CD. You can check out all the information here or hear some of the tracks. I'm playing on "Holiday" and "Hearfelt Journey". It's kind of a thrill to hear your husband's band on the radio.

Coughing

Isabelle has always made a lot of strange, loud noises. We call her our little monster. This is one she picked up at the end of September, and still enjoys happily making while riding in the stroller, much to the raised eyebrows of passersby. It hurts my throat to just listen!

Video Week - Take One

This is video week! I hope to post a new clip each day and catch you all up on the last month. Here's Isabelle's current "Top 10" (thanks, Bear).

1. She has been cruising for 3 months now and is still not that interested in walking on her own. She did do some standing (letting go to stand), but with much encouragement only.

2. She loves her push cars, and has lately been helping Daddy close the gates by "walking" them shut. Today I was playing the piano and looked over and she was standing on top of one of the push toys and holding on to the handle. Eek.

3. She eats A LOT of food and her favorites are cheese, breakfast of cereal/fruit/yogurt and most veggies. She loves to eat and still screams loudly from her highchair when the next course is not coming fast enough. She also returns to the highchair footrest and floor surrounding between meals to look for leftovers (yuck!).

4. She definitely looks at me for approval when investigating a new item or spot in the room. "Is this okay?" "This looks too fun to be allowed."

5. She has to sit completely upright in the stroller, and so we have blankets stuffed behind her to help. Otherwise she is very mad. She hates leaning back.

6. She still loves loud noises like leaf blowers, mufflers, etc. She also loves pets and babies.

7. She has become fascinated with opening and closing doors - her gate, her little tikes garden door and mailbox hatch, our doors. All the cupboards are latched, so thankfully that's not a problem anymore.

8. She loves necklaces and earrings. I can't put her to sleep if I am wearing either because she can't NOT play with them. It's kind of an obsession!

9. She has been sleeping through the night (6:30-6:00) for two weeks now. Awesome.

10. Isabelle is Daddy's girl. She cries when he leaves to go to work, or shuts the door for privacy in the bathroom.

So, the clip of the day comes from September 30 and Isabelle is watching Ben sweep in the dining room. This one is not super exciting, but shows her many expressions.

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

Just a quick update....Isabelle had three uninterrupted nights in a row. Last night she woke up at 4:15 and was just awake and wanted to play, but we didn't have to feed to get her back to sleep. Ben did an awesome job trying to settle her down, and she eventually talked herself to sleep aroun 5:15. At a few points I even heard squeals of delight from Bellie..."Daddy, it's so fun that you are up - let's play!!". So even though we were tired out this morning, we still feel like four nights in a row with no feeding is a step in the right direction! Part of me is thinking, we will just get this "no feeding" thing down, and then we'll have to work on "no playing" in the night. It's all worth it for the little Belle.

We've been having huge fun with this generous gift from Mrs. Marge at church. We were visiting her and she suggested that we take this home with us. Mrs. Marge is special to us because she's fighting cancer, like Grandma Marge did, and they share the same name. Mrs. Marge also plays the piano and organ. Isabelle loves her little piano and plays it every day. (Sharon - she's wearing the outfit you gave her.)

All Through the Night

Last night, for the first time since April 10th (thank you Trixie Tracker) , Isabelle slept from the time we put her in bed until past 6:00am with no wakeups and no feedings. I'm hoping that because it happened once, our chances of it happening again have increased. Maybe I'm just jinxing the whole thing by even writing this! Whatever the future holds, last night was cause for some rejoicing in this household!