Thursday, December 16, 2010

I wasn't going to do this, but.....


The stars were aligned. I happened to pick a cute little Christmas outfit for Isla to wear on this day. We stopped into Borders, and what do you know- primo parking spot! The one next to the handicapped spots. Then, what do I see next to Borders but Santa's little hut. And- NO LINE! After we waited for the 1 family in front of us to visit with Santa it was our turn. And, boy was he good. He got my clingy 9 month old baby to warm up to him in 2 minutes flat, and then snap take the picture with no tears! On the way out, as I was smiling and clutching my goody bag of 'baby with Santa photos' he said "HO, HO, HO."

So, technically this is the 100th blog. Jason's guest blogpost will just have to be 101. I needed to share that Santa picture. Stay tuned for Jason's Guest Blogpost- #101! Jason- you're up!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Isla Rose, 9 months old

Motor Baby Over the past month Isla has gotten much smoother with her sit to stand and stand to sit transitions. She has a much better grasp of the spatial dimensions of our coffee table, and so it is no longer a head-bonking machine. She has been taking greater risks and can stand up with the help of a wall, pant legs, leg of a chair. Just as we approached the 9 month mark, Isla started cruising the furniture. Isla also improved with her pincer grasping, and can even get small slippery slimy pieces of banana into her mouth.

Toofers Ilsa is now the proud owner of 2 little chompers. She has two shark teeth sticking up from the bottom.
Bop! Jason and I don't know what to count as Isla's first word. We had a couple of weeks of "Bop!" The "mamama" started just as babble (usually forlorn babble), but there seemed to have been some purposeful use of the "mama" lately. Like, calling from the crib after naps and when she approaches me for a mommy snuggle. Sometimes she brings up the "dad" when she hears his voice from the other room. Twice she has mentioned "duck" to me as she lunged towards the book on the night stand that has a picture of a duck that she finds humorous. We get lots of other nonsense words like "rop" and "durft" and "pap" and "bith."


Miscellaneous Now that Isla is pointing, we have really been enjoying our weekly trips to the zoo. She really gets a kick out of seeing and pointing at the animals with me (above pic: checking out the prairie dogs, and below: pointing out the hippo) We've been working on sign-language with Isla and she has started to use the sign for drink. But, she sort of does it all day long, and sometimes for other things she wan
ts, because she hasn't yet gotten any of the other ones down. My favorite thing of right now is the shoulder snuggle. You know, when baby lays her little head on your shoulder when she's tired, or maybe because of a loud noise, or someone new getting a little too close. Isla can clap and wave. She also can give kisses. But beware, they are open-mouthed and often involve tongue, slobber, and sometimes a full on 'grap you by the ears' head butt. But, I love them anyway.

Likes Isla continues to be a big fan of string (cat toys, the tape measure). But a funny thing she loves right now are wet wash cloths. I bought these little cotton wiping clothes to cut down on paper towel use for post-feeding face clean-up. After I wipe her I let her loose from the high chair. Isla will take this wet mopper all around the house with her (see pic below: "Happy with my wet mop"). Once she even managed to take it all the way up the stairs with her. As usual, Isla likes her mom and dad. This has been a clingy month for Isla. Maybe because of the teeth.

Swing Isla still loves her swing. Friends back in the Midwest, I don't mean to make you jealous. But, this has been a beautiful Texas winter, with many days of highs between 65-75 degrees. I'm not going to lie, it is easy to get used to. So, since we can swing outside in the month of December, we do. Usually 3 times a day.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The Difference a Year Makes

Last year at this time:


This year at this time: