Happy Halloween!

Here are some pictures from Isabelle's 1st Halloween. She wasn't so sure about the costume bit, but did love her light up Halloween socks and the pumpkins on our fireplace! Now that she is crawling we can't keep her away from them. :)

Isabelle, Emma, and Elizabeth (neighborhood friends). Laura, Deanna, and I all tried getting a picture of them actually looking at us but it just didn't happen! Maybe next year!

Cousin Jayda and Kaela came over to go trick-or-treating. They had lots of fun!

Isabelle in her froggy costume!

Happy Halloween!

Fall

Isabelle hanging out in our front yard and exploring the pumpkins!

Isabelle's new favorite food is shredded cheese. She loves it and it is the perfect thing to occupy her while I make dinner.

Isabelle likes to get into mischief. I have some Halloween lights out and she loves them. We can't wait until Christmas... I'm going to have to rethink how I decorate now that I'll have a little one that gets into everything!

More mischief!

Isabelle's discovered a new way to sleep. When I put her down to sleep, she likes to get herself back up to a sitting position and play for a while. I guess she finally tired and decided to put herself to sleep. I can't imagine it is too comfortable.

A rough few weeks...

Isabelle has had a rough couple of weeks. As I've shared before, she was battling ear infections. The weekend before last she had a high fever two days in a row even while on antibiotics for the fourth time for her ears. We took her in to the doctor because the fever wouldn't break and they confirmed that her ears were not getting any better. First, they gave her two shots of Rocephin (antibiotics) that were so painful they dosed her with lidocaine simultaneously. (Not fun!!! She was so sad it made me cry!) Then, they referred us to an ENT and they got us in later that afternoon. The ENT doctor didn't want to waste any time and scheduled her to get tubes the following morning. I was very nervous about the anesthesia but she did great. By that afternoon, she was much happier. Her fever finally went away the next day and we thought we were on the road to health. Then, I noticed that the few red spots on her face from a few days prior had spread to her tummy and back. So... I called and they told me that it sounded like measles. So, needless to say, I was a bit panicked. We spread the word to everyone she had been around. The next day, the doctor had us come in again and they ran blood tests. They eventually ruled out measles and determined she had a virus. Her white counts were off so they had us come in the following day for another blood test. That was Friday and things finally started turning around. Needless to say, Isabelle is not so fond of the doctor's office, although she LOVES her doctor. No matter how yucky she feels, she always seems to have a smile for Dr. Stoll. So... last week she made it to daycare 4 days in a row before her fever came back. :( I was just sure that I had gotten water in her ears during bathtime and it was another ear infection, but when they had us come in, they said her ears looked great. She had caught a run of the mill daycare disease. She seems to be doing better today so we are really hoping her immune system is going to fight off anything else that comes her way!! Isabelle the day before her tubes were put in. You can't see them well, but she has band-aids on both legs from her Rocephin shots. Her legs were so sensitive, I kept pants off of her. She still has a bruise from the shots a week and a half later. :(

Isabelle and Mommy at home after her surgery to put tubes in. She was a trooper!

Isabelle spent much of the week in her jammies. She was entranced by Baby Einstein in this picture!

Fall is almost here!

It's hard to believe that it is the middle of September. We have been very busy as usual. Isabelle has been enjoying football with Daddy (both sporting their ISU gear on Saturday) and we are trying to take advantage of what is left of the nice weather. Isabelle had her 9 month check up this week and is still battling an ear infection. :( She weighed 19 lbs. and 15 oz.

This is Isabelle's princess shirt... as if she needs a shirt to be a princess. :)

Isabelle is ready for fall.

Mommy and Isabelle at Grandpa Dennis' new shop.

Grandma Deb came for a visit and she and Isabelle made a bit of noise!

Isabelle enjoying a favorite new treat... frozen bananas. They're a bit messy but very yummy!

Mohawk Baby!

Showing off her style...

We laugh a lot at Isabelle's stand-up hair. We get many comments on it (and people wanting to feel it too). In many of her profile pictures, it appears that she has a mohawk. Rest assure- I would never do such a thing to my baby, but apparently her hair will do what it wants. :)

You can barely see it, but we've started using barrettes to tame her wild hair! I think it's adorable, but I'm a bit biased!

8 months and growing...

I am a bit behind on our blog! August has been a busy month. Isabelle is now completely sitting on her own and starting to act like she wants to crawl. She definitely has a way of getting the things she wants- even if it means she has to do the splits and reach so far that she ends up on her tummy to get it. She just recently got tooth #3... and it was a rough one. Along with that she experienced her first ear infection. It was not very fun for her... or Mommy and Daddy! Isabelle also started daycare last week when I went back to work. She is loving it! This picture was taken at 8 months. I used one similar in our district's beginning of the year slideshow. She was a star!

Isabelle loves Grandma's big pool best, but this pool was pretty fun too.

Getting ready to swim in the big pool!

Isabelle still loves to read her books... and chew on them too.

Isabelle had her first pedicure this weekend! Jason is in Memphis for work. We'll see what he thinks when he gets home. :)

Vacation to Lake of the Ozarks

In July Jason, Isabelle, and I were able to spend a week in the Ozarks! We went with my family and stayed in a house right on the lake. It was very fun and we even managed to relax a little!

Here are the girls in their matching digs from Barbados.

Swimming at the lake for Isabelle meant swimming in the little kiddie pool. I was a paranoid mother and because we couldn't find a life jacket that would fit her, she only went as far as the dock... and then Mommy had a super tight hold. Cousin Jayda loved her swim suit-life jacket combo so much that she liked to wear it everywhere!

Isabelle, Jason, and me at the lake house.

(Jason just loves taking pictures!)

Grandpa and Isabelle hanging out on the dock.

(Grandpa's not so fond of pictures either.)

Isabelle learned to play poker while on vacation. Daddy was so proud! :)