Ever since I returned to work, Isabel has been cared for on the days I am in the office by one of two people: our dear friend Catherine, and our friend and next-door neighbor Kat. Catherine watched Isabel two days a week in our home and Kat watched her in their home on Fridays (sometimes with some help from her kids Kayla (9) and Jack (6), and our across the street friend Kyla (13) :). These two women have been SUCH A BLESSING to us, as it made being away from Isabel so much easier.
In about the middle of August, we found out that we were going to have to find new care for Isabel. Our close friend Catherine ended up getting a teaching job beginning in September, so while it was sad to see her go, we are so happy that she is back in the classroom more permanently, as teaching is a passion of hers! She is also getting ready to welcome her own little bundle of joy into this world (due December 31). Kat also began working in the school district with special needs kids, and we are really happy for her as well.
So, our search began for new child care, of course with some anxiety but trusting that God was going to work it out. I visited one in-home daycare and knew (while there was nothing wrong with it), that was not going to be the right fit for Isabel and for our family. She is still a pretty high-needs baby who needs two good long naps every day, and for her to be one of 10 or 12 kids was just not going to work! A huge blessing to us came in the form of Jenna, a wonderful girl who my best friend Brenda referred to us. She and her husband are a Christians, and Jenna graduated from Bethel University. They have a daughter, Camille, who is 2 1/2 months younger than Isabel. If you want to know more about Jenna and see some adorable photos of Camille (and Isabel), visit their blog here.
Jenna began caring for Isabel at the beginning of September, and brings Camille with her to our home when she watches Isabel. The two girls have such fun together! It is amazing to me how much interaction there actually is between a 9-month old and a 6.5-month old. They just light up when they see one another, and when they play with toys on the floor together, they pass toys back and forth (or, yank the toy out of the other girl's hand! ) They also are constantly trying to touch one another, especially faces and heads! There is a pretty cute video on our computer of the two sitting next to each other, and Camille reaches out very deliberately, places her hand on the opposite side of Isabel's head, pulls her head toward her open mouth as if to take a bite! Too cute! I have added a photo album called "Isabel and her friend Camille" so check out the adorable photos!
Tonight we are having dinner with Jenna and Aaron (her husband) and Camille, so we can get to know their whole family a little more. But needless to say, we are very thankful that the Lord brought them into our lives. Jenna and I were chatting the other day and we think that both girls are going to develop faster because they have the other one to try to keep up with!
A quick note on Isabel's size and development. At her 9-month appt last week, she was 15 lbs 5.5 oz (just a smidge above the 3rd percentile), and 27 inches long (25th percentile). She is definitely turning out to be long and lean like her daddy! She began sitting up unassisted (for long periods of time) at 7 months, cut her first two teeth (the bottom middle two) at 8.5 months, has been creeping/scooting/rolling all over the place for the past month or so, and can crawl backwards a few steps. On Monday of this week, she learned to get herself up into a sitting position from her tummy (the first time, it was via the center splits, and Jenna is convinced we have a future gymnast on our hands. Hey, I will take it!) She sits herself up all the time now, and looks so proud of herself every time she does it! She also pulls herself up to a standing position every now and then, so we immediately lowered her crib mattress once she started doing that. She will be crawling forward any day we think...so watch out! The house needs to get baby-proofed!
She has been speaking in consonant sounds for about a month as well. She started with hi and mamamamama but then added dadadadada and babababa soon after. She has since dropped the hi, and her favorite sound now is one that sounds like ooowa ooowa ooowa (and an extremely ear piercing blood curdling scream (both happy and sad) that we are trying to ignore so we don't reinforce it. We think she knows what she is saying when she says "mama" because she will say it directly to me, just those two syllables, and she will say it in an angry voice when I walk away from her or am busy with something else and she wants me!
We are truly enjoying her.
