Today is Friday and Luke and I are about to set off for our weekend getaway to a beach resort near Sarasota, so I thought I would update you all on the activities of our past few days with Isabel.
Wednesday, we decided to attempt the beach again, but this time with Isabel on a beach towel the whole time. We figured that if she did not like the feel of the sand, she would learn to just stay on the towel, and we were right! This time she did not cry, but she was still funny from time to time, because she kept trying to climb up into my lap because she did not like the uncertain feeling of the sand under the towel under her feet when she was standing up! Silly girl! I would bet that next year around this time, she will be running barefoot on the sand like all the other little kids we see at the beach! But she is our opinionated, strong-willed Isabel and that is part of what we love about her and what makes her unique, even if it does come with some challenges!
Speaking of strong-willed and challenges, the other thing that she has decided down here is that she is going to give us a really hard time about eating. She hasn't been drinking her bottles well, and at meals, she will love something one day and hate it the next. And even within the span of one meal, she will adamantly refuse to eat something one minute, and then the next minute point to it and fuss until someone gets it for her (juice, a bite of pears, whatever). There was one morning when she even refused to eat blueberry waffles, which have been one of her MOST FAVORITE foods in the past. Luke and I are in agreement that one of the most challenging things about having a toddler is the eating challenges. Some days I think to myself, "How is she possibly staying alive with the miniscule number of calories she has had today?"
Wednesday evening, Luke's sister Jess arrived, and we have spent the past day and a half with her. She is having fun getting to know Isabel more, and Isabel really likes her. The normal "stranger anxiety" never really made itself known with Jess, as she was able to pick Isabel up within the first half hour of being around her! She is going to take care of Isabel for the first few hours we are gone today, until Grandma and Grandpa get home.
Yesterday, the pool warmed up as much as it will the whole time we are here (79 degrees, which is still definitely chilly!) But I figured, to have Isabel get in the pool it was now or never. So, the two of us donned our bathing suits and waded in. She actually did not cry and even kicked her legs and splashed in the water a little while I was holding her on my hip. But when I tried to put her in the baby float, she did not want to go in it! I think she didn't like the feeling of the cool water on her tummy (hey, I don't blame her, I didn't either!) So, our time in the pool was short but I think it was successful!
So we are headed out for a much needed couple of days away, and will return Sunday in time for the Superbowl. This will be the first time that we have ever left Isabel for two consecutive nights, but she is going to be in excellent hands of people who will love her and undoubtedly spoil her while Mommy and Daddy are gone. We are not too excited that the weather here has turned rainy and chilly just in time for our getaway, but oh well, it will still be worth it for the R&R!
I added more photos to the FL album if you want to check them out!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Second update from Florida
Well, we have had a great first two full days in sunny Florida! The weather has been beautiful...not a threat of rain or even very many clouds in the sky. Temps have been in the 70s and even today in the upper 70s. Isabel has adjusted well to being at Grandma and Grandpas, and is pretty much on her same schedule as at home, except we are keeping her on Central Time so she is going to bed, waking up, and napping about an hour later than she would at home. Sunday Luke and I went to Fellowship Church in Englewood, while G & G stayed home with Isabel, as she does not have much patience for sitting still during church! Then Isabel's great-grandma and great-grandpa came over to have lunch with us and spend some time with their great grandbaby. She was being her usual spunky self at lunch and afterward playing with her toys, and the great-grandparents enjoyed seeing her!
Today we took her to the island (Boca Grande) after her morning nap. We took her into Grandma's office so Grandma could show her off, and then we had lunch at the Loose Caboose where Isabel was having a grand old time watching all the people walking around on the outdoor patio where we were sitting. She is so nosy, she just stares at people with no shyness at all! People generally get a pretty good kick out of it! After we finished lunch we walked around Boca Grande a little. Isabel's favorite part was when we went to a small park that had brick paths leading up to a fountain. We got her out of the stroller and let her stand up by the short brick wall surrounding the fountain and look down into the water. She was fascinated and would have climbed right over the wall and into the water if I had not been holding onto her! When I picked her up to put her back in the stroller, she was squirming and trying to get back down again so she could see the water some more. Next it was time for the beach. This did not go as well. She was OK sitting in the sand for about the first 10 seconds, then she began to cry and did not want anything to do with sitting or standing in the sand! She must not have liked the texture or feel of it, because she was fine when we picked her up, but the minute we tried to put her back down again, she would cry and try to clamber up on top of our laps, or cling to Daddy's leg to be picked up (as you can see in the picture I included in the latest photo album). The ocean water was too cold for us to try to put her feet in, and she had already been traumatized enough by the sand so we left the ocean for next trip down when she is a little older!
Now it is off to bed for little miss Isabel. More to come...
Today we took her to the island (Boca Grande) after her morning nap. We took her into Grandma's office so Grandma could show her off, and then we had lunch at the Loose Caboose where Isabel was having a grand old time watching all the people walking around on the outdoor patio where we were sitting. She is so nosy, she just stares at people with no shyness at all! People generally get a pretty good kick out of it! After we finished lunch we walked around Boca Grande a little. Isabel's favorite part was when we went to a small park that had brick paths leading up to a fountain. We got her out of the stroller and let her stand up by the short brick wall surrounding the fountain and look down into the water. She was fascinated and would have climbed right over the wall and into the water if I had not been holding onto her! When I picked her up to put her back in the stroller, she was squirming and trying to get back down again so she could see the water some more. Next it was time for the beach. This did not go as well. She was OK sitting in the sand for about the first 10 seconds, then she began to cry and did not want anything to do with sitting or standing in the sand! She must not have liked the texture or feel of it, because she was fine when we picked her up, but the minute we tried to put her back down again, she would cry and try to clamber up on top of our laps, or cling to Daddy's leg to be picked up (as you can see in the picture I included in the latest photo album). The ocean water was too cold for us to try to put her feet in, and she had already been traumatized enough by the sand so we left the ocean for next trip down when she is a little older!
Now it is off to bed for little miss Isabel. More to come...
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Our arrival in Florida
Well, we have arrived in sunny and warm Florida! It was 70 degrees when we arrived yesterday, and is expected to be in the 60s or 70s the whole time we are here. Hey - we will take it as opposed to the sub-zero that is in MN right now!
Our flight (that we were really nervous about) went about as well as can be expected with a 13-month old. Not the worst possible flight in the world, but not our favorite either! Isabel has such a hard time sleeping while being held, but we were flying right during naptime so she really needed to sleep. After taking off, we put her in her sleep sack and told her it was time for "night-night," She was trying to be cooperative, but because I was holding her, she kept trying to sit up and look around. Finally, after a few episodes of "I am so exhausted I don't even know what to do with myself" (loud) crying, she fell asleep (snoring - it was SO cute!) laying in my lap for about 30 minutes. Then, from a deep sleep, her eyes popped wide open and that was it for the sleeping! Better than nothing!
Isabel is currently having a great time bonding with Grandma and Grandpa. She slept through the night well in her pack n play, and took a 2.5 hour morning nap today, right on schedule. Off to a good start!
I will try to post a few times throughout the week, but for now, I have posted a photo along with this entry, showing how HAPPY Isabel is to be in Florida!
Our flight (that we were really nervous about) went about as well as can be expected with a 13-month old. Not the worst possible flight in the world, but not our favorite either! Isabel has such a hard time sleeping while being held, but we were flying right during naptime so she really needed to sleep. After taking off, we put her in her sleep sack and told her it was time for "night-night," She was trying to be cooperative, but because I was holding her, she kept trying to sit up and look around. Finally, after a few episodes of "I am so exhausted I don't even know what to do with myself" (loud) crying, she fell asleep (snoring - it was SO cute!) laying in my lap for about 30 minutes. Then, from a deep sleep, her eyes popped wide open and that was it for the sleeping! Better than nothing!
Isabel is currently having a great time bonding with Grandma and Grandpa. She slept through the night well in her pack n play, and took a 2.5 hour morning nap today, right on schedule. Off to a good start!
I will try to post a few times throughout the week, but for now, I have posted a photo along with this entry, showing how HAPPY Isabel is to be in Florida!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Every day, she becomes more of a little girl
I have been spending a lot of time just watching Isabel this week. She has periods of time now more and more where she is content to just play, and I can be working in the kitchen or working on my computer and just watch her from afar! She is happiest if she doesn't really know I am watching her.
I am noticing her growing into more of a little girl, at what seems like lightning speed at times. Every time she starts doing something new, I think to myself how her babyhood is disappearing before our eyes. It is a very bittersweet feeling and I often wish I could just freeze time, or at least guarantee myself that I will be able to remember all her little mannerisms that she had at each stage, perfectly, when she is older. But I know I won't be able to, so I am trying to record as much as I can in journaling, photos, and home videos.
A couple examples of what I have observed this week that shows me she is growing and learning so fast!
1) This past week, she "weaned" me from the last daily nursing we were still doing (bedtime). During our bedtime routine, she would be in her jammies, we would read our bedtime story like we always do, I would lay her down on the Boppy, and she would just "play" instead of nurse. When I would try to encourage her to nurse a little, she would just smile and "talk" to me. "Bababa, mamama, BA! BA!" I would let her do this for a few minutes, then say Night-Night and lay her down, and she went down just as easily as she normally did. This continued for a few nights, and even one time when she was up in the middle of the night because her teeth were hurting her, she did not want to be nursed, she just wanted to be held. That confirmed for me that she was done with nursing. It is a sad time for a mother who has been nursing her child for a year, to suddenly not have that bond anymore, but I know that our time before bedtime is still special, it just doesn't have that element.
2) Toys. This week, for the first time, I have started seeing her put toys inside one another. This is a developmental skill that I have read about in parenting magazines and books, and she has now mastered it. She puts balls insides cups and shakes them to see what noise she makes, and she crawls around and "gathers" all of her plastic balls that she loves, and puts them in the clear plastic storage compartment on the side of her walker toy, where Mommy always puts them when I pick up all her toys every night. She also has started setting Little People toys on the shelf of her changing table, imitating when she has seen me do the same thing. She thinks that is where they go, so she puts them there when I am getting her dressed or undressed. It is pretty cute!
3) Pointing at things she wants, and baby signs. She definitely points to what she wants now (all four fingers together, not just one finger pointing). When she is eating dinner, when she wants a drink, she will point to her cup and say something. Sometimes it is "Buh" but more and more now, it is "Muh," which I think is her trying to say "Milk." She also very clearly signs when she is all done eating (her "all done" sign is putting both hands up and opening and closing her hands quickly). Sometimes it is pretty funny, because she will sign "All done" and then clap, and then "All done" and then clap! She also thinks she is hysterical when she shakes her head from side to side (like "No"). She does it when she is getting full at mealtime, but not quite all done, and she knows that Luke and I just laugh when she does it, so she always looks to us for our reaction, and keeps doing it because she knows she is amusing us!
Babies (quickly becoming toddlers) are so amazing and adorable!
I am noticing her growing into more of a little girl, at what seems like lightning speed at times. Every time she starts doing something new, I think to myself how her babyhood is disappearing before our eyes. It is a very bittersweet feeling and I often wish I could just freeze time, or at least guarantee myself that I will be able to remember all her little mannerisms that she had at each stage, perfectly, when she is older. But I know I won't be able to, so I am trying to record as much as I can in journaling, photos, and home videos.
A couple examples of what I have observed this week that shows me she is growing and learning so fast!
1) This past week, she "weaned" me from the last daily nursing we were still doing (bedtime). During our bedtime routine, she would be in her jammies, we would read our bedtime story like we always do, I would lay her down on the Boppy, and she would just "play" instead of nurse. When I would try to encourage her to nurse a little, she would just smile and "talk" to me. "Bababa, mamama, BA! BA!" I would let her do this for a few minutes, then say Night-Night and lay her down, and she went down just as easily as she normally did. This continued for a few nights, and even one time when she was up in the middle of the night because her teeth were hurting her, she did not want to be nursed, she just wanted to be held. That confirmed for me that she was done with nursing. It is a sad time for a mother who has been nursing her child for a year, to suddenly not have that bond anymore, but I know that our time before bedtime is still special, it just doesn't have that element.
2) Toys. This week, for the first time, I have started seeing her put toys inside one another. This is a developmental skill that I have read about in parenting magazines and books, and she has now mastered it. She puts balls insides cups and shakes them to see what noise she makes, and she crawls around and "gathers" all of her plastic balls that she loves, and puts them in the clear plastic storage compartment on the side of her walker toy, where Mommy always puts them when I pick up all her toys every night. She also has started setting Little People toys on the shelf of her changing table, imitating when she has seen me do the same thing. She thinks that is where they go, so she puts them there when I am getting her dressed or undressed. It is pretty cute!
3) Pointing at things she wants, and baby signs. She definitely points to what she wants now (all four fingers together, not just one finger pointing). When she is eating dinner, when she wants a drink, she will point to her cup and say something. Sometimes it is "Buh" but more and more now, it is "Muh," which I think is her trying to say "Milk." She also very clearly signs when she is all done eating (her "all done" sign is putting both hands up and opening and closing her hands quickly). Sometimes it is pretty funny, because she will sign "All done" and then clap, and then "All done" and then clap! She also thinks she is hysterical when she shakes her head from side to side (like "No"). She does it when she is getting full at mealtime, but not quite all done, and she knows that Luke and I just laugh when she does it, so she always looks to us for our reaction, and keeps doing it because she knows she is amusing us!
Babies (quickly becoming toddlers) are so amazing and adorable!
Monday, January 5, 2009
A great sleeper
One of my favorite things about Isabel is her love of sleep, and her easy-as-pie routine of getting her down for naps and for nighttime sleep. She has been a champion sleeper since she was just over a couple months old, and we feel so blessed by this! Both Luke and I are wired in such a way that we really need our sleep in order to function well, and we are so thankful that God seems to have wired Isabel in the same way which means Mommy gets her sleep, Daddy gets his sleep, Isabel gets her sleep, Mommy is happy, Daddy is happy, Isabel is happy, and the circle goes round and round!
What led me to journal about this today is that I just laid Isabel down for her afternoon nap. She was super tired today for a couple of reasons. 1) She just cut two top teeth yesterday, and so she was up in the middle of the night in pain from those (RARE for her to be up in the middle of the night). She was up from about 2:45 until 3:20 or so when the Motrin kicked in and she was able to rest comfortably. When I laid her down at 3:20 am, she was WIDE awake, and after shutting the door, I never heard anything from her until 7:30 this morning. 2) This morning, our friend Christian came over to play. He is going to be 2 in February, and he is such a sweet boy and is so good playing with Isabel, even though she is half his age and half his size! She wanted to do everything he was doing, just followed him around and wanted to play with the same toys he was playing with. So, she was awake this morning before her morning nap for nearly twice as long as she normally is, and took a later and shorter morning nap as a result. So, that leads me to the afternoon nap. When I was feeding her lunch around 1:30, she was visibly getting tired and fussy. By the time we were done eating and it was time to wipe her hands and face (which she normally doesn't like anyway), she went into absolute hysterics. I could tell she was ready for her nap even though she normally plays with toys for a bit after lunch. I thought I would try to calm her down a little, so tried to sit in a chair with her and rub her back, but no dice, she just kept pushing back from me. So up to her room we went, and I changed her diaper, with her crying the whole time. We walked over to the crib, still crying. The minute she could tell that I was going to put her in her crib, I could feel her body relaxing. And by the time her head hit the mattress, her two fingers were in her mouth, crying was over, and I never heard a peep from her. I LOVE this about her. When she is tired, all she wants is her bed. I hope and pray this lasts long into her toddlerhood and childhood!
Some people (Luke included) tease me about the sleep sack that Isabel still sleeps in for naps. But I wouldn't trade it in for the world. With this amazing pattern she has developed, she can sleep in a sleep sack for naps until she is 4 years old for all I care, as long as she continues to not fight naps! (I am semi-kidding, but really, I have no problem with the sleep sack right now, I don't think it is doing her a bit of harm!)
What led me to journal about this today is that I just laid Isabel down for her afternoon nap. She was super tired today for a couple of reasons. 1) She just cut two top teeth yesterday, and so she was up in the middle of the night in pain from those (RARE for her to be up in the middle of the night). She was up from about 2:45 until 3:20 or so when the Motrin kicked in and she was able to rest comfortably. When I laid her down at 3:20 am, she was WIDE awake, and after shutting the door, I never heard anything from her until 7:30 this morning. 2) This morning, our friend Christian came over to play. He is going to be 2 in February, and he is such a sweet boy and is so good playing with Isabel, even though she is half his age and half his size! She wanted to do everything he was doing, just followed him around and wanted to play with the same toys he was playing with. So, she was awake this morning before her morning nap for nearly twice as long as she normally is, and took a later and shorter morning nap as a result. So, that leads me to the afternoon nap. When I was feeding her lunch around 1:30, she was visibly getting tired and fussy. By the time we were done eating and it was time to wipe her hands and face (which she normally doesn't like anyway), she went into absolute hysterics. I could tell she was ready for her nap even though she normally plays with toys for a bit after lunch. I thought I would try to calm her down a little, so tried to sit in a chair with her and rub her back, but no dice, she just kept pushing back from me. So up to her room we went, and I changed her diaper, with her crying the whole time. We walked over to the crib, still crying. The minute she could tell that I was going to put her in her crib, I could feel her body relaxing. And by the time her head hit the mattress, her two fingers were in her mouth, crying was over, and I never heard a peep from her. I LOVE this about her. When she is tired, all she wants is her bed. I hope and pray this lasts long into her toddlerhood and childhood!
Some people (Luke included) tease me about the sleep sack that Isabel still sleeps in for naps. But I wouldn't trade it in for the world. With this amazing pattern she has developed, she can sleep in a sleep sack for naps until she is 4 years old for all I care, as long as she continues to not fight naps! (I am semi-kidding, but really, I have no problem with the sleep sack right now, I don't think it is doing her a bit of harm!)
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