On the Move!

Well, Izzy is just over 13 months, and she has made some major progress over the last month. She started army crawling a few months ago, and would crawl on her knees every now and then, but only for a second before she would get back down on her belly and scoot to her destination. I’m proud to report that she has been crawling on her knees like a big girl pretty much full-time for a couple of weeks now. It’s so adorable because she gets the cutest little expression on her face when she’s crawling. She also pulled herself up to standing all by herself for the first time 2 ½ weeks ago, and now the girl can’t get enough standing. She’s pulling up on everything and everyone, and it just never gets old. We’re working on cruising now, and I think she’s starting to figure it out. She cruised about 3 feet while holding on to the couch tonight! I’m really excited that she is doing so well and making up for lost time, but to be honest, I would be okay if it were a little while longer before she started walking. She’s already into everything. I can only imagine the craziness that will come along with a walking baby. ;-)

Adventures in Digital Scrapbooking

Izzy is finally taking a decent nap, and I'm almost scared of putting those words out into the universe for fear that I will jinx it. She has been little Miss Crabby lately due to several teeth trying to make their appearance, so naps have been scarce around here. I'm getting a little quiet time to blog now, so I thought I would share my first 12x12 digital scrapbook layout attempt. I know it would make more sense to start with Izzy's birth and work my way forward, but one look at my closet would tell you that I'm just not that organized. So, I started with some of my favorite pictures of her, and they just happen to be Halloween. This was pretty fun to do, and especially nice to work in quiet. ;-)

A Year of Growth!

I know that you guys have seen these monthly pictures, but you can really see how far Izzy has come when you look at all of them together like this!

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months - this was her first week home. She looks proud of herself, huh?

5 Months

6 Months



7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months



11 Months



12 Months

What a year it has been! I'm so happy that we have these pictures to look back on! I'm also happy that my friend Katie lets me steal all her great ideas, like taking these monthly pictures in the first place, and for buying the perfect 12-slot collage frame from Aaron Brothers to display them in her room! I can't wait to get the prints in so I can hang up the frame! It's going to be super cute!

1 Year Pics

As promised, here's a preview of some of my favorite pics from our latest session with Niji and Lali from Niji Stanley Photography. They came to our house a few weeks ago and captured some really great shots. It's going to be hard deciding which ones to order!

To view all the pics, go to www.nijistanley.com, click on proofing, select Isabelle, password is miracle.

Thank you, Lali and Niji for taking such awesome pictures, and for allowing me to post these!

One Year Old!

We celebrated Izzy's first birthday yesterday, and it just doesn't seem real that I have a one-year-old! Her "party" was at our house, just with our immediate family. We had a nice spaghetti dinner so Griff, Gene (bro-in-law), and I could carb-load before the Cowtown Half-Marathon, which was this morning (more on that in an upcoming post). Izzy had fun destroying a cupcake and opening up lots of gifts. She got a ton of adorable clothes and fun toys, but her favorite part is still the wrapping paper and ribbons. If only she could be so easy to please forever! ;-) We're saving the big blow-out party for June, when we will celebrate her homecoming. By that time, cold and flu season will be behind us, and we can invite friends and more family. And come on, who doesn't want two parties???

At one year, Izzy is:
-army crawling EVERYWHERE
-crawling (for real) occasionally
-going from sitting to crawling position and visa versa
-beginning to pull-up to knees
-making a lot of noise, but nothing that sounds remotely like mama or dada yet
-waving (so cute!)
-practicing with a sippy cup (so messy!)
-starting to eat "big people" food

-on a good schedule, taking two solid naps a day, and sleeping well at night....thank the Lord!
-melting her mommy and daddy's hearts ;-)

I ordered this bow from Christen at ticklemepinkbowtique.com and I made the tutu to match it. We had a photo session with Niji and Lali from Niji Stanley Photography a few weeks ago (pics coming soon!), and I was so excited to get some cute pics of her in the tutu, but she was NOT having the tutu that day. And trust me, I tried three times with the same crying result. So....Griff and I took advantage of the nice weather outside today and tried it again. I think the distraction of being outside helped! I really like that Lily's tree is in the backgroud. Griff's friends/co-workers bought us a Little Gem Magnolia, and a beautiful stone, engraved with Lily's name a while back. So sweet!

It's not often that I spend a day in the kitchen, but here is proof that I do cook every now and then. I made spaghetti and meatballs using this recipe, and it turned out really good. Griff has requested that I stop buying spaghetti sauce in a jar now. We'll see about that. Sometimes easy trumps good. ;-)

The spaghetti is Izzy-approved!

Love this cupcake stand I found at Costco! The cupcakes turned out yummy! Recipes: chocolate cake, white cake, buttercream frosting

Happy Birthday to Izzy!

She knew exactly what to do with that cupcake. Just like her mama!

Izzy and Paw, her Great-Grandfather

Present time!

We should have just all gotten her wrapping paper and ribbons!

11 Months Old

Yes, I'm a slacker. Here is Izzy's 11 month pic...finally! I'm keeping this one short since she's got a BIG BIRTHDAY coming up soon!

To Poo or Not to Poo?

Don’t worry. This entry isn’t as gross as it sounds, at least I don’t think so. Although, I suspect applying the above question to public restrooms could lead to a very interesting discussion. Okay, back to my point…

Izzy and I were out enjoying the beautiful day today when all of the sudden our lovely walk turned to sh*t, quite literally. You see, I noticed a fellow walker and his two dogs coming from the opposite direction, and from several feet away, I could tell that one of the dogs had to take care of some business and was squatting right next to the trail. I was hoping that this was a female dog who was just going #1. When the dog finished its business, and the owner continued walking, I assumed that was the case. Turns out I was either wrong, or homegirl was a very unladylike pup because as I approached the spot where the dog had done its deed, I saw (and smelled) a fresh, huge, steamin’ pile of…well, you know…

This usually doesn’t bother me, but it did today for some reason. I mean, the owner had absolutely no intention of cleaning this mess up. It wasn’t like he wanted to do the right thing, but decided it just wasn’t worth it or he didn’t have a bag or something to pick it up. There was never a question or hesitation. Since I was pushing Izzy in the stroller, this just made me think….I don’t get to let my baby poo freely in public without cleaning it up. Why should he? Clean up your dog’s poo, dude!

Now, I’m sure there are plenty of instances where it is not necessary to clean up after your pets, but in this particular park, there are several doggy “deposit” stations along the trail, not to mention the fact that tons of people walk, run, skateboard, bike, etc. along this trail, especially on a day like today. In my opinion, leaving your dog's mess right next to the trail for all to see and possibly step in, is just plain rude. I don’t have pets (you’re shocked, I’m sure), but I’m curious to know how pet owners feel about this subject.