Isabelle Updates: November- December

Isabelle's 12th Month+ : 1 Nov-31 Dec

November:

New words "oh hey!" And "hi!" Says and knows words "mama", "dada", and "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle" (in reference to a song we sing in music class)

Signing "milk" 

Loves exploring all over the house. Brings us things and has us tell her what it is. 

When she gets something in her hands she knows she can't have (like jewelry in drawers in mama's office). She looks at us and runs (FAST) in the other direction!

Learning body parts like "nose" "eyes" and "ears"

So good at being gentle with the kittens (Sophia and Finnegan). She walks up to each of them every morning when she wakes up and tells them "hi!" and pets them gently. 

Loves pulling everything out of drawers and off of tables/shelves she can reach

Favorite foods are anything that we are eating and anything she can feed to herself with her own hands. Working on spoon control. She enjoys mostly finger foods (including pickles and pickled asparagus!!), and her other favorites include cottage cheese with salsa and red beans and rice.
 

Bangs toys and instruments together with hands

December: 

1st birthday wellness exam: weighs 22lbs and 30 inches long. 65th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height.

Very strong separation anxiety with Daddy (Joe) lately. She cries every time he leaves for work, and many times wants to constantly be held by only him. So sweet!

Brings us items and says "what is it?" (Very mumbly, but we understand it!)

Learned when we say, "What does Santa say?" she says "hohoho!"  

Loves, loves, loves exploring outdoors! Plays with dirt, rocks and sticks, feels leaves and grass, picks flowers and runs around.

Learning so much so quickly! Understands statements like "where are your socks/shoes/water bottle?...etc" and she will bring them to us.  

Becomes VERY frustrated when we don't understand what she wants or what she's trying to communicate to us. 

Loves dancing to music and singing (she sings to herself in her crib and around the house). 

Also learned a new dance move: spinning around in circles. Which after about two spins, she gets dizzy.   

LOVES cuddles and hugs lately! She understands the word "cuddle", so when we ask her to cuddle, she walks up to us and turns her head to lay her cheek up against us and hugs us. Sometimes, she'll just walk up to us and randomly hug us. We love this so so much!! 

Her favorite song from her Music together class is "Sweet Potato" and we love singing it to her! We sing it "sweet potatoes... and green tomatoes!" Because she loves picking the green tomatoes in our garden. 

Also enjoys pulling chairs around the dining room and pulling laundry baskets around the house (sometimes with Finnegan inside!) 

Photos from November/December:
 

Learning about sharing with Lily

One of Isabelle's favorite meals..Tofu marinated in balsamic vinegar with garlic and other spices. Love how she's such an easy eater!

Walking into music class. Love this little sweater dress.

Love this smile. She really enjoys going shopping with me.

Another Lily/Isabelle play date!

Cuties!

Our tree before the Kittens and Isabelle got to it

New winter coat! Now we just need some pants.

 Isabelle's First Birthday!

First birthday "One" shirt and tutu made by one of our talented neighbors!

Joe and I worked together to make this cake from scratch. It is just a yellow cake recipe handed down to us from Joe's grandmother, and we made cream cheese frosting.

We had fun with all the colors!

Experiencing sugar for the first time

Opening birthday presents. I just love her emotions/expressions. She was having a "moment" because I wouldn't let her play with scissors.

"Reading" a new book at her new table

Opening a present from Auntie Elizabeth and Uncle Matthew

Opening a present from Auntie Robin

Practicing scribbling at her new table.

I love how her little feet dangle. Still a lot of room left to grow into.

At the park.

I am always so amazed at how independent/confident she is. Running away from me on a soccer field on base. She, of course came running back with smiles on her face!

Picking grass and flowers on the soccer field.

Sophia loves the new table as well.

Isabelle Updates: September-October

Isabelle's 10th and 11th Month: 1 Sept- 31 October

• Interested in throwing things and seeing where they go. (Out of crib, off high chair, etc.)

• Loves playing peek a boo. Even puts her hands over her face and copies us.

• Loves feeding herself. Her favorite snacks are her kale cereal puffs.

• Loves opening and closing doors (can't reach doorknob, but will open and close the door when door is cracked open)

• Started to discover how to open cabinets and drawers (we have given her a few of her own cabinets and drawers and we put random toys and treats in them to encourage her exploration, and it also keeps her mostly out of other cabinets). 

• Walking more every day! Almost running by the end of October.

• Lots of "Ma ma ma's", but hasn't quite attached the word to the person.

• Trying hard to speak sentences (lots of mumbling and different sounds)

• Learned how to wave "Bye bye"!!! It was so precious to see her do this for the first time. She learned it from her friend Lily.

• Learned how to clap her hands together

• Dances (bounces up and down while standing) and pats her hands on her legs to the beat of the music.

• We're able to see her comprehend what we say when we talk in sentences to her. So amazing to see her brain grow!

• Pointing at things and grunting or saying "ooooh!"- wants to know what specific objects are.

• Her FIRST WORDS were "go go go!" and "hi!"

• Her first signs were "all done" and "more".   

Some photos from September/October:

Watching Daddy wash the cars

Helping wash the Corvette

Testing out the driver's seat in the Corvette

Having a picnic dinner at Babcock Vineyard

Kale snacks!

Granddaddy Joe and Grandmom Judy came to visit!

Grandmom Judy and Granddaddy Joe showing some Broncos spirit while watching Isabelle!

Starting to get into stuff! "Helping" empty the dishwasher

Isabelle's cabinet where we keep/hide stuff for her to find and play with.

Music Together class. All the babies gathered around the drum.

Playing with her basketball

Waiting for the Fire Safety Parade on base to come by our house.

Getting into the wipes. Her face just cracks me up.

Playing with Lily at the park across from our houses.

At the local ice cream shop. Isabelle was pointing at the train on the ceiling.

Walking out front to pick green tomatoes!

Green tomato picking

Showing me what she found. So cute!

Helping prepare a pumpkin to be roasted.

Halloween! Mario, Luigi and their little Toadstool  (she was scared of the photographer because he was dressed as a zombie)

Here's a smile!

Isabelle Updates: July/August

Isabelle's 8th and 9th Month: 1 July- 31 August

•  Loves the outdoors. We spend lots of time walking/running with the jogging stroller, playing out on the front or back porch and looking out windows.  

• Loves her music class on Fridays with Miss Kitty. She is getting some great exposure to music and making some new baby friends (Lily). She loves banging on the drums and putting all the musical instruments in her mouth and listening to Mommy and/or Daddy sing. 

• Got her bottom two teeth and top two teeth in. The top two were a bit more painful for her (a few rough sleeping nights), but she's such a tough girl!

• (Beginning of August) So close to walking. Stands up on her own and tries to step forward. She does make steps forward when holding onto the coffee table or onto our hands. 

• Loves crawling and exploring everywhere. She is SO fast! She looks like an excited little puppy when she crawls and makes panting noises too! Her very favorite game is playing chase and hide and go seek around the house with us. She giggles and squeals the whole time!

 

• Learned the "touchdown" signal for football and copies us when we do it (both arms above head). 

•  Started eating finger foods like soft carrots, cereal, pasta, blueberries and tater tots.

• Such an overall happy girl. Laughs and smiles almost always and has started laughing from excitement when she sees either Sophia or Finnegan and crawls toward them to try and play. My favorite is when she just looks at us, smiles, and starts giggling. Makes my heart so happy!

• Understands her name and the word "no". She either looks at us and smiles at the word "no" or starts crying. 

•  Is working on her pincer grasp (grabbing small objects with pointer finger and thumb), and has become very good at feeding herself (she often prefers doing things herself. Very stubborn!)

• her favorite "words" are "da da da" "go go go", "ba ba ba" and some "ma ma's". She repeats them back to us when we say them. She also has discovered how to click her tongue on the roof of her mouth and blow "raspberries".

 

• (End of August) Started walking! It is still very wobbly, but she gets better every day!

•  At her 9 month doctor appointment, she weighed 20 pounds and was 29 inches tall. Both in the 85th percentile (above average). She's a big girl!

 

Every other Thursday, we pick up our local Fresh Harvest produce box. Rooney's Irish Pub restaurant is within walking distance of our box pickup, so we started a tradition of having dinner here every other Thursday. Isabelle loves it!

Swimming on 4th of July weekend

Happy 4th of July!

Isabelle with all the other babies at music class around the drum.

She loves looking outside (and chewing on the wall right here too- it's the perfect height!)

Playing with edible finger paints!

Playing with edible play dough!

So close to walking here (end of July). She just likes to stand up for brief periods of time.

Pool date with mommy!

This is her favorite face to make these days. Her "fake mad" face. She also breathes fast in and out of her nostrils while making the face. We can't help but laugh!

Playing out back

Picking up daddy from the airport in Santa Barbara.

I made Isabelle German Spatzle from a family recipe. She loves it!

Bath time! She loves being in the water!

Fussy before the first Broncos preseason game.

Smiling and playing with daddy out back.

We bought this awesome table from some friends who were moving, and we now enjoy sitting out on the back porch almost every night.

Another fake mad face! She cracks us up!

More photos out on the back porch!

Opening up a present from Grandma Carole, Auntie E and Uncle M!

Practicing walking!

Out for a walk in the jogging stroller. Obviously, she's completely relaxed!

Playing with the books on the book shelf here. She's been chewing on everything lately, and books are no exception. We have given her two old books that she can do whatever she wants with, so that no other books get ruined. It's worked pretty well so far.

Looking outside with Soph.

Looking outside with Finn.