SIX months old

Isabelle Grace,

You are now six months old...the most fun, happiest, content six month old I've ever met. You blend in with our family well and I can't even remember what life was before you.

You went to the doctor yesterday. You weigh 18.11 lbs and are 25 inches long. You are growing so fast! It's hard to believe that you've already been here for half a year. Just six more short months and you'll be ONE! Wow.

You are wearing 6-9 month clothes but the things labeled just 9 months usually fit you best.

You think your big sister is HILARIOUS. No matter what she's doing, saying or what noise she's making it always gets a response from you. It's the sweetest thing to watch. You dearly love your sister and I know she love you too!

You are pretty much sitting on your own. If you get too excited or something you tip over quickly. It's kind of cute :-).

You STILL haven't rolled over from your back to your tummy yet but I know it'll happen and I am definitely in NO hurry to grow you up. Just because you aren't rolling that way yet doesn't mean you don't get around. I often find you in a totally different position than when I left you. You use those chubby little legs to maneuver yourself around.

You say Da-da pretty well and have been for atleast a month now. It's so cute and your Daddy lights up like he just won a million dollars or something. It's so fun to watch. He truly adores you. We all do.

You are eating one meal a day of baby oatmeal mixed with a fruit. You have that at around 7:30 PM and then I nurse you for about 3 minutes and then you're out for the night...usually by 8. You LOVE it that way! I know you could eat more in a day but I'm trying to keep you as exclusively breastfed for as long as you can tolerate it. It's obviously keeping you nicely plump. Sometimes I have to toss in a fruit around lunch time because you really just want to eat. I'm okay with it. You are healthy and happy and that's really all that matters.

You went swimming for the first time a couple of weeks ago. You love the water just as your sister does. You kick your legs and flail your arms. It's so cute!



You have been consistently waking up around 6:40 every morning for about two weeks now. I guess that's you're new wake time. It WOULD be a really good thing if I could just force myself to get up at that time too...and your sister. I'll start working on that soon. It would be really good for us all to get up at that time so your big sister could actually take a nap during the day.

You are such an incredible little girl Issy. I love you beyond any words I could ever put together on this page. You amaze me every day. You make me a better woman. I love you Isabelle Grace. Thank you for being so darn great.

sweet little someones

A sweet little someone has found her toes

And another sweet little someone is most definitely trying to give her mommy a heart attack

All in a days play

our fourth...

I just realized I never posted about our fourth of July. HA!

We went to Austin on Saturday, the 3rd, and saw fireworks in Sean's ex-stepdad's neighborhood. It was literally two houses down in the baseball fields. We invited our friends to come join us so they came with their three kids. It was pretty cool. We were sure AK would be freaked out by the loud noises but she wasn't! She did really really well. Isabelle too. For some reason, it wasn't nearly as loud as I had expected it to be. We were up pretty late but both girls went right to sleep afterwards while mommy and daddy enjoyed a UFC fight :-).


I forgot Isabelle's kikoi sling so I improvised and made one out of a sheet. It did the job well.

We left for home on Sunday. We lazied around the house until dinner time. We went out to eat and then parked our vehicle and walked to a little spot to enjoy some San Marcos fireworks.

All around we had a great weekend. Hubby only worked three days the that week and we enjoyed some family time!

We took AK for a swim in the river and as expected she LOVED it!

Yay for holidays and time with the fam.

I pulled a Salma Hayek...

Yesterday. Ooooooh yesterday proved to be a new experience for me. I don't normally have new experiences on a regular basis so when I do it's notable.

Wait, let me back up to some new things I have failed to mention. I bought a bathing suit about a week ago. THIS people, is HUGE! This is the first one I've bought in approximately 5 years, maybe more. And the one I bought 5 years ago I probably wore a handful of times and then let me niece have it. I don't swim. I am THAT insecure. BUT since I have a close-to three year old now I've taken it upon myself to just get over it and have fun! It's been so freeing. Seriously.

AND, not only did I get a bathing suit, I actually went swimming, with my little family, in a fun springy river thing, with LOTS of other families present. HUGE I tell you. Write it down. Monumental.

Okay, so back to yesterday. My hubby researched fun things to do around here and he found a place called The Jumpy Place. I was soooooo excited because there was one in Austin that we used to go to but I was just so sure they didn't have one around here. Boy was I wrong. They have one and it's better than the one we used to go to. It really accommodates all ages. Even Isabelle had fun in the little exersaucer thing in the "3 and under" area. AND even better, my friend from RR met me there with her three kids. It was a super fun day.

So, where the story really begins. This grandma walks in with her three grandchildren. One is around 6, one is about 2 and the itty bitty 10 pounder was 3 months old and as precious as can be. I noticed them because I could hear the baby screaming from where I was sitting. It was so pitiful. The grandma was trying and trying to get the baby to stop crying. Bouncing her, holding a paci in, laying her down...basically anything that could be done while out and about with two other kids. I felt so sorry for her. I went and sat on a couch near where the grandma was sitting so I could nurse Isabelle. It was this little sitting area and the couch faced the wall so I found that to be the prime location to feed my gal who enjoys pulling the nursing cover all over the place while eating.

As I was feeding Isabelle we started talking...about all kinds of things...a lot about nursing and how she wishes her daughter were there to talk to me too. At some point, while I was still feeding Isabelle, I tossed out there that I wish I could feed her granddaughter too to make her feel better. Haha. From our conversation I gathered that she was babysitting the kids because her daughter just went back to work as an RN at a hospital. The baby was breastfed before mommy went back to work and was having the roughest time adjusting to not being able to nurse. I felt so bad for that baby. AND the grandma because she said she had been up since 4:30 that morning.

So, I finished feeding my chunky and went back to hang out with my friend. The whole time I was hanging out with my friend I could hear the baby screaming and I could tell the grandma had no idea what to do. So, while my friend held Issy I went over there and asked her if I could take her off her hands for a little while...you know...to see if I could calm her down. She said, "YES! Thank you!" and proceeded to hand the baby over. THEN, are you ready for this?? THEN she said, "you can try to feed her if you want to because I know that's what she's wanting". I said, "are you sure?! Is that really okay??" And she said, "yeah, there used to be wet nurses back in the day so it doesn't bother me".

BAHAHAHAHA! I had no idea what to say but okay and took the baby out of sight to....um....feed her. Yes, I fed that sweet 10 pound little angel and she went right to sleep and slept for an hour and a half! I considered not feeding her and just letting her scream all day while her mom worked but then I started thinking "what if this was my baby and I had to be at work and couldn't give her what she truly wanted??" If there was someone out there who was able to provide that momentary comfort I'd say go for it. So I did. And it was beautiful to watch that baby sleep so peacefully and to see a million pounds lift from that grandma's shoulders.

When it came close to time for them to leave the baby started stirring again. So while grandma got the older two kids in the car and situated I fed her one more time in hopes that grandma would be able to catch a nap when she got home. The poor lady was exhausted. When she came back in I handed a peacefully sleeping baby over to her grandma. She held my hand and with tears in her eyes she said, "Thank you SO much!" and some other things that I don't clearly remember.

And with that I'll say, I love being a woman. And I absolutely LOVED blessing that grandma and her granddaughter even if everyone around me thinks I'm absolutely insane for what I did. That baby NEEDED to nurse to calm her poor little distressed nerves and I had what she needed and there was no reason I couldn't share. So there.

That gets me thinking, I wonder what the world would be like if we all did helpful things that made us and even those around us a little uncomfortable but tremendously blessed the person we were helping. I wonder what would happen...




I'd like your opinion though. Do you think I'm absolutely crazy? Would you have done it? Would you have wanted someone to do it for your baby?

5 months old

Dearest Issy Grace,

You turn FIVE months old today! I can't believe you are almost half way to a whole year! Time is flying by way too fast which is why I try to savor every single moment I get with you.

I am amazed by you. You are such a happy baby. Content to go with the flow and you smile while doing it. I often wonder what kind of toddler you are going to make. I really hope you aren't as high paced as your sister but if you are I'll love you anyways ;-). I don't necessarily think you will be but we'll see.

You are beginning to sit up pretty well these days. You have a strong upper body and it shows. Sometimes you crack me up because I'll put a big bow on your head and expect you to sit up but all you can do is lean forward as if to say, "Yo Mom, what the heck do you expect me to do when I have this big thing on my head?!" But bow or no bow, you are doing GREAT!

You are mostly wearing 6-9 month clothing but some bigger than that. The other day I put a pair of shorts on you that your older sister was close to walking in...if that says anything. It really is amazing how different you girls are in all areas.

I'm pretty sure you weigh close to 18 pounds now...if not more. For some reason you don't look that big to me but it might be because you are the only baby I see on a regular basis.

You LOVE to play with your toys and I think you think you're pretty cool that you can use your hands to your advantage. AND I think it's pretty cool too!

You have started this new high pitch squeal and it's pretty stinkin adorable. It really cracks me up. And for some reason, you find it appropriate to test out your vocal sounds while your sister is in bed for the night.

Speaking of bed, you now sleep in your very own crib in the room with your big sister. You girls don't really cooperate when we put you to bed at the same time so we put her to bed first around 8 and then once she's asleep we put you in there after you've been fed and are satisfied and tired. It has been working pretty well. Thank God.

I've been feeding you a bowl of baby oatmeal cereal mixed with pears or apples every afternoon. You are a pro with the spoon! You do not waste a single bite. You love your food!

You are such a good little snuggler when you're tired. Most evenings I sit in the recliner, nurse you and then snuggle you for a good 30 minutes before I lay you down. It's so sweet. I love holding you while you sleep. Makes my heart smile :).


You amaze me everyday, as does your big sister, and I couldn't be more proud to be your momma!

I love you bug.