Today's Mommy Thought

"Go on loving what is good, simple and ordinary." - Rainer Maria Rilke

That was my mommy saying for the day from the little flip book that Sally gave me. It really rang true today when Isabel discovered that she can splash in the bathtub. I was so excited that she was doing yet another new thing! Yet at the same time people without kids would find it so odd that my heart would swell with pride at the most simple, ordinary thing of splashing water. I love how being a mommy totally changes your perspective on life. A new little sound, the way a toy is thrown, a strange little facial expression... the good, simple and ordinary things are what give life flavor. Having a child makes you slow down and appreciate the littler nuances of a tiny person starting from scratch and learning everything there is to learn about this big amazing world that we live in.

"Its the simple things that make life sweet. They're worth their weight in gold. They can't be bought at any price and neither are they sold" - unknown

6 and 7 months old!

I missed updating for Isabel's 6th month, so I have two months of catching up! Here are the big milestones for the past two months.

6 Months
*Eaten solid food, and promptly spit it back out
*Rolled over from back to front
*Sitting up without any help
*Has two bottom teeth
*Got her first shot (DTaP) and did awesome!
*Weighed 17lbs 10oz at her 6 month checkup!

7 Months
*Consistently leans and reaches for the person she wants
*Scoots around in the sitting position (quite mysteriously)
*Has two big top teeth
*Rolled over repeatedly from back to front, and front to back
*Recognizes "patty cake"
*Can scoot around in the walker
*Does a "huffing & puffing" thing when she is mad (or just to be silly sometimes)
*She is becoming more and more independent and just wants to play and not cuddle with mom anymore!

Here are the pictures from our 7 month photo shoot. This was the hardest one yet! It is almost impossible to get her to sit still! She is a little girl on the move!

Food Wars

Isabel is almost 7 months old and we have been working on her eating solid food since mid August. So far she only likes zuchini/summer squash and green beans. Yet even those are hit-and-miss at times. Her "dislike" list includes: sweet potato, rice cereal, pear, banana, carrots & water. Each food we try for 4-7 days before going on to something else, and some I have also re-introduced to see if by any chance she has changed her mind! But nope - not a chance! This little one is a stubborn (like mom) little creature of habit (like dad). I think she must be trying to follow in her daddy's footsteps and nurse until she is almost 3!

So far her favorite thing to eat is the wash rag we use to clean off her face...



And the spoon that she should be eating off of...

September Faces of Isabel

First Meal

I'm super way behind on documenting all the new things that Isabel does each and every day. But here are the photos from her very first meal! The special day was August 17th & I was super excited to use the Baby Bullet that Sally Ivy gave me (thanks again Sally! You're the BEST!). I got organic brown rice and milled it to create my own rice cereal. It was so easy to do that I'm going to set a goal of not giving Isabel any processed food until she is over a year old. (We'll see how long I can hold out;-) Of course this monumental occasion had to have all the perks and finery that every first meal should have. And of course this special first meal was spit out and deemed to be disusing by the new little eater!



Here is the video of her first meal!

August Faces of Isabel

Yosemite National Park

This last weekend's adventures took us to the spectacular Yosemite National Park. Since we are going to be moving to Bozeman Montana next spring I really wanted to see this National treasure while it is still (fairly) close by! We spent the weekend with the Spositos and Jeff's mom Roxanne and her husband Jack.

Upon driving into the valley our eyes were greeted by the astounding views of the granite cliffs that framed the pine forests, river and waterfalls below. It truly is a magical place where you see the glory of God surrounding you.

A forest fire made the sunset especially spectacular!

The first night we stayed in Curry Village in this sweet wall tent! There is even a cleaning service. Its not really roughing it, but with a baby we didn't mind :-)

We were able to get super close to this big fat mule deer. He sure eats good!

The daddies ready to go hiking with their little girls to Vernal Falls!




Isabel was such a trooper! She didn't fuss at all during the whole hike, but loved looking around. Seeing all the sites was tiring for the little one, and she took her nap right in the backpack!
Trying out sweet potatoes. As you can see, she wasn't a big fan...

All it takes is for mom to turn her head for one second and then Isabel is getting into something!

It was easy to see why Yosemitte National Park is one of our country's greatest natural treasures. We definitely want to go back some day and hike up half dome. But one thing you wont ever see us doing is climbing up the face of this rock, El Capitan.