Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Izzie the Pink Leopard.

Daddy Put My Bouncer Together

Daddy put my bouncer together last night! I really like it. I can wiggle just a little bit, and it bounces a lot. Daddy likes it because it has Turtles on it. Mommy likes it because she can take a bath even if I am awake. Well, got to go bounce some more.

Best for Baby

I am proud to be a breast feeding mom. If you would have asked me a year ago on my opinion of breast feeding I would have told you that I thought it was an out-dated, barbaric concept. See, I am a bottle baby. My mom was a bottle baby. My dad was breast fed for a short while then became a bottle baby. All my friends were bottle babies and bottle feed their babies. But... when I became pregnant I wanted to do everything "right". I started reading everything I could on pregnancy and parenting. I found that breast feeding was tremendously better for both baby as well as mom. (5 weeks out, and I am 10 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight!)

Because I am from a lineage of bottle fed babies, I don't find much breast feeding support in my family and friends. Yes, it is a lot easier to just give her a bottle, but it is not the best for her. No, formula won't hurt her, but it is not what is best. I want to give my child the "best".

For those of you who don't understand, it's like this... You can have a steak at home or go to McDonald's. Yes McDonald's is quicker and easier. You would have to marinate, fire up the grill, bake the potato and cook the steak, but which one is better? Both will nourish you, but which one is better?

Yes, breast feeding is a lot of work, but she's worth it. Thank you Meridith and Jamie for all of your support over the last few days!

Happy Baby

Today Izzie met a milestone. She noticed her mobile above her big girl crib for the first time. This lets me know that she can actually see her mobile!

New Discovery

Almost 4 weeks ago we brought home a beautiful little princess, but not everyone was excited. Our two cats, Rambaldi and Lucy, could have cared less. Until.... Rambaldi noticed that she moved! While she was sitting in her car seat this afternoon, Rambaldi enjoyed swatting at her hands and feet!

Things That Make Me Happy

I was tagged by Meridith last night and challenged with writing 6 things that make me happy.

#6. The first day at the end of winter when I notice that the grass is green.
#5. The first cool morning after a blisteringly hot summer.
#4. When G runs his fingers through my hair.
#3. When my students do well at a clinic or other audition.
#2. When I leave church feeling like I have truly worshiped.
#1. See picture above.

One Month Old

Izzie is one month old today! It seems unreal to me that the little person who shared my body for nine months is now a month old. I don't usually notice it when I'm holding her, but when I see others hold her, I can't believe how big she has gotten. She was 8lbs and 6 oz when she was born, but she lost almost a whole pound before she left the hospital. She weighed in at 9lbs Thursday when we were at the doctor's office. She is changing every day and starting to be her own little person.

This is a quick pic of Daddy-Daughter time this morning!

My Blessing

This has been a very trying week for Izzie and me. For almost a week now she has had 2 modes... cry and eat. (notice that sleep was not mentioned) I am not sure what is wrong with her, and the Doctor is not either. Maybe she has reflux-we have medicine for that. Maybe she has colic-we have medicine for that too. Nothing seems to work, though, and sleep deprivation is starting to take its tole on both of us.

Throughout my day long crying spell, (mostly from just exhaustion) I have been thinking about how blessed I am to have the opportunity to feel like this. That sounds crazy I know, but the Lord has been so good to me. I am so thankful to be the mother of this little handful.

This photo was taken today during one of her pseudo naps.

Fun Filled Saturday

Saturday was a fun filled day for the whole family. We started off the day by attending the Oktoberfest down town. We strolled down and listen to my school's jazz band perform.


Then later that afternoon we headed down to Union to watch the high school band perform in the Chunky River Marching Band Classic. Izzie seems to find the marching bands to be very peaceful. In fact, she looked like this most of the afternoon.

In the glider

Usually Izzie's favorite place to be is in my arms, but this morning during her "happy baby awake time," she let me put her down in her glider. She rode back and forth for about 10 minutes before demanding to be picked back up. I wonder if all babies are like this. Will she grow out of this stage, or will I be holding her every second until she goes to kindergarten?

On another note, does she look longer to you? We took her for her 2 week check up last Thursday and she had grown a whole inch since she was born. I think she may have grown another 1/2"-1" because she is starting to out grow her newborn onsies.

Tummy Time

We got our tummy time mat out of the box this morning. Izzie had loads of funny playing on her tummy. I watched her flail her arms and legs around for a while then noticed that she was going somewhere. Whoa! She rolled over! I thought it was a fluke so I put her back on her tummy, and she rolled over again. The doctor said that she would roll over soon because she was so long and lean, but I never thought she would be rolling over at 18 days old. How cool is that?

Church Girl

We went to worship for the first time as a family Sunday. Greg went last Sunday, but my family was up, and I was a little uncomfortable having Izzie in a group of people before she was 2 weeks old. Maybe I am a germ-a-phobe, but to avoid having her passed around, I kept Izzie in her carseat until after the service started. She was very good in church. In fact, we had no crying outburst. I think she liked all the singing. For those of you who were wondering, yes, this is her coming home from the hospital dress. I figured we had better go ahead and wear it again before we outgrew it!

First Tub Bath

We said farewell to Izzie's umbilical stump yesterday-yeah!! This freed us up to partake in our first tub bath. She wasn't quite sure what to think of the tub bath. She definitely liked it better than laying on a towel freezing while mommy tried to sponge her off. We got through the whole ordeal without a meltdown, well, almost!

Trip to the Park

Today we went to the park for a little stroll in the sunshine. The weather was great. It was a little overcast, and the trees along the walking trail kept the remaining sunlight out of our eyes. Daddy manned the stroller, and Izzie slept the whole time while mom struggled to walk the 1/2 mile walking trail. (Probably not the wisest decision being only 2 weeks after a C-section!)

About Us

After being introduced by a mutual friend, Greg and I started dating our senior year in college. We were married on May 29th, 2004. We are blessed to have jobs working in the same school district on the same campus. Greg teaches 6th grade social studies. Although the thought of teaching 11 and 12 year olds was a bit intimidating at first, he finds joy in his students every day!

I am a band director. I am one of three band directors that teach over 300 students at our school. I teach 6th grade band, 7th grade band, and assist with 8th grade band and high school band. I love my job! I am currently on maternity leave. I miss my students but am grateful to get to spend this time at home with our daughter.

15 days ago the Lord blessed Greg and I with the most wonderful gift in the world. Our little girl, Isabella Hope, was born on September 25th, 2008. Weighing in at 8 lbs and 6 oz at 20.5 inches long, she is absolutely perfect. She is beautiful, and looks just like her daddy!