HAPPY 1st Birthday, Isabella!

What a wirlwind two days! Isabella turned ONE yesterday. I have no idea where that first year went. It seems like just yesterday, I was holding her in my arms for the first time. LOL. And now she is a constantly babbling, almost walking TODDLER.

Yesterday, we had her one year check up (yea, happy birthday to her. haha). She now weighs 18 pounds and is 29 inches tall. We saw a new doctor yesterday and LOVE her. Finally, we saw a doctor who doesn't harp on Isabella being smaller. This is what she said "Isabella is on her own growth curve, and she is gaining weight. As long as she continues to gain wait on HER (emphasis mine) curve, then I will not worry." YES YES YES. Finally.

Then, we went to the mall to walk around and have lunch with my friend, Mandy. It was nice to have a girls' day on Isabella's birthday.

Today was her party. SOOOOO much work went into her party. We had fifteen guests, which included Isabella's little (boy)friend from across the street and two other little friends. There was good appetizers, lots of balloons, tons of presents, and lots of pictures taken of Isabella and her cake (which she dug into). The bath that followed didn't make Isabella very fond of Daddy, though. Haha. I believe there was cake in her hair, eyelashes, up her nose, and of course all over her hands and face.

It was a good time. We have great friends who are like family. They all love Isabella and she is always excited to see all of them.

Happy birthday, my darling. Mommy and Daddy love you!

One Year Ago

One year ago tonight, I was a nervous wreck thinking about my c-section the next day. I knew our lives were about to change for the better, but I had no idea how much more complete I would feel once I was a mommy.

I was so nervous about the c-section. I had never had surgery before. I didn't think I would sleep at all, and Isabella was kicking me so much that I felt like she was trying to keep me awake. Haha.

More than anything, though, I was so anxious and excited to finally be able to put a face on the baby girl I had been dreaming about for months.

A year ago tomorrow my whole world changed. :)

Back to Square One

After two weeks of trying to get her to go without it, we've given Isabella back the binky. I say "we" but it was really my decision. If it end up backfiring, I will take full responsibility for it. I know I made the right decision for NOW because two seconds after I gave it to her, she was sound asleep. And she took a 3 hour nap. :)

She has the bottles back, too. She refused to drink ANYTHING out of a sippy cup. Three wet diapers between yesterday and today. Honestly, if she will drink milk out of the bottle and water/juice out of the cup, I'll keep the bottles for a little while longer. I want them gone by the summer, but we'll deal with that later.

My happy baby was back today! She was so excited to get the bottles back! She was practically jumping up and down.

We're transitioning into one nap a day, so I am hoping this helps.

Two more days and she will be ONE

What Happened to My Mellow Girl?!

I don't know if it is teething, or a growth spurt, or not having bottles anymore, or getting ready to go down to one nap...but Isabella is all over the place. For the past few days, she hasn't wanted to take her afternoon nap. Today, she fought the morning nap for a long time before finally passing out.

She seems to be doing well with not having bottles anymore, but I worry that she isn't drinking enough. We have her one year appointment on Friday (that's probably not the best birthday present, lol) so I have a ton of questions for her dr.

In the meantime, I need to figure out a way to handle a cranky, clingy, mercurial child.

I Hate Colds

I've had a cold since Wednesday. I hate being sick. I have no energy or motivation to do a darn thing. Which means there will be more to do when I am feeling 100%.

I feel like I have a ton of stuff to do, with everyday ordinary cleaning and then preparing for Isabella's birthday party. I am overwhelmed

I HATE Teething!!!! (And so does Isabella)

You would think after getting 8 teeth in our little girl's mouth, we'd know how to handle teething. The only problem with that is Isabella is different with every tooth. The first four teeth she got in resulted in no teething. Then it all went downhill. She is apparently making up for lost time with all other teeth.

Right now is the worst time of teething we have had. She just got in her last incisor. She has been getting in her first molars for about two months now. The other day, I could actually see them, and her cuspids, in her gums. They are all very close to the surface.

Last night and tonight, she had to be rocked to sleep! That's the first time in eleven months we've had to do that! Last night it took me about twenty minutes to get her to sleep; it took Jeff almost an hour tonight. I don't want rocking her to sleep to become a habit. We worked hard to get her to sleep through the night, and I am annoyed with teething for ruining that!!!!!

My usually happy, good natured baby is a clingy, cranky, inconsolable mess. Poor baby!!!

TEETHING GO AWAY AND LEAVE MY BABY ALONE!!!! LOL

2010, Day 1

Happy New Year!

We had friends over last night for New Year's Eve. We ate a lot of appetizers, watched a movie, and played a hilarious game. Toasted beer and spiked cider at midnight. Bye bye, 2009.

This year is starting out very well. I spent the day with Jeff and Isabella, just the three of us. We had sushi for lunch and did a little shopping at Target. After dinner at my godmother's house, we put Isabella to bed and have just been hanging out watching tv this evening.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I am vowing to make 2010 better than 2009. That's going to be hard since 2009 brought us Isabella, but I'm going to try!

28 days from today, Isabella will be ONE YEAR OLD! Goodness. Where did the time go?!