Chocolate!

Sunday, I had Izzy help me make pudding for dinner. She got to lick the spatula and the whisk and made quite a happy mess.

Yum!

Now how do I get the chocolate out of this thing?

Time for a bath!

A Visit from Aunt Mitta

Saturday, Great Aunt Mitta came up to visit Isabel. After hanging out at the house for a little while, we went out to eat at Sapporo. Izzy ended up having two big lunches back to back since she had some mac n' cheese and apples before Martha arrived and then she feasted on tofu and rice at the restaurant. And of course, she still had room for a huge dessert of bananas and ginger ice cream. It was still icky out so we stopped in the toy store next door where Izzy got a new blinking toothbrush and Griffin a cool little something (not telling! it's a surprise, Cousin Griffin.)

Cool hood Aunt Mitta

Happy campers after a good meal

Izzy tries out her new toothbrush

A Quick Visit

Last Wednesday, Aunt Laura, Cousin Griffin, Grandma H. and Uncle Ben stopped by for a quick visit after they came back from a trip out west to Yankee Candle. Sadly, Santa was a no-show for Griffin. He must be spending the work week up at the North Pole making toys for Christmas. Play with Izzy's tiger piano and Uncle Kris's laptop cheered Griffin up though. He must be used to push buttons since Izzy had to show him how to hit the piano keys to make noise.

Hard at work on Kris's laptop

Griffin tries out Izzy's piano

Road Trip to Deerfield

This weekend, we wanted a little Christmas so we took a road trip out to Deerfield. There we had some good truck diner cuisine and got to hang out at Yankee Candle. Izzy got to see a painted cow, fishies, a roomful of snowglobes, life-size stuffed animals, and of course the man, himself, Santa Claus!

Oh Smiley Fry, how I love you so!

All filled up!

Can we paint Holly up like this?

Check out the tiny people

MY snowglobe!

I am blinded by their beauty!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Ok. I am sitting in a chair. Now what?

Um, let's give these guys some privacy.

Mr. Knight, sir, could you tell us where to find Santa?

Here's one of his deer. We must be close!

This guy rocks! I love his tailor!

Ooh, those are pretty cool, Santa!

Merry Christmas! (only 7 more weeks ;) )

Someone's a little ticklish

Spooky Plymouth

On the day after Halloween, we joined Laura, Fred and Griffin in Plymouth to see the sights and have some dinner. Grandma H and Ben were there along with Auntie Gail and Cousin Sarah. It was quite the gathering! Izzy got to show off her sitting-in-a-highchair skill at dinner and ate almost an entire dinner roll all by herself. Afterwards, we went on a haunted tour of the town and graveyard. Izzy slept through most of it until the end. She had a nice look on her face that said she was getting away with being out past bedtime. Griffin, on the other hand, had gone home before the tour. We didn't see any spooks but we did have a fun time!

Bundled up against the coastal breeze

The gang's all here!

Ooh! A spooooky balloon!

Get it, Griffin!

Izzy gets a turn with Grandma and Aunt Laura

Tooth!!!!!

Izzy had a great day until dinner time. Cran-ky. And then a screaming fit at the end which I could distract her only with a bath. And lo, there was a sharp edge in her lower gum. Well about time! She had fun rubbing her tongue over it once she got over the initial shock. Wow, I never expected to actual witness the cutting. Ow! One down. 27 more to go.

Eight Months!

Izzy Lou is now two-thirds of a year old (and a week). Izzy has been a busy little cherub and has a banner month for milestone achievement. It was a month of few naps as she was distracted by her new skills and by the daycare kiddos doing so much cool stuff around her. Izzy has definitely grown a lot. How much exactly, we won't know until December when she has her 9 month check-up. But my back tells me that she's at least 15 pounds. She's now into 9 month clothing for Carter's though she still wears their 6 month onesies. She's also graduated to size 3 diapers. So whatever that all means, it does mean she is growing and fast. Still a peanut, though :)

Izzy has greatly expanded her menu. One of her big achievements this month was the pincer grip. So now she can eat Cheerios and cut up bits of any soft food we're willing to give her including tofu, carrots, potato, peas, yogurt melts (thank you, Griffy!), cheesy puffs, sticky rice. She has started to resist spoon feeding and has tried to feed herself off the spoon with messy results. So any suggestions for finger food for a toothless child is appreciated :) Yeah, still no teeth and no signs of them. Maybe next month.

Another huge milestone met is sitting on her own. Izzy mastered it in about a week after finally figuring out that she can compensate when tipping to hold herself up. Of course, sometimes she'll forget or get distracted and do a head plant, but for the most part, she's pretty steady. It's been a huge help in going out to eat since she can now sit in a high chair. She's also been working on crawling but hasn't figured that one out while awake yet. She's gotten up on all fours and while asleep in her crib she's traveled some. So for now, rolling by leading with her head is still her preferred method of travel. I think the next thing she'll do is to pull herself up to standing since she has a friend at daycare who's been teaching her tricks. Like waving! Oh yeah, that, too. Izzy can wave hello and good bye :) We'll have to catch that on camera.

Izzy has become quite the social butterfly. It's like paparazzi at the supermarket. She is very engaging and now with her new waving ability, has been getting a lot of attention from passers-by. I'm not sure how Kris and I got such a happy and outgoing kid but we're not complaining. We've been having a grand ol' time :)

Milestones:
Sitting unassisted
Pincer Grip
Waving Hello and Goodbye
"Thbbbt" with the tongue out
Drinking from a sippy cup (assisted)
Eating meat and solid dairy
Eating small finger foods

Izzy likes:
Being outside
Real people food!
Her Christmas bell
Rolling under things
They Might Be Giants music
The TMBG John and John puppets
(I need to learn to knit a pair)
Going to bed with her dolly and bunny

Izzy dislikes:
Green beans
Formula (trying Next-Step)
Getting her face washed
Waking up before she's ready

Hey Macarena!



Maybe?

Nope.

What a fine Cheerio.

Mighty fine, indeed.

Gangsta Izzy

Last weekend, we went out to the Christmas store in Spencer. Izzy was totally tickled pink by all of the sparkly ornaments and the snow globes. She fell in love with this silver jingle bell. So of course, we had to get it for her.

Yo! Check out my bling!