Isla is 3!

My baby is 3. This girl is so much fun and I can't imagine our family without her. She is stubborn, independent and clever. Latley Isla's favorites have been:Frozen EVERYTHING, Ballet anything, dresses, cereal, macaroni and cheese, edamame, Imogen, picnics, yogurtland, exploring, nursery and her friends. Happy Birthday LaLa!

Happy Birthday Isla!

Isla turned 2 this week. I can't believe i have a 2 year-old and a 5 year-old! I guess i can believe Isla is 2. She acts like a 2 year-old. She's got her independence and a voice that she's not afraid to use. She is currently really into fish (shishy), ducks (duddy), airplanes (ah-pan), walking all by herself (no hand holding, thank you), cookies (tootee) and doing just about everything that her big sister (sissy) does. She is such a sweet girl, she loves giving hugs and cuddling and she has the sweetest smile. She is suborn, which i think is a good trait for a second born...

Isla we love you!!!

For her birthday, we went to the zoo (the pictures from that are on my new phone and i have no idea how to upload them here...just imagine monkey and stuff.)  we had pancake puffs for breakfast, macaroni and cheese for dinner and a whoopee pie cake. ALSO, i knitted my first item of clothing the grey and white dress displayed below. I'm patting myself on the back. now Penelope  is saying she needs one. we'll see if that happens this decade.

happy 1 year to my isla may! yesterday this little girl turned 1.
we have just arrived in redmond and we are excited to get settled. i am going to post some pictures of our adventures on our road trip. get excited. that is all for another time, right now i want to focus on our little isla.

isla,
you are a beautiful girl and such a sweet, sweet baby. we have felt nothing but blessed with you! i remember a year ago i was so excited to have you coming into our family, but at the same time i was nervous that i wouldn't have enough love for another baby. i knew the second that you were born that i was wrong about that. the doctor handed you to me and you rested on my chest and i wanted to cuddle you next to me forever. i'm getting all teary and snot faced right now, because i know those days are gone. you are a big girl and you want all of us to know that. you can't walk quite yet, but you won't let us carry you. you WILL walk. you feel big when you talk on the phone or when you pretend to read mom's books (most of the time outloud) and when you "dress" yourself. while all this independence makes me feel the loss of my baby, i simply can't wait to see all you learn and discover this year. i love you my sweet baby.
love/mom

i took these pictures when we were readying to move...so they are a week early, i thought i would take a picture of our surroundings at the time. 

isla is 11 months

here's my eleven month old.

isla is cruising around furniture like a champ. 

she is mom's little helper...or wrecker (depending on how positive my attitude is).

she likes to pretend to talk on the phone. 

she is a total mama's girl.

she says 'mama' and 'dada'- i am pretty sure 'dada' means dad, but i think 'mama' means help.

isla loves playing and giggling with her big sister. 

she loves to climb onto things.

her favorite thing is to take things out of a box or a bag and then put them back in. 

she will spend forever trying to dress herself, but she simply can't lay still for mom to dress her or change her diaper...

she got in her 1 yr molars.

she is eating like a champ and i think i'm going to stop nursing her this month.

hello, danger!
not only is she untying her booties, but now she's trying to stand in her rocking chair. next month we will see what she comes up with to ruin add excitement to the shoot.

10 months baby!

this little lady is 10 months now. it has been a wonderful 10 months and my heart is so full. before i had isla i remember being worried that it would be hard to love 2 kids the same as i can with just 1 and that isla would end up feeling less loved. it is amazing, i am discovering, how one's heart can grow.

isla loves:
being held
clapping her hands
eating rice cereal
crawling around the house
sorting the laundry...
mandarin oranges avocado and blueberries
penelope's little people house that makes noises
paper
keys
daddy
playing with penelope
being tickled
singing
taking off her shoes & headbands (see below)
trying to dress herself (this one is SO cute to watch. she will try to put her shirts on by putting them on her head.)

isla loathes:
when mom leaves
when mom is exercising and not holding her at the same time
when big sister sensors (aka takes away) the toys that she has just discovered

isla is 9 months!

here's my 9 month old.

we went to see dr. H today. and everything looks great with our little lady.

fun facts on isla may:
she's in the 75% in height and the 25% in weight.
isla has 4 teeth on the top now, so 6 teeth altogether!
she's scooting backwards and can get up on all fours, but has yet to crawl.
chatter box- ba ba ba. ma ma ma. da da da. mmmmmmmm. ah.
she loves blueberries, oranges, rice cereal and oatmeal.
penelope is the one who can make her laugh the hardest.
loves going jogging and on walks with mom.
likes bubbles and swinging at the park.
she loves to take baths with p and she can sit up all by herself.
i love having little conversations with her.

isla is 8 months

isla is 8 months! gasp! i just think she's the bees knees.

this month  she...

-is quite the chatter box. she says, "ma ma ma ma" and "ba ba ba ba." it is so fun.
-she responds to her own name
-she is very stable in sitting position and on her tummy she can lift her torso off the ground.
-she's a very calm and happy baby.
-she is ticklish on her neck, back and tummy.
-her laughs are so cute they sound a little like grunting.
-she is eating cheerios and a lot of different foods.
-and she, now, can drink from a bottle. hallelujah!
-she is still sporting two teeth, i think her eyes are hazel and her hair is getting a bit thicker.
-we are loving watching this chick grow everyday. she is learning so much.

7 months old

this little gal is 7 months old and she's a riot. 

-she is grabbing for EVERYTHING! at this very moment she's trying to get at the keyboard and singing a cute little song that will turn sad if i don't give her something to play with.

-she enjoys playing with things that are not meant for babies best...like anything bryan or i have.

-she still won't take a bottle or a pacifier, but she's eating her vegetables like a champ!

- she can sit up all by herself for 10 min+.

-she still doesn't love being on her tummy, but she's tolerating it better.

-she has the sweetest grin and loves to play with her tongue. she can even flip it and do tongue tricks. cute.

-she is sleeping really well and i am super happy about that.

-her hair is filling in (sort of,) she has 2 teeth and her eyes are darkening (maybe she'll be a brown-eyed girl like her sis.

-she's in love with her family and it totally melts my heart.

we love you isla may!

happy half birthday to isla may

3 days ago our little isla turned 6 months. i can't even express how much we loving having this little girl in our house. we all thing she's pretty much the coolest. we went to her 6 month check-up today and she:

weighs in at 15 lb 4 oz (25-50%) 

measures 27 in long (75-90%)

she wasn't a big fan of the physical. for the next appointment i will try to avoid nap time...

this month isla:

grew 2 teeth

tried rice cereal carrots and bananas

still is showing little interest in being mobile

she likes to sit in her high chair

her sitting up is getting super good and she can sit without help for a little bit (like 5 seconds...)

she's quite the talker

she's very observant and loves watching people

she love being held and cuddled, but who doesn't?

her favorite toys are her rag dolls, rattles and squeeky giraffe

penelope is her bff, she LOVES miss p

her hair is fair and her eyes are greenish, but i suspect that they might not stay that way

she's a sweet and mellow little lady, but she definitely lets us know if she doesn't dig what we're doing

happy half birthday to you, isla may!

5 months

i know this is a theme of my blog, but I CAN'T BELIEVE ISLA IS GETTING SO BIG! yes, i did shout that. my little babe is 5 months old and she is just so sweet (refer to images below.) here are a few bits on the chick:

1. she sleeps great. she takes 2 naps a day. she goes down to bed at 8pm, i usually (but not always) feed her at 5 am and then she sleeps until 8 or 9 am. this schedule makes me happy.

2. she's starting to chatter a lot more- it gets increasingly louder if she's feeling left out. 

3. she's not super interested in moving around. she can roll over, but she really doesn't care to. 

4. she loves to play with her hands still. she plays with her feet too, which is too cute to handle. among other toys she likes are mommy made dollies, her squeaky giraffe and her crinkly elephant.

5. things to work on: she still doesn't take a bottle or a pacifier. 

6. we still aren't sure what color her eyes will be. they are a little green, but there's some golden colors coming in too...so maybe hazel?

7. we are all too curious about when her hair will start to grow to even speculate what color it will be.

8. isla is a mellow gal, she loves to cuddle with all of us, and she is so very interested in her big sister.

we love you isla may!

isla may at 4 months

my little isla may is 4 months. i can't believe it. the other day i was looking down at my sweet girl sleeping in my arms and i was remembering the moment she was handed to me right after birth, i was holding her the same, but oh she's changed. i know she's going to be enormous in no time, it makes me sad. i am trying to drink in every moment of this little girl and here's what i'm drinking:

-she is loving her hands. they are her new favorite toy (don't worry she still plays with her tongue and blows spit bubbles plenty.) she clasps them in front of her and stares at them, sucks on them and grasps at things with them.

-she likes to coo and have conversations with us.

-she really loves her bigger sister, especially when she sings to her. oh, and they are now roomies because she graduated into her crib.

-she's not sleeping well anymore and she's also not taking a bottle-these are what we'll be working on for the next little while.

-she is not rolling over yet, but she is getting over onto her side and is very close to going from back to tummy.

-she's weighing in at 13#10oz (50-75th percentile.) we are loving every little roll and dimple.

-she's 25 1/4" tall (75-90th percentile.)

-she's got blue eyes, but a little green is coming in...And we're still waiting to see what that hair's going to be like...

-she still needs to be swaddled for naps and bedtime.

-she has a sweet temperament, a beautiful smile and loves to be cuddled.

we love our sweet isla girl and are excited to see what month no. 5 brings.

3 months old-oh my!

time is just flying by and isla may is three months old already. isla is such a sweet baby girl. we love having her in our family.

here are a few little thoughts on miss isla:

-this is probably the last month shot with her wearing a 0-3 mo. onsie. i thought she'd grow out of them sooner, but i think her growing has curbed a bit.

-she is still inconsistent with her sleeping. she usually sleeps through the night a couple of days a week, and the rest of the time she does wake up once. she also will put herself to sleep instead of being waked around or rocked...SWEET!

-she eats now every 3 hrs instead of every 2.

-isla has the sweetest smile and sometimes it even seems like she's laughing too. we see the smile when we blow on her face gently or smile at her, but we pretty much won't ever see it when the camera comes out...

-she likes repetitive sounds (like the dishwasher and the vacuum.)

-she likes to sit on your lap and look around. she is getting very good at holding her head up.

-her tongue is pretty much her favorite thing. she is always chewing on it or sticking it out....also, blowing bubbles with her mouth is equally as entertaining to her.

-she likes to be at home,  she is always more calm and happy at home... but, aren't we all?

-she still dislikes tummy time and we really don't even do it any more...

-p just loves little isla. she calls her my little isla girl or little isla may. when isla is sad, penelope gives her a toy or sings to her to try to calm her, it works about 1% of the time. isla likes penelope but when she's sad p does not cut it, she needs her mom or dad.

-we are taking isla's first trip to utah soon and hopefully she is as sweet for her grandparents, aunts and uncles as she is for us. also, we will be driving...pray for us. xoxo!

bump watch flashback

2 months of isla may

my little isla may turned 2 months old on wednesday. we went to her doctor check up yesterday. she's in the 90th percentile in height and in between the 50th and 75th in weight- she is growing well and is strong and healthy. i could not wish for more.

isla's favorites:

morning time trumps nighttime
blowing bubbles with her spit
smiling
being around people
kicking her legs
eating
making the cutest expressions (including one where she raises one eyebrow, something i can't even do.)
the sound of the vacuum and running water
showers trump bathes
making tightly clenched fists and pulling out my hair

she is such a sweet baby. she rarely fusses and she loves to be cuddled. we are so blessed.

one month

isla is 1 month old. pow! can you believe it?!?

i know i am a tad behind (this is now the theme to my life these days) but i wanted to show you my one month old.

 our sweet girl:

is in the 75th percentile in weight

is in the 90th percentile in height

eats every 2-3 hrs

wakes up 2 times a night

is a night owl...

loves her tongue

won't take a pacifier 

hates it when lotion is applied...she screams like we are poking her with needles

has the cutest chubby thighs

can hold her head up 

likes being on her tummy

has more booties than one little girl could ever use

has blue eyes

has totally won over our hearts