Happy 1st, Isla Girl!

This is a little late, but our baby girl turned one year old on March 18th! We love to watch her grow and learn. I can't believe how far she (and we) have come in the past year! She is so spunky and fun, and we love her to pieces! Happy birthday, Isla girl.

The Nugget at 9 Months.

For my own personal benefit, I wanted to write a post about Isla at the age she is now. She is growing up so fast and changing so much every day that it blows my mind! I want to be able to remember these sweet days in the future (especially if she's a naughty toddler or a feisty teenager!). So here are some facts about my cute little lady at 9 months of age:

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Her nicknames include: Nugget (hence, the title of this post), Isla B., sister, and the usual "sweet girl", "baby girl", etc...

She can sit up, shake her head "no" (oh goodness...), wave, do "popcorn popping" with her hands, say "mama" and "dada", and pinch small things with her thumb and pointer finger.

She is obsessed with a stuffed pig named "Pepper" (pictured above) that was a gift from Andrew's work colleagues. She snuggles it so hard and is often holding her and talking to her when she wakes up in the morning or from her naps. It's the most darling thing in the world.

She loves to empty out the basket of lotions, medicines, etc. under her changing table.

She absolutely loves to drink from a straw, and is known to get excited any time Diet Coke is around--woops!

She loves to eat and is not a picky eater at all...yet. Her favorites include rice, apples, carrots, pretzel sticks, and most baby food.

She can't crawl yet, but likes to be on her tummy and dance. She tries to lean forward and crawl while sitting, but cries when she ends up falling on her face.

She loves to play peek-a-boo.

She laughs A LOT.

She is much more outgoing than she used to be. She is no longer as scared of strangers and is usually pretty friendly to people when we go out places.

She gets SO excited when Daddy gets home from work (and so does Mom!)

She is obsessed with my phone and the TV remote. She also loves to watch movies of herself on my phone.

She is vain and one of her favorite things to do is look at herself in the mirror and jump up and down.

She is VERY bouncy and loves to stand and bounce and bounce and bounce........

And one of my favorite things of all...she now SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT! Woo hoo!

I love her so much and feel so lucky to be her mom!

Pictures/I love my family.

We had some pictures taken recently by our good friend, Elise Capener (she's great!), that we wanted to use for a Christmas card. Coincidentally, it happened to snow A LOT the night before, and the pictures ended up looking more winter-ish than we had planned! But, I think it adds a festive touch to them all. Most of all, after looking through all the pictures, I realize how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband and daughter. I love them both so much, and I am in love with the little family that we all are. Now, bring on Christmas! We are SOOOO excited.

PS--Side note: we saw The Muppet Movie this week and it was really cute. Go see it!

Halloween!

Here's some documentation of the fun night. And, this means I can start listening to Christmas music...hooray!

We have a sitter!

Yesterday, Isla couldn't sit up. I don't know what changed, but today she can! And we're both thrilled. I love my little nugget.

It is beginning to look a lot like...Halloween...and Christmas.

The start of October has brought us some short-lived, chilly weather! But, while it lasts, we've brought out the boots, too-small beanies for Isla, Halloween decor, and of course, Christmas music. Don't worry, when temps are in the 80's again next week, the latter will be re-shelved for a few more weeks! We're enjoying it while it lasts, though!

I just love her.

Being a mom has become so much more enjoyable over the last couple of months and here are a couple of reasons why: happier baby & better sleeper. She is my whole life now and I love it.

As of late...

Saturday was a fun day. We rode the TRAX to Gardner Village, which is decked out with fun Halloween/Fall decor. Isla enjoyed watching the scenery pass by the train windows.

We also stopped by model home that I've been eyeing on my walks around the lake. It was A-MAZING. I'm going to find some way to make it mine in the future...

This weekend we started sleep training Isla--the whole crying it out method. After multiple nights of very little sleep and some advice from other moms, I was more than ready! It was hard and still is, but she's adapting to it really well and last night I got more sleep than I have in months, so it's here to stay! And, even though she cries herself to sleep, she still wakes up happy. Yay!

California knows how to party.

Our trip to California in a nutshell: beach, shopping, food. Can't beat that. Here's some documentation.

Date at Cirque du Soleil in LA, thanks Dana & Beth for watching the munchkin! PS, yes I really am that pale. Very sad.

Isla enjoying the comfy bed at the Marriot in San Diego.

No pictures, please. LA has turned her into a diva!

Room service at the Marriott, YUM.

She is two things in this picture: chubby & very excited to be feeling the sand at the beach.

Oh, that face.

Mid-shopping snack--Mom's shoulder.

Love this! She is in awe of Daddy.

Relaxing after returning home! Notice the rolls on the belly & legs...I think we all gained a few pounds on our trip!

And if you have time...here's a video of Isla's first beach experience (at least her first one awake). She was just a little excited!

Projects, Planes, and Pictures, oh my!

I promised another post that actually included pictures, and here it is! Or at least, here it begins. This may or may not actually get published a few days from now. But, it's progress!

A lot has been happening around here--or at least, some things have been happening, which was more than I can say of the last couple of months. We took a trip to California over Memorial Day weekend. Highlights of the trip included watching Ford (our new nephew)'s baby blessing, some extreme sunburns, seeing lots of wonderful family, flying with Isla for the first time, visiting the beach, and eating yummy food! It was a really fun trip and very nice to get out of the house for longer than a couple hours! Isla did really well on the plane ride--she slept both ways!--which I was SO relieved about. The only negative was the broken A/C on the flight there....let's just say, sweaty. Not good. It was a little stressful flying with all of the baby gear--I have a lot more empathy for parents who travel with multiple children now! I can't even imagine...

We've also been working on some home improvement projects. We (mostly Andrew) upholstered a headboard for our bed (DIY on the Design Sponge blog), weeded & mulched our yard, made a curtain for the kitchen window, and painted our kitchen chairs a fun dark purple. Things are starting to come together even more, and our next project is a gallery wall for our front room. Mostly Andrew, once again. Who knew I'd marry someone with more design sense than me? Glad I did, though!

And last, we've been taking lots and lots of pictures--of our trip, our little Isla, our house, etc. Speaking of Isla, she's been doing A LOT better, thank goodness! She still has her moments, and evenings are fussier than the rest of the day, but she is a much happier baby than she was a month ago, and I am SO beyond grateful for that! Especially since I go back to work in less than a week (yikes!). I don't feel as bad about leaving Andrew home alone with her all night than I would have before. She smiles all the time, especially when she wakes up, continues to be super gassy, is starting to want to stand and sit, is able to hold her head up pretty good, and is starting to demonstrate some semblance of a laugh now and then. I'm finally starting to enjoy motherhood like I should, rather than being stressed out all the time! One thing that still always brings tears, though, is her carseat. She HATES it. But, I guess I would, too.

Anyway, here are lots and lots of pictures (in no particular order...I'm too lazy to organize them! Sorry). Hope everyone is doing well--Enjoy!

So excited for Dad to be home from work!

Summer & her youngest, August, hangin' at the beach on Memorial Day.

Katie's newest addition, Ford. He is ADORABLE. I mean, look at that hair!

Isla just chillin with Grandpa at Sunday dinner.

Modeling the adorable onesie that my lovely friend, Camille, made for her! So cute.

For a while, I had this picture on my phone to remind myself that Isla is sometimes a happy baby! She gives me these smiles a lot more frequently now, thankfully!

Nonny juggling Isla & August at the beach.

Swimwear model. Love it.

Hangin' out with Mommy all day. Looks like the is flipping off the camera, but not. She really was in another picture, ha.

Taking a walk in our lovely neighborhood now that the weather is (FINALLY) nice!

She has discovered that she really likes to eat her hands, which is fine with me :)

Our new purple kitchen chairs!

Crackin' up.

A very very rare carseat smile. I think she started crying about 30 seconds after this.

Wrapped in her "Miracle Blanket", ready for bed. We call her our little burrito. She actually seems to like it. Sidenote: our carpet looks kind of weird and green in this picture...I promise, it's not really like that...

The lovely headboard that my handyman of a husband made! I love it!

Our plants and landscaping by the garage. I wish we had taken a before picture, because it was overrun with weeds...looks SO much better now.

Same goes for the front of the house...

The kitchen curtain I made. Definitely took practically no skill at all!

A rare couple picture of Andrew and I in California! And, yes, my hair looks like I chopped it off. But, don't fret, it's just in a bun.

Practicing in the Bumbo! She's really wanting to sit up more, but can only hold her head up for a minute before it starts to droop.

Maybe I am biased, but is that not the cutest face ever? I am SOO happy that she is happier nowadays.