The P is for the PARTY

Izabelle, you are a party animal! You love to go over to your pals homes and watch them eat cake (then rub it all over their faces), open gifts, and sing happy birthday. You have been able to celebrate Caskey, Harper, Owen, and Mason. We are looking forward to celebrating you at the end of the summer.

So happy happy to all our buddies. Cheers to many more!

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

 A couple of weeks ago you were given a pair of fun girly boots. Sweet William, Trip, and Ali spoil you sweet Izabelle. We have learned you won't keep your shoes on for very long, but had to take advantage of their cuteness while it lasted.

Then you were ready to be let wild...and crawl! We love you Izzy. We love you for all that you are and all that you are going to be. Daddy and I are blessed  and honored to be your parents.

Cheers to your crawlin' boots!

Sophie is My BFF

Before you have your sweet child, mom's from all over offer advice. Whether it's, "listen to everything your doctor says," to "let you baby sleep on its tummy" to "enjoy every minute." All advice is appreciated. The best advice we received and 4 giraffe's later, we were introduced to our best friend SOPHIE. Sophie is our giraffe that is a French toy from the 1930's that hasn't changed through the years. We have loved her. Izzy has one for on-the-go, another for at home, and 2 on stand by. Mommies always said, "do you have a Sophie yet, if not get one!" Glad we listened. She feels like part of the family to be honest. "Izzy you are not smiling, would you like to hold Sophie...here Sophie will make you feel better."

Cheers to Sophie the giraffe for making our lives so pleasant.

Lucky 7, Lucky Us

Izzy  you are 7 month old! The number 7 has always been your mom's favorite number Izabelle  J. Your daddy proposed to me on July 7th, 2007. You weighed 7 pounds and 7 ounces. My shoe size is...7. Guess what number is used in the Bible more than any number...you guessed it...7! It is such a lucky month for us too!

You are: 17 pounds (56th percentile weight) and 27 inches long (96th percentile length).

You are wearing size 3 diapers, sitting all by yourself, and almost about to crawl. You just need to bring your other knee around...and you will be mobile.

You really enjoy milk, oatmeal cereal, and veggies. You are really unsure about fruit, but will eat it just to please us.

Guess what they say about rubber duckies...that's right! They make bath time so much fun. Well you love your bath time. You splash and splash until we have to take you out.

Bouncy bouncy is your favorite thing to do during the day. We put you in your bouncy zoo toy...and off you go. I think you are about to jump right out of it you get so high.

Twinkle twinkle is still your favorite song, Bernie's your favorite pal, you really enjoy books, music, and you always smile. In fact you are giggling most the day. Especially when we play "boo."

Now the weather is nice, we are taking long walks in your stroller. You seem to doze off, but love observing everything outside.

You said your first word "da da", are really attached to us, love to pat and gently rub who is ever holding you, have to be in the mix, and couldn't be sweeter.

We love you Izzy. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. 

Bonjour Belle

Growing up Disney's Beauty and the Beast was my favorite fairy tale. Who would have ever guessed I would one day have a Belle of my very own?

Not only are you dressed like a french mademoiselle with your french poodle sweater and inspired hat...your father has been calling you Belle for weeks.

PS- My favorite quote from the movie has always lived in my heart...

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere
I want it more than I can tell
But for once it might be grand
To have someone understand
I've got so much more than they have planned."

Bonjour Belle!

Carrots Are Not Just For Silly Rabbits

This little girl always has a slight orange tint to her nose. She loves anything yummy that is orange. Carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes.

Don't worry Izzy...mommy loves everything beige. I will introduce you to our friend named "carbohydrates" soon enough. In the mean time we will stay with veggies and milky...yum!

Hey Da Da Da Come And Get Me

After 40 weeks of pregnancy and months of little sleep...what does this angel decide to say first? That's right...not only does she look just like him, but has to talk about him all day too! "Da da" is Izzy's first word!

It happened last Monday when I was at a meeting. I was holding her on my lap and noticed her whispering over and over. It sounded just like "da da."

After her sound rehearsal Monday, she was ready for the big debut Tuesday afternoon. With one deep breath she fianlly belted out what she practiced all day "da da." Now she can't quit saying it. In fact it sounds exactly like "I love da da." It couldn't be any sweeter. The best part is...she will look straight into her baby monitor and utter those 4 little words...and Scott goes wild!

I know I keep saying "our favorite thing is..." okay I give up, every thing Izabelle does is our "favorite." What truly makes us laugh is when she looks straight into her monitor. "Hey guys, I know you are watching me! Now come and get me...and heat up some milky too." We laugh so hard. She literally knows we are spying on her.

We all love da da! Cheers to your first word.

Play Time

Since sweet Izzy J is at home she is only surrounded by adults and of course Bernie. We have been really focusing on getting her around other people and kids this past month. 



She absolutely loves babies. She literally tries to reach out and touch their hands. She also is captivated watching them play. Not to mention, our little girl learned how to sit up by herself! I think she wanted to since baby William already caught on.

The best part about hanging out with other kids and families is learning. I am full of questions for the mom's and dad's. It eases my overall sense of "am I doing this correctly." The first few months Izzy was born it was so hard to leave the house. Now that we have the hang of it, we are meeting at least one family a week to say "hi." We saw baby Luke (who is only 1 month younger than Izzy) and baby William (who is 15 days older than her) and Trip (who is 2). We had fun playing with toys, giggling, and of course eating.

Thank you Sarah and Allison for all the shared tips. I am one of those mom's who likes to hear what other family's are doing. Thanks to them we now have a play ball and key ring. We can't wait to meet even more friends soon. We love going to the zoo with Bennett and Caleb, playing puzzles with Harper and Owen, and look forward to seeing them and more pals soon!

Because...

Life is full of moments we all might think are small. However, they end of being the BIG moments at the end of the day. For some reason God formed me to think all "small" moments are really not so tiny. In fact I find beauty even in the simplest things in life. I look back on this past week and truly take a minute to thank our Father for my sweet husband. Work has been absolutely a whirlwind these past couple of weeks. They have been filled with ups and downs. I walked into work to find a BEAUTIFUL piece of happiness waiting for me to start my day.

Scott is always thinking of kind ways to show his support. Whether it's an email, text, dinner, or a stunning spring flower mix...he is there to save the day. I write it here on our family's blog so our children can always see how their father pursued their mom even after 7 years of being together. Cheers to this very happy couple. No matter what the issue, DSD always knows what to say. He is literally the BEST person I know.

Bear loves bunny!