Charlie Brown tree...skirt

I was in need of a tree skirt for our family tree and was thinking about using fabric but on Black Friday I found a tree skirt for $5!  What a great deal!!  Of course, I bought it and was so excited to get home and put it around the tree.  Well... you get what you pay for.

I opened the package and immediately thought... what happened to the rest of the fabric?!?  I put it around the tree and it barely covered the legs.  However, it made me laugh every time I walked by the tree so I left it for a few days.  Then I went to the store and purchased my fabric.  Moral of the story... just because it is on sale doesn't mean it is a good purchase!

Tummy Time!

Ryan sent me a picture of Izzy doing a little tummy time to help me get through the rest of the day.  I miss that little peanut and her big brothers too!

Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year and I feel very blessed.  This is the first holiday season with Isabelle and now our little family of 5 is complete.  These kids light up my world and keep me on my toes. 
We had a great Thanksgiving with our families this year. 
On the way to Nana and Papa's, Aiden learned how to pump gas.  I think this is a good lesson for the boys to learn now especially so Mommy doesn't have to get out in the cold to pump anymore.  (Wishful thinking!)

We spent the afternoon with my family and enjoyed a wonderful lunch.  I know the saying that turkey makes you sleepy is supposedly not true, but I do need a nap after every Thanksgiving lunch.
After lunch and a little playtime, we headed back home to rest.  Then we got down to the good stuff... preparing for Black Friday!



As you can see, Isabelle really got into the spirit!

 I headed out to Walmart with the other crazy people for the beginning of Black Thursday Friday at 10pm.  Had it not been for the boy's main Christmas gift being half off, I would have been tucked snug in my warm bed.  Instead, I was in the midst of pure craziness!  However, I did get their gift so mission accomplished.

Izzy is 6 months!

I can't believe that Isabelle has been with our family for 1/2 a year now.  Time seems to be flying by way too fast!  I am sure I have said this statement as each month passes but it is true.  I wish I could slow things down just a bit.

How do you like her 80's leg warmers??

6 months stats:

*Weighs 12.7 lbs and is 24.4 in. (the nurse didn't measure her at her last appointment so the inches might be a little off.)

*She is eating all stage 1 food with cereal.  So far, we haven't found anything she doesn't like.

*She is still drinking around 6 ozs. during each feeding.

*She is sitting up with help and loves her tummy time. 

*We have some new exercises we are learning from her PT to help strengthen her left side as well as learning to sit independently.

*She is now rolling over from her back/tummy and tummy/back.  She had her back/tummy mastered a few months ago but in the last week or so, she began rolling over completely.

*She still prefers her thumb over a pacifier.

*She still doesn't have any teeth but we can see that her gums are white and puffy so one might break through any time. 

Happy 6 months Izzy!!

Quiet Weekend

It has been a long time since I have been able to say that... quiet weekend.  Friday we decided to take the kids to dinner and a movie.

Isabelle sitting nice and quiet during dinner at Johnny Rockets.

We saw Happy Feet 2 and we all loved the music.  (Even Isabelle- it put her into a deep sleep.)  Saturday was a pretty lazy day for us.  We are finally finished with soccer games and early morning obligations.  I can't say I slept in since Isabelle is still getting adjusted to the time change.  We were up at 5:45am.  So I was able to catch up on few of my shows and do some snuggling.  Then the boys and I put up some Christmas stuff around the living room.  Well... I put up some Christmas stuff and they played with their ornaments.  I thought they were awfully quiet...


A tangled mess

I should have known they were just a little too quiet. It looks like I will be purchasing some new ornaments this year.

Then we decided to watch Cars2 until Daddy got home from work.

Isabelle really enjoyed the movie.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed an early Thanksgiving dinner at Mimi and Poppy's.  Isabelle and I were really tired from getting up so early so we headed to bed as soon as we got home.  Just as we were drifting off to sleep, 2 boys come running in the room and woke us both up.  So, guess who had to put Isabelle back to sleep??

Ethan tried to sing her a lullaby

Then it was Aiden's turn

 I am thankful for our first quiet weekend in a long time.  We have to enjoy it while we can since Ethan is starting basketball in just a few short weeks. 

Time Change

Little Miss Princess can't seem to get back to her normal schedule since the time change.  Mommy is not a big fan of the time change anymore.  Isabelle has always slept through the night from the time she came home from the hospital so I am not used to getting up nor do I want to get used to getting up at all hours of the night. 
So, instead of sleep we have been playing and taking pictures.  No pictures of me since I don't look near as pretty without sleep... you can thank me later. 

And look... she falls asleep right when it is time for me to get up for work.

Another night... still wide awake.

Doing some exercises at 5am.

You talking to me?!?

Isabelle is trying out the big girl table at church.  So far... not a big fan! 

Field Trip!

Ethan had his 2nd grade field trip this morning and they went to see a play at the College.  A note was sent home for him to dress nice to promote good "theater" behavior.  So... I picked out his outfit last night but the only problem was, his "worker"shoes (nice, dressy shoes) were already handed down to Aiden and were not replaced.  *Insert drama... from myself and Ethan.*  He ended up wearing his tennis shoes but was not happy.  We added some gel to his hair, a little of Daddy's cologne and sent him off to school.

(Thankfully, Angie went as a chaperone and sent me a few pictures)


I see the kid next to him has a blazer on...  hopefully Ethan wasn't under-dressed.

Well...  we can dress him up but he still is the silly boy we all love!  Hopefully he calmed down and showed good "theater" behavior during the play.

Phone- Photo dump

Aiden likes to dress himself these days.  I have to admit, he is doing a great job. It kind of makes me wonder who is dressing up for??

Isabelle- snug as a bug at Destin Commons

Peek-a-boo... I see you!

A little playtime before bedtime

*Aunt Stephanie pointed out that Ethan seems to be without a shirt in most of his pictures while at the house.  That would be because he strips down to his boxers the moment he steps into the house.  For a child that is so modest, he does prefer to be without clothes.  I know... I can't figure him out either.*

Isabelle's cute little feet

Aiden giving Isabelle a massage before bed

Nana let me borrow her sewing machine.  I tried my first project- baby leg warmers.  Needless to say, I will be stopping by the store tonight to pick up a few needed materials so I can fix my first project.  Oh well, I will keep trying.

Ryan asked me to fix a pocket in a pair of his pants.  He said that I can't really mess that up... does he know me at all?!?  At least no one will be able to see the end results.

Therapy time!!

Not for me... even though some days I don't think that is such a bad idea!  Isabelle had her physical therapy this morning.  I made sure she was full of cereal, fruit and a bottle all before her therapist arrived.  Good thing because she surely worked off some calories today! 

Look who has found out that her toes taste yummy!

Hmmm... do I like my toes or thumb better??  At this point, I hope she sticks with her thumb.

Our flexible baby

Yummy!  At least I gave her a bath this morning so they are clean.

I can't take it anymore!  I am just going to lay here until you leave me alone.

Nope, still here... then I will scream really loud and see if that works.

I want my Mommy...

Isabelle was a great sport today.  She did a lot of hard exercises and we can tell she is getting stronger.

Isabelle's Cardiology update

Isabelle and I headed to Pensacola on Tuesday for her echo cardiogram and checkup following her open heart surgery.  The echo seemed to last a lot longer than usual.  I think Isabelle had ants in her pants.  She was not cooperating and not interested in the Baby Einstein playing in the background.  Thankfully, the tech was patient and was finally able to get all of the shots she needed.
Everything looks great with her heart so Isabelle has been cleared for 6 months.  Our next visit will be in April 2012.  (A month before her 1 year birthday!)

Current stats:
Weight -12.2 lbs
Height- 24.4 ins. 

We were happy to finally see some weight gain.  She has gained 2 lbs since her surgery!! 

Fun times in October

We have done a lot this past month.  It seems like we didn't spend any lazy nights at the house.  I am beginning to miss those nights!  Our home is also being neglected in the cleaning department.  Oh well, we are building memories. 
We visited the Corn Maze on Aiden's birthday.  It was extremely hot so we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked. 

Aiden birthday wish was to play glow-in-the dark golf.  So, his wish was granted.

Isabelle glowing...

Mommy trying to golf with Isabelle in the sling.  I am talented!

Halloween 2011

Our fighting Ninja

Vampire

This is Izzy before we even got started.

Izzy woke up for all of about 5 minutes

Crazy kids

It is impossible to get them to all smile at once so this is as good as it gets.



Happy Halloween!