Izzie, You're 8 Months Old Today!

Dearest Izzie,

You turned 8 months old today! In the last month, you've learned to do a lot of new things. Just this past week, you began sitting up without using your hands for support. At first, you would only do it when you got mad and started crying. That's because you would get so upset that you'd forget to support yourself and just start sitting upright with your hands (fists!) in the air! But now that you know it's not so scary, you'll sit up with your hands in the air even if you're not crying. You also started scooting backwards on your own. We can't leave you alone anymore, because otherwise you'll end up in a completely different spot when we come and find you! You haven't quite started crawling yet, but we think that's right around the corner. You can do great pushups! You get so high in the air sometimes it's unbelievable. They're even better than mommy's pushups!

Maybe you're biggest and most entertaining development is your constant babbling. Just like that, you have turned from a mellow, quiet kid into a nonstop chatterbox! We don't speak baby, so we're not sure exactly what you're saying, but you sure sound excited about it. You'll even shriek in excitement when you see something you like; on the other end, you'll scream really loudly if we ever take your toys away from you. You are developing a personality! Congratulations! We've also continued to teach you baby sign language, and it looks like you are beginning to recognize the basic ones. We hope to be able to communicate with you soon. We think you would have a lot of really fun and interesting things to tell us.

Solid foods has been a bit of an adventure this month. You were scarfing them down like a vacuum for awhile, but then you started to not poo, and that worried us a bit, so we gave you a bit of a break and put you back exclusively on leche de madre. Now you're back to normal, so it's back on to solids again. Mommy spent a Saturday afternoon last month grinding up a bunch of organic fruits and veggies, and now they're sitting in our freezer, just waiting to be devoured! You're favorite toys this month have been board books. It looks like you're going to be a scholar! You also earned your first $5 of your entire life! Our super, Billy, gave you a big prize when he noticed that you grew in your first pair of teeth!

Oh, and how could I forget! You were baptized last month. Welcome to the covenant community, kiddo. We'll do our very best to answer all of your questions in the future and teach you all of things that we believe in. What a big month it's been for you!

Finally, last month, you took your first airplane trip and went outside of New York for the first time. You went to visit grandma and grandpa (and also Uncle Robert) in California, and you got your first taste of suburban life. We're going again this week, and also to Hawaii, so we hope you'll be the same great baby that you were on the first trip. Remember the family rule: no crying or shouting on airplanes!

We can't wait to see what next month will bring. Daddy will start school again, and the leaves on the trees will possibly start changing colors. We'll be sure to take you out for many walks so that you can see all the changes going on. By then, you'll probably be so enthralled with all the different colors that you will want to reach up and pick a bunch of leaves. We think this is a really special time, and we remind ourselves of that every day. We love you, booboo, and we'd do absolutely anything for you.

Love,
M+D

Izzie Loves her Jumperoo!

Way back when, Al and I were afraid to give our swing away. We knew that Izzie had outgrown her beloved swing, but that thing has been such a savior for us on those sleepless days and nights, we were dreading giving it away. Of course, in place, Annie and Brice gave us the jumperoo, and it looks like Al and I were worried about nothing. Izzie loves her Jumperoo!

Izzie.. the Self-Feeder?

It is amazing how many things that you previously thought were natural instincts are actual things that babies have to learn how to do. For example, you will all remember that it was quite a challenge getting Izzie to feed from a bottle. It was an arduous process that took several weeks - but now, I'm happy to say that she can switch back and forth from the boob and the bottle with no problem. Last week, Al was feeding her a bottle, when Izzie started to grab it herself:



I came home and was super excited to see the video of her holding her own bottle. I've been giving her a sippy cup with water at mealtimes, but she would suck a little bit of it, and then just start to play with her cup. I wanted to see what would happen if I put milk in the cup - and she was drinking away like a pro! She still has a long way to go before she is good at it, and I'm not keen on how much milk it wastes (since she's not strong enough to tilt the cup back, I need to put in a lot of milk). Hopefully though, her transition to sippy cups will be very smooth, and in a few months, we'll be able to say that we are bottle free!



And a bonus video....No hands - this girl knows how to multi-task!

Time to Lower the Crib?

We always say that Izzie is a really mellow baby - she can entertain herself and sometimes she is perfectly content with playing with her toys by herself. We think this is one of the key reasons, she hasn't really shown too much interest in being super mobile. She tries to crawl and such - but compared to other babies I've seen, she doesn't try as hard, because she's completely happy just where she is.

Thats why when we saw that she could do this:


and this:


we realized Izzie will not be stationary for much longer. Where has my little baby gone?

Grasping for Things

Lately, Izzie has become a grasping machine. With her (relatively) newfound knowledge of using both of her hands at the same time, everything has become interesting to her. Unfortunately, some of her favorite things are electronic-related things: computer, remote control, headphones, cell phones, etc. Wanting to set boundaries and rules early on, Soph and I don't really let her touch or play with these things. However, she has also started to throw fits when we take things away from her - a preview of what is ahead of us??? We'll see...

Taking cute videos of her has become somewhat of a challenge...everytime we try to get a video of her doing something new, she instantly becomes distracted and tries to reach out for the camera.

Izzie - You have teeth!

Two, to be exact!

After weeks of wondering if you were teething or not, we finally have our answer. The other day, our nanny was taking you around in the building, when Billy, our super, pointed out that you had two teeth. Nanny denied at at first, but then sure enough, you opened your mouth and proudly showed off your pearly whites.

Your teething process hasn't been that bad - hopefully the rest will be relatively smooth.

Today, when I woke up, and I thought of your teeth...I thought it was crazy how you're going to have these teeth until you're seven or eight (or whenever they fall out). You're so tiny right now, and yet, these teeth that you're growing are going to help you chew and eat for the next few years. Right now, you depend on your M+D for your nutrition and well-being, but soon enough, your teeth are all going to grow in, you're going to eat on your own, and ultimately save the world.

Sigh...time flies by...maybe, a little too quickly.

Izzie Hanging Out With Family

While we were in California, Al's parents and Robert watched Izzie for us. Al and I weren't concerned at all - Izzie is a really mellow baby, and she hasn't shown sure signs of separation anxiety yet. We felt bad that we were so busy and couldn't spend any time with family - but we were sure glad that Izzie got to spend time with the family.







One thing that I knew was going to be a challenge was putting Izzie down for naps. She was so used to either Al, the nanny or me putting her down, and with the new environment, I was afraid that she wouldn't go down easily. Well... Al and I discovered the beauty of living in suburbia - you just strap the kid in the carseat and take her out for a ride, and she's out like a light!

Greg and Wendy's Wedding

We've been friends with Greg and Wendy, since the beginning of college. They started dating right after freshman year and finally they tied the knot! Al and I are absolutely thrilled for them, and we were so happy to be a part of their day - I was a bridesmaid, and Albert MC'ed their reception.

Here are the bridesmaid at lunch the day before:


Izzie was with us, as we got ready in the morning:


Some pre-ceremony pictures:


A few minutes before Wendy became Wendy Lu-Carroll. Look how radiant she looks!


Me and Al at the reception, baby-free:


On the very looooong trip home (post to come), Al and I kept talking about how great the wedding was and how emotional both of us got. This was actually the first wedding that we've been to since our own wedding two years ago. For my own wedding, I was very focused. I was on a mission to get married (haha), and I was concerned and I guess, almost distracted with all the details and logistics of the wedding. Then, we moved to NY, and found jobs, started school, had a baby - life just took over. I don't think I ever really sat back and thought about how big of a deal it is to get married and become one family. During the weekend, as I participated in the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and finally the wedding, it really gave me time to reflect how blessed both Albert and I are. Wendy and Greg wrote their own vows and Greg said, "I was opened up to the possibility of being completely known and still wanted, pursued and loved," and I thought that was just the perfect way of describing the hallmark of a truly great relationship. During the ceremony, I kept trying to catch Al's attention, to tell him how much I loved him - of course he was busy looking at the couple getting married and not me - but afterwards, i got to tell him. Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Lu- Carroll, for letting us be part of your day - we love you guys!

Izzie's First Plane Ride

Izzie is now officially a jet-setter! Al and I had to fly out to California to attend Greg and Wendy's wedding, and we couldn't leave our favorite daughter behind. I was a bit nervous - I had no idea how Izzie was going to do, and I feared being "those" people with the "screaming baby." I spent quite a bit of time on the internet, trying to figure out the easiest way to do things, and packed the diaper bag to be ready for every single scenario possible. On top of all this hoopla, there were severe thunderstorms on the day before we were supposed to fly out, and the forecast for the day of wasn't looking too promising. JFK, at its best, is pretty bad, so I was dreading the whole experience.

Turns out, our little Miss Izzie is a pro at flying. She did absolutely wonderful. Here she is before her big ride:


And then a short interview of her thoughts about being on a plane for the first time:


I had packed quite a few toys to keep her entertained, but it turns out watching people stand in line for the bathroom, and playing with the jack for the headphones was enough entertainment for her.

On the way back, after an exhausting weekend, Al and I thought we were totally in the clear. We were on the first flight out (almost no delays), and there were empty seats on the plane, so we were able to bring our carseat and plop Izzie in her own seat. All was going well, when somewhere around Iowa, the pilot announces how there are thunderstorms in NYC, and we have to be in a holding pattern for 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes passed, and we were on our way again - no big deal. An hour later, another announcement - we had to go in another holding pattern for about 30 minutes, and now fuel was an issue. Ugh. Just a little bit later, our fate was sealed - our plane was being diverted to Pittsburgh to refuel and the pilot had no idea when we would be able to leave for JFK again. We ended up spending six hours either at the Pittsburgh airport or on the plane. Here is Albert getting Izzie to nap at the lovely Pittsburgh airport:


We got home too late for me to even remember. The amazing thing is - Izzie was absolutely perfect throughout the whole ordeal. She napped four (!) times for us that day, and she didn't fuss once. She was either sleeping, eating, or happily gurgling away. I know - we're the luckiest parents in the whole world!