Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!  It was beautiful here—sunny and over 70 degrees—so Isla and I ventured out to have lunch with a friend.  Then she “helped” make peanut butter truffles for daddy by taking a nice nap.  She is really excited about her Valentine’s Day present—Beauty and the Beast on DVD.  Okay, so maybe it’s me that is excited, since I now have an excuse to buy children’s movies.  Lately, everyone has been saying that she resembles Alex and I think it shows through in these pics, especially the eyes:

At Bedtime

 

Valentine’s Day.  Her hair is growing back :)

2 Months

Isla had her 2 month appointment on Thursday.  She is back on the growth charts, so hopefully her clothes will start fitting better.  Right now, she is swimming in them, but needs the length.

Weight:  12 lbs. 7 oz.  (75-90th percentile)

Length:  24 1/2 in.  (95th percentile)

Head:  16 in. (75-90th percentile)

Nothing really new going on—she still loves to bob around in the Bumbo chair:

Oh, and she discovered her tongue.  Literally, reached into her mouth and was holding onto it.  Yesterday, she figured out how to click it, and now there is a constant background noise in the house.  Click-click-click.  Click-click-click.

Movin’ On Up

On Saturday, Alex noticed that Isla kept leaning  forward in her carseat, as if she was going to stand up and walk right out of it.  Then last night, she again kept leaning forward while he was holding her.  We finally realized she was wanting to sit up like a big person.  She is able to balance for a  few seconds at a time before wobbling over:

With the help of the Bumbo chair, she can hang on the couch next to us:

Weekend Review

Another relaxing weekend . . . Is this phrase becoming monotonous?!??  It’s difficult to have activity-packed weekends when we have to break for feedings every few hours.  Yes, Isla is still stubbornly refusing a bottle.  However, we are making some progress.  My research suggested that babies are sometimes more receptive to the softer, brown-latex nipples, and she definitely is.  Lack of screaming when it hits her lips equals significant improvement over the clear silicone nipples.  She even sucked on it a couple times, however, always ends up choking.  So, we still have  a long way to go . . .

We did make it out to meet up with the Queen City Cats—a facebook group of Kentucky fans in Charlotte who congregate for the games.  Compiling gifts from a few different people, Isla wore what must be the cutest baby Wildcat outfit in existence (of course, she was being camera-shy again):

A special thanks to David Duke for the UK onesie, Aunt Becky for the adorable polka-dot jacket from Australia, and Nancy Jo for the jeggings which have been the BIGGEST hit among all our fashion-forward friends.

I know you all love pictures, so here are a few more:

And here’s a clip of tummy time (a.k.a. licking blanket time):

Eating My Words …

For the entire portion of my life ever since I began to consider my taste in vehicles, I have adamantly stated that I would never, ever, under no circumstances whatsoever own a minivan.  Today, I retract those words as gracefully as possible.

We HAD to get a new car.  The Ford F-350 that Alex drove may possibly be the least parent-friendly vehicle available.  Getting the carseat snapped in required a three step process:  (1) Set carseat on seat, (2) Stand on running board, and (3) Toss seat as far as possible, hoping that it lands correctly and snaps into base.  Additionally, we had to rent a vehicle in order to travel with both the baby and the dogs, and we are planning another trip to Kentucky at the end of February (Yay!)  So, it made since to bite the bullet now before spending the cash to rent again.

We went to the Honda dealership on Thursday evening, thoroughly expecting to leave with a Pilot.  But after inspecting it in person, it just wasn’t going to be large enough for all our travels, especially if we have another child anytime in the near future.  After I stated this thought, the salesmen asked me the dreaded question—“Have you considered a minivan?”

The truth was I had.  In the back of my mind, I knew it fit every one of my requirements—big enough for a couple of carseats and dogs, fits in garage, high-safety rating—every requirement except that it not be a minivan for vanity’s sake.  But who am I fooling?  As a stay-at-home mom who lives in the suburbs, I should drive a mini-van.  And now, after only a weekend, I do with no regrets …

At First Hand

Isla discovered her hands last Saturday and has been playing with them all week.  She spends quite a bit of time staring at them while clenching and opening her little fists.  I even caught her holding a toy but don’t think it was intentional.  Here’s a long video of what we call her scary, monster hands:

Look Who’s Talking

We had no idea that babies start trying to talk so early.  Isla first started cooing around a month ago, but now babbles almost any anytime we talk to her.  Her favorite “word” is Ahhh-ewwww.  She even tries to engage Mr. Frog who hangs from her carseat handle.  Here’s a short clip (Sorry it’s sideways—I haven’t figured out how to fix this yet):