Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. Last night we carved Isha's first pumpkin. Isha picked her pumpkin out on Monday night at the church down the street. The guy running the stand even gave her a few little pumpkins for free. Isha was a good helper. In one hand she has the spoon and in the other hand she has her fish. She loves this little fish and she carries him all around the house. She even holds onto him when she is crawling. Over the weekend we went to Boo at the Barn at Maymont. They had a costume contest and lots of fun and games for the kids. They also had all the animals out so that the kids could feed them. It was a little warm on Saturday so I didn't make Isha dress up in her costume, but she did wear her witch outfit. On Monday we went to story time at the public library. Isha seems to enjoy listening to the stories and watching all the other little kids. We usually go to the library at least once a week. I want Isha to be a reader so I am starting early. I love this little outfit because it looks like a big girl outfit. We even did the pony tails again. I have found that if I put a little water on her hair and then smooth it out it makes perfect little curled pony tails. I know that I am being obnoxious, but I can't help it she is just so cute!

Under Construction

I have made a few changes to the blog, but in the process I have managed to lose some of the page elements. So now I have to get them all back. I like the layout, but I don't like the way the pictures looks. I am not sure if I am going to keep this layout, pick a new one, or just go back to the regular blogger layouts. We have some really cute videos of Isha. We need to get them posted. Hopefully in the next few days we will get them on the blog. Isha is crawling like crazy and she has even started to pull herself up on the furniture. I am a nervous wreck because I don't want her to bump her head. I guess that is part of growing up and you just have to get tough.

Fall Festival

This last Sunday we had a fall festival in our neighborhood. Isha had a great time looking at all the animals. Of course the goats where our favorite. The white pony was also very sweet, but more interested in eating that playing with the kids. After playing with the animals ( and washing our hands) we had some lunch and visited with some neighbors. They had games to play, a hay ride and a costume contest. I'm sure Isha would have won if we had dressed her up, but she was still a little under the weather so I didn't feel like making her dress up.

The Poop Face

I know that this is a horrible title for a post and that it is totally tacky to share my kids bowel habits on the net, but these pictures say it all. Isha will get really quiet and stiff and then her face turns beet red. Her little nostrils flare and then comes the grunting. I feel bad for her because she looks so miserable. This is a picture to contrast the facial color and the look. I apologize if this post was to graphic, but this is life with a baby. Isha had her nine month check up on Friday. I think that we may be raising a dwarf. She is still 25 1/2 inches (that is what she was at 6 months) and she weighs 15 lb and 12 oz (that is a 2 lb and 3 oz gain since her 6 month check up). She is so short that she is no longer on the growth chart for height ( yep, she is definitely Jai's daughter ) and she is in the 5 percentile for weight. All kidding aside, the doctor said she is just fine. He said that she will probably be petite and that next time her height will probably jump way up back onto the growth chart. I am not worried that she is so little. She is happy and healthy and that is all that matters. Now that Isha has turned 9 months old she has become much more independent. She has also started throwing little mini tantrum. She screams when I put a clip in her hair, when I lay her down to take a nap, when I change her diaper, when I don't get her food fast enough, and any other time I don't do what she wants. She is still a very easy baby, but this is going to take some getting used to.

Nine Months Old

It is hard to believe that Isha is 9 months old. She goes for her 9 month check up on Friday so we will keep you posted regarding her growth. She has definitely gained some weight. My arms are starting to kill me when I hold her.

Isha in her light up shoes. Unfortunately they haven't been worn much because her feet are so little and when you don't walk, who really needs shoes anyways. She has started crawling, but is still pretty content to just sit on her blanket and play with her toys. The one thing that will motivate her to move is electronics (remote control, telephone, or cellphone). She also loves to crawl over to the fireplace and sit on the granite. I am afraid she is going to fall over and crack her head open. Here is Isha being a good girl playing with her toys. When Jai gets home we will have to post a video of Isha crawling. She has also started pulling herself up. She also stands up while holding on to this toy. I kept trying to take a picture of her doing it and of course she wouldn't. When she finally did stand up the camera turned off because the batteries were dead. So much for technology.

Isha's First Fair

Shawn and Sara came down and we went to the Virginia State Fair. I haven't been to the fair in years, so it was fun looking at all the animals and people watching.

Isha had a good time. Even without her afternoon nap she was in a great mood all day. She enjoyed looking at all the animals and all the attentions she got from everyone at the fair.

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

The Beach

We had a great time down in North Myrtle Beach. We went with our neighbors, Adam and Laura, Laura's parents (Louis and Linda, and Laura's friends (Edie and JJ). We spent lots of time hanging out on the beach and lots of time eating. Isha spent most of the time in the shade playing with her beach toys, but we did venture out into the ocean a few times and into the swimming pool. Isha loved the water and she didn't even cry when a wave splashed up in her face. With all the extra people around, Isha got lots of attention. Linda watched her a few nights so that we could go out and have a good time. Isha did great on vacation. She was great at all the restaurants that we went to and she slept like a log. I was worried that she would cry in the mornings and wake everyone up, but she was great. Isha and dad relaxing in the condo. Of course, the weekend before we left for the beach Isha got her second cold and had a stuffy nose the whole time we were at the beach. Even though she was sick it didn't stop her from having a good time. Isha ate a few handfuls of sand while at the beach. She didn't seem to mind the salty taste or the grit. I did try to keep the sand consumption to a minimum though.

Still Not Crawling, But Almost

Isha is still not crawling (which actually is not a bad thing), but she is getting closer. The other day she crawled/rolled/wiggled her way over to see Stitch. Once she made it there she gave him a few pets. She has become more interested in Stitch lately. He is very patient with her and he doesn't seem to mind the extra attention from her. I thought maybe she would start crawling at the beach, but she didn't spend anytime on the ground. With six other people around she was always being held by someone.

Stitch is at the groomers right now so we will have some more pictures of him and Isha after he gets home. I would love to have some professional pictures taken of the two of them, but I haven't been found a place that lets you bring pets.

Finger Foods

Isha has started eating finger foods. It is amazing how fast they learn new things. The first time I gave her Cherrios she just pushed them around the tray and threw them on the floor. I tried the next day and she ate every single one. She has now moved on to cut up fruit, lunch meat and cheese.

I made blueberry buckwheat pancakes. Isha liked them the first day, but when I tried to give them to her this morning they were so heavy and dry she couldn't eat them. Yesterday I gave her kiwi to eat and she was covered in little black seeds. The kiwi was a little harder to eat because it was slimy and she had a hard time picking it up.

Meal time has became a very messy deal, but Stitch is loving all the dropped food.

Next week we leave for the beach. I can't wait for Isha to play in the sand. We will take lots of pictures to share with everyone.

Isha's Room

Here is Isha's room. We have pillows, stuffed animals and a duvet cover that sits in the closet because babies aren't supposed to sleep with all that stuff. It is funny how we spend all this time and money on stuff, just to put it up in the closet. It's hard to be practical when it comes to your kids I guess. The truth is it is hard to be practical when you are pregnant and full of hormones and the stores are full of adorable baby stuff.

A little play time in her room while mom stages the crib for pictures. I made the pink blanket for Isha while I was pregnant. She has lots of cuddly blankets and hopefully she will get to use them this winter. It was so warm last year that we really didn't need any of them. Isha is so close to crawling. She can get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, but no forward motion yet. Here is my little monkey playing in her room.

We started using the cloth diapers full time last week and it really hasn't been to bad. We have been battling a case of diaper rash for the last few weeks, so occasionally I will put a disposable on so that I can slather her buns up with A&D ointment. Jai is a bit wimpy when it comes to the messy ones and the smell on wash day. He reacts like there is some sort of radio active material in our washing machine. I don't mind doing the extra work if it helps the environment. Every little bit helps. (That is my little environmental pitch. All of you who know me as the recycling addict are probably laughing right now.)

Here is a video of Isha's room. We still need to hang up a few pictures and we also bought a bookcase last weekend to put in her room. It is going to sit on the wall next to the chair. Now she will have a place to put all her dolls and books.

Check this out. Look at the great work Jen did on Isha's room.

Jai put up the chair rail and painted the walls and I painted the border and the letters for her name. It was a joint effort.

Elephant

We found this adorable stuffed elephant at Sam's Club and we couldn't help but buy it for Isha. It goes great in her room. We took a video of her room and it should be up on the blog in the next few days. The elephant has a wooden frame so that Isha can sit on it. She still needs a little help with the balance, but she loves her new elephant. We are going to have to find a name for him. Maybe that will be our next blog poll.

Daddy Time

Here is Isha getting a little Daddy time. Isn't that the sweetest thing you have ever seen. ( You do know that I am talking about Isha and not Jai. He looks like a trouble maker.) Isha's hair has grown a lot lately. It is in her eyes most of the time. I have started to put clips in it to keep it out of her eyes. In these pictures her hair looks black, but when she is out in the sun it has really pretty auburn highlights. We had to retire the bouncy seat because Isha is no longer content to just sit in it and relax. She is always trying to see what is underneath the seat. I am afraid that she is going to tip the thing over. I couldn't have made it through those first few months without the bouncy seat. It is like losing an old friend. But now we are on to bigger and better things. Here are the three amigos from the breastfeeding support group. Isha loves playing with Tyler and Hunter. We try to get the kids together at least once a week so they can play and we can hang out with other adults. This week we hung out at the pool which was lots of fun.

The New Toy

Finally, here is a picture of the new toy we bought for Isha. Not the best picture, I know, but what can I say, I'm a nurse not a photographer. There are 26 little animals, one for each letter of the alphabet. Isha's favorite is the alligator. I think she likes him because he is bright green and because he is easy to chew on. The little mat makes all the animal sounds and says the animals name and the letters of the alphabet. It also plays a little song. I am starting to wonder why we paid all that money for the above fancy toy because Isha is just as happy playing with an empty water bottle. She loves the noise it makes when we blow over the top of the bottle. We didn't have much going on Friday, so I was trying to find things to keep us amused.

Isha the Party Girl

Isha went to her first party this weekend. She really got into the celebrating by wearing her little party hat. She even wore a cute little dress to the party. Isha and her Daddy are just hanging out on the couch. Here is a picture of Isha with the birthday boy, Liam. It was his first birthday. Isha loved playing with all the different toys and reading all the books. Liam's grandma was helping Isha read while his mom read to him. She loved the little Fisher Price Animal Alphabet toys so today we ran out and got it for her. At a few cents short of 40 bucks it was a bit pricey, but other than her Jumparoo, this is the only big toy we have bought for her, so we didn't feel like we were spoiling her too much. Most of her other toys are just rattles and stuffed animals so she was due for some big girl toys. Stay tuned for some pics of the new toy.

Wolverine Hair

This is the unfortunate side effect of pony tails. So once we do ponies, we are committed for the day. Even re-wetting her hair won't take this mess away. It reminds me of wolverine's hair on X-Men, but it also has a slight resemblance to the flying nun.