Dancing in her winter coat!

My surgery partner Amy Whitson gave Isla this hand me down coat from her daughter. Isla loves it and wants to wear it all the time. Even when she is getting her groove on! Oh, and she went from hating the camera to now saying "cheese" anytime a cameria is in sight!

We had a great weekend with my mom and grandma. We made cookies and pinochle while the snow storm was raging outside. Isla of course gave a dance recital for mom and grandma while they were here. Too funny!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful time with the Stapleton's over Thanksgiving. All three of the Stapleton children were there so all 4 of the grandkids were together for the first time. We are so thankful!

snow!

It snowed in Minnesota today. A lot! Isla didn't quite know what to think of it. She didn't try to eat it and was a little afraid to touch it. Well, now that we are back in Minnesota she'll have to get used to it!!

Halloween!

Here are some pictures of our bumble bee! She had a great Halloween especially since Grandma and Grandpa were here! On Saturday we went to Gale Woods Farm for their Halloween event. We went on a horse-drawn hayride that Isla loved! She also got to see the cow, chickens and sheep again. Grandpa especially loved seeing that sheep with Isla.

Then on Sunday we went to one of my partner's houses in Waconia and went trick or treating. We went to 4 houses! She did great although she didn't really understand that when they open the door you aren't supposed to go into the house!

Snoring

This is so funny I wish it came out better in the video. Basically Mark is sleeping on the couch and snoring. Every time he snores Isla makes this hilarious noise in an attempt to copy his snoring noise. And she is totally serious about it. I just about died laughing when I first heard her do it. I think if you have your volume on high you can hear Mark snoring but it's pretty distant so in the second video I make a snoring noise and she copies that too! SO FUNNY!

mommy's shoes

She is determined!

purse

Watch her put on her "lipstick!" So cute!

Baby dolls

She is also really into her baby dolls. She likes to feed them, give them bottles, and put them in their (her) high chair. She also kisses them...mwah!

Shoes

Isla is saying two words now. No and shoe! She is really into shoes. Her shoes, mommy's dress shoes, daddy's slippers...any kind!

Grandma Edie's 95 birthday!

We had a great time this past weekend celebrating Edie's 95th birthday! It was so much fun to hear her stories about growing up in the country and going to school in a one room school house. It was also fun to have all of the cousins and second cousins together. Quite a party!

The pictures below are a representation of what it is like to take pictures of Isla right now. Basically impossible. She is so quick and has no patience for pictures. She is into running and still sticking everything possible from the ground or floor into her mouth!


Isla had her 15 month check and she is still 95% for height, 93% for weight and 100% for head size! So basically there are no other babies in this country with heads bigger than hers! It is all of those brains! She is doing well at daycare and today for the first time she had no problem leaving me and went right to Josie. It is always hard to leave her in the morning when she is crying, so that made my day!

First day of day-care!!

Isla's first day at daycare today! We decided to go with a home daycare since it was a little more personal and more flexible with our unpredictable hours. Josie is the woman's name and she has three kids of her own. Two are in school half day and the little one Ryan is about Isla's age. Josie has lots of awesome toys at her house that Isla loves. I think Josie will do a good job of doing activities and some toddler teaching with her. She gives us a sheet each day of things Isla does, what she eats, etc. Apparently today Isla did an apple painting project! I'm curious to see what that looks like!
Of course dropping her off today was much harder on me than on her! I cried like a baby but my baby just ran out of my arms to the toys. I guess she did really well and took a good nap.
On another good note I did my first operation today as a real surgeon! Woo hoo! Feels good to not be a resident anymore!

Summer 2010

What a wonderful summer we had. This was the first summer since medical school that I had the summer off! We did so many things and saw so many good friends and family. IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK IN MINNESOTA!! I feel so thankful that I had some real, solid time with Isla before starting my career. I think it was important for both of us and I will always remember and cherish this time that we had to bond.
Highlights of the summer....
*New Orleans where Mark received his FAGD award!
*Lynch family reunion
*Seeing my cousin Christa and her baby Anna
*Going to the pool almost everyday and getting Isla used to the water
*Enjoying the lake with my friends
*Taking Isla to the park almost everyday for "baby swings!"
*Rhonda's wedding
*Golfing twice with my husband (18 holes each!)
*Celebrating our 4 year anniversary!
*Taking and passing my board exam!
*Going to the state fair

Tomorrow I start what I feel like is a new chapter in my life. Finally my career is beginning after a lot of hard work and training. I look forward with so much excitement the next years of our lives together. Hopefully there will be more babies, laughs and joy! Of course I realize there will also be sweat and tears but it is all part of life and I am so BLESSED! Thank you to God and our families for supporting us the last 5 years.

Rhonda's wedding

Two weekends ago we went to my cousin Rhonda's wedding near Brainerd, MN. It was a great time and it was so good for all of the Johnson family to be together. It was the first time that all of the cousins had been together for a long time! We rented a pontoon on Saturday and went swimming in the lake. We also had a babysitter provided by the resort both nights so that was great. Isla had a great time with grandma and grandpa K and really loved to pretend she was driving the golf cart!

dancing at the water park in Chicago

eating the apple

Doesn't she look angry?

Carver County Fair

We took Isla to the Carver County Fair this past weekend. It was perfect because it was small and not crowded. She liked the sheep and the poultry barn. I don't think she totally understands animals yet but they sure do make funny noises! Especially the geese! We had cheese curds and mini donuts which she enjoyed! Hopefully she'll do as good at the state fair coming up as she did at the county fair!

Boards are done!

With grandpa Stapelton playing in the water

The kids take over!

Bath time! More fun with two babies!

Isla was in heaven with all the toys!

Now I have to see if I passed! I get the results Sept. 10th. We did take a trip to Chicago the week before the test for a review course. It was perfect because Auntie and Uncle Megan and Joe lived not far from the conference center. So Mark and Isla stayed there while I stayed at the hotel (boo...) BUT at least in the evenings I could see them. Isla had a great time playing with her cousins Sean and Liam. They went to the zoo, the water park and played with all of their toys. We really had a great time. It was also fun to see John and Saori who are expecting their little boy in September. Another boy cousin! It is good for Isla because she is such a girlie girl. She needs a little boy influence.

Copycat Cleaner

graduation pictures

Here are some pics from graduation I haven't posted yet. I love the one with me, Amanda and Isla-belle.

stroller accident

This video was taken at the Lynch family reunion two weeks ago. Isla was walking with her stroller and took a little spill. All was fine after we picked her up and got her going again!

dancing

Here is Isla's version of "butt" dancing!!! So cute!!

Cousin Anna

Cousin Anna came to visit this weekend. Isla loves other kids but I haven't really seen her interact with a baby before. She liked Anna's shirt but didn't really get that she was another baby. It was so good to see Auntie Beth, cousin Christa and baby Anna!

Belt

Isla is so cute! She has started copying things that we do. For example this weekend my mom was cleaning with a rag and Isla picked it up and started wiping the floor and the wall and the door....now she is our little copy-cat cleaner. So this video is of her trying to copy daddy when he puts on his belt!

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A

We are home!!!!!
After making up the two weeks I owed for maternity leave we were on our way. We did have a tearful goodbye with Amanda and it was very hard to leave her. Grandpa Paul came up on Thursday and helped us pack. Friday we got Mark and Isla on the plane and Dad and I were on the road with our U-Haul. It was fun to have a road trip with him and it was also a good chance for me to have closure on the last five years since my father is a talker and the analytic type (in a good way!) We took 2 1/2 days to get back. The second night we stayed outside of Chicago and the fire alarm in the hotel went off at 12:30 am! That wasn't fun. But back on the road Sunday morning to have a cheesy breakfast in Wisconsin! We pulled into Chaska mid-afternoon and were greeted by my mother, my daughter and my husband! What a nice welcoming party. Mark's parents came over too and we had an unpacking party that went into Monday! Thank you for everyone's help!
So as soon as we thought we could get settled we were off again to New Orleans for Mark to receive his FAGD (Fellowship in General Dentistry!) In order to receive this degree you have to complete a certain number of CE courses and take a test. I am so proud of him. It was a cap and gown ceremony and got a little long so Isla and I went in the back of the ballroom and played with all the kids. She loved it!
New Orleans was great but HOT! We went to the French Quarter everyday as our hotel was basically on the edge of it. We went to the French Market, the Garden District and Mardi Gras World! It was a great time and Isla was a trooper as she being dragged all around the country!
So back home last Sunday and now we are settled in for good! (Well, until this weekend when we leave to go to Mill Lacs Lake for Mark's family reunion...)
We love the new house that we are renting. It is on a quiet street and the backyard looks over the 15th hole of the Chaska Town Course. So Mark is golfing everyday and loving it! Still no practice for him to buy but we are looking!
It is so good to be with friends again. I had Sara over on Monday night, last night I went to my new partner Amy's house and tonight a Twins game with Annie! Tomorrow Natasha has planned a little graduation celebration for me and we are going to go boating on Lake Minnetonka! So much to do but my main goal this summer is to study for boards which is august 12th! Wish me luck!!
Isla is doing great but she is starting to realize her vocal chord potential. She can really scream and squeal!
So good to be HOME!!!
I'm going to post pics on my picasaweb.google.com/krab0009 site!

The walker

While we were in the airport coming home from New Orleans there was a little boy Isla's age walking. She loved watching him walk and she is getting so close! So she found that by pushing the stroller she could walk with assistance all over the airport. When we got home we thought we should buy her a toy walker so she could keep practicing and now she is even closer to walking on her own! This is a video of her walking with her new toy.

Isla walking!

She did and for real this time! For about a week she has been bobbling between the coffee table and the couch but today she really walked about 6 steps!! Probably by the time we get to Minnesota she'll be getting up and walking around all over the place!

5 more days until Mark and Isla are in Minnesota! 7 days for me!!!!!

1 year old!

Here are the traditional cake pictures! She did a good job getting it on her hands but not so much on her face and hair. She's a girlie girl at heart! What a wonderful birthday party we had. There were seven kids there which was fun. Isla loves other children! Auntie Laura made the most amazing cupcakes and super big girl cupcake for Isla! Laura is so talented!!

Well, my baby is one! I can't believe how much she has changed in one year. I was looking at videos from when she was only weeks old and it is incredible how different she was then. Every stage she has gone through so far I have loved. I look forward to all of the stages to come!

Florida!

What a great time we had in Florida! Isla was a little out of sorts the first two days as she had her top two teeth pop through! She had fevers and even vomited one day which scared me! I started crying! I guess the first time you see your baby throw up is a shocker!
This picture is of baby Isla with "GG" as we call Great-grandma Edie. Edie will turn 95 later this year! I cannot figure out to make this picture up and down! Oh well! So we went to the pool or beach almost everyday. The weather was awesome. It only rained one day and that was the day Isla was sick so it worked out perfectly!

This picture was at Siesta Key beach. Isla was so tired she fell asleep under the umbrella on the beach. She went into the ocean twice and after getting past the waves which freaked her out she did great!

Uncle John and Auntie Saori were in Florida with us for a couple of days which was so nice. We haven't seen them since Christmas. They are expecting a baby in September!

I took some shots of Isla outside of Barb and Marty's house in her beach outfit and crocs. What a cutie!

This is at Lakewood Ranch just down the road from Barb and Marty's place. Again, we couldn't have asked for better weather. We ate outside at almost every meal!

In the pool with Grandma Barb!

Isla loved her rubber duckie for the pool!
This was her cute cover-up that Grandma Carol gave her. You can see her new top teeth in this picture.

Thank you Barb and Marty for a GREAT vacation!!

box

Amanda put Isla in this cardboard box and let her try to figure out how to get out of it. She's so smart it took about 10 seconds for her to figure it out!

Of course I am biased but she really is smart. This morning I found her standing next to the door reaching up to try to turn the doorknob! Fortunately she's not quite tall enough to reach it but it's a matter of weeks until she's opening doors!!

mommy crawl

I was trying to get her to do the silly mouth noises that she does sometimes but she didn't really want to do it! Instead she wanted to crawl on mommy!

playing with stuffed animals

This video shows an example of what Isla has been doing lately. She'll have two things she wants to play with. Her doll and the god in this video. She'll start playing with one and realize that she has put the other one down and back and forth. I guess it means she's developing her memory...or that she has inherited my talent for multi-tasking!

car accident- everyone is ok!

Last Thursday Amanda called me and told me her and Isla had been in a car accident! Apparently a woman came up on them at a red light. Luckily Amanda saw the car in her mirror and tried to pull over so instead of hitting the bumper the other car hit the side of Amanda's car. No one was hurt thankfully! However the police said the woman was heavily medicated and has a phobia of driving!!! WHY WAS SHE DRIVING!! It makes me so angry that she would risk other people's lives like that!
The good news is that everyone is ok!!

This video is a little boring but I find joy everything she does!

Amanda got Isla this cute hat. Cute but dangerous. I got a phone call this evening at work from Amanda saying that the strap from the hat had made Isla's neck all red and swollen. I left work immediately and drove quickly home. Of course when I rushed in the door to look at her neck I could hardly see the little scratch it had caused. Amanda isn't one to over-react so I had taken her very seriously and to her it was a serious scratch! At least we know we can trust her to pay attention to Isla's every detail!! I'm also glad I'm not the only one who is a little neurotic over our little princess!!

Look at my Easter sweetie! What a cutie-belle! We took her to Easter mass this morning and she was as good as she could be since it was during her nap time.

Over the weekend she has really started pulling up on things to stand. Pretty soon she'll be cruising!