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!

Rice Cake

Amanda got Isla these awesome rice cakes that she loves!

Daddy and Isla swinging

Isla loves her daddy! She went swinging with him today. Mark is such a wonderful, fun, FANTASTIC father! I am so appreciative of his help and his love for Isla. He loves her so much!

swinging

We have taken Isla to the park a few times now and she seems to like the swing. She really loves to watch the other kids playing. I think it is good for her to interact and see other kids playing. Amanda does take her to play group once a week so that is some social exposure for her. She does well with other kids and really likes to watch them playing.

practice

Isla has been practicing her walking!

Pulling up!

Isla's talents

Let's review Isla's talents at nine months;

1) Sleeping: Two naps which range from 1/2 hour to 2 hours. Sleeping anywhere from 10-12 hours per night with only the occasional wake-up which only requires replacement of the pacifier and no milk!

2) Crawling: All over the place! And getting into some things I shouldn't- like trying to pull the lamp over!

3) Pulling up: Not quite onto her feet but onto her knees.

4) Eating: She is eating almost everything. She loves it all and doesn't have her daddy's aversion to veggies! Her favorites are madarin oranges, peaches, pears, corn puffs, sweet potatoes and green beans!

5) Drinking out of a cup- sometimes too much to fast and making a big mess!

6) Waving bye-bye, putting my hands up when the tray goes on the high chair, rolling over and crawling away when mommy is changing my diaper, splashing in the tub, kisses with my mouth wide open, finding the smallest piece of lint and putting it in my mouth and the list goes on! What a talented baby!

more crawling

I realized recently that I am doing a pretty good job documenting Isla's new talents with video and pictures but I haven't really blogged much. I think I should blog about not taking things for granted. Like the fact that Isla is sleeping pretty much through the night now without any midnight snacks. Just an occasional whimper where I can put her pacifier back in her mouth and she rolls over into a dream. Or the fact that she can really recognize her mommy when I walk in the door from work.

Thinking back to my maternity leave seems like ages ago. It is so funny that for seven weeks I sat on a couch with my baby and didn't really get anything else done. Those seven weeks flew by and I must have been really exhausted because I feel like one of my best skills is multi-tasking and I really didn't do anything for seven weeks. Flash forward to nine-month old Isla crawling all over and I still manage to get the house looking pretty darn good to get on the market to sell. It just makes me realize how tired I must have been.

I missed breastfeeding today. My goal was to breastfeed Isla for six months and I made it to seven. I am very proud of myself for making my goal while in my chief year of surgical residency. But today I missed it and wished I had kept going. Sometimes when I'm rocking Isla to sleep with a bottle I really wish there was that skin on skin feeling we used to share. Then I started day-dreaming about my next baby and that made me feel better because I will have that opportunity again (God willing!)