Walking at 10 Months???

Izabel has taken a step here and there since she started standing on her own but today she really went for it! She took three steps to me each of three different times. We were excited and cheering for her and she was proud of herself! Then she was standing in the middle of the living room and took three steps all on her own! None of us were calling her or anything. It won't be long now before she takes off!!!

Week in Review!

Last week I was back at work full time. I had a conference in Virginia Beach Monday through Wednesday though so I only had to drive to Hampton one day (we don't work on Friday's in the summer). It was a long week and I'm really going to have to get used to working all day again. Friday started our tax free weekend here in Virginia so Izabel and I got up early and met Rebecca and RJ at Babies R Us to do some shopping. Diapers were on sale and you can never have enough of those! We got some other things too ofcourse and then we went to Office Max so I could get some things for school. We also hit up Kohl's for back to work clothes for me! It was fun but Izabel has been pretty cranky with this fourth tooth coming in. Saturday we went to Gymboree and she had a great time and then we went to Humaira's for the night. Izabel had a great time playing with her three little dogs! She had a horrible time sleeping though so it was a long night for both of us. Today we're just hanging out at home and trying to take it easy! It's back to work tomorrow but I have another conference that keeps me in Virginia Beach all week!

Auntie's 18th Birthday Party!

On Saturday we celebrated Theresa'a 18th birthday (even though here birthday wasn't until Sunday!) We had a big cookout with family and close friends in the afternoon and then a bunch of Theresa's friends came over and had a big party later that night. We all had a great time and I think Theresa really enjoyed it. Now she's finally legal! I know, I think it's a little scary too :)

Izabel thought she was big enough to get her own chair!

Walking with Grandma and Mimi (my mom and Noah's mom!)
Can you tell where she got her blue eyes?
Theresa, Kate and Me!
The Birthday Girl....I think she was having a good time!

Izzy's First Trip to the Beach!

Okay I know we live right down the street from the beach but when you grow up here it's not so exciting to go all the time. So here it is the end of July and it takes Noah's parents coming to visit to finally get me to take Izabel for her first beach day! We didn't stay too long but Izabel loved it! She loved digging her toes into the sand and watching the waves come closer and closer to here feet. She had so much fun experiencing something new. We went Friday and then again on Sunday and she had just as much fun again! I can't say we'll be taking her a lot because neither of us are beach people, but we will go every once in a while to let her experience it until she is old enough to decide for herself! Here are some pics of the first day :)

Playing with the required beach toys!

You want me to go where?

Digging her toes into the sand

This is so much fun!

9 Month Pics!

Here are the 9 month pics that we liked the best! Since they were done in July we thought it would be fun to make them beach themed. Let us know what you think and which ones you want copies of!

To see all of the pics click here and enter Whitney Ketchledge as the customer name!

Last Day of Summer!

Okay I know it's not the last day of summer but it is my last day of summer vacation before I go back to work so it feels like the last day of summer! I'll still have the weekends and a couple Fridays but for the most part it's back to life as usual. I have kind of mixed feelings about going back. I've loved spending so much one on one time with Izzy and being able to go on play dates and work on developing her skills, but at the same time it'll be nice to do something other than play on the floor and try to get my 9 month old to say mama instead of dada! Today we started getting the house ready for Mimi and Papa who are coming in on Friday morning and we ran some errands. We also practiced eating off of a plate like a big girl. Lunch was fun but messy and she did much better at dinner! She's pretty much mastered the sippy cup even though she still wants her milk out of a bottle and she is really good at going down for naps and bed. She can crawl, cruise and stand on her own. She's taken quite a few steps but she's still a ways off from being able to walk. She loves yogurt melts, yogurt, raspberries and chicken. She's not a fan of green beans. Tonight she took her first bath in the big girl bath tub! She's been bathing in there for a while now, but this was the first time she went in without the infant tub. She loved being able to move around so much! She's amazing and I'm sad I'm going to start missing such huge parts of her days again! At least she'll be in good hands!

What do you mean I'm not supposed to play with my food?

Sweet Potato Art! This is fun!!!
Okay I'll eat it!
Big Girl Bath
I have so much more room to play!

Past Couple of Days

The past couple of days have been quite nice around here. We've just been hanging out and enjoying our last few days of summer together. I go back to work on Wednesday so Izabel and I don't have too many week days left! Thursday we went to Macarthur mall to spend our Gymbucks! We love Gymboree and all the clothes are so cute. She got quite a few adorable outfits. Then we played in the food court and had lunch with RJ. Friday we had her 9 month pictures taken. We did them in her bathing suit and they were really cute. They'll be up soon! Saturday we went to Gymboree where she was the big kid in class for the first time. It's always been her following everyone around and not quite being able to keep up but this time she completed all of the obstacle courses first and no one could keep up with her! Then we went over to have dinner with Courtney and Ryan where she enjoyed playing with their dog Duke. She's been talking up a storm and trying to take steps everytime we stand her up! It's so much fun listening to her talk. She'll be walking soon and then we're in trouble!!!