17 Months!

It's hard to believe that it's been 17 months since Izabel came into our lives and changed them forever! Now in just one more month both our lives and Izabel's life will be changed again with the arrival of Tanner. Of course these changes have been for the better and we couldn't be happier. Izabel is thriving and she makes us laugh everyday with the new things she comes up with. She gives high fives, shakes hands, and will give you a "knuckle sandwich". It's so funny to watch her and then she starts laughing when we do which just makes us laugh harder. She loves to play peek-a-boo and hide and seek. She'll hide against the wall and cover her eyes thinking we can't see her and we'll walk all around her calling out her name like we don't know where she is. She'll start giggling and finally reveal herself. She talks to Tanner everyday and gives him lots of kisses. The other day she looked at my belly and said "Hi Tay Tay!" She still doesn't know what she's in for with a new baby in the house but right now she loves him and is excited to have him come live with her. She loves to go in his room whenever we open the door. She's still a very picky eater and still very small for her age. She is finally getting into 12 month clothes which is a problem since it is finally getting warm and all of her 12 month clothes are winter. Now she needs new clothes and she has a whole section of clothes she never got to wear! She loves to read and is finally able to sit through a book instead of just flipping the pages without giving us enough time to read them. She has a mouth full of teeth and she reminds me every night to brush them. She sleeps in her bed every night with her boppy pillow and almost always goes right to sleep and sleeps until about 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning! Thank goodness she sleeps well because we are not morning people! She knows a lot of signs now and will use them at the right times. We are still trying to get her to talk more but it will come. All in all she is a very happy, smart and healthy little girl and we are so blessed to be her parents! Happy 17 Months Izzy!

Mark your calendars for Tanner's Birthday!

Well unless Tanner decides to make his appearance a little too early his birthday will be April 8th! We are scheduled for a c-section at noon on that Wednesday and we're excited. It's so nice to finally have the date set! That will put me at exactly 38 weeks and since we already think he will be big the doctor is perfectly fine to take him that early. Now I just have to make it 5 more weeks and finish getting everything ready for him to come!

32 Week Check Up

Today was my 32 week check up even though I will be 33 weeks tomorrow. We've managed to get a little behind but it's no big deal. Dr. Hammer says he is expecting Tanner to be pretty big. We'll have an ultrasound at our next appt. (almost 36 weeks) and see just how big we think he'll get and that will pretty much be it for visits until the c-section. We explained how having Tanner during spring break would help to make some of my 14 day unpaid period actually paid and he said he would be perfectly fine taking Tanner up to 14 days early! That would be April 8th and that is what we are trying to get. They'll call in the next couple days to schedule everything so pretty soon we'll know Tanner's birthday!!! It's exciting to be counting down and to have that big question answered. I would never risk the health of Tanner because of finances but as long as he will be fully developed and ready to come out than the sooner the better! Now we just have to hope that Tanner cooperates and waits to come until he's told! At least there are only 23 days left of work and in about 5 weeks we will meet our son!

Weekend and a Snow Day!

We had a pretty nice weekend despite the yucky weather! On Friday I went out with some girlfriends to dinner at Cracker Barrell (I was craving blueberry pancakes!) and to see the new Shopaholic movie. I've read all of the books so I was excited to see how they turned into a movie. It was good and pretty close to the book. We had a really nice time and it was great to get out for a little while. When I got home Noah's friends Aaron and Ben were in from Vermont. They were just stopping through on their way down to Florida. We hung out with them for a little while and then went to bed.

On Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast and then Aaron and Ben headed out. We went to Joe Michael's 50th birthday party. It was a big surprise and it was lots of fun. We ended up hanging out there until about 9 or so. We had great food and Izabel had so much fun running around and playing with Madison who is only 4 days younger than her.

Izabel giving Madison a hug
Izzy and Jessica (our wonderful Hostess!)
Taking a break from running around
Family pic
Having a good time with Mrs. Julie

Sunday we finally went shopping and got the rest of the stuff for Tanner's room. We're pretty much done now accept for some decorative things on the walls. I'll pick those up a little at a time like I did for Izabel. We also went to Best Buy to have them look at our computer that is all messed up and then to Target. By the time we hit the check out line at Target I could barely walk and Izabel was asleep in the cart so we knew it was time to go home!

Talk about Shop til you Drop!
Monday we woke up to not much snow but icy roads Traffic was a mess and most schools were either closed or delayed. Luckily school for me was closed so I got to sleep in a little bit and then hang out with Izabel all day. We washed three loads of clothes and blankets for Tanner which doesn't sound like a lot but when you realize how many baby clothes can fit in a load you start to realize just how long three loads can take to fold! We got it all done but not quite put away. Right now his crib is filled with clothes! Noah got home pretty early and we all got to have another day together. We watched it snow even though there was hardly any snow on the ground and we relaxed.

I knew there would be school today but I was still hopeful when I got up this morning! Unfortunately there was no such luck! Being a teacher means I will never be one of those parents that hopes school doesn't get canceled due to snow! Well only 23 days left of work before I go on maternity leave! Hope everyone had a nice weekend despite the weather and got to enjoy at least a little bit of the snow day!!!

Afternoon at the Park

Yesterday the weather was just gorgeous so we had to take the opportunity to get outside and take Izabel to the park. It's really hard to get motivated in the afternoons after we have both been working all day but we knew she would love it and she needed some fresh air! We got to the park and were surprisingly the only ones there. We took her on the slide, the swing and the bouncy thing but the slide was her absolute favorite. We both took turns taking her up and either sliding with her or catching her at the bottom. She loved watching us slide too. She was only a fan of the swing for a minute and then wanted to go right back to the slide. When we told her it was time to leave to go get dinner she threw a full out 2 year old tantrum. Complete with the screaming and fighting and pulling away. She tried to run back several times and cried in the car until we got to the restaurant. We ate at TGI Fridays and Izabel ate almost a whole kids hamburger and a whole plate of mandarin oranges! After pretty much eating nothing the last two days we were really excited to see her eat so much. She just doesn't seem to have that big of an appetite lately! We had a great afternoon together and we are very excited that it is Friday and we have the whole weekend together! Hope everyone has a great day!!!

Walking up the stairs to get to the slide

Jumping on the bouncy bridge
Going down her favorite slide
On the swing
Running around with Daddy

In Daddy's Shoes!

We were hanging out last night watching TV and we looked over and Izabel was playing with Noah's shoes. We usually don't let her do this but this time she was actually putting them on and trying to walk and it was so funny. She didn't realize we were watching so we grabbed the camera and got some shots. The funniest part is that she did this all on her own! We love watching her do new things!

Trying to get them on!
Wow these are heavy!Walking aroundShe can walk pretty well in those big thingsShe finally realized we were watching!

Massanutten

This past week we had our timeshare at Massanutten Ski Resort. We left last Friday after work and headed up with Noah's Aunt Ann and her roommate Lauri. Several of Noah's friends booked promotional weekends so they could all come with us. We got there around 6 and had dinner. We hung out until late that night just talking and drinking (obviously I wasn't drinking).

Noah and Brian in their matching shirts!

The Guys

We got up Saturday morning and everyone had to go do their promotional tour. Noah and I went to the grocery store and then went for our owner update. We managed to get out of there without buying anything which was exciting! After we got into our unit everyone went out on the slopes and I took a much needed nap! It was Valentine's day but we were also celebrating Noah's birthday so we just cooked out for dinner and then headed down to the bar. We were only there for a little while because it was packed and not really our scene. We went back to the unit and played cards until bed.

Sunday we slept late and then everyone went out on the slopes again while Ann and I went shopping for a few last minute birthday items. We gave Noah his presents and cards and watched a movie. Then we headed down to the water park for a while. We had a good time playing in the water. We cooked out again and had a great steak dinner and then played games. I had brought a birthday cake so we had some of that and then it was off to bed again.

Blowing out his birthday candles

On Monday we didn't do too much. We hung out until it was time for Lauri, Ann and I to head home. We had a pretty easy drive with great conversation. I was excited to see Izzy after the long weekend and I had a lot of packing to do to get her ready to go back up with me the following day.

Tuesday I had to work but I had everything packed up before I left in the morning. My mom brought Izabel over to have lunch with me and then we hit the road which saved me an hour of driving! Izabel was pretty good in the car. Snack cups and DVD players are the best inventions ever! Noah was pretty bored after being by himself for a while so he was excited to see us! We got settled in and then hit the grocery store again so we would have food for the rest of the week. Izabel was suffering from a pretty bad cold so we just hung out at the unit. She had to sleep in her pack n' play which she hates but we put her boppy pillow in there and she slept great! Now she sleeps with it every night!

Coloring while we made dinner

Wednesday we needed to get out of the unit so we took Izabel down to the park. It was so windy and with her cold and possible ear infection we didn't feel like we should stay so we just played inside. We let Izzy take a bath in the big jacuzzi tub which was like a little swimming pool for her and she loved it. Noah rented some movies and we had a good time just hanging out together.

She didn't know what to think at first but then she loved it!

Playing poker with Daddy!

Thursday we attempted the indoor pool. Izabel loved that as well but it was so cold that her lips were blue and her teeth were chattering so we made her get out to warm up. It also confirmed to us that the water park was going to be out of the question which was so sad since we had been looking forward to taking her there. We settled in with some movies again.

I love her bathing suit!

Swimming with Daddy

She loves the water

Friday we tried the park again but it was still really windy so that didn't last. We decided we would just head out Friday evening instead of having to get up early and be out in the morning so we started packing and loading up the car. We had dinner and then put Izzy in her pjs and hit the road. She watched two of her videos and then fell asleep and luckily went right to sleep when we got home.

Saturday we did a lot of the unpacking and then Noah and I went out to dinner for his friend Brian's birthday. We went to CPK and it was fantastic! Then they all went out to some clubs on Granby street while I went home to bed!

Sunday we all slept in super late, thanks Izzy, and then we spent the day with Ann. It's a rough day for her every year so we always make sure to be with her and keep her company. We had a nice afternoon and a great vacation. It was much needed and now hopefully I can keep the stress from building up again until it is time to go on leave! I hope everyone else had a nice relaxing weekend!