Our Montessori Baby

We are starting to do lots of reading on the Montessori way. Izzy is attending a "true" Montessori school in Downtown Sacramento (long story why we changed schools). Anyways we have been waiting for 9 months to get into this school and we finally got in. It is a beautiful school with a new building and an old Victorian for the over 3 year olds. They have a garden that they grow all the food, they compost, and have a river, all in the city! They have a chef that prepares food daily and in the 17 month old class they have a swinging bar that the kids can hang from and cute little mini bathrooms in the center of the class. We are beginning to start changing our home to support her learning at school. We have all her toys in boxes sorted by type: musical, books, sensorial, motor, etc. We tried to get her a little table and chairs from IKEA but they were out of the one we want so we will be back after the first of the year. We are practicing with her regarding self-control.

Izzy's 1st Christmas

Izzy celebrated her 1st Christmas. We celebrated at my parents house and then came home and opened gifts with Paul's parents. We saw lots of family and ate wonderful food. We (especially Isabella) are so spoiled. We had such thoughtful gifts given to us. Izzy got a lot of gifts that support our want to raise a Montessori child. She seemed to love seeing all her family. She let anyone who wanted, hold her, which is so great. She was also so flexible. We may not have eaten at the same time or had a morning nap, but she was such a trooper. Plus, being stuck in the car. I love that baby!!!

We have a crawler...

Well after many long days of trying, we finally have a crawler and she loves it!!! She is not as frustrated as she can get to where ever she needs to go (which can be good and bad). She crawls over to a pieces of furniture, pulls herself up, uses the furniture to walk around, etc. She could do it for hours. She is also so fast. She can get down the hall pretty quickly or around the kitchen island. We have pretty much removed all "non-Izzy" approved items, so she is free to explore where she chooses.

Izzy is being to speak

Izzy is so funny. She says, "Ma-Ma" and "Da-Da". She probably doesn't know what she is saying, but we sure love hearing it. Our joke is that when ever she says, "Da-Da" Paul says, "Okay, I'll buy you a pony". That kid has a ranch of ponies now. We are teaching her, "Baby", "Doughna", and "Will-Will" (for her puppies Sedona and Willow). She loves to watch them so we are trying to help her associate them to their names.

Ritz crackers

So Izzy tried a new food today. Ritz crackers. She loves them. She took her first bite and didn't really know what she was suppose to think about the texture, but must have liked it because three crackers later she was still asking for more. Paul was a little cautious, but Izzy seemed to be in complete control and seemed to know what she was doing: take a bite, chew, chomp another bite, move the cracker in her hand, etc.

Music and Izzy

Izzy loves music. She pounds on the Little Tikes piano at school or in her activity center at home. She is beginning to start drumming, too. While in the bathtub the other night, she discovered that if she grabbed the plastic spoon in one hand and had the plastic container in the other, it sounds like a drum. Then the container would float away and she would grab another. So smart!!!

Izzy is practicing signing

Izzy is learning baby sign. We are trying and I really see a difference. We use: milk (I am convinced she knows this sign), up, down, kisses (again I am convinced she knows this sign), and more. We are starting yes, no, toilet (I plan on starting potty training at 1 year), mommy, daddy, tired to just name a few. Hopefully we will have a little signing toddler soon.

Bring over your rain coat

Izzy is a splasher. She loves to splash in the bathtub. Right now she only has enough control to splash with one arm (sorry Dad it is her right arm), but we keep practicing with her left. So if you come over for bath time bring a rain coat.

20 lbs and growing

Izzy has made it. She is officially 20 lbs 8 oz and growing like a weed. She is wearing 12 mo clothes and some 18 mo clothes. We love stretchy pants that fit over her leggies. We are lucky Carter's makes lots of stretchy pants and they are so stretchy we can still fit into some 9 mo pants. We are currently buying her winter wardrobe. She has a cute brown coat and a pink pea coat with fur over the hood. We also bought a few more pants and long sleeve shirts.

Izzy is a 'Sicky-girl'

Poor Izzy!!! I had to call the doctor and bring her in on Labor Day. Poor kid has an ear infection. They put her on antibiotics so she is doing much better. The doctor couldn't even put the instrument to check her ear in because it was so gunky. She had to miss school yesterday because she still had a fever. Luckily, Daddy is working swing shift so he slept for a few hours and then took care of Izzy so I could go to work and then at 1230 he brought her down and she sat in meetings with me. She was so well behaved. People couldn't believe she was so sick. What a good girl!!!

Izzy is getting teeth

Izzy is getting her two bottom teeth. I've seen them once or twice, but she is really not letting me have a peek. She is keeping her little teeth as her little secret. So cute!!

Izzy is 6 months old

Well, we have made it to a half a year. Izzy-Bizzy is 6 months old. How the time flies. Izzy just weighed in at 19 lbs 14 oz (too bad we couldn't get that extra 2 oz) and 29 in long. She is giggling and smiling. She eats her solids up like a champ. She sits on her own even in the bath. Izzy has been doing great at day care (well that's what they tell me). She takes a morning nap and then lately a good mid afternoon nap. I rush there to get her after work so she's only at school from 7am to 230 pm. She's been doing a really good job letting others hold her which is a great relief. It seems that everything has fell into place, she just was working on HER time.

Izzy is 5 1/2 months

My baby is 5 and a half months old. Where did the time go? She is such a cutie. She smiles a lot and is sitting. She holds the bottle and is pretty much eating all her solid foods although she would rather eat what Mommy and Daddy have on their plate (especially ice-cream). She can move her activity center around. Izzy loves to pat her puppies and starts to talk and smile whenever they come around. We are very lucky they have been so good. She is beginning to sit through quick books. Which we are so excited about because Daddy is such a good story teller. Her favorite book is the Belly Button Book. Next time you see her, you'll have to tickle her "Be-Bo" (belly- button). We are beginning to introduce baby signs. We use milk and up.

Izzy started school

Izzy started school last week. She is going to a Montessori school up by Arco Arena. We are excited that she will finally get some time to be with others and play with lots of babies. Her first few days were a little tough, but by Friday they said she is doing better. This coming week she will go full days so we'll see how that goes.

Toesies

Izzy has found her toesies. She can't stop playing with them. The good part is they always go with her so, like her hands, they are toys we never leave home without.

Izzy is beginning to hold her bottle

Okay, now that she can roll, she has decided she doesn't need me and is beginning to hold her own bottle. I had my first feeling of, "Why I am here?" She can do this on her own. Ahh, and she is only 4 months old. Boy, are the next few years going to be a change. She can scoot backwards so it is only a matter of time she will be scooting and crawling. Again I ask, "Where did my little monkey go?"

Izzy is going to daycare

Well, after waiting for almost 6 months we finally got into the school we wanted. Izzy is going to a Montessori school. Yeah!!! She starts August 8th. The school is super impressive. The preschoolers are working out of Phonics books, can recite the presidents and states in order, and can fill out a hundreds chart. My elementary students can't even do that. So we look forward to seeing her grow developmentally there. Hopefully we will have a reader by 5.

Izzy's a Rollin'

Izzy has finally begun her 1st quest for independence. She is now rolling. We have been watching her for a few weeks now, but we knew it was coming soon. Paul and I were laying on the floor next to Izzy looking at the pictures in the digital camera and all of a sudden she did it. Luckily, the camera was there to catch the moment after. (See her Izzy in July photos on our photo site). Where did my little monkey go???

Izzy's eating solid foods

Izzy's eating solid foods. The doctor gave us the go ahead. She is eating rice cereal. Izzy is trying to hold the spoon and be my little helper. As you can imagine she is not very helpful.

Izzy at 4 months

Izzy is 4 months old. She is able to grasp objects, keep her head up while on her belly, look side to side, turn when her name is called, eat from a bottle, beginning to eat solid foods, coo, smiles, and she has had 2 giggles both at inappropriate times. One, during a very messy diaper. She was probably laughing at me because I had to clean it up and the other while I was cleaning that neck of hers. She is 18 lbs and 27 in long. Doctor said she is looking good.

Izzy's a Swimmer

Izzy loves to swim. I think she is part fish. She swam in Auntie Jess' pool for almost an hour last week. Also, at our new house we have a huge tub in the master bath and it might as well be a small swimming pool for Izzy. She lays in the water and "kick, kick, kicks". Not too many babies, I'm sure, like water, like she does. Maybe she'll be a swimmer.

Izzy's talking

Izzy's talking. Okay, she really isn't saying words, but she sure tries hard too. She is moving her lips, mouth, and tongue as well as her eyes in a way to show us she is trying. Sometimes I feel like I am having a full conversation with her. She just loves to babble. I even walked out of the house to feed the tortoise and I could hear her all the way outside. So cool!

"What a big girl!"

While we were at my parents house in Orange County, Kari weighed Izzy. She is 16 lbs. Perhaps, someone can tell me one more time, "What a big girl!" Of course she is big. Her father is 6' 6". There is no having a shrimp in our family. It gets to me sometimes and I want to be defensive. She is perfectly healthy and growing just fine. Just because my child looks like she should be crawling doesn't mean or ask for her to be called "a big girl". (Okay, I am done venting).

Izzy's sleeping

Izzy has been doing a pretty good job sleeping lately. We are practicing going to bed around 8pm and she wakes up around 4am for a quick snack and then wakes up again around 6am-7am. Also, she is doing a really good job falling asleep on her own without being held or fed. What a big girl!

Flying with Izzy

Izzy did a great job flying on the airplane to Orange County. She had a little accident while going through security, but slept the whole way down. On the way back up to Sacramento, she got a little fussy at the end. Thankfully, the girl next to us was young and didn't seem to be too upset. I never realized how much stuff you have to take when flying with child.

Feeding

Izzy is drinking from a bottle. Yeah! Finally. She gulps it all down with no problems. I guess if you are hungry enough you will drink from anything.

Sleeping

Izzy slept through the night. She slept from 8pm to 430am. She probably would have slept longer, but I fed her and then she went back to sleep. That sleepy head!

New finds

Izzy has found her hands. It is so cute. Also, she is really smiling. It is so cute to see that smile with her big eyes looking up at you.

First away trip from Izzy

Auntie Lynn watched Izzy today. It was Paul and my first outing with out Izzy. We went to the museum, the uniform store, the mall, the bookstore, and the baby store. It was nice to not have to worry about fussiness and a car seat, but we missed her so much we went and bought her a new toy, a video, and flashcards (we would have bought clothes too, but I didn't find anything I liked). Izzy did really well with Auntie Lynn. She took 2 bottles. I hear she was a little fussy though. Hopefully, she will begin to trust others.

Izzy's 2 month dr. appt.

Izzy went to the doctor today and she weighs 14 lbs and is 24 in long. She did really well and the doctor said she is doing great. Then, we went downstairs and had to go get shots. I don't know who it was worse for, her or I. But, we came home and gave her some medicine and she did great.

Our first blog

Well, she has changed so much. I keep thinking about writing, but then run out of time. I don't want to forget these moments because I can already tell they are happening too quick.

We had a huge momentous occasion last night, Izzy slept through the night!!! After an hour and 45 minutes, a huge spit-up that required me to take a shower, I was through with her (9:00pm). I told Paul, "she's your's". I put her in the swing and that is where she was at 4:30 am when I woke her up. She was so sleepy. I think she was worn out from yesterday or is going through a growth spurt. It was kind of scary though since she has never slept longer than 5 hours. I had to check her. I touched her chest and she, "hissed" at me like a snake. That let me know she was okay.

She is also smiling more. It is so cute. I can't wait to catch it on camera.

She turned her head two days ago while on her belly (180 degrees). She is also grasping more with her hands and loves to kick her block when she is on her back.

Not on a schedule yet. She is pretty much feeding and sleeping during the day when she wants, but at 6:00pm we take a walk, start bath time, get into jammies, and then feed and rock. She has been doing pretty good with going to bed (of course minus last night).