10 Months Old

I know it sounds cliche but I can't believe you are 10 months olds already. Time is going by so quickly. I was saying to you tonight that it's so hard to believe you have been my daugther, I have been your mom and you have been living in our lives for 10 months now. It's like a dream. In a million years I would never of imagined how precious life was going to be when you got here. I just thought it would be cute to have a baby. I am fascinated by you every day.

When I watch you play I can see how you are learning. When you hold your blocks or your ball and then look at them...it's so cool. You love standing up. You have taken a few steps on your own here and there. You can sign the word 'more'. You are learning to clap. You have an adorable laugh. You love to wave hi and by...particularly at the Y. Oh yeah the Y...we LOVE going to the Y. We go almost everyday. I feel like those women there are your aunts. We have been going there since you are about 8 weeks old so they have watched you grow too. You love to play with the other children. Specially older boys. I think they remind you of Ethan.

You love reading your books. One of our new favorite activities is going to Borders bookstore and I let you crawl around in the kids section and take books off the shelves and read them...so cute.

You love animals...go figure :). I am sure I said this before but 'cat' was your first word. After dinner is when you watch your one video for the day. Lately we have been alternating between Neighborhood Animals and First Signs (both Baby Einstein).

Daddy has been traveling alot lately and I know he misses us. It makes it harder for me to take care of you but that's the way it has to be right now.

Here is the one challenge we are dealing with. Thus far I have always been there to help you go to sleep. Either rocking you or nursing you. I have no regrets for doing it that way up until now but we have to start learning how to let you fall asleep on your own. It started last week when I had you stay the extra 2 hours at Kids Day Out at the JCC. That's where I take you once a week so I can have a few hours for myself. Normally you go from 9 - 12. If I want to keep you the extra 2 hours I can do that but that time is nap time. You don't usually nap then so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Well you did some crying and eventually you fell asleep. I talked to the lady there and Daddy and we all know that it is OK for you to cry a little when you are trying to go to sleep. Eventually you will know how to put yourself to sleep and then you won't cry. So we are working on that.

You also just starting waking up a second time in the night. So pretty much you are up every 4 hours or so. Doesn't make for a restful night sleep for me :). I'm sure this will all work itself out soon but for now we have to deal with the crying. I have only done it twice so far (where I let you cry in the crib and come in every 10 minutes and try to soothe you). I hope it doesn't take too much longer because it is very upsetting to see and hear your cry like that. OK, enough of the sleep thing.

So you are 10 months old tomorrow. Happy Happy Birthday...I love you soooooo much.

Walking

Well I am going to make it official and say you took your first steps yesteray. We went to a baby shoe store because I really want something for your feet. It was a very kid friendly place however you weren't too happy to be there. I got down on the floor with you and we played. You like to stand alot so I put you a few steps away from me. The sales lady tried to talk to you and you wanted to be near me so you scrambled to get to me and in the process took 3 steps. You also did the same thing today.
Now Daddy said her saw you take a step this past weekend so we can count that too! Either way I'm pretty sure you will be walking by your 10 month birthday. :)

Georgia Aquarium

This past weekend we went to Atlanta for a wedding. It was our second plane trip. On our outbound flight we got bumped to first class...that was pretty cool! As usual you did very well with all the travel. What I wanted to tell you about was our trip to the Aquarium.

I believe the Georgia Aquarium is the biggest in the country. It is only a few years old. We had a great time! I felt like it was our first 'family trip' going to do a touristy thing. You were mesmerized. All the tanks were floor to ceiling and some even in the ceiling so there was so much to look at. We mostly had you in the Baby Bjorn. You would just stare at the fish and reach out your hands. I enjoyed watching you as much as I did watching the fish. We saw huge beluga whales to small tropical colorful fish. They did such a nice job with the design, color, music and lighting. We stopped about 1/2 way for lunch and I thought you were going to fall asleep but as soon as we got back to the exhibits you were wide awake! It was so much fun. I think if we lived there you and I would go every week.

You are such a pleasure to travel with. You have fun on the plane. You love to play in the hotel rooms and explore. You are just very adaptable to whatever we do. Like we always say, we have the best baby! I love you so much!!!!!!

Our typical day at 7 months...

Depending on what my workout at the YMCA will be we usually get up at around 7:30. We play for a little while (oh yeah, first daddy always changes your morning diaper). If I am taking a 9:30 class at the Y we will have breakfast around 8. Lately you have been having oatmeal and apples or some other type of fruit. We got to the Y where Maria and Francis take very good care of you. Now that you crawl and sit up there is more for you to do there and now you are playing with the other kids too (and also catching their colds :))

After the Y we come home and usually have lunch. Sometimes you have food and sometimes you just nurse. Today after lunch we played for a while. Either we play in my room where we have a portable play yard that takes up most of the floor. You always like to be alternating and playing with two things at once. You have your piano that plays a few tunes and a doggy xylophone. We also have these rubber blocks that I stack up and you knock down. I also just put together a bunch of random things like a measuring cup, purple rubber spatula and a rubbermaid bowl. We also play in the office where we have your activity mat (which you are almost grown out of) and Ethan's programmable piano (a real one). Also a toy that you can sit on and press buttons that makes music. You definitely like music!

After playing today we went next door into Jim and Marie's pool. You love swimming. The Trolice's got you this great floaty device with an awning to protect you from the sun. We have pictures of it.

After the pool I rinsed you off in your tub...you had some bottle and then slept for 2 hours...yeah. Then we played some more until Daddy got home.

Other times we go on an errand in the afternoon. Maybe to babies r us or Publix. You love going to publix. All the old people love to smile at you and you give them a big beautiful smile right back...it is so sweet. You also love to look at the balloons all around.

Basically I spend a bunch of time watching you play and interact. I feel like I am watching a miracle everyday. I watch you learn and explore. I can just sit and watch you for hours and love every second of it!

Catching Up (continued)

So let's see...the first time you were able to balance yourself while sitting up was at your photo shoot for Conceive Magazine. That was on June 15th, so right around your 6 month birthday. You started crawling forward on July 4th and on the 11th got some real distance. Now you are a pro! You can get anywhere you want and quick :)
It is so cute to watch you crawl...you are so small and your butt wiggles back and forth.
You also like to pull yourself up to a standing position. You will grab on to anything and pull up. You love to do that. Whenever you get excited you open your mouth real wide and smile. It's enough to make anyone smile who is watching.
Tonight when we were getting you ready for your bath you were so excited. You always love your bath but it seemed like tonight you were particularly excited. You were giggling and screeching with delight. You had me hysterical laughing. I can't believe it can get any better than this. You are just amazing.
I continue to love you more and more everyday...I don't know how that is possible!

Catching Up

Almost 7 months old! Time is going by soooo quickly. You are already crawling and sitting up by yourself. Your crawling is still new and when you want to get somewhere quick (to the cat) :) you use your arms to drag yourself forward. You actually move quite quickly.
I stared making a scrapbook for you and that seems to take alot of my free time. Also because of your ability to get around so quickly I can't take my eyes off of you during the day. Last week I turned around for a moment when you were on Ethan's bed and you fell off. I felt so bad...you cried so hard. :(

Girl's Night Out, etc...

Daddy is out of town this weekend visiting with Ethan. Last night we went to a 'Derby Party' at my friend Samir's house. It started at 5:00 so I figured you should do alright. Our friend Sarah came with us. As usual you were the hit of the party. There was one girl who was particularly enamored with you. She had a few teenage step children but none of her own. I eventually told her how you came to us and suggested that she not wait too long if she wanted to have a child of her own. (she was in her mid 30's) I think I feel a need to 'help' women in their 30's who are thinking about having children. I just want them to know that if they are interested they shouldn't wait. I wish people could just know what the possible journeys are they might take so they can choose when they want to begin.

I love just hanging out with you and getting to know your personality. You are always learning and growing. One thing stays the same and that is you are extremely curious. You like to watch people and things. You can be totally content walking through the mall and observing. A few weekends ago we were walking through the Millennium Mall and you were just giggling and having a great time strolling around.

I find our days are more enjoyable when we have plans. Even if it is going to the YMCA for a class or going to a store to buy or return something. If we have a few things to do in one day it breaks things up nicely.

Tomorrow we have a meeting with the director at the JCC. She is going to tell us about all the programs for babies and toddlers. They are pretty booked up right now but I want you to be able to go a few hours a week and be around other babies your age. Also, I think it will be good for us to spend a few hours away from each other. I know it will be difficult at first (at least for me :)), but I know it will be a good thing. Right now the only time that happens is for 45 minutes or an hour at the Y. You generally have good time doing that...sometimes you nap. There has only been one time when they had to come get me because you weren't happy.

Mother's Day/First Cold

You just got over your first cold. Actually you had Bronchiolitis. I'm not sure if that is what you really had but here is what we saw. First of all, I had a slight sore throat first so I think I gave you your cold. :( You had a terrible runny nose and slight cough. The doctor also said you had an ear infection. Even through all of that you still were a happy baby. For about a day and a half you were irritable but besides that you were your normal self. It may have been harder for me to see you all clogged up and having difficulty sleeping and eating than it was for you. It was so sad to see you like that...hearing each breath with a stuffy nose. I am not looking forward to your next cold...

Uncle David finally made it down here to see you on Mother's Day. He only came for the day but we loved having him here. Safta Judy and Ben came too. We went to the local Kosher restaurant so David could eat and brought the food home. We took him to the airport around 6:00PM. I can't wait for his whole family to meet you...they are going to fall in love!

Lenore's Visit/Mom's Big Event

What an amazing weekend! My cousin Lenore came in on Friday and stayed with us at the house. We went to dinner at Brio. She was so excited to meet you...you and her were so cute together. You loved playing and giggling with her.

This weekend was our Fertile Dreams Gala and Fertility Awareness Health Fair. This is a project that I volunteered to help with through Dr. Trolice (our fertility doctor). I really didn't know what my role was going to be. First I just made arrangements with the venues...Portofino Bay Hotel (where Daddy and I got married) and Hard Rock Hotel. I very quickly became the entire event planner and organizer. We started in November and the event was April 21st and 22nd.

Lenore was in town because her client, Brenda Strong, was our keynote speaker. Brenda is the National Spokesperson for the American Fertility Association abd a famous actress on the show 'Desperate Housewives'.

The whole weekend made me feel really good about the time and energy I spent on this. The Gala was a huge success and so was the Health Fair. We received so much positive feedback. The last part of the Health Fair was a panel called the Journey to Building a Family. It was my idea to have 'real people' who have experienced infertility tell their stories on how they built their families. Then the attendees can ask questions that would help them know what they should do. I was one of the people on the panel. I had no idea what kind of impact I/we would have on the attendees. There were about 100 people there and most were crying. The moderator asked who was inspired to move forward on their journey at the end and everyone raised their hands. In their feedback they really appreciated what we did and expressed how it helped so much to know they weren't the only ones going through this.

It made me realize that whatever I wind up doing in terms of any kind of work/volunteering I need to be involved with helping people build their families. If I can make one person's journey easier then I want to do that. It's so much more meaningful than anything I have ever done in my life.

Adoption Day/4 Months Old

Today was the day the Judge made us your official parents! It was very nice. I cried before we even got started. He had us promise to treat you 'as if' you were born to us. Well we wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, there really hasn't been a time since I met you that I didn't consider you my daughter. From the moment I met you in the hospital...I saw your face...I held you...I just knew it was meant to be.
At some point I will be telling you about our fertility journey. It was emotionally and physically pretty rough. But now that we have you, I know that I had to go through that to get you. Everything that we went through was absolutely worth it. I still can't believe how blessed we are to have you in our lives.
Sometimes I look into your eyes or just watch you smile, play and observe everything around you. You are so beautiful. You are our miracle. I love you more than words can say!

So much to tell!

We had our first overnight trip during Passover. We spent 3 nights in South Florida visiting with Uncle Eric's family and Safta Judy and Ben. I wrote about it on our blog. But the fact is I was anxious about how you would handle it and you were amazing! You did great on the ride down and the ride up. You were spirited and fun with your cousins...and you slept the best you ever have at night all 3 nights!

3 1/2 Months Old

Time goes by so quickly. That's a saying that has really been relevant in our lives now. I feel like I wake up Monday morning and then suddenly it is Friday! Time flies when you are having fun!
So let's see what's been going on...
We had portraits taken of you at Picture People at the Millenium Mall. We figured it was your 3 month birthday...a good excuse as any to to do it! So generally you smile all day long. At the studio, there was so much going on you were more curious than happy. We got some great shots however it would be better if we had someone come to the house when you are most comfortable and smiling all the time. I think we will do that again when Ethan is in town.
Daddy's birthday is 3/18 and that weekend is also always the Winter Park Art Festival. We had a beautiful weekend and went to the Art Festival both days. The second day we walked into town which made for a long day. As usual you were a perfect angel and had a great time. I carried you in the Bjorn Carrier most of the time and you loved it. You were this cute floppy hat and everybody wanted to take a look at you. :)
On Sunday night, Ira's birthday, we left you with a babysitter for the first time. It was my friend Sarah so she really isn't a sitter. Daddy and I met a bunch of friends at our favorite Sushi place. I was really anxious leaving you...not that I was worried Sarah wouldn't be able to take care of you...just some separation anxiety. Daddy and I had a great time and you did great with Sarah. We came home and you were sleeping like a baby! Daddy and I need to make sure we make plans like that every once in a while.
We are starting to get into routines. You have your first nap around 9:30 in the morning which lets me have breakfast, do a little cleaning and shower. I feed you when you wake up and then we can go do chores in the afternoon. I try to schedule any appointments after noon.
In fact tomorrow we go see the adoption attorney, Nancy, to sign some papers bringing us closer to your finalized legal adoption. Oprah has now had an article in her magazine and a segment on her show of adopted children who are now grown adults who find their biological parent. They are beautiful stories and always make me cry. We will always support you in whatever you want to do when it comes to learning about your biological background.
Your personality continues to come out more and more every day. You are very curious and like to people watch. Your smile is just beautiful. It makes me melt when you are first waking up from your nap and you see me and smile. It's the cutest thing...you stretch and squirm and eventually open your eyes. It's so nice to see how happy you are when you wake up. I am a morning person too :)
I am taking tons of pictures with our new camera. In fact I am going to post some on our blog right now!
Talk to you soon,
Love,
Mom

First Times

So I was telling you about your teeth...Thursday was the first time I gave you any medicine. I bought infant Tylenol and then called the Doctor to make sure it was the right thing to do. They said yes and told me your dose. It wasn't a big deal for you at all...in fact it made you feel better :)

Mommy likes to go to the YMCA to exercise. I haven't been doing much of that at all these last 3 months. I especially like taking Spinning classes. In fact, shortly before you were born I was certified to teach Spinning. Unfortunately I blew out my knee in August and had to have surgery. That pretty much put everything on hold.
Anyway, back to the Y...I signed you up to go into the daycare center there at about 6 weeks. However, I have been having a hard time actually bringing you there. It's not that I don't trust them, it's just hard for me to leave you with someone else.
On Saturday I put my workout clothes on and decided that when you take your nap we will go there. This way you won't even know I brought you in. So first we went and saw Lana at her Florist to talk about flowers for the Gala I am helping put on. From there we went straight to the Y. My goal was to do 30 minutes of cardio. Short workout for our first time. When I brought you in they saw that I was nervous so they gave me a pager. Exactly 30 minutes after working out I went back to get you. You were not in your stroller, which surprised me, I fully expected you to be sleeping. Instead, you were laying like a Queen in a cushy swing in the infant room. Right next to you was one other infant in her carrier and then on the floor in front of both of you was the caretaker. She was playing with both of you and you were smiling and having fun. You didn't even notice me come in. It was at that point that I started to cry...not sure why...it's just what I do! I get emotional pretty easily...certainly when it comes to you...it's just because I love you so much!

Teeth?

Daddy and I couldn't figure out why you didn't sleep well the last 2 nights. Last night you barely ate anything. Same thing this morning. Daddy took you to his YMCA meeting this afternoon and I went to the Portofino for a meeting there with Stacy from the Fertile Dreams Planning committee.
Daddy and you met us there and after explaining to Stacy what was going on she immediately said check for teeth. Sure enough I see your 2 front upper teeth coming in. Now that I think about it you have been kind of gnawing on my fingers pretty hard.
Anyway, I felt so bad. I bought some infant Tylenol and put in a call to the Doctor. They said it was fine to give you some so I did. You are finally sleeping and had about 2 ounces to drink.
I wish Daddy was here but he went to Chicago to visit Ethan and go to his parent-teacher conference.
We will have to tough this out together!

Safta Judy's vist

We had a nice few days with Safta. It was really helpful having her around and she really enjoyed spending time with you. The funny thing that happened was on the night I went to a meeting she forgot to put in the insert in your bottle so you had a full flowing feeding. Apparently you drank the whole 4 ounces and rather quickly. :)

Your Smile

You continue to become more and more engaging. I find myself sitting with you and really interacting on the most precious level. Your personality is starting to come out. I can see how each day you learn more and more about your surroundings. I love you more and more everyday...how can that be!? :)
We may have stretched you a bit this weekend. On Friday night we took you to a wine tasting at one of the local stores. We only stayed for about a half hour and you seemed to have enjoyed yourself. You were certainly the hit of the party!
Then we went to the Schweitzer's for a very traditional Shabbos evening. We were there for about 4 hours. They have 4 kids but only the 2 youngest were there. The 9 month old got a kick out of seeing you. Anyway, we got home around 10 and you were not in your routine. We had a tough night and neither of us got much sleep :).
Then last night we went out to dinner for Sushi. Mommy and Daddy love sushi and we haven't had any since you were born. We went really early and you slept through the whole meal. It was yummy. We took advantage of an early evening and did some visiting. First we went and saw Uncle Mike's new house and then we visited Dan and Lisa. Lisa is 17 weeks pregnant with their first.
So again, we got home and you were out of your routine. Daddy wound up putting you in your rocker and you fell asleep. We all wound up falling asleep and you stayed there for 3 hours! I don't think you minded...you slept the whole time. I woke up and put you in your bassinet and you slept for another hour.
So now we are waiting for Safta Judy who will be here with us while Daddy is away. It should be a nice few days. Our camera broke and we are waiting for our new one so I won't be able to take any pictures. Maybe just video.

Two Month Doctor Visit

Today you had your two month doctor visit. You did very well! First when we put you on the scale you weren't even unhappy. By the way, you weigh 11 pounds which is in the 50th percentile. You have also grown 3 inches since your birth. The Doctor checked out everything else and was very pleased about your health. You had a little conversation with him and he was very impressed with that.
Then...the nurse came in with your vaccinations. You took the liquid by mouth very well. She was impressed with that. Then came the shots...yikes! The nurse did an excellent job and was beginning the third shot and had 2 band-aids on before we even knew it. But you stared crying pretty hard. I felt so bad I started crying too. It hurt me to see you in such pain. Once Daddy picked you up you calmed down pretty quickly. You slept really well today!

Breastfeeding Isabelle

Just so cute

You have been particularly cute today. Lots of talking...when we were playing on your activity mat and listening to music you were very excited and it seemed like you wanted to sing along!
During your bath tonight you were very interested in looking at both yourself and me. Have I told you I love you lately :)

Just Hanging Out

So I have you in our new Baby Bjorn Air Carrier. (Hersh bought it for us; he is very generous and was at Mommy and Daddy's wedding) You seem to like it! I just prepared the salad for dinner, set the table and straightened out and boom...you're asleep. I think I am going to like this carrier too :)
I get to walk around with you close to my chest and just gaze down at your beautiful face.

I just did your foot print in the frames our friends bought us. I'll do your hand print later when Daddy can help.

The beginning

Hi Isabelle,
I feel like I always have so much to tell you I decided to start writing it down. You are 8 weeks old today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)
I can't believe how fast time is going by. I was just looking at video we took of you at 12 days old (New Year's Eve) and was marveling on how much you have grown.
You are really starting to smile alot right now. It just melts my heart. This morning when you woke up from your nap I came over to get you and you gave me a huge smile. Just beautiful!
Well, I want to see how this blog will work and if I can print out so I will write more later.
Daddy is out of town for the day.
LOVE YOU!