18 Weeks

My last week of maternity leave....

• Isla very much enjoyed her 1st Christmas (she's modeling a new onesie she received from Grandma Crozier in these pics). She definitely received the most gifts of all! She got to meet some great aunts and uncles and some of my cousins for the first time over the course of our 4 family gatherings.
• Isla is super fun to interact with right now. She laughs, squeals and shrieks the whole time you play with her. She'll smile at you from across the room and has even found herself in the mirror (although I'm not sure she recognizes it's her yet).

• We have started to try to let Isla "cry it out" a couple of times this week when going down for naps/bed. I have "cried it out" right along with her in the next room. Thankfully, she only cried for about 10 minutes. I was going to give up after 15 because I didn't think I could take it!
• We've started swaddling Isla with one arm out in hopes of a) gradually removing her need to be swaddled but mostly b) to allow her to have a hand free to self-soothe if she fusses in bed.
• Isla woke up a couple days before Christmas with her second cold. Thankfully, she remains chipper and the runny nose and sneezing doesn't stop her.

• Isla seems to like hearing her name. Yesterday, I chanted it over and over and she was nonstop giggles!
• We've started playing "Airplane" with Isla where we "fly" her around the room over our heads. She especially likes it when those below her say "Boo!" in her face as she passes.
• She's back to waking up twice a night now which feels like sweet relief after the 4-6 times/night week last week!!


• Isla loves laying around in just a onesie. For some reason, she wiggles more the less clothes she wears...

Creating Traditions

We have had an oober busy but fabulous week. We were booked solid from Christmas Eve on with family festivities so we marked off Wednesday the 23rd for a "Just Us" day. I'm excited about the traditions we created for our family of three! We had a special breakfast of Coconut Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, sausage, grapefruit and hot coffee. After some quiet time at home, we left in search of a good neighborhood for walking and "house shopping" (to make things clear, no we're not actually looking). We settled on the Yarrow Point neighborhood on Lake Washington between Kirkland and Bellevue. We both found houses that would be "tolerable," you know, the kind with the pool in back, a 5 car garage, a BMW in the drive and a complete lake view. Oh and a mortgage that would be anywhere between 10 and 15 K a month. Perfect. Maybe someday when Graham's rich and I'm famous. :o)

We grabbed a seasonal Gingerbread Latte at Starbucks and spent some good time in conversation before heading to Houghton Beach Park in Kirkland to listen to the Dickens Carolers sing from the Argossy Cruise Ship that stopped just offshore. They even had a bonfire going to keep us warm! We'd planned to go enjoy the lights display at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens afterward but saw the huge line of cars heading up the hill and decided to skip it. So we went home and had Christmas steak with a delicious blue cheese onion sauce (created by Graham), twice baked potatoes, spinach salad and nice a Spanish red wine (we're really into these lately). We finished the day by watching White Christmas while drinking hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows and eating sugar cookies. I think we created a great tradition that we'll look forward to again next year

 

My Bucket List

Graham and I had a conversation last week. He was thinking it was every girls' dream date to dress up and be taken to theopera or ballet (ex. the Nutcracker). Whelp. I guess not. For some reason, that SO does not appeal to me. Poor guy! Guess he's always been wanting to whisk me away to see the ballet throughout the almost 6 years we've been together (wow...6 years!?). It could happen, but there are a lot of things I'd prefer to do more. That got me thinking. I have a long mental list of things I want to do someday before I die, a bucket list if you will. It's probably high time I put them out there on paper. Or the internet. In case anyone ever wants to know what speaks romance to me, what makes my heart go pitter pat, wants to surprise me with one of them. Now, most of them are quite extravagant. And pretty much all of them involve food and/or travel (hmmm, are we sensing a theme?) But if they were all cheap and easy to make happen, I probably would have done them already. If you would have asked me 10 years ago to create a bucket list, it probably would have been twice as long, I've just checked off all the cheap ones already. :o) Mind you, I'd still like to argue that I can be a cheap date (Graham may beg to differ on that one...) but really, I'm happy with a cup of coffee, a rich chocolate dessert and good conversation. Anyway, here is my bucket list as it stands now although the fine print would state that I reserve the right to add to this list at will. Someday, before I die, I would like:

• To travel to Mexico and stay in one of the suites here.
• To enjoy a multi-course meal at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland.
• To go bobsledding (maybe post-Olympics up in Vancouver??)
• To stay in one of the three-walled rooms at Ladera on the island of St Lucia.
• To go back to Rovers on east Madison and do one of their full tasting menus (with wine!)
• To spend a long weekend wine tasting in Napa Valley.
• To return to Peru and bring Graham to Inkaterra, where I previously stayed in cabanas on stilts, deep in the Amazon jungle. 
• To savor a tasting menu at The Herb Farm in Woodinville.
• To travel through Europe, particularly focusing on the Italian and French countryside and the Italian coast.

The End (for now!)

17 Weeks

• Isla has gone to bed between 7 and 7:30 EVERY night since we got back from Utah-success!! Our bedtime routine is this: put on pjs, maybe read a book and then hold her and sing Silent Night until her eyes start looking heavy (but are still open). It works like clockwork, by the 3rd verse, she's ready to lay down and fall asleep on her own. Only trouble is, what will I sing to her after Christmas??! Oh and if ever we miss our window and wait too long to put her down, you can stop her fussing by doing some rhythmic bootie pats-she stops crying right away!
• I am constantly finding long hairs in Isla's grip. I'm not sure which will come first, me going bald or me chopping off my hair.
• We discovered that Isla loves Pat-a-cake. She immediately started laughing the first time I did it. It took a month, but she's finally laughing at me too. :o)

• She also loves it when I laugh, even if it's a fake laugh. We had a "laughing war" yesterday, one after the other--SO precious!
• I count mt blessings that we were at least able to establish a bedtime. However, Isla is waking up frequently throughout the night, sometimes only an hour after her last feed. I'm having a hard time not getting frustrated because she was doing 5 and 6 hour stretches before Thanksgiving. I don't know what happened. Last night she was up 6 times which is really wearing on me. And she seems legitimately hungry. Anyway, I'm accepting applications for a night sitter so I can sleep for 8 hours straight, just once before I go back to work in a week and a half. :o)
• Isla loves going for stroller rides while I exercise.
• She also likes facing outward now in the Moby wrap or Snugglie. I often "wear" her while I cook and she watches everything I do. Here's to hoping she'll be my little mini-chef!

Ogden, UT and Beyond!

We had a wonderful trip last week to visit our friends Glendon & Kaytee. Graham & Glendon were room and housemates for 3 of their 4 years in college and were in each others' weddings. It was great to go down to see their nesting grounds (which we've been promising to visit for the past 3 years--now that their house is on the market and there is a possibility they might leave the state, we jumped on it and booked flights). Isla was a champ on the flight down. In the airport, I kept telling myself: Stay calm. Breathe. Make it look easy carrying 2 bags and a baby. We arrived at our gate and boarded right away. No time to dilly dally. Well, okay so we dillied and dallied just long enough to board with lattes in hand (and a baby and a diaper bag, duffle bag, camera and two heavy winter coats). One fellow traveler looked at us and said "Wow, you're adventerous!" Yeah or something like that. Really it was actually quite easy but I did look at Graham and say "Imagine doing this with FOUR kids!" No wonder we did road trips when we were younger...

Our trip involved lots of snow (and snow shoveling for the boys), GREAT food (both at home prepared by Kaytee and out), a trip to Park City to play tourist and see the site of the winter Olympic Games, a visit to the local air force base, a drive through downtown Salt Lake, relaxing and reading and movie watching. I couldn't get over how beautiful the area was. They lived basically right at the base of one of many mountain ranges. I went running one day and it is amazing how much easier to exercise it is when your view is all snowy mountains! The Butes were fabulous hosts (I highly recommend that you pay them a visit--I promise you will eat well and really enjoy yourself). We came back feeling very refreshed. Thanks for having us Glendon & Kaytee!

16+ Weeks

• We arrived home safely from our vacation late yesterday afternoon (more on that later), hence the slightly late post. She was EXHAUSTED by the time we made it home and was NOT in the mood for my traditional weekly pictures. First, she wouldn't look at the camera. Then, she got really cranky (the following picture kind of sums up her mood last night).

• Finally, after a good dinner and an outfit change, we got a better shot (but can't you just see in her eyes how tired she is?)

• Anyway, back to the tidbits: Isla traveled to her 3rd state this week: Utah!  She flew on her very first airplane and did quite well.

• Isla saw her first snow while we were in Utah! She seemed to enjoy it, as far as I could tell.
• She now scares and startles when she hears a loud noise while nursing.
• Isla has developed a special relationship with her giraffe.

• We continue to work hard on establishing a bedtime. I started reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" in hopes of getting some good ideas. We are becoming more successful at puting Isla down around 8 PM or so but ever since she got sick, she's been waking up every 2 1/2 to 3 hours at night. The whole point of this was to start getting MORE sleep, not less in preparation for my return to work....
• On that note, the big news this week is that I am planning to return to work part time. As things stand currently, I will work every Thursday and every other Friday (basically 1 1/2 days a week). I will also work every 6th weekend. Isla will get to spend time with Graham and both Grandmas on these days.  

• Isla is both beautiful and adorable.
• She only likes to do tummy time first thing in the morning, right after she wakes up.
• She loves snuggling with her dad while he work on the computer.

• Currently, she refuses to be put down while we eat dinner. We are probably starting a nasty habit....she's getting really good at sitting up on the couch so hopefully she will get one of those baby seats from Santa so she can "sit up" with us (but not on us) at the dinner table.
• While in Utah, Isla slepted in our room. It couldn't help but laugh, listening to her waking up. She lies there in the morning and toots away, just like the rest of us! :o)
• Isla had another really good laugh this week!

Vacation!

Tomorrow we will be waking up at an ungodly hour but for a completely worthwhile cause: we're leaving for Utah to visit some very good friends!! We are ready for a break now that Graham has completed his first quarter of grad school (can I get a "Woo-hoo" from anyone??!) and passed his oncology certification exam. He has worked really hard (and so have I, holding down the fort at home) and so we can't wait to go spend some time with good friends. We will be spending 5 days with these two, Glendon and Kaytee, in their lovely home in Ogden, UT.

From what I hear, we'll be seeing a lot of this.

And wearing an awful lot of layers.

Isla will get to experience her first airplane ride and we'll get to see what it's like to take a big trip with a child. :o) I was thrilled to learn that we can check her carseat and stroller for free and I think we'll only have to pay for one suitcase since we're hoping to jam pack it (the other small bag we can just carry on). Phew, it's taken me all week to pack, prepare and decide what to bring. And I'm still not done! I puting off actually packing the stuff in the suitcase, maybe because I'm scared it won't fit and I'd rather deal with it in one flurry of last minute stress-ha!

We'll return home next Wednesday which means (GASP!) that we'll be away from our sweet white teddy bear for photos when Isla turns 16 weeks on Tuesday. Guess I'll have to do a 16 week and 1 day post and we'll all just have to live with it! :o) Bon voyage!

15 Weeks

• Our sweet baby girl is really talking and squawking a lot this week. It really sounds like she is trying to repeat what she hears.
• Along the same lines, she is making song-like "aaaah" sounds when I sing to her. She's trying to sing!
• Isla is almost always sucking on her hands, maybe even more than the binkie which is quite the switch (although the hands only soothe for so long).

• I think we have successfully established a bedtime! We still have some kinks to iron out, but we found keeping at it was key and not giving up after the first few nights without success. Isla's been going down between 7:30 and 8:30 PM and likes Daddy to read her a story before she sleeps. She still wakes up 2-3 times during the night but I am thankful that we have a good 7:30 PM to 7:30 AM "night time" now.
• In addition to the large bald spot Isla has on the back of her head, she is now developing bald spots on each side of her head. Oh and I noticed today that she is losing her forehead hair!

• We've been working so hard on this sleep thing because I should hear back today whether a proposed part-time position at work is approved for me. My first day back would be New Years Day. I'm sure an update will follow but this decision has been extremely hard. 
• We got to see my parents briefly on Sunday as they drove through town. Isla was in her usual happy spirits and I think she might have them wrapped around her little finger. :o)

• Isla has not been indulging my desire to hear her laugh. I guess we just haven't been that funny this week! There was one night where I was trying to put her to bed in her dark room when out of no where she started to cackle. That was pretty cute! I didn't even know it was light enough for her to see me... The girl sure can smile though! (Often times she'll open her mouth and make all the motions of laughter but no sound will come out--see picture below. She's been doing this thing this week where she'll rapidly open her mouth real wide and then close it again. Over and over. Not sure what it means, but she sure is happy when she's doing it).

• Isla loves to stand and she has pretty strong legs! She'll bounce around for a while if you hold her hands. Unfortunately, she's still too small for her exersaucer.
• Daddy let Isla "play" with the tree yesterday. She had a great time grabbing the branches and shaking off the needles. :o) She LOVES lying in front of it and watching the lights!

Happy St Nicholas Day!

If you need a refresher on what this holiday is all about, click here. St Nicholas filled our shoes this morning! Must mean we were good little girls and boy. Graham got a metal "Joy" bell (from my parents) and a wooden nutcracker (from me).

I got a metal wreath made out of bells pictured in the right/center (my parents) and a couple cute mushrooms (Graham).

Isla's ornament from my parents was PERFECT! A little baby in a peanut shell with the word "Peanut" printed on the front. Perfect because that is what we call her! She also received a pretty adorable giraffe if I do say so myself (I've decided they are her favorite  animal. We'll see if she agrees...)

My November Project

For our first Christmas as a married couple, I dug out my 4-H sewing skills and made Graham and I each a hand-stitched (because I don't own a sewing machine), quilt-style stocking. Shortly after Isla was born, I realized I'd be repeating the process and my goal was to finish hers by Thanksgiving. I had the hardest time deciding whether to merge the green fabrics from Graham's......

and the red fabrics from mine.....

or just do something completely different. I ended up going with the latter. Although it is hard to tell from this photo, Isla's fabrics all have a cream base with red, green and sparkly gold. It's rather elegant up close.

I've been looking for stocking hangers for THREE YEARS but never found anything a) that I liked and b) that was affordable. I keep coming across those hangers that come as a set that spells P-E-A-C-E or J-O-Y. As Graham and I were shopping for some on Wednesday, I told him that if we were going to invest in these hangers, we'd have to decide right here, right now, in the Target aisle, how many kids were are going to have. I mean, how would you feel as the 4th child in a family that purchased the five P-E-A-C-E hangers? You'd feel jipped having to sport the hanger "that is not like the other!" Since Graham was not ready to number our offspring, we purchased some basic hooks (which were really what I wanted all along) and headed off. Now our stocking hang by the fire with care!