New favorite restaurant

A few weeks ago, my parents came down to spend the evening with Isla so Graham and I could go out on a date.  This was a birthday gift--$$ for a fancy dinner and free babysitting--- "given" back in August, but not redeemed until now.  I'd been eyeing the menu at Cafe Juanita for months.  I kept reading about it in magazines; it's been rated one of the best restaurants in the area.  The chef  owner, Holly, was recently a contestant on the popular show, Top Chef.  We'd driven by the restaurant (which is a house-converted-to-restaurant) a number of times and it's nothing special from the outside. In fact, quite honestly, I think it would benefit from a makeover to improve its curb appeal (the beaded curtain hiding the ice chests outside the kitchen entrance didn't do anything for me).  We probably never would have visited had our only exposure been our "drive-bys".  But we heard SO MANY good things about it.  So we went. And it was incredible!  The ambiance on the inside with a fireplace and candlelight made up for the boring exterior. 

We were given $100 to spend on our meal.  This may seem like a lot but in the world of fancy meals, two entrees could cost this much. Easily.  We decided to order a few different courses to split between the 2 of us and were very pleasantly surprised by how we were able to stretch our dollar.  Our waiter was wonderful and actually encouraged us to split items.  And they split each of our courses onto seperate plates at no extra charge!  We enjoyed:

-Seared Foie Gras with Apple, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs
-Creme Fraiche Soup with Shallots and Spot Prawns
-Sweet Grass Farms Wagyu Beef Bolognese with Tagliatelle
-Blackmore Wagyu Flat Iron with Cipollini Agro Dolce and Gorgonzola Piccante

Each course was amazing!  I was a big fan of the foie gras---TO DIE FOR!!---and Graham's favorite was the soup.  The beef (blackmore wagyu) literally melted in your mouth.  And surprisingly, the courses were good-sized and so we left full and agreed we probably could have done without the pasta and still been full.  The best part about it is that, although it is a high end place, it is certainly not out of reach for a semi-regular date night if you just order an entree or pasta dish per person or a salad and entree to share.

We will be going back and I highly recommend you pay them a visit too.  I can officially cross my first item off my bucket list!

She's got it figured out

Isla finally rolled over for the first time (for me) last night, 29 days after she rolled over for my mom. Then she did it again this morning. Two days in a row? I think she's got it down!

22 Weeks

This week was a rough week (but more on that later).

Isla turned 5 months last Monday!

Over the past 2 weeks, Isla has started to almost grab on to us when we hold her. It's like she's hugging us and it's an awesome feeling!

We had a three night stretch this week where Isla woke up SCREAMING just after midnight. Inconsolable, end-of-the-world screaming. I think I had to feed her at least 2 of the times because nothing else would calm her. Of course these bad nights followed days where we didn't get good naps in. That'll teach us!

There was one day when I fed Isla at 5:30 AM and left for work. She refused the bottle for my mom most all morning and by 1:30, had taken a total of only 1 1/2 ounces. I was sorta freaking out, thinking "I've gone back to work! She can't quite taking the bottle now!" Thankfully, she must just not have been hungry that morning because she's taken numerous bottles since.

Isla pooped in the sink for the very first time this week. I'd been convinced that she just "knew" she wasn't supposed to let loose when her fanny was exposed to air, because, after all, she'd never had an accident for me. Guess I was wrong. She turned her bath water an awful color. Enough said.

Isla finally fits in her exersaucer. She LOVES it! She is so intrigued by all the new toys.

Isla is really loving the different sounds she can make with her voice. We went up to Bellingham this week and she make her loud duck noise, pretty much constantly, between Kirkland and Marysville (about a 30 minute stretch!) Graham and I couldn't help but crack up. She also loves to make a fake cough sound and she likes it when you do it back to her.

Isla lost her great-grandfather (my Dad's dad) on Friday evening. I plan to write a post about my grandpa in the near future but don't have it in me today. I'm thankful that he was able to meet Isla June, his 11th great-grandchild, on Thanksgiving day. I'm pretty sure he didn't know what was going on, but they met none-the-less.

 Isla continues to smile and laugh more and more each day, which is just what we all needed this week.

21 Weeks

It has been an awesome week!

Isla's sleep schedule is rocking my world. Our new approach of getting her down before she shows signs of being tired is working wonders! She wakes up between 7:30 and 8:30 AM, goes down for a nap between 9 and 10 AM (pretty much exactly an hour after she wakes up) for about an hour and 15 to 2 hours and then again between noon and 1 PM for another 1-2 hours (yesterday, she had a 2 hr and 15 min nap--her personal best!) She'll often take a short snooze (30 min) at around 4 PM and then I try and keep her awake after 5 PM. She goes down for the night between 6:30 and 7:30 PM (on the earlier end if she doesn't have a late afternoon snooze) and then doesn't wake until 4:30 or 5 AM. I'll change her diaper, feed her and put her back to bed until 7:30 or 8:30 AM. I know this lovely routine will not last, but I'm going to enjoy it while it is here!

I created a homemade white noise machine (courtesy of I-tunes and a CD player with a "repeat" function) that we started using this week while Isla sleeps. Our place is small and so she was waking up at 5 AM to the sounds of me getting ready for work. I'm hoping this will fix that! 

We have a good routine for puting Isla to sleep now. She likes her room dark and we've gone back to swaddling both her arms (she wasn't using the unswaddled had to soothe herself which was our intent). I'll give her a binkie, hold her for about a minute, sing or hum to her and then lay her down. She falls asleep quietly on her own (without crying!) on most occasions now. Sometimes she'll let out a couple cries a few minutes after puting her down (because she spit out her pacifier). Sneak in and give her the binkie and she's out. I've also learned that if she cries 40 min to an hour into a nap, not to get her up! Most of the time if she is given her binkie again, she'll sleep for another hour. 

Isla successfully reached out, grabbed and pulled her elephant toy that hangs from her carseat yesterday (it bounces around and makes a humming/vibrating noise when pulled). She did it repeatedly so I'm pretty sure it was intentional.

She just loves looking at herself in the mirror, case in point.

Isla is also really getting into books, even ones that are written in German! And no, she is not flipping you off, despite appearances (wish I would have noticed that BEFORE I finished our photo shoot and she got cranky...)

Other favorite forms of entertainment include toys that make sounds and/or light up.

We Resolve To...

I mentioned in a recent post that we'd made a couple of New Year's resolutions after hearing a sermon from the pastor who married us. He didn't give specific goals but emphasized thinking about our families as we enter the new year. I've been thinking....it seems that New Years Resolutions are usually associated with dread. We resolve to exercise every day, to stop eating dessert, to lose weight etc etc. Uggg! And who really wants to do that?! (I don't even find those things attractive and I'm a dietitian!) As a society, we decide to try to do the things we've always hated doing in hopes that this year, things will be different, we will be able to make lasting changes. Ha! I think back on my past New Years resolutions and I wonder if I ever met them and I really don't think I did.

So this year, challenged by this sermon, we decided to make a couple of family goals/resolutions. Actually, Graham thought of them and he's usually not a resolution kind of guy. This year, we are going to strive for:

1) a date together EVERY week.
2) biweekly devotions as a couple.

Don't those both sound fun? And fruitful? We are excited to enter the new year with goals that we actually look forward to. The dates will be simple--probably a lot of food sharing, takeout, coffee/dessert dates, (free) walks/talks, movies in etc--because we have to keep our budget, but thankful Graham has this incredible knack (and creativity) for finding cheap or free activities, food, you name it! We've always meant to do weekly date nights (even before Isla!) but for some reason never really made it a routine. Now that life is busier than ever with grad school, it is even more critical that we get this time together. Planning ahead will be key! At the end of each month, we will look ahead to the next month and map out our available evenings (or mornings on the really busy weeks) and start scheduling sitters. Thankfully, we have lots of family members/friends nearby who like to have "Isla time" so I'm hoping we can cycle through our babysitters each month so that nobody gets burnt out (if you want to be added to the list, let us know! :o) We are happy to return the favor.) We have been talking a lot about how blessed we are that this goal is even feasible for us, as we know very few people who are able get out on a weekly basis. Anyway, we are really looking forward to having intentional time with one another and we know that Isla will reap the rewards. What do YOU do for cheap/affordable dates?

1/2 Birthday Boy

It's his half birthday today! We both had to work but we're celebrating tonight with a special menu:

-Pasta Bolognese paired with a lovely Spanish Red

-Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula and Parmesan Cheese

-Ciabatta Bread with Olive Oil and Vinegar

-Molten Chocolate Cakes with French Vanilla Ice Cream

Happy Half Birthday Sweetie! I hope you enjoy our evening together!

20 Weeks

Isla had her 4 month appointment with her pediatrician last Wednesday. She weighed in at 12 pounds, 15 oz (25-50th %) and was 23 ¾ in long (25-50th %). She got 2 shots and another dose of the oral roto vaccine (which she threatened to choke to death on last time…this time she kinda liked it. She also seemed to really enjoy the Tylenol I gave her before the appt…) According to her doctor, she's in perfect health and right on track!

Apparently we have ourselves a “waxy” and a “foldy” baby, according to our pediatrician (new medical terms maybe??). Translation: the girl has loads of wax in her ears (which is genetic—not from me!!—and will have to be cleaned out at each appointment) and she has tons of rolls (folds) which house lots of yummy stuff like moisture, hair, lint and fuzz. I learned a great trick for her neck fold though: rub cornstarch in it to keep it dry/eliminate redness--it works!

We have had an awesome week as far as sleep goes. At least I have. Graham might beg to differ but I'll get to that. We had a good conversation with our pediatrician about Isla's frequent night waking. She has always told us "sleep begets sleep" and so, though it may be counterintuitive, the trouble at night may be due to inadequate sleep in the day and therefore, an overtired baby. She explained to us all about baby's natural circadian rhythms (the cycle of being awake/alert and asleep) and that if ever we notice Isla yawning, rubbing her eyes, fussing, then it means we have waited WAY to long to put her down and have missed our window for a good long sleep. So, we've been trying to put her down well before she shows any of the above signs (we notice her kicks slow or her degree of play fades slightly). She's started napping at least once a day for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, which is a record. We also determined that the girl doesn't need to eat as many times during the night that she has been (once is okay if it's been 6 or 7 hours). I mean, let's be honest, she has a few extra stores (folds anyone?) So our doctor said the trouble is, when she wakes and mama comes in with the groceries, she's gonna get frustrated if she's not fed. Enter grocery-less Graham. He's responding to her at night now and would you believe it, she's only eating once a night! And....drumroll please....there was one night where Graham got her back to sleep and she went 12 1/2 straight hours without eating. Hallelujah! The funny thing is, a while back, someone asked us if we were taking turns with Isla at night. Graham answered "yes" at the same time I said "no." I gave him "the look" and he went on to jokingly explain "Yes, Kelsie gets the first 6 months and I get the second 6 months." Graham, I'm afraid you are now eating your words.

Isla is getting more and more active. She has started arching her back and squirming when she is placed in a semi-reclined position (like her bouncy seat or carseat). She seems to want to be completely flat or perfectly upright.

I forgot to mention this last week but she has become a very social and distracted breast feeder over the past couple weeks. She likes to eat, check out her surroundings, eat, coo at me, eat, smile, eat etc. Sometimes it's a wonder she gets anything at all!

Isla LOVES looking in the mirror now. She instantly starts shrieking (happily) when I hold her up to take a peak.

I left Isla in the nursery at church voluntarily for the first time on Sunday (she's been in twice before but the first time she was just with me while I was helping out and the second time was because I was leading worship with Graham and she couldn't be on stage with us).

I've Fallen in Love

.....with my dream set of dinnerware. Wish these would have been available when we were getting married.....sigh.

Crunching Celery

I kid you not! I was just sitting there eating my snack and holding Isla when she burst out laughing. She thinks I chew funny!

Reflections from a Working Mom

So it is official. I am back to work! With 2 shifts under my belt, I'm feeling pretty good although there have also been moments each day where I feel like I survived a hurricane. This post has been a long time in coming. I have intentionally not discussed work on this very public space for a number of reasons. But now that I am transitioning back, there are a few things I will share with the inquiring minds that have been asking.

I'll be honest. This transition has not been easy. I never thought I'd be a working mom. I know, I know. There's probably a lot of people out there thinking "Three days of work in 2 weeks time? Can you really call that work!?" And trust me, I know I have it pretty easy compared to a lot of people. But needless to say, it is not what I ever pictured for myself. If you would have asked me when I was younger what I wanted to be when I grew up, I probably would have told you two things: 1) A mom and 2) A pastor's wife. Ha ha (the latter was probably because I had a crush on a boy who wanted to be a pastor...really, I just wanted to be a mom and wife). Guess that just goes to show that I'm a huge family person. So when Miss Isla June rocked our world at the close of summer, I embarked into the career of motherhood. And I love it! I think it was hard for me to fathom working even part time because my mom never did. She was always home. She homeschooled us up through middle school. She was very involved in our lives. I didn't have anyone model how to be a good mom AND work outside the home so the whole idea sounded scary and foreign. Of course I was also guilt-ridden about the idea. I knew I'd feel guilty if I left Isla, guilty that I wasn't being a good mom. But I also knew I'd feel guilty ever spending money on "fun" stuff if I didn't help bring some in. **For the record, Graham  never, ever made me feel guilty about staying home. He was very supportive of whatever I decided. I created the guilty feelings.**

Anyway, so I agonized over this decision for pretty much my entire maternity leave. We prayed about it constantly. In the end, the door was thrown wide open for me when my employer offered me the EXACT part time schedule that I requested (thanks to the strong support and flexibility of my team of dietitians!) Grandparents and family members volunteered to watch Isla. My income would pay for Graham's grad school, no loans required. I prayed really hard that God would make the decision clear to me. That He'd hit me over the head with something unmistakably obvious that would confirm whether I should indeed return to work. It didn't seem like He was being very clear. But as I reflect on all of this, I see that He totally was and I feel so blessed.

It's been a good week. I thought I'd spend most of it in tears. I received an overwhelming welcome back at work. I don't think I have received that many hugs in two days ever before! My coworkers were geniunely happy to have me back and they told me so. Isla smiled at me when I got home which was the reminder I needed that she's okay, happy and safe. I think this is going to be good for both of us, as much as it wasn't what I had planned. I am so thankful that God is in control and that He is providing for us emotionally and financially as we make this transition and enter the New Year.

Wilson Christmas

Here lies the continuation of our Christmas festivities, mostly in pictures....

Because Graham was called off work at the last minute, we were freed up to go back home Christmas afternoon to spend a little bit of time as a family of 3, exchanging our gifts to one another. Then we took off to Bellingham to have dinner with all of my family. We had Christmas take 3 on the morning of the 26th. It is tradition for my family to begin the morning with a bowl of sugared cereal (we only get this on holidays) to tide us over until the big breakfast after we open presents. Yummmmm, Reeses Puffs....strong way to start the day! Anyway, we had an enjoyable day of relaxing, eating and puzzle-doing. Isla seemed much more into her gifts with this present opening session. Maybe third time's the charm and she got the hang of it?

We spent the whole weekend up in Bellingham and so were able to attend my parent's church. The pastor who married us just happened to be preaching and he gave a wonderful sermon on family time which led us to the creation of our New Year's Resolutions.....to be discussed in a later post.

19 weeks

Big news this week is that Isla started off this decade by rolling over for the very first time. Of course she waited until the ONE DAY that I left her (my first day back at work) to do it. But it sure made Grandma Wilson happy to be the honored witness!

Isla is very curious. She's definitely noticing what's going on around her and is grabbing whatever she can get her hands on (see pics below). Her latest favorite toy is a set of plastic keys in primary colors that she discovered at Grandma and Grandpa W's house over the weekend. It's pretty funny to watch her reach for things. It takes so much effort to get the hand-eye coordination down. She'll be staring so hard at a toy and you can just tell she's trying to get her arm to go in the right directions but sometimes it'll just flap up and down instead. Her Uncle Josh was quite entertained by this and kept thinking her brain must be shorting out and saying "Whoa, wrong button!" each time it happens.

Isla is very social. She likes to be up where the action is, not left on the floor or bouncy seat for long. We went ahead and purchased the Bebe Pod (round squishy seat) for her to try out at the table during dinner to see if we can break the habit of holding her during meals. Not sure if it works yet as I haven't eaten dinner at home all week(!!!).

Isla's really started to notice the foods that I am eating. The other day she would not stop watching me eat my apple slices. Yesterday she wanted a sip of my Starbucks. Over the weekend, she was trying to drink my ROOT beer.

Isla has added a duck quack/crow caw to her repertoire of sound effects. It is quite hilarious. We were at the mall yesterday and Isla and I were sitting in one of those seating areas in the middle of the shops. Graham was coming out of a store and was going to call to try to meet us but it turns out he didn't have to. He just headed the direction of the crow sounds. They are LOUD is those echoey malls...

Isla is waking up consistently at 12 something and 4 something each night.

I've noticed her rubbing her feet together, making swish swish sounds as her socks touch. Funny.

Crozier Christmas Festivities

I am officially back-logged! So much I've been thinking about but so little time to blog about it. I'm going to try and power through a bunch of posts this week to catch up. In all my spare time with my goiing back to work, Graham restarting school etc.

Isla's first Christmas was wonderful. Because Graham was scheduled to work Christmas day. We had a "fake Christmas morning" for him on Christmas Eve at the Senior Croziers. The day was filled with much soup-slurping, puzzle-doing, baby-holding fun. Graham led the music at our church's Christmas Eve service that evening, which was beautiful. We closed out the night at his aunt Nancy and uncle Mike's for the traditional Crozier Christmas Eve feast and gift exchange. I don't think I knew the definition of a true gag gift before joining this family (see for yourself in the pictures--yes, the hat is handmade)! Alessandro, the Senior Crozier's Italian exchange student (Ingy's Italian son as he is affectionately called by the rest of us), got the underwear muy grande this year. We told him to bring it back to Italy and tell people that Americans really are as fat as they say.

We had a slumber party that night at the Croziers and woke up oober early on Christmas morning to a phone call from work saying Graham had gotten the low census he asked for and would not be needed at work. HOORAY! He would be able to participate in Isla's first Christmas! So we did Christmas morning take 2, this time with the rest of us opening our gifts as well. Isla's great grandparents were able to join us which was wonderful. We were very spoiled by the generous Crozier clan, as usual, and are enjoying our many new toys.

Oh and even though I've officially been a Crozier for almost 3 years (and have participated in Crozier festivities for at least 5 years), I never cease to be amazed and entertained by their musicality. They seem to just randomly burst into joyful song. This year it was a reenactment of the "Crozier Boy Trio" that was performed sometime in the last decade (apparently when there were voice crackage issues). The video is quite long so no need to watch it in its entirety unless you were one of the witnesses or performers of course. I love my husband and my brothers-in-law! Seriously! Who does this!?