A Mini Vacation for a Mini Human

We decided to get away as a family for the weekend.  Just needed to spend some time together relaxing, eating, and shopping.  And little miss darling had a lovely time.  She was a wonderful traveler.  She struggled a bit with naptime, but other than that she did really well. 

We had not realized how vocal she was...until we were in a place where other people could hear us.  We started calling her the Howler Monkey.  She didn't cry much--but she yelled and talked and squeaked a lot more than we had realized!  You don't notice when you're at home and don't care if other people hear you!  Here are some pics...

Her "room" was a closet.  This perhaps explains the troubles napping--

it was a bit echo-y and not quite the environment she is used to sleeping in. 

"Umm..excuse me?  I believe there's been a mistake.

I requested a much larger room..."

How do you entertain a baby in a hotel room...

towels, a mirror, and Daddy's face.

Her first big girl bath!  We did not pack her baby tubby, of course

(though Bryan would argue we had packed everything else we own)

so she had a first try in just the bath tub.  She was a fan of splashing.

Ready for dinner

It's so hard to decide what to order...

Apples.  Just what I wanted.  Who knew that

was on the menu at Cheesecake Factory?

We typically avoid television with this little Munch.  However,

at 8 in the morning when you're trying to keep a Howler

Monkey from waking the neighbors, a binkie and tv go a long

ways.  She was not interested in any shows...until we

found the neon colored, Spanish speaking dog puppets.
Her posture says it all.  She was hooked.

You Gotta Have Friends...

Isabel has enjoyed hanging with "old" friends and meeting some new ones this summer...

Isabel and the Abbott kiddos (Brayden, Gabby, and

Grace) on their visit from Boston

Caden's an oldie but a goodie...

those two are buds

Holy kid explosion!  The Abbotts plus our

other good friends, Harper and Rowan

Callie takes such good care of her little cousin

Iz finally got to meet Uncle Dan

(who was in Afghanistan when she was born)

She Rolls and Eats!

Two very new things have happened around the Rahn household in the past few days.  Miss Isabel is rolling over from front to back and back to front on a regular basis (not like last time when it happened twice and then she decided to quit...).  And just tonight she tried a real food for the first time...bananas!  Here are some pics so you can see how these things are going for her...

A progression of rolling...no easy task!

So proud of herself!

The trial with the bananas was in two phases.  The first phase was quite unsuccessful (and hilarious), but after a nap it went much better.  That's my girl.  Sleep is much more important than food.



Waiting in anticipation...

A little unsure...

Such a sad face!  She just let the bananas sit on her tongue

and she sobbed.  Real tears, red faced...not such a hit...

We chalked it up to tiredness and tried again after a

nap.  She was much more open to the idea, though I

can't call us professionals yet...

She liked it for a little bit, but was very clear

about when it was time to be done...

5 Months Old

Some things about being 5 months old...

1.  Isabel sits unsupported for long periods of time (she doesn't even use her hands to prop herself up...she does it all on her own!).  She gets mad if she is put in the "baby" toys like the bouncer or rocker where she leans back.  She wants to sit up all the time now.

2.  Munchie lunges at the Maya and Pixie every opportunity she gets.  She has gotten fistfuls of hair, so the dogs are getting very good at staying close to me and at the same time as far away from her as possible.

3.  Izzie holds her own bottle for the whole feeding now.  And she is very violent with it.  Formula ends up all over her clothes, face and hair.  We try to control it and help her, but she is very sure she does not need help anymore.

4.  She still has the oldie but goodie loves in her life:  binkie and Jerry. 

5.  Iz loves playing peek-a-boo.  I put Jerry over her head, and she pulls him off and smiles so big.

6.  Isabel has tried rice cereal several times for dinner.  She is starting to get uninterested in her bottles, so we thought we'd throw in some big girl food.  She has done really well with it so far.

7.  She's a tough cookie.  Not afraid of fireworks, doesn't cry when kids splash her in the face at the pool, smiles and giggles when we make scary faces and noises. 

8.   Izzie has rolled over.  I do not discuss this however, because she has done it twice for Daddy (tummy to back) and zero times for me.  She does say "mama", however, so I will forgive her.  She has no idea what she is saying and it is a complete accident, but I'm taking it as a victory.  :)

9.  Munch loves to give kisses.  She grabs your face, opens her mouth, and just goes to town slobbering all over you.  It's wonderful.

10.  She is the BEST birthday present ever.  Every night when I put her to bed, I thank God for her and pray he helps me become the kind of mommy she deserves.  She is precious and beautiful and wonderful in every way.

Fourth of July!

We had a lovely 4th of July.  Hope you did, too!  Our little Munchie was all decked out in patriotic gear.  I wanted to say the Pledge of Allegiance every time I looked at her.  We grilled out at Nana and Grandpa's house, and then went to Auntie Em and Uncle J's house for ice cream sundaes.  So we got to spend time with the whole family!  Izzie actually loved the fireworks.  We were quite surprised!  The noise didn't bother her at all--she really enjoyed watching the pretty lights!  Her little arms would get to flapping when there was a good one--Izzie's stamp of approval!  (As a side note:  Izzie is not afraid of fireworks or the noise, but she cries every time I sneeze.  If you've heard me sneeze, you might understand.  But still!  It's hard to believe I'm scarier than fireworks...)

As you can see from the pictures, she continues

to get better and better at sitting up

(and she was really enjoying the audience

at Nana and Grandpa's house!)

Then it was off to Auntie Em and Uncle J's house.

She clearly out-dressed me and Bryan.  Hands down.

It is pretty much impossible to hold anything in your hands without

her attacking it these days.  Especially when there is food involved. 

She destroyed my bowl as I tried to eat.  Who can blame her?  That

looks a heck of a lot better than formula...

Mmmm...Feet

Izzie's feet have recently become a new source of entertainment for her.  She loves to grab them and pull on them and (when flexibility is working to her advantage) chew on them.  And she is sitting up very well now.  Does a tripod sit (with her hands on the ground between her legs supporting her) and can hold that position for awhile as long as she stays centered.  If she leans slightly to either side it's all over.  But she is much less of a bobble-head than she used to be!

 Wait for it...

almost...

(p.s. she is wearing a diaper,

she's just so folded you can't tell!)

 There they are!  Delicious!

Little Miss Opinion

Most of the time, Iz is the calm, cool and collected baby she started out as.  Most of the time.  However, if she a) drops a toy she's playing with, b) wants a different toy that's just out of reach, or c) decides the toy she has is not doing what she wants it to, this chick gets mad.  M.  A.  D.  Cries which sometimes turn to screams which sometimes turn to body shakes.  We laugh now, but we know we're in for it someday...

Poor little Caden discovered just how opinionated Isabel is now.  He is very used to running the show as far as the activities for the two of them go.  It used to be that he could give her any toy he didn't want, and she'd happily play with it until he took it away because he decided they should play a new game, and she'd just sit and smile at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread.

Well, the other day we were over at my sister's house getting a pool set up for the kids to play in.  I asked Caden to sit by Izzie on the chair and keep her company while we worked.  She had a toy in her lap that she had been playing with, and when Caden hopped up on the chair next to her he decided to take a look at it.  This was not ok with the Iz.  She screamed at him, and he was completely shocked.  Never before had she not been okay with anything he'd done, and he didn't know what to do about it.  We explained that she was upset he took the toy when she was playing with it, and he hesitantly set it back in her lap (just to get her to be quiet).  It was hilarious. The picture says it all.  Izzie's still irritated that she only has half of a toy and Caden's not sure he likes her all that much anymore...