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Monday, November 18, 2013

Phipps Conservatory - Dinsoaurs & Trains





We had gone home to Pittsburgh a week ago and while we were there, my Aunt Lanie asked my mom if we'd like to go with them to Phipps Conservatory to see the Dinosaurs & Trains exhibit that was coming to a close.  My mom had wanted to take Brady so we were excited to meet up with my aunt and cousin, Ava.  Brady is so funny.  The exterior of the conservatory is all glass, so the last time we went there, he insisted it was Paris.  We figured out later, he was thinking of the glass pyramid at the Louvre.  Isn't it crazy how he can still remember that?  That was over a year ago and he was only two when we went there!



The best surprise was that they brought my Mimi with them!  She hasn't seen the kids in a while and we didn't expect to see her until Christmas, so we were really glad she came.  My mom is seen above point out specific flowers to Ava. 



A picture of the grandkids and great-grandkids present that day. 



These purple orchids were so striking I couldn't resist getting a close up. 






The room with all the trains and dinosaurs!  Brady was in heaven! 









 Check out the velociraptor playing basketball.






Cousins in the outside garden. 



Family photo op!  Note the two born right there in Oakland were wearing their Pitt gear.  Later that night we beat Notre Dame! 









 Brady and Ava pushed the button to make the volcano "erupt" so I could take a pic.



Look!  The elusive Bradysaurus and his Nana-rex! 






Trying a yoga pose.   









Playing at the toy food market. 



















Saturday, November 2, 2013

Eight Months Old - Izzie B





Holy cow!  With all the business associated with Halloween the whole month of October flew by and it was November, meaning Izzie is another whole month older!  I know the time is going by so quickly because we do so much with two kids, but it makes me a little sad.  She's already 2/3 of the way to her first birthday and with the upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, combined with Brady's birthday prep leading into February, the time will likely go even faster.  I almost wish we could pause so we could really enjoy her first holiday season, but the older we get, it seems the faster time goes.  Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait for time to pass and to get older?  Those days are long gone.






This has been a huge month developmentally for Izzie.  She was scooting at the beginning of the month (not that that's anything new), but she started crawling with her belly off the ground.  She's also gotten quite sneaky trying to escape the family room.  We don't really want her on the hardwood floors or the kitchen (which is right off of the family room), so we put her car seat up to block her in.  As you can see above, that didn't hold her for long.



We turned the car seat sideways (as seen above) and that seems to be working.  We also have two chairs laid side-by-side on the other opening into the room.  It's a very open room and not something that will work with traditional baby gates, so we've had to improvise.  You can see she also started to pull up this month.



 Within a day or two of pulling up for the first time, she started to cruise and you can't keep her on the floor for long.






She loves to play with the great toys in the basement playroom and now that she can pull up, there are many more toys open to her. 



Brady's toys are still the coolest ones around :) 



She will use just about anything to get to a standing position. 






You can see she often faces out and holds on with one hand.  I'll be surprised if she's not walking by Christmas.



 There's no shortage of shenanigans in our house, so when Andy was switching to a new gym bag, he thought it was the perfect size for Izzie.  He was right and she's a good sport.






Brady loves to play with his sister and is pretty good about her using him as a jungle gym. 



They both love bath time. 



I just love when he smiles at her.  He takes very good care of her.  She had a runny nose and he was always wiping it for her when he saw she needed a tissue.  He also wipes any spit up she has on her, usually after he helped to burp her. 






Both kids love spending time with Andy when he's home.






 Saturday morning breakfast with daddy.  He got a kick out of the fact that they all had their own bowls of oatmeal.



Bundled up now that the weather is turning cold.



We couldn't resist taking some fall pics. 






Hmmm, what are these? 



Let me take a closer look . . .  



I know!  It's food! 






She's an eating champ when it comes to solids.  This month we added fruits in her morning cereal (all homemade by Andy).  She's had bananas, mangoes, apples, peaches, plums, blueberries, and pears.  She has veggies for lunch and has had peas, carrots, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, and broccoli.  The only thing she doesn't absolutely love is the green beans.  Mid-month she started eating meats for dinner.  This is the only thing we aren't making ourselves and I'm not loving how soupy they are.  We will likely start getting higher stages meats with more texture or make some ourselves.  She loves to eat baby puffs and yogurt bites and is getting better at putting them into her mouth herself.

She had about two or three weeks when she slept terrible.  She easily woke up two to three times per night.  We think she may have been teething as we can see the teeth pressing against her gums, although none have broken through yet (Brady was 10 months when he cut his first tooth).  In the last week or so, she's gone back to sleeping through the night, so we're happy about that.

She's still tiny, although we don't have a weight check until next month.  I had bought clothes for Christmas pictures and got 9-12 months size because she'll be almost 10 months at Christmas.  She was wearing a similar outfit in 6-9 months and it was so baggy, I ran out and switched them to a smaller size because there's no way she will outgrow that size in the next few months.  Around this age is when Brady started to take forever to outgrow clothes as well.  At least we get more use out of them.  She's still wearing size 2 diapers, but we've stepped up the 3's again overnight since she's sleeping about 10-12 hours and was having a few leaks.









It's unreal how big she's gotten in less than a year.