Our girl is on the move! I am so happy to announce that our little mover and shaker is all over the house! She is not only crawling, she will scoot, inch and push her way around any obstacle in her way. We of course, had to turn our house into Fort Knox with gates, cages, etc to make sure we keep our girl safe. I can not believe that Isabella is already almost 10 months old! Time really does fly! I remember always hearing from everyone to not blink, because when I do, I will feel like time just went too quickly, and they were right!
So let me get down to business on what's been going on in the Scarborough house! At 8 months old, Izzy started rocking back and forth on her hands and knees and kept acting like she was going to crawl, and then she would fake us out. About a week after her 8 month milestone, I was on the phone with a friend and Izzy was on the living room floor "faking" with the rocking on her hands and knees and I was loading the dishwasher and cooking dinner. I looked down at her to see what she was doing and I actually got to witness her first crawl! She put one knee in front of the other and took it slowly at first, and then just took off! I of course screamed and cried and had to get off the phone to praise my girl!! Scott got home from work and she did it again. I thought he was going to cry too! I guess it really is just the little things in parenthood that make you so dang happy!
We've been dealing with some other kind of "fun stuff" in our house. Izzy brought home (and shared with us) a pretty nasty virus that for her consisted of an upper respiratory infection, double ear infection and thrush. Oh boy. It was pretty nasty! As if the sleepless nights couldn't get more sleepless, they actually did, and NO ONE in our house was sleeping at night. Not only was Izzy so sick, she was teething on her top gums. She has been suffering with the leftovers of this nasty virus and lo and behold, a top tooth popped through about 2 weeks ago. She looks so cute with her two bottom teeth sticking out of her gum like 2 little pieces of rice! It still cracks me up every time she smiles really big and acts as if she wants to make sure you see those pearly whites!
Ok. so now that we've mastered the crawling thing, we have also mastered the pulling up on everything in her sight that is still and sturdy enough to allow her to, including poor Otis. Otis has become her jungle gym and her plush toy that she THINKS she can pull on, pinch, bite, etc. We are always on the lookout though to make sure that she doesn't get close enough to him that he can actually snap at her. Her favorite new thing to do is to pull herself up on the side of our master tub and peer in to where all her ducks, boats, and cups are that she plays with during bath time. She is so very curious about everything and just HAS to touch or taste anything she gets those chunky little fingers on.
Now that all of Scott's sports are over that he was playing, we are vowing to make more time for our little family. It's so hard when both of us are so incredibly busy during the week and weekends with our jobs to make special time to do things. It was even harder when Scott was playing every sport known to mankind and had this game and that game, and oh we can't forget practice...etc. I'm glad it's all over. Our days off will now be spent doing things together and introducing Isabella to new and fun things! She just recently went to her first Astros game and was even on tv for about 30 seconds (long in tv world!). It was such an awesome game and the guy sitting next to us even caught a foul ball! Whew! Thank goodness that ball didn't come near my girl or mama bear would've been on that field yelling at some stupid player. Ha!!
In other news, I just have a few things that I would like to remember when I go back in years to come. Izzy has started clapping her hands (at 9 months) waving bye but just sticks her arm up in the air at a tilt like Hitler, she giggles uncontrollably when Otis or any other dog licks her, she says Da Da, Ma Ma, Duck, and Boat very clearly, she LOVES peas, and she's pulling up on everything and cruising around the furniture.
God, I love this sweet child and I can't get enough of her (I'd like to sleep past 4 or 5 am though). I look at her sometimes and can't believe that she's really ours and that we get to keep her forever, or until she either leaves for college or gets married. She is my sunshine, my only sunshine. I learn so much from her and hope that we're doing a good job as her parents!
Our Love Nest
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Miss Personality
As usual, as I write this I'm thinking about the 5 million things that I want to write so that when I look back at this in years to come, I can "cherish the moments" as every mother has advised me. I want to remember that Isabella got her first tooth when she was 6.5 months old and 2 weeks later, a second popped up right next door on the bottom. She sat up by herself for the first time at 6 months old and discovered her feet and toes around the same time. I want to remember everything, but I know that many of those memories are forever stamped in my heart.
As she grows, more and more of Isabella's personality comes out! It amazes me every time I'm around her in a social setting, how well she does. Every now and then, we encounter someone that might scare her or that she has no interest in letting hold her. She tries to pretend that she's shy for about 15 seconds and before I know it, she's reaching her arms out to someone to hold her. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts last week with Scott's mom and her husband to see the King Tut exhibit and it was wonderful!! It was so important for us to take Izzy to see her ancestry in rare form. She was such a good girl the entire time and rarely made a peep. She just sat in her stroller or strapped into the carrier on me as I walked around with her. The whole exhibit was exhilarating and mysterious. I couldn't have asked for better family time!
She is becoming more and more independent and absolutely LOVES play time! She sits on her rubber mat on the floor and drags all of her toys out of the toy basket and entertains herself for about 30 minutes at a time before she lets out a playful yell, "Mama, come play!" We finally got her a highchair a few weeks ago, instead of seating her in her Bumbo at meal time. She just sits in her highchair in the kitchen with me as I cook or clean. I put a toy or two on the tray along with a few snacks big enough for her to pick up on her own, and she again, will entertain herself while I complete my tasks.
Another exciting milestone for us is that she will go down for her naps and nighttime sleep with hardly any fuss. At her known ritual nap times, all I do is lay her down, kiss her, and walk out of the room, closing the door behind me. Of course, I have a few monitor screens in the house and constantly watch over her, but she typically stays asleep for about an hour and a half to two hours at a time! At night, she sleeps from about 8 pm to 7 am straight through, only waking once or twice a week not able to find her paci on her own. Overall, a great sleeper!
I introduced organic chicken breast roughly pureed a few weeks ago and she likes it! I do have to mix it with a veggie that she likes a lot, but overall, she hasn't rebuked anything that we've tried. I hope that her love for fresh fruit and veggies stick throughout her toddler and older years! My mother said I ate just about anything you put on my highchair tray and Scott did as a baby as well, so I really hope this sticks with her. Scott on the other hand, will not eat too many vegetables to count, but he's a very healthy eater.
I've gotta say, that for the most part, we are some super lucky parents. Everywhere we go with Izzy, we get complimented on how beautiful she is and how well-behaved she is for her age. She is coming up on 8 months old already, and just as everyone has warned me, IT HAS FLOWN! I can not believe that a year ago, I was sporting a baby bump and had no earthly idea what true love was. The minute I held that angel, I knew she would change our lives forever, but I had no idea that the meaning of love had completely changed so dramatically. She is the sunshine of my every day and her giggles and laughs are ridiculously infectious! I told Scott last night that I was worried about ever loving another baby the way I love Isabella. She truly makes my heart beat! My mother has always said that her kids are the reason her heart beats, and now I get it. My mother has always been my hero and my friend and I have never appreciated her more than now that I am a mother myself. My mother-in-law is just as much a mother-figure to me as well. She is always so wise in her words and so nurturing in conversation. She also encourages me to be the best mother I can be for my daughter. Scott is my biggest cheerleader as he always reminds me that he thinks I am a good mother and that I have a very tough job!
I hope that my baby's happiness and joy reflects in her personality forever! That giggle and laugh of hers sure tells me and everyone else that meets her how happy she really is!
As she grows, more and more of Isabella's personality comes out! It amazes me every time I'm around her in a social setting, how well she does. Every now and then, we encounter someone that might scare her or that she has no interest in letting hold her. She tries to pretend that she's shy for about 15 seconds and before I know it, she's reaching her arms out to someone to hold her. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts last week with Scott's mom and her husband to see the King Tut exhibit and it was wonderful!! It was so important for us to take Izzy to see her ancestry in rare form. She was such a good girl the entire time and rarely made a peep. She just sat in her stroller or strapped into the carrier on me as I walked around with her. The whole exhibit was exhilarating and mysterious. I couldn't have asked for better family time!
She is becoming more and more independent and absolutely LOVES play time! She sits on her rubber mat on the floor and drags all of her toys out of the toy basket and entertains herself for about 30 minutes at a time before she lets out a playful yell, "Mama, come play!" We finally got her a highchair a few weeks ago, instead of seating her in her Bumbo at meal time. She just sits in her highchair in the kitchen with me as I cook or clean. I put a toy or two on the tray along with a few snacks big enough for her to pick up on her own, and she again, will entertain herself while I complete my tasks.
Another exciting milestone for us is that she will go down for her naps and nighttime sleep with hardly any fuss. At her known ritual nap times, all I do is lay her down, kiss her, and walk out of the room, closing the door behind me. Of course, I have a few monitor screens in the house and constantly watch over her, but she typically stays asleep for about an hour and a half to two hours at a time! At night, she sleeps from about 8 pm to 7 am straight through, only waking once or twice a week not able to find her paci on her own. Overall, a great sleeper!
I introduced organic chicken breast roughly pureed a few weeks ago and she likes it! I do have to mix it with a veggie that she likes a lot, but overall, she hasn't rebuked anything that we've tried. I hope that her love for fresh fruit and veggies stick throughout her toddler and older years! My mother said I ate just about anything you put on my highchair tray and Scott did as a baby as well, so I really hope this sticks with her. Scott on the other hand, will not eat too many vegetables to count, but he's a very healthy eater.
I've gotta say, that for the most part, we are some super lucky parents. Everywhere we go with Izzy, we get complimented on how beautiful she is and how well-behaved she is for her age. She is coming up on 8 months old already, and just as everyone has warned me, IT HAS FLOWN! I can not believe that a year ago, I was sporting a baby bump and had no earthly idea what true love was. The minute I held that angel, I knew she would change our lives forever, but I had no idea that the meaning of love had completely changed so dramatically. She is the sunshine of my every day and her giggles and laughs are ridiculously infectious! I told Scott last night that I was worried about ever loving another baby the way I love Isabella. She truly makes my heart beat! My mother has always said that her kids are the reason her heart beats, and now I get it. My mother has always been my hero and my friend and I have never appreciated her more than now that I am a mother myself. My mother-in-law is just as much a mother-figure to me as well. She is always so wise in her words and so nurturing in conversation. She also encourages me to be the best mother I can be for my daughter. Scott is my biggest cheerleader as he always reminds me that he thinks I am a good mother and that I have a very tough job!
I hope that my baby's happiness and joy reflects in her personality forever! That giggle and laugh of hers sure tells me and everyone else that meets her how happy she really is!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
I'm a big girl now!
We've had so many joyous moments in the past several months, but now we've been encountering the best of times with Isabella. SO much has changed with her and is constantly changing! Sometimes I look at her and the newborn days are foggy. Her personality is developing into quite the "Mini Mommy." She's hilarious and is incredibly happy! She has her sassy moments (wonder where that came from??) and she has her times of hysterical laughter, and her times of fussy mama. All in all, it is the general consensus in the Scarborough Palace that we are incredibly lucky!
At five months, she started with rice cereal in her bottle and it seemed to satisfy her hunger just a bit more. She's been on formula since she was 3 months old when I went back to work and has been doing great on it. She likes to show off when she's super hungry and will hold her own bottle while we hold her. Her daddy likes to make her grab for it and that's when she hangs on to it for dear life while sighing with joy and every gulp. Towards the end of month five, we started putting about a tbsp of rice cereal mixed with water in her bowl and feeding her with a spoon. She had no idea what to think of all that and would push it all out with her tongue. She finally got the hang of it though! At five months, she was rolling over from her back to her belly. I would lay her on her play mat while I unloaded the dishwasher and I would come into the living room to find her on her belly and not a happy camper. We moved out of her bassinet and into her pack n play in our room until we move and feel more comfortable with her being in her own room. Right now, our room is upstairs and her room in down and I'm just not comfortable with that set up and her being that far. If we were down and her up, that would be different, but this is downtown Houston and I'm not ready for that kind of risk.
At six months, big changes began. First, she managed to get RSV from a little boy at her daycare which was the scariest experience we've had thus far. It started with a little sneeze and a cough here and there. Then...I got the call from the daycare that she wasn't responding to her bottles and was very lethargic. I of course dropped everything and made Scott leave early from work. I went and got her from school and we immediately rushed her to the doctor. Since her regular doctor was jam-packed with patients, we saw another doctor in the practice. Big mistake. We LOVE our pediatrician, Dr. Zuniga. She is so good with Izzy and always knows what's best. She has this amazing way of making us feel so comfortable! The first doctor diagnosed Izzy with Croup and gave her some in-office breathing treatments and prescribed us an at-home treatment as well as antibiotics. Ten days later, the poor baby was still sick. It was time for her 6 month check up so we took her in to see Dr. Z and sure enough, "This isn't Croup...that would've gone by now. This is RSV which is obviously much more serious." Awesome. At that point, she had an ear infection and lost almost a pound, which is a lot for a baby. She put us on a different antibiotic and so far, her symptoms have gone away and she's recovered. Much to their dismay, I paid a visit to the daycare's director and basically ripped her a new one for not posting that there was a case of RSV and for allowing that child to come back to daycare with his remaining symptoms.
Lots of wonderful things have happened in month 6! Izzy is now recognizing her name very well and is fully aware of who is who. When I walk into her daycare to pick her up sometimes or just to visit her on my lunch, she gets beside herself excited and starts giggling loudly and squealing with happiness when she spots me or hears me say her name. What an incredible feeling!! My baby loves me back!! She reacts the same way to her daddy of course, who is the apple of her eye. When he walks in the door from work, he calls to her, "Izzzzzzzzz!!" all the way up the stairs and she squeals and screams with happiness at the sound of his voice and the prospect of him picking her up and smothering her with kisses. What a happy baby!!
We have now started solid foods and she's doing incredibly well with everything...except bananas. Not a fan. She is eating sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, avocado, green beans, peas, pears, apples, peaches, and today we tried blueberries! So far, green beans, sweet potatoes and peaches are the favorites. She is also still out with the jury on the puff cereal bits. She'll eat them if we give them to her in her mouth, but if we put them on her tray, she tosses them on the ground to her big brother, Otis. My girl is pretty smart! She reeeeeeeeaaally loves Otis and will do anything for his attention. Otis is not so interested, unless there's free food involved.
In other news, she is totally sitting up on her own and will sit for about 20-30 minutes on the floor until she's had about enough of that and rolls over on her belly. Her favorite toys include a very LOUD and annoying (to us) sit to stand toy. It looks like a lawn mower and has a million buttons on it that play loud animal sounds and songs when pushed. She really likes pushing those and looking at me for approval at every smash of those buttons. She is also sleeping through the night again (hasn't done so in 2 months). Her bed time is at 8 pm and after she's had her bath and gotten to play in her pile of toys, we put her in her bed and she goes right to sleep. We had to let her cry it out the first few nights, but now she's got the hang of it. We've done her naps the same way and she's doing great! Last Friday we learned why she had been so fussy and upset...I was cleaning her mouth out during her bath, and there it was, sinking into my finger. Our girl got her her first tooth! It is the bottom right front tooth and is so pretty to me.
Overall, we have been so blessed!! We thank God every single day, several times a day for the abundant blessings we have received. We must really be loved. She's perfect! She will be 7 months old in just a few days. So hard to believe! We must be doing something right.
At five months, she started with rice cereal in her bottle and it seemed to satisfy her hunger just a bit more. She's been on formula since she was 3 months old when I went back to work and has been doing great on it. She likes to show off when she's super hungry and will hold her own bottle while we hold her. Her daddy likes to make her grab for it and that's when she hangs on to it for dear life while sighing with joy and every gulp. Towards the end of month five, we started putting about a tbsp of rice cereal mixed with water in her bowl and feeding her with a spoon. She had no idea what to think of all that and would push it all out with her tongue. She finally got the hang of it though! At five months, she was rolling over from her back to her belly. I would lay her on her play mat while I unloaded the dishwasher and I would come into the living room to find her on her belly and not a happy camper. We moved out of her bassinet and into her pack n play in our room until we move and feel more comfortable with her being in her own room. Right now, our room is upstairs and her room in down and I'm just not comfortable with that set up and her being that far. If we were down and her up, that would be different, but this is downtown Houston and I'm not ready for that kind of risk.
At six months, big changes began. First, she managed to get RSV from a little boy at her daycare which was the scariest experience we've had thus far. It started with a little sneeze and a cough here and there. Then...I got the call from the daycare that she wasn't responding to her bottles and was very lethargic. I of course dropped everything and made Scott leave early from work. I went and got her from school and we immediately rushed her to the doctor. Since her regular doctor was jam-packed with patients, we saw another doctor in the practice. Big mistake. We LOVE our pediatrician, Dr. Zuniga. She is so good with Izzy and always knows what's best. She has this amazing way of making us feel so comfortable! The first doctor diagnosed Izzy with Croup and gave her some in-office breathing treatments and prescribed us an at-home treatment as well as antibiotics. Ten days later, the poor baby was still sick. It was time for her 6 month check up so we took her in to see Dr. Z and sure enough, "This isn't Croup...that would've gone by now. This is RSV which is obviously much more serious." Awesome. At that point, she had an ear infection and lost almost a pound, which is a lot for a baby. She put us on a different antibiotic and so far, her symptoms have gone away and she's recovered. Much to their dismay, I paid a visit to the daycare's director and basically ripped her a new one for not posting that there was a case of RSV and for allowing that child to come back to daycare with his remaining symptoms.
Lots of wonderful things have happened in month 6! Izzy is now recognizing her name very well and is fully aware of who is who. When I walk into her daycare to pick her up sometimes or just to visit her on my lunch, she gets beside herself excited and starts giggling loudly and squealing with happiness when she spots me or hears me say her name. What an incredible feeling!! My baby loves me back!! She reacts the same way to her daddy of course, who is the apple of her eye. When he walks in the door from work, he calls to her, "Izzzzzzzzz!!" all the way up the stairs and she squeals and screams with happiness at the sound of his voice and the prospect of him picking her up and smothering her with kisses. What a happy baby!!
We have now started solid foods and she's doing incredibly well with everything...except bananas. Not a fan. She is eating sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, avocado, green beans, peas, pears, apples, peaches, and today we tried blueberries! So far, green beans, sweet potatoes and peaches are the favorites. She is also still out with the jury on the puff cereal bits. She'll eat them if we give them to her in her mouth, but if we put them on her tray, she tosses them on the ground to her big brother, Otis. My girl is pretty smart! She reeeeeeeeaaally loves Otis and will do anything for his attention. Otis is not so interested, unless there's free food involved.
In other news, she is totally sitting up on her own and will sit for about 20-30 minutes on the floor until she's had about enough of that and rolls over on her belly. Her favorite toys include a very LOUD and annoying (to us) sit to stand toy. It looks like a lawn mower and has a million buttons on it that play loud animal sounds and songs when pushed. She really likes pushing those and looking at me for approval at every smash of those buttons. She is also sleeping through the night again (hasn't done so in 2 months). Her bed time is at 8 pm and after she's had her bath and gotten to play in her pile of toys, we put her in her bed and she goes right to sleep. We had to let her cry it out the first few nights, but now she's got the hang of it. We've done her naps the same way and she's doing great! Last Friday we learned why she had been so fussy and upset...I was cleaning her mouth out during her bath, and there it was, sinking into my finger. Our girl got her her first tooth! It is the bottom right front tooth and is so pretty to me.
Overall, we have been so blessed!! We thank God every single day, several times a day for the abundant blessings we have received. We must really be loved. She's perfect! She will be 7 months old in just a few days. So hard to believe! We must be doing something right.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
5 Months Already!!
Since I've been back to work, I haven't had much time to do much of a whole lot if you catch my drift. Isabella keeps us on our toes and is always doing something new, so I never want to be too far away from her, worried that I'll miss something. I was so heartbroken when I picked up my sweet girl from daycare one day last week and they were congratulating me on her rolling over! I about had a heart attack, because I hadn't seen her do it yet!! Times like that one made me wish we'd win the lottery and I could do nothing but hang out with her all day and watch her grow. Since then, I was undressing her one night and was about to put her in the bath. I always give her a quick wipe down before I put her in the bath because I don't want the water to be nasty before I bathe her. I turned around to get a wipe and guess what she did?? Yup! She rolled over! It may have been an accident, but nevertheless, she did it! Too bad daddy was outside walking Otis and missed the entire thing = (
Since then, we have been practicing the motion of rolling over with her every night either before or after bath time. We've also been doing lots and lots of tummy time in order to strengthen her neck and back muscles. She also sits upright in her pink Bumbo or as I sometimes like to call it, her throne. Last but not least, we have moved up to eating rice cereal as of a week ago out of a bowl and spoon. She'll only take about a tablespoon and a half, but at least she's getting more and more used to eating with a spoon. I ordered her a baby food maker that I'm pretty stoked about. It cooks the food first, then it purees it. Of course I had to get all the darn accessories that go with it (i.e the grain basket that cooks rice, the freezing tray, and all the little containers that go with it). I'm not sure how long it will last, but I'm definitely on a mission to make her food myself. I don't think there's anything wrong with buying jarred food, but this happens to be a personal preference of mine. I enjoy cooking so much and who better to cook for than my little piglet. So far, she's doing pretty well with the rice cereal. She kind of swirls it around in her mouth, unsure of why it's there. Eventually she swallows it and of course, gets cheering from mommy and daddy when she does it. Otis of course is glued to her side just to make sure she doesn't drop anything. Hey, at least we've got a built in vacuum cleaner!
We are in the process of interviewing nannies for Izzy since caring for her on both days off is becoming too much for my mom. I joined a club that offers access to nannies and their background checks, so we're meeting with a few ladies on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes. I keep hearing all these horror stories and all it makes me want to do is infest our house with nanny cams so that I can watch every breath she takes. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I just want to know that she's taken care of while I can't be there to do it myself. I would put a rifle in between someone's eyeballs if they ever tried to hurt my child.
During Christmas week, I had emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder, finally. That stupid thing has been giving me hell for 5 years now. It got to the point that I wasn't able to digest anything, not even water. It was pretty bad. I went and visited with the doctor and he insisted that it come out the next morning. We got to the hospital at 5:45 am and by 1:30 I was at home and in quite a bit of pain. The gallbladder was extremely infected and 3 times the normal size of a gallbladder. It was the worst case that the surgeon had seen. The 20 minute routine procedure took him three hours. Thank goodness I'm alive and that darn thing is out. It was causing me so much grief and ruining every steak I tried to eat.
Things are about to pick up at work and thank goodness, Izzy is sleeping through the night now. We had such a wonderful Christmas and fun was had by all. Janet, Scott's sweet mama came down and spent the day with us. My entire family came over as well. We had brisket, ham, stuffing, corn, green beans and several kinds of yummy desserts. Of course the grandparents swooned over her highness. She got tons and tons of great gifts and clothes. I was in quite a bit of pain and so I took it easy and stayed on the couch after cooking dinner.
All in all, 2011 has proven to be the best year of my life next to 2009, when I got to marry my love. The most precious part of our lives joined us in 2011 and she continues to be the reason why the sun shines every day. When I hear her little giggle from another room, it always makes me smile because I know that she is such a happy little baby and I know that God put her in our lives to enrich our souls. She is so amazing and while I might be a little biased, she is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. I can't wait to spend every single day of my life loving her and her daddy so much. Thank you God for blessing me with the most amazing love a human being can handle! I love you Lord for the greatest gifts anyone could ever receive!
May 2012 be as rewarding and wonderful as last year. I am, and I know Scott is looking forward to watching our little angel grow to be such a perfect little lady!
Happy New Year!!
The Scarboroughs
Friday, November 25, 2011
Giving Thanks
This Thanksgiving was our first Thanksgiving as a whole new family, with the new addition of our little Isabella! We always have so much to be thankful for, and we thank God every day for every single gift we've been given, but this year, we had so much more to be thankful for. We are grateful for the delivery of the most beautiful baby angel, for her good health, for our home, our jobs, and most of all, our FAMILY.
A few weeks ago, Isabella was baptized into the Coptic Orthodox church and it was such a wonderful day! We were joined by family and close friends and every moment of it was beautiful. Isabella did really well considering she was dunked under water 3 times. She is generally a very good baby. Her being a Christian and recognized as such was really important to us and we finally made it official on October 29th!
A few weeks ago, Isabella was baptized into the Coptic Orthodox church and it was such a wonderful day! We were joined by family and close friends and every moment of it was beautiful. Isabella did really well considering she was dunked under water 3 times. She is generally a very good baby. Her being a Christian and recognized as such was really important to us and we finally made it official on October 29th!
We were fortunate enough to have the bishop of the southern diocese, His Grace Bishop Youseff conduct the baptism and our sweet girl was a vision in her white gown! I will never forget that day as long as I live!!
I started back to work on October 31, and it was a lot tougher than I anticipated. I've been at home with Izzy every day since she was born and to leave her in a stranger's arms at daycare killed me inside. I had to be dragged out of the daycare by Scott and it was not a pretty scene. I called the daycare 6 times the first day and she was only there from 8 until my mom picked her up at 3. Oh, and I visited her once. Very bad day. I knew it was coming though and I knew that one day I would have to return to work and that it would hurt. I just didn't have any idea how much. I'm doing much better with that though and it gets easier each week.
I am starting up a new community at work called Patterson Grove. It is a new little community in Rice Military near the Heights here in Houston and I will be selling beautiful brand new David Weekley townhomes! I'm really excited about getting the opportunity to sell something so beautiful and of such great quality. I have worked for David Weekley Homes for almost 6 years now and have never had a commute of less than an hour, so 12 minutes from home is almost tear-jerking! It allows me to be close to home, close to Izzy's daycare and close to my mom's house. She takes care of Izzy after daycare and on the weekends when I work. I am off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for now, which is also Scott's schedule, so it allows us to have family time together! We're going to be looking forward to doing things together and raising our daughter as a unit!
Now let's talk about my favorite subject, Isabella Evan Scarborough and her amazing growth and milestones! So just recently, she's been able to sit in her Bumbo by herself and totally holds her head up on her own. She will sit in her seat for about 15 minutes at a time without fussing, but we're getting somewhere with it! She also lies on her play mat for about 30-45 minutes at a time and talks very loudly to herself. She will just lie there and kick her little legs all over the place. She has recently started something hilarious. She coos and babbles and sounds like she's asking herself questions and then answering them. It's the tone in her voice that is hilarious!! About a week ago, she woke Scott and me up at 5 am with this investigative questioning and we just held still in the bed and giggled quietly. Yes it was 5 am, but goodness it was the sweetness sound in the world. She has been taking a tbsp of rice cereal in her night time bottle but it's not keeping her asleep longer. However, we are happy to report that she will sleep from about 8 or 8:30 pm until about 2:30 am and then wakes for a bottle and she's back down by 3 until 7 am. Not too shabby! We still can't wait until the middle of the night feedings stop. It gets pretty rough after a while. It is definitely light brown and will be big curls. Her eyes are still this amazing greenish gray color and they're huge like mine. She focuses more and more every day and she loves the sound your lips make when you blow kisses. Scott kisses and tickles her neck and she laughs out loud hysterically. It's the cutest thing ever!!! What a contagious laugh my little lovebird has!
We are so incredibly blessed with this sweet child and watching her grow and develop has been amazing! She is so perfect in so many ways and we as her parents find that we are so inspired by her. Her love is unconditional and the way she looks at us lets us know that we're doing a good job taking care of her. Thank you God for blessing our family and for giving us the most beautiful and precious gift we prayed for! Please continue to bless us and our little family!
The Scarboroughs
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Baby Steps
Isabella is now 11 weeks old and growing like a weed! I never thought I would make it this far without completely losing my marbles, but I have. It's been taxing on us as a family, but Scott is doing a great job helping out where he can and certainly carrying the financial burden until I go back to work at the beginning on November. We start the morning off with waking up to precious coo-ing coming from the bassinet right next to my side of the bed. Sometimes she will let out a loud "Ahhhhh!" just to let us know that she's ready to get out of bed. We feed her a bottle, change her and begin the morning the only way we know how, by relishing every moment with our angel. Scott goes out and walks Otis while I feed Izzy. He gets ready for work and Izzy and I start our morning with the Today show. We play for about an hour or so on her playmat as well as in my lap. She loves it when I hold her under her arms and let her stand on her feet and bounce around in my lap. She's one strong little baby! She jumps up and down like she's on a trampoline and I let her wear herself out.
She takes her morning nap around 10 or 10:30 and will usually stay asleep for about an hour in her swing. The entire time she naps, she hums to herself in her sleep and often opens just one eye to make sure I'm right there. If she catches me in the kitchen, all hell breaks loose and she screams until I put her pacifier back in and off she drifts back into baby slumber.
She's eating 4 ounces on average now every 2 to 3 hours and sometimes she'll surprise us and inhale up to 7 ounces in one feeding. She's still on her acid reflux meds which is just liquid Zantac and she gets this twice a day every 12 hours. I also have to give her gas drops at least once a day that help relieve her trapped gas, poor angel. It's so funny when she's baking a little something in her diaper for us. She makes the most hilarious faces and grunts like a little old man. She toots very loudly during these little sessions and that's how we know that it's time to start moving towards the stash of diapers and wipes.
Overall, she does pretty well with me during the day. She starts daycare, however, on 10/31 and I'm worried that they'll just leave her to cry by herself and they won't comfort her the way we do. I know that she eventually has to learn how to soothe herself, but she's a very attention-hungry little princess and can sometimes be downright high maintenance. It's going to kill me having to leave her there on her first day, but I have to do it. Until we win the lottery, we have no other choice but to both work. We like having nice things and in order to do that, we gotta work for it!
I've been preparing her daycare bag and I soooo want to find a way to stick a little camera or recorder in there to keep an ear on my baby, but I know I can't do that. She'll only be in daycare Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9-4 and then my mom will go pick her up and keep her at her place until I get off work at 6. We've been working on a schedule and a routine for her and it seems to be working fairly well. I have her bathed and dressed for bed no later than 8 and asleep by 9. It may seem late for some people, but for us getting off work so late and Scott not getting home from work until 8, it works for us. He may only get to spend an hour with her in the evenings, but I bet it's his most precious and cherished hour of his day.
At night she falls asleep around 9, like I said, and she wakes back up some time around 4 for a bottle and doesn't wake back up until she's ready to get up for the day around 7:30. Every now and then, she has a bad night where she's not feeling well with either gas or reflux and she's up a few more times in between. Those make for really tough days the next day for mommy since Scott has to work the next day and can't get up with her. He does, however, give me a night off every week (on Monday nights) where he is off the next day and it allows me to sleep all through the night uninterrupted. I really hope that things keep going the way they have been. It's frustrating at times and totally exhausting, but so very worth it when she looks at us and smiles that half-cocked little Popeye smile and giggles!!
Little Isabella is being baptized next Saturday morning and will officially be a Coptic Orthodox Christian. I chose her baptism saint today with my mother, after some research. I chose Saint Demiana who was martyred and would not forsake her Christianity for the promise of a better life. She was tortured as a child and a young adult and was finally killed along with her friends. Each person that's baptized in our church must choose a Coptic saint as their patron saint and so her baptism name will be Isabella Demiana Evan Scarborough!
I will update next week after the baptism and post some photos then!
She takes her morning nap around 10 or 10:30 and will usually stay asleep for about an hour in her swing. The entire time she naps, she hums to herself in her sleep and often opens just one eye to make sure I'm right there. If she catches me in the kitchen, all hell breaks loose and she screams until I put her pacifier back in and off she drifts back into baby slumber.
She's eating 4 ounces on average now every 2 to 3 hours and sometimes she'll surprise us and inhale up to 7 ounces in one feeding. She's still on her acid reflux meds which is just liquid Zantac and she gets this twice a day every 12 hours. I also have to give her gas drops at least once a day that help relieve her trapped gas, poor angel. It's so funny when she's baking a little something in her diaper for us. She makes the most hilarious faces and grunts like a little old man. She toots very loudly during these little sessions and that's how we know that it's time to start moving towards the stash of diapers and wipes.
Overall, she does pretty well with me during the day. She starts daycare, however, on 10/31 and I'm worried that they'll just leave her to cry by herself and they won't comfort her the way we do. I know that she eventually has to learn how to soothe herself, but she's a very attention-hungry little princess and can sometimes be downright high maintenance. It's going to kill me having to leave her there on her first day, but I have to do it. Until we win the lottery, we have no other choice but to both work. We like having nice things and in order to do that, we gotta work for it!
I've been preparing her daycare bag and I soooo want to find a way to stick a little camera or recorder in there to keep an ear on my baby, but I know I can't do that. She'll only be in daycare Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9-4 and then my mom will go pick her up and keep her at her place until I get off work at 6. We've been working on a schedule and a routine for her and it seems to be working fairly well. I have her bathed and dressed for bed no later than 8 and asleep by 9. It may seem late for some people, but for us getting off work so late and Scott not getting home from work until 8, it works for us. He may only get to spend an hour with her in the evenings, but I bet it's his most precious and cherished hour of his day.
At night she falls asleep around 9, like I said, and she wakes back up some time around 4 for a bottle and doesn't wake back up until she's ready to get up for the day around 7:30. Every now and then, she has a bad night where she's not feeling well with either gas or reflux and she's up a few more times in between. Those make for really tough days the next day for mommy since Scott has to work the next day and can't get up with her. He does, however, give me a night off every week (on Monday nights) where he is off the next day and it allows me to sleep all through the night uninterrupted. I really hope that things keep going the way they have been. It's frustrating at times and totally exhausting, but so very worth it when she looks at us and smiles that half-cocked little Popeye smile and giggles!!
Little Isabella is being baptized next Saturday morning and will officially be a Coptic Orthodox Christian. I chose her baptism saint today with my mother, after some research. I chose Saint Demiana who was martyred and would not forsake her Christianity for the promise of a better life. She was tortured as a child and a young adult and was finally killed along with her friends. Each person that's baptized in our church must choose a Coptic saint as their patron saint and so her baptism name will be Isabella Demiana Evan Scarborough!
I will update next week after the baptism and post some photos then!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Milestones...one step at a time
Well, we've made it through the first 6 weeks of parenthood somewhat successfully! It hasn't been easy, but we're here. Our little Isabella has kept us quite busy and she is just as happy as can be. She loves to cuddle and be held, and we know that soon, I'll go back to work and so we're giving her all the mommy daddy love that we can now before she goes to daycare. We're going to start working on a sleep schedule soon, because let's face it, mommy's not having fun with the all night disco parties that little Izzy likes to throw!
We have our next check up with Dr. Zuniga on October 5th, but so far, so good with her growth! We were a little concerned about her lack of dirty diapers, but we're accepting that our little gal doesn't poopie every day. Next up on our plate, gas and reflux. No one said it was going to be easy!!
My parents and Scott's mom and Garry have been so wonderful to us, as well as our friends and family. Scott and I have gotten to go on two dates already!! Once four our 2 year wedding anniversary and once for his birthday. We're so blessed to have everyone want to pitch in to help us so much. We always took advantage of "running a quick errand" or "meeting friends out" and now, our lives are very different...much more fulfilled, but different. We can't imagine our lives without our sweet angel, but our schedules have to be fully mapped out around her feedings, diaper changes, and moods. She's kind of a fussy little gal when she's hungry and doesn't get fed right away or when she has a wet diaper and doesn't get changed right away. The big one though, is when she doesn't feel well and all she wants is a good cuddle, and you're in TARGET. I've managed my way around motherhood though the very best way I know how. I get plenty of mommy advice from my fellow mommies. I am constantly trying to learn about her and how I can make her transition from mommy's belly to being in the outside world. As Scott put it, she's fussy sometimes because she is just figuring out that she's not going back to my belly where she was fed when she wanted, didn't have to wear diapers, clothes, and those ridiculous bows!! It was dark, mostly quiet and she constantly got bounced as I moved around about my day. We're happy that she's here though in the outside world with us! We have so much to teach her and share with her!!
As far as her development is concerned, she's starting to smile a lot more, she totally reacts to me tickling her feet and giving her belly zerberts! She loves when you gently stroke her nose (her sweet spot) as she drifts away to sleep. When I feed her, she always looks for my fingers with her hand and she holds on while she slurps away at her meals. I knew I had quite the water baby because when I would take showers and let the water hit my belly, I could feel her dancing about in her little home. Now, when I put her in her tub at her bath time, she lies in her little sling in the tub and kicks her powerful little legs. She hums to her own music and smiles her little Popeye smile and just stares at me. It's priceless!! She's discovered that she can suck on her hands until she is fed and that when she fusses, we rub her belly and it's all better.
I'm loving getting to know our baby and learning about her and her precious milestones. She has filled all the gaps in our lives and makes us both want to be better people. We couldn't imagine our lives without her and we know that the rest of our lives will be filled with little milestones that make Isabella who she is and Scott and Marianne who we are....Thank you God for our amazing daughter!!!!!!! Thank you for choosing us to be her parents!
We have our next check up with Dr. Zuniga on October 5th, but so far, so good with her growth! We were a little concerned about her lack of dirty diapers, but we're accepting that our little gal doesn't poopie every day. Next up on our plate, gas and reflux. No one said it was going to be easy!!
My parents and Scott's mom and Garry have been so wonderful to us, as well as our friends and family. Scott and I have gotten to go on two dates already!! Once four our 2 year wedding anniversary and once for his birthday. We're so blessed to have everyone want to pitch in to help us so much. We always took advantage of "running a quick errand" or "meeting friends out" and now, our lives are very different...much more fulfilled, but different. We can't imagine our lives without our sweet angel, but our schedules have to be fully mapped out around her feedings, diaper changes, and moods. She's kind of a fussy little gal when she's hungry and doesn't get fed right away or when she has a wet diaper and doesn't get changed right away. The big one though, is when she doesn't feel well and all she wants is a good cuddle, and you're in TARGET. I've managed my way around motherhood though the very best way I know how. I get plenty of mommy advice from my fellow mommies. I am constantly trying to learn about her and how I can make her transition from mommy's belly to being in the outside world. As Scott put it, she's fussy sometimes because she is just figuring out that she's not going back to my belly where she was fed when she wanted, didn't have to wear diapers, clothes, and those ridiculous bows!! It was dark, mostly quiet and she constantly got bounced as I moved around about my day. We're happy that she's here though in the outside world with us! We have so much to teach her and share with her!!
As far as her development is concerned, she's starting to smile a lot more, she totally reacts to me tickling her feet and giving her belly zerberts! She loves when you gently stroke her nose (her sweet spot) as she drifts away to sleep. When I feed her, she always looks for my fingers with her hand and she holds on while she slurps away at her meals. I knew I had quite the water baby because when I would take showers and let the water hit my belly, I could feel her dancing about in her little home. Now, when I put her in her tub at her bath time, she lies in her little sling in the tub and kicks her powerful little legs. She hums to her own music and smiles her little Popeye smile and just stares at me. It's priceless!! She's discovered that she can suck on her hands until she is fed and that when she fusses, we rub her belly and it's all better.
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