Issie goes to the beach!!

SO very sorry for the delay in posts :(  I have started working part-time so you would think that meant I have more time to do things like this...but NO!  I promise with the holidays coming up, etc I will do better to post plenty of pics!

So a few weeks ago Issie took her first trip to the beach!  My family (mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law) all headed down to Seaside, FL and stayed in a house right next to the ocean.  It was SO much fun and it was great to get away and out of our routine!  Unfortunately, Issie is not the beach-loving baby I thought she would be (that certainly comes from Josh's genes...NOT mine!) and she was terrified of the sand and ocean.  She confined herself to the big blanket and tent my mom brought for her and wouldn't even touch the sand.  I'm hoping she grows out of this because we would love to make this a yearly tradition of going to the beach as a family.  Here are some pics from the week:

We did it!!!

Today marks Josh and I's one year anniversary of marriage!  It has been one crazy amazing year and I am so thankful to have shared it with such a wonderful supportive man.  He is the best.  I can't wait for many many more :-)

Below is a video that my parents made for us for our one year anniversary present, enjoy!  (you may have to cut and paste the video into your browser)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoA6OKCyTw&feature=plcp

July Fun!

Well our July has gotten off to a pretty eventful start! First and most importantly, we were so thankful to find out that everything is absolutely fine with Isabella's noggin. We had a CT Scan done a few weeks ago (which was quite a longgg process) and received word from her pediatrician a few days later that Issie has a benign condition where she has a little more fluid in her head than most babies.  She assured us there is nothing to worry about and we will continue to monitor the growth of her head over the next six months.  Whew!  We were SO relieved.  Here she is at Vanderbilt waiting on her scan...she was quite the little trooper after six or so hours without eating!

Now that we are past that little scare, we have been partaking in some much needed summer fun!  We celebrated Josh's Golden Birthday (23 on the 23rd) with dinner out to his favorite restaurant, Wild Ginger, and the next weekend Josh's best friend from N.C., "Fink," came to visit us (it was a complete surprise for Josh!).  We enjoyed heading to the lake for a second time to visit with Debbie, Steve, Edith, Derrick, Gamma, Papa, Sarah (Debbie's friend) and her two girls, Hope & Chloe. 

                                                                                           

Last week we took Isabella on our first official Family Date Night.  Sure we have been out to eat plenty of times with her but this one was a little more special!  We all dressed up and went downtown to one of my favorite restaurants, Amerigos, and Isabella sat in a highchair for the first time.  It was so fun to have a night out on the town with our little family.  Here are some pics from the night:

 

The next day was the 4th of July and Isabella absolutely LOVED watching the fireworks and even stayed up a few hours past bedtime so she wouldn't miss out. We went to the Nolensville baseball fields where they were having a huge celebration with rides, music, etc. and fireworks to end the evening.  Everyone had to stop and say hi to Issie on her little picnic blanket dressed in the most patriotic attire--she looked adorable!

 I still can't believe how quickly she is growing!  I keep thinking "I just love this stage...it is so sweet," but honestly each month keeps getting sweeter!  I love how silly and wild she is--she loves being the center of attention (no idea where she gets that from :) and is such a little socialite already.  She lights up when she sees a camera or ESPECIALLY a mirror...I know...I'm in trouble!  A few weeks ago she started to get her first tooth!  Here she is trying to show it to me for the camera:

And she is now able to sit up all by herself!  Despite a head in the 99th percentile ;)  Here she is sitting up on her own for one of the first times:

And more pictures from the past few weeks:

 We hope everyone is doing well :) Lots of Love! xo

Josh's First Father's Day!

This father's day was extra special for two reasons:  it was Josh's REAL first father's day (last year we sort of celebrated) and Matt's almost first father's day (to recap for you: my sister is due Dec. 18, 2012)!!!  We had a blast going to church at Brentwood Baptist then having the whole family over for brunch afterwards.  Later that day, just the three of us went to Chuy's and sat outside for a while.  Issie loved the way they wrapped the utensils in "crinkle" paper...so easily entertained for now :-)  Here are some pictures from Sunday:

 Nothing makes me smile more than seeing these two together...

 The DADS!

 And our traditional Father's Day pose:

Hope everyone had as much fun on Father's Day as we did!  I know Josh was missing his Dad, Steve, and grandfathers but we celebrated them from afar :)

Happy Half-Birthday Isabella!!!

Yesterday Miss Issie Grace turned 6 months old!  I can't believe what a big girl she is becoming.  On her half-birthday, we had to go to the pediatrician for her 6 month check up :( Not the best way to spend the day.  She thoroughly enjoyed rolling around on the exam table though and of course, looking in the mirror!  I couldn't get her to stop!

All of the nurses had to stop in not only to see the cute baby, but to see where the loud squawking was coming from (and this was before the shots)!  She knows how to make her presence known :-)  The doctor was impressed with how happy and attentive she was!

Everything checked out great, however, the doctor is a little worried about the size of her head (it is 46.5 cm...which puts her in the 99th percentile/off the charts).  We always joke saying she is going to be really smart, etc. etc. but I had no idea it was something that could potentially be a health issue.  Anyways, the doctor reassured us that it is probably just a genetic thing but would like to have a CT Scan done on her to rule out anything more serious.  The scan is scheduled for June 25th at noon at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  Please keep sweet Issie in your prayers...we are sure everything will come back normal but it is still a little scary for all of us. 

Here is her growth sticker at 6 months!!! I've saved all of these for her scrapbook that I will eventually get to...