Butternut Squash - Take 2

This butternut squash video from last year is a classic and is loved by many..




This year, Grandpa brought up more butternut squash (although he didn't think he planted any this year. It definitely looks like butternut squash to me). I cooked some up and added a bunch of brown sugar to see how Isabella would take to it this year. Nope, she was less than thrilled. (and if you look carefully at the very end I think she resorts to flipping off the camera)




Grandpa also brought Isabella a big pumpkin, which she really enjoys. When she is outside she will point at it and say "pumpkin" (without me saying it first, which always surprises me)




When Grandpa visited, it was actually still warm so we did some work in the garage and some yard work. Isabella tried to jump in on the action. We were trying to put trimmings into the yardwaste bag, she'd sometimes help with that, but she was way more interested in trying to pull the leaves off a hosta and put it in the bag.

Big News!

We are pregnant! Due in mid-April. Isabella is going to be a big sister!

We had an early ultrasound. The pictures turned out good, better at 12 weeks than I think Isabella's were at 20 weeks. It is hard to believe that the baby was 2.5 inches long and it already looks so much like a little human!

Isabella's 2nd Ear Surgery

Isabella had her ear tubes put in yesterday morning. Everything went very well and very quickly. We were at the center at 7:45 am. We got her checked in and talked to the nurse and anesthesiologist. She got changed into her gown and played with some toys and before we knew it the anesthesiologist was back to take her away. We just met him in the hallway around 8:45 and he took Isabella away screaming. That part was pretty tough. But then, Isabella was back in the room with us by 9:10, happy as a lark. How they can put her under, do the surgery, and bring her back out of it in that short amount of time is beyond me. We spent a little time in the post-op room and then we were free to go. Isabella did very for the rest of the day. We even ended up heading out to the Iowa Homecoming parade because she was doing well and then the sun came out a bit and the weather seemed to be a little better. Isabella had a really good time at the parade. She waved at everyone, clapped to all the music, and pointed out things she thought were really interesting. It was really cute.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Before surgery


After surgery


Getting ready for the Homecoming parade

Bundled up at the parade


Watching from Daddy's shoulders

A girl and her ears

About a month ago, Isabella was really cranky two evenings in a row. It usually dawns on us after the second night of crankiness that Isabella probably has an ear infection. So we took her into the doctor and yep, another infection. Then last week I had to work unusually late into the night. I kept hearing Isabella wake up and cry a bit and then fall back to sleep. I was thinking "oh my gosh, most of the time when she wakes up in the middle of the night I am probably just sleeping right through it. " The following night, we heard her again and the next morning we woke up and said "who can take her to the doctor today?" Jeff took her in and yep, another ear infection. This one was looking pretty bad. It is kind of disconcerting because she hasn't really been having bad colds or anything. The doctor recommended we get her back to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. She went in today and is scheduled to have her 2nd ear tubes installed this Friday already. The surgery is planned for 9am. This time it is not at the hospital, it is at ambulatory surgical center. As a bonus, today the doctor pulled out one of her tubes that had fallen out and was stuck in some wax. Kind of interesting to actually see the tube. Kind of strange to actually post a picture of it, but the tube is the little blue spot below (everything else is wax)

Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Boats

In early Sept. we traveled to Fire Island, NY to celebrate Isabella's cousin Gus's 3rd birthday. What a trip is was! It was by far the most modes of transportation we've ever taken to get anywhere.

We left our house bright and early 5am to get on our 6:20 flight from Cedar Rapids. Isabella wasn't too happy to be taken from her crib that morning. By the time we drove to Cedar Rapids, drove thru McDonald's, got everything unloaded, we were cutting it pretty close for our flight, but we made it. (Our bag had to have a "late check" tag on it though...whoops). When we went to board, they said we didn't specify that Isabella would be traveling with us, which we had. At first, they acted like it was a big deal and then basically just let her on, I think. We spent most of that flight to Detroit feeding Isabella her breakfast, so that flight went smoothly. Our layover was pretty short in Detroit, by the time we walked from our arriving gate to our departure gate it was practically time to board. We made sure it said Isabella was traveling with us with an attendant at the gate and she was very helpful and said everything was okay. The flight from Detroit to JFK was pretty uneventful, we pulled out the portable dvd player and Isabella ended up taking a short nap, which we were very happy about because I wasn't sure if she'd get a nap in the entire day. We landed around 11:50 am in NY and we knew the train we wanted to take left at 11:45, so we weren't too surprised that we didn't make that. The next train we needed wasn't scheduled to come until 1:43 so we hung around the airport to get something to eat. We had to take the AirTrain from the airport to the LIRR (Long Island Railroad). So we left the airport around 1:00 to give us plenty of time. We figured out how to pay for the AirTrain and how to get our LIRR tickets and what train to get on. Track 7. I confirmed it with the Information attendant. Of course, none of this matters if you get on the wrong train on Track 7. Which is what I had us do, a train pulls up at 1:38 and I got us on it. We settled in on the crowded train prepared for the 45 minute trip. When the conductor came around to take the tickets, she informed Jeff we were on the wrong train. Agh!! We just got off at the next stop and waited for the next train to take us back to where we started, explained to the conductor on that train our mistake and it was very nice that they didn't charge us. Obviously, we missed our 1:43 train and the next one didn't come until 3:00. This was a bummer because we were trying to make a 4:00 ferry and this would be cutting it close. So, we hung around the train station until 3, not too much to entertain Isabella with, just basically had to chase her around and pull her out of the way and people actually trying to get somewhere. We made our 3:00 train, the correct one, settled in, more comfortably now, this train wasn't nearly as crowded. We pulled out the dvd player about when Isabella got antsy. The train ended up running a little late, we didn't make it to the station until 3:50 and all we knew is that we had to make it to the ferry by 4 and to get there we had to take a cab or a shuttle. Jeff ran ahead and tried to get a cab, they said pointed us to the shuttle. Others were also trying to make 4pm ferries so it was a big rush. We were going to Fair Harbor, others were going to Ocean Beach, I heard others shouting out Ocean City and some of the ferries left from different places. People were even saying they called ahead to tell the ferries the train was late and the shuttle driver was driving like a maniac. I had Isabella on my lap and she was being quite jerked around. We made a stop, I yelled out "is this for Fair Harbor?" everyone yelled back "No!", but how was I supposed to know. We pulled up to the ferry and it was still there! I ran on with Isabella and Jeff gathered all of our stuff and came running on a minute later. I may have asked 3 different people if I was on the Ferry to Fair Harbor, because everything was a blur and I had a bad feeling that we were on the wrong ferry! The wind had picked up quite a bit but it seemed ok to venture up to the top to let Isabella sit outside and see the water. A few minutes after we got up there, the waves got really choppy and water started flying in over the sides. It was pretty crazy. I wasn't sure if I could carry Isabella and get back downstairs, but step by step, we made it.

Waiting for the train. That is seriously all our luggage - except for diaper bag and plane carry-on backpack.
Windy ferry ride

Nancy, Gus, Grandma and Abdoul were there to meet us at the dock. It was so great to see them after our long day. We walked to the house, which was only about 5 blocks away and settled in. The house was very nice. Lots of room for all of us. Jeff, Isabella and I stayed upstairs in a room that was kind of like a loft. It had 4 beds and a bathroom. Downstairs had two bedrooms, the kitchen, dining area, sitting area, bathroom and porch. That evening we just hung out and walked around the island a little bit.

Exploring with Grandma
Out on the beach
Gus making a sand angel

The house

On Friday it rained all day long and it was windy. It was nice to watch the ocean with the huge waves, but it also forced us to stay inside all day. Isabella and Gus kept themselves pretty entertained. Isabella started saying a new phrase "what you doin'?" and she would say it over and over again while following Gus around and seeing what he was doing. The rain let up a little bit during naptime, so I went out for a jog, but the rain picked up again quite a bit and I got pretty drenched. It was nice to see a little more of the island, I ran to the next city over, Ocean Beach. It looked pretty much the same as Fair Harbor. I found it interesting that they have an elementary school there. We did venture out a little bit and made it to the little store they have in Fair Harbor to get some groceries.

Watching a movie while it rained outside
Isabella and Gus playing

Here a video of Isabella and Gus playing with the pack'n'play

On Saturday the weather was looking much nicer. Isabella, Aunt Nancy, Grandma and Gus went out to the beach while Jeff and I went out for jog. We jogged to the Fire Island lighthouse and came back on the beach, which was pretty tough to jog on. Then we all hung out on the beach for a little while. Isabella and Gus had a ton of fun playing in the sand and venturing into the water. Stacey came to visit from Manhattan and made it on the 1:30 ferry. I went to meet her and as I was waiting for her she called and said "I'm here" and I said "Where?" because there was no ferry that arrived. So she quickly asked someone and the ferry made a stop at one town over and she got off there. Luckily, she was able to get right back on the ferry and get to Fair Harbor. We hung out with Stacey the rest of the afternoon. That evening we celebrated Gus's 3rd birthday. We had cupcakes and opened presents. Gus enjoyed it quite a bit.

Singing 'Happy Birthday'

Sunday was our travel day back home. Grandma was also flying home that day, so we made the trip to the airport with us. We made the 8am ferry and were hoping to make the 8:45 train, but little did we know that the ferry would make a few extra stops and we'd be on the ferry for an hour. So, we didn't make the train we wanted and the next one wouldn't come for awhile so we took a cab to the next train station over in Babylon where the trains run more frequently. We make it on the 9:30 train, but this train took an hour since it made more stops. Then we got on the Airtrain and we were flying Delta so we got off at Terminal 3. It was 45 minutes before our flight so we were running. When we made it to the Delta counter, the man there said "This is a Northwest flight, you are in the wrong terminal. Go to Terminal 4." We said "Can't you check us in? Delta and Northwest had merged and on our itinerary it said we were a Delta flight. He said "No". So back to the Airtrain we went to get to Terminal 4, pretty defeated at this point because we knew we had missed our flight. We got to Terminal 4 and looked and looked for Northwest and all we saw was Delta counters. We asked and someone said "Delta and Northwest have merged so they are the same". When we got to the counter, she confirmed we had missed our flight. When we complained about not being able to check in at the Delta counter she said the guy should have been able to check us in! How frustrating! She booked us on a later flight and didn't charge us, which was nice. So, rather than leaving at 11:30, we were sechduled to leave at 4. A pretty long day at the airport. We went to get something to eat and Isabella fell asleep in Jeff's arms while they were standing in line waiting for food. That is pretty unusual for her. Our flights were on time. Isabella was a bit of a handful on the first flight. We couldn't really even keep her occupied with the dvd player. The second flight was a little easier as we had gotten her dinner and let her eat her chicken nuggets on the plane. We made it home by 9pm. Overall, Isabella was a trooper, but exhausted when we got home.

I think Nancy took some really great pictures from the trip. You can view them here: Nancy's Fire Island pictures
All of our pictures are located here: Our Fire Island pictures

Another mishap

I pulled the rental car too far into the garage and hit the stroller which hit the storm door which shattered into pieces.



Nothing makes you feel better than cleaning shards of glass out of your daughter's stroller. It was a mess.

But wait! You might be wondering, another mishap? rental car? My blogging has fell quite far behind. A little over 3 weeks ago Jeff ran our minivan into a lightpole. It was the morning of the first Hawkeye football game, around 8:20. I was already up tailgating, Jeff waited around for the babysitter. He was on his way to pick up the Davises, he was looking down at his phone and he ran right into a lightpole. He was fine. The pole fell over, the minivan was wrecked. Since he was less than a block away from the Davis house, Aiden got to enjoy all the excitement and see the fire truck that had to come, so I guess some good came out of it. :) Jeff got the van towed and everything squared away, and he made it to the game, but it definitely put a damper on the whole day. I should get the minivan back tomorrow, but it has been over 3 weeks!!

But wait! A minivan, you might ask? Yep, we got a minivan in July. Might be kind of excessive for just one child, but we knew it would be very useful on our midwest trips to Mich, Ohio, Indiana, etc and it definitely was! We love it!

Here's a pic right after we got the van.

Our little girl is all growed up!

I don't have bad grammar, the title is a reference to the movie 'Swingers'....

It seems like Isabella has changed so much just by moving up to the 2 year old classroom, we can’t believe it and we are not ready for it. Drop off in the morning has been extremely easy, hardly any crying at all. It sounds like she has no problem drinking her milk out of a cup and she even has gone to the bathroom on the potty. The whole potty thing has me concerned, I wasn’t even going to consider thinking about potty training until after she turned 2. Now, I feel like on scrambling to do some research on how it should be done. I want to be consistent at home and at daycare and I feel like that might be difficult until I understand what I am even supposed to be doing. She went on her first field trip on Tues. They went to the library for story time. I think it might be all the novelty of it that she is doing so well. I wonder if in a while she might become bored or disinterested again.

This morning Isabella offered part of her waffle to her teddy bear. I haven't seen her try to feed any of her stuffed animals before. So cute!

Here is a video of her showing her animal sounds (she actually is a lot better at animal sounds than she demonstrates here) Also, it shows how she calls Grover "Elmo", which she is increasing doing more of every day (just to irk me, I think). Also, her sound for 'dog' is just panting like dog. She doesn't say woof.

Our trip to Ohio

There is so much to post about for our trip to Ohio, I don't know where to begin. I could write and write and write but I'll have to keep it short. After our overnight trip to Indiana we went to Columbus to see Grandpa Jack, Grandma Linda and Aunt Jillian. Isabella had tons of fun playing with the outside toys her Grandparents had for her on the deck: a slide, a basketball hoop, a boat teeter-totter and a cozy coupe. True to form Isabella was constantly saying "outside" and wanting to go out.




On Friday we went to the Columbus zoo. It was lots of fun and huge, we hardly made it through any of it before it was past Isabella's naptime and we figured we better make it home. Lots and lots of pictures can better describe our trip to the zoo.



After nap, we took Isabella to the park down the street. Aunt Jillian met us there and told us she got an internship with a judge for the next 3 months. Way to go, Jill!


On Saturday we went shopping. I spent lots of time at Babies 'R Us because we really needed a new diaper bag because our other one was ripping out due to us constantly overpacking it. Isabella kept herself quite entertained by pretending she was shopping herself. She completely filled up the cart!


We also went shopping over at Easton, which is a really neat shopping area that is mainly outside. We weren't able to spend much time there because we were pushing it to get Jeff home for his football draft. Isabella did find herself in the fountains, I didn't see this, but I guess that the fountains go on and off and Isabella ventured on to an area that was off. Pretty soon, of course, that part of the fountain came back on and completely scared Isabella.


Isabella had an absolute blast playing in the boat that had rainwater in it. She just jumped right in wearing a regular diaper, which just sucked up a lot of the water. We just laughed at her quite a bit before I decided it would probably be better to get her into a swim diaper. Shortly after that however, I could tell she was "filling" her diaper. Lesson learned in that case was that you should make sure to change a dirty swim diaper ASAP. Enough said.





Saturday night we went out to a Mexican restaurant that was delicious. Unfortunately Isabella wanted some of the salsa that was a little spicy and also my salad was a bit spicy and pretty soon she was crying and trying to wipe off her tongue. We've seen her do that before when she eats something too spicy/hot and it is so sad to see. Isabella was about at the end of her rope, so Grandma took her outside and then even changed her into her pjs for the ride home and the rest of us were able to finish our dinner. That was very nice!!!

On Sunday we took a trip to visit Great-Grandma Jeanne. This turned out to be a very special visit as Great-Grandma passed away a few weeks later on Labor Day. We were very sad to see her go. We consider ourselves very lucky that we got to visit with her that day and our visit with her was very nice. Aunt Debi was there from Chicago, so we got to see her too.
After that visit we went to Uncle Tim's for a visit. We got to see Uncle Tim, Maggie and Trevor and all their horses. Isabella even got to ride on a horse with Grandma!



After lunch we stopped off at the bookstore that Aunt Kathleen works at so we could get to see her. The bookstore is a very cute place with lots of Melissa and Doug toys, so Isabella really had a lot of fun there.

Isabella is wearing Jeff's t-shirt here because we forgot a bib and I didn't want her to get her dress dirty, so she looked pretty funny.


Our trip was great! Isabella always had trouble sleeping on the road, so that always puts a damper on things. Jeff really spent a lot of time with Isabella overnight to get her to sleep and then on the last night Grandma took complete care of her, allowing Jeff and I to get our best night of sleep the whole trip.

Pic of Isabella watering plants with Grandpa. She liked to show him where to water.

Finally I had to post this picture because Isabella threw a fit when Grandma and Grandpa ran into the store to get milk without her. I mean, the poor girl has a new stuffed animal and a yellow balloon and she is just sooo upset.


If you'd like to see every single photo of trip, click here. I got all of Grandma and Grandpa's photos, so we have a combined total of 300+! Enjoy!