Let's Give The Video A Try

So, Blogger finally made posting video much easier. I promised video a while ago, but I just got lazy and never did it. I assure you, I know how. Now posting a video is as simple as posting a picture, so you should probably start seeing more videos (well, you should just plain start seeing them... not necessarily more because that would imply that I've posted them... and we all know I haven't).

Here's one of Izzie having some tummy time. By the time I started recording the video, she had finished with the head exercises. Now she's just winding down, but listen to her. She's so dang cute.



Remember how I told you she can only go along with the tummy time thing for so long and then it's over. Well, here's what happens when Izzie is done with tummy time (the sound is a little off.... I think it's because my camera is retarded). NELL! IT'S TIME FOR A NEW CAMERA.... (there I told her).



Yay! Video! Now you guys know how tummy time ends. I don't know what to do to make her enjoy it more. Any Suggestions? Maybe it will just take time.

Let The Baby Sitting Begin

I'm sure it's one of those days that every mother dreads: the first time you leave your precious child with a baby sitter. Lucky for us, we have great friends that are great people. Yesterday was our 7th anniversary, so we nabbed some tickets to the Charlie Hall concert that was in town. Then we called in a favor from our friends. They were more than happy to have the opportunity, and we were glad to find someone that was. Of course I had to leave my camera for them so that I could post pictures when I blogged about it, so here goes.

Here's Brandee moments after she took Izzie out of the car seat.


Brandee's mom, Shelly, with Izzie. Shelly loves Izzie to death. I think we'll have to start making it a point to swing by their house a little more often. They only live a couple of blocks from us.


Here's Brandee's brother, Mark, with Izzie:


Mark said that his favorite parts of baby sitting Izzie were the burps and farts. Before we took Izzie over there we gave Mylacon (helps babies pass gas) because she was fussy and we've learned the "I have gas" fuss. Finally, someone else is proud of Izzie's ability to aw a crowd by passing gas.

Apparently she fussed a little bit, so here's Shelly burping Izzie. Notice how Izzie doesn't even care. She's such a relaxed baby. She always just hangs out and looks around without a care in the world.


We dropped her off at 6:30pm and headed to the concert. I'll admit that we were both a little nervous. I think it was more for them coping with Izzie's banshee cry should she feel the need to yield it. Luckily she didn't. After the concert we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. Lynnell scarfed hers down because she was very anxious to get back to her baby, so I had to start scarfing about half way through mine too. At 9:15pm we were reunited with our precious baby. We made it a whole 2 hours and 45 minutes. Maybe next time we'll try for 3 hours.

Turns out there weren't any problems. Izzie fussed a little bit, but after the above mentioned burping everything went fine. Judging by the pictures, I would have to agree.

I saved this picture for last because the onesie says it all.



Thanks guys for watching our baby girl!

The Baby Gets Shots

So Wednesday was Izzie's two month (I know... your thinking the same thing I am... it went by quickly) doctors appointment to get her immunization shots. Leading up to this day, we've heard nothing good from anyone about the event. Everyone told us how terrible it is and how bad you will feel for your child. I was pretty confident that I wouldn't feel bad at all. After all, it's part of life and we all have to go through it. So, despite the horrific stories, I was optimistic.

Here's Izzie getting her regular weighing and height measurement before the appointment.



She weighed 12 pounds 10 ounces (94th percentile) and she was 23" long (75th percentile). Just goes to show you that she's already a go-getter and is working hard to stay ahead of the mean.

The doctor came in to check the regular things... eyes, ears, mouth, body, etc.




When the doc was done he answered questions for us, explained things to us and gave us a general heads up on what we should be expecting in the next couple of months. I have to tell you, this is invaluable information. I really appreciate it that we have a doctor who takes the time to tell us these things because ... let's face it... we are new parents and all of this is new to us.

Here's what I affectionately called "The Tray of Death"


The Tray of Death conveniently carried all of the vaccination shots that Izzie had to have. Two oral vaccinations and four shots.

Here's Izzie getting the oral vaccinations:




The last picture shows Lynnell sticking the binky into Izzie's mouth. The nurse had a great name for it. Her exact words were "stick the plug in so that she doesn't spit it out." HA. I love it. Plug... That's exactly what it's sole purpose is. So, from now on, I'm going to do my best to seem even more cool ('cause you know I am...) than I am now by referring to binkies as plugs. Brilliant.

Then came the real deal. The stabbings:



Turns out that shots draw blood which makes this Izzie's first official flesh wound to draw blood.


For the brief moment between the oral shots and the needle shots, Izzie had calmed down and was done crying. This was mostly due to the plug (ohhh... I'm getting cooler). But (and it's a big but), as soon as needle number one hit the flesh, all stops were pulled out. Izzie let us know that she didn't like it. She screamed like never before. I do have to point out that it wasn't as bad as other people made it seem. Maybe Izzie just deals with pain better than other babies. If she grows up to be like me, then she's going to have to. Anyways, Lynnell spent the next few minutes trying to console her. The nurse slapped some sweet Daffy Duck band aids on (also a first) and that was it. The shots were over.




When we left the pediatricians office, I had to take a picture of Izzie when I put her in the car. Look at the poor babies face. Does it say sad or what.


Now I've been told (and the doctor warned us) that when babies get their vaccinations that they tend to get a little sick and run a fever afterwards. I'm proud to report that injecting Izzie with multiple diseases didn't faze her a bit. She was a little more tired than normal, but she didn't even so much as look parched. She's quite the trooper.

When I got home from work, Lynnell and Izzie were out on the patio hanging out. Izzie looked just as good as always, and she was doing the same old Pug wheeze/pant that she's good at.


At the end of the day, I realized that it was quite the experience for the poor kid. Four vaccination shots, three people watching, two oral injections and a cotton ball to wipe up the blood (it's fun if you sing it... go ahead... read it again, but this time sing it) would probably wear me out too. Here is Izzie trying to sleep off the experience on the couch (notice the lingering sad look).


In the end, she only cried for a few minutes after the shots. Then she was ok. However, her little chubby legs were a bit tender where she got the shots. Every time you accidentally (ok, I may have done one intentionally just to test it out) touched her leg where she got the shot, she would cry. I was right. I never felt bad for her, but Lynnell did cry (she started crying 30 seconds before the first shot). I can't blame her though. I suppose a mother has the right to feel for her child.

P.S. This is post number 50. Woo Hoo.

On The Road Again...Hm Hm Hm Hmmm Hm Hmmm...

Saturday was the big day to go home, and man were we excited. The trip was great and we had a lot of fun, but three weeks away from home was a long time (especially with a new born). Needless to say, we were looking forward to this morning with great anticipation.

Not too far from Hailey (about 90 minutes... hey that's not far compared to 540 minutes for the whole day) was the Craters of the Moon National Park. We stopped and drove through just to check it out. It was actually cooler than it looked from the freeway. We didn't have time (or ambition) to do any exploring, but maybe I can talk some of my friends from Billings into road tripping down there to do some spelunking and hiking.



We stopped in Idaho Falls for lunch and to feed the baby. Then we stopped again just South of Bozeman (we took the scenic route through West Yellowstone and then the Gallatin National Forest).

Here we are cruising down the road.


Just like on the way down there, Izzie only lasted about 8 hours. She started screaming her head off about 60 miles outside of Billings. Nell did her best to subdue the beast, but nothing worked. Rather than stop, we just let her cry and fuss for a bit. She finally gave up just before we got to Laurel. When we got home, Nell fed her and from then on, Izzie was a happy camper.

I took her out on the patio to get some fresh air and check it out. She enjoyed it. She sat there kicking and waving her arms and making the grunting/panting noise that she makes when she's excited.



Home at last.

Week Two In Hailey

Week two was more of a "when will it be over week" for both Lynnell and I. However, Lynnell was able to drive down to Elko, NV to see her sister and nephews (mainly to see the nephews) on Tuesday. She stayed the night and headed home on Wednesday afternoon. Here is Devan and Austin (Shasta's boys) holding Izzie and Bailey.


Lynnell said that they couldn't get over how much hair Izzie had. They just kept saying "look at all her hair." And it's true... so I won't hold it against them. Lynnell had fun and I know that the boys enjoyed seeing Izzie. They brought her back some Mickey Mouse ears from Disney Land, so look for that picture soon.

Here's me being a dork in my makeshift cube in the Hailey office (hey, I had to get at least one picture).


Friday night before we left, we went to a really good Mexican restaurant in Bellevue (just South of Hailey 1 mile). It was most enjoyable, and the jalapeños were especially good. We do enjoy a good Mexican meal.


That about sums up our two weeks in Hailey. It was a good time, and I think that Lynnell really enjoyed being able to travel with me and see a new place. Hopefully we have the opportunity to do it more often (but not too often).

A Weekend In An Ultra Exclusive Resort Town

Since we were only going to be there for two weeks, we really had only one weekend to go goof off. We made the best of it by doing just that. Saturday we got up early got ready and headed off.

Here's Nell giving Izzie a manicure so that she looks spicy hot for the outing.


After the beatification process, Nell went upstairs to repeat the process on herself (as if she needs it... ohhh... I just scored good points there). So, dad and Izzie did some tummy time. She's to the point where she kicks her legs like crazy. If you put your arm or something rigid behind her to push off of, she scoots right along. The only problem is that her arms aren't keeping up, so she ends up looking like a penguin scooting across the snow (arms down to the side and feet going like crazy). That only last for about 30 seconds because she gets really frustrated (I think). She starts crying and that's it for tummy time. There isn't anything you can do to make her stop crying unless you pick her up and sit her on her butt. It's fun and frustrating at the same time. I just hope she figures out the arm thing soon.


We headed to Ketchum to see an art show. It's just like Art On The Green in Coeur d' Alene or the Craft Fair at the Moss Mansion in Billings. It's a bunch of booths manned my artists and crafters. We quickly learned that we weren't going to afford anything there when we saw that the price for a piece of junk little felt hat was $300. I about died when I saw that. Good thing the lady that made the hats wasn't there because I just started laughing.

Here's us walking through town. All we did was window shop because everything else in the town had a price tag of no fewer than three figures.


That night we went to a sweet restaurant that we had eaten at earlier in the week. It was called CK's, and if you are ever in the Hailey/Sun Valley area I highly recommend it. Best food I've had in a long time.


Here I am that Saturday night doing one of my favorite fatherhood duties.


The next morning (Sunday for those of you not keeping track) we got up late and got online to try to find somewhere that had a late Sunday brunch. We ended up finding this place called the Sun Valley Resort. So, we decided to go there. When we arrived, we quickly noticed that we a bit out of place. I guess the valet parking should have given me some sort of indication, but it didn't and we proceeded anyways. The breakfast buffet was the most amazing buffet I have ever seen. And to top it off, they had some lady playing a white grand piano in the middle of it all to create atmosphere. It was spectacular. I had the lions share of oysters, salmon, clams, muscles, prawns, raw smoked salmon (I know someone will tell me what it's called) and fruit. I also had two crapes and some sausage and bacon. It was the first time in a long time that I have actually felt guilty for eating so much food...ok... the last time was Thanksgiving. But it was good, and at $25 a plate, I'm sort of glad that I did. Here's Nell after she polished off her plate.


While we were waiting for the valet to retrieve my limo... I mean mini van, I had a minute to take a picture of the swans just in front of the building. Lynnell found out from one of the other valets that they heat the pool in the winter time for them.


Then we headed up to Galena Pass to see the view. I was told it was spectacular, but when we arrived it was the Cheech and Chong story all over again. Smoke as far as you could see... which wasn't far. So we hopped back into the limo... I mean van (see what a fancy meal does to a boy) and headed down the other side to find a lake that we had been told about. We found it, and stopped at the Northern end to feed the baby.


Turns out it was a little too windy, so we piled back into the van (hah) and headed to the Southern end of the lake where I hypothesized that it would be less windy. I was right (as always).



After Izzie was done eating I took her out in the water so that she could check it out. I held her so that she could see everything, and she totally dug it. She watched the boats go by, the wind blow the trees and she even looked for mom as she called to her. I think she enjoyed it. I know I did.



When we got home later that night, it was bath time.


And that was the weekend. It was a lot of fun, and we were able to see just how beautiful the Sun Valley area is.

Two Weeks In Hailey.... GO!

Day one at the office was good. I did a lot of visiting and some working. When I got home, it was just in time to put Izzie to sleep for her late afternoon nap. I do enjoy this part of fatherhood.


The next day was no different.


Later that evening, Izzie was a very happy camper when it was feeding time. Here she is anticipating the boob.


Day three mom and Izzie had time to go out and explore the town a little more. They didn't find much. Turns out Hailey doesn't have much. After talking to some of the guys in the office, I learned that all of the action is in Ketchum and Sun Valley (just mere minutes away...joy). That night we noticed that Izzie was wanting to sit up a lot more because she wasn't happy laying in our arms. So we propped her up on the couch and SHE LOVED IT! It is so exciting to see how her body matures and how her mind becomes more and more alert. She's becoming quite the little wiggler.


Then her head fell over. When it did, she noticed a picture on the wall. It was actually an old poster for the fair, but she didn't know that. All she knew was that it was going to eat her. She did the best thing she knew how; she went catatonic and just stared at it for about three minutes. She didn't even blink.


So I got up and went over there, and as soon as I walked into her view she snapped out of it. I'm sure she felt relieved to know that she was still alive, but by the look on her face, she may be scared for the rest of her life.


Poor baby. Then she sneezed. I got a picture of it only because it's really easy to anticipate her sneezes. Her nose wrinkles up and she her mouth goes open for about 1 second.


Then I reached in to tickler her and give her a "did you sneeze? Did you sneeze?" in the big goofy voice that only a baby can solicit from a grown adult man. She thought that was great and rewarded my goofiness with a big smile and a "you got me" reaction.


The next couple of days weren't anything too exciting. Life just continued as normal.