Sickies All Around

Yes, we all caught the sickness that is going around. Isabel had a temperature yesterday of 103 and was the most pitiful thing you've ever seen. Today she's been pretty cling/crabby/cranky and doesn't want to nap unless she's in my arms. Sigh. The worst part is that all of us are sick- so it is really hard to get any rest.

How Fast a Year Goes By...

Amazing what 365 days will do to a human being.

Zoo Day!

Today we took Isabel to the zoo on a fun family outing. Finally, she is old enough to have fun seeing the animals. The first time we went to the zoo with her, she slept through the whole thing. :)

The zoo is a funny place to go if you want to observe not only animals, but social behavior in humans. It seems like parents get really cranky when taking kids to the zoo and it's like they are the only ones not having any fun. There were a ton of photographers there today, with their huge lenses and their tripods. There were some who were really rude- this one lady was telling kids "not to kick her tripod" and pulling them away from the window when she was trying to take pictures of the lion. She was plain awful- what do you expect when there were a ton of munchkins trying to see the lions too?

Tired monkey.

Looking at the elephants!

We had a great afternoon- maybe next time we'll go to the Aquarium. :)

No Crying Tonight!

Sleepy baby girl chugged back a full bottle, said goodnight to her peeps and passed out. She stood up once to grab for me, but I just laid her back down again and handed her Bob (her ducky friend, thank you Rachel and Katy!) and she went down quietly.

We went to Tokyo restaurant again tonight and she made eyes at the sushi chefs with broccoli and rice all over her face. She's a charmer, that's for sure! There was one little girl in the restaurant who was being kind of wild, running around the restaurant and screaming. Isabel sat in rapture, watching this little girl. Man oh man, I hope she was not getting any fancy ideas or else I am going to have to invent velcro pants for highchairs.

Teaching the Girls the Finer Points of Life...

The finer points of life definitely includes a beautiful Sunday walk to the French bakery on Eastlake. 

Today Eryn and I took the girls with us for a lovely Sunday stroll through Montlake to Le Fournil. Can you say NOM NOM NOM? Isabel loves strolling along and looking at all the cars and she is so interested in people watching these days! 

Face full of croissant!

Lovely Mama E and Baby E

I wish for my next house to be in a nice neighborhood and have a French bakery near by. Oh, and if we could live next door to Ina Garten, that would be awesome too. 

Yeehaw!

So far, so good. Iz cried for one minute tonight and then was quiet. I think we're on our way...

Crying it Out. Day 3.

Much much better tonight. Crying for 5 minutes, and it was a real cry for about three minutes then sort of a fakey cry after that. Crossing my fingies and toes that this is where we turn the corner.

Also, just a clarification on our "Crying It Out" methods, as I don't want people think we are just LEAVING her there. We do our normal routine of bath, bottle and books and then say goodnight to everyone in the room (Tin-Tin, George, Cupcake and Kit Cat) get into the sleep sack, turn on her bedtime music and off with the lights. We hold her until her eyes close and then it is off to the crib. Most time she wakes up when we put her in her crib and stands up. Tonight when she did that, I gave her back her binky, gave her her ducky and then laid her back down. Then left the room.

So we don't just dump and run, we definitely try to make her understand it is bedtime. I know so many people have opinions on crying it out, but honestly we are doing our best with her and I know every baby is different. 

Crying It Out. Day 2.

Probably worse tonight than last night. Last night she cried for about 20 minutes. Tonight for about 30. I took off to the gym to escape the wailing. I can't stand it. Insert sad face here.

Sigh.

The last few nights have been rough on all of us here at the Calkins household. Miss Iz has been having a rough couple of nights- she's been waking up at midnight or so just wailing. It has taken us about two hours to get her to go back to sleep and it has been really hard. So tonight, we're "crying it out".... all of us. 

This too shall pass. 

Nom Nom...Baby Toes!

It is true, baby toes are irresistible. 

YAY! Spring is HERE!

Today was another awesome day weather-wise. After a fun girly lunch with some friends, Isabel, Jeremy and I went for a walk by our house. We discovered that Isabel is too big for the Baby Bjorn now, not to mention that she is so long that her legs smack my thighs every time I take a step and she's so heavy it hurts my back to carry her after a while. Regardless, I'm so happy Spring has finally arrived and can't wait to get out more!

Apparently Lions and Kitty Cats Are The Same...

Isabel knows that lions go "raaawr" but apparently so does everything else. Except chickens. She knows what chickens do.

Scoot Scoot!

We bought Isabel this fun little toy at Target the other night and it kills me to see her push it around. 

Like the Formula 1 race car drivers, we tell her to "Push push push!" in our best Italian accents...