Spring Fling

I realize it has been 3 months since I have even remotely tried to make a post. I can't even explain why....but I just have lacked in blogging. I have been one busy Mommy.

In the past 3 months in our house we have: had a very busy toddler running around all over and getting into everything humanly possible. I can't even baby proof any more because it seems that every inch of our house is Izzy proof. The little booger is a smart cookie too.

If Isabelle wants something, she sings and says "pee" for please. She wants it all. She knows that if she wants up on the couch, she says "pee" until you put her up there. She says "pee" to the fridge and until you get here something she won't stop or she cries. It's amazing how much she has learned in 3 months since turning one.

We traveled to Iowa to see family and friends. Isabelle got to have another b-day party that was shared with her new "cousin" Keira Jean who turned 2! It was a blast being back and I wish we didn't have to leave! I miss everyone so much, but it was amazing to see all my family and friends again. We can't wait to be back this summer!

We bough a car last week! Ryan found on in Vermont and we drove up there to get it last Wednesday. It's a 98 Honda Civic. Cheap, but gets us around until we can get something nice. Since my mom is going back to IA for good, we needed a car, and Ryan's tax return was able to get us one! We also may have spoiled ourselves with our very first brand new TV purchase too!

Isabelle now has 6 teeth and is working on making it 8 at the moment. She's been teething for the past 2 weeks and she has her days where she's upset, but she's been doing really well.....which is good for me! :O)

Ryan and I have gotten the chance to go out 2 or 3 times with a couple of new friends we have made, and that's been REALLY nice. I don't ever get to go out, so it has been really nice to do so!

Today also happens to be our 2 year anniversary! It's been the best 2 years, but also a VERY hard 2 years....and we both only hope that the next few aren't as trying....and that we can hopefully get some what closer back towards home! We will see where the roads go!!!

In the next two weeks we have 2 vistors coming. We have Joan coming Friday for her spring break, and we're very excited for that! Then Bob will be here to come get my mom. :-( It's really going to be very, very hard to say bye to her.

I think that about sums it up. I am going to try my hardest to keep this up. I need a new camera really bad, and I think that's part of why I haven't done this in so long!!! haha I can honestly say though, we are happy, healthy and ready for warm weather!!


My princess is ready for spring....as you can tell by her super cute attire today!! :O)

"uh Oh"

Our new word of the week....


UH OH.............

Moving and Turning 1!

If you're looking for a FUN way to ring in a new year....try MOVING! This was offically our third move in one year! Granted, one was only across the court yard, but this one was into our capital city here in CT....Hartford. It was quite the event on New Years Eve! It was exhausting, but we're SO glad to be out of our old place. We LOVE where we are now, have an amazing view of down town, and it's SO MUCH quieter too!

This past Friday, our baby girl turned ONE! I can't even believe how fast this year went. It amazes me how much she has changed, and continues to change. She had so much fun...got a lot of gifts, and even got to go to NYC the next day. My best friend was here, and that was more than enough to ask for. She got her cake ALL over her face and arms and up her nose. She loved it though. And after her party was over, she zonked right out and slept all night!! I was SO happy! That's another good thing about our new place....she is sleeping SO much better, too!!

NYC was quite the event. I have a very hard time with busy and congested places....and add a cranky, I refuse to nap toddler to the equation, and you have a very flustered mommy too! It was a long, but fun day. Brianne LOVED being there as did my mom! Ryan had a good time too....esp. in the toy stores! haha

Today we just relaxed.....all took naps and now Izzy is in bed again and I'm about to go back. It was an exhausting, busy, but amazingly fun weekend!!!

Baby's 1st Christmas

Well Isabelle's 1st Christmas has come and gone. She did very well. She received good gifts from family and Santa! :O) She opened a few, but got bored so Mommy helped finish. She would rip the paper, take a piece to Ryan and do that over and over again! It was pretty cute.

She has been sick since Christmas too. She went back to the Dr. yesterday, and just has something Viral....she's been better today, but she still won't eat well. I'm hoping tomorrow is better!!

She's still talking up a storm. She loves to get herself off the couch....she still has yet to figure out how to get up with the coushions on.....I hope that doesn't happen for a while.

We are moving into our new apt. on Friday and we are SO excited!! It will be so much nicer and just an overall better experience....and then it's time for Iz's first birthday!!! WHERE has my time gone this last year! Holy cow!!!

Say What?

Last night Izzy started saying "all done" or what sounds just like it. :O) It's SO cute. She is a little talker now. Also, she is more into books as well. If she brings me a book and I say all done she throws a fit, until she is read to again! It's quite funny.

Also, we now have a new place to call home. We will be moving very soon, and I will allow more details when its all said and done!! :O) It is the best thing that could happen to us at the moment!

We think Iz might be getting her first cough. It's hard to tell because its not happening so much, just now and then, but we hope its a NO! :O) We have been very lucky to not have her sick yet!! I hope it stays that way too!!!

One Week

In one week Izzy can now give you a high five and blow you a kiss! It's SO cute. We also have a new "stink" face she loves making. She will do it, then smile and laugh and do it again! She's SUCH a ham!!

We also got some AWESOME news today. My very best friend Brianne is coming here in Jan to celebrate Miss Isabelle's first birthday! I was TOTALLY blown away, and I am SO thrilled!!! We can't wait to see her and meet Baby Chase!! YAY!!! Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Christmas Spirit

There are only 16 days until Christmas...I can't believe it. I'm SUPER excited since it's Miss Izzy's first one!! :O) We have some gifts for her, but not many yet....I'm sure there will be more to come.

We only have a small tree and its up on a table this year since we know she'd do nothing but get into a big one! This way she can't reach it at all!

She is now climbing up on things. She figured out how to climb onto her Tinker Bell chair yesterday. Little scoot. I had to put them away. We now take the cushions off the couch so she can climb up those instead. It's softer, and we leave them at the foot, if she were to fall off! She is just learning new things SO FAST.

She also is working on FOUR top teeth at the moment. We have had a few sleepless nights this week because of it....I sure hope they come fast. I feel bad for her!

We are looking for a new apt. too. We did find one, but we're still looking as we haven't heard yet if we are in. Today we are going to Norwich CT, it's pretty much on the border of RI and yes, Norwich State Hospital is there....it's haunted, and that EXCITES me! :O) I hope it goes well! We hope to be out of our more than stressfull apt by January 1st! I will keep you all posted!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This is what I'm thankful for this year.

1. My beautiful baby girl.
2 .My awesome Husband.
3 .My amazing, wonderful, and supportive family.
4 .My friends that I miss so dearly, and the very few new ones I have made.
5. I have a roof over my head, and food on my table, and a warm bed to sleep in at night.
6. That's what matters most in life!!

7. Have a HAPPY and wonderful Thanksgiving!!! :O)

Things are looking up

With all the things that have been going on lately, it seems like things are finally starting to look up. I sit here now with my family and friends, and I have to be thankful for what I have in front of me. I have the best husband and daughter I could have EVER asked for. My mom is my best friend, and I'm lucky beyond all words to have her here in CT with us...and even after all the drama we have endured, you take a step back and evaluate what really matters in your life and what your purpose is!

Isabelle is the light to my day, and is the reason I get up in the morning and I can't wait to see what she does....I swear she is learning SO fast it scares me! She has a new buddy, Sebastian, that lives up stairs and SHE LOVES him! :O) They play together so well, and laugh and run and crawl around! I also happen to love his mommy too!! She is a good friend and awesome person I know I can talk to!

Isabelle got her booster flu shot on Monday and didn't even cry over it! I was beyond amazed, and is currently working on another tooth! :O) I only Hope it comes soon!!! She is so close to running, is talking all the time and just amazes her Daddy, Grammy and myself on a daily basis!!

Enough Drama

For those who even read the journal entries, there is so much going on in our house right now it is not even right. It seems like if something is going good for once, it always ends up going bad....or something negative happens.

To start, we have horrible neighbors, who are harassing us and now basically stalking my mom at her job. They think we are loud, stomp as our form of walking and bang on the walls. It is absolutely ridiculous what they say. Even before we moved into our current apartment, the people who lived below them were bullied out because they said the same things about them. They have sent numerous e-mails with complaints about noise. I have to say, I know for a fact that I am not loud, Ryan is definitely not loud, nor is my mom. Izzy isn't loud, but she plays and drops stuff. I guess that's what they hear.

We are at a total stand still because nothing is being done about this. We have personally e-mailed the landlord (twice) because of them knocking on our door, and leaving us notes and standing outside our door listening in....spying if you will. We are looking to move out of this complex because that is now what feels like our only choice in the matter. We want to feel at home and at ease....and we don't. I will not have my daughter (or family) being raised in such a negative environment, because that's now what our home has become. It's so stressful and we can't enjoy ourselves when they are home.

I miss Iowa SO much right now and just really want to come home and for Izzy to be around her family because she is SO much fun right now. She talks so much, is almost running now when she walks because she gets SO excited, and is just ALL over the place. It's very hard to keep up with her!

To top our week off, Bob's dad passed away this morning and we can't go home for the funeral because it's too expensive to fly, and gas has sky rocketed and I don't see Isabelle doing well for that long of a car ride! It's been VERY hard this week.

I guess venting is the only way to feel better and sometimes it helps to write it out. For those who think this post is crazy, that's fine. I don't care. I think a lot of you need to know what we've been going through and it has been REALLY hard, so words of encouragement are needed and when I say our neighbors are crazy, I mean they are freaking NUTS! I can now only hope that something can be done soon. It's time to sign off.....

PS: we're getting in the X-mas mood here in the Kappelman Household....we will be taking x-mas pics of Izzy this weekend I believe....so watch for those!!!

Big Girl

Well our big girl went trick-or-treating on Sunday, and she had an absolute BLAST! She was flapping her arms and screaming...and I'm serious when I say that-she was SO excited! She got A LOT of candy, of course she can't eat it, but she had a good time. It was cold, but that's ok, she didn't mind.

Izzy got her big girl car seat on Saturday, of course she can't sit in it yet. It's forward facing only, so she has to be either 22 lbs, or 1 year old. I think she'll hit one before she is 22 lbs! :O) She's just petite!

She is still walking all over, and talking a lot more. Of course it's all babble, but she's talking- A LOT! I wonder where she gets that from? haha

Family Updates

Wow...so I am REALLY behind on journaling and for that I am sorry! :O) Things have just been SO busy here lately, that I haven't had a lot of time. When Izzy is awake I can't really be on the computer because she wants it!

Here are her updates though!!

She is WALKING!!! It is by far her choice of movement right now. she knows that she can go so far and will crawl up to something, stand up and walk the rest of the way. It's really cute! She will go farther distances now and if she falls, she gets right back up and walks again. We are all still in total shock that she is walking, since she's only NINE MONTHS OLD!! :O)

She had her well baby appointment on Oct. 18th, and she was 19.1 lbs (50th%) and 27 1/4 inches (25th%), and healthy. She had been having problems with a diaper rash, and we found out it was a "yeasty" rash so her dr. gave her some nystantin cream and its gone now. she had her flu shot and another hep. B shot! She did great.

She is still waking up a lot a night, and we think it's just a REALLY, REALLY LONG teething process she's going through. she won't eat and she's never really wet, so we just have to assume that's what the issue is. I feel bad, and we're tired, but there's not much we can do for her!!

Iz has a new buddy she plays with. His name is Sebastian and he lives up stairs. He's just 13 months old, and she loves to chase him around. He's a very busy boy!!

She is now eating 3 meals a day, and is 100% on formula now. The transition was really easy, and she did good with it. She only gets one bottle and that's when we're getting her down for bed!! Other wise it's all sippy cuts for her! :O)

Next Sunday we will take her trick-or-treating and I can't wait!!!

She's a Big Girl Now!

Miss Isabelle is starting to walk all over the place now. She pulls up on the walls, furniture...everything and LOVES to walk. She will hold your fingers and practically go running, and it's tough to keep up with our busy bodied princess! She never ceases to amaze us! Her personallity is VERY dramatic some days, and others is just plain funny! She's a little ham!

Her gums have been bugging her for the past week-and there's STILL no sign of any teeth coming in. She's been waking up A LOT at night, and we're all getting pretty sleepy here! Other wise, I couldn't have asked for a more happy and outgoing little girl! She's so pretty!

Ryan made sales goal for work for the month of September, and that's always awesome. He is also for Oct. at 20% and it's only the 5th! He's doing amazing.

I've been keeping busy with keeping Isabelle happy and learning. We still go to Mother Goose time at the library on Monday's and I've been trying to introduce her to some art-coloring with crayons, but eating them is all she wants to do, so I end up doing most of the work. I'm ok with that though.

She is now getting formula. I've decided to stop pumping, since she didn't nurse and I'm just psychically exhausted form it. She still gets a little breast milk though from what I have saved up. But she's taking it like a pro, and I'm glad for that!! Other wise, we started her on Cheerios and the Gerber Puffs! She LOVES the puffs, but really has yet to take to the Cheerios. :O) She's really a big girl now!!

Fall is Here

Fall starts tomorrow! I can't even believe it! Izzy has lived all four seasons now! haha-Ok so that was cheesy, I know. But still-it counts!

Her updates are as follows:
1. Iz is cruising all over holding onto the furniture. She's SO mobile, it's insane!!
2. She will let go of whatever she's holding onto and stand alone for a while, and then ever so gently sit back down! She's realizing then she what she's doing. It's pretty cute!
3. Yesterday (9/20 at 8.5 months) she let go of my hands and took one step towards our friend Kristen! It was shocking! All of our mouths just dropped! We were not expecting it at all.
4. Bath time, and getting dressed and changing diapers have become an impossible task, because she thinks she needs to move and gets mad if we try to lay her down!! She's a stubborn stinker sometimes!!
5. She's still just as cute and funny as ever!!!

Jetta....or not

This week we tried to get a new car. And of course, it seems like it's just not meant to be yet. That's ok though. With time, we know it will happen!

Izzy updates: She is now 8 months old! I can't even believe it!!! Time is going SO fast!! She is now getting a little braver and trying to stand without holding on to anything for just a few seconds. It's fun to watch. She has lots of friends here at the complex who like to come and play with her. It's nice because it gives Mommy a break!
She's become VERY attached to both daddy and mommy! She goes back and forth from Ryan to me pretty regularly-esp. when we're out in public.


In Honor of today's ISU VS. IOWA game....GO STATE!!



Connecticut updates: Ryan is keeping really busy with work....Izzy and I start mother goose at the library a week from Monday. My mom is trying to get a job at a local school. she had an interview Friday and it went awesome!! We are all crossing our fingers for her to get it! :O) It would be PERFECT for her!! It's cooler out-an awesome change from the heat! It's not cold, but cooler. The leaves are starting to change and Fall is so in the air and I LOVE IT!!!

Labor Day Wknd 2010

Now that I seem to have fallen behind a little big on keeping people updated. I have done well with pictures, but not so much on the writing. I apologize!

This past weekend we went to Rhode Island and went to the beach! It was SO pretty! It was very chilly and VERY windy, but Isabelle loved watching the waves and having the wind blow in her face! We can pretty much take her anywhere and she loves it!!! We spent most of the morning there and were home by 3. It makes for A VERY long day when you're there with a little one.

When we got home we had a bbq with our friends here and it was yummy!!

Isabelle has been saying mama and dada a lot now, interchangeably and is all over, still. She's walking on furniture her hair is growing like crazy!!! you can see it grow over night-I swear! :O) We love it though! It's so fun!! Well that's pretty much it for updates. Ryan is keeping really busy with work, and so has my mom! Isabelle is going to register for Mother Goose time again at the library again tomorrow, and that starts up in a few weeks! She's very excited!!

Big Fall

Izzy took a big tumble yesterday. She was playing in the kitchen and tried to climb up the TV Tray and it fell over and smacked her forehead. She cried and cried, as did I...but she is ok!

I felt SO bad!! I picked her up, and calmed her down. Ryan said to put a cold cloth in the freezer for a while and we put it on her head with a headband so she couldn't pull it off. It worked, and she was happy all day!!! I know there will be A TON more falls and bumps and bruises to come, and we will work through it!!

I did post pictures of her sore and some other new ones too!

Things are good here. We are keeping busy trying to keep up with Izzy, as she's ALL over still!!! Hope everyone is doing well too!!! :O)

Nothing Is Safe

So after our move, Izzy is becoming to get more mobile and become a lot more independent. Sometimes it feels weird because she doesn't need me all day long anymore, so I have more free time to get stuff done around the house while she plays. That I like! :O)



Play time!!
Getting into the pickle lid while daddy eats them....yummy??Nothing is safe though. We have baby proofed everything. We keep everything bad out of her reach and hands...she's able to access her toys at a safe level, and reaches for them if she wants them.

This week she's been working on squatting herself into a sitting position from a standing position. She's got it down! It's amazing HOW fast they learn!! I love it. I never have a dull day with my baby girl and I just LOVE watching her grow and learn new things!!
Well, the princess is napping and I'm doing SIX loads of laundry as we speak!! One of the few nice perks of having an apartment....more than one washer and dryer! HAHA :O)


Taking a snooz....it was a glorious nap that we both shared!
Daddy made her a box toy from an order he got from work!

Change

I died my hair!

It's been a MUCH needed change, and Ryan and I thought what better way!! He picked the color out and it looks pretty good! :O)

Isabelle is still crawling ALL over and getting into everything, and that's ok. It's fun chasing her. She's more crawling on her feet than her knees. We think she'll be walking VERY soon!! Oh, they grow up way too fast!!

Moving Success

We got all moved!!

It was a total success, and our new places rocks!! There is so much more room now, and it just feels more like home than ever before! We're all thrilled and Izzy is crawling ALL over the place, exploring and seeing what trouble she can get herself into!

Now, onto our little party tonight at our place! YAY!!! :O)

PS- Our courtyard!