Isobel's Play Day

So, this day we were at a play area in a shopping center and Isobel had so much fun! She loved playing with all the toys...and she walked a lot that day! I told her that she had to walk because the big kids would step on her if she crawled, so she did. It was funny seeing how excited she got over everything. We would have stayed longer but some bully wouldn't let Isobel play on anything, so we ended up leaving after a little while. I managed to snap a few pics before we were "kicked out" by the slightly husky girl who obviously had sharing issues! Anyway, we had a great time, maybe next time we'll get to stay longer!

Isobel's casts

So here is an update on how Isobel's physical therapy is going. She has been doing great walking on her own more, but she's still not off and running yet. Her therapist noticed that she stands with her right leg locked to the side and kind of tilted in on her arch. So an ortho tech looked at her feet and legs and said that she would benefit from some special boots that help straighten them. So yesterday after her PT session Linda (the ortho tech) made casts of Isobel's feet and legs to send in to get custom made boots. It will take about one month to get them back and they're SUPER expensive (thank goodness for insurance!) so we're really hoping they will help her. She is still making excellent strides and tries so hard. Right now she is able to walk across the room by herself, and she is just now learning how to stand up without holding on to something. We are so proud of her! She did great getting her casts on...Daddy held her in his lap and they all sang songs. She showed everyone how many songs she already knows the words to! Anyway, we'll keep you posted on how she's doing. We'll all just continue getting ready for Christmas...the tree is finally up!

Finally!!!

So we are the most excited parents of anyone you will ever know!! As most of you know, Isobel has been a late walker. She is now 19 mos old and still will not walk. We started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago and she did really well at her first session. We have tried everything to get her to walk, but she is just not interested. So, last night, Courtney was playing with her on the floor and he was singing songs and making her stand up by herself (which she will not do either). After a few tries, she started really getting into it and actually stood up by herself for over a minute!! It was so amazing that we both cried! Also, Courtney was making her walk towards him and, at first, she would just bumble towards him, basically running and falling on him. But then after a while she was actually taking real steps by herself. At one point, she even was standing up and lost her balance so she took two steps forward to regain her balance and kept standing. It was amazing!!! We have worked with her so tirelessly and prayed that this day would come, it was overwhelming. Courtney and I could not hold back the tears. We were so proud! I have never seen Courtney so proud and happy, he looked like the proudest father in the world! It was such an amazing moment. We are so proud of our "Boo". She still has a long way to go but this is such a huge step for her, I can't wait to bring the video so her therapist can see! I took some video, but during the best part my memory card was full so you can't see the whole thing. (okay, so I've tried to upload the video like a million times and it won't work, sorry!)

Thanksgiving

Well, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We went to Iowa to see Courtney's family. We got to see the whole fam and of course Isobel loved being spoiled by everyone! Courtney made his famous trash can turkey and it turned out perfectly. We had an amazing dinner (thanks Linda!) and enjoyed catching up with everyone. Isobel got to see all the farm animals, she especially loved the cows. And the cow poo especially loved her shoes! April and Lola stopped by and I couldn't believe how much she'd grown. She and Isobel had fun playing together. The boys did their usual clay pigeon shoot on the hill at the farm. They all did a great job, but Chris took the trophy! Ugh, not again! Better luck next year guys! Somehow Greg ended up with all the kids piled on his head the whole time, but he held his own. None of us ventured out for black Friday deals...I think we were in a food coma for a couple of days. Isobel kept everyone pretty busy reading books, playing, watching her shows, and watching videos on the computer. But she had so much fun, I think she realized the fun was over when we got home! So our holiday was fun and relaxing and we loved see the whole family. We love you all so much! Now it's time to buckle down for Christmas shopping.

Pumpkin patch

We took a family trip to the Red Barn in Weston, Mo. It is such a cool pumpkin patch! They have all kinds of animals, a horse drawn hayride, a country store and tons of pumpkins. It was a really hot day, but we had so much fun. We got a lot of great pics of Isobel. She loved the animals! A goat tried to eat her stroller but she didn't even care...she just pet him and laughed. She wanted her very own pumpkin, so we got her a tiny one to carry around. We ended up buying a ton of gourds, pumpkins, hay bales and corn stalks. Then we went across the street to an apple orchard where I gave Isobel a sample of fresh apple cider, which she loved! I later found out that is was unpasterized...it's a miracle I haven't killed her yet! All in all, it was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Halloween

So, it's a little bit late, but I thought I would put a pic of Isobel in her costume. She was a sheep this year, but was mistaken for a dog and a rabbit...so maybe we'll stay away from the animal costumes next year! She had a great time. We went trick-or-treating at Papa Phil's with Aunt Bridget and Philip (which Isobel sometimes calls Phil-bop). Philip was Harry Potter and looked awesome! It was a little sad because Papa's neighborhood wasn't too Halloween friendly. Only a couple of houses were handing out candy, but I guess it was okay because I just ended up eating it all! Our neighbors gave Isobel an apple and she was so thrilled! Being a baby must be great!

Better late than never!

Hi everyone! Well, sorry that the blog hasn't been updated in FOREVER! We moved out here to the country and I had no internet for a while to update our page. But I'm back online, so I'll try to do better. Anyway, so much has happened since the last post. As I said earlier, we moved to Holt (which, for those of you who know MO, is just north of Kearney). We have a beautiful home out here on 5 acres. Courtney has loved all the space and of course he has endless projects to keep him busy...so he's in love! I'm slowly getting used to being out in the country, but I love the peace and quiet. Isobel is now 18 mos old and is doing great! She is such a crazy girl...she keeps us laughing constantly. She has learned how to tell jokes already and loves it when we laugh at her. Today she went up to her Daddy, who was sitting in the recliner, and she tickled his feet. I know that doesn't sound that funny but you should have seen her little hands tickling his huge feet, and she even said, "tickle, tickle, tickle"! It was hilarious. So we have other big news, Isobel is going to be a big sister! Yes, we are having another baby. We already found out it is another girl. I guess Courtney will have to be surrounded by beautiful women...what a drag! So far this pregnancy has been great (unlike last time). So we're doing great. There have been alot of changes in our little family over the past couple of years, but we are all hanging in there. Luckily we have a lot of love to share with eachother. I will post some new pics too, as soon as I can find them! Thanks for coming to the page! Love you all.