The Kavanaugh Family Blog

Puzzles, Smiles, and Nastics - Does it get any better?

2012-02-10T08:24:00.000-06:00

Izzy has recently become addicted to puzzles...and her Birthday. She wants puzzles for her Birthday. And a purple Dora cake. We're going to make that happen come June. She'll be 3 June 5th, how did that happen?!

And here is Miss Izzy-B before Gymnastics (Nastics) last weekend. She met a new buddy from Brainerd there - what a small world!

And then there's Lilypad...little Miss take-it-easy. She's so relaxed and happy it's unbelievable. She was watching her sister jump around in her nastics leotard for this picture. Izzy makes her smile big.

I hope everyone's enjoying the mild winter and getting outside. Our household has been bumbed not to have snow, but it's been quite nice spending a bit more time outside!

Growing so Fast!

2012-01-05T12:58:00.000-06:00

Look at our little ladies. They're growing so fast! Lily is full of expression, smiles, and laughter. She is such a laid back kid and such a cuddle bug.

Izzy is the bestest big sister anyone could ask for. She gives Lily 'lovies' all the time and loves helping take care of her. There is nothing else that puts a bigger grin on my face than when Izzy entertains Lily and makes her smile and giggle.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Wow - it's been a while!

2011-12-05T15:21:00.000-06:00

Stefanie Devries - you're amazing. You captured family moments that we will look back on in 50 years with fondness. Hats off to you - these are the best family pics to date! Everyone in the Brainerd Lakes Area - visit http://www.mudandmagnolia.com/ to see how talented Stef is. She's great!

We had our family session back in October out at Kavanaugh's Resort (http://www.kavanaughs.com/) and the weather was a bit chilly, but it was a beautiful fall day.

As fun as these pictures look - it was a stressful morning. Lily threw up all over me, I didn't have a change of clothes. Thank goodness you can't smell these pictures - because I smelled like spit up. I was paranoid that Izzy was going to spill something on her outfit...didn't happen though!

Lily was such a trooper out in the cold. This little furball hat we had on her was quite warm, but her little cheeky's got cold.

This was taken of Lily this past Saturday. She is the 'smiliest' kid I've ever met. We used to have to stand on our head with Izzy to get her to smile when she was a baby. She's a smiley kid now though.

Speaking of the smiley kid...she finally has enough hair to put in pig-tails! And maaaan does my heart melt with those little pigtails and that big huge grin of hers. She is SO excited for Christmas, she can hardly stand it. I tell her it's Jesus's birthday and she says, 'my birthday Mommy'.

The kids are growing like weeds, healthy as can be (with occasional sniffles). It's Christmas time already, time needs to slow down so we can enjoy all of these awesome moments with our kids. I'm soaking it up as much as my heart can possibly take, but it's tough when time wooshes by as fast as it does!

Introducing Lily Marie Kavanaugh

2011-08-22T14:35:00.000-05:00

Meet Lily. Born on July 22nd, at 8:13pm, weighing in at 6lbs, 10oz, 20.5 inches in length. After the rollercoaster ride of a pregnancy (being put on strict bedrest at 30 weeks, then moderate bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy) her arrival was fast and furious...so very opposite of her big sister. I started labor at 6:30pm and she arrived an hour and a half later (half of that time we were stuck in traffic getting to the hospital!) We have had a wonderful first month with the transition for Izzy becoming big sister, and having a newborn in the house again.

Stephanie Devries did an amazing job on these photographs (http://www.mudandmagnolia.com/) She's an up and coming photographer in the Brainerd Lakes area. Her work speaks for itself, she's an amazing artist! It helps that we have cute kiddos too...I'm not bias, look for yourself, they're angels!

Izzy is all about Lily - she always wants to hold her and touch her and gets inches from her face and says "Hi Lily, Hi Lily Hi Lily!" It's pretty cute. The day of our photo session with Steph, Izzy was giving Lily kisses.

Such a genuine smile from our peanutbutter!

Steph was able to get Lily to fall asleep at the end of the photo session and get such peaceful pics.

Kisses to little sissy Lily!

Isn't Dave so lucky to be surrounded by all of us ladies?!

I had an idea to have Izzy dressed in these overalls and then to have her sitting with her legs strait out and Lily draped over her legs, naked and sleeping while Izzy kisses her back...it didn't quite work out. In fact, we didn't even come close to getting the pic, BUT, that's what you get with a 2 year old kid full of energy and a newborn. :) These are still adorable pics! Izzy's munchin on some goldfish in this pic.

Such a beautiful little girl!

And we've been blessed with another beautiful girl. More pictures and memories to come on the blog. We've had a busy month!

Accessorize!

2011-07-21T11:17:00.000-05:00

Izzy stays busy with all sorts of accessories in the bathroom when I'm getting ready in the morning. We were heading out to a friends pool on Monday and she was as busy as could be with headbands and clips.

The big news on Baby K #2 is that I'll be induced next Thursday, July 28th (my due date and sister-in-law's birthday - Happy Birthday Meghan!) if I don't go into labor before then. We have Mama Margaret (Nana) coming down to visit this weekend and she'll stay with Izzy if baby K #2 decides to grace us with it's presense. :) Love to all!

A few happy faces

2011-07-13T09:46:00.000-05:00

Izzy and I went to visit Dave at work and have lunch with him and his work buddies last week. Izzy LOVED wearing the visitor badge and attempting to run off to explore Best Buy Campus! They're two peas in a pod aren't they? She's a spitting image of her Daddy.

This is one of my most favorite recent pictures of little Miss Isabella. She's such a happy kid eating her toast and milk. (Her breakfast before her real breakfast at Mary's...yep, she eats 2 breakfasts).

Baby K has decided to wait it out until closer to the July 28th due date to grace us with his/her presence. Every single day I wake up and say 'today's the day'...though I should probably stop doing that because I get my hopes up every single day and it's exhausting. We'll post pics once baby comes!

A great 4th!

2011-07-06T09:11:00.000-05:00

We had a nice 4th of July weekend, very low key, patiently waiting for baby to come. We had people on call in case I went into labor, however Baby-K-2 just wasn't ready. We bought a fun pool for Izzy and she helped her Dad blow it up.

It was the ultimate kitty pool, with a cover and everything.

We went to the Eagan Parade on the morning of the 4th. Izzy waived, pointed, and clapped for the floats going by, we had a great time! WOW was it hot out!

Here is the peanutbutter doing a wheelie on her bike, she makes 'bike noises' when she does it.

Izzy likes to do what we do, so I gave her a little bucket and cloth when I was cleaning the floors this weekend. She had fun following right behind me as I wiped down the floors. :) I kept calling her Cinderella.

Iz and I like to goof around with my phone. She was playing with her kitchen and decided to come cuddle by me. Here's a quick video.

Great Weekend with Friends

2011-06-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great time with Mike and Sarah this weekend. Mike and Dave went golfing on Saturday morning and since the sun wasn't shining, Sarah, Izzy, and I decided to venture out and stumbled upon the gay pride festival in Loring Park. I've helped friends with boothes there in years past and it's a lot of fun. We strolled along, the rain came down, but we ate mini donuts and homemade ice cream anyway. Thanks for visiting Sarah and Mike!

A Good Father's Day & Update on the 2nd Baby K

2011-06-20T14:48:00.000-05:00

We had a good weekend and a fun Father's Day yesterday. Izzy helped Dad open his presents from us and even wanted to try them on.

Dave's dream of opening an Irish pub became real in t-shirt form. :)

We hope all Dad's out there had a great day yesterday!

An update on the second Baby K, I'm at 35 weeks this week and safely making it through each day. my strict bedrest was lifted to 'moderate' bedrest a week and a half ago so I've been able to drive to Dr.'s appointments etc., (thankfully!). The goal for us is to make it to 36 weeks and it's becoming more of a reality every day! Izzy's getting excited to have a baby in the house, we've been talking about it a lot. We have the baby's room all done and are FAR more prepared this time around than we were with Izzy - but it's becoming the waiting game this time around, and everyone knows what AWESOME patience I have! (Izzy's inherited that from me, ewww!) More updates to come when baby arrives, til then, enjoy the summer! It's FINALLY here!

Easter, Gardening, Dogs, and Birthdays!

2011-06-10T23:08:00.002-05:00

I'm starting at Easter and moving my way to the present...back in April we colored Easter eggs and had a blast with it! As you can see here, Izzy's very proud of her eggs.

This was one of two baskets Izzy received from the Easter Bunny...I think the bunny couldn't decide what to give her and decided to do two baskets cuz he couldn't find a basket big enough to hold everything in one. :) This basket had gardening and plant stuff in it!

This basket had candy and other fun trinkets in it!

The audience approved of the Easter bunny's decision on the two baskets and all of the goodies.

One nice day this spring...I'll rephrase that, the only nice day this spring, Izzy threw on a pair of my gardening gloves and helped Dave pull weeds in our back yard (there were a LOT of them). She was SOOO busy hunting for worms and showing them to us when she found them, it was incredibly cute. She loves being outside so much and we think she may have a bit of a green thumb!

I just love this picture, her sitting on a little mound of dirt, wondering what to do next.

Izzy's been a big fan of dogs since she learned to say the word. This is our neighbor dog, 'Caesar', they're buds. She shares her gold fish with him, and he shares his slobbery kisses with her.

Now for the big 2 year old Birthday update - Izzy had a daycare Birthday party with her buddies this past Friday. I love this picture because seeing the look on her face just reads that she's so wrapped up in what's going on and loving every second of it. All of the kids had a great time and liked the party favor bags - where they got 'puppet kits' and other fun treats!

Here's our big girl...2 years old already. Her and I made her crown the night before her party and we got the same cupcakes from 'Cupcake' (http://www.cup-cake.com/) in Minneapolis that we had

for her 1st birthday.

The morning of Izzy's Birthday, Dave made a household favorite - banana pancakes - for breakfast. Izzy couldn't give out enough hugs and 'lovies' we call them to us, it was just too adorable.

More lovies and face smushing went to Nana (Mama Margaret) who stayed with us the weekend of Izzy's Birthday.

And for the big reveal - we bought Izzy a Kidcraft kitchen for her Birthday. She was elated....flabergasted...at a loss for words...all she could do was look at us and smile. It was the best reaction EVER!

And boy was this girl busy the second she got her hands on her new kitchen. She was cooking up a storm, getting us all something to eat and drink, I've never seen her move so fast!

I had to top it off with a personalized apron and chef's hat in her signature 'hot pink' color. She loved it - and is particularily fond of hats, so I knew this would go over well.

Fishlips while getting cheffy in the kitchen. :)

She got gardening gloves for her birthday that were just her size!

Nana and Ali played in Izzy's new kitchen with her after all of the presents were opened. Ali got her a toaster and a bunch of food for her kitchen, it was perfect!

Izzy had a great birthday with fun visitors all weekend and some really cool toys. I feel like when she blew out her candles on Sunday, the 5th, that she all of a sudden became a big girl. She no longer asks to bring her blanket (ba-ba) to daycare, she takes off her shoes, gives me a smooch and a big hug at daycare and says 'bu-bye Mama' when I drop her off at daycare. And she sleeps in her big girl bed like an angel (never escaping, going to bed so nicely). She's such a big girl already, where did the past few years go?

Swimming, Gymnastics, and a few other pics

2011-04-05T12:42:00.000-05:00

Cheeeeeese! Izzy in her new gymnastics leotard.

Izzy and Daddy cuddling on the couch when she was sick a few weeks back.

Izzy LOVES to run and hide - she laughs so hard when we find her!

It's reading time Mommy, shhhhh.

Izzy swimming at Kavanaugh's this past weekend. She's a little fish!

Shoes are definitely her thing. Dad's or mine, doesn't matter.

Izzy before her first gymnastics class - she loves watching the big kids practice.

Our twirling girl showing off her new leotard (she wouldn't even let me get the tags off before she ran away).

A quick update

2011-03-30T13:54:00.002-05:00

Our little peanutbutter is getting so big, so fast. Her favorite words are: Mama, Dada, Dog, Moon, and Car. She always says 'cheeeese' for the camera, so you'll notice she's saying cheese when I'm videotaping her with Dave's iPhone, and I don't realize it right away. This video was after dinner last night, munching on a banana.

We've been too busy chasing around our little girl to take some good pictures, but I'll work on getting some posted. Izzy started gymnastics a few weeks ago! Her coach is a prude and won't let us snap quick pics of our little one in her cuuuuute little leotard. I'll find a way one of these days though and put them on here.

Another great update is that Izzy's inching towards potty training, she tells us when she needs to go and we make a HUUUGE deal about it, do the potty dance, the whole works. How is this happening already at 22 months? AHHH!

Most everyone knows that we're expecting again at the end of July, but I'll update the blog look/feel to reflect that we're growing by one and that this blog will be yet one more thing Izzy will need to share with her little brother or sister!

Hope everyone's well!

A February Update

2011-02-09T16:54:00.003-06:00

How sad is it that Izzy's Mom is slacking so much that she hasn't posted a THING on here since Christmas! We've kind of had an icky sick season in our house this year. Izzy's had Bronchiolitis, Pneumonitis, and a few other 'itises that I can't pronounce...or spell.
The Dr. put her on a nebulizer for a short period of time, and here she is sharing ever so nicely with her bear. (This was back in January).

Momma got a new hat and it quickly became a fun fashion accessory for Iz.
Kitchen appliances, pans, strainers, and other things that Izzy can find in the kitchen are always a hit. I push her around the kitchen floor in this brownie pan - it always gets a laugh!

"What can I getcha? I can almost reach the milk!"

She loves Mommy's shoes - here with the pink high heels, H&M hat, and a kitchen towel to top off the ensamble. Here with the tenny-runners on trudging around the kitchen.

That's all we've got for now. We hope everyone is staying healthy! We're trying our best, and having fun no matter what!

Love,

Izzy-b, Dave & D

Christmas Pics of Izzy-B!

2010-12-29T10:40:00.005-06:00

We had such a fun Christmas this year staying home. Dave's family came down to celebrate on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we had a great meal and opened presents. Izzy received SO many awesome toys, she's been a busy girl!
She got some snazzy boots from us and instantly wanted to wear them!

She's been hooked on these nerf darts ever since she found one at cousin Jack's house, so santa put some in her stocking, then I tormented her with them...all in good fun.
Nana gave Izzy a super cool tent and tunnel and it was a hit!

Iz and Dad working on her leaptop she got from Auntie Ali.

She got some fun musical toys too!

I'll post some more pics on here shortly - for whatever reason this blog is acting up and it's taking forever to load pictures.

Let it snow!

2010-12-21T12:41:00.003-06:00

Ohhhh the weather outside is freightful...Izzy-B and I had a blast playing in the snow last night after the 2 hour commute home. She instantly started eating the snow and smacking her lips with delight. We don't have a dog, so no yellow snow in our yard. :)

She's such a cute little munchkin in her snowsuit!
I was able to recover some pictures from the wedding on Thanksgiving that I thought I had lost. I'll post them when I get the chance.
Merry Christmas to everyone, we hope you all are staying healthy and happy this season!
Hugs,
The Kavanaugh's

Ho ho HOLY crying fit Izzy!

2010-12-09T13:31:00.004-06:00

Izzy and Dave went to visit Santa on Saturday, December 4th at Prevolv. Prevolv is a premier office furniture dealer and SPS has worked with them for many years now. Ron is a lead installer with Prevolv and he and I have worked closely over the years. He has a reddish gray beard and fun rosey cheeks. He gets a glisten in his eyes and his face lights up everytime he talks about his grandchildren, he's a very proud Papa. I can't say enough good things about Ron. Prevolv held this open house for people to come in and snap pictures with Santa. Low and behold, Ron was the perfect fit. They sprayed his beard white and threw a red suit on him and called him Saint Nick.

Izzy was checking Santa out intensely before and after her tramatic event - which I can only guess if she could remember the moment her Dad left her stranded on the strange man's lap - would be a horrifying story if she were to tell it. BUT - she likely won't remember it and will grow to like the bearded jolly man. Cheers, happy holidays, and all of that good stuff. We hope everyone is having a great cheerful season!

Hard Lesson Learned

2010-11-29T13:42:00.002-06:00

So I had a few weeks worth of pictures to post on this blog from this Thanksgiving, an awesome wedding we went to this past weekend, and just a ton of fun pictures of Izzy-B. She held hands with her 2nd cousin John on the dancefloor at Kelley and Cole Ecklund's wedding, it was absolutely adorable. I must have snapped at least a dozen of just that few minutes that they ran around together on the dance floor holding hands, grinning ear to ear. It made my heart melt. And I must have viewed those pictures on my camera over 2 dozen times after the wedding just smiling at how happy everyone was in all of these pictures.

While taking even MORE pics of Izzy by the Christmas tree last night, I started messing with the settings on my camera and accidentally hit 'ok' to format the memory card on the camera...only to find that over 1,200 pictures of Izzy's first living moments, to our first Thanksgiving we ever prepared (this past weekend out at Kavanaugh's www.kavanaughs.com) with Dave's family were all wiped away. I won't ever get them back. I have about 85% of those pictures of Izzy backed up, but the very fun pics that I had every intention of posting on this blog are lost forever. It was a heart hollowing experience, and I vow never to mess with formatting memory cards on my camera AGAIN! It was a hard technology lesson learned, but now I know. Be patient with us while we make more memories with Iz to post on here - I'll be reaching out to family asking for any pictures they may have taken this past weekend so I can share them on here. Dave's unlce Tim took many pictures and I know his counsin Chris did as well. If either of you read this blog and have any pictures from the wedding with Izzy and John holding hands, or any other fun kiddo pictures including Iz, please email them to me at danielle.kavanaugh@gmail.com. I would greatly appreciate it!
On a more uplifting note, we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and have a million things to be thankful for. We have a healthy and happy family, wonderful friends, and many memories to look back on with a smile. :) We hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday as well.

Halloween Fun and Just Playing Around

2010-10-29T21:31:00.009-05:00

Are you ready for some fun pictures of lil' Miss Izzy-B? Here's what I think she's saying to me when I snap these pictures...

Hey Ma...betcha didn't thinkg I could fit into this spot, didya?

I'm reorganizing the kitchen. I'm such a good helper!

I'm not sure which is more awesome, my big beautiful belly, or my new purse???

Hats are my thing...if you said you'd never tried one on you'd be lying!

Hey fun killer, down here....do I seriously have to take a tub now????

Does this turban make my butt look big?

K, enough of the commentating - this is prolly the most genuine smile I've been able to capture of her, and I absolutely love her smile.

Izzy's daycare had a Halloween party yesterday afternoon. We got all dressed up in our costumes at Mary's and then went to Byerly's down the road for a 'Boo Blast'. It was pretty neat, they had face painting, a DJ, a cookie making station, and a ton of candy.

A girl dressed as a carebear was Izzy's favorite...I don't blame ya Iz, she was fluffy and cute!

That's our lil Strawberry. She was so much fun getting into EVERYTHING at the store and checking out all of the other kids. She gets right into the middle of everyone and has to check stuff out.

I was the only parent that dressed up...and was right in there playing with all the kids. The second we lose our inner child, we become boring adults. Don't ever forget that.

Me and Izzy-B snuggling before work and daycare earlier this week. We sit on the floor and eat cereal. It's the best part of my day.

Yes folks, it's a future runway model we have here - she's sporting a flower on her head (which she kept checking out in the oven reflection, hilarious), and she's struttn' her stuff!

Enjoy!
Auntie Sarah & Uncle Mike are coming to visit tomorrow.
We'll take some fun pics and post some next week.
We hope everyone has a fun/safe/Happy Halloween!
Dave, D, and Izzy-B

The Blueberry Kid

2010-10-25T08:07:00.003-05:00

Izzy-b devours blueberries like it's nobody's business. She loves them frozen, and I'm thinking it feels pretty good on her molars that are popping through. Not sure why she likes to paint her face with them...must be a kid thing, but either way, she's a happy lady!

We went for a wagon ride yesterday and Izzy sported her new cute blue hat from Grandma Lucy. Her blue eyes match the hat perfectly, thank you Lucy!
Have a good week everyone! We had family pictures taken by our favorite photographer EVER - Miss Chelsie Anderson with Treeline Photography - I'll post the link to her blog when she has some pics posted soon! Check her website and blog out at http://www.chelsiekrafka.com/ - she's amazing!

Dinner with Papa

2010-10-06T07:52:00.003-05:00

We had dinner with Papa last night and he brought over cupcakes for us to get messy with. He would make messes with us kids when we were little, smearing food all over our faces. And the tradition continues...

"Mom, why didn't you tell me how good cupcakes are....these are amazing."
"Why is Papa doing this? Whatever, it's sugar, I'll go with it."

"TOUCHDOWN - the cupcakes win!"

"OH, sugar is officially kicking in Mom!"

"I likada sugar...lots."

Family Visitors

2010-10-02T09:47:00.003-05:00

Uncle Tony and Auntie Kelly came to visit last night and we took a few quick pictures of them before they left this morning. Izzy had fun giving them hugs and kisses and playing.

It's Tony's birthday today, so Izzy gave him a big birthday kiss!
That's all for now. We might go to the apple orchard down near Stillwater this afternoon - we'll see how Izzy's doing. She still has a stuffy nose and a cough, but is in good spirits!

A Fall Update

2010-09-29T14:57:00.004-05:00

Thank goodness the peanutbutter is starting to like hats and accessories on her head. She's our little bald beauty and we need to accessorize that lil noggin to keep it warm this fall and winter! I have many cute hats for her to wear and she's starting to like them...as well as the bunny ears from last Easter.

Aaaaaand for the vikings updates. Many of these were made on Sunday (you say touchdown or soooooo big and Izzy throws her arms up in the air!)
Izzy was in her proper attire, as always.

Viking's are number 1 Mama (and I happen to be 1 too)...

Uncle Tony & Auntie Kelly are coming down to visit this Friday - YIPPY! We're going to have some fun - pictures to be posted later!

15 Month Check-up

2010-09-10T12:04:00.003-05:00

Did you know they make mini hospital gowns for little kids? Here is the 'before' photo of Izzy at her 15 month check-up yesterday afternoon. Happy as can be, performing for the Dr. (showing where her nose is, her ears, her feet, etc. - sooooo sweet). I won't show you the after picture. It always happens where she gets sick after she gets her shots. We were up with her for hours last night, she woke up with a fever this morning, and threw up in the car on the way home with Dave. Poor peanutbutter. We'll lay low this weekend and nurse her back to health. Just makes us so sad that she has to go through this every three months when she gets her shots.

I'm a dork, I know, but I'm a visual person, I gotta see where my peanutbutter lands on the charts. She is following in my footsteps to be a shorty (Dr. said she'll land around the 5'4" range), and she's following her Daddy with her head circumfrance at a whopping 48 centimeters around. FWEEW! "She's all brains in there", the Dr. said. :)

Our Lil Cheerleader

2010-09-09T09:56:00.002-05:00

This is what the Vike's will be getting tonight for the game.....TOUCHDOWN!

This was our itty-bitty cheerleader last year. 'Gooooo Vikes'! She still has the same amount of hair as she did last year at this time...hee hee - man is she a QTPIE!

Fun for Labor Day

2010-09-06T19:29:00.003-05:00

Nana stopped out to Kavanaugh's this past weekend and got some good Izzy time in. We had great weather and played on the swings a lot. It's amazing how fast fall has snuck up on us.

We went to the State Fair today and Iz found a fun lil' ride she could get into trouble on. Especially if she has her Mama's lead foot.
Walking around the resort Saturday morning. We got her a fuzzy little North Face vest that we got to use for the first time. She thinks she's wrapped up in her blanket it's so soft. She loves it!

"Oooooooooohhhhhh" she says.

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

SHE'S WALKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-01T11:52:00.003-05:00

We went on vacation last week and Izzy got to stay at Auntie Jody and Uncle Donny's for a few days. She was instantly busy exploring their house and all of the fun things she can get into...even the kitchen drawers!

Izzy and Jack having some munchies. Jack has no front teeth, and Izzy just got hers a few months back!
There they are, Mozart and Beethoven, playing a little ditty for a morning serenade.

And here's what you've been waiting for! She's officially vertical. At 14 months and 24 days....fweeew!

Gelato on a hot day in Stillwater

2010-08-09T09:38:00.002-05:00

Izzy, Dave, Margaret, and I went tooling around Stillwater yesterday and stopped for gelato. It was officially a hit with the peanutbutter. This pic is a good shot at her two little front teeth too. She's getting so big so fast!

Videos of the Canteloupe Kid & Izzy's First Steps

2010-07-29T07:40:00.004-05:00

Izzy took her first steps on Friday, July 23rd. This is her 3rd attempt at taking more steps just minutes after her actual first steps. We were SOOOOO extatic to see her little feet go on their own! She's growing so fast!

This was at dinner last night...we started off with some fruit and she decided that instead of eating, that she'd just balance some canteloupe on her head. Not sure if she learned it at daycare or what, but it was pretty funny!

1st trip to Minnehaha Falls

2010-07-12T11:10:00.004-05:00

We had a blast yesterday visiting Minnehaha Falls for the first time with Izzy. There was a Norwegian Festival going on at the park, so we did some good people watching too. Izzy loved hiking on the trails and checking out the water - we had a great time.

Dave was pretty excited about the field trip too - you can see on his face here. :)

We just bought a cool Kelty hiking backpack (for SUPER cheap on Craigs List) to put Izzy in so we'll be doing many more trips to Minnehaha and wherever there's fun trails. If anyone knows of any, please post a comment and let us know!

Swimmin Like a Fishy!

2010-07-08T10:25:00.003-05:00

A few quick pics and videos from our 4th of July weekend. We took Izzy to Gregory Park in Brainerd on the 4th and played on the swings/slides/ and in the trees. Here is Iz with her 'Ma' and 'Da' as she affectionately calls us.

I call this look her 'skeptic look'. We taught our little Peanutbutter to jump off the edge of the pool this past weekend. She wanted to do it again and again and again and again. This was towards the end - so she's a bit wiped out by this time, just wanting to splash and kick her legs, but she even closes her eyes, holds her breath, and goes underwater!

This is Iz doing her new funny face. This is on our way up north and I sent the video to my Mom - so you hear me reference 'wave to Lucy'!

Como Zoo Day!

2010-06-30T07:44:00.003-05:00

We went to Como Zoo yesterday afternoon and it was the absolute perfect day to go. Apparently the rest of Minnesota thought so too, it was PACKED! But we had fun, Izzy clapped at the Osterich and waved at all the animals....and kids...and anything else she could wave at.

If there ever were to be a 'Mr. Miyagi' look alike contest for animals, this one would take the cake. 'Wax on, wax off.'
The Polar Bear Odessey was by far the biggest attraction at the zoo. There were two big ole bears and they actually got into a little power match while we were there watching. It was super cool...Izzy didn't much care for it though, she got extra clingy when that happened.

This is Iz watching the bear (pictured above). No, she's not picking her nose. This was the look on her face the whole time, she took everything in that she could and was just amazed at all there was to see. I'm not sure she even blinked the entire time we were there.

Last but not least, a quick video of Izzy standing on her own, or our attempt at helping her. She was doing it when Dave would prop her up, but this is the 5th or 6th time of trying to stand her up on her own and she was running low on steam.

Izzy has first ice cream cone at Izzy's Ice Cream Cafe

2010-06-29T09:41:00.005-05:00

Our Izzy-B is on the 'Wall of Famous Izzy's' at Izzy's Ice Cream Cafe off of Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. (http://www.izzysicecream.com/) She had her very first ice cream cone yesterday afternoon at Izzy's and L-O-V-E-D it. Ice cream is free if your name is Izzy. :)

The staff member putting up her cute little smiley picture on the Wall of Fame.
And now to the good part...she's so delicate with how she handles things, it's so funny. She was so intense about eating the ice cream too, she has the furrowed brow and everything. She'd take a break with an 'ice cream mustache' and wave to the boys sitting at the table next to us! (lil flirt)

Now we're getting a hand on the top of the cone to make sure she can shove more in her mouth!

Here, let me put my hand on the ice cream just to make sure it doesn't fall over.

Two hands on the ice cream now, gotta make sure it doesn't fall over!

We'll definitely be visitors of Izzy's this summer, can't wait to go back! Both of our dresses we were wearing yesterday were sticky from ice cream, it was a blast!

Happy 4th to Everyone - have a safe and fun holiday.

Get a load of this wagon...

2010-06-15T11:58:00.003-05:00

Thank you Nana for this awesome Birthday present. I helped Daddy put it together in the living room!

This is me practicing for being in the 'one wagon parade' Mom's going to take me on this summer...
And here is the finished product. It was raining so we tested her out on the wood floors in the house, it's fur sure my favorite wagon ever!

Hugs til next time!

Izzy-b

Happy 1st Birthday Isabella Mae!

2010-06-08T14:03:00.003-05:00

Our happy, smiley little girl is 1 year old already...where this year went, we have no idea. Half the time we were so sleep deprived, and the other half, way too busy having fun with little Izzy-B. We love her so much and she had such an awesome time at her birthday party, we are so VERY thankful to have her in our lives!

Izzy loves her Daddy sooooo much! They have the same shaped melon - that's what the Dr. said yesterday at her 1 year check-up. :) She's in the 64th percentile for height (at 29.5 inches), 86th percentile for head circumfrance (yep, the big noggin), and 46th percentile for weight (weighing in at 20 pounds, 8 ounces). Wooo-whooo you grow Izzy!
Izzy really took a liking to Adam over the weekend - she would crawl to him and lift her arms up...she likes boys more than girls at this point. She saw Mommy in this picture and decided she'd had enough of Uncle Adam.
Onto the cake for her party - she was dainty and didn't tare right into her cupcake. She checked it out, tried the frosting, then decided her milk was better.

First taste of frosting ever! (that we know of...)

Taaaa-daaaa! This was her cake - we got the cupcakes from http://www.cup-cake.com/ - they have AMAZING cupcakes. We got the Paris Hilton, 'That's Hot' cupcakes and the 'trademark' orange and blue cupcakes that had chocolate mousse on the inside of them...they were a hit!

Here is Izzy greeting people at the entry way of Kavanaugh's (http://www.kavanaughs.com/) conference center. It rained up until the start of her party, so Kavanaugh's was gracious enough to let us borrow their facilities for the event. It actually worked out better having the party inside because so many people showed up! Lucy gave her this water table and she LOVED it!

Cousin Jeff and Izzy doing 'snooty face'...she does it on command now!

Uncle Tony and Auntie Jody feeding Iz ice cubes!

Check out my new mouse guys!
The peanutbutter opened birthday presents like a champ, tore right into them, was fun to watch! Her nickname at Daycare is 'Busy Izzy'.
Hey Ma, look at all the sand I just shoved in my mouth, yummmy! Rocks are crunchy!
Here is the infamous snooty face sitting on the steps by the lake...she is such a character, we love it!
Thanks to everyone that came to the peanutbutter's birthday party, we all had a great time! More memories to be made and posted on here soon! Summer is off to a great start for the Kavanaugh Fam!

FUN Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T07:21:00.003-05:00

We had a WONDERFUL time up north this past weekend at Kavanaugh's (http://www.kavanaughs.com/). From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU Kavanaugh's, for letting us enjoy such a gorgeous resort with Izzy. She was in her glory on the swings and splashing around in the pool (as you can see below). We made many memories and had so much fun!

Izzy's trying on Auntie Meghan's chicky sunglasses - fweee-fweeeew!

Flashin' a few grins on the swings. I think smiling is her favorite thing to do.

Yep...just can't help it, any sort of glasses on her head just crack me up! We were shopping for her birthday supplies for this pic.

Izzy turns 1 year old this Saturday...we can't believe it's been a whole year already. We have never had more fun than with this little miracle in our lives. She is the most incredible little girl and we love her so very much. Birthday pictures will be posted next week of our toddler!
(OMG - can't believe she's not a baby anymore, sniffle sniffle).

More Swimmin!

2010-05-17T09:37:00.002-05:00

We took Izzy swimming out at Kavanaugh's for a bit yesterday before we left town. It was perfect to tire her out before we headed back to the cities from our quick trip north. She is a little fishy in the water, we had so much fun!

Trimming in the trimming pool...

2010-04-26T07:32:00.002-05:00

As Dave used to say as a kid...we went 'trimming in the trimming pool' yesterday with our friend Pam and her two kids, Jonah and Val. It was Izzy's first time in a pool and it was a huge success!

Smiley kids so happy in the water!
Izzy was flirting with the lifeguards waving and flashing grins at them, they got a kick out of it!

I think this is my favorite pic, Pam's hiding behind Iz!

PlAyDaTe FuN!

2010-04-19T13:49:00.003-05:00

Minus the hand-clapping in this picture to get everyone's attention (over here Nolan!) We all had a great fun time at Underwater World. Kristy Jukish and her two beautiful boys came down to visit us this past Saturday for a fun playdate! This picture is (from the left), Izzy, Nolan, and Gabe. They all had a TON of fun checking out 'Jessie' the shark and big turtles at Underwater World at MOA. They even got to see NEMO! (I think I was the most excited about Nemo...)

Izzy & I on the turtle statue at the end of the field trip. She was pretty tired at this point and gazing at everything. It was a lot for the peanutbutter.
This is my FAVORITE pic of all the kids, Gabe is on the lookout for Izzy to snatch his shark-toothed necklace, (she's a sucker for jewelry...and definitely my kid!) and Nolan's just havin a good 'ole time clapping and hangin' out!

The Jukish's, smiling big on the turtle! Thank you Jukish's for coming down for our playdate, we had a blast!

Dave & I got to go to the Twins game yesterday and Pam came over to hang out with Izzy (thank you Pam!!). They had a good time playing with blocks and all sorts of toys. Izzy has started babbling a lot more (saying yah-yah-yah-yah-yah), and she gave Pam the what-for (a buncha yah-yah's) when Pam wouldn't let her into the towel drawer in the kitchen...it was pretty funny I guess, can you see a 26 inch tall kid just 'yah-yah-yah-yahing' up at you sayin 'let me into my drawer!'

Quick Pic session at the Baby Expo

2010-04-13T07:47:00.003-05:00

Izzy and I went to the MN Baby Expo at the Convention Center this past Saturday and a local photographer was snapping quick-pic-sessions. Izzy started hammin it up flashing smiles left and right, man is she a fun kid!

Words can't even describe how cute of a face this is....cute is just an understatement!
People kept commenting on how cute her shoes were...not knowing that they're tights with little mary-jane stitching on the feet. It's called GAP people - it's Izzy & Mommy's favorite store in the world!

What a poser this kid is. I've started to say 'cheeeeese' when I want her to smile for a camera so she catches on to what 'cheeeeeese' means - hopefully it sticks so pics in the future are easy to get a smile out of her...course looking at her with 'bug eyes' makes her crack a grin...so chances are we won't have to work that hard.

Then there's the genuine grin....the grin that we'll one day see in her senior pictures....so sincere. I have to savor every second with her now, I'm getting ahead of myself thinking about senior pictures...

More to come! We're heading to Underwater Adventures this weekend with our friend Kristy and her boys Gabe and Nolan - many more fun pics of that event will be posted next week.

Eventful Weekend with Mom

2010-04-12T10:31:00.002-05:00

Izzy-b and I had a great girls weekend. We walked around Lake of the Aisle Saturday morning, (before hitting up the MN Baby Expo - we got a TON of goodies for her!) and hit up our little buddy Ryker's 1st Birthday. I goofed and forgot my camera for Ryker's event, but the kids played great together, it was so much fun to watch them interact! There were a ton of kids under 1 year, it was great to see so many babies all so happy in one place.

I set Izzy up with yogurt bites and her water for some snacks while we ran around lake Como yesterday, she LOVED it - didn't say a peep the entire time, it was so much fun! We sat on a blanket for a while and she waved at everyone walking/biking/running by, such a funny kid. She was incredibly interested in the dogs, it'll be fun to take her to the zoo soon, she'll get a HUGE kick out of the kiddy farm where you can feed the baby goats, we can't WAIT! (I will remember my camera for the zoo for sure!)

So nevermind the choice finger she's decided to use here, I posted this for the milk filled smile, she's such a happy baby, we're so incredibly lucky! She's all snazzy lookin' in her new summer pj's. She uses the 'big jug' for her bedtime bottle, and grips it so tight that her little fingernails turn white!..and no, I didn't plan my outfit to match her pj's, I was still in my running gear from the lake when I put her down to bed, it's tough to get a shower in when the little girl won't let me out of her sites.

Have a great week everyone!

Look what I got!

2010-04-06T12:37:00.002-05:00

Izzy had a fun Easter (minus the sniffling and coughing from yet ANOTHER cold....maybe it's a tooth popping through...we've been saying that for 7 months and she's still a toothless wonder, who knows!) Either way, we had a fun first Easter with Izzy-b. We walked around Lake Como, played outside in the yard, got a little sun, and had an Easter ham. Isn't she a mini-Dave? She is 100% her daddy's girl.

I got books and eggs and weird grass in a bucket, what is this all about?

Da-da-da-da look what I got! Nummy eggs filled with puffs and yogurt bites, nuuuuummm!

Little bunny too-too

2010-04-02T08:02:00.005-05:00

Here is our darling girl in one (of 3) swimsuits. We played dress-up (yes, I'm starting early), yesterday and had so much fun! We can't WAIT to take her swimming this summer!

What? I'm a big girl, I stand up all by myself and walk all around the coffee table!

This is my snooty face. Nana says that great-grandpa Sherm used to teach all of the kids this face...it must be genetic cuz I do it all the time and then smile when I'm done!

Mommy & me havin some fun playin around the house in my too-too suit.

I'm comin to getcha...Too-too and all.

And last but not least...the video. Izzy loves her bumper-jumper more than anything (other than her Mom & Dad of course) and has a lot of fun in it. This was her last night in her too-too bouncin around, having a good ole' time.

We wish everyone a very HOPPY Easter!

Bring on the Sunshine!

2010-03-30T08:28:00.003-05:00

We had SO MUCH FUN with Izzy this past weekend. We got her some new shades and a cute summer hat, and she kept them on! Such a cool little kid. We are looking forward to the warmer days this week to get outside and enjoy the weather, bring on the sunshine!

A new Trick!

2010-03-19T07:11:00.002-05:00

We were watching the cars go by on our street yesterday and Izzy would wave at whatever she could...she even waved 'hello' this morning when she first woke up! She's crawling more than ever, pulling herself up, waving, it's just so much fun to see all of these new tricks, so here's a video of the latest...

Crawlin, crawlin, crawlin!

2010-03-08T07:49:00.001-06:00

Our little girl is a bit more mobile now. She had mastered crawling backwards first, and now has gotten the hang of moving forward. She's growing so fast! And yes...she's wearing a poncho, and surprisingly it didn't bug her at all, she's such a trooper with how I dress her in all of her cute, goofy little outfits!

Happy 9 Month Birthday Isabella!

2010-03-05T10:38:00.003-06:00

Our beautiful little girl is getting so big! She's 9 months old today, and growing cuter everyday....no, I'm not biased.
Happy 9 month Birthday sweetie-pea!

Izzy's Current Stats

2010-02-16T12:51:00.002-06:00

So this is how big of a dork Izzy's Mom is...Izzy (AKA The PeanutButter) had a follow-up Dr's appointment today and the Dr. decided to do her 9 month check-up a little early. These were the results of her well-baby check-up. She's got a BIIIIIIG head! I spose she needs room to store all of her smarts that she's got in there! She's in the 91st percentile for head circumfrance, 52nd for weight (at a whopping 18.5 pounds!) and is the shortest (but cutest) for height, the little shrimp is at the 32nd percentile for height. It's ok Iz, having a low center of gravity is best for all the fun things you'll do when you're older, falling down doesn't hurt as bad when you're wakeboarding...snowboarding...skiing...any of those fun things!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-11T12:46:00.004-06:00

How sweet am I? This lolipop is the size of my HEAD! (Thanks Auntie Jody!)

Bathtime is my favorite....and this duck...this duck is my favorite

I love you ducky...

Have a Happy Valentine's Day......or the duck gets it!

Giggle Monster!

2010-02-05T07:15:00.002-06:00

Izzy was on a roll with her giggles last night, here is a little sneak peak...

A Few Festive February Photos...

2010-02-02T13:05:00.004-06:00

Izzy-bear LoVeS her bumper-jumper and gets a good leg workout in it.

I snapped this picture with my phone when Izzy was rolling around the other day and I was amazed at how brilliantly blue her eyes look!
We took the peanutbutter to the mall this past weekend and I wore her in her bjorn for most of the afternoon, she was zonked when we got home!

Look at the big girl standing up on the furniture already!

BREAKING NEWS!!! She's MOBILE!

2010-01-18T11:11:00.006-06:00

Here are the first pictures of Izzy with her tummy off the ground...she's crawling backwards from the coffee table to the TV! Dave's home with her today, and he got to see it first hand!

Look at the determination on that chubby, cute little face!
Here is a video that somewhat shows Izzy's new mobility skills....

Nummy Washcloth Mommy!

2010-01-06T15:36:00.002-06:00

Little Miss Isabella Mae loves her washclothes during tub-time, as you can quite clearly see here.

A Good First Christmas

2009-12-28T13:27:00.003-06:00

Little 'squeekerela' in her Christmas Eve outfit (with Baby-leggings and all). Izzy was still pretty sick over Christmas, so she wasn't herself, but we did plenty of cuddling and she ate all of the bows she could get her hands on.

Grandma Lucy gave Izzy a little piano for Christmas, so when we got home last night from our trip north, we scooted her bumbo chair up to the piano and she started going to town! Will she be the next Mozart?.....kidding - our child is normal and average - but I still think she's the best!

On our way to Nana's house (Grandma Margaret), Christmas Day Morning

Daddy and Izzy giving big smiles at Nana's

house after the big gift opening. Here is Izzy and Auntie Meghan on Christmas Day!

Here is the grand finale - Izzy was a very good present opener, she got right in there and went after the wrapping paper so she could gobble it up!

We're staying home for New Years ~ and we wish everyone a very happy, safe, and healthy New Year!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-22T15:51:00.003-06:00

Inspite of being sooooo sick this past week, The Peanutbutter still has the best spirit ever - she still manages a smile and a little giggle...with snot running down her face and a fierce cough.
I like to call this pic...santas lost reindeer

You'll see more of these antler pictures after Christmas posted on here, but I wanted (or Izzy wanted...this IS her site afterall) to wish everyone a
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So we upgraded...goooo vikes!

2009-12-14T07:27:00.003-06:00

We had our friends Sarah and Mike down to visit this weekend and we went to the Vikings game on Sunday. Dave and I had to upgrade Izzy into a new Vikings outfit as the other one is officially too small. Izzy kept wanting to eat the shirt, so she doesn't have the entire outfit on here, but Auntie Sarah and Izzy-bear had fun in their vikings apparel before the game!

Thank you Chris for babysitting Izzy during the game, she told me she had fun and would love for you to come back again if you like!

Here is the 'whole get-up' - it'll likely fit her when she's 2 - it's huge on her now, but we'll just get more wear out of it!

Happy Friday!

2009-12-04T14:49:00.003-06:00

My name's Izzy....I just left study hall and am heading to English - catch you on the flipside!
(Little preppy girl in her cartigan...)

Mommy dresses me in clothes that she would wear, I'm a 'mini-me' of Mom in my mock turtleneck and matching snazzy red shoes! I think it's funny though, I go with the flow...
I'm ho-ho-huuuungry!

Have I told you how excited I am for Christmas??? I'm SOOOO excited to eat wrapping paper, I can hardly STAND it!

Have a great weekend everyone - Izzy's trying squash and prune juice this weekend, nuuuummmm!

Funny Video & Christmas Picture Preview

2009-11-30T11:06:00.003-06:00

Dave and I were feeding Izzy peaches for the first time this past weekend and I was playing around with my iPhone taking pictures of her. I showed her a picture of herself and she had quite the reaction to it! (click on the video below to see) She's such an animated little girl, it's just amazing to see her smiling non-stop and so very happy! We got a big kick out of her reaction. This thing should be sent into America's Funniest Videos - it just might have a shot!

We also had our favorite photographer in the world (http://www.chelsiekrafka.com/) take Christmas Pictures of Izzy a few weeks ago. Click on Chelsie's blog to see a few favorites of little Isabella!
We chose to have Chelsie capture our wedding memories in October of 2007, now a few years later and she's taken Maternity pictures, newborn pictures of Izzy (which were just published in 'Her Voice' magazine up north), and now Izzy's Christmas pictures. Chelsie, you are sure to see Izzy grow up through your camera lens, as we plan to have many more fun memories for you to capture for us, and can't thank you enough for the wonderful work you do!

A Giggling Girl

2009-11-24T07:36:00.002-06:00

Dave is so incredibly awesome at making Izzy laugh, this was during her dinner last night. She tried avacados for the first time and LOVED them!

Got some new pics for you!

2009-11-19T12:49:00.006-06:00

'I just wanna be your teddy bear'....lil elvis for you from the bubble queen.

Look Ma - I'm sittn up like a big girl! (However Mommy dressed me like a boy today....) You can't see it, but there's a little pink horsey on the outfit, I bought this prior to knowing if we were having a boy or girl...had to use it while it still fit her!

Izzy's first time eating sweet potatoes and boy was it a success! She has now learned to spit and sputter her mouth, so it goes everywhere - never thought I could have so much fun getting sweet potatoe spit in my face!

Mommy dresses me in these silly hats...so I go with it...but then Daddy makes me look like a little thug and puts it to the side....what's up with that Daddy?

I love my baths almost as much as Mommy loves putting bubbles on my head and making me look funny!

I heart my 'winkel' (http://www.fatbraintoys.com/) - the site has super cool educational toys for kids, this teething toy is one of her favorites.

That's all for now...stay tuned for pictures of Izzy trying mashed potatoes for the first time at Thanksgiving next week! I'll try and get a video or two to post.

Izzy's 1st Halloween was a Good one!

2009-11-02T08:39:00.003-06:00

K, so we're going backwards in how these pictures posted from the weekend. Izzy was so confident the Vikes would win yesterday, she took a lil snooze and knew they had it in the bag!

This was Saturday night after our FULL day of trick-or-treating - she had a good nap and then was up and ready to play!
Here is Nate and Logan Erickson with Izzy and Dave - Logan was the little boy off of 'Where the Wild Things Are' - absolutely adorable, we give Nate and Marisha 1st prize for creativity with their 7 week old B-E-A-utiful little boy!

Izzy didn't get scared of Auntie Meghan's Vampire costume, she tried to kiss her fangs!

This was at the end of the day at Auntie Sarah & Uncle Mike's house - Izzy was a tired chick!

On our way up to Brainerd on Saturday morning...Iz was making some important calls...gettn' some work done. ;o)

Here's the 'cutest chick in town'!

Izzy's thoughts: Mom...you're gonna have 10,000 pictures of me by the time I'm 2, give it a REST already!

Trick-or-tweeeeet!
Auntie Jody and Cousin Jack (as Megatron) snap a quick pick.

BOO!

That's all for now - we had a wonderful weekend seeing everyone! We hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

SO Excited for Food!

2009-10-27T07:04:00.002-05:00

Izzy L-O-V-E-S her food. We put bananas in her rice cereal so she gets SUPER excited to eat it...as you can see here!

Last Week of October

2009-10-26T12:28:00.002-05:00

Dave and I just got iPhones and taking pictures on these phones is amazing - this is Little Miss Isabella in her carseat coming home from Daycare on Friday afternoon (in her new winter hat...yep, it was snowing on October 23rd!)

Here is what half of the state of Minnesota was doing after this past Sunday's game...
Have a great week everyone! More videos to come of Izzy, she loves to talk, so I'll get a video posted on here of her babbling away, it's too cute!

Halloween just around the corner!

2009-10-16T07:11:00.004-05:00

Halloween is right around the corner, so to get in the spirit of things, we carved pumpkins this past Sunday. I baked some nummy pumpkin seeds to snack on and we'll light these pumpkins up on Halloween (and hope the neighbor kids don't smash them...)

If Izzy would have been born in July, as planned, this outfit would have fit her perfect. We all know things never go as planned with kids, but that's part of the fun of them! She is quickly outgrowing what was supposed to be her Halloween costume (don't worry....I have back-up, just you wait and see!) So we dressed her up and took these pics the other night. A smiley little moo-cow! (It looks like something's REALLY funny and she's slapping her knee with laughter).

Izzy can ROLLOVER!

2009-10-11T13:43:00.003-05:00

K, so I still can't get the sound to work on these videos when I download them to our PC and then upload them to this site, but all you're missing is Dave and I giggling, or cheering Izzy on...so here's the video of Izzy rolling over for the 3rd time ever! She just started doing this today! She's now done it a few dozen times because I keep putting her on her belly and she keeps rolling over....we're just in awe of her learning this new thing, it's so much fun!!! And I was so glad she did it for the first time at home rather than daycare, we would've been sad to miss such a 'first' like this!

Izzy's first taste of food

2009-10-09T20:45:00.003-05:00

Izzy had her 4 month check-up today and the Dr. said we can start feeding her a little bit of rice cereal at dinner time. This is the video of her trying her first few bites of food, you have to love her reaction...'what the heck is this stuff?'
She weighed in today at 14 pounds, 8 ounces (68% for weight), and 23 inches (9% for height...hee hee...lil shrimp!)
She's talking so much more now and it's so much fun to hear her voice and see all of these new expressions she comes up with daily. Once I get this video thing down I'll post a few more, still working through the kinks of posting videos to this blog.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend - we're carving pumpkins and hanging out, I'm sure I'll post some pics of the pumpkin carving soon.

Growing Growing Growing!

2009-10-02T07:33:00.006-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE TONY!
Miss 'Peanut-Butter' and her Uncle/Godfather cuddling at a bonfire last weekend. Izzy looooved stairing at the fire and got some good sleep that night after getting some fresh air (10 full hours strait of sleep, wow!)

We met with our friend Melissa for breakfast last Saturday morning. Izzy looks like she's going to the gym to pump some iron with the 'sweat band' looking deal on her head....but it came with the outfit, I couldn't resist!

Ok...I really couldn't resist this one. I found this headband in Stillwater on a department outing at work, and it was just too hilarious not to buy. And it didn't bother Izzy at all, which was surprising!

'Hey Maaaa, get me dressed after bathtime, I'm freakin freezing!!'

We call her 'Izzy-bear' when she has this jacket on...all bundled up ready for daycare with Miss Mary!

Busy Busy Izzy!

2009-09-23T18:28:00.003-05:00

Izzy's Daves lucky charm for the vikes. We've dressed her in her litle cheerleading outfit the past two Sundays and they've won! We're a little supersticious, so Izzy will be wearing her cheerleading outfit every Sunday for the rest of the season.

We had some family and friends over to the house this past weekend, and how often do you see everyone, including the baby, looking at the camera and smiling! Izzy's already trained to pose for pics! Thanks for coming over Pam, Jonah, and Val, it was great to hang out with you!
The beautiful Kavanaugh ladies have some bonding time with Izzy, aren't they all so pretty?!

Goooooo VIKES! Izzy's a true cheerleader, with her fist raised cheering them on during their first game a few Sunday's ago!

More Fun with the Fam

2009-09-10T19:57:00.004-05:00

Isabella went to her first wedding, (congratulations Tim & Lisa Hoglan), on August 28th and was dressed to the nines for it (see her grinning face and outfit below). She didn't say a peep in the church and was all strapped into her bjorn with her Dad carrying her the entire time. She was in awe of the church lights and ceiling, it was really cute. We have another wedding coming up this weekend for Lindsay Kephart and Izzy's excited to check everything out and smile at everyone she meets!

Izzy is without a doubt Daddy's little girl, she lights up when he walks in the room, it's adorable!

This pic was just too cute not to post, she starting to like her swing more, which helps when I need to get some cleaning done around the house!

Auntie Kelly got some cuddle time out at Kavanaugh's with baby Izzy over Labor Day weekend...Izzy looks like she's storing acorns for the winter! :) The chubbiest, most kissable cheeks ever!This was cousin Cole's second time seeing Izzy and he recalled that 'she was a lot more tired last time I saw her!'...and that she was. She's checking everything out now and is taking it all in! She finds every window in the room and loves to look outside.

Cousin Karly Jean got to meet Izzy for the first time out at Kavanaugh's over Labor Day weekend! Izzy Looooved Karly's fancy bright green glasses.Izzy and I watched the Andres kids get their pictures taken on Labor Day and hung out in their yard while they were snapping pics. She loves it so much outside, it's going to be tough to keep her indoors when she gets bigger!

Lucy was incredibly excited to kiss Izzy's cheeks whenever she saw her...she has the most kissable cheeks and Grandma Lucy is head over heels in love with her 'little friend'.

Girls just wanna have fun!

2009-08-17T21:20:00.008-05:00

It's so very true...girls do just wanna have fun...and Izzy and I did today. We played dress up! I had her outside for a few minutes (with Dave holding an umbrella over her so she didn't get any actual sun) and snapped a few hilarious pictures....she's just TOO much fun!

We got to visit Nana and Auntie Meghan this past Sunday, we showed off our chubby cheeks and smiles to them, it was a good time!
Now this is just plain showing off all together...what a little peanut! She's perfecting her smile everyday.

...So we played dress up the other night after our bath too...did a little towel wrap around the head and put on our cozy little robe, she's such a trooper to put up with me dressing her up!

More smiles! Such a happy little girl she is!

Fun pictures to share!

2009-08-12T21:01:00.002-05:00

We have had a ton of visitors the past few weeks and it has been so much fun to see everyone! I wasn't too quick on the camera when all of the visitors were here, but we did get a picture of my friend Jenny holding Izzy with her kids, Will, Ben, Maddie, and Ellie. It was so much fun to see them all and catch up! Thanks to everyone who visited, Melissa, Kristy, Sarah, Jenny and her family, it was great to see everyone!

This is Izzy's 'token' pose when she's eating, hand on the face as though she's bored...it makes me giggle everytime!
Daddy put Izzy in her swing after bathtime to snap a few quick pictures, she LOVES bathtime! I'll post some more bathtime pictures, she has a little pink pokadotted robe that fits her and it's hilarious to see her in it!

Just a random day when we ran to target and decided to get all 'fancy' with a new headband and matching shoes from our friend Shawna - thanks Shawna, these are our favorite accessories and the shoes really stay on her feet! I never thought I'd put headbands on my kids, but this was just WAY too cute!

Izzy looks like such a big girl sitting up in her bumbo chair below, it is so much fun to get her smiling in the chair (she's smiling a lot these days!) She's still as big as a minute, but growing! We had her 2 month well baby check up this last week (where she gets the shots...she was a trooper with the shots, took them like a champ, and she's in the 50th percentile for weight @ 10 pounds, 10 ounces, and in the .43 percentile for height - yep, that's a decimal before the '43', less than 1% - she's not growing in length yet, but gaining weight really well! We love every little bit of her, her cheeks are at an all time cuteness...this picture proves that!

Another quick pic of Isabella flashing a smile to the camera.

More pictures to come - she's changing a tiny bit each day, smiling more, and healthy as can be! Not sleeping through the night yet, but getting closer!

Izzy & Lyric Kavanaugh meet!

2009-07-27T21:59:00.004-05:00

Dave's cousin Bryan and his wife, Tina, stopped by this afternoon for a visit with their newest addition, Lyric Grace Kavanaugh. Izzy and Lyric met for the first time and we snapped some cute pictures of the two little ones with their Daddy's! Bryan and Tina had Lyric a month early just like we did and she was a little peanut just like Izzy, weighing in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces.
Thanks for visiting Bryan, Tina, and Lyric!

Obviously, we couldn't get the little ones both looking at the camera, but they sure were making cute little funny faces for us!

It was amazing to see how tiny Lyric is compared to Izzy. Izzy's about 10 pounds now, and Lyric is around 7 pounds I think. 3 pounds makes a difference on a baby, lyric felt light as a feather to hold compared to Izzy!

Izzy's looking at her Dad like 'am I in trouble?' and Lyric looks like she's whispering in Izzy's ear.

Just a few cute pictures!...ok 100 pictures of our munchkin.

2009-07-26T17:20:00.008-05:00

The very first ever recorded smile of Izzy.....of course milk is all over her face and this isn't the 'real deal' yet, but it's so much fun to see! She has some gorgeous dimples too!

Look what I can do, I pat my tummy and rub my head...or tap my head and rub my tummy! (This is my favorite dress from Auntie Kelly and Uncle Tony - and this was the last day I was able to wear it because I'm almost ten pounds now! This is a newborn size outfit and I'm 7 weeks old!)My lovely family....two peas in a pod! I love them so much! Look how kissable both of their cheeks are! (they're watching golf...apparently Izzy likes the bright greens and contrasting sky colors...Dave will have her swinging a club when she learns how to walk.)

Papa Frank works ten minutes from our house, so he swings by after work to visit the peanut. He was feeding her a 'little thimble' of milk and the second Izzy whined to be burped he handed her back to Mommy as fast as he could! Grandma Margaret's official title is 'Nana', as it was decided when she visited us this last week. Izzy loved spending time with Nana and Dave and I loved having her visit. She's teaching me recipes in the kitchen and she cleaned all 23 sets of blinds in our house. YIKES there were a lot of blinds (and it's such a yucky job), but Nana's a hard worker and got them all done, thank you bunches Nana!

Grandpa Greg came down for the day last Saturday and got to meet his first grandchild! Thanks for coming to visit (and the nummy rasberries from your garden) Grandpa Greg!

Dave took a few snapshots of Izzy and I outside on our front steps enjoying the afternoon the other day. Here's the 'little green dress' we love so much!

She's a spitting image of Dave, we love it!
The dress fit perfectly for the last time...when we had her newborn pictures taken in June, she was drowning in it.

Now THOSE are some kissable cheeks!

Daddy propped me up in a living room chair and I wasn't the biggest fan of it...but even when I'm crying I'm cute!

Oh my gosh...we have a child prodigy on our hands, she can hold her own nuk already!

Izzy has so many facial expressions and we haven't caught a third of them on camera (yet), but when Dave talks to her, she loves his voice and she is in awe of her Daddy.

Good Family Fun

2009-07-17T17:15:00.002-05:00

Grandma Lucy, Auntie Jody, and Cousin Jack came down to stay with us and visit for a few days this week. We stayed busy while they were down here and they got to spend some good time with Isabella. We can't wait to see them again, it's fun having company!

Jack LOVED holding Izzy and is still in awe at all 8 pounds, 6 ounces of her! (She's gained 3 pounds in the past month!)

Jody put her artistic talents to the test and painted some fun quotes on Izzy's bedroom walls, they turned out awesome, we love them! Thanks Jody!
Izzy's room is now complete with quotes and fun pink and brown colors everywhere!

What would a girls trip down to the cities be without a little shopping fun! Jack was a trooper and Izzy slept most of the time! Jody's cuddling her in the Macy's shoe department while Jack and I put on a fashion show for her, Mom, and Izzy...yes, I had Jack trying on women's shoes...hee hee hee! And Izzy's sleeping sitting strait up.

All of the shopping fun tired us right out and it was time for a solid nap...could she look anymore peaceful here???

Grandma Lucy's grinning ear to ear just loving her time with her 'lil friend 'Izza-Belly'.

You wouldn't believe the fun sleeping positions our little girl comes up with...she is actually sleeping just like this....all the while squeeking and grunting away! (you have to hear it to believe how much she squeaks and makes cute little noises!)

That's all for now...more to come soon!

Izzy's First Bath!

2009-06-30T14:44:00.004-05:00

Izzy had her first bath this past Thursday night when Auntie Jody and Cousin Jack were visiting. Her belly button had healed the day before so it was our 'green light' for bathtime. She was pretty content at first, but then decided she wasn't a fan of bath time anymore...

She's a bit confused here, it felt funny sitting in water!
Now she's thinking, this isn't half bad, I can handle this!

"K, Mom, I'm getting restless...let's hurry this thing up!"

Aaaand, that's enough, I'm going to whale a bit and show you just how much I don't like this!

There....aaaaaall better and clean (and smelling sooo good!)

Jody, Jack, Izzy, and I met up with Papa for lunch in St. Paul. Pa's amazed at how little Izzy is and how good of a baby she is.

Jack gave Izzy a little Irish bear for a baby gift, very sweet of cousin Jack.

Grandma Margaret has come to visit us too and just loved cuddling with her first grand-baby. She was the first person to officially babysit Izzy while Dave and I made a paint run to Home Depot on Sunday. They got some great bonding time in!

Auntie Jody found one of Izzy's favorite new ways to lay down, she loves being on her side and having her back rubbed.

I just love this picture and had to post it...she had a little cherry running suit on and Dave put the hood up while she was sleeping...such a cute little munchkin!

A few updates

2009-06-24T17:17:00.008-05:00

So we had our maternity pictures taken within 5 days of having Izzy, talk about cutting it close! I wanted to post a few of my favorites that our photographer, Chelsie Anderson of Treeline Photography, took of us.

She's an amazing photographer when she can make a pregnant chic feel pretty!

We'll definitely be hanging one of these pics in Izzy's bedroom!

Chelsie was over this past Thursday afternoon (after we closed on our house - yeah!) and took some fun pictures of Izzy too, check these out!

This one of Izzy in red could EASILY be our Christmas card!

Izzy got a little too comfortable and 'piddled' in Chelsie's stocking...oops!

We can't wait to see more photos from Chelsie and will be sure to pass on more information once Chelsie sets us up with the online galery. We had so much fun with both of these 'photo shoots' and loved the end results!

On another note, we're all doing well here at home. Dave's officially back to work, so now it's just Izzy and I at home, but we have family coming to visit, so it'll be fun having more people around! We haven't really been 'taking it easy' as most people tell you to do, we've been out and about, up north, everywhere in the first 20 days of this little girls' life! She's portable and we want to show her off and have her meet family and friends. Here are a few pics of Izzy over the past few days:

Izzy absolutely LOVES her boppy and can barely keep her eyes open in the thing!

Here is our 6 year old nephew, Jack, holding Izzy...he's pondering what to do with her. He's been incredibly curious about this whole baby process and when his cousin gets here if she'll be able to crawl or talk right when she's born. Soon enough Jack...you'll be able to pick on her....soon enough buddy!

Here is Uncle Tony with Izzy! He was super excited for her to arrive and can't get over how teeny-tiny she is!

My friend Angie had her little boy, Ryker, a few months ago and they came over for coffee one morning last week. We had to get some pictures of the two of them together! I love love LOVE Ryker's shirt - so very fitting for the little stallion! And Izzy's so content resting her head on his shoulder.

Izzy's First Night Home

2009-06-15T07:34:00.005-05:00

We were able to bring Izzy home yesterday afternoon! She seemed to like riding in the car ok. We were told not to have her ride in her carseat for more than an hour at a time. She's so little (a whopping 5 pounds and 7 ounces), and her oxygen levels decrease a little bit after sitting in the carseat for about an hour, so no long trips for us until she grows a bit more!

We had a restful night for our first night home. We put her bassinet in the living room and Dave and I camped out on the couch right by her so when she woke, we were right there. She woke up about 3 times through out the night for food, and fed really well!

Dave's taking this week off of work, we have Izzy's first Dr.'s appointment Thursday morning, then we officially close on our house at noon that day, and then Friday, our friend/Wedding Photographer, Chelsie Anderson, (http://www.chelsiekrafka.com/) is coming down to take Izzy's newborn pictures! We're pretty excited about all that's happening this week!
Right now Daddy and Izzy are napping while I update this page. So this is short, but we're all doing well and are home safe and sound!

Izzy's Update

2009-06-13T06:33:00.007-05:00

We are told that we may be able to bring our little girl home with us this weekend, most likely tomorrow (Sunday). It finally hit me yesterday how draining it is spending day in and day out at the hospital with our little peanut and not being able to be nestled in at home with her yet. I'm doing fine, but yesterday was a trying day. They bumped her up to her 'max' amount of food (a whopping 56 mililiters) per feeding and she's just getting tired out trying to eat it all. She's so little and only has so much energy...BUT, she's getting stronger daily and we need to be patient while she builds her little muscles and her energy increases to be able to continue to gain weight so she's as healthy as can be when we bring her home. Here are some more pictures of Izzy with Daddy, in some fun outfits, and a few pictures of her nursery. We got most of it put together last night, and I love her room. We're STILL doing loads of her laundry as we find more boxes of her clothes (we keep finding them, this girl is set up for clothes for the first 5 years of her life!!)

Love to everyone and we'll update the blog when she gets to come home!

SHE'S HERE!

2009-06-10T13:47:00.024-05:00

Isabella Mae Kavanaugh arrived to meet us on June 5th at 6:10pm. She weighed in at 5 pounds and 10 ounces. She was 19.5 inches long. My water broke at work of all places at 7:30 Friday morning (the day we were supposed to close on our house), and we were off and running from that point on! I had the most uncomplicated labor and delivery I could ever imagine...truly, the pain was brief until the drugs kicked in, and the epidural was a godsend. Mom's and Grandma's, I have no idea how you ever survived without an epidural...seriously, I don't know how you did it and actually kept going through it having more kids! Ok, back to Izzy. She was 4 weeks early, born at 35 weeks and 6 days. She's currently still in the 'Special Care' Nursery at Methodist Hospital in Saint Louis Park, however she is as healthy as can be and getting stronger minute by minute. They started off having to put an IV in her to keep her fluids and blood sugars stable, that was removed on Tuesday of this week. She now just has the little stickers on her belly and chest to keep up with her vital signs. We are really hoping she'll be able to come home to us by the end of this week, but we'll see. She needs to keep gaining weight and maintaining her weight, and that's the last piece of this deal she needs to show to the Dr's, and she's eating like a champ, so there's no worries that she'll be home with us soon.
I was discharged from the hospital on Sunday night at 6PM (exactly 48 hours after delivery, they don't waste time getting you out of there with natural births!), and there is a parent room in the Special Care Nursery that I have been staying in every night getting up with her and feeding her...and staring at her...in complete awww and wonderment that we made such a wonderfully beautiful baby. (I know everyone says that about their own kids, but MAN - she's CUTE!)
Meanwhile, our family has gotten us all settled into our house, the 'big move' took place this past Saturday while Izzy and I were recovering in the hospital, Dave and a bunch of family and friends hauled a big load of furniture down from Brainerd, and cleared everything out of our old apartment to get us moved into our new home! (We were able to move in even though we haven't closed, we did an amendment to the Purchase Agreement, thank goodness that worked out!!) Our house looks ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. The entire main floor is already unpacked, with pictures on the walls, the furniture is arranged perfectly, and that's all set to go! We still need to unpack the bedrooms upstairs, but will get that done in the next day or so here. A HUGE Thank-You to our family and friends that helped us with our move, we couldn't have gotten this done in the short amount of time we did without you all and we are so very thankful for all of you!!
Dave has been doing some 'man-nesting' around the house, fixing stuff, putting in new light fixtures, getting the washer and dryer going, painting Izzy's bedroom. He's been working his tale off to get things ready for when Izzy and I come home, all three of us can relax and enjoy our new home with our new beautiful daughter.
Izzy already has her first nickname....squeaker. She squalks and squeaks at you when you're feeding her or when she just wants to hear her voice, it's the most adorable thing! She's beautiful and I was just itching to get these pictures up to show her off! I could never have dreamed I would have so much love in my heart for my family. It seems impossible to feel this complete and almost euphoric with how in love we are with our little girl and how in love I am with Dave. I'm the absolute luckiest girl in the world to have Izzy and Dave and can't wait for all that's to come! (Who am I kidding, I can't wait for her 3 o'clock feeding, I'm just nuts about our little peanut!!!)
I will try my very best to keep this blog updated, and please feel free to post comments as you like. We will be busy when she officially comes home, so feel free to use this as an outlet to keep up to date on all that's going on with our new little girl!
Love to everyone and we can't wait for everyone to meet Izzy!

Izzy's around the 5 pound mark!

2009-05-22T10:59:00.002-05:00

We had another Dr. appointment last night and after squishing, poking, and prodding at my belly, Dr. Thorp guessed that Izzy's between 5 and 5 1/2 pounds at this point! We had another NST (non-stress test) done and she, again, was a rockstar and is VERY healthy! I had an ultrasound yesterday (sadly didn't get any pictures), but she yawned about 5 times and was continuously playing with her fingers and squirming around in there. There's not much room to squirm in there and it's going to get less and less now!
Only 43 days until the 4th of July - and we're anxiously awaiting the day we get to meet our little girl face to face!
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and stay safe!

WE GOT OUR HOUSE!

2009-05-08T14:33:00.006-05:00

Our realtor called this morning and said that we received approval on our house today! We plan to close on June 4th (pending appraisal/inspection). For those of you math wizzes, that's EXACTLY one month before my due date! BUT, my plan is to get in their early, clean the place as best I can, then come moving day, we can get all the stuff in there, and will have a week or two to unpack and organize (like crazy), and get ready for Izzy to come home to our BRAND NEW HOUSE!

Here are a few pics of 742 Magnolia Avenue East, St. Paul! (I'm a St. Paulie Girl now....never thought I'd cross the river!) We love the house and will now be able to start hunting for daycare for Izzy and getting everything boxed up for the big move that first weekend in June!

On another note, I had plenty o' Dr.'s appointments yesterday and they all went very well. Izzy is as active as they come. I received another ultrasound (and will do so every week until delivery), and she was grabbing her toes with her hands and pulling them up to her head! She was moving EVERYWHERE and passed the 'Biophysical Profile or BPP' test in less than 3 minutes! They need to see three large movements from her, test her muscle tone and a few other things, and she passed in record time this time!

I was also hooked up to other monitors for a 'Non-Stress Test' or NST where they monitored her heartrate based on her movements, and she again, was a rockstar....the nurse practitioner even used the word 'rockstar' when looking at her print-out on the monitor. ( I love it!) I will be doing the 'NST' testing once a week until delivery - YEP, the Dr.'s are keeping me busy busy busy!
Onward and forward though, Izzy's a healthy and active little girl, and we are getting incredibly excited to meet her!

31 Weeks & Counting

2009-05-04T12:52:00.002-05:00

Not much new to report, except Izzy's gaining her precious little baby fat by the day, and still moving around in there like she's a tiny little thing. She's around 3 pounds and roughly 17 or so inches by now. She's still doing summer-saults in my belly and letting me know she's healthy and happy in there, so that's good.
I updated my calendar with all of our Dr. appointments we have until July and I have, on average, about 2 appointments a week. (FWeeeew!) This week, we have an entire afternoon of appointments on Thursday with a diabetic consultant, the nurse practitioner and then radiology. Our Dr. has requested these 'baby monitoring' appointments for us (in the Radiology dept.) every few weeks to see how Izzy's growing (with the diabetes). I am hoping by 'baby monitoring' they mean we get an ultrasound every few weeks. I will be SURE to post those updated pictures on here if that's the case!
We're still waiting to hear more on our house in East St. Paul - hopefully we can be moved in before Izzy gets here - cross your fingers for us! (I'm going NUTS not setting up her nursery yet!)

Two Pounds and Growwwwing!

2009-04-15T14:06:00.003-05:00

Izzy's around 2 pounds this week and a little over 15 inches long (from her head to her toes), according to my pregnancy books. She kicks a lot and tickles my belly which is the most comforting feeling in the world, knowing that she's doing ok!
We're working on our healthy food diet and she seems to be liking what food I'm picking out for her to eat. I lost 5 pounds this past week from the drastic changes in my diet (mainly eating much less carbs). So the Dr. suggested I up my carb count so I'm not continuously hungry and restricted from a lot of the foods I like to eat. (I even have to measure how much fruit intake I have, crazy huh?!)
We had a Dr. appointment on Monday afternoon of this week and the Dr. said with gestational diabetes she won't let me go over my due date by more than 4 days, and then she would have me induced. So at the very most, it will be 84 days until Izzy gets here! Starting at 32 weeks, I will be going into the Dr. bi-weekly to get hooked up to a baby monitor and they will check her heart rate and all other vitals they need to make sure she's doing ok in there. We will have another ultrasound at 36 weeks and we're on the downhill slide at that point!
Also, an FYI for those that have baby clothes they need to get rid of or clothes/highchairs/cribs/changing tables/furniture/toys/ or other items they are 'hunting for', please check out my friend Kim's website. She is putting on a ginormous sale over Mother's Day weekend at the Eden Prairie Ice Rink (rink 3), and we would love for you to attend or pass on the word to other Mom's/friends that are into 'recycling' gently used clothing and finding great bargains for your kids/neices/nephews/etc.! http://bloomington.jbfsale.com/ I'll be working the sale Friday, May 8th from 5 to 9pm, so stop by and see Izzy and I and find some good deals!

Diets or "Food Plans" and pregnancy don't mix...

2009-04-09T07:48:00.003-05:00

This has been a trying week of dodging carbs and making sure my blood sugar levels stay within the range needed to keep Izzy and I healthy during this pregnancy. I have been starving all week. My favorite food / meal in the whole world is breakfast cereal. Who doesn't love captain crunch berries or honeycomb? Reeses Puffs? BRING IT! But those things are so chuck full of sugar, I can't even have a 1/3 cup with some milk for breakfast or my levels will go through the roof.
On the flip side, they say movement after eating, walking, the Wii, or any kind of 'not sitting around' helps your body to start processing things quicker and gets things going for your levels to stay where they need to be. So this week, Dave and I have golfed after dinner, walked most everyday after our meals, or played Wii fit. We've stayed busy! And thank goodness I have the energy to do all of this right now, or I would be dragging!
I have a follow up appointment with the dietition and diabetic nurse tomorrow for two hours in the morning. They'll go over my food journal from this past week, how my levels have been, and decide if my body needs medication to keep my levels in check or if I can continue on carb counting and doing plenty of exercise.
Izzy's been kicking away and doing somersaults in my belly all week though, it's comforting everytime I feel a little jab or jolt in my belly. We will officially be entering the 3rd trimester as of this Saturday! YEEEEAAAAH!

Appointments Went Grrrrreat!

2009-04-03T20:31:00.003-05:00

I found out I had gestational diabetes last Friday, March 27th and I had my appointment with an endocrinologist, a diabetic nurse, and dietition this afternoon, along with a 2 hour class on 'carb counting' and how to use my diabetic monitor. It went GREAT! My levels are looking good, I just did my own blood sugar check with my monitor an hour ago and it was under 130, and that's what matters! I had tried to be proactive and really cut down on carbs this past week from what I had researched on the American Diabetes Association website and the dietition today said 'we need to get you some more carbs!' WHAT a relief it was to hear that! I can eat carbs with every meal, I just need to count my 'carb choices', which is just fine with me!
So needless to say, today was a relief to know that we're going to watch my levels with just diet and exercise and see how that goes, the Dr. didn't perscribe me with insulin or medication, so that's what I was hoping to hear.
I'll be at 27 weeks tomorrow, just a week away from the 3rd trimester! I'm so glad that I can now finally monitor and help to control my levels with this temporary situation and that Izzy's going to be ok as long as we keep a close eye on her development etc. Fweeeeew!

A little road bump

2009-03-28T13:23:00.003-05:00

So after receiving my results from my initial Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) last Friday, the Dr's office told me that my glucose levels were a bit higher than what they considered to be 'normal'. They asked that I come in for a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) this past Thursday where they draw blood to see where my glucose levels are after fasting for 12 hours, I drink the orange juice (tastes like a melted popsicle), and they draw blood every hour for three hours to see where my glucose levels are and how my body is reacting to the juice. It turns out that I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes which from what I am told is: "a type of diabetes that some women develop during pregnancy. Between 2 and 7 percent of expectant mothers develop this condition, making it one of the most common health problems of pregnancy." As much as I keep repeating that statistic in my head, it doesn't make me feel any better about this. I meet with a Doctor, a diabetic nurse and a nutritionist next Friday, the 3rd to discuss how 'bad' I have this and they'll teach me how to test my blood sugar, what foods to stay away from and how to restructure my diet to accomodate this temporary diagnosis.
Doing all of these things, possibly taking medication, sticking my arm with needles, or pricking my finger 6 times a day, or being on a strict diet....none of that bothers me as much as it bothers me that Izzy's little tiny body that is still developing is having to work extra hard because of how my body is processing glucose. That's the part that I'm having a hard time with. My sweet sister said that 'Izzy will forgive me', and I'm sure she's right, it's just hard news to take when everything seemed to be going so smoothly at over 6 months into the pregnancy.
The bright side of all of this is that the Dr.'s caught it when they were supposed to and now we take action to keep it under control so that Izzy isn't effected and maintains a healthy weight and she isn't hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic when she's born.
It's a road bump, but we're getting through it and will learn as much as we can to keep Izzy as healthy as she can be!

Art project for Izzy

2009-03-18T11:29:00.002-05:00

I found this SUPER cool new site that allows you to create your own collages with all kinds of words and it puts them in a cool format at a click of a button....man I love the internet! Here's what I made for Izzy, it took a whole 30 seconds!

We had another Dr's appointment yesterday. I am at 24 weeks and doing just fine. No complications, other than some back pain, but the chiropractor is helping me with that. I go back to the Dr. on Friday of this week for the routine diabetes testing. They make you drink this icky sugar juice and then draw blood an hour later. Hopefully results for that will be normal, but other than that, this has been a really fun pregnancy so far! Dave has taken super good care of me, put up with my whining when my back hurts, and we get through it with a quick back rub, it's awesome!

New Baby Bedding for Izzy!

2009-03-13T08:59:00.005-05:00

We bought baby bedding for Izzy this week. (We are thinking Isabella Mae Kavanaugh and have already started calling her Izzy) It is by far the coolest baby girl bedding I have EVER seen, I absolutely love it! I think I love it because it's not the traditional pastel stuff, it's FUN! We got the 10 piece bedding set with the diaper holder, the clothes hamper, 2 window valances, and the wall hangings. I plan to buy a 'rose damask' stencil and put that same pattern on the walls. My sister has agreed to paint a few quotes on the walls as well, her hand writing is so beautiful and I am completely the quote girl, so it'll be fun to see it all come together.

Dave also surprised me with a new 'travel system' when I got home from work on Tuesday night. It's the infant car seat with the matching jogger stroller in grey and light green, it's awesome! So we are officially done buying the big stuff for a little while, it just feels good to buy things bit by bit so it's not so overwhelming towards the end of the pregnancy with all that we still need.

Izzy's an active little bugger, she kicks a lot. Every morning after I have breakfast she gets a little workout session in of some kicks and punches while I'm sitting at my desk at work, and then in the afternoon she'll start right up again. I'm glad she's getting a decent exercise regimine in my belly! I love feeling her kick though, it's the most amazing and surprising thing to feel her twirling around in there getting comfortable and making her little body stronger.

One very sweet thing I have to share on here, we were going to bed last night and Dave whispered to my belly 'I love you' and my heart completely melted right then and there (yes, of course there were tears...happy ones). It was another reality check that there's a little person in me! I'm going to be 24 weeks tomorrow and I'm still getting daily reality checks that I'm actually pregnant and we're having a baby! I can't wait til July!

Little kicks as I drifted off to sleep...

2009-02-18T15:39:00.002-06:00

I felt the most amazing little 'pokes' (aka kicks) coming from my belly as I went to sleep last night. I had a perma-grin on my face as I fell asleep. It was THE COOLEST feeling to have a little human reaching out to let me know she's doing alright and just reminding me she's there! I loved every second of it. She just started kicking again this afternoon and it reminded me to post this blog real quick! More 'milestone moments' to come!

Ultrasound Snapshots 2.3.09

2009-02-04T13:20:00.001-06:00

It's a GIRL!

2009-02-04T09:14:00.004-06:00

She's due on the 4th of July - our due date has stayed the same throughout this entire process...and what a cool due date it is! This summer is going to be full of fun for us as we grow our family, and we are over the moon excited about having a little baby girl.
The ultrasound was such an amazing experience. She had herself positioned perfectly for the ultrasound tech to determine that it was actually a 'she' within the first 10 seconds of the ultrasound. She had the hicups during the ultrasound and it was the cutest thing to watch her little belly bounce every so often with another little 'hic-cup'!
She was moving all around, with her arms above her head making the 'sooooo big' sign, and then her arms would cover her mouth, it was incredible to watch. She would turn around and show us her backside and then she'd just hang out and let the technician take all the measurements...such a well behaved little girl already! ;o)
We can't wait to start buying gender specific items now - I am in awe to now be able to say 'she' and 'her' and refer to the baby as something other than 'it' or 'the baby'.
We will keep you posted on more fun stuff to come!

It's a lively one!

2009-01-16T12:28:00.002-06:00

A real quick note to let everyone know that we had a Dr. appointment last week where we got to hear the heartbeet for the very first time, and it....was....amazing! Dr. Babich found the heartbeat right away, it was super strong, about 140 beats per minute and the little bugger is active! We would hear a weird 'swooshing' noise every few seconds and that was the little guy moving all around. The strangest thing was that I couldn't feel a thing when he (or she) would move.

More to come on February 4th after we know if it's a boy or girl! Get your votes in now!

14 weeks and the belly has just begun

2009-01-07T15:54:00.003-06:00

I must have bought into some wivestale when I was a kid that the instant you become pregnant, out pops a belly and everyone just 'knows' you're expecting. I have impatiently waited to get a little pregnancy bump and it has finally begun! It sounds so strange, but I am beyond eager to embrace all of the changes taking place and the baby bump is my most heavily awaited change. Next up....the flutter or kicks.....man this is taking forever! (I'm told our baby will teach me more patience, but wow - I am over the moon excited for this kid to get here!)

We have our next Dr.'s appointment with Dr. Babich this Friday at 4:00pm. She has an estimated total of 10 years of schooling, so I'm guessing she's pretty good. Park Nicollet posts bio's of their doctors on their website that are pretty funny. Dr. Babich likes birds.....my gynecolegist likes birds, good to know...I'll make a mental note.

Anyway, hopefully this appointment goes smoothly and we like her. If not, it'll start the fun game of 'Dr. hopping' until we find one we like, in which case will be a 1 in 50 chance that he/she delivers our baby as they're all on rotation at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park - but either way, it will all work out, it always does. We will be doing some quad screening and other testing to make sure the baby is healthy and everything is moving along as expected. I will be sure to post more on the experience after the appointment.

The BIG appointment is February 3rd though - we find out if it's a boy or girl (pending it works with us on the ultrasound and doesn't cover up with its little limbs!)

2008-12-16T12:45:00.003-06:00

So here I am at 11 weeks, and I can't feel a thing. I thought when you found out you were pregnant you magically 'knew' what was happening in your body and could feel all sorts of changes happening within yourself. Not true....I haven't felt as much as a flutter in my belly (which my books tell me was gas) and probably won't until closer to about 16 to 20 weeks. I'm so EXCITED to feel something in there I can hardly stand it! Enough of feeling overweight, bloated, and tired, let's get this thing going! This has been the longest 11 weeks ever! (sense my patient tone...)

We have our next Dr's appointment on the 23rd and will meet with the Doc to check in and make sure everything's going as it's supposed to be. We will be finding out the sex of the baby on February 3rd, so mark your calendars for that date, because we'll be shouting it from the rooftops once we find out! (and posting it on here).

More to come next week -

Our First Dr.'s Appointment

2008-11-26T07:30:00.004-06:00

Dave and I went to our first Dr.'s appointment yesterday for the baby. We met with a nurse practioner that was so incredibly nice, it completely put us at ease. She's about our age and we were able to talk her into taking a quick snapshot of the baby!

We were right on with our due date of July 4, 2009, so that was cool that we guestimated correctly (actually Kristy and her handy book did, thank you Kristy!).

Just as I suspected the Dr. said all of the things I can't eat....lunch meat, limited fish intake, and all sorts of other stuff. The lunch meat is going to be hard to do...who doesn't like a Subway sub occasionally? She also went over all sorts of tests we can opt to have done to ensure the baby's health. We're still fairly young, so we are at low risk so I believe we will forgo most testing that is optional.

Sunday, December 7th I get to walk the commencement line at the U of M with 'Baby K' in tow...it'll be fun when he or she gets older to tell them they 'walked the line' with me when I graduated from college!

More information to come soon, our next appointment is on December 23rd, where we meet with our Dr. and get another check up. Then towards the end of January at our appointment where I will be around 20 weeks, we will be able to tell the sex of the baby (and hopefully get a good picture to post on here!)

Dave & Danielle's new Parenting Adventure

2008-11-11T16:15:00.000-06:00

Well the news is out, the newlywed Kavanaugh's are having a baby. It's amazing that we waited a full year of marriage before we got pregnant seeing as I was over the top baby-crazy when we got married!

We are incredibly excited about what is all to come with our new baby. We have started reading up on what to do...what not to do...what everyone believes is right and wrong. It can be overwhelming, but we're soaking up as much information as we possibly can about pregnancy, childbirth, all of it. Through our adventure to becoming parents, we wanted to share our little 'milestones' with everyone and blogging was the best way we could think of to do so.

Feel free to visit this page as often as you want to get the update on how Momma Dani and Poppa Dave are doing and what we're experiencing throughout this so very exciting time in our lives!

Love,
Dave & Danielle' Kavanaugh