Fall Fun from 2015!

OK yes, winter is almost over and I still haven't posted our fall pictures!  This is what happens when you have three kids ages 5 and under.  The blog gets put on the back burner.  But I'm trying to keep up with it the best that my current crazy life will allow, because I know I will love having all of these memories to look back on and read about in the future when our little girls are all grown up.  So, that being said, here is a recap of some of our fall excursions and activities:

Mike bought 2 "boats" (You will soon see why I use the term "boats" very, very loosely) and we took them for their maiden voyages in September.  While the whole thing was very comical, we all had a great time!

Mike and Jay bringing boat #1 down to the water

Tina and the ladies decided to try it out on land first to be safe ;)

Mike and Jay in all their glory.  Yes there is a motor on the blue boat.  And then the blue boat pulls the white boat.  We cruise around in style, let me tell you ;)

Time to take the girls for a spin

Mike and the ladies on the blue boat... pulling Tina and I on the white boat.  Jay and Izzy safely back on land.

No they're not falling overboard (although I really hope that Mike's left hand has a firm grasp on Emma because it sure looks like she could tumble out at any moment!)  They loved touching the water.  

Sister selfie :)

It was such a pretty night, and we all had so much fun!

The girls got their back-to-school haircuts and both looked absolutely adorable!  I will admit however that I am super sad that Addy's curls are gone.  I thought when we cut her hair the curls would bounce back.  Turns out that we just cut the curls out completely :(

We went to the Fall Festival at Adams Ricci Park and had lots of fun and yummy food!  The girls rode ponies and they both loved it!

 Both girls got their faces painted as well:

Family photo

Fun on the bouncy slides

Mom and I ran our annual Breast Cancer 5K, which was the first time I had run in many, many months.  I took it slow and it actually went better than I expected :)

Went went to a Fall Festival/chili cook off at our friends church:

The girls got balloon animals

They got their faced painted in really awesome designs!

Love that Emma's earmuffs are on, but doing absolutely nothing for warmth ;)

Addy and her best friend Ali :)

Emma with her face done, balloon animal in hand.

I love, love, love this picture of all three of my girls!

The girls experimented with makeup....

 ...which ultimately led to this:

We played at the park:

 We got "Booed" by our neighbors!

And then comes Halloween!

Gotta have the obligatory "My First Halloween" outfit :)

Emma's class party:

Yup, Addy was there too!  (I missed Addy's party because I was shooting a wedding, and you know Mike didn't take any pics ;))

Costume switch!

Time to Trick-or-Treat!

My little Lobster in a Pot.  This costume was so last minute, but we pulled it off.  I found the lobster costume at a consignment sale.  Then Mike said I should carry her around in a pot, which I never thought she'd fit into, but she did!  And she loved it!

Then I threw on an apron and oven mitts and off we went!

Let the Trick-or-Treating begin!  Heading out with Harper and Reagan from across the street :)

Yup, she FELL ASLEEP in that pot!  It was amazing!  People that didn't even know us were snapping photos of her, ha ha!

Family photo at the end of the night... Izzy is still knocked out!

My Penn State Girls:

And of course I had to do the baby in the pumpkin:

And we have the "My First Halloween" footy jammies with matching pumpkin hat :)

At the end of the season I got up the nerve to take all three girls to yet another Fall Festival... by myself!  I was nervous, but thank goodness it was smaller and much less crowded than I expected.

Fun times had by all!

So there was the Hetrick's autumn season in a collage of photos.  I love the fall, especially with little kids.  But, let's be real, every season is better and more magical with little kids! Looking back at photos of my girls when they are so small, sweet, and innocent... I can't help but smile.  These are the days that sometimes seem so long, but they are the absolute best years of my life!

Isabelle: 6 Months!

Dear Belle Belle Lady,

Wow!  We made it half a year!  I can't get over how far we've come in these past few months and how much your personality has changed.  You are so much happier now, and this stage of infancy is one of my favorites.  You are smiley and interactive, but still not mobile, ha ha!

That's right, not mobile yet.  You have rolled over a few times (in both directions), but you still aren't rolling over with any consistency.  You are content to just lay where we put you... as long as someone is playing with you.  While you are a lot happier than you used to be, you still don't like being alone.  If we put you somewhere and walk away, you start crying.  But the second we come back?  Huge smiles.  Addy used to be just like this I remember.  Luckily you have not one, but two older sisters who are usually more than willing to entertain you.

The bouncer is definitely your favorite thing at this point, and watching you flail around in there with your hair flopping all over the place is hilarious!

You have gone from being a growler to being a screecher!  And boy do you get loud!  You have also started saying "Da da", which is your first syllable and so adorable to hear you say.  I love when I'm holding you and you softly and slowly start saying "Da da".  It is so very sweet.  You are growing up right before my eyes!

Speaking of growing up, you are going through a major growth spurt and have been eating a ton lately!  That is some great news peanut!  I have been doing weighted feeds for you occasionally just out of curiosity and I was right.  You have been averaging about 30 oz a day when you are nursing, which is a HUGE jump from a few short weeks ago when you were barely eating 20 oz a day!  At night you have even taken 7 oz in one feeding!  No complaints here.  I am so unbelievably happy that you are eating better and gaining weight.

Here are your 6 month stats:

Weight: 15 lbs (27th percentile) Up from the 14th percentile last time!  Yay!
Length: 26.75 inches (81st percentile)
HC: 44 cm (90th percentile)

You had a great appointment, and Dr. Zimmerman was so proud of your progress.  You are eating without difficulty, gaining weight, no more Zantac, no more brace.  Life is good!  You got 4 shots and one oral vaccine at this appointment and you (as always) took them like a champ,  Honestly, you barely cried!  And you had no fever or anything afterward either.  You got the flu shot (or half of it anyway.  You need the second dose in a month.), which is why you ended up needing so many shots.

You are pretty much exclusively breastfed now.  I haven't pumped in weeks, and I could shout from the rooftop with joy on that account!  You nurse for less than 10 minutes total (about 4 minutes per side) and then we're done.  It's glorious.  You are nursing 5 times a day and usually once at night (occasionally twice, blah.).  And you have a little routine where, like clockwork, you burp twice after eating.  The first one is what I call "the warning burp", and your second one comes with a little spit up.  Every time ;)

So our typical day is waking up at 6:30 (I'd really love to push this to the 7:00 hour.), eat, play and then nap around 8 or 8:30.  Then you get up and nurse again around 10:00, play, nap.  Up around 1:00, eat, play, nap.  Up around 4:00, eat, play and then bed around 7:00-7:30.  And then you get up once during the night between 2-5AM to eat.  I'd love to be rid of this feed and have you sleep through the night, but I am still struggling with viewing you as this tiny, underweight baby that needs to eat at every opportunity.  And although I'm sure you could make it through the night without eating by this point, you really do seem starving and you eat a lot when you wake up at night.  Therefore, I haven't pushed it.  And sweet things like this happen in the middle of the night, so I really don't mind:

You love to sleep with your crocheted blanket from Dani, just like Emma does.

You have been going to sleep so easily as long as you have this blanket.  We lay you down, and as soon as we cover you with this blanket you roll on your left side, pull the blanket over your head, and suck your thumb.  It's so sweet.  We wrap you up in your red blanket first and then put this one on top, but the days of wrapping you are coming to an end, because you are often out of that wrap by the morning.

You do laugh, but you still make us work for it.  Typically you will only laugh if we are laughing.  You don't seem to be ticklish, but we still try.  Here's a little video example.  When I laugh, you do.  Otherwise, forget it.

The blizzard of 2016 happened during your sixth month and we got about 2.5 FEET of snow!  It was crazy, but also fun.  Your sisters were at Pop and Grandma's house so Daddy and I got a weekend alone with our baby girl, which was awesome!  We slept when you slept, and we took you to get togethers at neighbors houses on both nights.  It was a lot of fun!

My blizzard buddies :)

Your hair seems to be getting lighter and lighter, and in some lighting it even looks blond:

Ha ha Emma photobomb in the back.  And you with that tongue.  You love to stick your tongue out!  And though your hair looks blond in this photo, it often has a reddish tint and reminds us of Aunt Lauren and Meemaw's hair.

Here are some other photos of you from this past month:

Post tub time.  You love getting a bath and I love this picture of you.  You big, bright eyes and sweet little smile paired with your signature crazy hair.  I just love it!

Looking sooooo big sitting in Emma's chair!

Holding your own bottle like a big girl!

One of your blizzard party nights at Jesse and Annette's house :)

All dressed up for Addy's birthday

Ready for the Steelers game!

Ha ha! Wild and crazy!

Post-ponytail hair in full force!

Back to your favorite game of "Eat Feet".  If you are cranky, we just have to strip you down, lay you on your changing mat and let you gnaw on your toes.  Then you'll be happy as a clam :)

And last, but not least, here are your 6 month photos:

I love looking at all of these pictures of my happy, smiling baby!  These pictures looked like they were easy to take, but it is getting harder and harder every month.  You were bound and determined to play "Eat Feet" during our photo shoot ;)

Well Iz, there you have it.  You are half a year old already!  I really, really love this stage and I am trying to savor every last moment.  You will be my last baby and I want to make every day count :)  You are a sweet, smiley little thing and I love to see your huge smile when you catch a glimpse of me.  I love the way you bury into my chest and suck your thumb when I pick you up.  I love how you try desperately to get a handful of my hair and suck on it at every opportunity.  I love that you love to eat your feet.  And I love that you love us.  All of us.  Your sisters, your Daddy, and me.  We are your whole world and we're blessed to have you to love :)

Love, 

Mommy

Isabelle: 5 Months!

Dear Belly,

Happy 5 Months!  I feel like I have so much to say about this past month, as you have made a drastic change and you are so happy now!  We've made it through the colicky stage and have moved onto a happy, healthy Izzy!  It's amazing!

Don't let this picture fool you.  You still generally hate tummy time ;)

You're so much fun now and you are full of smiles!  You laugh too, but those are a little bit harder to get.... unless you are Addy.  She can get you hysterically laughing!  Its so awesome to watch!

You've found your voice and you love to squawk and squeal!  And growl.  We have this book called "I Howl, I Growl" and I joke that its your theme book.  You are the biggest growler I know.  That's the tune of your sleepy song, growling.  It's how we know you're tired.  It's also how we know that you're awake in the morning.  You lay in your crib and growl until someone comes to get you.  It's so funny!

Big news from this month is that you have decided to start nursing!  Finally!  It was December 16th, and I tried in the morning like I always did.  Usually you would just scream and refuse.  This day, you nursed... So I tried again at the next feed and you did it again.  And the rest is history!  We nursed for most feedings except right before bed initially.  I would give you a bottle for that feed.  But eventually I got the courage up to nurse you before bed too and you've done great!  I was getting tired of warming a bottle, giving you the bottle, washing the bottle, getting you to bed, and then having to come downstairs and pump for 15 minutes.  And then wash that stuff.  So now, you are exclusively breastfed unless I am not here for some reason.  And it is AMAZING!

 Life is so much easier just with that change alone.  Feeding you is a breeze, and you have been eating quickly and efficiently!  I bought an infant scale to see how much you take in when you nurse.  So if I want to see how much you eat I weigh you before and after you eat.  And you have been taking 4-7 ounces per feeding!  Plus, you only eat for usually 4-5 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the second.  Yup, less than 10 minutes total and you're done.  Just like your sisters always were.  The amount of time that we have gotten back in our day is astounding!  Gone are the days of pumping for 15 minutes, then feeding you for at least 30 minutes, trying so hard just to get you to eat 3 ounces.  We walked, bounced, distracted...anything to get you to finish a 3 ounce bottle.  Then I would wash, dry and put away all of the pump parts and bottles.  We are done with all of those shenanigans and I could shout from the rooftops with joy!

Sometimes I look at you while you are nursing and I still can't believe that we made it happen.  You are relaxed and you just play with your hair while you eat, which is so sweet to watch.

You went in for your swallow study and it was determined that everything is totally normal!  No aspiration, no reflux!  Bye-bye Zantac.  So now you aren't on any meds at all :)

Ready for your swallow study in a little baby hospital gown :)  Daddy was able to take a break from work and come down to be with you, so that's him holding you.

This is how they wrapped you for your swallow study.  I was thinking, "Oh boy, she's gonna hate this!"  But you loved it!  You were chill as can be all wrapped up :)

Another huge piece of news is that you got your brace off!  Yay!  Finally, after 14 weeks, we got to get rid of that darn thing for good!  On December 22nd, we went to the orthopedic doctor and she threw it away right then and there.  Good riddance.  You have an appointment at 6 months for an X-ray to make sure everything is still growing as expected.  Fingers crossed!  Now we are on no meds, and have no brace!  Life is grand!

At the orthopedic doctor's office... brace free!

You are probably thinking, "I'll just eat this brace to be sure they never put it back on."

Stretching those legs in your first pair of pants!  You've had to live in leg warmers for the past 3.5 months because pants didn't fit over your brace.

It's amazing how much stronger you have gotten with your legs in just a few short weeks since getting your brace off.  When we first took it off you could only bear weight for 2-3 seconds before your legs buckled.  No you can stand with support for almost 30 seconds!  It's so awesome to see how happy you are to have your brace off.  You love being in your jumper and you get this huge smile and giggle like crazy while you're jumping around.

Sometimes you even jump so much that you zonk out!  Look at those chicken legs, ha ha!  They've beefed up so much since this picture was taken!

You've found your feet and you love to chew on your toes.  We term this new game, "Eat Feet."  It's a current favorite :)

We are officially done with occupational therapy now that you are eating so well.  Plus you have been gaining more weight, and I'm so hopeful that we'll see an increase in your percentile at your 6 month check-up.  That would make this mama's heart so happy!

You had an evaluation for physical therapy now that your brace is off, but it has been determined that you don't need it!  We will work with you a little bit at home, since you are a bit behind on rolling over.  You have rolled over from belly to back a few times, but not with any consistency.  Normally you just cry until someone puts you back on your back.  But I'm not really concerned because your sisters were the same way.  They were a little bit late on the rolling game too.  We'll also work on helping you sit up with support.  Strengthen that core!

Another great development is that you have started napping so much better!  We have a pretty consistent routine now of three naps a day and it has been great.  You usually start getting tired about 1.5-2 hours after waking up and then we put you for a nap.  Then I feed you when you wake up from your naps, we play, and you go back to bed after another 1.5-2 hours, etc.  Your first two naps are usually 1-1.5 hours long and your last nap is usually just a cat nap of about 30-45 minutes.

You have still been going to bed around 8 PM, and we've managed to stop getting up three times a night.  Thank goodness!  I'm trying to get you down to once a night.  So I'd say, half the time you get up twice and half the time once.  It's progress so I'll take it!

I can't even begin to tell you how happy this past month has been!  I'm so glad to be writing this post with all of these positive changes and developments!  I've been waiting for this day to come, this day when my baby is happy and healthy and we can all just really enjoy it.  And you really have been such a joy!  Just a glance in your direction and you flash us that big, gummy grin.  We've made it little lady!  We have a happy baby now, and a happy baby makes a happy family :)

Baby's 1st Christmas!

Baby's first ponytail!

Post-ponytail hair!

This outfit was Daddy's when he was a baby!

Santa sure does love you kiddo!

Christmas Day!

Post-bath baby elephant :)

This was the first time you scooted around in your crib and I found you somewhere other than where I layed you down.  You look so big!

Our littlest Penn State girl!

Can't forget those Steelers!

5 Month Photos:

I love you so very much and I'm over the moon excited for you Izzy Leigh!  Seeing you smile brings so much joy to my heart!  My happy baby girl.... finally!!

Love,

Mommy