The Shoops

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Five Months

What a busy month it has been! Isabella is five months old, and she is growing and growing and growing! She likes to play in her swing, play in her activity center, "talk" to everyone, blow raspberries, and roll around on the floor...a lot. She has even started scooting across the floor a little bit. This month she started eating rice cereal during her evening feeding. Now that she has gotten more used to the spoon, she really likes cereal time! Isabella continues to enjoy chewing on (and drooling on) everything in sight...her hands, her bib, her toys, Mama and Daddy's shirts...aahh the life of living with a five-month-old...we love it! The best thing right now is when she reaches out and gently touches our faces...sometimes with a drool-soaked hand!

We spent the Fourth of July with our parents and with our good friends Troy, Sherry, & Jacob. Sherry's sister, Jolene, was visiting from Canada as well, and it was good to catch up with her. It's been awhile since our Disney trip when we first met Jolene.

This month Isabella took her first trip to the zoo! Gram went with us on our trip to the Indianapolis Zoo, and we all had a good time. We got a membership, so we plan to visit again many times. We did not take the camera with us, so we will have to get some zoo pictures next time. Isabella enjoyed being outside, and she watched the people more than the animals!

Last week was an adventurous week as we had a new roof and new gutters put onto our house. It was pretty loud around here, so Isabella and I (Sara) retreated to the peace and quiet of Gram's house for most of the week. But, now we have a lovely new roof!

Another adventure this month was that Isabella went to the church nursery for the first time. I think it was more of an adventure for Mama and Daddy, but so far she's doing fine with it.

Here, of course, are pictures from this month!

Father's Day, 2009. Isabella is wearing her "Newbie" computer shirt for Daddy.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Isabella working hard on her laptop...just like Daddy!

Baby's first taste of cereal...she liked it!

Playing and laughing with Daddy

Chewing on a toy...

...and her hands...

...and her bib.

Check out my hat!

Whee!!!

Isabella--5 Months

Our Happy Baby Girl

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Four Months

Isabella is now four months old as of June 18th! I am late getting her 4 month pictures up this month because we had a VERY busy June. This month has gone by so quickly.

At the end of May, Memorial Day weekend to be exact, Wesley's mom (Grandma) hosted a baby shower for us for Wesley's side of the family. Everyone got to meet Isabella, and we got some great "older baby" gifts. We also had some great burgers and brats cooked on the grill by Grandpa!

On the 11th of June, we headed down to Tennessee for Isabella's first real road trip. We made a few more stops than we might have normally, but overall Isabella did very well. She slept most of the time while we were on the road and only got cranky when she was hungry. On the way back, while we were on the home stretch of I-65 just past Indianapolis, she got cranky again, but we think she was just ready to be out of the car. Her Daddy gets cranky during that stretch of road, too! They were both just ready to be home.

While we were in Tennessee, Isabella got to meet Sara's relatives and got to attend another baby shower. Once again, we got some good "older baby" gifts that will definitely come in handy over the next year or so.

Last week we had a sad event in our lives. Wesley's grandfather, Orlo H. Shoop, passed away at the age of 91. He had been in poor health for several years, so it was not too unexpected. Thanks to all who sent condolences. We appreciate our family and friends so much.

Our busy time wrapped up with Isabella's 4-month old checkup last Monday. She weighed 14 pounds and was 25 3/4 inches long. She is still in the top percentile in height and in the middle for weight, so she is a slender little girl. We regularly get comments from others that she looks long, and I just say that she is! Look at her daddy, after all! Isabella rolls from her back to her front and vice versa all the time. She laughs out loud a lot, and she really likes to play with her feet. For the most part, she is a laid back girl...taking everything in stride. She only gets fussy when she is really sleepy. She likes to suck on or chew on her hands and whatever gets in the way of her hands...bibs, toys, other people's hands...Sometimes she has both hands going in her mouth at once! I am still trying to get a good picture of that...maybe next month!

I went crazy taking pictures this month. I got a new 2GB card for my camera, and it holds TONS of pictures. Enjoy!

Cutie Pie

"Toy keys are yummy!" or, the toy just got in the way of her getting her hands to her mouth!

"I love my daddy!"

All dressed up to go to church with Mamaw.

Isabella and Mamaw (Sara's grandmother)

"I like to play with my feet, especially on my awesome quilt made by Aunt Jenaiah!"

Little Sunflower

One of my favorite pastimes...chewing on my fingers.

Talking to Mama while she takes my picture. Mama sure is taking lots of pictures this month!

Daddy's girl

"What are these new things on my feet? Shoes!"

Is Daddy making funny faces?

Our Sweetheart

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Three Months

Isabella turned three months old on Monday, May 18th, which was also my (Sara's) parents' 41st wedding anniversary! So, happy three months to Isabella, and congratulations on 41 wonderful years to my parents!

Isabella has learned a lot over this past month. She rolls over to her side a lot and even got all the way over onto her tummy once (see previous post). She continues to talk a lot (again, see previous post), and she has started to reach for and bat at things with her hands. She also thinks her feet are pretty cool. Her lastest favorite thing to do is to try to hold her bottle while you are feeding her, or she will reach for and touch your face during feedings. It is very sweet, but sometimes she is more interested in talking to you than eating!

We are looking forward to Aunt Jenaiah coming into town this weekend...Isabella is very excited to meet her!

We had a "three month photo shoot" earlier this week, as we have for the past two months. The photo shoot this time did not go as well as some of our earlier ones. This time, she was either more interested in her feet:

Or she was busy doing this:

But, in the end I got a few good shots. I guess this will be the norm with the photo shoots from now on, huh?

Here are some pictures of Isabella over the last month. The good shots from our "photo shoot" are at the end, and the red and white dress she is wearing in one of them was my dress when I was a baby! I even remember playing dress up with my dolls with that dress when I was little!

Happy late Mother's Day to all you moms out there. I had a great one.

Talking to Daddy before bedtime.

Sometimes it's sooooo hard to wake up after a nice nap!

This was a gift from our good friends, James & Kristal, and their new little girl, Gabriella. Those of you who don't know anything about the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel won't get it, and sorry, it is too much to explain here. You'll just have to watch the shows....we got James & Kristal hooked on them, but it was only fair, since they got us hooked on Lost.

Playing with "Ollie" the Octopus, a gift from Benji, Carrie, Caroline, Joe, & Jack. It says colors in English, Spanish, and French! Whew!

Yes, we have tried a pacifier.

Isabella Gale Shoop -- Three Months

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

She's a talker!

I made this video last week sometime, and it really shows off Isabella's personality! She definitely likes to talk. We tell her all the time that she is a "loud baby," but she just doesn't seem to mind!

From Side to Tummy

Isabella likes to lay on her side. We often find her this way in her crib when she wakes up in the morning. She does NOT, however, like to be on her tummy. This makes it difficult to have Tummy Time with her, but we do what we can.

One afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I laid Isabella down on the floor on her side, and she started trying to roll over onto her tummy. She finally made it, as you can see in the photos, but she wasn't too happy once she got there! Notice the crying!

Two Faces

We took these pictures when Isabella was two and a half months old. This took place literally within 10 seconds. She was making the pouty face, but then responded with the other face as soon as Daddy starting talking to her!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Two Months

Isabella is two months old, and she has changed so much in the last month. She now weighs 11
pounds, 8 ounces and is 23 3/4 inches long. Our doctor says that she is still "tall" for her weight, so she takes after her daddy in that department.

Isabella is so much more vocal now. She loves talking to anyone who will talk back, and she sometimes talks to those who don't, such as her stuffed animals! She started laughing out loud around 8 weeks old.

She is also getting a lot more hair now. There has been lots of discussion on what color it is going to be. We think it looks quite red!

Isabella has been holding her head up well, especially when she is being carried upright. She likes to lay on her right side when she is playing on the floor. She seems as if she might roll from her back to her tummy before going the other way around. When she is on her tummy, she just stays there, and when she is on her back, she like to roll to her side. Funny girl!

Here are a few pictures from this last month and a couple of videos that I took today.

Isabella says hello to everyone!

Napping with Daddy