First Christmas

This Christmas was very special because for the first time we got to see it through our baby's eyes. It was so fun to show her how to tear the wrapping paper off her presents and watch her play with the boxes and tissue paper (while ignoring the actual gifts). We celebrated Christmas early at our house because we knew we'd be in Cleveland for the actual event. Isabel was intrigued by the boxes and enjoyed climbing all over them while Kyle and I exchanged our gifts.


Later that day we drove up to Cleveland to share the holidays with Kyle's family. Isabel loved spending time with her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and more. On Christmas morning, she participated in opening a gift or two, then scampered off to the stairs (her new favorite climbing apparatus). She was spoiled rotten that day, even if she didn't know it!

The only hard part about Christmas is not being able to share it with all of our family. Since they are scattered across Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas, it's impossible to see everyone at once. Hopefully this blog makes friends and family feel a little closer!

Recent Events

Last weekend was another busy one at Casa de Keeper. This time we were visited by my dad and Pam. It was very cold so we were limited to indoor activities, which boiled down to hanging out at home or at the mall. However, this afforded us the opportunity to put up and decorate our Christmas tree, shop for and exchange gifts, visit with Santa Claus, and buy some goodies from Cheryl's Cookies. Unfortunately, we were so busy stuffing our faces with those cookies that we neglected to take any pictures of our visitors, except this one, in which you can glimpse my dad in the background...

Also in the last few weeks, Isabel has been doing all sorts of new things:

• Mimicking us (blowing on food to cool it down, shaking formula in a bottle, peekaboo, etc.)


• Pulling herself up to standing - she's a pro at this now, and even tries to take little steps while holding onto the coffee table


• Speaking of steps, she's climbed them all the way up to the second floor


• Wearing adorable hats

Turkey In Da House!

For the first time ever, Kyle and I celebrated Thanksgiving in our own home. We've always gone to visit different relatives during the holidays, but now that we have Isabel we decided the time was right to try it ourselves.

Luckily, my mom and brother were nice enough to join us because we probably would've screwed the whole thing up! My mom and I cooked the food (ok, that was mostly Mom) while Kyle and Danny helped by playing PlayStation. I'm not sure how that was useful... maybe it helped them work up an appetite.