Bella is 8-months-old TODAY!!!

There’s an 8-month-old in our house! Today, Bella is officially 8-months-old and growing up before our very eyes. This whole growing up process is so bittersweet. I’m so happy she is maturing and thriving like she should, but I’m so sad that my itty, bitty, little baby is no longer itty or bitty. This almost makes me want another baby… almost being the key word. Our family of 3 (or 5 if you count the dogs) is perfectly content and while we will add more members in the future, we are nowhere near close to adding baby #2 at this point in time.

Bella was not scheduled for an 8-month wellness appointment, so the trusty old scale and tape measure were used for the 8-month growth stats:

Height: still about 28 inches, although certain pants appear short on her.

Weight: about 23 pounds (and counting…)

Sleeping Pattern: Bella has had some REALLY GOOD nights and some REALLY BAD nights in the last month. She takes 2 really good naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon and goes to bed around 8:30pm. She wakes up around 2:00-3:00am and wants to be fed. The child will gulp down a 5-6 ounce bottle in a matter of minutes. She will go back to sleep and is usually up for the day between 6:00-7:00am.

Eating Pattern: Bella continues to eat about 5-6 ounces every 3-4 hours and is eating solids and snacks 3 times a day. A current favorite food of hers is Plum Baby Chicken with Vegetables and Pasta. She has yet to meet a food she does not like and has a healthy appetite.

Milestones: She’s got teeth (4 of them) and she knows how to use them! Bella has 2 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth and uses them to chew (whether it’s my fingers or food). She has an adorable little smile and I don’t really miss those gummy grins (ok, I do miss those gummy grins). Bella is on the verge of crawling and can be found doing push-ups on her hands and knees. Her first word appears to have been “Ma-ma” and she uses it on a frequent basis. When she is pouting or sad, she often says, “Ma-ma, Ma-ma” in a sad little voice. She also says “Da-da” but we’re uncertain if she knows what it means at this point.

Friends: Connor, Taylan, Layla, Tyler, Logan, Luke, Camden, Gia, Carter and Lily. We have a weekly play group with these kiddos and it has been so much fun! Bella will be hosting a play date / cookie exchange later this week. The mommies from the play group are a fabulous bunch of ladies and I’m very thankful to have such a great group of friends!

Current Events: Election season is finally over! Rick Scott is the governor elect for the State of Florida and Marco Rubio is the Senator elect for the US Senate!!! Yay for the Republicans! We are looking forward to the things this men have to offer and we hope they get the job done! Unfortunately, Maryland (where Pop and Didi live) didn't fair as well. O'Malley was re-elected... boo!

Bella hosted her first Thanksgiving dinner at our house. She was such a ham that day and enjoyed eating turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin cheesecake. My dad (a.k.a. Pop) came into town for Thanksgiving and we also invited Ian’s family and the Peluso family (of course!) We had a very nice dinner and the food was fabulous (if I do say so myself).

A health update on little Miss Bella… she was fitted for a corrective helmet in late November and she will begin wearing the helmet on the 8^th. I’m sad for her, but I know she will do great. I wish I was the one who had to wear the helmet, but sadly I cannot take her place in this instance. I regret not addressing this issue sooner, but I’m thankful we still have time to take action. Bella is still going to physical therapy two days a week and will see the specialist every two weeks. We’re hoping she will only have to wear the helmet for 4-6 months, with 4 months being the average time for most babies. Keep your fingers crossed and say a few prayers for a couple big growth spurts! =)

We’re getting ready for the holidays and we’re currently celebrating Hanukkah. Bella will celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, so everyone will surely spoil her. We’ll be going to Baltimore for Christmas and will have an extended stay. Bella and I will be driving and Ian and the boys will be driving… wish us luck!

Happy 8-Month Birthday, Isabella Eve!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Bella is 7-months-old TODAY!!!

So, Bella is only 5 months away from her 1st Birthday! 

Today is Bella's 7-month "birthday"! It's hard to believe that in only 5 months we will be celebrating her 1st Birthday. I've already started "planning" her birthday party because a lot of her friends also have April birthdays. I think we're going to have to pull straws to divvy up the weekends. Bella did not have a 7-month wellness appointment, but she does go to the pediatrician on Monday for her 2nd flu shot. I busted out the scale and tape measure this morning, so I can share some unofficial stats:

Height: about 28 inches (She's grown about an inch over the last month)

Weight: about 22.5 pounds (She's still our little chunky monkey!)

Sleeping Pattern: So... I thought 7-month-olds were supposed to sleep through the night, however Bella is not your typical 7-month-old and wakes up once a night to be fed. She is still taking pretty good morning and afternoon naps for about 1-2 hours each time. 

Eating Pattern: Bella eats about 5-6 ounces every 3-4 hours and is eating solids 3 times a day. She really likes chicken with sweet potatoes and her rice puffs. We have decided (at the nagging, uh, suggestion of Bella's grandma) that Bella will eat primarily organic foods. We have switched her to organic formula because we really enjoy the convenience of the Similac pre-made nursers for her middle of the night feeding. We may or may not switch her to organic formula... the jury is still out.

Milestones: Bella has TWO teeth and has two more on the way. She has her two bottom teeth and it appears that her two top teeth are about to cut in. Ahh, the joys of teething! Bella sits up quite well, unassisted. She also rolls and scoots herself around on the floor. We can no longer leave her alone in one place and expect her to be there when we return. 

Friends: The usual suspects... Connor and Taylan. She has been spending a lot of time recently with a new friend, Layla. 

Current Events: Election season is finally over! Rick Scott is the governor elect for the State of Florida and Marco Rubio is the Senator elect for the US Senate!!! Yay for the Republicans! We are looking forward to the things this men have to offer and we hope they get the job done! Unfortunately, Maryland (where Pop and Didi live) didn't fair as well. O'Malley was re-elected... boo!


I'm sad to report that Bella has had some health issues that we've had to deal with. Bella was diagnosed with torticollis. Congenital torticollis is most often due to tightness in the muscle that connects the breastbone and the collarbone to the skull (it's called the sternocleidomastoid muscle). This is called congenital muscular torticollis. The tightness might have developed because of the way Bella was positioned in my uterus (i.e. head tilted to one side) or because the muscles were damaged during delivery. The physical therapist seems to think the torticollis was caused due to Bella being cramped in my belly. Small mommy + big baby = torticollis. Bella has been referred for physical therapy and has been attending twice a week. She is doing well with the physical therapy and her torticollis is slowly improving. Unfortunately torticollis often goes hand-in-hand with plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome). Bella will meet with a specialist next week to address the severity of her plagiocephaly. We're very thankful that Bella is healthy and this is just a little bump in the road. We're bracing ourselves for the possibility of Bella needing to wear a helmet to even out the shape of her skull. We think she'll look cute in a helmet, don't you? =)

Happy 7-Month Birthday, Isabella Eve!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Bella is 6-months-old TODAY!!!

I'm not one for celebrating "false birthdays" but I have been using these "month birthdays" to keep up with Bella's milestones. In keeping with tradition and without further ado...


Today is Bella's 6-month "birthday"! She is already half way to her 1st birthday and it's hard to imagine, but in 6 months we will be celebrating her official birthday. With each passing day, Bella is growing, meeting new milestones and it's been bittersweet. I'm so happy and proud that Bella is growing up before my eyes, but at the same time I miss the days of having an itty bitty baby. Anyway... here are Bella's 6-month stats:

Height: 27 inches / 90th percentile (She is a looooooong baby)

Weight: about 21 pounds 4 ounces / 100th percentile (Technically she's off the charts...)

Sleeping Pattern: Bella has discovered that sleeping on her tummy is the next best thing since sliced bread. She sleeps about 6-7 hours at night, which is not ideal, but it could be a lot worse. We have the blessing of the pediatrician to drop any night feedings and to allow her to cry-it-out. Hopefully within the next few weeks we will have made progress in sleep hygiene and Bella will be sleeping 9-10 hours a night. Recently Bella's nap schedule has been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! She takes a 2-hour nap in the morning and a 2-hour nap in the afternoon. These 4 hours have allowed me to catch up on my DVR and house work.

Eating Pattern: Bella eats about 5 ounces every 3-4 hours and eats about 30 ounces of formula a day. She is eating solids twice a day and was recently introduced to meat. Bella hasn't met a food she doesn't like, however she does not like my homemade baby food. My ego was crushed, but feeding her jared baby food does make my life a bit easier. We will introducing a sippy cup within the next few weeks

Milestones: Where to start?!? Bella has one tooth and has another one on the way... Bella sits up unassisted and does quite well at sitting up... Bella pushes up and scoots across the floor... and she is a TALKER! Omg, she is always babbling and her new favorite sound is "Mmmm." A few times it has sounded like she's actually said "Mmmm-ma" but we can't be certain. She is doing something new every day and it's really exciting. 

Friends: The usual crew from MWI... especially Taylan and Connor. She seems to have more "boy friends" than "girl friends." We have been spending more time with our neighbors, the McGills. 

Current Events: The Gators suffered their first loss of the year to Alabama, the Abbott Company recalled nearly ALL powdered Similac due to processing  issues, the Rays are in the ALDS and are trying to make it to the World Series and election season is well under way. 

Happy 6-Month Birthday, Isabella Eve!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Macaroni Kid - Brandon

Have you ever had one of those days when you felt like there wasn't anything to do in your area? I know I have and I scour the internet for something new for Bella and I to do. After a bit of searching, I usually find something for us to do, but wouldn't it be nice if there was a website that published local events in your area? Well, the search is over! 

Check out Macaroni Kid - National to find your local edition. A friend of mine (Sara M.) runs the Brandon edition of Macaroni Kid. She publishes articles about family friendly events in the Tampa Bay area, living green, arts & crafts and yummy recipes. It's a great source to find local events and other fun information.

Love always,
Ian, Kim & Bella

Check it out and it you like it, subscribe to the email list!
Macaroni Kid - Brandon

Is there a dentist in the house?

We're all smiles around the Lasher house!

At her 4-month wellness appointment, our pediatrician confirmed that Bella is teething. She told us a tooth could poke through at any time now. So for about a month, we wiped up drool, slipped teething tablets under Bella's tongue and had a few restless nights of sleep. Today our "fears" have been confirmed... and Bella... does in fact... have her first tooth! She cut her first tooth, a bottom incisor and so begins active teething. 1 tooth down... 19 more to go!

I have attempted (and failed) to take a picture of this monumental occasion, however it is quite difficult to capture a tiny tooth in the tiny mouth of a 5-month-old. I'm going to miss her gummy grin... and more importantly, I'm going to miss being Bella's personal teething toy, a risk I'm not willing to take any longer.

Well, that's all for now... more to come after our trip to Baltimore next week!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Bella is 5-months-old TODAY!

Today is Bella's 5-month "birthday"! Has it really been 5 months since we welcomed our little bundle of joy into the world? Time flies when you're having fun (or sleep deprived). She did not have a 5-month check up, so our stats are unofficial, but here are Bella's 5-month stats:

Height: about 27 inches (she seems to have grown in length over the past month)

Weight: about 20 pounds (she is a BIG baby)

Sleeping Pattern: Bella has regressed in her sleeping habits... sigh. Bella is sleeping through the night and averages 6-7 hour stretches of sleep, although with her teething and reaching new milestones, she wakes up around 2-3am for a feeding. We can't wait for her to return to her "old" habits.

Eating Pattern: Bella eats 5-6 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours, she has also started stage 1 baby foods. She has tried green beans, squash, peas, applesauce and pears. Her favorites so far appear to be green beans and peas!

Milestones: Bella keeps rollin', rollin', rollin'! She rolls from back to tummy quite easily. She enjoys tummy time much more than she did before. She's still teething, but we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first tooth.

Friends: The usual crew from MWI. She also met her "cousin" Sarah Grace from Nashville, as she and her parents are in town this weekend.

Current Events: College football season has begun (the Gators won), some whack job minister in Gainesville wants to burn the Quran on 9/11 and our neighbor had her garage door dented by a drowsy driver.

Happy 5-Month Birthday, Isabella Eve!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary!

This time two years ago, we were dancing the night away at our wedding with friends and family. Wow, where has the time gone?!? So much has changed between now and then. Let's take a trip down memory lane...

2005:

Ian and I meet for the first time at a 4th of July Party in Jacksonville and I move to Tampa in December 2005.

2006:

We went on our first vacation together to Captiva Island and while there my grandmother passed away.

2007:

We move in together, get two dogs and eventually become engaged in December 2007.

2008:

We buy a house in Riverview and get married in August 2008 and Ian's grandmother passed away.

2009:

We celebrate our 1st anniversary & find out that we are expecting our first child in April 2010.

2010:

We welcome our daughter, Isabella Eve, into the world and became parents on April 5, 2010.

As the saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun!"

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to us!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Bella has discovered that rolling over can be fun! As of today, almost every time she is placed on the floor on her back, we return to find her either on her side or on her tummy. She struggles with the arm that is underneath of her, but she practices daily to master this. She often becomes quite frustrated when she can't get that darn arm out from underneath of her body. She still isn't a huge fan of tummy time, but she's doing much better with being on her tummy throughout the day.

Great job, Bella!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Bella is 4-months-old TODAY!

Today is Bella's 4-month "birthday"! We are in utter disbelief that our little girl is growing up so darn fast! She had her 4-month check up with the pediatrician today and did remarkably well. Here are some 4-month stats:

Height: 26 inches (97th percentile)

Weight: 17 pounds 10 ounces (99th percentile)

Sleeping Pattern: Bella is sleeping through the night and averages 8-10 hour stretches of sleep, although with the 4-month growth spurt, teething and shots, she has regressed a bit in her sleeping.

Eating Pattern: Bella eats 5-6 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours, she has also started stage 1 baby foods!

Milestones: Bella rolled for the first time, while I wasn't watching, right off the couch (poor baby). She is making attempts to roll from her back to belly, but usually only rolls over to her side. She is now teething and teething tablets are our new best friend.

Friends: Bella has been spending a lot of time with Dylan and Gabriel from MWI and Jack, too! Bella is doing a lot of "talking" these days and has been seen holding hands with Gabriel (his middle name is Adam, it's a match made in Heaven!)

Current Events: No more oil spewing into the gulf (yay!), Muslims are a step closer to building a mosque near ground zero in NYC, the ban on same-sex marriage in California has been lifted and it's been one H-O-T summer!!!

Happy 4-Month Birthday, Isabella Eve!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella

Bella is 3-months-old TODAY!

Today is Bella's 3-month "birthday"! There is no 3-month check up with the pediatrician so the stats are rough estimates conducted by myself and Ian.

Height: 25 inches (approximate)

Weight: 15 pounds (approximate)

Sleeping Pattern: Bella is sleeping through the night and averages 6-7 hour stretches of sleep

Eating Pattern: Bella eats 5-6 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours.

Friends: Bella hosted her first "play date" on the 4th of July and had about 15 of her friends from MWI over for a 4th of July celebration.

Current Events: In Tampa, 2 Tampa Police Department officers were shot and killed recently. The suspect was one the run for a few days, but turned himself in on 7/3/10. One officer left behind a wife and four sons and the other officer left behind a wife, who is 9-months pregnant. Our hearts go out to the families and hopefully justice will be served.

Happy 3-Month Birthday, Isabella Eve!

Love always,

Ian, Kim & Bella