On the outside

Isla has officially now lived as long outside of the womb as she did inside. Believe it or not, she turned 9 months old last Thursday. We celebrated by going to the doctor's office because she also had a cold and ear infection. She also produces enough drool to water a flower garden which apparently is a sign of teething. She has 4 teeth currently. I'm cool with her just keeping those (or maybe even losing those) and not getting any new teeth until she's done nursing...TMI, I know.

I originally had this made for her to wear as a dress in September thinking we were going to have her dedicated back in the fall. Now, 5 months later, she wears it as a shirt, and I had a new dress made for her upcoming dedication this month.

But the shoes still fit and man does she look cute.

I know her eyes are closed, but she just looks so sweet.

I would kill for her eyelashes.

She weighs 17.7 pounds, is 27 1/2 in. tall and has a 17 1/2 head circumference. The whole head circumference thing really throws me. For instance, Isla's head circumference is in the 45th percentile. Her cousin, Brooke, has a head circumference which surpasses the 100th percentile. So, I know that means Brooke has a big head, but who cares? Whenever I go to the doctor they only weigh me (which I could also do without), and maybe ask me my height (which I claim to be 5' 3"), but they never measure my head. Maybe I'll ask for a measurement next time I'm in.

She's already a better athlete than I ever was.

Dave made that onesie for her. It says "Child Please."

Apparently a famous quote from "her" favorite football player, Chad Ocho Cinco.

She continues to say "Dada" ALL THE TIME. In fact, the other day Greg and I were trying to coerce her to say "Uncle" and "Mama", respectively, to which she replied, "Dada." We get it, he's your favorite. Fine. She also says "hi" in this adorable sweet little voice, which is much different than the high pitched scream she does sometimes which is not nearly as adorable. She stands up and climbs up the stairs like a champ. We're working on her technique of coming down the stairs because right now its more like a nose dive. I still just look at her sometimes and can't believe how beautiful she is. I told her that Jesus did a really good job when he made her. I'm so glad He chose us to be her parents.

A Slumber Party

We love sleepovers at THE Dorm. Seriously, we have numerous people who leave toothbrushes here because they sleepover so often. Last weekend we had a sleepover with our kickball crew. We didn't play kickball, but we did play SmartA**, Rockband, Singstar and Taboo. We went to bed around 3:00 a.m. The next morning we had traditional Saturday morning breakfast (with Mimosas too!). It was awesome!

Party hats

(The Costco crown is more handy than you may think)

Board Games and Snacks

Party foul

Clean up of the party foul

(wearing Greg's boots with the fur)

Yep, that's still the Christmas tree in the background.

Sadly, we took it down the following day.

Rockin out

Mmmm...Saturday morning breakfast.

Bacon, Sausage, Fruit, Waffles to Order and Dave's homemade donuts

And Isla has a new boyfriend, Superman.

He has really big muscles and he's about her size.

But she really likes Peter too.

Cousins

When I was growing up, I never had a lot of friends because, to be quite frank, I didn't really need any friends. I had 3 sisters, and if that wasn't enough, I had great cousins, lots of them. On the Mitzel side, I have 11 cousins. On the Geha side, I have 7 cousins. And that's just first cousins. I won't even get started on the second cousins, through-marriage and twice removed business. Isla currently has 7 cousins (first cousins that is): Bella, Ashley, Brooke, Timmy, Elijah, Vivian and Jenna. They are all really close in age, so they love being together.


We went to Grand Rapids a few weeks ago to see Jenna and Brookie. Isla LOVED playing with the girls. Matt was even gracious enough to babysit one night so me, Dana and my mom could all go out. We stayed out till 1:00 a.m...at Meijer. Man, we are crazy.

Baby Jenna

Uncle Matt reading to the girls

Couldn't resist the bath time photos

Notice how Isla is sitting.

We're praying she's double jointed because that's the only way she knows how to sit.

Isla and Timmy

Dave made the custom hats

(known to others as building blocks)

...and that Duvet on the ground, well that's our "area rug"

Isla still has some catching up to do to compare to all my cousins, so thank goodness she has some great friends too!

Hail to the King

My Aunt Andrea is one of the most thoughtful people I know. Second only to her Savior, she loves her children more than anything in the whole world. Greg has always claimed to be her favorite. Although she denies, it is clear that he certainly holds a special place in her heart.

Yesterday Greg OFFICIALLY turned 30. Since we had already had his big shindig back in November, his mom wanted to throw him another small surprise party on his actual birthday. As many of you know, Greg is kind of tough to buy presents for. But there is one present that never fails, Costco Gift Cards. His sweet mother, knowing his love of Costco, thought it to be the most appropriate venue for his 30th Birthday party.

The big surprise!

(Please note the look on the lady's face in the checkout lane)

The Queen Mother with the Costco King

(she made the crown herself)

Appetizers and Party Favors

The manager who documented the whole occasion

(please watch for it in the upcoming Costco Newsletter. Apparently, its their first birthday party). Oddly, the manager did not want to be in any of the photos.

The Cake

The best birthday song ever

and Isla even hit a milestone by getting to have her first ride in the shopping cart.

Happy Birthday Uncle Greg. Your the best friend, cousin, uncle and roommate anyone could ever ask for. Hail to the King.

The Best New Year's Eve Ever

I don't know how most people feel about New Year's Eve, but my opinion of it is rather low. There is this huge gear up to find some fancy schmancy "event" to go to with friends. Then you go shopping for some outfit to wear to said fancy schmancy event. And, if you're anything like me, you look back at the pictures of the outfit and think "Why did I buy that again? Did I really think head to toe sequence was the way to go?" You end up paying way too much for the special New Year's Eve "package" which includes nothing more than a plastic headband, a noise maker, some bad champagne and a terrible cover band. Other than the kiss from my honey at midnight, I could scrap the whole thing.

This year, we did things a bit differently. While most of the family went to South of the border, we decided to go Up North with some of our favorite people, The Fezzeys. Quite possibly some of the nicest people anyone could ever meet. We were up at their cottage for four glorious, snowy days. The highlights included going to the Social Security office in Petoskey (where I legally changed my name to Borowicz after being married for 3 and 1/2 years), shopping at a grocery store that had a whole freezer full of fresh buffalo meat and, of course, a trip to Walmart to buy some random items. On New Year's Eve, we stayed in and made dinner. We all struggled to stay up till midnight (with a few snoozes here and there) and watched the ball drop on the Home Shopping Network. It was FANTASTIC! Thanks to the Fezzey's for being such great hosts and especially to Peter for twisting our arm to ditch our big plans to stay home and do nothing :)

Yep, her eyes are really that blue.

While we were up north, Isla took a bath for the first time without the baby tub. She thought it was the greatest! Have you ever seen cuter buns?

Isla also made a new best friend up north, Nilla.

They played together and shared food & toys.

Huge thanks to Uncle Mike, Aunt Suzy and Peter for giving us a great time of relaxation with great friends. We love you.