Days of Our Lives: The Grahams

Sweet Faces

2012-01-30T11:08:00.002-07:00

Our little bald babies! Isla is taking a greater interest in Finlay now that he is starting to smile and interact a bit more. She's been so patient and loving with him, though a little testy with her parents lately!

Sibling Love

2012-01-27T09:17:00.002-07:00

Finlay is 6 1/2 weeks now and growing like a weed. He is probably just over 10 lbs and eating like a champ. Isla has been the best big sister to him, getting diapers and wipes for him and informing us when he spits up. She always asks for him as soon as she wakes up and comments on how 'cute' he is. Ahhhhh!

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T10:03:00.003-07:00

We had a lovely Christmas morning at home as a family of four. Isla was showered with gifts from Santa and family near and far. My parents were up in the afternoon and more gifts were opened. We had a wonderful meal that evening and counted of Christmas blessings of health and happiness. Tuesday morning my brother Harrison and sister-in-law Leah arrived in Denver to set up their home here. Wednesday evening my whole family, include Monica, Stacey and the boys, were here for a belated family Christmas meal. Though we promised not to do gifts for each other, I am loving my new iPad from Zums. And, though just a couple weeks old, Finlay was not completely forgotten, as he got a brand new crib from my parents.

Finlay's first photo session

2011-12-20T18:47:00.003-07:00

At 4 days old, we had Finlay's newborn session with Farrah Jobling Photography. He was a little trooper and so patient and a good little model. He's smaller than Isla but we do see similarities in the two of them. He's got big hands and feet that we're sure he'll soon grow into. Love him so much already!

A star is born

2011-12-15T20:20:00.003-07:00

We became a family of four on Wednesday, December 14 at 8:07am with the arrival of Finlay Calum Blaze Graham. He weighed in at 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 inches long. He seems so small to us, as Isla was 8 pounds 4 ounces. He is sweet sweet sweet! Isla has warmed up to him on her visits here at the hospital and we can't wait to get home to get settled in to our daily routine with a new bundle of joy. We are so so blessed with this early Christmas present! Isla has been doing well at home with Grandma Boody. Kalyn came to visit us at the hospital Wednesday night and meet Finlay. He'll have many more people to meet over the holidays.

I play a great Santa!

2011-12-04T15:36:00.002-07:00

My then-36 week pregnant belly came in handy as the perfect Santa during our photo session with Farrah Jobling Photography. I do have a jolly ol' belly like a bowl full of belly that is constantly kicking and squirming!

Holiday Photo Session

2011-12-04T15:29:00.002-07:00

We did a mini session with our fave photographer Farrah Jobling a couple of weeks ago and couldn't be happier with the results. Isla is at a tough age to get her to pose and smile on command, but somehow Farrah worked her magic and got some perfect shots!

Fun times with Uncle Bubba

2011-12-04T15:20:00.002-07:00

My brother Harrison spent the past week with us as he and his wife Leah found a house to rent here in Denver before their big move the end of this month. Isla LOVED having Uncle Bubba here and all of the play time she got with him. Very excited to have them so close to us and getting to see them more often!

Thanksgiving at the Graham House

2011-12-04T15:12:00.003-07:00

We had a full house for Thankgiving week and loved having everyone here. There were 15 of us on Thanksgiving Day, and we have so much to be thankful for. Everyone got their fill of delicious foos and quality family time. Isla was a little under the weather unfortunately, so luckily we weren't doing any traveling. Don't know what we'd do without all the extra help from my Aunt Jane and John in the kitchen...they're the best!

Halloween

2011-11-03T10:05:00.002-06:00

Isla was dressed as a bumble bee for Halloween this year. We trick or treated to all of our neighbors, though she wasn't impressed with M&Ms or gummy candies. She did like all the trick or treaters we had and passing out candy to them.

Harrison and Leah's Wedding

2011-10-26T21:42:00.003-06:00

We made the long trek to Connecticut last weekend for Uncle Bubba and Aunt Leah's wedding in Simsbury. Luckily, there were lots of friends and family who also made the trip, so Isla was loving all of the attention and being constantly entertained. We did lots of touristy stuff and ate lots of seafood. The wedding was a beautiful affair, and we'll see the newlyweds here for Thanksgiving, which is just around the corner!

Daddy runs marathon #2

2011-10-12T13:50:00.002-06:00

Sunday the weather was perfect for the Denver Rock 'n' Roll marathon. Dad, Isla and I headed downtown and were able to watch Zums cross the finish line with an impressive time of 3:19:28. He trained so hard and was very happy with the end result. This won't be his last!

Weekend with Papa

2011-10-12T13:45:00.002-06:00

My dad came up this past weekend and got to spend lots of quality time with Isla. Saturday we had a surprise snowstorm and it was declared pajama day in the Graham house. Isla loved reading all of her books and doing all of her puzzles with her Pops.

Sweet kisses

2011-09-24T15:13:00.002-06:00

I love this photo that was captured by our talented photographer and friend Farrah Jobling at her daughter's 2nd birthday party earlier this summer. So sweet!

Scotland Trip

2011-09-20T07:15:00.003-06:00

Traveling internationally with a toddler while 6 months pregnant is not in the column of 'fun' things to do, but once we arrived in Scotland we all had a great time, and Isla quickly warmed up to Scottish family and friends. We were in go go go mode for the whole week, but we were able to see everyone and even spend a day in Edinburgh. Isla was a trooper on the flight, though it wore us all out!

18 months

2011-08-23T11:25:00.004-06:00

It's hard for us to believe our little Isla is already 1 1/2! Time needs to slow down! We are loving this stage with her, though, and everyday is more fun. She's only been walking for about 6 weeks but is now running and running. She loves out nightly dance parties (her favorites are Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce!), playing golf with her daddy, doing her flashcards and reading book after book. She knows that there is a baby in Mama's belly, but we don't think she has any idea how her life is about to change.

Geri, Brody and Tiff come to Colorado!

2011-08-23T11:15:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun a couple weekends ago when my dear friends Geri and Tiff flew to Denver from Minneapolis and Chicago. Geri brought her 2 1/2 year old Brody who Isla just loved. We had so much fun catching up, lounging, over eating, playing at the pool and spending quality friend time together. It had been way to long since we were all together, and I hope not as much time pases til we're all together again!

Morning at the zoo

2011-08-06T20:35:00.004-06:00

We made an impromptu trip to the zoo this morning, as Zums had a free morning. We arrived just after 9am to beat the weekend crowd. Isla had a great time watching the monkey, giraffes and flamingos. We've been putting our annual passes to great use, as it was our second trip of the week. We went with the Pfalmer clan on Tuesday and had a great day. We're anxious for the Asia Tropics exhibit to be completed!

Baby Boy on the way!

2011-08-06T20:10:00.002-06:00

Time surely does fly with the second pregnancy. We're just about at 21 weeks now and can't believe that in just over 4 months, we'll be a family of 4! The official due date is December 19, but we'll be having a scheduled c-section which will likely be on December 13 or 14. I've been feeling great lately and trying to get as many home projects done while I still have the energy and am feeling up to it. We've got some big upcoming trips to Scotland in September and Connecticut in October, so here's hoping that the health and wellness continues. We feel incredibly blessed that we're going to have a son, though right now we kind of can't imagine loving any child more than Isla! We've got plenty of love to give though!

Summer Fun

2011-07-18T12:56:00.003-06:00

We spent lots of time outdoors this weekend enjoying the heat and sunshine. Friday evening we went to the summer concert series at Southlands shopping center, right by us. Isla loved the live music. Saturday we took Isla to the pool for a couple of hours. We finally got her trike put together that she got for her first birthday from Grandpa Riddell, so we've been taking her for nightly rides on it. She loves it! We've also been hitting the fountains at Red Tail Hawk Park, and strangers always comment on how brave Isla is for running through the big fountains. She's fearless!

Scenic drive home

2011-07-06T13:19:00.003-06:00

On our way home from Winter Park, we decided to take the scenic drive through Rocky Mountain National Park. The views were incredible and scenery was spectacular. We made several stops,as there were so many photo opportunities. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful state!

Weekend in Winter Park

2011-07-06T13:09:00.004-06:00

We headed to beautiful Winter Park last weekend for 3 nights. It was nice to escape the high 90 degree temps for cool low 70s and beautiful blue skies. We enjoyed lots of beautiful walks along the rivers, in the ski village and in the town. Isla loved walking and walking and walking on her own. We'll definitely be making this an annual trip!

Father's Day

2011-06-24T13:53:00.003-06:00

We had a really great, action-packed Father's Day celebrating Isla's daddy! We headed to the mountains first thing in the morning, stopping for some coffee and at Whole Foods for picnic supplies. We hit beautiful Echo Lake outside of Idaho Springs for a walk and a picnic. That afternoon, Isla and I headed to the horse races to see my dad. She was so excited to see her Papa! That evening, Zums, Isla and I had a wonderful early dinner at our favorite Wine Experience. Isla was a trooper all day and enjoyed all of the family time!

Auntie Sambo and Jackson come to Denver

2011-05-09T21:02:00.003-06:00

Sam and Jackson made the trip from San Diego to see us for 4 days this past weekend. Isla LOVES LOVES LOVES Jackson and having him here for an extended period of time. We hit the zoo, the park and lots of wild play time in the living room. We were so happy to have them here and have quality time with wonderful friends. Only thing missing was Jay!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T06:11:00.003-06:00

My second Mother's Day was a great one. My brother and dad were here, as well as my friend Sam and her son Jackson. We all headed out to brunch Sunday morning at Wine Experience. I am so blessed to have a happy and healthy daughter!

Kitchen Helper

2011-05-01T19:38:00.002-06:00

Every morning Isla loves to help me unload the dishwasher. She's almost 14 1/2 months and is changing and learning and developing so much. We work on her animal, shapes and first word flash cards daily, and she's becoming such a little chatterbox. She's no closer to walking, but she's back and forth with her Mickey Mouse airplane push toy all the time. She's mastered the up and down of the stair and is a busy little bee. She becomes more and more fun by the day and fills our lives with more joy than we could have imagined!

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T12:19:00.004-06:00

Isla and I headed to Eads last Thursday for a long Easter weekend with the family. Isla LOVES her cousins! She had so much fun with them heading to the store, playing on the trampoline and wrestling around with them. The best prize in her Easter basket was a carrot full of bubbles!

Getaway to Steamboat Springs

2011-04-13T13:32:00.002-06:00

We needed a break from our day-to-day lives and headed to Steamboat Springs for a couple of days. We could have used a couple more days of relaxing! We did lots of walking, too much eating, some hot tubbing and plenty of relaxing. Isla did really well on the 3 1/2 hour car trip each way. She LOVED being in a hotel and having her family in close quarters. We're all about springtime now!

13 months old

2011-03-21T20:51:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow Isla will be 13 months old. She's changing so much! My parents were up this past weekend and noticed so many changes in her in the past few weeks. She is chatty chatty chatty...now saying ball, 'nana (banana), Bear Bear (her beloved teddy) and bye-bye to everyone! She's mastered going up and down the stairs, which means we never had to put up baby gates...allelujah! She just started doing the bear crawl a few days ago and is walking along all of the furniture. We think it will be another month or so before she is walking, though everything is a push toy right now. She is all about her books lately and has her favorites - The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Polar Bear Polar Bear and Miss Spider's Tea Party. We've smoothly transitioned her to one nap, and she's still a super sleeper with 12+ hours at night and 3+ during the afternoon. We've gone to the zoo twice in the last month and are loving our zoo passes. She's at such a fun stage now and is filling our lives with so much joy and laughter!

Happy Birthday to You

2011-03-12T14:02:00.002-07:00

Here's a little video of us singing Happy Birthday to Isla and the devouring of her cake!

Presents and Cake

2011-02-27T18:34:00.003-07:00

With all the party hoopla and action on Saturday, we saved Isla's presents and smash cake for Sunday morning with my family. Cousin Spencer helped her open all of her presents, and she'll have plenty of clothes to last her through the summer and lots of new books to read and toys to play with. My parents gave us season passes to the zoo, and we hope to use those this week for the first time. Isla wasn't sure about the candle on her cake, but once that was pulled out she picked up the whole thing and dug right in!

Birthday Bash

2011-02-27T18:24:00.003-07:00

Isla's first birthday warranted the biggest party that we've ever thrown. We had nearly 50 people here yesterday (including 24 kids!) to celebrate the big ONE! It was such a great afternoon and evening celebrating with friends and family. Isla is one blessed little girl and was shown so much love for her first birthday celebration!

Mmmmm cake!

2011-02-24T12:51:00.003-07:00

As part of the 1 year photo session, Isla got to devour a smash cake. She certainly wasn't shy about it, and unfortunately, it looks like she has my sweet tooth!

1 year photo session

2011-02-24T10:56:00.003-07:00

Over the course of the last year, we've done 5 photo sessions with our friend and photographer Farrah Jobling. She has taken some beautiful and creative and sweet photos our little girl that fill our home and we'll forever cherish. We did her 1 year session a few days before her birthday and it was wild since she is crawling and grabbing and not just smiling and sitting. Though she was a wild child, Farrah was able to catch her in all of her fun and sweetness.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2011-02-22T19:02:00.004-07:00

It's hard to believe that one year ago today our little Isla Sophia came into the world. We feel so blessed to have a baby that is so happy, healthy and a hearty sleeper! We spent the day just the three of us going to the Denver Aquarium, where Isla was mesmerized by all the fish. We then headed to the Cherry Cricket for lunch where she devoured over half of a burger...she's got a healthy appetite. We'll celebrate her birthday in grand form on Saturday with lots of friends and family. In the meantime, time needs to slow down!

State Wrestling

2011-02-21T09:35:00.002-07:00

We headed to the Pepsi Center on Thursday afternoon for the first round of state wrestling. Nick pinned his opponent, but unfortunately didn't fare so well the rest of the weekend. We're so proud of him, though, and all of the hard work he put in this season. Aunt Mary and Uncle Al got to experience high school wrestling for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great to see everyone there and have a meal at Cheesecake Factory with Monica, Stacy and the boys afterwards.

Auntie Mamie and Uncle Al visit

2011-02-21T09:29:00.003-07:00

Euan's aunt and uncle made the journey from Scotland to Colorado to visit us for a week. We had a fantastic week of sunny weather, so they were able to get out for long walks every day. Isla loved having company and the endless attention. She was such a little trooper this past week going out to eat numerous times. We're so glad that they made the trek across to spend quality time with all of us!

Week in San Diego

2011-02-12T07:54:00.004-07:00

Isla and I traveled to San Diego to visit my dear friend Sam and her 15 month old Jackson. We had such a good time in the warm sunshine. We visited the zoo, ate at our favorite places and got in lots of outdoor time at parks and beaches. Jackson and Isla played so well together and were too stinkin' cute together! We also got to see my friend Cristina and her 18 month old Liam. The little 3 amigos were so sweet together!

Pops' 65th Birthday

2011-02-12T07:44:00.002-07:00

We were able to celebrate my dad's 65th birthday on January 28. Nick's 18th birthday was January 30, so we had a big joint celebration dinner at Monica's. Isla's loves being in a big group and all of the attention. She kept loving and hugging on her cousin Rhett. The next big birthday celebration will be her own!

Isla's first wrestling tournament

2011-02-12T07:08:00.003-07:00

We headed to Eads a few weeks ago for Isla's first high school wrestling tourney. Armed with snacks, toys and plenty of people to pass her around to, we lasted about 2 hours. Isla enjoyed the break time and crawling around on the mats with the Hammes kids. Nick was champion, so a great day. We'll be seeing more wrestling action at the state tournament this next weekend!

11 months old

2011-02-12T07:04:00.002-07:00

Nearly 3 weeks ago Isla turned 11 months. She is finally properly crawling and is on the go and into everything. She has 8 teeth right now, and luckily, teething hasn't been too traumatic on her or us. She's pulling herself up onto everything. We're in no hurry for her to start walking...we think it's still a few months away!

Uncla Bubba Visits

2011-01-13T19:46:00.002-07:00

My brother was in Denver this past weekend for a conference and stayed with us. Like always, Isla loves having visitors and loved having him and my mom here. Since Uncle Harrison is just going to be too hard to say for a while, we've deemed him Uncle Bubba, and Isla quickly learned to say buh-buh. Harrison was smitten with her and spent lots of time playing with her. Mom and I started shopping for supplies and decor for Isla's first birthday party...crazy to us that she'll be a year old next month!

Busy Little Bee

2011-01-13T19:34:00.003-07:00

Little Miss Isla is 10 1/2 months and into EVERYTHING. We can't take our eyes off her for a second. She loved to roll to wear we take our shoes off and play with the shoe strings. Hence, all shoes are now put away. She has properly crawled here and there, though it's not consistent. She did quickly make her way to a few dropped mangos under her seat at the table the other day. She managed to pull out her dad's Braveheart movie from the bookshelf, which made him very happy! She's loving all of her new toys from Christmas time and finds interest in different ones each day. She's so much fun right now, and we can't believe all the developmental changes taking place each day!

New Year's Eve 2010

2011-01-04T10:51:00.003-07:00

Cheers to all for a healthy and prosperous 2011! We spent New Year's Eve with our good friends Sean and Erinn having a fabulous meal and lots of great wine at the Wine Experience. We all have babies at home that would be up early the next day and called it a night early. We felt a bit lame, but it was great to feel fresh the next day!

Christmas morning video

2010-12-26T19:45:00.002-07:00

'Tis the season with friends

2010-12-26T19:19:00.003-07:00

'Tis the season with family

2010-12-26T19:14:00.001-07:00

Isla's First Christmas

2010-12-26T18:59:00.003-07:00

We journeyed to Holly for most of this past week to celebrate the season. Wednesday night my mom hosted the Hammes family for dinner. Thursday night we had the Allens over for dinner, and all the Hammes and Allen kids stayed for drinks and laughs. Friday night we had the Salisburys and Eatons over for Christmas Eve. Christmas Day we headed to Monica's, and Isla quickly learned the art of ripping wrapping paper off her presents. We made it home safely early this afternoon, though we still have much unpacking to do. Isla has been a busy bee playing with her activity table, Zany Zoo cube, Violet puppy, Busy Ball Popper, Mickey Mouse airplane and some other new toys. We still have a wrapped present under the tree for her, but we've decided to wait a few days to give that to her. I need to get her 'baby' toys in storage to make room for the new ones!

10 months old

2010-12-26T18:51:00.003-07:00

It's really hard for us to comprehend that our little Isla is already 10 months old. She's a wild and funny little lady. She's still not crawling, but she rolls and rolls to get wherever she wants to be. She's eating pretty much everything that we eat, and she really enjoyed all the rich food over the holiday season (we think her belly certainly shows that!). She's still a champion sleeper, and we comfortably left her with her first real babysitter, Lauren, a couple of weeks ago. She took her third plane ride when we traveled to Minneapolis earlier this month and was a champion traveler, and her next trip will be to San Diego in early February. She has a new little fake laugh and fake cough now, and she knows that doing certain things will make us laugh. She loved seeing so many family and friends over the holidays and having so many people around. Her top two teeth broke through this past week without too much trauma, so we're anxious to see what her smile will look like when they are fully through. We just feel so blessed to have such a happy and fun and healthy baby in our lives!

Visit from the Eastmans

2010-12-26T18:40:00.003-07:00

We were so happy that the Eastmans were able to fit us into their trip back to Colorado and Nebraska for the holidays. They spent the night with us on Monday, and we spent the evening catching up and laughing and sipping bubbly. We wish that we'd had more time with them but we so happy they were able to stop by and meet Isla for the first time.

Minneapolis Trip

2010-12-26T18:30:00.004-07:00

Isla and I journeyed to Minneapolis on December 12 to visit my best friend Geri and her little bubbas. They had just gotten a huge dumping of snow, so we all stayed cozy inside catching up and oohing and ahhing over the kiddos. Isla loved Baby Camden and Brody wasn't sure what to think of Isla playing with his toys. It was so so so great to spend a lazy week of quality time with Ger, and it certainly won't be as long between our next visit! Many many thanks to my husband for organizing this surprise trip!

Little bookworm

2010-12-06T12:54:00.002-07:00

Isla has started taking a real interest in her books, so we've fit it into her nightly routine to read her a couple. Right now her favorites are 'Goodnight Moon' and 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'...two classics.

A visit with jolly ol' St. Nicholas

2010-12-06T12:50:00.003-07:00

As you can tell by the photo, Isla wasn't the happiest to be sitting on Santa's lap. She didn't freak out, but when we had round #2 with him to try to get a 'happy' photo, she did scream a bit. We've been trying to teach her to say 'Ho Ho Ho'!

If you're happy and you know it...

2010-11-29T20:27:00.004-07:00

We've sang this song to Isla for many many months, so it's so much fun to see her recognizing the song and joining in with the clapping!

9 months old

2010-11-29T20:04:00.003-07:00

Isla turned 9 months on November 22. She's made so many developmental changes these past few weeks. She now claps her hands. Says Mama, Dada, bye-bye and Papa...or noises that sound very similar to those words. She has done her first sign language for 'more' which ties in with her eating more and more table food. We try to give her whatever we eat, as often as possible. She loves chicken enchiladas, her morning oatmeal with banana and all the fruits and veg we've given her. She hasn't really turned her nose up to anything yet, so we'll just keep broadening her tastebuds. She's still a super sleeper putting in 12+ hours each night and taking 2 naps each day. She is so happy and smiley and loves being arounds people. She hasn't gotten any stranger anxiety as of yet, so long may that continue. At her 9 month appointment, she checked out healthy as can be and is in the 40th percentile for height and weight. She hasn't showed any true signs of crawling yet, though we set her up on all 4s, and she just collapses to her belly and rolls wherever she needs to get. She continues to bring more happiness and joy to our lives every day. We feel so blessed to have a happy and healthy baby in our lives!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-28T09:55:00.002-07:00

We have so much to be thankful for with little Isla, so it seemed fitting that we host Thanksgiving at our house. My Aunt Jane and John flew in from Wichita and my cousin Jenny flew in from Austin. My parents were here, along with Monica, Stacey and the boys. Isla loved having a full house, always having someone to play with and be the center of attention. Everyone left yesterday evening, and she's been looking around all morning for company to entertain her. We all ate too much, drank loads of fabulous wine and enjoyed quality family time together. Bring on Christmas!

Yes, the tree is up!

2010-11-15T11:21:00.003-07:00

In preperation for hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, I am trying to be on the ball and get as much done in advance as possible. Thus, last Wednesday, I put up and decorated our Christmas tree. And, it had to be pink for our little princess Isla this year. It's a good thing she's not able to crawl yet, though she did roll over to the tree and try to grab at the ornaments. She doesn't seem as intersted in it lately. Just wait until there are some presents under it!

Visit from the cousins

2010-11-15T11:10:00.004-07:00

That's actually a happy face from Isla

Isla's cousins Rhett and Spencer stopped by for a bit yesterday. Isla just lights up when they are around and is thoroughly entertained by them. She gives them hugs and loves to pat their hair. She's going to love having the house full over Thanksgiving!

First snow

2010-11-11T19:43:00.002-07:00

It's been an incredibly mild fall, but winter finally hit us this past Tuesday. I formally introduced Isla to the snow on Wednesday morning, bundled up in her snowsuit, hat and mittens. She wasn't sure what to think of it, especially when she took off one of her mittens and stuch her little hand straight into the snow. Brrrrrr!

Spencer's birthday weekend

2010-11-08T18:57:00.003-07:00

Our nephew Spencer turned 4 yesterday and we headed to Eads for the weekend. We got to see Rhett's 5th & 6th grade team win their football league championship on a warm Saturday morning. Spence had a big party yesterday, and Isla loved all the action and time with her cousins!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T10:42:00.002-06:00

Isla's first Halloween started out with a bash at our friend Stephanie's on Saturday evening. It was so fun and cute to see all the babies dressed up, though the costumes didn't last long. Sunday we dressed Isla up and sat on our front porch to greet our trick or treaters. She was a patient and tolerant little monkey!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-29T19:25:00.004-06:00

We headed to the pumpkin patch today with my friend Stephanie and her little boy Wyatt. It was a gorgeous fall day with temps in the high 70s and glorious sunshine.

5 year anniversary

2010-10-29T19:18:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 5 years since we said 'I do.' We had a great day and night. We hit the gym first thing in the morning, had an amazing breakfast at Snooze, walked around Cherry Creek and ended it all with a personalized dinner at Wine Experience. The best present I received is plane tickets for all of us to visit my best friend Geri and her family in Minneapolis in December. I also got a fabulous fabulous pair of Jimmy Choos...true love!

Neighborhood party

2010-10-29T19:14:00.003-06:00

We hosted a neighborhood get together at our house on October 24. We have 13 houses on our street and had a great turnout of over 30 people. It was great to get to know all of our neighbors better and get everyone together.

8 months old

2010-10-26T19:21:00.003-06:00

Time seriously needs to slow down! Isla turned 8 months old last week, and I didn't even get a decent picture. We made a Target run that day (a weekly...and sometimes daily occurance), and it was the first time that she'd sat in the shopping cart, so here's her 8 month photo. She is developing such a fun little personality and has us smiling all day every day. She's not showing us any signs of wanting to crawl, though we encourage her. The past month we took away the plastic bathtub, and she's now in the big tub on her own with lots of fun toys. She loves her nightly baths!

Dancing Queen

2010-10-26T19:16:00.002-06:00

We have daily music time where we put Pandora on and blast the Beyonce channel. Isla LOVES the music and shaking her head and wiggling her body. She especially loves the Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce. It is too funny, and she's become quite good at performing on command for company!

It's slipper-wearin' weather

2010-10-10T17:04:00.004-06:00

The temperature dropped a bit this weekend, and we had to turn our heat for the first time this season. Though the days are still in the high 60s and low 70s, the nights get quite cool. We had to break out Isla's little lamb slippers this morning. This week we also bought her a snowsuit and got her a sock monkey stocking cap. Winter, we're ready for ya!

After pics

2010-10-08T11:29:00.003-06:00

And, here are the results of our landscaped backyard. We love the extra large stamped concrete patio, and plush patio furniture and some sort of shade contraption are on our the shopping list for next spring. We planted a garden in one of the flower beds, and we got some good tomatoes and herbs from it and learned alot about what not to do next season. We'll be getting some flowering shrubs down in the other planting beds shortly. The lower level flower bed was overflowing with petunias over the summer, and we just removed those. We'll have it all in good shape for Isla to run around in next summer!

Before pics

2010-10-08T11:22:00.002-06:00

This is terribly overdue, but last night as we were getting ready to winterize our backyard, I remembered that I had never posted the before pics of our backyard landscaping and had never taken pics of the results. As you can tell from these pics, we had a terrible slope to deal with, thus a retaining wall had to be put in. What a mess it was, and we are so happy with the end result!

First trip to the zoo

2010-10-04T17:46:00.003-06:00

It was a beautiful fall weekend in Denver this past weekend. My mom, dad and Spencer came up for the weekend, so we all headed to the zoo on Saturday. We don't think Isla really noticed any of the animals, but she enjoyed being out and about and watching all the people. She loves having family stay with us and getting all the attention. Sunday morning Mom and I went for a long walk with the kids and hit 3 parks along the way. Isla is stable enough to sit in baby swings now and loves them!

Play dates with the Murray boys

2010-10-04T17:37:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Gretchen from college was in Colorado Springs this past week visiting her parents. She has 2 little boys - Haydn is 2 1/2 and Zane is 3 months. Isla and I went down to the Springs twice last week to spend lots of quality time with them all. Isla was very entertained by Haydn and loved giving little Baby Zane lots of kisses...or we called her licking Zane's face 'kisses.'

More photos from Farrah Jobling Photography

2010-09-30T19:18:00.001-06:00

7 month photos

2010-09-30T19:11:00.002-06:00

We had a photo session last Saturday with Farrah Jobling. It went really well, and Isla was a fab little model, being so smiley and being so tolerant with all of the outfit changes. We couldn't be happier with the results! We are so lucky to have found Farrah and her ability to capture Isla in the most adorable poses! We will love and savor these photos forever!

7 months

2010-09-22T16:32:00.002-06:00

Our little Isla Sophia is 7 months old today! Time needs to slow down. The big development that has happened in the past month is her ability to sit up on her own. She's also eating more and more foods and wants to grab the spoon and feed herself. She remains a solid sleeper, putting in 11-12 hours straight each night...we are so blessed with that! She has one tooth fully in and another on it's way. She is such a happy baby always talking and squealing. She is very social and loves being out and about. Running errands and getting attention from strangers just makes her smile. She's rolling and rolling on the floor, and we know soon she'll be scooting or crawling. She's at such a fun stage, and we'd love to just freeze her at this point, but we can't wait to see all the changes to come and even more happiness she'll bring to us!

Fall is in the air and in her closet

2010-09-22T15:51:00.004-06:00

The nights are getting cooler here and the leaves are starting to change color. I've been packing away some of Isla's summer clothes and many clothes that she has outgrown. Isla's got some CUTE CUTE stuff waiting to be worn when the weather really changes. We had a little fashion show and had her try on this sweet little elephant dress that Auntie Paula got for her before she was even born. Bring on the cold!

Low key weekend

2010-09-19T19:20:00.003-06:00

We had a pretty mellow weekend at the Graham house. Saturday morning we hit the farmer's market, then my friend Catherine came over for a playdate with her little girl Tessa who is a month younger than Isla. Isla's second tooth is starting to come in, so we're dealing with a bit of a runny nose right now and Isla has been extra snuggly.

I'm continuing to make all of Isla's 'baby' food. Today I whipped up some applesauce, but she wasn't much of a fan. I'll try mixing it in with her morning oat cereal. She isn't a fan of pureed mangoes either. She loves the carrots I made, and thought the green beans were ok. We've let her have little tastes of some food from our plates, and she loved salmon and tuna. Can't believe she'll be 7 months this week!

Go Rockies!

2010-09-15T19:17:00.002-06:00

We are big Rockies fans and have been wanting to take Isla to a game for quite some time. Today was the day, as it was a beautiful afternoon for a baseball game. She loved all the people watching and action taking place. A lovely couple gave us their tickets 12 rows behind home plate halfway through the game, so that was fantastic luck. And, following the game, an umpire gave a game ball to Isla. A Rockies' 9-6 victory capped off a great afternoon!

Football Season

2010-09-12T14:06:00.002-06:00

Though her dad would prefer she be a Chargers fan, Isla is born and bred a Colorado girl and will naturally be a Broncos fan. Today was their first regular season game and Isla was decked out in her pink Broncos gear. Go Broncos!

Italian Festival

2010-09-12T13:59:00.004-06:00

It was a beautiful beautiful day yesterday in Denver so we decided to hit the Italian Festival in Belmar. The streets were filled with food, drink and merchandise vendors. There were a few stages with live music and dancing, and Isla found those very entertaining. She loves being out and about and people watching!

A visit from Spencer

2010-09-05T18:43:00.003-06:00

Isla's cousin Spencer, along with my Mom and Dad came up for the weekend. Isla LOVES having company over, and she was very entertained by Spencer. She squealed and squealed with glee at him. She started sitting up on her own this weekend, though she is still a little wobbly. In other developmental news, we had her 6 month appointment this past week. She weighed in at a mightly 15 1/2 lbs. She's in perfect health and right on track with her growth and development. Our next well baby visit is at 9 months, which will unfortunately probably be here before we know it!

Exersaucer Fun

2010-09-05T18:35:00.003-06:00

This week I put together Isla's exersaucer, which was a mighty 2 hour project. It's a new form of entertainment for her, and there's so many things that she'll become more interactive with in time. Thank you to Colin and Sarah for this great toy!

Cousins

2010-08-29T15:04:00.004-06:00

Here are some fab pics that my sister took with her fancy camera of Isla and her cousins Rhett and Spencer!

More food and fun

2010-08-29T13:38:00.003-06:00

It's sweet potatoes on the menu for Isla this week for dinner. She's not quite sure what to think of the texture. She's back on track with our daily trips to the daycare at the gym, as I was able to get in a full workout every day this week. I met another mom in our neighborhood that has twin girls one month younger than Isla that we went for a walk with this week. I see many playdates to come with them. I'm going to start watching an 11 month old one day a week for a few hours. I'm sure Isla will enjoy the interaction with her. It's still HOT HOT HOT here, so we've been having to limit the amount of time that we're outside in the afternoon. Isla's first tooth is now fully through and visible. We think that she's getting more and more hair, though to a stranger she would still be considered bald. She rocks the bald look, though!

6 months old

2010-08-22T11:29:00.003-06:00

Whoever said 'time flies' wasn't kidding! It's hard to believe that it's been 6 months since little Isla Sophia came into our life! She is at such a fun stage and getting more fun and adorable by the minute. She's rolling and rolling and is just about to sit up on her own. We're on about week 5 of feeding her 'real food' with rice cereal and banana in the morning and pureed vegetables in the evening. She's sleeping almost 12 hours each night, and we admit that we're getting more sleep now than we've ever had. We'll take her in for her 6 month appointment next week!

Fun Park in the mountains

2010-08-22T11:11:00.003-06:00

My sister and the nephews were up this weekend. We hit the pool on Friday afternoon and a concert at Southlands that evening. We headed to Breckenridge on Saturday. We took the boys to the Peak 8 Fun Park, where they got to enjoy the alpine slides, bouncy house, mini golf and lots of other activities. It was so beautiful up there and a good 20 degrees cooler than it was in Denver, so that was nice. Last night we enjoyed some nachos and kid-friendly margaritas!

Green Food Time

2010-08-18T19:35:00.003-06:00

We've had Isla on rice cereal for about 4 weeks now each morning. Last week we introduced avocado, and she loved it. This week it's peas on the menu, and she's liking them just as well. She getting better each day about eating from the spoon, and the mess is getting smaller each night. She's fascinated every time she sees us eat, and we try to eat our breakfast and dinner the same time that she does. Next week, it's sweet potatoes!

Girls Night Out

2010-08-16T13:10:00.003-06:00

I met my dear friends Karina, Heather and Susan on Friday night at our favorite spot The Rio downtown. It was great to catch up and enjoy some delicious margaritas! Only thing missing was our friend Gretchen who is in Houston with new baby Zane.

Day in the mountains

2010-08-11T08:47:00.003-06:00

We woke up to a crystal clear day yesterday and decided to head to the mountains. We took a nice stroll around Lake Dillon and grabbed breakfast there. We then headed to Breckenridge, where we lounged in the park, took the gondola to the top of the mountain and grabbed lunch. Isla wasn't sure what to think about the bright sun after being in cloudy Scotland for 2 weeks where she didn't have to where sunscreen or a sun hat. She got lots and lots of fresh mountain air and was back to sleeping through the night last night. We've vowed to try to make it up to the mountains once a month since they're right on our doorstep!

Scotland Trip

2010-08-09T05:56:00.003-06:00

We made it home safely on Saturday evening after a long day of traveling. Isla was a bit restless on the flight, as were we. It's good to be home, and we hope to have her back on track with her sleeping schedule in a few days.

Our 2 weeks in Scotland flew by, and we were happy that we got to spend so much quality time with family and friends.

Day in Edinburgh

2010-08-02T11:36:00.002-06:00

Mateer and Isla

We went to Edinburgh for the day yesterday. We still have yet to see the sun since we've been in Scotland, and the only one that packed the appropriate clothing is Isla. We met up with a big group for a long lunch and had a great time catching up with everyone. We're going up again on Wednesday to see some more friends and get in a bit of shopping and sightseeing. Isla continues to be a little trooper with all the traveling about and visiting people.

Scotland Baptism

2010-07-25T14:04:00.003-06:00

We arrived safely in Scotland yesterday afternoon. Isla did very well on the flights and has been such a trooper. We can tell she's still pretty tired and are trying to get her back on her regular routine. Today we had her baptism at St. Peter's church in Galashiels. She slept through most of the service and was a little angel at the Champagne and cake reception afterwards. We got out for some fresh air this evening for a walk near the Eildons. We're trying to get our time here all planned out so we make the most of our time!

Real food time

2010-07-19T17:07:00.002-06:00

Well, I'm not sure if rice cereal is really considered 'real food' but its the first step in getting Isla to eating real people food. She's been really interested in watching us eat, so we knew she was ready. She ate like a champ and loved it!

Weekend fun with the Pfalmers

2010-07-18T18:23:00.002-06:00

Jorja, Tatum and Isla

While Zums was out and about most of the weekend entertaining, Isla and I spent alot of time hanging out with my dear friend Brandy and family. Isla LOVES all the kiddos and the wildness of the Pfalmer house. The kids take turns entertaining her and making her laugh and smile. So happy and blessed that they live just 5 minutes away.

Brown Brothers in Colorado

2010-07-13T12:56:00.002-06:00

More visitors from Scotland this past weekend, as Kevin and Mike Brown visited us. They are over in the States for 3 weeks on holiday and road tripped out from DC. We took them up to the mountains on Saturday and the boys made it all the way up to the top of Mt. Evans where it was freezing. Isla enjoyed the extra company in the house for the weekend!

4 1/2 months

2010-07-08T20:25:00.002-06:00

Isla is now 4 1/2 months old and entering a really fun stage. She laughs and smiles and fills our lives with so much joy. She likes to sit in her Bumbo on the island in the kitchen and watch me cook and clean. We hit the pool this week and she fell asleep while playing in the pool, so she took a little nap on the lounger in the shade. She hits the gym with me each morning, as the gym has a nice childcare center, though she is asleep most of the time while there. When she's awake, though, she likes to watch the toddlers playing. She's still sleeping like a dream from 8pm to 6am each night, so we are a happy house!

4th of July

2010-07-08T19:48:00.003-06:00

Isla's first 4th of July was spent at the horse races. We had Uncle Twicki in town from Scotland. That evening we had a bbq with several couples and lots of kiddos at our house. Unfortunately, it was a rainy evening, so there were no fireworks or sitting on our new patio. Still, it was great to have everyone over! The next day we headed to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival where we had perfect weather!

4 months old

2010-06-28T10:56:00.003-06:00

Isla turned 4 months old this past Tuesday. She goes in to the doctor today for her 4 month check up today, and we're anxious to see how much she weighs and how tall she is, as she's growing like a weed. She is rolling over on her own all the time and is even able to scoot her knees in a bit. I think she's going to be an early crawler. We also discovered that she has a tooth coming in on top this past weekend. That wasn't so fun! If only she could grow some hair!

Father's Day Weekend

2010-06-20T16:37:00.002-06:00

We were out and about all weekend. Friday night we headed to Southlands for the summer concert series, as one of Zums' co-workers was performing. Isla enjoyed the music but was beat and ready to head home by 7. Saturday we took Isla to her first festival as we hit the Highlands Street Fest and grabbed some Mexican food on our way home at Rosalinda's. Yum! We spent Father's Day hiking at Castlewood Canyon followed by a Whole Foods picnic in the park. We got our fair share of sunshine and fresh air this weekend!

And some more pics...

2010-06-19T19:34:00.003-06:00

Family Photos

2010-06-19T06:48:00.003-06:00

We did a photo session with Farrah a couple of weeks ago and got some great family shots. Isla wasn't haven't a super smiley day, like usual, but we're still so happy with the results. She's changed so much since these were taken!