Hello Heat Wave

August has brought our yearly reminder of how ridiculous the heat can be in the South. Moving to Nashville doesn't allow us to escape the heat that almost feels suffocating to me. Temps are 100-108 degrees this week, makes me feel like I'm in a sauna when I go outside.Izzy, however doesn't seem to notice how hot it is. She is getting tall enough to reach door handles now, and often goes to the door and tries to escape outside-she is pretty close to getting out by herself, so we are keeping a close eye on her of course. One of her favorite things to do is go out the front door and just start running. Especially when she is in her little tennis shoes - she clops around for what seems like forever just smiling and enjoying the sound of herself stomping around the driveway. We have to make her come inside when WE get too hot, but she never show signs of feeling too hot herself. I'm grateful because she drinks tons of water when she comes in, so I'm not as worried about her overheating....I do believe she is Roberts' child because I cannot stand the heat and being outdoors right now (especially without a pool nearby, although I doubt that would even feel refreshing in 100 degress) is not something I enjoy at all!

She also goes for a daily stroll around the neighborhood and is now a HUGE fan of strollers - she even likes to be pushed around the house in one (I tend to push her around inside a lot). I'm looking forward to lots more walks with her when it cools down eventually!

Also this week Izzy has only taken one nap for 5 out of the past 7 days. So at (almost 14 mos) her basic schedule consists of:

-Waking up between 630-730, eating breakfast and playing

-Taking a 2 hour morning nap from 10-12, lunch and more playing

-Then awake and playing (and a bit cranky the last few hours) until bedtime at 730 or 8.

She seems to always get a second wind when we start trying to wind down with her after her bath at 7, and just loves her time with Mommy and Daddy as we get her ready for bed. I love her bedtime routine too -especially since putting her to bed is the easiest part of the day! It's a sweet time of day -she settles between us, still rolling around the bed, but eventually finds a place next to us while we sing to her and I play with her hair. Eventually she stops wiggling around and just smiles at us while watching us sing, talk or read to her. Then its prayers and to bed - she always grabs the rails and wants to go to bed. She snuggles up in a corner of her crib and sticks an arm or leg through the slats and drifts off to sleep. Putting her to bed is so easy, it's almost hard to put her down - she is so sweet and lovable, and I always want those moments to last forever! I'm VERY thankful she still sleeps all night still. It has been especially nice for me since I'm working days for about 2 months - so we are all on the same schedule and all getting at least 8 or more hours of sleep every night!

She still eats amazing well and is loving more food every day, particularly fruits - she goes nuts over pretty much any fruit. This week she discovered blueberries and is in love with them. She also is a big fan of Oranges, Apples (walks around each day chomping on a whole apple), Watermelon, Canteloupe, Grapes, Peaches, and Pears.

We continue to adapt to our temporary surroundings and enjoy our time "in the country" for a bit. Izzy especially likes it and even seems to be getting used to longer car commutes to the grocery store, and visiting friends or Uncle Mark. We are missing being close to everything though and started the early stages of house hunting. This week we have driven around different parts of town twice, checking out neighborhoods and homes for sale, while Izzy has just hung out in her car seat, watching her movies. She even took a nap one of those days (A huge rareity for her). We really like that she goes everywhere with us and does everything we do. She is adapting well and I like that she is already learning more about how to be a part of our family, an do the things we do.