We did some more birding at a small nature center in Weslaco and at the Audobon Thicket.

Isabel made her first international voyage at the ripe age of 2 months. She slept through the whole thing.

Some of the many street vendors of Mexico. Although asleep, Isabel managed to stroll away with a few small purchases. Grandma bought her a hat which she will model in a future blog entry, and Great Uncle John bought her a grass skirt and matching top.

Jen and Isabel enjoying Grandma's backyard and standing in front of the grapefruit trees from which Dave picked us breakfast.

Vacation: 1st stop Southern Texas

On New Year's Day we embarked on a much needed vacation away from the bitter cold of interior Alaska. It was -47 degrees when we left!

In preparation for the second leg of our trip (Minnesota), Jen sewed a wolverine/wolf fur ruff from Martin W. (Jen's co-worker), onto Isabel's winter down sack.

Isabel sheds some layers for the first time in her life and prepares for the warm outdoors of Texas.

Dave and Karen brought us to Estero Llano Grande State Park right away so Jen could find birds and Isabel could experience being outside without 10 layers of clothing.

Adventurous Grandma braves the snake infested grasses of the park, preparing Isabel for her many future years of camping and hiking with mom and dad. Actually we saw no snakes but we did find an aligator.

We noticed the park was offering a guided bird walk the next day so of course Jen wanted to join in so Scott went with her. We saw many new birds including a Tropical Parula, Vermilion Flycatcher, and many others.

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want to

A tribute to "the right of us all to have less than perfect moods, days, and moments". Just in case you thought Isabel was always smiling..........


A true Alaskan girl (or at least outdoors girl), Isabel was none too pleased to "dress up like a little lady".

She loves her baths and evidently hated to see it end.

Key music.......It's alright to cry, crying gets the sad out of you. Raindrops from your eyes...... that one's for Uncle Jonny.

Guess she hated being sideways.

Looks like she wanted her pacifier back.

She was either having a gastrointestinal moment or she was hungry.

"I'm too little to prop up all by myself, for crying out loud, come and get me."

"I'm 2 days old enough with the pictures already".

I know you saw this one already but when the shoe fits.....

Merry Christmas

We spent Christmas eve as a small family unit. We went to midnight mass, actually 10 pm singing carols and 10:30pm mass. Christmas day we opened presents and went to our friends' Colin and Karen's house where a small group gathered for great food, great company, and a bit of wine.
This photo was taken Christmas eve before church. Isabel wore a dress from Grandma Karen complete with matching tights.

Christmas morning, Isabel is exhausted after opening presents.

Isabel shows off her hat and her bink link from Grandma Priscilla. She looks like JJ from Good Times in this funny picture.

The adorable Christmas shirt sent by Becca.


Isabel enjoys one of her gifts from Auntie Jolene and Uncle Erik.

Happy winter solstice!

As the days get shorter, Isabel grows larger. At 6 weeks she weighed 10lb 12 oz an increase of 3 whole pounds since birth. When I asked the Dr how much formula I should be feeding her, she started the whole "babies know how much they need" talk until I told her how much Isabel "knows what she needs". Then she said stop her at 6 oz. per feeding.

An extremely close up picture of Isabel I took while she was in the sling on my chest. I think it looks pretty adorable.

Isabel exhibiting her feelings about only getting formula in the restaurant.

Isabel shows her support of advent by donning purple. I think she looks a bit like auntie Jolene in this photo.

Isabel turns 6 weeks

Baby feet are the only attractive feet in my opinion and they receive far too little press. Shown here is Isabel's foot in Scotty's hand.

Jen recovering from her newest malady, the stomach flu. It's been a rough year for Jen in the old health dept. Thankfully she has Isabel for a welcome distraction. This year's X-mas tree was harvested from our recently purchased Alaska land. Believe it or not, it's around 30 yrs old. Tough climate for critters, folks, and plants alike.

Here Jen is attempting to re-create this photo by putting the same outfit on and using a similar background to show how much Isabel has changed in about 5 weeks time. I can't figure out how to put them side by side. With this statement, you probably realize Scott is not making this entry. Check back later to see if Scotty can figure out how to move the pictures.

Week 4

It was a relatively rough week for the clan as Jen broke down with a less than pleasant infection on our way to Fairbanks. Our intention was to go for the day to close on the 2.2 acres of land we just purchased in Healy, Alaska. The clinic snuck us in for an appt. and the Dr. told us to stay overnight after seeing Jen's elevated white blood cells. Only Isabel had exhibited the sense to properly pack her bags for the trip. The meds they prescribed for Jen made her very sick so we stayed for 2 nights and Scott got to shop for supplies for both of his girls. We're all doing better now.

Scotty's favorite game which he has designed to teach Isabel to hold her head up and to threaten Jen with a heart attack. It looks much more dangerous in person.