HOLLYWOOD!!

The week before last we received a phone call from Michael's Aunt Diane, who lives in Michigan, saying that her, his cousin Sarah and her man Tom, are going to be in Torrance for a wedding and would love to see us (we think it was mainly to see Isabelle-hehe). So, this past Monday (August 20) it was decided that we would meet in Hollywood for lunch, since they haven't visited this part of the west coast before.

We met in front of the Mann Chinese Theater and continued being "tourons", as Michael likes to say, from there. In the 90 degree heat (and we thought it would be sooo much cooler over the hill), we checked out the Mann Chinese and all of the ghetto characters walking around trying to get you to take pictures with them (their costumes were truly awful that day and Darth Vader was no where to be found so we didn't take any), the stars on the walk of fame (can you believe Godzilla has one? Seriously!), the Kodak Theater and all of the fun souvenir stores! In the Kodak Theater mall, there was a great photo op of the Hollywood sign so, as "tourons", we had to stop too and get our own pics!

We proceed to a cafe in the Kodak Theater mall where we had an awesome lunch and great conversation getting ourselves caught up on everything since our wedding (we think we have Sarah and Tom talked in to moving out this way). Sarah brought Isabelle a bib from her Alma mater and Michael's favorite college (NOT!), the University of Michigan :) and Aunt Diane made Isabelle an adorable quilt that goes perfectly with the colors in her nursery! We thought Grandma and Grandpa O had told her what the colors were :)

It was a wonderful afternoon and we can't wait to see them again at Christmas!!

Oh Captian, My Captain

Finally got the rest of the Alaska pics back from the disposable camera. Here is the picture we promised to post of Isabelle and our captain on Isabelle's first flight on board Alaska Airlines from LAX to Vancouver.

Holy teething ring, Batman!

YES, it happened...our little Isabelle cut her first tooth today! There were none of the "usual signs"; grumpiness, fever or crying just a WHOLE LOT of drooling (which has been going on for over a month so we really didn't think much of it).

This is how I found it:

I was sitting at the computer today, finishing up some work from home, and had Isabelle sitting on my lap. Needless to say, our squirmy wormy child of ours was moving around so I switched her positioning on my lap, which didn't work because she was trying to get to the phone, a pen, some paper and my laptop (she has found out she can grab things and loves to get her hands on everything) but finally sat still when she found the knuckle of my index finger. Now usually we don't let her suck on our fingers, let alone her own since she has found her thumbs (that is a whole other story), but this time it stopped her from squirming. All of a sudden I felt something hard rubbing on my finger, immediately thinking I had something on my finger that she was getting at but come to find there wasn't anything there. I stopped and thought for a second, there is no way, there is just no way, she is only 4 and a half months old! Then low and behold, I rubbed my index finger across her bottom gumline and sure enough, there was the jagged beginnings of her first tooth!

Our baby is growing up way too fast. What's next, walking?

Our new favorite photo...

My friend Becky and I went to see The Spazmatics (an AWESOME 80's coverband) tonight at our city's Central Park and we caught my little stinker doing this, since the moment we arrived...

Needless to say, we had a great time with Isabelle being the ham that she is, up to our gourmet dinner from Ralphs consisting of a shared turkey club, macaroni salad, carrots, pretzels, hummus, twizzlers and 24oz Miller Lites! YEAH BABEH :)

Best Buds!

Need we say more? :)

Hey...look what I found!

Well, our little one has found her feet. She has yet to realize just how tasty they may be but definitely knows where they are. She especially thinks they are fun to grab and move around during diaper changing time or while Mommy pushes her around in the jogger :)

MMMM....cereal!

We went to the doctors yesterday for Isabelle's 4 month check up and she is right where she needs to be. She is holding her head up when she is held or on her tummy, cooing and making all sorts of fun sounds, grabbing and holding onto things and is still as curious as ever. She weighs 13 lbs. 3 oz, is 24 1/2" tall and get this, her head it 16" in diameter! Guess who she gets that from? :) She is taller than the average infant at this age and average but on the lighter side for her weight. Izzy had a slight fever today from the shots but all in all, she is doing great.

Isabelle's doctor told us that he would like to have her start rice cereal this month as early as today (granted it is only one teaspoonful, twice a day) so, Michael decided she needed a little morning snack to tide her over until I got home this afternoon....do you think she likes it? I don't think she is quite sure of it yet :)

Do "Juneau" Alaska? Isabelle does!

Our little one officially has her first set of wings on Alaska Airlines and her first set of sea legs on Regent Seven Seas as she joined us for my work's 29th Annual Advisory Board Meeting.

Last Wednesday morning (4am in the morning) we were all set for Isabelle's first flight to Vancouver. First off, can I just say, traveling with an infant requires a whole LOT of things! Isabelle's stuff took up half of our largest suitcase and, as a reminder, it was just the two of us that I had to pack for! Mom and Dad Ilich came to pick us up at 4:15am but upon their arrival to our place, we realized that the biggest trunk between our cars was my Mom's and there wasn't nearly enough room for all of our suitcases and her travel system stroller (we cant wait until she is a little bit bigger and can fit into the oh so compact, umbrella stroller). So, Papa had to take Isabelle and I to the airport separately which, besides getting him up at 4am, was fine :)

We all got to LAX safe and on time...showing off Isabelle's new passport, using the elevators to get up to the gate level and collapsing EVERYTHING to go through security. Man, that was an adventure in itself! I just thank God that Grandmama and Grandpa Ilich were there with us.

The flights were wonderful, not a peep out of her. I nursed her each time we took off and she was pretty much sucking on her pacifier or asleep when we landed. We got pictures with the captian, which I will have to post later since its on a disposable camera because my battery was completely lost its charge and I had to buy a new one in Vancouver. On the fight over, Mom and I were handing her off to one another to eat, use the restroom, etc. but, the flight home was a different story.

Isabelle and I left in Sitka on Monday, Grandmama and Grandpa Ilich stayed for three more days into Anchorage, and flew into Seattle with our friend (and an Advisory Board Member) Kathy. I was very lucky to have her there to assist me through Sitka's tiny, scrutinizing everyone who went through, security gate and getting us settled in. It was quite funny, though the tickets were booked through separate travel agencies, we were seated right next to one another. That flight was great. The leg from Seattle to Burbank however, was just the two of us. Thank God, once again, for preboarding!

As the other first class passengers started boarding right after me, I noticed "the look", which I hadn't before since I was preoccupied with Isabelle and my Mom or Kathy. I suspect they were probably thinking, "Oh crap, a baby. AND she is in first class!" And the person who got assigned to sit next to us, was probably thinking the same thing. Boy, did Isabelle throw all of them off. She slept the entire flight! After about a half an hour after take off, the lady next to me started talking with me and even offered her tray to put my drink and dinner on. She actually opened my dressing and cut portions of my dinner so I could eat with one hand. She is itching for the day her boys give her grandkids. One is married but just got shipped off to Iraq a month ago (sending him best wishes for a safe return home). I said I would keep my fingers crossed for her :)

As for the cruise, Isabelle was the star of the ship! She had everyone saying hi to her, passengers and crew alike. Only one 10 minute meltdown in the cabin with Grandmama after we left Ketchikan and that was it! I was soooo happy :) We cruised the Inside Passage and Tracy Arm and visited Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and disembarked in Sitka. We went shopping and found silver bear earrings for Isabelle and saw a Lumberjack show in Ketchikan (Isabelle slept through it until the super charged chainsaws came out). We went whale watching in Juneau where we saw two Orcas as well as two Humpbacks, one was a mama with her calf, and a bunch of sealions. As for Skagway, at 76 degrees, we took a nice leisurely stroll around town then back to the ship to relax. All in all, it was a great trip and, although without her papa, a wonderful first time adventure for our little one :)

4TH OF JULY!!

Our 4th of July started off with dinner and a movie the night before...a 10:20 showing of Pirates III! So we arranged to drop Isabelle off with Grandmama and Grandpa Ilich at 8 so we could meet up with everyone for dinner around 8:15. Here is the clencher...the night before, Grandmama came over to babysit while I went to the gym (I was gone 1.5 hours) and when I got home, come to find, she had a total melt down. Michael and I have been saying that her "witching hour" is between 6-7pm and Grandmama go stuck right in the middle of it. Having said that, we proceeded to have her Grandparents watch her for what turned out to be a 5.5 hour stretch and were somewhat worried that the night before scenario may happen again. We called after dinner while walking to the movies (such a new parent thing-it was funny) only to hear that she has been sleeping and guess who got her to sleep? GRANDPA! I guess the "bond" he was searching for has officially been put into place.

The following morning we proceeded to get our butts out of bed at 7 to get ready for our local Santa Clarita Valley parade with the Rotary's pancake breakfast that I have not had in about 15 years. Michael headed over to the theatre to reserve our seats...a couch from the lobby pulled out in front of the theatre with mimosas flowing freely :) People walked by commenting that this was the way to watch the parade and boy was it! Isabelle missed the first half while snoozing on my lap.

After the parade we headed home for our now 2nd Annual BBQ! We had a bunch of friends over, including the other "new kids", went swimming (which was Isabelle's first time and after she got in, loved. No crying or tears-YEAH!) and then ended with watching fireworks over Town Center at the Summit Park (aka: our backyard). She slept right through those as well.

(Pics above : Grandmama and Isabelle at the parade, Isabelle eyeing my mimosa :) , Isabelle's "fairy cubparents"- April and Jason Price in the parade for the Goose, Papa, Izzy and Mama, the newest member to the Jaycee kids club...MacKenzie! and Isabelle taking the plunge)

All in all, it was a wonderful first 4th of July!

SHE IS HERE!!

Well, as you all know, our little Miss. Isabelle Anessa arrived almost on her due date (37 mins late), on March 28, 2007 at 12:37 am and was 6 lbs, 8 oz and 20.5" long. The delivery was a piece of cake...once I got the epidural :) We checked into the hospital around 5:30ish and 7 hours later, we had our beautiful little girl in our arms. Michael (Papa) did great, considering the fact that he said he would be no where near the delivery room and actually stayed right outside the door behind a curtain until she was here. I did have one of my best friends, Amy (who was also pregnant at the time), and my Mom with me through the delivery itself "rooting me on". My other "coach", April, who is also Isabelle's Godmother, couldn't be there. She was laid up on her couch with what we found out a few weeks after Isabelle got here, the picklettes...yes, twin girls! We had several visitors at the hospital but mostly the day we got home until about 2am!! Everyone was so excited to meet her and Michael and I were on the biggest adrenaline rush ever that we didn't mind staying up. She just slept right through it all.

Since then Isabelle has met many "milestones"; She had her 2 month shots (the very first time we have heard the most heartbreaking cry/wail come out of our little one's mouth and there was nothing we could do about it), holds her head up, starting to roll herself over to her back when she is on her tummy, almost sits up without falling over (see my MySpace page for a great video that Michael caught of her while at the theatre-http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=20218509), blows bubble (yes, that is a milestone), smiles the most beautiful smile, coos, giggles and almost laughs (especially at her Papa), focuses on pretty much everything, grabs things but not intentionally just yet and so many other things. She is a wonderful (knock on wood) and very alert baby whom we hear, has set the bar pretty high for all of our friends who are having kids.

She had her first road trip up to Lake Tahoe two weekends ago for our friends Kremer and Adriann's wedding and did wonderful! Uncle Steve and Aunt Vicki came over the hill (about an hour and a half drive) to babysit her while we were at the wedding. It was a great time!

Speaking of traveling, Isabelle will be going on her first flight with her Mom, Grandmama and Grandpa Ilich on July 18 to Vancouver. Once we are in Vancouver, we will be boarding a ship and sailing to and through Alaska for an Advisory Board Meeting for my work. Unfortunately Papa cannot make it, the REP's summer fundraiser is that weekend, but we know that she will be in Grandmama's loving hands while I am in meetings. My Dad swears that when my Mom cut the cord, she reconnected it to herself...she loves this little one just as much as we do! So with flying into Canada, you know what that means...we have to get a passport which entails getting passport pictures done. Oh was that a hoot! We went to AAA yesterday waited for about 5 mins until they called my name and when they found out the pictures needed to be taken of Isabelle, no joke, 5 ladies immediately came over to assist with the pictures. Needless to say she was an angel, hamming it up for them and we got just the right shot. Now lets see how quickly her passport will be turned around even with expedited shipping!

Here are a few more pics...


2 months in the brown dress that Ash and Grandma O gave her, 1.5 months with Papa in their Red Wings jerseys & only 3 weeks old in the pink sweater and the picture with Mom and Papa below. Isabelle was a little under 2 months in the pic with the build a bear from Jackie and Randy & 1.5 months with her sis, Bear.

Lake Tahoe pics from Kremer and Adriann's wedding (June 21-24) at almost 3 months and in the Princess Las Vegas onesie from Sally, she is 3 months!

Well, there is the quick Izzy Owston update!. We will be sure to add more blog entries as the days progress. Meanwhile, we wish everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July!

A Star Is Born!

Almost "GO TIME"!

So I had my 40 week appointment today, yes 40 WEEKS, and I am 2 cm dilated and my cervix has thinned out which means it could be any day now!! However should little Ms. Isabelle not want to come this week, she will have no choice next Wednesday because that is when I am scheduled to be induced.

So keep those fingers crossed and good thoughts coming! We are hoping to have Cubby come out of hibernation sooner than later :)

Papa O's Debuts

As most of you know, Michael was in an independent film last year shot in Malibu called Abe and Bruno. I have been trying to get my hands on a copy of the movie however, since it was automatically released in Europe and not the states, as well as me being out of town both nights they screened it, I haven't seen it yet. Last night I googled Abe and Bruno (after posting our "Bad Blogger" post) and this link to the trailer came up...I was so excited that I had to share it!

Take a look see...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8939850307017816276&q=Bruno&pr=goog-sl

Speaking of debuts, this past Wednesday Michael was called in to be an extra on one of our new favorite shows, The Riches! With his super charm and dance moves (which I have yet to see-LOL) , he was moved up to be a forward extra giving him a lot more camera time than the other folks. We will be sure to post a blog when that episode comes up but just in case we fall behind, like you know we can and have, the episode you should be on the look out for is the one where Eddie Izzard's (Wayne/Doug) boss gets married.

Look out world, it's Izzy's Dad....the superstar! :)

Bad Bloggers!

We know, it has been FAR too long since we had an entry and we don't want to have anymore comments from certain friends (who mind you, are wonderful weekly bloggers that we just cannot compete with-you know who you are!) on visiting our blog site and seeing the "Wings Crap" again. Gosh...and to think, our little one isn't even here yet and we have fallen this far behind. We will make up for it, we promise!

So to get everyone caught up, we thought we would summarize the last few months with some highlights and pics of things/events we have been up too! Here it goes...

At my first appointment of the new year the ultrasound above was taken. It was truly an amazing shot and so weird, but totally awesome to think, that this little one is inside of me. Since then, we have had several more (as you can imagine since this is my 39th week). We have been going to the doctor on a weekly basis since week 34 and each time, she (and I) are growing a little more. As of last Wednesday and this past Wednesday, I am a whopping 1-1/2 cm dialated-WHOO HOOO. For all who live out here, this weekend you will see me hiking up the hills behind Summit Park so hopefully when I go in next Monday my doctor will say I am ready to go! :)

Now we go into February...a busy month for one and all! The REP held its annual fundraiser, Evening with the REP, in its own house this year where we raised just over $5,000. The night was a memorable one with great food, awesome silent auction, romantic and quirky romantic scenes from plays and movies (including one of my favorites from Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan's movie, "French Kiss") performed by our "Company" and dancing until 2am, followed by a trip to the Saugus Cafe...Mama was hungry!

Also in February, my Mom (Grandmama Ilich) and some of my girlfriends (Steph, Amy and Sarah) hosted my Baby Shower! It was held at my parents clubhouse with adorable onesies and sock clotheslines decorating the room along with a "Welcome Isabelle Anessa" welcome mat cake! It was a great time and I/we thank everyone who came.

The nursery is on its last leg of being finished, yes we know that Isabelle is due next week and could have been here already, It has been a challenge with a few things like the changing table we finally received that had to be sent back and re-ordered because it had two broken pieces. Well, we got the new one today and all the pieces are in tact :) That is actually what Papa O is doing tonight.

For those who have been to our place, we actually had the loft upstairs turned into the nursery about two months ago. The half wall was built up into a wall with a window (on the stairwell wall) and a door. We chose lavender and green as the colors to paint the walls with white furniture to go with all of the new trim. We will post some pics once its completed.

Well, that is all for now until we get some more pics...maybe of Isabelle this weekend, if we are lucky! Everyone keep your fingers crossed because we are sooo ready for her to be here and meet all of you!

Hugs to all!!