| (This post recaps everything from the old site up through August 2009.)
August 2009: We've been all over this month.
So far August has been a busy month for us! We took a trip (work for Rob, play for Isabel and I) down to Myrtle Beach, SC at the beginning of August and stayed with my two girlfriends, Amanda and Dana. It was tons of fun! Isabel loved hanging out on the beach all day, digging for sand fleas as the tide was going out and splashing in the waves. Her sense of adventure must be growing because she really wanted to be out in the big waves and tried to make us "let go" of her when we were out in the ocean (yeah right, kid!)...little did she know that those waves were much bigger and stronger than she was. She had her first experience tasting crab legs while we were there and I guess she will have a high dollar appetite, because she just loved them. I couldn't get the meat out of the legs fast enough for her! We also visited our favorite entertainment park while we were there: Alligator Adventure. Isabel was really fascinated that the alligators jumped out of the water during feeding time, and she was so, so excited to be able to finally pet a galapagos tortoise, as you will see in the pictures.
Immediately upon returning from the beach, Isabel and I unpacked and repacked for a trip to Hendersonville to visit Grammy and Grandpa G. Grammy's cousin, Donna had come to visit along with a friend from Texas. Isabel had a wonderful time with them and she got to go to Jump Off Rock for the first time, as well as a pizza place where you will notice her getting ready to drink a ROOT beer, NOT a real beer! After Donna and Kathy left, we hung around for a few more days and got to pick apples at Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock. The orchard was really expansive and even had goats, chickens, rabbits, a turkey and the big hit was...sheep! Not to mention that they had the friendliest sheep we have ever come across! Isabel was just smitten with him as you can see from the pictures :)
But alas, August is not yet over and to finish it off, we are heading to Wilmington, NC for a few days with our good friends, Michael and Meagan and their two girls. Isabel has been counting down the days until "beach week #2" and we are eager to have some more sand and surf time before she starts preschool the Wednesday following Labor Day.
July 2009: Funny Stories
**A cricket had somehow entered our house and had perished in the grooves of our sliding glass door. I was able to get the cricket body out, but one little cricket leg had fallen off in the groove. My fingers were just too big to reach in and get it, so I asked Isabel if she could grab the cricket's leg. She responded, "And put it back on?"**
**One of Isabel's favorite bible stories is "The Sneaky Snake" also known as the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden being tempted by Satan (the sneaky snake). Isabel has this story nearly memorized line by line. So one evening at dinner I gave her strawberries and she held one up and proclaimed, "Do you want to try my forbidden fruit?" We laughed and said, "what?", to which she repeated her question and then went on, "If you eat it, it will give you knowledges of what is good and evil. If you eat, you can be like God!"**
**Recently Robert gave Isabel her evening bath and she filled two plastic tea cups with bath water and said, "Here Daddy! I've made you a drink. Do you want tea or water?" Robert responded, "Oh thanks sweetie, but I'm not really thirsty for those right now." To which Isabel responded by pouring a third "drink" and said, "Here you go, you can drink this beer!".... Robert complied.**
July 6th, 2009: Uncle Matt's Birthday and other stories!
Isabel celebrated Uncle Matt's 25th birthday at Sushi-Thai in Cary with Uncle Matt, Cassie, Uncle Mike, Mommy and Daddy. She wore her authentic Thailand sundress from Donna and Dave, and even used her chopsticks to eat pad thai. I was thoroughly impressed with her use of chopsticks, although she has had practice eating lo mein. She sang Happy Birthday to Matt and even tried some of his green tea ice cream for dessert....and then she decided to stick with vanilla.
Pictures from the Durham Bulls baseball game are up! Isabel was really excited to be sitting one row behind the dugout (although Mommy was quite nervous about the stray foul balls flying our way). Isabel got to enjoy the fine dining of baseball park hot dogs and cotton candy. She was quite intrigued by the giant bull billboard whose eyes lit up and nostrils blew smoke whenever they hit a home run! We left before it was over as a rain storm surprised everyone, but it was a blessing in disguise as it got us home by 10:30pm (wayyyy past her bedtime).
Two water stories to tell you about: First, we took the boat out to Falls Lake for the first time this summer. This was the first time Isabel had been on the boat in 2 years and I was once again anxious to see how she would handle it, but she is going to be a complete boater like her daddy. Begging to swim in the lake, we stopped in a little cove and let her swim around in her life vest, which she loved! The second water story has to do with the pool. She is just a different child this year at the pool....we put her in Dollar Tree arm floaties (don't worry Mom, I watch her all the time), and she will float, kick her legs and swim around in the deep end! She has also just mastered climbing the rope ladder (past a water bucket that dumps every 15 seconds) to go down the water slide ALL BY HERSELF! I'm so excited she is having such a great time in the water this year!
She has had some episodes of outright disobedience (boy, 3 sure is a testy age!) lately. These include emptying a bottle of hair gel into an empty cool whip container while hiding under my bathroom sink....AFTER being explicitly told not to do so! And lying about pressing the water dispenser on the front of the refrigerator and leaving behind a soaking mess on the kitchen floor!
July 4th, 2009: Independence Day!
Today in honor of the Fourth of July, I was explaining to Isabel about Independence Day and why we celebrate it. I told her that we live in the country of America and that today was a special day to celebrate our country's birthday. I talked about how our country has a special birthday party with fireworks. She looked very thoughtful while I was explaining it to her and then said, "Remember, I have country in my barbie jeep!" She was referring to the music cds that play in the little radio in her powerwheels barbie jeep, one of which happens to be "country"! Too funny!
After dinner we went to Sadlack's across from NC State and listened to Matt's band play for about an hour. Isabel had a good time and the pictures in front of the American flag and with Aunt Kate are from that night. We then went to watch the fireworks. Isabel really enjoyed them (which I was surprised that this year she appreciated the noise!) and she even yelled out "BOOM!" every time a firework went off! It was cute at first, but got a little old after awhile, because she literally yelled it after each boom. But you definitely have to allow for a little silliness once it gets to be that far past her bedtime! ;)
June 2009: A Summary Of the Month of June
June was filled with several fun events beginning with our Trip to Charleston, SC. We got to go to the beach for the first time this summer while we were there. When we arrived, the tide was out, but there was a sizeable "pond" of water between the beach and a sand bar and it was just the right size for Isabel to wade through and feel completely comfortable...no intimidating waves to knock her over ;) She had a great time splashing around and looking for crabs, seashells and starfish. Daddy helped to make a sand castle with her and there is a picture of the two of them quite sandy from the experience! We also visited the aircraft carrier in Charleston to take some pictures, but the real fun was at the Audobon Swamp Trail on a plantation where we got to see turtles, alligators, snakes, a swamp rabbit (who knew?) and great white egrets nesting! Isabel was really amazed by it all....and I was quite terrified at some points because there was nothing stopping you from meeting an alligator up close and personal when the trail narrowed to an island path between the two swamps. Yes, I carried her through those parts as I wondered what was stopping the alligator that was 15 feet from our feet from having us for dinner.
After Charleston, our next great adventure came in the form of a six week old german shepherd puppy named Greta. After realizing that the 6 month old shepherd that we bought was not well-socialized and not a good match for our family, we rehomed her and purchased a much younger puppy. Greta is finding her place in our family and learning her role as puppy, not "The boss". Isabel has had moments of really liking Greta, to moments of "Greta Terror" (running away from and crying over her) to moments of completely ignoring the puppy's existence. I think they will get along well once Greta's puppy teeth are gone ;) Isabel's pet name for her is "Pup-pup", which Robert and I find adorable.
Then there was Mommy's Surprise Birthday Party. Isabel (and everyone else!) were apparently in on this suprise for my 29th birthday. Rob took me and our neighbors Paul and Ari out to celebrate mine and Ari's 29th birthdays. We went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and then out to get drinks...or so we thought. When we arrived at the bar, Isabel and many others were there yelling "Suprise!"...I thought Isabel's face was going to break, her smile was so big! She was just thrilled to be at the party! She blew little noise-makers all night, had cake and showed me the birthday balloons. She even let me wear a "29 Forever" birthday crown...what a doll. And what a complete suprise for Mommy!
Our trip to Grammy's and Grandpa G's house rounded out the end of June. Isabel visited the goats at Carl Sandburg's house, did some shopping, played in the water sprinkler, caught bugs, found a small garter snake and a field mouse, and enjoyed playing with Uncle Mike and Roscoe, the cat. We also took a trip to the Western NC Nature Center in Asheville and saw some of the animals native to the area like foxes, raccoons, bobcats, wolves, bears and deer.
May 2009: Summing up the end of May!
We have updated the website with pictures of some fun adventures that we had in May 2009! Three years old so far has been a really great "traveling" age for Isabel. She has the endurance to do some longer activities, can sometimes skip a nap and doesn't complain as much on car rides! :)
The ice cream truck/van has been coming through our neighborhood this summer and Isabel had her first experience buying an ice cream sandwich with Grandpa Holmes and Daddy. She gets very excited when she hears the music (which happened to be all Christmas music this day), and is eager to race out to the street to pick a treat!
Winterpast Farm was also a fun experience for the family. It is a local, private farm that the owner allows you to tour for a small fee. She takes you through her property and introduces you to her animals: llamas, goats, a pony, chickens, ducklings, emus, and a very shy sheep. Isabel was delighted to experience the farm, but very sad that the sheep was too shy to be pet. She did enjoy getting to pet a baby duck and feed leaves to goats.
The NC Ag Fest was also at the end of May and we went with Isabel's good friend, Hailee and her family as well as Grandma and Grandpa Holmes. I was amazed by how adamant Isabel was to try all of the rides, and then how she just sat and frowned on most of them once they started! She did really like the "Strawberry Ride" in which we sat inside a giant strawberry and spun around until we were dizzy, and of course the carousel is always a hit with her. Every time she wants to go on the swings, but they are just too scary for her to ride alone and I know as soon as I put her on it she will completely freak out! So we did not choose those. There was a petting zoo there as well, and she got to feed and pet sheep there. This was a really great event because it was free admission and free parking; you only had to pay for your ride tickets!
May 13, 2009: Ask for Commission!
The following conversation took place after lunch today between Rob and Isabel.
Robert: I'm going to have one of these delicious cookies!
Isabel: No Daddy! You can't! You have to ask for commission!
Robert: You have to ask for what?
Isabel: You have to ask for commission!!
Robert: It's "permission". You have to ask for permission.
Isabel: You have to ask for permission.
Robert: May I please have one of your cookies, Isabel?
Isabel: Yes Ma'am.
Robert: No, it's "sir". You say, "yes sir" to Daddy.
Isabel: Yes sir Daddy! You may have one of my cookies!
May 9, 2009: Trip To Hendersonville (Goats, Bugs and Llamas)
Okay, so there aren't pictures of llamas, but you should have your fill of goat and bug pictures. That has been Isabel's agenda while we have been in Hendersonville this week. She was very happy to see the baby goats at Carl Sandburg's House, although the goats are still so young that they aren't very interactive with people yet. So we mostly chased around the nanny goats in the fields. I was surprised that Isabel did not mind traipsing through knee high grass to explore the goat pasture! She was a little moody with the picture taking however....we are definitely starting to see the terrible THREE's with the defiant attitude she's got going on lately.
After visiting the goats we did ATTEMPT to see some llamas (on two seperate occasions) but they were hiding in the barn. The llamas are on a private farm, so we could only see them if they were out in the pasture next to the public road. To say Isabel was disappointed is an understatement. She told me, "I'm sorry we didn't get to see the 'wamas'!" at least 15 different times that day.
On a side note, I've noticed that although Isabel says "wamas" with a "w", if I say "wamas" with a "w" instead of llamas with an "L" sound, she notices and corrects me. "No Mommy! Not "wamas"...."WAMAS!!!"" She's so cute..I guess she doesn't realize that she is not saying it with an "L" sound!
Finally, Isabel is seriously into collecting doodle bugs a.k.a. rolly pollies....I don't know their scientific name. But that is her big fascination, and Grammy and Grandpa G's yard is full of them! So she is just in heaven! We found the biggest (and most disgusting, in my opinion) doodle bug I have ever laid eyes on...and she was brave enough to hold it. *insert shudder here* You can see it on the pictures page.
We also helped Grandpa G plant beans in the garden, heard the wild turkeys gobbling in the woods, discovered a bird's nest that contained a surprise bumble bee (not the best discovery), found a hairy beetle and have gotten really dirty in the process! But it's been alot of fun!
April 30, 2009: Recap of Birthday Party and more!
So we had a party for Isabel and her Aunt Kate (they share a birthday!) this past Saturday and I would say it was a success! What birthday party isn't? We went with a bug theme as you can see from the pictures. The ladybug cake was made by me (impressive, right?....I know I impressed myself!)....and it was quite good, along with being adorable!
Isabel got alot of Thomas the Train toys, which she is just enthusiastic about. Books, board games, clothes, bug toys (also super enthusiastic about), and a barbie jeep which she drives around our backyard. She seems very proud to be three and will gladly hold up three fingers to show you how old she is.
In other news she's been saying alot of funny little things, all of which I should be writing down and rarely do...but here are a few:
"Look at Kee's (the cat) eyes....he looks devious!" (Yes, I'm not making that up...she said, "devious" and that comes from Thomas the Train.
"Now here's the deal.....do you wanna hold me???"
"If you can you can, and if you can't you can't!"
April 22, 2009: Almost Three and Growth Update
Monday we had a growth check with the UNC clinic. Isabel weighed 25lbs, 7.2oz and was 35 1/2 inches tall! This is a wonderful little growth spurt for her and the doctor was quite pleased. She took her off the periactin (the antihistamine to stimulate her appetite), although she is continuing to remain on prevacid (reflux med) and we will continue the high calorie milkshakes and high cal food. But that puts her at about 7% for weight and about 12% for height! Which is great- we are definitely out of the negative percentiles! It's just been a huge stress relief for me.
Saturday we will have a party for Isabel's third birthday (which is actually Monday, April 27th). It is bug themed and I will be sure to post pics after the party. We are very excited that she will finally be getting a (albeit USED) Barbie jeep for her gift. I can't wait to see her face!
Isabel has been a big Thomas the Train fan for awhile now, but I realized she was watching too much Thomas on DVD when she started broke out of the blue quoting, "Now available on DVD, VHS and more, Thomas and his trusty friends is coming soon to your living room" or something similar...we were like, "WHAT?" Sure enough she learned it from the DVD I play (sometimes? okay, most times) we are driving in the car. That was an embarrassing parenting moment to have your daughter quoting the advertisements after the show.
"Mommy play! Mommy, mommy, mommy!" has come back.... for awhile she was demanding me so much, but things have changed. I absolutely wished she had a sibling close to the same age for those moments...which is most every moment.
More later...I will have to update about the striated borer beetle.
April 8th, 2009: Dyeing Easter Eggs
Isabel and Mommy dyed Easter eggs today. We hard-boiled the eggs, then created designs on them with crayons (of course the popular design was a sheep), and finally dyed them in pink, blue, purple and green (which turned out yellow). They are now in her Easter basket and she is very proud of them. There are some new pics uploaded of the eggs as well as a few pictures from Grammy and Grandpa G's house, and one with our cat Kee Kee.
Today Isabel and Daddy played outside after he got done working, and much to my displeasure, Isabel brought into the house a live slug and a dead cricket. Before I knew what was going on, she had both creatures in the bird cage (luckily, we no longer have a bird; just the clean, empty cage). I took pictures of this because she was absolutely thrilled to have these bugs in the house, even though it was short-lived adventure. Pics will be uploaded soon. Be sure to check back ;)
April 4th, 2009: Easter Egg Hunt Melee
We took Isabel to her first "official" Easter egg hunt this afternoon. It was madness and I don't know if we will do it again if it's hosted by the city, because parents were literally pushing little children out of the way (ummm, like mine!) and stealing eggs from little toddlers! It was outrageous, but luckily Isabel and Daddy made it out with 3 eggs! And Isabel thought that was just awesome, so that's what counts, right?? Anyway there are new pics of today's Easter egg hunt rampage on the pictures page. The best part was when everyone left and Isabel and Hailee got to chase and bring back fetch the eggs Daddy and Mr. Brian threw for them.
March 25, 2009: Wow, 3 months since the last update...
And so much has happened. To begin with, we have been adjusting to life since Isabel's baby sister, Mary Grace went to be with Jesus on February 28, 2009 at 21 weeks. Isabel seems to be doing the best that an almost 3 year old can with the loss of a sibling she had never met. But for a few weeks we saw her act out her emotions over the situation by behaving more aggressively toward Kee Kee (our cat). We now have to remind her that growling, hissing, spitting, severe tail-thrashing and paws-in-the-air are all Kee Kee's "warning signs" that he is not happy and that she needs to "back away". She has been to time out several times for inappropriate interactions with the cat....none of which have led to any scratches or bites- I have been so shocked that our cat is so tolerant of her! She prays for Mary Grace every day and we often read the book We were gonna have a baby, but we had an angel instead by Pat Schweibert....she often requests to read it and comments that "we have flowers and cards" like the family in the book, and "that boy is sad like me".
In other news, Isabel has been enamoured with her friend Hailee's barbie jeep powerwheel and absolutely LOVES driving it around. Thankfully Hailee is a good sport and doesn't mind when Isabel wants to drive!
She is now sleeping in her "big girl bed", a twin sized, not just a "toddler bed". I am shocked and pleased that the transition was literally flawless! One day I jokingly asked her if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed for nap and she agreed and has been sleeping in it ever since. She does not get out of bed at all- when she wakes up in the morning she calls out to tell us she is awake and waits there for us! Amazing!
Also amazing is the fact that after a severe stomach bug in January, she has since had a "regular" toddler appetite. We saw her begin to eat much more than she used to, and now she is trying all kinds of new things that she used to shy away from! We are very thankful that she has increased her appetite and is putting on weight enough to get her to the ZERO PERCENTILE (instead of the negative percentiles)- sounds crazy, but it is huge! She is still on prevacid once a day, and periactin twice a day, and scandishake milkshakes.
What else? Still loves for me to read her books at mealtime, loves to go to the playground, very into Thomas the Tank Engine...oh and now she talks non-stop. I don't know how else to explain it other than she literally does not stop talking from the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep. I get a break when I am vacuuming, drying my hair, sometimes if she gets really into a tv show or like I said, when she is asleep. It's exhausting sometimes just to listen to her, but of course we feel so blessed to have a perfectly healthy little girl who is about to turn three that it is hard to complain about her talking "too much". :)
December 20, 2008: Five Days 'Til Christmas
And Isabel and Mommy have taken a short trip to Hendersonville to visit Grammy, Grandpa G. and Uncle Mike (and Uncle Matt depending on when he arrives). Today we were driving back from the mall and Grammy pointed out a set of train cars on the railroad tracks to Isabel. Isabel saw them and questioned, "But where's the head?" "The what?" we questioned back. "The head!!" She repeated emphatically. "The engine?" we asked back. Then we realized she meant the head like Thomas the Tank Engine has....a face on the front of the train! We laughed when we realized that she thought all trains had a face.
December 17, 2008: You can't "scape" and a bedtime story...
Isabel says, "'scape" for "escape".... and let me tell you "'scaping" is a big deal at our house. Whether KeeKee is trying to "'scape" from Isabel, or Isabel is trying to "'scape" from Mommy or Daddy's "cage". We have lots of games that have to do with escaping over here! It's just so stinking cute to here her say, "No, Mommy! You can't 'scape from my house!"
Lately when Robert puts her to bed at night, he will lower her crib rail so she can climb in herself (which is the newest "cool thing" to do in our house at bedtime). However, I do not let her do this...I have deemed this activity a "Daddy only" one, and Isabel was very conflicted last night when it came to bedtime. I asked her if she wanted Daddy to take her to bed or Mommy and she replied, "Mommy". "Okay, but if Mommy takes you to bed, I don't put the rail down," I replied. She thought about it again, and changed her mind to Daddy. But when Daddy tried to take her up she seemed to panic and said, "Mommy". So I said, "Okay, but no rail" which caused her to switch back to Daddy and this went on back and forth explaining what would happen if so-and-so took her up and then she would switch to the other person. Finally she paused and I guess it sunk in and she said, "I want Mommy AND Daddy to tuck me in".....we laughed so hard, we couldn't resist putting her to bed together-she completely suckered us!
December 2008: Pre-Christmas
Lots of new stories...let's see if I can remember them all.
First, Isabel now weighs 22lbs 3.4oz (yes, that's only about a pound more since her September weigh-in)...but she put all of those calories into growing up instead of filling out as she is now a little over 34 inches which moved her up 2% into the 10th% on the growth curve!! She is still on all the high calorie supplements: Duocal, Scandishake, Breeze juice, and medications: Periactin to encourage appetitie, as well as Prevacid (for possible reflux- 2nd round) and Miralax (to encourage food to pass more quickly through her little body).
Isabel had her first visit with Santa this month. She had a peek of him at the mall and he waved to her. And then Santa came to our neighborhood and saw all of the little children. I could not believe it, but Isabel was brave enough to go up to Santa, give him a hug (albeit a timid one), sit on his lap and tell him that she wanted, "Balls, Bottles and Decorations for Christmas"! What a riot!
We also picked out our Christmas tree at Wagoner's. They sell their trees right beside our church and we buy from them every year. It is tons of fun for a little mind, b/c the trees are set up in rows and of course when you are only 3 feet tall you feel like you get lost in them. Isabel had a blast racing through trees.....so fast that I could barely keep up with her! It was a cold night when we went, which was the perfect tree-picking atmosphere. Pictures are on the photo page. She helped to decorate the tree this year with even the more fragile ornaments. She is also my guard against KeeKee (the cat) who stalks the ornaments lowest to the ground.
Isabel has been very interested in dinosaur books and of course (her beloved) sheep books when we go to the library. We go every 2-3 weeks and she wants to read all the time, particularly during meals...which I'm not sure is a good or bad habit.
We have told her that Mommy has a baby in her belly that will come out in the summertime. She asks, "But where IS the baby?" And I reply, "Under my skin, in my belly." Which seems to suffice! She has started putting baby sheep under her clothes and pretending that she also has a baby in her belly..although she informs me that they are "sheepy babies".
November 5, 2008: Halloween and More!
**There is a picture of Isabel petting the guinea pig on the pictures page. This was the neighbor's pet which they brought over for Isabel to see. I do not like guinea pigs really, so unfortunately for Isabel, she will likely not have one in our home ;) But she did enjoy playing with it and liked when Daddy made it squeal.....eek.
**On Halloween, Isabel went trick or treating! We had been practicing what happens when you trick-or-treat for days and she 100% knew what to do when the moment came! I watched her like she was an old pro and this was her first experience with it! We went with our neighbors, little Hailee (a Carolina cheerleader) and baby Hannah (a sleeping dalmatian). Isabel was of course, a sheep! She loved wearing her costume and we even made it around the entire block!! Her bag of candy became so heavy that she would sway over to the side on which she was carrying her bag and eventually we had to carry it for her. I should have taken a picture of the aftermath...in true Isabel fashion, she laid out every single piece of candy in a row and was completely mesmerized by her collection!
**This last month, Isabel has been non-stop talk. We took a trip to Grammy and Grandpa G's house right before Halloween, and I think Grammy was quite surprised that my child just does not stop talking. There used to be a volvo commercial on tv with a little girl just talking and talking while her father put her in her carseat....I remember Dad saying, "that might be Isabel one day"...little did I know that he was predicting the future!
**Last night I told her that Andrew and Connor, Aunt Kendra and Uncle David, along with Grandpa Holmes, would be staying with us for Christmas this year. And so at bedtime, during our prayers, she added..."And thank you that Connor and Andrew get to come here." It was so sweet.
**Rob had recently purchased chlorox tabs that dissolve in your toilet tank over time (not the bowl, mind you) so that it keeps the bowl cleaner. Well as soon as we put one in (several wks ago) Isabel noticed, "what's that smell?" "Just the cleaner for the toilet", we'd reply. Well after you flush the toilet, the chlorine smell is quite strong and guess who's gag reflex that triggers?? Yes, Isabel's. She had mildly thrown up or gagged or just spit several times before Rob would really believe me that it had to do with the tabs. Well today happened to be the mother of all throw ups. The child was loaded with 1/2 a milkshake (high calorie shake- not a real milkshake), 2 blueberry mini muffins, 8 oz of neon red high calorie juice (of course it has to be neon red...lovely) and a couple bulldozer fruit snacks. We walk in the door to our house, just having come from a doctor's appointment. I go and use the bathroom and flush the toilet of course. Isabel says, "Mommy, I have to pee pee." Great! I thought- I love it when she tells me! So I put her on the toilet, she does her business and as I'm taking her off the toilet and helping her back into her pants, I remember the chlorox smell from me just flushing the toilet...too late. Isabel's gag reflex hits the roof and out comes all of the aforementioned nutrition....splattering on my bathroom rug, the toilet, the floor, splashing neon red juice droplets onto the beige walls....the door, the pedestal sink...the step stool....my pants and of course, Isabel. It was a violent throw up....and I wanted to cry afterwards. The first thing I did though, was to remove every one of those darn chlorox tabs....I will take cleaning the toilet over cleaning up throw up any day. I held it together and gave her a bath and then tackled the cleanup. *sigh*....never a dull day.
Monday October 20, 2008: Funny Stories from a Monday
This morning I told Isabel we were going to get ready and go to T.J. Maxx. She immediately exclaimed, "And watch a movie!". She was thinking of "IMAX"- the big screen 3-D movie theater. I think she was a little disappointed when she realized we were going shopping instead of to a movie!
Later in the day she was talking about "going to Grammy's house" at Thanksgiving, and I was half listening (bad Mommy!) and she said something about "we'll see Duster and Grammy will play with him" (Remember, Duster is Grammy's cat that died this summer). So I responded, "Yeah we'll get to play with him"...not realizing she was talking about the DEAD cat!!! As soon as the words were out of my mouth, what I said clicked in my mind, and I looked at her....she gasped and her eyes got wide and she got this big smile on her face and said, "Yeah!! We'll get to see Duster again!!" I felt terrible! So I had to explain again that Duster no longer lived at Grammy's house and that I had misspoken, but that there were still two other cats that we could play with and pet.
*Isabel has lately been interested in having us brush her hair. I remember being little and loving the feel of having my hair brushed, and she is no exception! She brings us the brush and asks to have her hair brushed! Rob is delighted with it and spent 10 minutes just brushing her hair today- no wonder it was so silky!
Friday, October 17th, 2008: Bad Dream.
This morning I was fixing Isabel's hair and out of nowhere, she says, "I had a bad dream, Mommy."
So I said, "Oh, you did? What was it about?"
"Duster". (Duster was Grammy and Grandpa G's friendly gray cat).
"Oh," I replied, a little shocked and starting to believe that she really did have a bad dream about Duster. "Well, what happened in the dream?"
"I dunno...*pause*....he ran away."
"Oh, he ran away....what happened after that?" I prompted.
"He drank some milk."
"Well did he come back after he ran away?"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed....I don't think that really happened in her dream though.
But I tried to end it on a positive note, "Well then it was a happy dream in the end b/c he came back!"
And that was apparently the end of the dream b/c she stopped talking about it!
Sunday October 12, 2008: Pumpking Picking Day!
Okay, so we didn't actually pick pumpkins from the field...this would be better titled as "Pumpkin Choosing Day", but we still had fun. After Mass we drove right down the street to a pumpkin stand. We have been on 3 or 4 different outings trying to choose a pumpkin, but I also wanted to take pictures and have just the right pumpkin atmosphere for picture taking, SO....all the places we tried to go to before were crummy for photos or didn't exist once we actually got there. Well we pull up to this one and there's nobody there! Ugh....I couldn't believe it- another failed pumpkin picking outing??? But luckily they used the honor system if there wasn't an attendee and you could pick your pumpkins, drop your check in an envelope and away you went! It was so great! When we got there, we were the only ones, so Isabel ran around through all the pumpkins and I was able to snap pics without anyone in the way. The only problem was that Isabel really didn't want to smile for any of the pictures and by the end she was tired of the whole picture taking ordeal and was saying, "Mommy, take the camera off your neck!" So we chose a giant "Daddy" pumpkin, a medium "Mommy" and 2 little "Babies"....an entire pumpkin family for $15! She was quite delighted.
Also to update on the NEW sheep craft pictures in the photo section. We made those one morning. I drew sheep and cut them out of construction paper, and Isabel helped to glue on the cotton balls for the wool, googly eyes, and a red (she chose it, not me!) nose. The finished product is in the photo section. :) They are now a semi-permanent fixture on our refrigerator...I say "semi-permanent" because KeeKee likes to pull them off and chew on the cotton balls.
Friday October 10, 2008
Just a comment on some new pictures that I added. One is of Isabel eating an ice cream cone...I still have no idea why she decided to do this, but I turned around and there she was eating the cone sideways...it made for a messy experience.
Last night after bathtime, I put three braids in Isabel's wet hair and let her sleep in them. So this morning when she woke up it was somewhat crimped looking. At first I thought it turned out horribly, but as she went on through the day it looked kind of cute and at least gave her hair some body and wave! I might try it next time with more braids :) Snapped a few pictures so you could see my experiment on her hair!
October 5, 2008: Cheese, Ghost, Host...
Sunday we got up and got ready to go to 9:30am Mass, as usual. Well I decided to have a "reminder" conversation with Isabel about why it is not okay to grab a handful of hosts when we go up to receive communion. It went like this...
"Isabel, this morning we are going to church. Do you remember what kind of voice we use in church?"
"A quiet voice."
"Yes. And where do we keep our hands when we go up to communion?"
"To myself." (I was shocked but pleased she knew the phrase "keep my hands to myself")
"That's right!" I replied, and began to remind her that we obey Mommy and Daddy in church, but she cut me off...
"Only adults get cheese." .....Hmmm....I frowned as I tried to figure out what she was talking about.
"Cheese?? Not cheese....you mean the host. Only adults and older children get to receive the host. You have to take a special class when you turn 7 and then you will get to receive a host too."
"Yeah, when I an adult I get to have a ghost!"
"No, not a GHOST, a HOST." I was about to laugh out loud at this point. Luckily there were no altercations, fumbles or sneaky fingers today in the communion line.
End of September
We had a wonderful visit in Gastonia with Ella and Anna. Isabel and Ella really started to interact more in their play; it was fun to watch. We always have a good time visiting with them.
Directly after that visit we drove to Myrtle Beach, SC to stay with Grammy and Grandpa G. at "Grammy's condo" as Isabel called it. She had so much fun with the simplest things:
Going up and down the elevator. Feeding and chasing the ducks. Looking for lizards. Riding the carousel and train at Broadway at the Beach. Looking for the fire-breathing dragon. Watching an IMAX movie (I was absolutely floored that she tolerated a super loud 3-D movie)! Climbing in and out of her pack and play. Playing on the screened-in patio. Watching great white egrets! Shopping soooo patiently at the outlet mall with Mommy and Grammy. Eating Carolyn's frog cookie that came all the way from Texas! Reading Baa Baa Bedtime and Dora's Book of Time. Going into every Wings, Eagles and Pacific to look at hermit crabs.
It was so much fun! Mom and Dad's great friends from Texas, Carolyn and Gene came to the beach also. This was Isabel's first time meeting them, so we had been talking about them and showing her pictures, so when Carolyn and Grandpa G. picked Isabel and I up from the hotel, I said, "Isabel! Look! It's Carolyn, she's here!" And Isabel, without missing a beat, asked, "Where'd Gene go?" It was priceless.
September 10th, 2008: A little over 28 months
And Isabel weighs 21 pounds and 4.4 ounces!!! Yahoooo! That means she's up almost a pound and a half from last month! Which means the medicine she's on to increase her appetite as well as all the extra supplements and calorie boosters we are giving her are working!! What a blessing!! We had another appointment with a pediatric GI doctor at UNC Hospital today and she was pleased with her weight gain over the last month. She will see us back in 3 months. On Monday we take her back to UNC however, for the sweat test which will confirm or rule out cystic fibrosis. But we will worry about those results when they come in, for now we are praising God over her weight gain! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for her this last year!! Your prayers are working! :)
The End of August 2008
The Beach, The Beach, The Beach!!! This month we got to meet Michael and Meagan (Isabel's godparents) and their daughters, Ella and Anna at Atlantic Beach, NC for a few days of work (for the guys) and vacation (for the girls)! We had a wonderful time. All of the girls enjoyed the beach....digging in the sand, looking for shells, chasing seagulls and venturing into the water! Isabel really surprised me the first day we were there because she kept wanting to go deeper and deeper and didn't want Mommy to hold her!! I was impressed with her braveness! We went to the aquarium that is in Atlantic Beach and the girls had alot of fun looking at all the sea creatures. Isabel's favorite parts were getting to pet the hermit crabs and horseshoe crab in the "touch aquarium", and also looking for eels because she thought they looked like snakes. Other funny things about the trip: She is now addicted to "Finding Nemo", the Disney movie as it played in the Michael and Meagan's car whenever we drove around to entertain the girls. Also she enjoyed riding the elevator up and down in the hotel.
On the way home, we hydroplaned across the highway off the road and into a little ditch. Luckily none of us were hurt! Isabel was a little nervous about the rest of the trip home though and asked that I sat in the backseat with her (which of course, I did)! Our truck did not survive so well, although it is driveable, it is pretty banged up and first estimates say that the bed frame is buckled. We are awaiting the results of how much it will cost to fix it, or if the insurance company will have to consider it totaled.
Isabel's Baptism Anniversary, August 19th I wanted to celebrate Isabel's baptism day in a special way every year, since it is such an important part of her Christian life! We made chocolate cupcakes to celebrate and decorated them with white homemade frosting and then put a small red cross of homemade frosting on the tops! My idea was that the white would symbolize our being washed clean through baptism and the red symbolizing the blood of Jesus who takes away our sins! Of course, she probably didn't get much of the symbolism at 2 years of age, but it's the idea that counts, right?? She did like the taste of the cupcakes though ;)
Pullen Park Rob suggested we have "family day" on Labor Day, so we took Isabel to Pullen Park in Raleigh. We told her we were going to a park, but that there would be "surprises" there. She started guessing, "presents?", "M&M's?", "toys?"..... We told her the surprises were activities, things to do....and once she got there, she figured it out! They have a carousel, train and pond with paddle boats and we did all of those things in addition to playing on the regular playground and climbing aboard a caboose. She was so delighted with everything until she got on it and then she would sit with a very serious face. We did get a couple of smiling pics ;) Her favorite thing was the carousel, which she asked to ride a second time right before we left. Her first choice animal to ride was the goat; second choice was a kitty with fish in it's mouth. It was a wonderful family outing and she was definitely exhausted by naptime!
Other Tidbits for this Month:
*We weighed Isabel August 31st on our home scale (no clothes) and she was 21.0 pounds!!! We are amazed at how well she is putting on weight with all the supplements!
*One day last week the phone rang and Isabel quickly stated, "Golly, who's calling now?"
*Rob has taught her to say, "What's the big idea?"...and she will interject it at the funniest moments.
*The other night I had laid her down to sleep and came downstairs with the monitor and I could hear her asking, "Are you kidding me?" over and over again!
*She watches a show where the main character (a cow) says, "Books are mooooovelous!" so the other day she burst out, "Grapes are moooooovelous!!" Too funny.
August 16, 2008: Cute.
It was early in the morning and I was having my morning cup of coffee and Isabel looked over at me and asked, "What're we going to do today, Mommy?" And I said, "I don't know Isabel...probably play with your toys and hang around here." (Since the previous day had been very busy). She then looked at me and said, "Maybe we go to Lowe's and look for bulldozers". Lovely. It's not even nine o'clock in the morning and my child is already thinking about the home improvement stores!! She means the forklifts though, not bulldozers. And today at Home Depot (yes, we ended up at both Lowe's and Home Depot), she was very excited to get to ride in the "race car" cart, and told a customer and an employee "I luuuuuv Home Depot!"
On a side note: The last three stores I've been into, Isabel has been given a treat or told to "go get a treat" b/c she is so cute. First in Walmart, an employee crosses over the aisle to tell me that they have free cookies for kids in the bakery and that I should go and get her one!! Then we went into a convenience store and the lady behind the counter asked how old she was and exclaimed how well she spoke, then gave her a sucker! Well as soon as Isabel got it and told the lady "thank you", she turned to me and said, "This is for Daddy!" And I said, "No, this nice lady has given it to YOU to lick!" But she persisted that she wanted to give it to Daddy, so the lady behind the counter gave her ANOTHER sucker just to give to her Daddy! And then she exclaimed "Thank You" very enthusiastically!! Finally at Home Depot, the employee told her she was so cute that she could have a Mickey Mouse sticker if we went up to the front counter. Good grief!
August 13, 2008: Gastroenterologist Visit at UNC Hospital
We took Isabel again to UNC Hospital, this time to a pediatric GI doctor. At nearly 28 months she weighs 19.4 pounds. This doctor seemed baffled by why Isabel is so small. They asked alot of the same questions that we were asked at the endocrinology visit. There were a couple of new things:
1. At her next GI visit in 4 weeks, Isabel will be tested for cystic fibrosis. This is the 3rd or 4th time a doctor has "batted around" the idea of testing, but this doctor made that our "first" test to do.
2. We were given a prescription for a medication that will increase Isabel's appetite and allow her to consume more.
3. We got an even higher calorie "milkshake" for her to drink. This one has 600 calories vs the 440 calorie shakes I was giving her. I also have a powder that I sprinkle on her food to add extra calories. Isabel should be consuming 1200 calories/day to catch up to the weight she should appropriately be.
4. If she doesn't gain some weight by the next appointment, the doctor recommends that we do an endoscopy to check for reflux issues and an enima to check the lower GI tract. Robert and I are not comfortable with such invasive procedures at this point, and of course it is completely our decision as to whether we feel that it is appropriate to do those.
On a fun note: While we were in the parking deck at the hospital Isabel commented that she wanted to see the geese. (The back story to this is that my OBGYN office has a parking deck that looks out over a pond with Canadian geese; and she loves to see them). I told her this was not Mommy's doctor, but Isabel's doctor. She was a little disappointed, but the following day I told her we had to go to bed early b/c the next morning we would be going to Mommy's doctor. She sat quietly for about 10 seconds, then said, "And see the geese?" She is just too smart for her own good.
Monday, August 11, 2008: Lots of updates!
Potty Trained! So I potty trained Isabel back in June (at 26 months). I needed a "project" to occupy my time after my miscarriage, but unfortunately potty training was so easy, she completed it in one day. No, I'm not kidding. She knew how the steps of pulling down her pants/underwear, sitting on the potty and "going", pulling her pants back up, dumping the pee pee into the big toilet and then flushing the big toilet. I was so impressed. Of course she had some accidents that day and in the following days, but now I can't remember the last time she had an accident! I couldn't believe it was so easy. She prefers to actually use the big toilet, but I don't have one of those seat inserts for little kids, so I have to hold her when she uses the big toilet so she doesn't fall in....but the positive side to that is that she has no problem using the "big toilets" when we are out shopping, dining, etc!
Visit to Godsister's House in Gastonia, NC: We had a wonderful visit with Michael and Meagan Lee in late July and their two daughters, Ella and Anna. Ella is Isabel's Godsister (meaning Michael and Meagan are Isabel's godparents and we are Ella's). The girls had lots of fun playing in the swimming pool, visiting a local museum and just hanging out and getting to play with each other. I think Isabel learned quite a bit about what it will be like to one day have another sibling! :) It was a really fantastic trip!
Snake Cookies: Last week Isabel and I made snake cookies for fun. They turned out "interesting" but Isabel was delighted! She has been very into snakes and dinosaurs lately. She had fun using the rolling pin on the dough but mostly wanted Mommy to make the "snakes". It was a fun baking project for the both of us!
Package from Grammy: Photos of Isabel with some new toys from Grammy. She has had a blast pouring water and sand on the "ferris wheel" toy and has been incessantly asking me to help her catch bugs with her new bug catching net!
Other Stories: ** This weekend Lucy (our boxer) bumped Isabel and she stumbled but caught herself from falling, then said, "Shoot! I just about lost it!" I don't know where she came up with that phrasing!
** Saturday we went to Lowe's and Daddy showed Isabel a bee on a flower. We saw another bee when we got home and she observed it closely. At 11pm Isabel woke up saying, "Mommy! A bee, a bee!!!" When I went in her room she told me there was a bee on Sheepy. I turned on the light and checked it out. No bees....Sheepy's just fine. She must have been dreaming about it. Bless her heart! Luckily she drank a little juice and was okay with going back to sleep.
** Sunday she said, "Mommy take your temperature." She shoves a medicine dropper in my mouth, takes it out..."What's my temperature?" I ask. She thinks for a second then replies very matter-of-factly, "Fifty pounds!"
July 25, 2008 (almost 27 months):
Current List of Things that Isabel States Are "Sooooooooo Cute!!"
Froggies
Sheep
Doodle bugs
Snakes
Lizards
Grasshoppers and Crickets
Slugs
Goats
Bulldozers and Cranes (Oh, you thought it was animate objects only??)
July 21, 2008
This month has definitely been a celebration of birth days! Isabel sang Happy Birthday to Uncle Matt at the beginning of this month over the phone, to his delight. And Grammy and Grandpa G came this past weekend to celebrate with him! We had a fun dinner at El Senor Mexican Restaurant and then came home to eat birthday cake, which Isabel had greatly anticipated! (It's so good to see her want to eat food!)
The week prior we celebrated Isabel's best friend, Hailee's birthday with a party at her home. Isabel was quite content digging in the sandbox and swinging on Hailee's new swingset! She also enjoyed the Elmo cupcakes as you'll see from the pictures I will soon upload!
We are also eagerly awaiting the Birth Day of Paul and Ari's baby, little Natalie! We cannot wait to meet her! :) Ari told us a funny story about Isabel eyeing her belly very curiously, so we've been reminding Isabel that there is a baby growing inside! I don't know how much she could understand that, but she definitely notices that there is something different about a pregnant belly! LOL!
June 2008
Isabel had a wonderful time visiting Grammy and Grandpa G. this June. She got to visit the Carl Sandburg Farm in Flat Rock where she was delighted to play with all the baby goats. She was sooooo lucky, because she got to visit the farm two different days! Once with Mommy and Grammy and once with Mommy and Daddy. She was equally ecstatic both trips!
We went to Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Isabel was an angel every time we went...all of Grammy's friends were happy to meet her!
Isabel enjoyed playing with "Grammy's toys", looking in the backyard for Bailey and O'Brien (the two cats), searching for snakes in the woods and looking under every rock and log for lizards and toads, as well as exploring Grandpa G's office to see the deer. We went to the neighbor's house and were able to see several wild turkeys in her backyard as well as a white squirrel. Isabel was fascinated.
Another day, Grammy and Mommy took Isabel downtown Hendersonville and strolled down Main Street looking at the ceramic, handpainted goat statues that line the street.
Mommy celebrated her 28th birthday in Hendersonville and Isabel enjoyed saying "Happy Birthday Mommy" during the week!
It was a lovely trip!
June 2, 2008: The First Appointment At UNC Hospital
We walked out the door at 8:45am to leave for our pediatric endocrinology appointment at UNC Children's Hospital today. On the way out the door Isabel falls and skins her knee... after we get her bandaged up she cries about it the entire way to the hospital (about a 45 minute drive). Once we find parking and find the hospital we make it to registration where we meet a long line of people waiting to check-in. We find out that today, June 2nd, is the first day that UNC is using a brand new computer scheduling program and all of their computers have crashed or frozen. Nice. We finally make it in for our 10:15 appointment at 10:45am...not too bad considering how long the line was.
She is examined by an endocrinologist who consults with a second endocrinologist and they both come in to tell us that she does not have an endocrine problem. This is good news and bad news b/c we still don't know for sure why she is so small. They told us to feed her more calories. I thought I would start crying b/c we add butter to all of her foods, she drinks Carnation Instant Breakfast at every meal mixed into her whole fat milk, she eats high fat, high calorie foods and I'm not quite sure what else she would eat. The doctors tell us that the low growth factor they found is due to inadequate nutrition (not enough calories) and to come back in 6 months.
First however they send us to a nutrionist who happened to be the most informative person we met today. She introduced us to new "milkshakes" and high calorie prescription samples to add to her food, and even to juice boxes that contain 250 calories vs her 110 calorie apple juice. She was interested in the way Isabel's bowel movements have been off and on her gluten free diet and also in the fact that Isabel has to eat smaller bites and sometimes gags on her food. She suggested that we make an appointment with both a gastrointerologist and a speech pathologist. The GI doctor will check to see if she is not absorbing nutrients for some reason and the speech pathologist will evaluate her eating behaviors to see if there are ways to get her to eat more in one sitting as well as evaluate her gag reflex.
The nutritionist says that we should aim for 24 pounds as a goal weight. Today she weighed 18lbs, 14ounces.
So today was frustrating and encouraging. Frustrating that we didn't get a real answer other than it's not an endocrine issue and encouraging that we have some new ideas for calorie intake as well as the GI doctor and speech pathologist route.
It was a long day however...we finally got home at 2:45pm.
May 20, 2008: So much to talk about!
Isabel's growth: We found out from Isabel's bloodwork taken at her 2 year well visit that her growth hormone is significantly lower than a normal 2 year old's. (Isabel's is 40 and a normal level is 99). So our pediatrician has set us up to take her to UNC Hospital on June 2nd to see a pediatric endocrinologist. (Yes, we have been to an endocrinologist before, but her levels were not as abnormal at that point. Hopefully this experience will be much more pleasant and the doctor much more knowledgeable than the last endocrinologist). Also she had genetic testing for celiac disease and she does not have this disease! Hooray!! However her pediatrician wants her to remain gluten-free for awhile since she has been eating so well on the gluten-free diet.
Baby birds: We had a nest of baby purple finches living in a hanging basket of ferns on the front porch recently. Isabel got to see the nest and the mother bird flying to and from it each time we passed by the window. She was very interested in the babies. She did get to see them once they hatched and I wish I had captured her expression on camera as Rob lifted her up to see! She was just delighted! You can see a picture of the baby birds in the picture section.
Charleston: Last week we were in Charleston with Rob as worked down there. We went to the beach where Isabel was obsessed with "catching" a seagull. In one of the beach shops there was a blue macaw in a cage which Isabel stared at with wonder! It spoke a couple phrases and the two Isabel remembers are "I love you" and "Peek-a-boo"....she also remembers that a customer fed the macaw an M&M candy- which delighted Isabel to no end since M&M's are her favorite candy too! We got to visit downtown Charleston where we took a ride in a horse drawn carriage...okay, ours was drawn by mules, but apparently they are stronger and better suited for the heat! Isabel was an angel on the hour-long ride, and nearly fell asleep in my lap for the last 10 minutes. She got to see chickens and two white goats in the carriage barn.
Funny Manipulations: Isabel has started saying "I have poopies" and "Change diaper" when she goes down for a nap or at bedtime to get Rob or I to come in and check her out! It works every time too! She is getting quite clever at trying to manipulate us. We regularly say a family rosary every night right before Isabel goes to bed (for those of you who are not Catholic, this is about a 20 minute set of prayers meditating on the life of Christ). Well on the nights that it is too late to say the rosary I tell her we are just going to say some "quick prayers". She will always respond, "Say da rosary, say da rosary!!" to buy herself more time before bed!! Smart kid.
Sunday, 5/4/08: Today we took Isabel to the NC Museum of Natural Science in downtown Raleigh. We decided to go here b/c the last time we checked out books at the library, the librarian noticed we had a book about seahorses and mentioned that this museum had a seahorse exhibit that Isabel might like. Let me tell you she had so much fun! There was just so much to see (4 stories to the museum), lots of live exhibits...and did I mention it was FREE??? I love FREE! The highlights of the trip for Isabel were: the seahorses, dinosaur bones, the butterfly conservatory, fish exhibits, any kind of lizard/salamander exhibit! She was so cute naming animals and making animal noises! And she did so well because it was a long day! We had been to Mass, then straight to lunch, then straight to the museum and finally got home close to 3pm (wayyy after nap time). But it was worth it! We have adorable pictures that I will be uploading soon!
Another lovely note to this day: At Mass we were surrounded by a handful of noisy (delightfully so) toddlers and infants sitting near and around us. Isabel made it all the way through Mass without having to leave with Daddy (there is no cry-room at our church)- she has only made it all the way through church 2 or 3 times before! AND to top it all off, after Mass the lady sitting behind us commented on how well behaved Isabel had been, especially with all the noisy little ones around us! I was just delighted that someone noticed and for her to comment on how well behaved she had been just made mine and Rob's day!! :)
May 2nd, 2008 Some Fun New Isabel Tidbits!
Isabel's new game is "Come In!" A game that involves her small plastic animals knocking on the door of her Little People barn asking, "Can I come in?" To which she answers either "Yes" or "No"... All of the figures are allowed inside except for the german shepherd dog and the sea diver. These are never allowed to come in! It's too funny! She always wants Mommy to play this game "Mommy playyyyy!!!" and I am always the figure that knocks on the door and she is always the one who answers "Yes" or "No".
Before her nap, if Daddy is home, I ask Isabel to go give him a kiss "goodnight". Today she walked into his office and said, "Kiss. No. Cry? Okay!" Which basically meant she wanted Daddy to pretend to cry that she wouldn't give him kisses (this is a game we often play).
Story for Grammy: Isabel walked over to the art table and noticed the kitty drawing you had left her from your last visit. She exclaimed, "Oh Kitty!! So cute!!" And proceeded to kiss the drawing! It was precious!!
Last night Isabel went to watch Daddy's kickball game at the park. It is played in a baseball field, and we sit behind the batter/catcher so there is a big fence to keep us safe! Isabel had a blast running around, going up to the fence, sitting in a lawn chair and testing how far she could safely go from Mommy. Our neighbor's dog, Twix was there and she enjoyed petting him ("So soft"). The other kickball team was a little eccentric, wearing sombrero's and mustaches while they played....they even brought a chicken. Yes, a real live brown hen. Isabel and I went over to see it and she was amazed...her eyes were so big and she wanted to pet it. The chicken clucked for us, but we did not pet it since the owner was kind of snooty about the opposing team checking out his chicken.
April 27th, 2008: Isabel is now 2 years old!! We had a delightful birthday celebration for Isabel to celebrate her second birthday on Sunday. In attendance were: Grammy and Grandpa G., Uncle Matt and Cassie, Uncle Mike, Grandma Holmes, Isabel's BFF Hailee, and her parents Meredith and Brian, and special neighbors Paul and Ari (who have Twix the dog who Isabel adores)! We cooked out hamburgers and Isabel had a special gluten-free heart-shaped cake with M&Ms!!
It was great watching her this year because it was so much more real for her! We had talked about and anticipated her birthday. She told people she was "Two Years Old" (although she slurs it all together and holds up one finger). She absolutely loved opening her presents and would exclaim "Oh" when she got something exciting! She ate birthday cake this year, whereas last year she was so tired by the time we got to cake it was almost painful to watch! It was just lots of fun all around!
She was definitely thrilled with her new playhouse we put in the backyard! We had kept it a secret (under a tarp) for over a month!! Can you believe it?? We had to tell her that was "daddy's work stuff" under the tarp! But she plays in it and likes to put Sheepy inside and tells Lucy "go lie down" when Lucy tries to come into the playhouse.
It's just amazing that she is two years old already and we have been so blessed with what a joy it has been to have her in our lives!
April 17, 2008: We are so excited that Isabel is close to turning 2! She has been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" to herself and telling me she will be "two years old".
You will notice in the newest pictures that we have a new addition to the family. A young boxer puppy named "Lucy". She is about 4 months old and we more or less adopted her from a girl who could no longer keep her. She is a very sweet girl, however, she is not very good in my garden....we are still working on the digging....enough said? I keep telling God that if a dog digging up all of my plants is the least of my problems, then I am very blessed. Isabel likes Lucy, but likes her best outside! As you may be able to tell from the pictures, Lucy was undernourished and we are working on getting her to a healthy body weight!
Speaking of weight, Isabel now weighs 19 lbs on our home scale!! She will get on it and exclaim, "Sixteen pounds!" so we are working on upping the number! 19 lbs is great- she has gained almost 2 pounds now, since going gluten free in February. We were hoping to be able to get her 20 pounds by 2 years, but I guess we'll take what we can get, right?
Her Latest Favorite Things: the color purple, seahorses and lizards! She has also been very interested in dressing up Sheepy and Baby Janet in pajamas and putting them to bed. And her favorite book this week is The Desert Fox Family Book..it is a photojournalist's perspective of the fennec or desert fox which lives in North Africa. She picked it out as we were leaving the library!
April Fool's Day: Isabel has now transitioned to a booster seat for meal time! She was getting to the point where she would eat half her meal in the high chair, then tell me she was "all done" and then we'd get her cleaned up, out of the chair,....and she'd want to sit in a big chair at the table and eat again. So Saturday we went and picked out a booster seat and she is delighted with it.
We also painted Isabel's bedroom over the past few days! (Finally!!) Isabel slept in her crib which we moved into the guest room during the painting, and she did great! She just saw the finished product this morning and we captured her reaction on camera. The pics are in the pictures section. (If you click on a picture that is not upright, it will right itself in the slide show. I'm working on fixing that problem!)
March 26, 2008: What a fun day we had today! Although it started off a bit wacky ;) I found out the hard way that Isabel is quite capable of removing the tight lid of a bottle of nail polish...what other color than red!!! She seemed a little confused about how quickly she was covered in the stuff! But craziness aside, we have started attending "Toddler Time", a story reading time for little ones at our local library. I explained that we would be returning our library books (which I didn't think would go over well, because she becomes very attached to books we check out), then listening to stories, and then picking out new books to take home. To which she replied, "Shhhh...quiet"...it was too cute! She remembered that the library is a quiet place! I was thrilled and she had a wonderful time and talked about the "lady" at the "libary" and "happy happy" (we sang "If You're Happy and You Know It"). This afternoon it was gorgeous and we had a fun time at the neighborhood playground looking for bugs!
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