Isabella Turns 2!

We got a little behind on planning/sharing Isabella's upcoming birthday because we had a really busy June (more on that later) and so, it was quickly decided, that with temperatures reaching 105, we should probably have a pool party and keep everyone as cool as possible!!

As soon as all of the littles arrived, it was right to playing in the water!

At this point, everyone is thoroughly soaked and having a blast running around and squealing!

After playing in the water, the kids had fun munching on great grilled goodies and perfect cookout foods!  Then it was time to play in the pool.

After playing in the pool a while, we (read: Momma) were ready for some cake!!!

two little finger prints in the bottom of the 2

Isabella was so anxious to touch her cake she stuck her two little fingers in the 2 before we could even sing "Happy Birthday" to her!  :)

Once we started singing "Happy Birthday" she decided she wanted to be really shy!  Who knew?! :)  This is certainly not the norm!

Shy little birthday girl!

Warming up a little bit. :)

After that, it was all bets off.  She dove right into the cake and Daddy *might* have dunked her face in the cake.  :)  Olivia came over and had a taste or two of the sweet icing.

That's right honey, you dive right in!

She was so sweet, once she had her fork, she immediately started sharing her cake (i.e. feeding the cake to her) with Olivia! She would put a bite in Olivia's mouth and say, "Mmmmm!" then repeat over and over.

While Olivia and Isabella were sharing cake, Alec decided he was going to stick a couple fingers in the big rainbow cake!  He was almost instantly caught by the surrounding adults! bahahaha! :)

By the time gift time had rolled around, she was really good about opening the presents.  She opened each card, "read" it, handed it to me, then pulled the wrapping paper off!  Any time she got an outfit she would hold it up and say, "Ooooooh!" which made all of the adults laugh!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Isabella's 2nd birthday and catching up on each other's lives!  Thank you so much to everyone that came on such short notice, Isabella is so blessed to have such a loving extended family!  I hope those of you that weren't able to make it enjoy this little peek into her birthday party!  :)

Be Blessed.

Isabella's New Talent

I have been itching to share this since July 28th, however, I refused to do so until everyone had the chance to see her do this in person first!  Now that everyone in our immediate family has witnessed this first hand (who wants to see it via the internet before real life??) I am happy to share Isabella's new talent!!!

On her 385th day of life, she did it up right!

Enjoy!!!

:D <---- proud Mum and Dad smile!

Way To Go Isabella!!  You are well on your way to being the most fabulous baby ever.

Who needs to take the first one or two steps, when you can rock it out Belle style with 11 steps?  She is definitely her daddy's girl!

We love you!

P.S. Sorry the video quality isn't prime, but I am SO thankful for the IPhone...otherwise we wouldn't be able to share this awesomeness with you great folks! :)

Be Blessed.

Big Girl Birthday Pool Party!!!

July 16, 2011

This is a bitter-sweet post, so some of the readers might need a Kleenex box.  Fair warning.

Poppy was so excited when Matt suggested we have Isabella's big birthday party at the farm, we never thought twice about changing it.

Let me back up a little bit and give some history (perhaps those Kleenex's will come out sooner rather than later??).  Dottie was always known for her parties- birthday, pool, cookout, holiday- you name it, she had a party for it.  She did her parties up right, you know what I mean?  None of this unoriginal party planning blah blah, she was so methodical and creative (I can only hope to some day come up with some of the ideas she did!).

We haven't had a party of the Dottie caliber since she passed away (yeah, it is coming up on 2 years soon- so hard to believe it has been that long).  Bill really wanted to work on the pool, landscaping and have the party there, and I thought it would just be perfect (quick pause for a Kleenex fetch).

Pool Party Time!

Bill worked incredibly hard, along with his business partner Kris, they did more landscaping, flower pot designing and cleaning up than I ever thought possible!!  All of this, while we are trying to plant our huge garden!!  Insanity!  And totally worth it!!

You are probably wondering why we had it on a different day than her birthday.  Well, the kids (meaning Sha, Kate and TJ) were at the beach and they would miss it.  We couldn't have Belle's favorite cousins missing the biggest party in a long time, so it was solved: July 16th it is!

Katers & Belle.  She loves cousin Kate!

Big thanks to a special cousin- Kate- for playing with Belle while we set up the last minute decorations for the party!  She had a blast playing with Belle and Isabella just loved hanging out with her (her little face lit up every time Kate walked into the room!). 

The party started at 1 with food being served around 2.

Everyone arrived, had a fabulous time hanging out with Isabella, eating, swimming and just generally chillin' out.

Grill Master Flash (Andy)

We had a lot of good cookout grub- the usual, plus some specialty local and family dishes.  Everyone scarfed down the food, so I feel safe in saying that it was good! :)  Andy was our Grill Master, flipping, grilling a lean, mean beefy/swiney spread (I took everyone's word on this!).  Thanks to Andy, it was great!!!

Then, again, comes my favorite part:  The Cake!

ERRRRRRT!  Stop, halt, wait just a minute!  We can't progress forward with the eating of the cake until we do the dressing of the babe.  Okay, so basically, I had a crazy number of outfits (go big or go home, right?) for Isabella.  She started off with her regular dress- see hanging out with Kate pic, then she had the dress I made to match the party, then she had her tanktop/tutu outfit to wear while she ate her cake, plus she had the bathing suit as well as clothes for afterwards.   A girl's gotta have options,  right? Bahahahaha

Sweet Baby Birthday Girl and Mum.

Okay, now that she has her fabulous tutu on, I can continue.

about 1/3 the line of people taking pictures

Once we walked out of the house in her new outfit (tutu ensemble), I felt, for just a brief moment, like a celebrity bodyguard.  Nope, not kidding, there was a line of people taking her picture (and there I was, toting the "celeb" while the paparazzi snap their million dollar photos).  I gladly handed her to the proud host: Poppy!

Isabella again had her own smash cake, this time it was white butter cream with a big orange "1" on it.

The Dessert Spread!

The Dessert Spread:  We had large sheet cakes (from Costco- YUMMMM!) for everyone else to dig in to.  We also had chocolate sprinkle covered strawberries (feel free to ask me what time we were making these!! ;)  haha) watermelon,  and icecream sandwiches of a variety of flavors from the Creme Stop!  Yum!!!

Big Orange 1 Cake!

So, here is the fun details from Isabella's second go around at a 1st birthday cake!  Of course we have the regular tiny touch, while looking around to make sure it is okay.  Then we have more touching, along with wild arm waving, a few pieces of cake flying into the grass.  A few bites of the icing, more smooshing of the cake, followed by oodles of fun!  She was even so dainty as to eat her cake with a fork! 

big bite of sugary goodness.

fork eating.

Clothes Update:  She did get a little icing on her tutu (maybe 5 dots) and a little on her shoulder (don't ask me how).  She had two flecks in her hair (I laughed at this) and the usual icing ring around her mouth and a load on her hand.

Matt and I had a great time encouraging and helping her eat the yummy cake again!  :)

After food, guess what is next.  Yep, you got it: a dip in the pool!

This is one of my favorites. <3

The plan was to let Aunt Meggie and Kate take Belle into the pool, with Matt and I watching and cheering from the side, however, Isabella had other plans.  She whimpered a little as Kate took her in and just squeeled once she got her toes in the water.  Not good.  Mum and Dad had to get their suits quick and hop in- outcome: Happy Isabella.  She smiled and giggled as soon as I got her (I am usually the one holding her in the pool- her comfort zone I guess!)

She played around with Olivia in the pool for a while and splashed, having a good time.  A bunch of the others were in and out all afternoon- it was perfect weather for a swim and a nap (just ask Zack!). :)

After she finished taking a dip with Olivia, it was time to open presents.  Isabella was sweet and told Olivia to come and sit with her (Olivia is a little over 2 years old).  They had a blast, opening presents, playing with the toys, then Olivia was very into reading all the cards- TOO CUTE!

Excited about a present!

Isabella was very blessed with some super cool toys (she loves them all- most of the time she bounces from toy to toy, equally playing with them- like she can't quite decide on a favorite), good books to read- I am very excited about this-, along with a children's book from Spain and her fun red beret from Pamplona, Spain (Thanks Linn!!!).  Notice she is wearing the hat??  She wore it the whole time she opened presents.  Cool. Did I mention this is my fashionable child?? ;)

She likes eating cake, so she eats the fake cake.

Bill, Ryan, TJ and Bill.  Playing Serious Horsehoes.

Isabella was a doll.  She spent time with each of her new gifts.  Inspecting, looking over, pushing buttons.  I liked that she was thoughtful with each toy, rather than throwing it to the side and ripping on to the next one.  She gave most of the toys to Olivia as soon as she was finished looking at them, so that they both could play with their new found goodies!  :)

After she finished opening her presents, everyone just relaxed, playing horseshoes (a heated game ensued for most of the day!), making s'mores,  and just enjoying the time with friends and family.  As for the horseshoe came, I believe Bill and TJ came out on top, but Kate, Ryan and Dennis sure gave them a run for their money a couple of times!!

Folks started packing up their things and saying their goodbyes (you have to start this about 30 minutes before you want to really leave with our family- it's big!) around 7.

<3 her.

Shortly before this (maybe 5:30ish) Isabella could hold on no longer.  Yep, that's right folks, she went without a nap (bless her heart, it wasn't without many people trying to get her to take a nap!) until 5:30 in the afternoon.  She finally crashed while Aunt Meggie was holding her (and chatting with everyone).  It was the sweetest thing!  If you look close, you can see a drool blob on Meggie's shirt!  bahahaha love her!

I am still in shock that we had so many people (60- yikes!) to the farm for Isabella's party- we are so blessed.  I am thankful Isabella had such a great time with everyone and that they enjoyed her bubbly company.  I am also thankful that she was able to brighten up a bitter-sweet day. :)

Thank you Isabella for making your own party such a joy- and thank you everyone that attended the party- you made it unforgettable for us all!

Here's to new beginnings.

Be Blessed.

A Year of Belle

Now that Isabella is a year old and all the parties are over, here is a sneak at the photograph decoration I made to show her growth over the last year.  You can see a full picture of it on the post about her big party (coming up soon).  These are the pictures I used, month-by-month.

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Isabella!

July 8, 2011

On Isabella's birthday we had some family over for a nice cookout at our house and to reveal our completed basement (yes, there were scissors and ribbon involved).  Here are a few pictures from her birthday.

Aunt Meggie, Uncle Billy Bob,  Poppy and cousins Kate, Sha and TJ came over to celebrate Belle's birthday.

Our neighbors: Cameron, Dylan and Ben came over and brought what they considered "the perfect present for Isabella."  Little did we know how right they were, lesson learned.  Kids know best.

The boys brought her a balloon.  Their thought?  They would bring her a balloon for every year she is old on her birthday (1 for 1, 2 for 2, etc).  How thoughtful is that??

For the rest of the night that balloon was attached to her.  She never let it go.  Crawled all over the house, dragging the best birthday present around with her.

The sweet little guys were 100% right. :)

After munching away on burgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, and salad, it was time for....yep, you guessed it: cake.

Now, I will pause and say how excited I was about this point- the cakes were from Schenk's on N. Mountain Rd...and, yes, they had strawberries and butter cream icing.  Squeee!  I actually thought about skipping the real food and heading right to the cake, but I held myself back.

Isabella wasn't sure what to think about all of these lovely folks singing happy birthday to her (notice I didn't say singing on key), I believe it was a little overwhelming.  She did reach for us to sit it down by the end of the song (insert thoughts of which name did we sing to, heck we sang them all, which made it even funnier - Belle, Bella, Izzy, and Isabella).  I am convinced she thought we were crazy- yes, Isabella, your family is crazy and loves you tons and tons.  Don't worry, you will have plenty more embarrassing moments as you grow up with us!!  We are not quiet, shy folks.

She had her own smash cake to do whatever her little heart pleased, while the rest of us munched on our own strawberry cake!  I highly recommend doing it this way.

She very carefully touched the top of the cake, looked at Mum, looked at Dad, looked at the cake, and touched it again, very carefully.

This continued for 3 or 4 more times, then Aunt Meggie walks by and what does Belle do?  She throws her arm at Meg and grunt, grunt, grunts.  We quickly realized that she wanted Meg to wash her hand off- please GET that icing OFF!  bahaha

Of course Meggie did exactly as Belle directed her and once again she was off to touch the cake again, now that she had a clean hand.  This continued a couple times, Matt and I stepped in and fed her a few bites so she could taste it, and by the end she was just tired of playing in cake.

Just in case you weren't convinced we were crazy...

Cothes report:  Not a drop of icing on her dress anywhere, including the black from the polka dots.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a princess on our hands! :)

Now that she is super hyped-up on a sugar high, we moved on to presents.  She wanted to tear the paper off the presents, but the balloon (remember that perfect present??) was a hindrance.  She still surged on like a trooper, bouncing up and down, crawling around and squealing, while Aunt Meggie helped open the presents. :)

She was blessed with an awesome porch swing from Poppy, some adorable clothes from Baby Gap (guess who these are from!!), a bouncy ball, Mrs. Potato Head, and an awesome musical card from Poppy.

Notice, Poppy went all out! :)  He is a good Poppy to Belle.

 

She had a lot of fun opening her presents, but did get a little bored with opening them (it took too long to get the present out of the package), so off she went to play with Paisley and her balloon while Aunt Meggie worked extra hard getting the presents out of their packages!

I guess Belle is collecting her "people" to do things for her, just like her Poppy!  ;)

She played and played until she wore herself out.  Not too tired to Skype with her Nana though!!  I asked her if she wanted to talk to Nana and she instantly perked up.

She had a quick Skype session with Nana, to wish her happy birthday, but by then the sugar high was turning to to a sugar crash and burn.  She couldn't talk to Nana for rubbing her eyes, so we signed off.

She crashed about 5 minutes (just long enough to change a diaper and put on some jams) later.

Isabella had a fabulous birthday and enjoyed hanging out with her family!!

Coming soon: a post about her big birthday party.

Be Blessed.

Isabella's 12 Months!

Here are some of the stats from her recent well-baby check-up for 12 months!!  By the way, I cannot believe she is already a year old.  :)  She is a sweet little girl, and that is all there is to it!

Getting measured!

Height: 17 3/4 inches (71 percentile)
Weight: 18.13 pounds (14 percentile)
Head Circumference: 29 3/4 CM (50 percentile)

All of the measurements are following her graph nicely, so I am not going to worry about a skinny tot.  It is what it is, and she eats, so all is good.

Who needs a Band-Aid?

She did have to get two shots, but did really well.  Cried a little for the first one, not at all for the second (probably because it was already numb from the first).  She stopped quick, and waved "Bye" to the nurse as she left, 2 minutes later she is picking the Band-Aid off her leg!

I received a lot of positive feedback from including things about her life, so here are a few more. :)

How long is her hair?
LONG.  She pretty much has to wear it up all the time, or else it hangs down to her mouth.  Yes, I know you are dying to ask, I have caught her trying to eat her hair, since it dangles to her mouth, I suppose that makes it quite tempting.  Yes, to answer your next question, she had a lot of bows, and she has lost a few, usually to her tossing them to Pugsley without us noticing! ;)  He thinks that makes them a chew toy.

What does she eat?
 Pretty much everything at the table, as long as it is soft, and doesn't present a choking hazard.  Her favorites (i.e. we get a big "YUM" when she eats them) are quinoa, black beans, brown rice, Tilapia, chicken, Cheerios, cheese, Mamaw's blueberry yum-yum and cake (these are two very recent newly acquired favorites, after her birthday parties- go figure!). We are starting to see our own favorite foods come out in the favorites she really likes to eat.  How cool is that?  It makes my heart smile.

What does she say?
Mum
Dad
Yum
Yay
Answers questions/recognizes things - i.e. Q: "How does Pugsley go?"  A: "Ahhoooo."
Claps her hands on command (without a visual)
Waves "Hi" and "Bye" and says each appropriately (old news, but still sweet)

Is she walking?
Not officially.  She obviously walks assisted, runs around in a walker, and can stand for a really long time, but hasn't walked on prompt for us yet.  It's cool, I am glad she is going at her own pace, rather than ours. :)  I have a feeling once she starts walking we will be getting a lot of exercise running around the house chasing her!

How long is she sleeping?
She goes down around 6:30-7.  We try to keep her up a little later, since it is summer time, but she just keeps rubbing and rubbing her eyes.  She normally gets up at 9 the next morning.  I know I have been blessed with a sleeper and I am very thankful for that.  Each child is different, so I am sure if we ever had another he or she would NOT sleep so well. :)

Naptime?
Yep, she takes them, like a champ.  She has taken herself down to 1 nap a day (I am not worried about it because she sleeps so long at night- play hard, sleep hard).  Usually she goes down around 12-1 and sleeps for about an hour and a half.

What does she "like"?

Love my swing from Poppy!

She has started recognizing VeggieTales songs (we sing them to her if she gets sleepy in the car).  She got a little Larry the Cucumber for her birthday and her eyes were WIDE with excitement, so she is pretty much hooked. :)  She also likes to sit and read a book- this melts my heart, of course.  Her Poppy got her a swing to go on our deck for her birthday and she very much enjoys swinging on it!  Swimming is the new thing.  She loves it, but only if Mum takes her in!  I can pass her off after I have taken her in, but not before.  Cute. 

Check back soon, I will be posting about each of her parties, so you can see the princess in action!  I must say, laid-back princess is a good way to describe it! :)

Be Blessed.

A Cape Sunset.

June 23, 2011.

This is going to be a really quick post, only about two things, okay well maybe three.  First, you can have your own beach fire on the Cape (check here for more information).  This was Matt's thing to do on the trip.  He was super excited about doing a fire on the beach.

You need to obtain a permit to build a fire on the beach, as they only allow a certain number (both resident and visitor) on each beach each day.  We picked our permit up while we were in the CCNS at Provincetown (same time we were busy dropping our debit card down between the deck!).  The permit is only good for the designated day.

Sunset Cape Cod National Seashore Head of the Meadow Beach

We drove out to Head of the Meadow Beach the night before to make sure it was a good site to build a fire- it was perfect by the way- and I was able to catch this awesome sunset shot with a couple of beach fires going bright.

The following day we had all of our dinner items packed up, beach paraphernalia in the car, our beach tent, dogs and babe- we were off!  The Head of the Meadow beach was only about 5 minutes from where we were staying so we jumped on Rt. 6 and headed down to the site.  Note the lot on the left is for visitors and the lot straight ahead/right is for residents.   There are different permits, so make sure you go to the correct spot on the beach, lest you get in trouble (I guess).

Well, we pulled into the parking lot and it started sprinkling.  BOOOO!  We waited a few minutes, while Isabella played with the puppies in the back, to see whether or not the rain would pass.  It didn't, instead it eventually started raining harder.  Boo again.

We were unable to do our beach fire, the one thing Matt wanted to do!  To bad we hadn't been more spontaneous and grabbed the permit for the night before when the sunset was so gorgeous!!  This is just something we will have to do when we head back again.

Be Blessed.