Affectionate Phrases

Since Isabella is talking so much more and so clearly these days, she is so willing and able to respond to us when we tell her "I love you". She does respond, but most of the time she responds with "I Miss You". She'll also initiate the affection by telling us "I Miss You" when she wakes up in the morning, after a nap, or at any other random moment of the day. She'll also tell her doll, stuffed panda and favorite blankies, "I miss you", when she sees them after being away from them for any length of time. She's hilarious! She'll also say "Thank you mommy for my cereal (or whatever food I've given her), I miss you" when I put her plate on her highchair tray at mealtimes. I believe she picked up more on the "miss you" phrase because that's what we tell her when we've been gone and come home to her and we've talked about missing our family and friends in CA. She is starting to say " I Love You" more now with some slight prompting. Either way, it melts our hearts to hear her express her love and I just love how appreciative she is at such a young age. I Love You, I Miss You, Isabella!

New Furniture!!

My wonderful husband took me furniture shopping on Friday night and we found exactly what we were looking for, 2 dark brown leather chairs, a dark brown leather couch with microfiber cushions, and a coffee table. We bought living room furniture and a dining room set (the dining room set is on back order, so it might be a couple of weeks). Now we just need some artwork for the walls.

Little Reading Star!!

That's right, Bella is a Reading Champion! She completed the summer reading program at our local library (12 hours of reading) and we are so proud of her. She got her pennant and a free ticket to an amusement park. Go Bella!

I've mentioned several times lately how much Bella loves reading and how thankful I am for that. She actually reads her books more than she plays with her dolls and toys these days. Today she read books by herself for almost an hour and a half while I folded laundry, picked up around the house and cooked dinner. Oh yeah, she also read for an hour this morning, while I slept on the couch next to her (I stayed up way too late last night and she was up at 7am, I needed more sleep:). Yesterday she read for an hour on our new couch while I prepared food for dinner and got ready for church. She actually prefers to read by herself a lot of the time and will often times say, "no thanks" when I ask her if she wants me to read to her. She listens very carefully when we read to her, then when I hear her reading those same books to herself I hear specific words that we had read to her. Ahhh, the joy of parenting! She is so precious!

Oh, she also likes to act out scenes from her favorite books. She had been asking to bob for apples like in one of her books, so last night after dinner she did! It was a toddler version of bobbing for apples and she absolutely LOVED it!

Bella will read anywhere. Here she is on our front porch with one of her favorite books in hand.

Guess Who Came Back??

That's right, Flopsy the bunny came back! Just one day after being rescued from our basement window well, he came back. I think he missed watching David work at his computer. This time he was more energetic, trying to hop up out of the well. He even ate some of the lettuce David gave him. We put him in the front yard this time where he hopped right under a bush and we haven't seen him since. He was active this time in the well!

That's a tissue behind Flopsy. My thoughtful David wanted him to be
comfy on the mulch.

Bunny Rescue

This morning as David was in his office (aka basement) working at his desk he looked up and saw a tiny helpless baby bunny that had fallen into the window well. He was thinking like his animal-loving wife and popped off the screen to give it some lettuce and a small dish of water. Then he took a picture and sent me a text message. I couldn't believe it, it was sooo tiny, a little smaller than a tennis ball! After I got home, we looked up some info. on the internet to find out the best approach to save the little bunny. Then as I turned to go upstairs something told me to look in our other window well and it was then that I saw ANOTHER baby bunny! Our bunny rescue X2 began. Thankfully both of the sweet little guys were pretty mobile even after their 4ft. fall into the window well. As of early this evening, one of the bunnies was still hanging out near the fence in our backyard, where we let them go. Hopefully they'll both find their mommy tonight!

Prayers of a 2 Year Old

Isabella continues to blossom right before our very eyes. One thing that really makes me proud of her is when we pray whether it's before a meal or at bedtime. When we tell her it's time to pray, she'll fold her hands and look down (most of the time). We'll begin our prayer then she'll add in her prayers. Lately she's been saying, "pray for Cat in the Hat and Strawberry Shortcake". Bella doesn't yet understand who's real and who's part of a story, but she does definitely get the idea about praying for those you care about and she does it in such a warm way. She also prays for Papa and Grandma, mommy and daddy, and for her friends, by name.

She is so into reading her books. She always has a book in her hand. If we're going outside to go for a walk, she'll grab a book to bring. When we got the pool out the other day and I brought my magazine outside to read, she asked me for one of her books. When we go for an outing in the car, she'll read while I'm driving. She'll read in the shopping cart. She'll read anywhere and everywhere! She's definitely the cutest little bookworm I've ever seen!

Date Night

It had been a long time, at least a few months, since David and I had been on a date, with our move, David's travel schedule, another move, we've just been so busy. So, we got a babysitter tonight and went out on a long overdue date. We went to a restaurant called J. Alexander's. It was sooo good and it was a total copy of one of my favorite California restaurants, Houston's. The ambiance, menu, service, etc. was all so similar to Houston's. So I ordered one of my favorite restaurant dishes, a seared ahi tuna asian salad along with a glass of white wine. David had prime rib that was also delicious. Then we did a little shopping and stopped for coffee at a local coffee shop on the way home. It was really great to go out by ourselves and focus on each other and enjoy a meal without any interruptions. Our next date is to see James Taylor in concert for our 4 year wedding anniversary and we're both looking forward to that. It definitely is an important priority to set aside time to focus on our marriage even though that's sometimes hard to do with children, work, etc.

Baby Belly

I've mentioned in the past some of the things Bella says and ideas she comes up with. Well, the other night her idea took the cake. David was helping her with her post-bath routine of putting on lotion, getting dressed, hair combed, etc. While I'm busy in the other room I hear this conversation between the two of them:

Bella: "I have a baby in my belly"
David: "You do??"
Bella: "Yes"
David: "Do you want to pretend there's a baby in your belly?"
Bella: "Yes, I want a baby in my belly!"
David: "OK, here you go" (I hear some rustling sounds) "Go show mommy"
Bella: "Mommy, I have a baby in my belly. She's crying." (as she shows me the little bump of tissue under her shirt)
Me: "Wow, Bella!!" (while cracking up with laughter) "Is it too early to pretend this?"

Why all of this transpired? Last week while in CA we went to the beach and met up with our dear friends, Kathy and Connor. Kathy is 5 months pregnant and I showed Bella her baby bump and explained that there is a baby in Kathy's tummy. Well, I should have known that with Bella's mind she would not forget that discussion a week later. When the time comes for us to have our next baby, Lord willing, Bella will be all set with understanding where the baby is.

CA Trip

Bella and her best friend, Landon, at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Here's Bella just before falling asleep on Grandma's lap. It was a long,
hot, fun day at Disneyland!

I was so happy to capture this special moment of my dad reading a
Curious George book to Bella.

At the Santa Ana zoo on a frog sculpture. Great Smile, Bella!

Enjoying the sand!

That water was sooo cold, but that didn't stop the fun. Bella didn't want to get
out of the water even though her lips were purple and she was shivering!

On an evening boat cruise with our dear friends, Eric, Lisa, Landon and Makena.

More outside play . . .

When Bella was on a walk with David a few night ago, they met some neighbor kids who were using sidewalk chalk in their driveway. Needless to say, it was hard for him to get Bella to go home when it was time because she had joined in the play and was having a blast. I added sidewalk chalk to my shopping list and . . .


My adorable little gardener. . .


Bella and I are flying to CA this evening to visit family and friends. My parents don't have an internet connection and I won't be bringing my laptop since I'm traveling with Bella by myself. I'll be back next week!

House Project. . . One of the many

We have a powder room or half bath on the main level of our house. The sink is a pedestal sink, so there aren't any cabinets for extra rolls of toilet paper, cleaning products, etc. So, I was on the search for a wall cabinet to hang over the toilet since the space is a little tight in that bathroom already, I didn't want to use up any more of the floor space with a stand-alone cabinet. Well, those things are expensive! The white ones I found to match at Home Dep*t are $100. I resorted to my good friend, Craigslist, and found a solid oak medicine cabinet in excellent shape for only $20. I met the seller in the parking lot of a shopping mall 20 minutes from here, which saved me 40 minutes of driving (she lives an hour away). Here are the pics:

Before the sanding, painting, re-sanding and more painting:


The finished product:

Up next. . . Project Bench.

Fourth of July!!

Hope you had a fun and safe Fourth of July! We had fun celebrating here with friends. Here are some pictures from our day:

Bella helping daddy put up the flags.

Bella and her buddy, Jones.

Jones, Bella, and Reagan having fun while playing trucks on the grass.

Picnic dinner time!


A fun after-dinner bike parade around the neighborhood.

Bella and daddy "tailgating" before the fireworks show. It was a good thing Bella wore her pj's to go watch fireworks, she fell asleep in my arms about 5 minutes into the show despite the noise, tired girl!

Play Date

We had a fun play date at our house today with our new friends, Jones and Reagan. They are only 2 weeks older than Isabella and they get along great. Reagan and Bella even have the same exact Strawberry Shortcake baby dolls that they pushed around in strollers. Anna, their mom, and I enjoyed each other's company too. Isabella got pretty worn out from all of the fun with the twins and took a 3 hour nap after they left. I got a lot of work done around the house and cut up lots of fruit for our little Fourth of July gathering here tomorrow, cleaned up toys, and hosed the patio, while she napped. Jones, Reagan, and Anna, are welcome back any time! Oh yeah, they're coming over for the party tomorrow:)

That's some good, focused water play!

Sweet Girls!

I had to put this picture on here even though it's not in focus. . .
Did I mention that Jones and Bella really hit it off?
Check out their smiles while they were hugging!

The highlight of the day. . . ice cream cones for desert!

Preparing for Potty Training

Now that Isabella is 2 years old and definitely has a sense of what the potty is for, I'm preparing for this next milestone, potty training. I've been reading several different blogs and websites and found some good advice. I bought "Elmo's Potty Time" DVD and the book, "How to Potty Train Your Child in One Day". Bella loves the DVD, in fact it's the only one she has requested to watch in the past two days. I've started reading the book and the potties are out. We've actually had the potties (1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs) for quite a while. When she was about 18 months old, she wanted to sit on the big potty after watching me (of course I rarely had a moment alone, even in the bathroom, until more recently), so we got her a potty and she actually went onesies and twosies in it. That was months ago, she hasn't gone in it again, although she sits on it every night before her bath and often times uses it as a chair to sit on and read books when I'm cleaning the bathroom. I didn't want to push her or rush her back then, but she's ready now! I've also been on the search for Monsters Inc. underpants, but haven't found them anywhere. I came up with an idea though, I found Monsters Inc. iron-ons on Ebay for $1.50 and I'm going to iron them on the front of some plain colored underpants. I'm sure Bella will be delighted when she sees them, since we've been shopping for them for about 2 months now. She told me she wanted Monster ones when were reading a book about the potty and getting underpants. I asked her what color underpants she wanted and she exclaimed "Monsters Inc.". So, that's why the search began. I figure having the ones she really wants would be good incentive for using the potty. Since then she has also fallen in love with Strawberry Shortcake and I've found fabric to turn into iron-ons to do the same thing. So, after we get back from our trip to CA, which is July 9th through the 14th, the Potty Party shall begin!

Just Practicing with baby and Jesse!

1st Haircut

I was trying to let Isabella's hair grow out so I could put it up in cute pigtails, but since it's hard enough for her to sit still long enough for me to comb out her tangles with detangler spray in the morning and put her hair in one clip, why bother growing it out. Her hair must have went through a growth spurt because all of the sudden it seemed so long and was several different lengths. So, today I took her to get her first haircut at LolliLocks, a salon that specializes in kids' haircuts, and it was a great experience. Her hair looks so healthy and adorable now!

She got to pick between a couple different animals/cars to sit on for her haircut.
She chose the caterpillar.

She even got her hair styled in a little up-do afterwards!
She really enjoyed the lollipop too!

2 Year Check Up

Yesterday, I took Isabella for her 2 year old check up. We had been preparing for the day by reading one of her favorite books, "Check Up Time, Elmo". I really wasn't sure how the day would go since it had been several months since she had last been to the doctor (Thankfully she's been very healthy) and she was not anywhere near as talkative and understanding of her environment as she is now. Well, she did GREAT! When the doctor asked her if she knew where her heart is Bella said, "right here" while pointing to her heart. Bella just sat there with the cutest look on her face when the doctor listened to her heart. She did cry when she had to lay on the table for the doctor to examine her tummy, but she wasn't crying because of the doctor. She was crying because she has a really tough time laying flat on her back on any flat surface, especially those changing tables in public restrooms. She says, "I fall" and she actually shakes with fear. The doctor told me that they recently did a study on kids who were born prematurely (Bella was 4 weeks early) and it showed that a lot of them have that sense that they are going to fall. I feel bad for her because she is truly very scared. When I'm out I try to change her while she is standing up in a bathroom stall, but I can't do that if it's a twosie. I change her on the ground at home and even then, she sometimes is afraid of falling. Poor girl, I guess it's something that she'll probably grow out of. Anyways, she was such a superstar patient. She was only due for one shot and she only cried for a few seconds. Isabella was so excited to get a sticker and to pick a toy from the treasure box.

The STATS from the appointment: wght: 22 lbs. hgt: 35in. She's 3% on the charts for weight and 66% for height. So, she's still small and petite, but she moved up from 2% at her 18 mo. check up. The doctor said to go back to giving her whole milk (I switched over to 2% milk when she turned 2, since that's what all the experts advise) and give her Carnation Instant Breakfast 3 times/day. We've only been giving her that once a day. I'm really not too concerned about her weight because she has gained, but very slowly. Besides, she's such an active girl and loves to eat fruit, it's no wonder she doesn't gain much weight.

Bella was excited to put on this gown with puppies on it!

All tuckered out on the way home from a not-so-fun morning at the doctor's office!