Tiny Dancer

Isabella had her first ever ballet class today and I think she's a natural! Of course I'm her mom, but she really did great at following the instructions from her teacher! The minute we went into the studio Bella starting walking around on her "ballerina toes". She loved it! It was "Mom & Tot" dance class so I was right there with her to guide her when she needed it, but I mostly sat back, took pictures, watched these adorable little girls and cracked up laughing with the other moms. Bella already showed daddy some of her new moves and is already looking forward to going back next week. Here are some of the pics (Bella's in the black leotard):



















P.S. I also had a class today! It was a one on one sewing class here at home while Bella napped. A gift from David after I had a curtain sewing catastrophe last week that ended in a few words I don't normally say and some tears:( I learned a lot and am looking forward to next week's lesson. It's worth every penny to have someone come here into the comfort of my own home in my own sewing room while Bella is napping and have that time for myself. I've made several things by hand in the past, like all of Bella's crib bedding, a quilt, some curtains that weren't crooked, some that were, but I've just kind of taught myself, so it's great to finally learn more about what I can do right on my sewing machine. Next big project: Bella's twin bed quilt!

A Princess, the Pool and a Puppy Balloon.

Here's what's been going on the past few days:

Bella has really started to LOVE dressing up as "Cinderbella". When she plays dress-up she has to have the whole ensemble, from head to toe. She'll dance around the room singing and do twirls. She's so adorable.
Here she is surfing on her kick board in her dress up clothes.
A princess on her lookout tower.
Our princess mows the lawn.
I just love her smile!
Our little beauty!

We've enjoyed going to our friend's community pool. Isabella loves to wear her life jacket and float around the pool. Usually, I meet our friends during the week, but we all got to go as a family this past Sunday.
Isabella was so excited to swim with daddy!
Isabella pretty much smiles the whole time we are in the pool! Warming up in her towel after a swim.Isabella has been practicing floating on her back in the bathtub. She was so proud of herself when she was floating in the pool. Mommy and daddy are proud too!
Love that smile and her thumbsucking teeth:)
Me and my girl enjoying some fun in the sun and water!

We've been trying to explore more of Colorado on the weekends when David is home. This past weekend we planned on going to a hot air balloon festival, but when we got there, there wasn't a balloon in site. I guess they had all taken off already and since Bella was asleep, we kept driving and ended up in the very liberal town of Boulder at the base of the Rockies. When Bella woke up she immediately said, "Yeah, we're at the balloon place!" Oops! David explained the situation to her and we think she kind of understood, especially since we told her we'd find a balloon where we were. You don't know how happy and relieved we were to find this balloon man so we could follow through for Bella!
She waited so patiently for her turn to get her balloon. Finally, Bella and her pink and purple puppy balloon!
Daddy, Bella and the puppy (Bella actually named it, but I can't remember the name). Bella was so funny with this bear statue that was on a street corner. She was hugging the bears and telling them, "I love you bears". She's so sweet! And yes, I purelled her little hands right after:)

Bathing Beauty

Aunt Chris sent Isabella this Strawberry Shortcake bathing suit a couple weeks ago and Bella hasn't had a chance to wear it since the weather was cool last week. Lately Bella has been wanting to wear her pajamas when she takes a nap, which is totally fine with me (I don't like play clothes with germs/dirt on them from playing at the park in her clean bed, anyway). Well, today when she was looking for her "nap pajamas" she came across the new bathing suit and asked to wear it for her nap. After a little hesitation, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to wear it and she asked so nicely. A couple hours later when she woke up, she wanted to go swimming, after all she was wearing a bathing suit. At this point, the clouds had come in for our well-known afternoon thunderstorm so I told her she could swim in mommy's bath tub pool. She had a blast and I was able to get ready to go out to dinner while she practiced floating and splashed around.

Here are the pics:

She said, "mommy, I have a pretend beard."

Our little contemplative girl.

This is her look when she's told it's time to get out of the tub!

So Sweet

Tonight when I was getting Bella ready for bed, she asked to see daddy. She then said, "he's my best daddy". She cracks up every day with the things she comes up with!

Rain, Butterflies, Tarantulas, and Pho

This past weekend we had rain and thunderstorms for 3 days. While we were thankful for some free watering on the grass, our plans for the weekend to visit Rocky Mountain National Park were rained out. Instead, we visited the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver. Bella enjoyed it all and was even brave enough to let a tarantula crawl on her hand! She got a sticker that said "I held Rosie (the tarantula)" that she
proudly wore all day. Go Bella! I must admit that I did not touch the spider nor have any desire to ever do so:)

We had some fun watching Bella play and sing in the rain with her Elmo umbrella that she couldn't wait to use.






The last picture here is Bella eating her first bowl of Pho, Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. The rainy, cold weather called for a 30min. drive to the closest Pho restaurant on Friday night. It was well worth the trip, we love Pho!!

More of the Things She Says

Remember a while back when I posted this? Well, Isabella is saying so many more things now days that I can't keep track of them all, but here are a few of the things that put a smile on my face every time:

"It smells/tastes delicious" - this one makes me feel especially great when she's referring to my cooking. She also thrilled the ladies at Costco the other day when we sampled some yummy lemon cake and she told the ladies, "This tastes delicious". They insisted that we eat more cake samples after that!

"No thanks, I'm full" - if I offer her something to eat/drink, which is often since we're trying to put some weight on her.

"No thanks, mommy" - Said while crying, upset, or during a tantrum. She is the most polite 2 yr. old during a tantrum!

"I'm happy now" - Said after she has calmed down after being upset, crying, or at the end of a tantrum, then she jumps right back into the swing of things.

"Yes please" - She is so polite, there is rarely a time that she does not say please when she's requesting something.

"That's nothing" - Said when I was helping her look for her doll's shirt in the wrong spot.

"Yes, I am" - She says this in the right context most of the time, but she also says it in place of "yes, I do" often times (we're working on this one).

"I have a idea" - She pronounces it more like, "Dee-a". She comes up with ideas all day long that amaze me!

"I'm Miss Patty" - Said when she's pretending to do story time for her dolls. Miss Patty is one of the story time readers at the library.

"I miss you", "I love you" - Said to David, myself, her dolls, and blankies. Too sweet!

"Purple Baby missed me, mommy" - Said today when she found her favorite baby, Purple Baby (named for the color outfit she's wearing).

Fun with Friends

Last night we finally made it to one of the summer concerts in the park. After a couple weeks of rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday evenings, it was finally a dry night. We brought a picnic dinner and met our friends there. I wouldn't pay to see the performers from last night, but it was fun to see Isabella dancing (she'll groove to any kind of music) and enjoying herself with her good friend, Sara.

Sara and Bella dancing together.

Sara and Bella love each other. We are so thankful for our new friendships.

Noah, Sara, and Bella enjoying yummy lollipops.

Trying out the hula hoop.

David, Isabella and I. Notice that Bella brought her favorite book with her, as always:)