Straight From Her

Summer Fun!!

2009-09-06T22:50:00.006-06:00

We have enjoyed our second summer here in Colorado with lots of bright sunshine and warm, but not too hot days with an abundance of afternoon thunderstorms that come and go very quickly. We've tried to do a lot of outdoor activities knowing that once fall arrives the weather will cool down and we'll be spending more days indoors baking and sipping hot coco.
Here's a few pictures from our summer happenings:

Bella enjoying a ride at our small town fair

Cutest cowgirl ever enjoying the Rodeo
Celebrating 5 years of marriage in Vail

Our little beauty in Vail

Boating on Evergreen Lake

Beach time at Bear Creek Lake

Another Colorado sunset over the Rockies

It's Been a Long Time

2009-07-18T23:53:00.003-06:00

So, we've been pretty busy over here and I haven't given my blog much attention, but we're still around and Bella is as fun as ever!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T22:25:00.004-06:00

Our first Easter here in Colorado turned out to be a rainy day, but we still enjoyed our time together with our little family. Rejoice for He is risen!

More of the Things She Says III

2009-03-25T23:19:00.003-06:00

I've done a couple posts in the past about Bella's talking, but now I can't even keep up with the things she says and ideas she comes up with. Here's a brief list of some of my favorites:

"Did you buy it at Target or WalMart?" - I'm asked this whenever I show Bella one of my new purchases. Yes, I'm a frequent WalMart shopper, isn't everyone in CO?

"It's a Roxy shirt" - Said when she got dressed and saw the Roxy logo on her shirt and when she saw the logo on a shirt at the store. She's DEFINITELY my daughter!

"He's sick like grandpa. He'll go to the hospital, then he'll go to heaven" - Said when she saw a man in a wheelchair who appeared very ill.

"What are we doing today?" and "Where are we going today?" and "Will we see our friends today?" - Bella LOVES action and plans and getting out of the house (on most days).

"Can we go to a store today? Kohl's maybe?" - Again, she's my girl! She loves to shop!

"I can put it on my Birthday (or Christmas) list." - Said when we're at a store and she sees something she likes. She rarely ever asks me to buy something at that very moment, just asks for it to be a possible future gift.

"Is it on sale today?" - Said as she is looking at an item she really likes. She looks for a price tag. For some reason she thinks if there's a price tag on it, then it's on sale. Yes, I know, she's learned to be a bargain shopper like me:)

"Good Morning, It's a bright sunny day!!!" - Said in her most cheerful voice EVERY morning when she wakes up and comes to greet us in our room. Of course it helps me wake up with a smile on my face even when it's the crack of dawn:)

"It's OK baby, mommy's here. Oh baby, it's alright." - Said to her baby doll when she's playing dolls. There's so many cute little things she says and does with her baby, she's like a mini-mommy!

"2 ones?" - Our little negotiator, Bella, will sometimes ask for 2 when I've said, " you can have one _________." (insert: treat, snack, book, show, toy for the car, etc.)

"______ is my favorite in the whole world." Insert type of cereal, snack, fruit, book, movie, game, person, etc. - This one cracks me up because she'll say this with such meaning and cheerfulness even if it is about something that seems so simple to us.

"What's this word?" - Isabella not only loves to read books, she really wants to know the words and what they mean if it's a word she's not familiar with. I can tell her the title of a book one time, usually a library book, and she will not forget the title. The same thing goes for characters in the book. It's amazing!

"Read this part" or "You skipped some words, Mom" or "Read the part about the tooth" - If it's getting late I try to get through the bedtime reading a little quicker by skipping a sentence here and there, especially now that most of Bella's books have a lot more words and pages, but Bella notices. Even if it's a book that she's heard all the way through only one time before, like her library books....Crazy! I'm telling you, this girl notices EVERYTHING!

Italian Cookin'

2009-03-25T21:56:00.008-06:00

When David and I met I hardly could do more than pasta and marinara (from a jar) in the kitchen. After receiving some great wedding gifts, I was excited to use the new kitchen gear and try to become a real domestic wife, after all I married an Italian man. So, I started trying recipes from our cookbooks, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" is our favorite. I learned how to make marinara from scratch with my homegrown tomatos, crepe manicotti, polenta lasagna, calzones and more. While I mostly cook low-fat, low-sodium, less red-meat meals, quick/easy recipes, I have become more adventurous since we now have a larger kitchen, thus more work space than we had in our little cottage in CA. I really get a sense of satisfaction when I can think up what to cook, execute the plan in a fair amount of time, then get positive feedback from David. Here's tonight's dinner that was a hit in our house:

Stromboli with sauted garlic, onion, spinach, and sundried tomato chicken sausage!

The Recipe (I mostly made it up based on the ingredients I had on hand).

1 package of pizza dough (I used a tube of crescent roll b/c that's what I had and wanted to use it up) You could also use homemade pizza dough and if you're lucky to live near a Trader Joes, I highly recommend their pizza dough balls.
1cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped finely (or more depending on your taste buds...we love garlic!)
1 1/2 cup spinach (I use frozen spinach that I defrost in a colander under warm water, then press the water out with a paper towel)
2 chicken sausage links, sliced thinly (we love the sundried tomato flavored chicken sausage that I've only found at our SuperTarget)
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup cheese grated (I use a combo of mozzarella, cheddar, and fresh parmesan and go light on the cheese, you could always use more if you prefer)
1/4 cup milk
4 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Saute the onions in olive oil for a few minutes, then add spinach and saute until onion is transclucent or carmelized (whichever you prefer). Add garlic last and saute for just a minute (it's very easy to over cook garlic and you lose the rich flavor). Saute the sausage in with the onions and spinach or in a separate pan. Roll out the dough and place on a sheet of parchment paper on cookie sheet pan. Spread just a thin layer of marinara (you don't want to use too much sauce in the stromboli so that it doesn't get soggy) over the dough, then layer the spinach and onion mixture, the sausage, then the cheese. Fold the dough over to form a pouch over the ingredients. Brush a thin layer of milk over the outside of the dough pouch and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes at 400 Degrees. Serve with a side of marinara sauce for dipping and Enjoy! It's great because the stromboli itself covers all the food groups, that's why I served it with apple slices rather than a salad or more veggies:)

CA Trip

2009-03-25T21:31:00.004-06:00

We were able to visit my mom in CA with David 2 weeks ago. It was the first time I'd been back since my dad's funeral so I expected it to be somewhat of an emotional trip for me. Bella was really looking forward to the trip, especially Disneyland. We talked about Grandpa being in Heaven again before we left for CA because I knew Bella would ask about him once we got there and she saw his chair and other stuff. She's an amazing little girl and understands so much that sometimes I underestimate her. On about the 4th day there, my mom was walking with her walker while Bella and I were eating breakfast and Bella noticed my mom getting teary eyed when she walked by my dad's recliner chair. Bella first asked "why is Grandma sad?" I told her that Grandma misses Grandpa. Then Bella said, "Grandpa was sick, he went to the hospital, now he's in heaven."

Overall it was a tiring trip for me filled with emotional times, worrying about my mom, sinus problems for me, Bella caught a cold, but of course we still enjoyed our time with family and friends.

Bella LOVING "It's A Small World" ride at D-Land!

Striking a pose!

My Favorite pic.!

Bella, Connor, and Phoebe together after riding the Winnie the Pooh ride.

And now. . . . . Home Sweet Home:)

Bella Ballerina

2009-02-20T08:32:00.006-07:00

Bella is still enjoying ballet class and practices her moves anytime she's in front of a mirror. Her dance teacher just had a baby so we have a couple weeks without class, but I'm sure she'll pick it right back up again when we go back.

Here's a few pics of our little ballerina:

Bella practicing her bow

Learning the bow

Bella following right along with her teacher

Bella's holding a bean bag. Sometimes they put it on their heads and

walk on tippy toes across the room...very cute!

Bella and her classmates

Auntie Annie's Visit to CO

2009-02-20T08:04:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, David's sister, Anne came to visit us for a few days. We loved having her here, Isabella especially loved special the attention Auntie Annie gave her. Not that I don't give her attention, believe me she gets a lot of it. Auntie Annie also babysat one night so David and I could go out to a movie and it was so much fun for us to go on a much needed date. We were able to show her around town and a few touristy attractions. Bella is still talking about Auntie Annie's visit. We'll be making our way to Boston this spring or summer to visit Anne and the rest of the family for sure!

Here's a few pics from our adventures:

Bella rock climbing at Garden of the gods, one of our favorite places to take people who visit us here. If you come to visit there's a pretty good chance we'll take you there too.

David and I in one of the rock formations

I love this pic and it's one that I actually took, usually David takes the good pics.

Auntie Annie, Bella and I

Go Bella!

Our Little Valentine Girl

2009-02-12T20:54:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hope your day is filled with sweet love!

Life is Precious

2009-01-31T23:31:00.005-07:00

I recently came across a family's blog whose story has really touched me. You can visit their blog to read the full story: The Whitt Family

The short story is that their 2 year old daughter, named Tuesday, just passed away yesterday, after a short battle with cancer. Tuesday is survived by her twin sister, brothers, and parents. This is just so very touching and really reminds me how precious life is and how tragedy can strike anybody at anytime. While I am still grieving the recent loss of my father, I just could not even begin to imagine the pain of mourning the loss of a young child, let alone my own. It has really made me think about really reaching out and doing anything I can to help this family while they grieve. It also has made me realize that I need to cherish every moment I possibly can with Isabella. We need to cherish life and do our best to honor our families and not take things for granted.

It turns out this family lives very close to us and they have sent out an open invitation to Tuesday's Celebration of Life service next Saturday. I am planning on going, and if you live in the area, I encourage you to go as well. For now, we are praying for God's comfort and for Him to give the Whitt family strength to get through each day.

Only in Colorado

2009-01-26T23:41:00.003-07:00

Last week while I was walking in the parking lot of WalMart towards the store a truck drove past me and I jumped about 2 feet away and my heart was pounding because this is what I saw in the back of the truck:It looked alive, the taxidermist did such a good job. The mountain lion was amidst some other random items including a couple of chairs, a t.v. stand, and a plant all part of a move across town, I assume. At first glance, I seriously thought that thing was alive!! Only in Colorado!

Dinosaur Poop and More Fun Things

2009-01-19T23:29:00.004-07:00

Isbella has blossomed, right before our very eyes, into a little girl. She is not a toddler anymore, she's a sweet little girl, but she really prefers to be called a big girl. She continues to amaze us everyday with the things she says, the stories she can tell, her love of reading, her creativity, her compassion and understanding, her love of a "bright, sunny morning" and her overall joyful love and exuberance for life. She's been teaching us how to live life!

Today, we had planned on going to the zoo since it was a free admission day, the weather forecast said 60 Degrees and sunny, and because I wanted to do something special with Bella since the last few weeks I've been a bit of a downer. That plan got vetoed after driving around looking for a parking spot for 20 minutes that was not a mile away from the zoo. I was trying to come up with an alternative plan to offer to Bella (she was so excited about seeing the animals at the zoo), then I found a parking spot right in the front row of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. When Bella saw the sign (without me even saying one word) she said excitedly, "Yeah, the museum. Please may I see the dinosaurs?" Problem solved. Although it wasn't a free day at the museum, it was so worth the $11 to avoid the over-crowded zoo. We had a great time and Isabella was very appreciative for our special outing and time together. It lifted my spirit today too, especially when Bella asked one of the museum volunteers, "Please may I touch the dinosaur poop?" That's my girl! I appreciate how well-rounded she is!

Isabella, my sweet little lady, cautiously holding the dinosaur poop. I was surprised how small it was considering that it came from a ginormous dinosaur, but then the museum guy explained about their low-fiber diet.

That is not the dinosaur that the poop came from, he was much bigger and suspended from the ceiling.

Bella loves the "Discovery Area" in the museum which is all hands-on stuff.

So much fun!!

Why I haven't blogged lately. . .

2009-01-19T22:29:00.006-07:00

My dad had a bad fall down the stairs just before Thanksgiving. He then went through two surgeries, totaling almost 20 hours, to try to repair the broken vertebrae(s) in his neck. He was in the ICU for a several weeks. We went out to CA to see him a week before Christmas and although it was very difficult seeing him like that, I am very thankful that we had that time with him. He began to gain more alertness each day we went to see him, he even smiled when I showed him Bella's picture and laughed at one of David's jokes, which gave us hope for his recovery. On Christmas eve, his blood pressure was very low. He developed an infection in his blood and went to be with the Lord on Saturday, Dec. 27th.

David and Bella stayed home while I went to CA for my dad's funeral. It was a good decision, for it gave me time to grieve without worrying and also allowed me to be with my mom and sisters. While it was a very difficult thing to go through, it was also a time of grieving and healing. My first night there in CA when I was in my parents' bathroom brushing my teeth, I opened one of my dad's drawers to see his black comb with his gray hairs still in it, then everywhere I looked around the house there were big and little things that were his, from his issues of Popular Mechanics magazine to his "Pick Sticks", his bird feeders in the yard, his #1 Dad mug on the water cooler in the garage...I cried, then laughed about his makeshift paintbrush attached to a broomstick for hard to reach paint jobs, then cried some more. I'm glad I had the last few years to really experience a good father-daughter relationship with him and I will forever cherish my memories of him walking me down the aisle on our wedding day, him going with us to one of my ultrasounds while I was still pregnant, him holding Isabella and seeing his tears just after she was born, our hour long phone conversations about the birds in his yard, the weather, and his health, him waving goodbye and smiling to David, Bella and I from the driveway the last time we saw him before he fell down...

It was a beautiful funeral service. My nieces and nephews did a great job with the readings, carrying up various mementos of Dad, and sharing stories of him. He was a volunteer firefighter for 20 years, so there was a small fire truck outside the church during the whole service, which then followed behind the hearse with it's lights on all the way to the cemetery. As we drove behind the firetruck I told my mom and sister that my dad had driven firetrucks many times before up and down Redhill Avenue, the street we were on. He also used to tell us stories of when he drove a tractor up that street when it was all still farmland. After the burial service at the cemetery, the firetruck turned on it's sirens as it drove past my dad's grave site. We all said that my dad is up in Heaven smiling down saying, "Well Done!" All of the grandchildren and daughters also got to hold white doves and release them at the grave, as a symbol of my dad's love of birds and a way of "letting go". It was so amazing to see how many people were there for us that day, my dad would have been so happy. The police had to call an extra motorcycle cop for the escort, there were over 60 cars for the procession. My dad was well-loved and he would have done anything for anyone.

This has been a very difficult time in my life, something I hoped I wouldn't have to face for many more years. I am so blessed to have a wonderful, God-loving, supportive husband to help carry me through this. Even though it's been a few weeks now, I am still feeling emotionally drained and exhausted at the end of each day and fulfilling all of my household tasks has been much harder since my mind is in a million places at once. David has been so wonderful in helping me with Bella and being happy to eat fast food for dinner more often than normally. I guess that's why they call it a grieving process, it doesn't just happen one day and you're better the next. It's something you really go through and process, with the grace of God.

Thank you everyone, for your thoughts, prayers, cards, for coming to support us all at the funeral, and for everything else you've done for us during this time. Right now, we are comforted knowing that my dad is free of pain and dancing around in heaven.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!!!!

2008-12-22T21:21:00.002-07:00

A Few of My Favorite Things About Christmas/Winter

2008-12-09T21:38:00.004-07:00

in random order:
* Flannel sheets
*Flannel pajamas
*Hot water that stays hot in my insulated carafe all day long
*Hot tea any time of the day
*Hot coffee in the morning
* Hot chocolate (with just a tiny dash of chocolate for me since I don't like chocolate) after playing outside in the snow
*Playing in the snow with Bella and David
*Pulling Bella on her sled in the snow
*Christmas decor and lights
*Christmas music
*Christmas movies
*Homemade soup, any kind
*Bella in her fleece footed sleeper, Sooo snugly
*Cuddling up with my honey on the couch under a blanket and watching t.v.
*Bella in her long underwear that she wears under her snowsuit (we called them Long Johns and Bella asked who John was and if he was coming to our house:)
*Watching the snow fall
*Crisp fresh snow all across our yard with nothing but a few rabbit footprints scattered across it
*Wrapping presents
*Looking forward to Bella's reaction when she gets the one gift she's been asking for for a long time
*Baking cookies and sweet breads
*Feeling the warmth of our cozy home when it's in the single digits outside
*Warm, sheepskin boots
*My new scarf
*Layers of clothes
*Hearing Bella recite the names of Santa's reindeer
*Listening to Bella when she tells us she does not want Santa to come to our house when we started singing, "Santa Claus is Coming To Town"
*Telling Bella that Santa is just a character like Frosty the Snowman and that he will not come to our house, but you will get presents
*The fact that Bella loves to read books about Santa, sing songs, but does not want anything to do with him
*Seeing Bella with her reindeer antler headband on
*Making Christmas crafts with Bella (although I'm running out of craft ideas)
*Waking up in the morning to 8 inches of snow
*Not having to drive in the snow/icy roads
*Teaching Bella how to make and throw snowballs
*Building snowmen with Bella
*Going Christmas shopping with Bella to get Daddy something, then when we get home she tells him what we got him
* Pot Roast cooking in the crockpot all day
* Hearing Bella tell people, "Merry Christmas"
* Bella seeing something she wants at Target or WalMart and saying, "Let's put it on my Christmas list"
* Our Christmas Tree scented candle (we have an artificial tree)
* Being with our little family
*Getting this beautiful shot of Bella during our 5-minute photo shoot in the snow:

Hope you're all enjoying this Christmas Season!

Absent

2008-12-04T16:31:00.005-07:00

I'm sorry I have been absent from my Blog for a couple weeks now, I have lots to blame it on, but I mainly blame it on Facebook, my new addiction. Really, A LOT has been going on in our lives and I have a back log of Blog posts brewing in my head right now. I promise to get a post up soon, but for now I'll leave you with this one adorable pic of our sweet angel, Isabella.

Good Cheer!

2008-11-17T23:44:00.002-07:00

This is how I was awoken just the other morning:

Heard over the baby monitor: "Mommy!" "Good Morning Mommy!" "It's a bright, sunny day!"

I woke up with a smile on my face and went to hug my bundle of joy!

Crackin' Me Up!

2008-11-12T22:39:00.004-07:00

Tonight while Bella and I were dining on Del Taco's finest chicken tacos, in walked a group of some rather clean-cut punk rock type teenagers. Bella, being the observer she always is, checks them out, watches their every move while sipping on her milk. Then she leans over to me and in a hushed voice says, "Mommy, those boys look like Doodlebops." If I hadn't have put my napkin up to my mouth, my bite of taco would have flown out onto the tabletop. I was also trying not to choke as I laughed. Bella was so serious about her observation, yet she knew she was making me laugh, so then she says, "Mommy, I'm cracking you up". Then the boys made eye contact with Bella and she waved her parade wave, said "Hello", and they waved back and smiled, seemingly impressed with Bella's outgoing personality and overall cuteness. Yes, Bella, you crack me up!

Here's a picture of the Doodlebops: I think Bella was referring to the different fashion of dress (funky hat, hair-dos, piercings, etc.) that these boys were styling in because none of them had blue or purple hair, they just looked silly:)

The Things We Do

2008-11-06T23:41:00.004-07:00

There are soooo many things that I would do for Isabella, including dressing up for a tea party!

I couldn't pass up this Cinderella costume on the clearance rack. It will be
put to use for several tea parties and perhaps a birthday party or two!

Little Princess Mommy.

More tea please.

And I'm not the only one who plays princess with Bella . . .

David makes a great prince in his red cape (really, it's a blanket) putting pretend nail polish on Bella's nails! It is very true when Bella tells people, "My mommy and daddy love me sooooo much!"

Scrub A Dub Dub

2008-11-06T23:26:00.007-07:00

My camera happened to be nearby upstairs when Bella was taking a bath tonight, so I got a couple of cute shots. Isabella loves bath time and would stay in there all night if I let her:)

One happy bathing beauty.

Bella washing her bath baby doll.

Cleaning bath baby's face.

Bella feeding "Bath Baby" some bubbles.

My little fish.

Halloween

2008-11-03T22:17:00.006-07:00

Bella had a lot of fun on halloween. I am not into the scary, demonic aspect of halloween, but I am all for the fun part of dressing up and going trick-or-treating. Isabella really enjoyed dressing up as a kangaroo and saying, "trick-or-treat". We started off in the late afternoon at Trick-or-Treat Street downtown where each store handed out treats to the kiddos. Bella really got into and even hopped up to the people giving out the candy, it was hilarious. So many people commented on how adorable she was in her costume. Isabella also loved seeing the other kids in costume out on the street. After a quick dinner, I took her around our neighborhood. I had originally planned to just go to a couple houses, but after every house Bella asked in her polite, sweet voice, "One more house, please mommy". So we stayed out a little longer, there were so many kids out in our neighborhood. When we got home, Bella loved running to answer the door and seeing the other kids' costumes and even gave her own commentary that went something like this: "She's cute" or "He's scary looking" or "That's a funny costume" or "I'm a princess too" (she had put on her princess dress at this point). It was a fun night! And without further ado, here's The Cutest Kangaroo Ever!!

Bella and her own little pumpkin.

I love this side view so you can see her tail!

OK, so I had to wear my kitty ears and put wiskers on to convince Bella to
let me put make-up on her. It was fun, though:)

Me and my girl!

Our little Roo!

Notice her little joey in her pouch!

Luke and Bella!

Bella and her close friend, Sara.

A Breakthrough Day

2008-10-29T22:03:00.004-06:00

I haven't done an update on the potty-training going on in our household lately, but there has been progress. Today was a breakthrough day with Bella going not only onesies on the potty, but twosies as well. . . . 2 times!! Go Bella!! She really wants a princess castle to play with with her little princess figurines so I've been telling her that when she doesn't wear diapers anymore, she'll get the Special Princess Castle. I've really been playing that up and that has given her the incentive she needed! I also found the castle for only $15 today, so it's in the closet ready for her!

Here's Bella on her potty with her books, of course! Notice how she neatly lines up the books against the wall after she finishes each book.

Some more pics, just because she's so cute:

Reading a library book. I love how she uses her outstretched leg to hold the big book up to read!

Reading and sportin' her new flannel Big Girl pj's:)

More reading. . . She's my little Belle, just like Belle from "Beauty and The Beast", she ALWAYS has her nose in a book:)

Puzzle Master Pup!

**Side note: Bella got the nickname, Lil' Pup, when she started crawling as a baby. She'd crawl around the house and we could hear her panting like a little puppy:)

Tagged!

2008-10-28T15:18:00.002-06:00

I've been tagged by Michelle to list 7 random things about myself:

1.) I am the youngest of 6 girls in my family, my oldest sister is 18 years older than me.

2.) I applied to medical school after graduating from college with a biology degree and I didn't get in, but God had a better plan for me. After my grieving was over, I got a science-related sales job and met my wonderful husband, David.

3.) When I drive on the longer stretches of highway here in Colorado I listen to country music. It just seems so fitting when I'm driving by the farms, horses, and cows, and every other radio station here is a country station, but that's the only time I listen to it. This is the first time I've admitted this:)

4.) I love coffee, anything coffee flavored, but I really really DISLIKE chocolate.

5.) My best friend, Lisa, and I have been best friends since we were 5 years old, that's now 26 years of solid friendship.

6.) My first job in high school when I was 16 years old was selling fish tacos at the first Rubio's in Orange County. I worked with my friend, Shelly, and we had a lot of fun and crazy times there!

7.) I got a tattoo of a sun on my shoulder when I was young and naive and went through the painful (and expensive) process to have it removed before our wedding so it wouldn't show when I wore my strapless wedding gown.

Now I am tagging Stefany, Heather, Anna, Vanessa, and Cindy.

Big Girl Bella

2008-10-27T23:18:00.003-06:00

That's right, she is really becoming a big girl more and more everyday! It's seems like just yesterday that I was holding my tiny little 6 lb. newborn daughter, even though that was 2.5 years ago. She now weighs in at 24.5 lbs. Go Bella! You read right, 24.5lbs! That Carnation Instant Breakfast we've been adding to her whole milk per doctor's instructions must be working. I'm not sure if that will bring her above the 2-percentile that's she's been stuck in for weight, but we're happy to see her growing big and strong:) Also, she recently discovered that she does like to eat her vegetables including peas, broccoli, and cauliflower, all with real butter on them of course.

Isabella 2.5 years ago:

Isabella 2 days ago:

Fall Leaves

2008-10-27T21:11:00.005-06:00

Experiencing fall in Colorado is much different from the many falls we've had in California. We've already had our first snow, some 30 degree days, and lots and lots of leaves.

My little sweetie!

Helping daddy rake the leaves in the front yard.

Taking a break to catch some rays.
Leaves, leaves, and more leaves.

Raining leaves.

Bella and Daddy all tuckered out from raking all of the leaves!

Bella on her castle slide with her Strawberry Shortcake doll, of course.

Flu Shot

2008-10-25T10:12:00.004-06:00

One week ago today we went for our flu shots. David and I got the shot. Bella got the nasal mist, that's what they recommended for her age. She was such a trooper! I didn't know the nasal mist was an option, so I had her pumped up for a shot with the idea that she'd get an ice cream from Chick-Fil-A afterwards. Of course I had to follow through with my promise, even though she got the flu vaccination in a different form. I, on the other hand, still have the mark on my arm to show my shot from last week:

I don't think this is normal, do you? And no, I didn't fall down the stairs again!

How did you wake up this morning?

2008-10-25T10:01:00.002-06:00

I've mentioned before that Bella has really began to express her feelings to us. Well this morning Bella woke me up with a kiss on my forehead at 7am (she came into bed with us around 5am, she's teething). Then as we were headed towards the stairs to go make pancakes she said, "I feel bumpy". Translation: "I feel grumpy". I know I don't always wake up in a cheerful mood and Bella doesn't always either, especially today with cutting 2 molers and a runny nose:( At least she was able to warn me!

Ari, Uzi, and Bella

2008-10-24T00:25:00.007-06:00

As I've mentioned before, Isabella is pretty much obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake. She is already planning and talking about her next birthday party and how it will be a Strawberry Shortcake themed party. She got that idea from a little booklet that came with a Strawberry Shortcake DVD. I think she likes the booklet more than the movie itself! She treats this little brochure like a book and studies it very carefully. I've even thought about laminating it so it will last. Anyway, there's a page in the booklet that shows the various party supplies to outfit a Strawberry Shortcake party and Isabella has that page memorized. Isabella has a couple of Shortcake dolls of her own, but she also plays with some dolls that were mine when I was just a little girl, crazy huh:) Yes, I saved some of my more sentimental dolls/toys and I'm so glad I had these still.

I've never been a big fan of character clothing for babies and kids. You know what I'm talking about, the shirts with a big Elmo or Dora on the front. I also never thought I'd ever purchase any character clothing for Isabella, until I found this:

When I showed this outfit to Isabella this morning, it was like Christmas morning! She was so excited to wear a Strawberry Shortcake outfit. Of course, being the little shopper that she is, she asked me where I bought it. I couldn't pass this jogging outfit up, it looks so cute on her. If you don't know who Ari and Uzi are, you need to watch The Royal Tenebaums sometime.

This past week. . .

2008-10-23T23:28:00.009-06:00

has been fun-filled.

We visited a nearby "pumpkin patch", it was really a little farmstand, but it was a good spot for pics and for Bella to have some fun of course.

Yesterday was a free day at the Denver Natural Science and History Museum, so we decided to check it out with our friends, Stefany and Luke. Isabella kept asking to see more animals, I think she thought they were living (she's a bit young to understand taxidermy). Today she asked if we can go back to the museum next week, then when she was playing with her doll she told me she was going to a pretend museum.

Isabella loves to bake with me. We made banana bread and blueberry muffins together. If you ask her how to make one of these things, she'll tell you, "wear an apron, put in eggs and flour, you stir it, and put it in the oven".

It's beginning to look a lot like. . .

2008-10-17T00:41:00.002-06:00

Fall in Colorado! And it's cooling down here too:)

Chameleon

2008-10-17T00:33:00.003-06:00

There's nothing comparable to a fresh, clean, baby lotion scented, pj wearing, Isabella!! She blends right into her bedroom with her new pajamas. I told her she's like a chameleon. She liked that:)

Her favorite thumb and blankie!

Puzzle Master Pup

2008-10-17T00:24:00.004-06:00

Isabella has has enjoyed puzzles for a long time now, but the last few weeks, she's gained the nickname, Puzzle Master Pup (she's been Little Pup for a while). She can do 25 piece jigsaw puzzles in just minutes. She has some great spatial arrangement, maybe she'll be a dentist:) I have yet to get it on video, but here are a couple pics:

More of the Things She Says II

2008-10-13T17:18:00.003-06:00

Isabella is saying more and more things everyday. Sometimes I feel like she’s a teenager and not a toddler with some of the things she says and how she expresses her feelings so clearly.

Here are a few things she's said recently:

** The other night at a birthday party while the birthday boy was opening his gifts, Bella asked me (with tears in her eyes) where her gift was. I had seen the party favor bags on the table so I told her that she’d be getting a gift too. When she got her party bag and before she even opened it up she said, “This is the best birthday party present ever!” She's so appreciative!

**Isabella always plays with a cup and spoon in the bathtub. Usually she feeds her bath doll and pretends to make tea or coffee. The other night while I was rinsing her hair and she was stirring her cup of water she said, “Mommy, be careful not to spill my glass of wine.” I’ll admit to my nightly glass of wine with dinner:)

**Yesterday morning she noticed that I had painted my nails the night before and said, “Oh my goodness. It’s amazing Mommy! Your fingernails are black.” I had painted them a deep, dark red color.

**Lately when I call her away from playing to eat or take a bath or something she’ll often respond, “I’m busy reading right now” or “In a minute”. She is usually reading since that’s her favorite pastime, but I know she got the “in a minute” part from me.

**When she’s having a tough time with a puzzle piece fitting in correctly or dressing a doll, she’ll say, “I’m frust-er-ated”. I’m happy when I hear her say this because it’s something we’ve been working on expressing.

** This morning while I was in the kitchen and Bella was in the living room I heard a light tapping sound and I asked her, “Bella, are you touching mommy’s vase on the coffee table?” She answered back, “No mommy, Sleeping Beauty is touching it.” I went in there to see her holding her doll’s hand to the vase. Pretty smooth move Bella! We had a little talk after that, she knows not to touch my vase.

Pikes Peak

2008-10-11T09:49:00.006-06:00

For our weekend adventure a couple weeks ago, we drove up to Pikes Peak, one of Colorado's many peaks over 14,000ft. We had debated on taking the train they have that goes up the side of the mountain or driving up ourselves. We decided to drive so we would have more flexibility with timing, eating lunch, Bella's nap in the car, stopping for photos, etc. It was a great drive, we were able to enjoy the beautiful colors of the fall leaves and see the changes in the mountainside as we got higher in elevation from the foothills to the sub alpine to the alpine (above 11,100ft), where the oxygen is too thin for plants and trees to grow. Our house stands at 6202ft., so we were definitely feeling the effects of that high altitude when we got to the top and it was VERY cold. There were lots of brave hikers and mountain bikers up there. Every year they have an annual car race, motorcycle race, and marathon to the top of the peak, which I cannot believe after driving it with switchback after switchback! It was at the top of Pikes Peak where Katharine Lee Bates got her inspiration for the song, "America the Beautiful". It was a beautiful view from the top!

Bella loves our Saturday family adventures!

At the Summit House at the top of the peak.
It was windy and snowing! We didn't stay outside for long!

Views from the top.

A lone tree.

Bella panning for gold.

I love my girl!

I love this pic!

View on the way down. Pikes Peak is in the background with the snow.

Today at Ballet Class

2008-10-02T16:34:00.002-06:00

Bella was in the class on her own while I was outside the room watching through a window. She did great! I am so proud of her. She was the best student in the class today, following all of the instructions from her teacher, doing every move as best she could, and only glanced over to see if I was still there twice. Bella Ballerina is loving ballet!

Another Project Complete

2008-10-01T15:23:00.003-06:00

I was very happy to cross off another project on my list. I bought this kid's size solid wood bench at a neighborhood garage sale for $5 with the vision of painting it to coordinate with our house decor.

Well, 3 months and 2 cans of spray paint later:

This bench is great for Bella. We keep her shoes under the lid that opens and the bench is just across from the coat closet and next to the garage door. She likes to get her own shoes out and sit on the bench to put her shoes on or take them off and put them away. I have to admit that I was planning on being the one to paint it, but after the medicine cabinet, I decided it would be much better if David did it and I'm so glad he did! It turned out great, thanks honey!

Potty Update

2008-09-26T20:42:00.003-06:00

I haven't mentioned much about potty-training lately because we haven't really been "training". We've just been getting Bella excited about actually sitting on the potty. A while back, when she was around 19 months old, she actually did onesies and twosies on the potty, but I thought she was a little young to push the training. Then she wasn't too keen on the idea of actually sitting on the potty for more than 2 seconds. Now that I've put a basket of books next to her potty, she's happy to sit on it before her bath, when she wakes up in the morning and after naps. This last week was a 5 Star week for Isabella! She peed on the potty almost every time she sat on it. After one of her baths last weekend she even announced her need to go pee and we ran from one bathroom to the other with the potty in it and she went!! It's been an M&M filled week! Tonight takes the cake. It was bathtime, so I undressed her downstairs and told her to go up and sit on her potty and that I would be right there. Well, in the midst of gathering up laundry, toys, sippy cups, etc. I took a couple minutes longer. Then I heard her calling for me and as I went up the stairs she was standing just outside of the bathroom holding the bowl from her potty, which had A Lot of pee in it. She told me "I dump it, mommy." She was trying to dump it into the big potty, but the lid was down. That's my independent girl! Go Bella! Good thing we didn't end up with pee on the carpet and Bella got one more M&M for the night!

A Couple Things You Don't Hear From a 2 Year Old All That Often:

2008-09-26T09:36:00.003-06:00

" Let's clean up now" - Isabella said this to David when they were having a tea party in her room.

"More chicken please" - It's been a struggle getting Bella to eat various kinds of meat, but last night the baked chicken tenders I made were a hit!

"Oh, thank you mommy for making me breakfast. Yummy, yummy." - Said just this morning when I called her to the kitchen for breakfast.

"You're the best helping mommy!" - Bella told me this when we were making a birthday cake for Strawberry Shortcake in her play kitchen yesterday afternoon. Yes, I had tears in my eyes. Of course I strive to be the best mommy, but I definitely fall short of that in my eyes.

"You're the best daddy!" - She has told David this a few times now, usually when he's helping her do her 50-piece puzzle or just cuddling her.

"You're the best daddy and you're the best mommy!" - Last night she told us this when the 3 of us were sitting around her little table eating yogurt parfaits. She's the sweetest!

"I'm embarrassed" or "I'm really sad" or "I'm happy" or "I'm really excited" - She says these things all the time, I love how she expresses her feelings. We're working on saying, "I'm frustrated" when she gets frustrated (there was a little biting incident earlier this week, but we'll save that story for another post).

Just a little bit more about our sweet girl, Bella. . . She is such a compassionate, understanding, forgiving, lovable, eager to learn, adventurous, fun-loving, smart, kind, graceful, and beautiful little girl! We're so thankful that the Lord entrusted us with her.

Sinus Troubles

2008-09-25T21:52:00.003-06:00

So, I've had a very bad sinus cold/infection this week and let me tell you, it's been a rough week. It's hard to get out of bed when I feel this bad, let alone care for my 2 year old, our home, etc. Isabella has been wonderful, though, and even went on an outing to the library with our neighbor friends while I stayed home in bed. I haven't gone to the doctor because I know they probably won't give me an antibiotic (our doctors are pretty apprehensive about handing out antibiotics for every illness and justly so). I've resorted to some other at-home remedies like my facial steamer, drinking lots of fluids, decongestant, antihistamine, ibuprofen, and my new favorite Sinus Rinse. I have to admit I was a little scared to use this thing, the thought of it grossed me out a bit. I even had David stand next to me in the bathroom and read the instructions step-by-step out loud while I did the first rinse. Then to my amazement, it worked! I felt so much better after the rinse. Ok, I'm starting to sound like an infomercial, but really it's great. I've used it 2-3 times a day since we got it 3 days ago. It says it's great for allergies, sinus trouble, etc. Check it out here: Sinus Rinse. We got it at Costco, it comes 2 for the price of 1 there. This is one of those things that I never knew what I was missing until I tried it!

What's Been Going On:

2008-09-22T21:18:00.003-06:00

Bella loves to dress up like a princess and especially loves it when David acts out Cinderella with her and puts on her "glass slippers" for her:
Our Little Princess:

Bella is our Little Ballerina! She LOVES ballet class or ballerina class as she calls it. She does great at following her teacher's instructions:

Bella loves to help us with our household chores, including the gardening:

CA Trip

2008-09-17T16:08:00.005-06:00

We just got back from an impromtu trip to CA. David had some work out there, and he's been traveling a lot lately so Bella and I tagged along so we wouldn't be lonely here without him. We got to visit my parents and spend time with friends, but it's good to be back in CO, the air is so much better here and I love sleeping in my own bed.

The highlight of the trip, Bella met her favorite princess, Cinderella!
She also met Sleeping Beauty and Pocohantas. Grandma and Aunt Cherie also went to Disneyland with us.Bella was excited to go through Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
It was a gloomy day at the beach, but that didn't stop Bella from going in the water!Bella and her friend, Madeline, at Centennial Farm.
Bella and her cousin, Maddie, at the fountain.
Bella and Makena in front of one of the awesome playhouses that are up for a charity auction.Bella inside one of the cutest playhouses. Thanks to Lisa and her family connections, we were one of a few people who actually got to go inside these playhouses. They were incredible! Thanks Lis!

Who made you?

2008-09-06T22:39:00.003-06:00

We've been telling Isabella more about God now that she understands and talks so much. We're beginning to teach Bella some questions and answers about Christianity from a children's catechism. One of the first questions that we've gone over with her is "Who made you? and the answer is "God made me". So, the other day she was upset about something and told me, "mommy, I am really sad". I asked her, "what made you sad?" She said, "God made me sad". At that moment as I was trying not to laugh, I was so proud to hear my sweet little 2 year old daughter is learning the catechism. I said, "Yes, God did make you, but he doesn't want you to be sad". She then said, "God made me happy." So when you ask her a question that begins that way she only think s of one answer, "God made me". "

Rock Garden Visit

2008-09-03T23:47:00.007-06:00

This past weekend's family outing was to the Garden Of The Gods. We had heard that it is one of the must-see places in Colorado and now that the weather is starting to cool down we thought we'd better go now. When Bella asked her new favorite question, "Where are we?", we told her we were at the "Rock Garden". We didn't want to confuse her with the real name since we have been teaching her about God. She is still talking about the rock garden.

So, Garden Of The Gods is a beautiful scenic place full of amazing natural red rock formations. Some of the rock formations looked like different animals. Supposedly, it got it's name because if there was a garden in greek mythology that's what it would have looked like. It was beautiful to see and Isabella loves nature, especially rocks, so she had a blast. There were several rock climbers climbing the rocks (you have to have a special permit to do that) so that was fun to watch too.

Hmm, now what Colorado attraction should we visit this weekend??

Tiny Dancer

2008-08-28T21:07:00.007-06:00

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.

2008-08-26T13:40:00.010-06:00

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

2008-08-21T08:56:00.007-06:00

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

2008-08-19T22:30:00.002-06:00

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

2008-08-19T15:28:00.007-06:00

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

2008-08-14T14:05:00.006-06:00

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

2008-08-14T13:50:00.004-06:00

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:)

County Fair Fun

2008-08-12T23:48:00.007-06:00

This past Friday night we took Isabella to the Douglas County Fair, our first experience at a small town Colorado fair and it was definitely small town (nothing like the Orange County Fair)! It was fun seeing Isabella with the animals, watching her dance to country music, ride her first pony, and watch her first rodeo. But, we were missing a couple things: cowboy boots and hats! Next year, we'll be well equipped to fit in with our fellow coloradians.

Blankie Love

2008-08-10T22:02:00.003-06:00

Tonight while David and I were downstairs watching t.v. shortly after putting Bella to bed we heard a noise upstairs that sounded like a closet door sliding open. We paused the t.v., listened and heard it again. Then we heard some rustling sounds over the baby monitor. David went upstairs to Bella's room to check on her to find her sitting up in her bed and covering up with her blankies. I came upstairs and see that Bella has 3 blankies in her bed and figure out the noise we heard was her drawer under her bed sliding open, then closed after she got out her own blankies, then climbed back up into bed.

Rewind to before I kissed Bella goodnight and came downstairs: I got a blankie out of her drawer and covered her up. Bella feels the blankie, in the dark, and says, "This is the yellow one, I like the pink blankie." I tell her it is in fact a pink one, but it's the newer one from Aunt Cherie. She was okay with my answer and responded with her excited noise she has made since she was a tiny baby getting ready to nurse. She settles in, I leave the room.

For those of you who don't know already, Bella is REALLY INTO her blankies! When she sees one of her blankies, she'll run to it and say, "Oh blankie, I miss you, I love you" and hugs and kisses her blankie. Thanks to my sister, Cherie, we now have 8 of the same type of blanket: 5 pink, 1 yellow, and 2 purple, but Bella will only use the pink blankets. We have one in the car, one downstairs, one in bed, and a couple back ups, but Bella prefers the older blankies that have been washed several times. So, tonight she was convinced that I had given her the yellow blanket because she could tell by the feel that it was not worn in like her favorite pink blankies. Leave it to our little girl to climb out of bed, open her drawer of blankets, take out not one, but two blankets, throw them up on the bed over the bedrail, climb back up into bed and cover herself up without making a peep for one of us to come help her.

It seems like just yesterday that Isabella was a helpless tiny 6 pound newborn depending on us to meet her every need. Here she is a sweet little girl amazing us every day and meeting more and more of her needs on her own.

David and I are still cracking up right now as I'm typing this because Bella is so resourceful and polite. When I said something to her about having 3 blankies in her bed, she said "I like the pink ones not the yellow one, Mommy." In the morning light she'll see that it really was a pink blankie.

Anniversary Celebration

2008-08-08T09:10:00.002-06:00

Last night, David took me to see James Taylor in concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was an awesome concert at a beautiful amphitheater, the best concert venue I've ever seen. Taylor also mentioned that Red Rocks is his favorite place to perform. It was the last concert of his tour with the "Band of Legends", which included Steve Gadd, David's all-time favorite drummer. The weather was perfect, Taylor's voice was as beautiful as ever, we had good seats, a babysitter with Bella at home and we were on a date! I couldn't have asked for anything more for our 4 year wedding anniversary celebration, thank you David, my love!

Summertime Fun

2008-08-05T20:18:00.007-06:00

It's finally cooling down here a bit after 2 weeks of 90+ degree temperatures. We had rain, hail, thunder and lightening this afternoon which cut Bella's nap short, but we welcome the rain for the sake our grass and free watering (water here is VERY expensive)!

Here's a few of the things I love about summer:

1) Lounging in the sun and taking a dip in the pool with our sweet Bella:2) Eating dinner outside:3) Eating corn on the cob, outside:4) Going on walks and playing outside after dinner when it's still light out:

Project: Dining Room

2008-08-04T00:27:00.005-06:00

My favorite colors are green and red and a few nights ago I told David I would love to paint our dining room a lime green color like I saw in Pottery Barn's website. David, being the wonderful husband that he is, said he'd be willing to paint the room as soon as I'd like. We decided to paint it before our furniture was delivered, which meant we'd have a late night project since we'd do the painting after Bella was in bed. Masking off the baseboards, ceiling, and electrical outlets was the longest part of the job. David did most of the painting and I must say he did a great job!

Bella really wanted to use her tools on the ladder the morning after we painted!

The Final Produt: Our Formal Dining Room!! Yeah, I unpacked our last boxes today (platters and other glassware that I store in the new buffet)!!

Girl Time!

2008-08-03T23:52:00.003-06:00

Isabella is very well-rounded, she loves collecting rocks, chasing after the rabbits in our yard, pretending to nurse her dolls, and of course getting a nice manicure/pedicure. She had been asking me to paint her nails again after the paint chipped off from her 2-week old manicure/pedicure. I told her that after her nap, we'd do pedicures, but we will not be painting her fingernails. Daddy layed down the law that there would be no painting fingernails until thumbsucking is completely ceased. She was still very excited and it was so cute how she pronounced pedicures. Of course she didn't forget my promise when she awoke from her nap, we had our pedicure party:

Another Visitor

2008-08-01T15:03:00.008-06:00

Our basement window well has been a big source of excitement these days! Last week we had two bunnies in the wells one once occasion and one bunny on another. Two days ago when David sat down at his desk and glanced out the window he saw this:

He climbed through a tiny hole in the screen and was in between the glass and the screen. Let's just say I was very thankful that the window was closed when he climbed through that hole! At first we thought it was a mole because he was so plump and furry. Then after a quick internet search we determined that he is a vole or better known as a field mouse. Mouse traps were added to my Wa*Mart shopping list. In the meantime, David had to work and this little fur ball mouse was climbing up and down the screen and running around like it was on speed.
Then when I got home with the trap, David put the peanut butter bait on it, taped it to a tomato stake and lowered it down the well and this is what happened . . . . he went back to the trap 4 times and snacked on peanut butter:

It wasn't until he got greedy and visited the trap a 5th time that the trap did what it was supposed to do! Now every single time David or I go down to the basement we check the window wells for wild visitors:)

Affectionate Phrases

2008-07-30T09:15:00.003-06:00

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!!

2008-07-29T00:01:00.003-06:00

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!!

2008-07-28T23:25:00.005-06:00

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??

2008-07-28T23:05:00.004-06:00

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

2008-07-22T23:16:00.008-06:00

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

2008-07-22T00:15:00.004-06:00

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

2008-07-18T22:48:00.002-06:00

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

2008-07-18T16:58:00.005-06:00

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

2008-07-17T00:15:00.005-06:00

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 . . .

2008-07-09T08:57:00.006-06:00

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

2008-07-09T08:39:00.003-06:00

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!!

2008-07-07T23:51:00.008-06:00

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

2008-07-03T22:13:00.006-06:00

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

2008-07-02T08:10:00.005-06:00

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

2008-07-02T00:46:00.003-06:00

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

2008-07-02T00:23:00.005-06:00

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!

Girls' Night Out

2008-06-28T10:20:00.003-06:00

I'm really looking forward to a night out with some other ladies from church. We're meeting at church and carpooling to dinner and to see "Get Smart". It's been a long time since I've gone out without David or Isabella so it should be a fun night. Thanks to Stefany for organizing the outing!

Pretending

2008-06-28T10:13:00.002-06:00

It's so amazing to me how much Bella has grown in just the past couple of weeks. I guess it's pretty common for 2 year olds to flourish at this time in their lives as they are taking in the world around them and really starting to understand it. One of the things that Bella has really taken to is pretend play. This morning as I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes (from very yummy french toast) I heard her say, "I'm going to California" as she pretended to drive off on her little ride-on toy car. She did this several times after returning to gather more items from her play kitchen to bring with her on her "car". She is also good at pretending to drink tea and makes slurping sounds. Bella also loves to give her baby dolls pretend baths. She has the cleanest babies in town, some of them get "bathed" multiple times a day.

Park, Strawberry Shortcake, and Thunder

2008-06-26T00:06:00.005-06:00

It was a hot day today, but the wonderful thing about CO is that it is not humid here. Before we left on our walk to the park this morning, I covered both Bella and myself in SPF 50 sunscreen, but after about 20 minutes at the park I felt like I was getting sunburned. Since we are so high up here, 6,200 ft, the sun is very powerful. I really try to be careful about protecting our skin more since being here than I did while living in CA. I'll be purchasing the new SPF 80 sunscreen very soon. We had fun at the park, then walked over to WalMart (a 10 min. walk from our house) to eat lunch at Subway, then to pick up a few things. When we left the store, the sky was gray and the wind was blowing, that's how it is here. It can be hot and sunny one minute and cooler and rainy ten minutes later. Not much else new here in CO, except I'm really trying to make more of an effort to meet people. Isabella really misses her friends in CA and loves playing with other kids. We can be out anywhere and she will spot every kid around to wave to, say "hi", run after, or say "come here girl/boy". She is in definite need of some play time with kids her age. So, we're really looking forward to a play date we have scheduled with some new friends from church for tomorrow. I feel guilty for spending a lot of time getting our house together and not getting out more to meet people, but now that Bella does so well playing on her own for long periods of time it's easy for me to forget that she still needs the interaction.

Here are a few pics from today:

Peaking through at the park.

Debating on going down the hot slide.

Our after-dinner stroll would not be complete without bringing
Strawberry Shortcake baby (Bella's new FAVORITE).

Bella set this pose up on her own with Shortcake, how cute!

Sunset and Thunder clouds from our back patio.

Same as above pic, but 5 min. later. . . . then we went inside when we saw the lightening, heard the thunder, even though Bella was not afraid, it's me who still holds onto my childhood fear of thunder storms.

Fun In The Sun

2008-06-25T00:00:00.003-06:00

We had fun playing outside in the pool this past weekend.

Compassion of a child

2008-06-23T22:00:00.002-06:00

Tonight after we read books we said our night time prayers. After we said amen, I started singing to Bella and she stopped me by saying, "pray", while folding her hands. Of course, I never want to tell her we already prayed, we always need more prayer, so I asked her to pray. So she said "papa and grandma". It was then that I realized that I had forgotten to mention them in our prior prayer, but of course she didn't forget. That's our sweet, compassionate Bella.

Spring or Summer Cleaning

2008-06-20T00:41:00.003-06:00

So now that we have the house we need some more furniture. We went from 800 sq. ft. of living space to 2,500 sq. ft. We did buy some furniture from Ikea (one of the two stores I miss the most, Trader Joe's being the other) before we left CA, but we could only fit so much into the moving truck, so we mainly bought master bedroom furniture, Isabella's bed and a few other small items. The closest Ikea is in Salt Lake City so it looks like we'll be getting some non-Ikea furniture for our now empty living and dining rooms, but the good news is that we have a huge furniture store nearby and although it's not Ikea, it has some potential future purchases. There's a dining room set that I found there that's exactly what I want, but as you know a whole dining room set is not cheap and I really want to avoid putting it on the credit card. So, I'm spring cleaning the house. As I've unpacked things, twice in one month, I really got a chance to see EVERYTHING we own and I really want to slim down. When I unpacked, I immediately put things into boxes in the garage that I knew we didn't want or need, then I had a garage sale last week and made over $500, that's right!! Fridays are big days for garage sales here believe it or not and I made most of the money that day and only a little more on Saturday morning. I'm also selling anything I can think of that we don't have a use for or just don't need on Craigs List. It's great! I sold our moving boxes today for $30 and I didn't have to do any work or pay any seller's fees like on eBay. Each day I'm a little closer to getting that dining room set, my goal is to have it by Thanksgiving, but I think we'll have it before then especially after I sell our extra washer/dryer (the previous homeowners left theirs' and we had just bought a set). Then I'll work on furnishing the living room.

Father's Day

2008-06-17T21:43:00.003-06:00

We had a great Sunday celebrating Father's Day with Daddy! We started out with homemade waffles and scrambled eggs, then we went out to lunch and to buy bookcases for David's office. The highlight of the day was when I told Bella about it being a special day for Daddy and to tell him, "Happy Father's Day". Well, she did not forget to tell him and she must have told him 20 times throughout the day. She also told all of the men at church that night, it was great. Thank you, David, for all that you do and for being such a wonderful dad to Bella and a spectacular husband to me! God truly blessed me with you and Bella!

Here are some pics David took of Bella while I was making him a special Father's Day dinner:

My Little Reader

2008-06-11T22:42:00.007-06:00

In the past couple of weeks Bella has become more and more fond of reading books. She's always liked her books, but it wasn't until recently that she really started spending time focused just on looking through her books, carefully examining the pictures on each and every page. If I'm busy around the house and I realize it's a little too quiet, I'll go check on her and most times I find her reading books. She'll read for a long time, like 30 minutes or so by herself, which I think is pretty good for a 2-year old. The best part is when I hide around the corner and listen to her telling the story the way we have read it to her, just by looking at what's happening in the pictures. She reads inside the house, outside the house, on the grass, in a chair, on the swing, on the slide, in the car, in her stroller, and even in the bathtub (she has books made for the bath)! Bella also asks us, "Read to me, please" very often. I love to hear her make that request and I have told myself that whenever possible I am going to drop whatever I'm doing so I can read a book to her. I really want to encourage her more and more with the books because I was never much of a reader and that didn't help me in college or when I applied to Med school. That's also why I've really made a point to buy more and more books and why we have a bookcase downstairs and one upstairs for her books. Isabella just amazes us, she remembers titles of books, characters' names in the books, specific things that happen in the story, and the main point of the story. That's some great comprehension, something that has always been more difficult for me. Looks like she's taking after Daddy and his love of reading and books. Yeah!!

Here she is standing on her favorite rock in the front yard reading a Winnie the Pooh book.

Reading to her baby on the slide!

New Purchases

2008-06-11T22:33:00.007-06:00

We bought patio furniture this past weekend, a very exciting thing for us! Here's the set we decided on:

We opted for this set because it is more versatile. We can eat on the coffee table, or just lounge on the bench with a cold drink, which is what we do most while we watch Bella play on the grass. We'll probably also get a outdoor dining set that matches when that goes on sale.

Isabella is enjoying the patio furniture too!

I also purchased another outdoor toy for Bella:

. . . and she's already hitting the ball!

The Great Outdoors

2008-06-08T21:59:00.006-06:00

Like I've mentioned before, we love spending time outside, especially here in CO!

We love desert too!

The Things She Says

2008-06-04T23:18:00.002-06:00

Every day Isabella amazes us with her ever growing vocabulary and speech capabilities. Here are just a couple of things she's said lately that have made me stop and think about how bright our sweet Bella is especially for a 2-year old.

1) "Excuse me, sorry" - said while stepping over my stretched out legs to go get another book for me to read to her.

2) "Mommy, I got ready self" - said after she got her shoes on, doll stroller packed up with 3 purses and 2 dolls to go for an after-dinner walk. self = by myself

3) "Daddy is in California" - said as we were walking into Chipotle to eat dinner tonight. She actually pronounced California as Cal-forna. I told her yesterday that daddy is in California after she was asking for him. She doesn't forget a thing and I think she thought of it just then because most nights she'll tell daddy when dinner is ready.

4) "Mommy, I go sleepies" - That's right, lately she's been telling me when she wants to take a nap especially with all of our playing outside. sleepies = night night

5) "Mine, mine, no share, share" - said while playing with Little People figures in the bathtub. She was pretending that one doll was trying to play with the ball and the other doll didn't want to share. She was telling the dolls to share. This one really made me feel good because we've been working on sharing and to see her set up a pretend situation like this blew my mind!

More Pics. . .

2008-06-03T21:42:00.011-06:00

The grill was first on the list to purchase for our house and we're putting it to use!

It' so nice outside in the evenings, we love to eat dinner outside. Next big purchase: Patio Furniture.

Chicken Fajitas done on the grill were oh so delicious!

Bella enjoyed having dinner outside too!

Mommy and Little Pup enjoying the beginning of the sunset.

The sunsets are late here this time of the year, sometimes 8:30pm or later.

Colorado sunset as viewed from our back patio.

All dressed up (even with mommy's slippers on) for tea time with baby dolls!

Bella and her favorite book, "Strawberry Shortcake". We've read this book over a hundred times this past week and reinforced every page with packing tape. She knows the story so now we ask her to read it to us. It's the cutest thing ever when she says, "Apple Dumplin".

Bella and her friend, Jonah, at the mall fountain.

Some interior house pics:

The entryway of our house:

The Family Room:

The kitchen/eating area:

More kitchen:

The Best Room in the House: Isabella's Room!

Bella's "Big Girl" bed which she absolutely loves!

The Guest Room:
Bella's bathroom/Guest bathroom:

View from the master bath window:

One of my favorite features: the master bath tub

That's all for now. I'll take pics of the master bedroom once we have our second dresser assembled and things put away. We also have a living room, dining room, 4th bedroom, and basement, all of which we are still organizing. We don't have living room or dining room furniture, so Bella has a lot of room to run and play for now:)

What's Been Going On:

2008-05-28T00:34:00.013-06:00

We had our first trip back to California since moving to Colorado:

Isabella and her best friend, Landon enjoying Popsicles together.

Isabella's favorite treat is a Popsicle.

With her cousins at the park.

In our family, we live up to the saying, "Shop until you drop"! Isabella is napping
peacefully on Grandma's lap while out shopping.

Looking adorable.

Isabella holding hands with her good friend, Alicia.

On the carousel, one of Bella's other favorite things.

At the farm with our friend, Margaret, and cousin, Madeline.

Daddy's girl.

Isabella and Grandma at Fashion Island.

Isabella turned 2!!

Isabella saw this bike at Target a while back and talked about it so much. It was her
2nd Birthday gift from mommy and daddy. If you ask her about it she'll tell you,
"Bike, helmet for head, basket, and bell, it rings." She loves it and she is too cute!

We attended our first small town event in Colorado called the "Ducky Derby":

It was a cold, windy day, but that didn't take away the fun.

Thousands of rubber duckies are put into the creek for the race.

The ducks are taken out one by one and the numbers on the ducks are
announced for any winners with matching raffle ticket numbers.
We didn't win, but it was still fun to watch.

We celebrated Mother's Day:

It was a perfect day for a picnic and play at the park.

We've made friends:

Isabella and Elijah (our pastor's son). Watch out Landon, Bella and Eli really
like each other and talk about one another all of the time!
Bella even prays for Eli at bedtime, but she still prays for Landon too:)

and . . . We bought a house!!

The backyard is great for outside play!

Good thing David bought a lawn mower! He'll be buying some grass
seed this weekend to fill in those brown spots.

This pic was taken the first time we saw the house.

So, that's pretty much what's been going on with us. Isabella continues to amaze us with all that she does and especially with what she says now that she's talking in these long sentences. She loves our house, especially the grassy yards. We'll be playing outside and she'll just lie on the grass and smile! We are so thankful to God for providing us with a home that is more than we imagined to ever own.

A Fun Filled Day

2008-04-26T20:31:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, we met some friends at a local bounce house place. They have several bounce houses, blow up slides, a ball pit and it was free for Bella because she's under 2. They even had a couple of computers with internet access and free gourmet coffee for parents. I met a few other moms and Bella had a blast with the other kids. She especially loved the ball pit (I got confirmation that they clean the ball pit daily). Here are some pics, although they are a little out of focus:(

Bella reading by herself, something she really enjoys these days!

Why Watermark?

2008-04-24T22:37:00.003-06:00

I was thinking that some readers may wonder why I use watermark on my photos . Well, the answer is somewhat simple, I want to do what I can to avoid another round of cyber-identity theft. That's right, we were once the victims of cyber-identity theft and it was a very scary thing to go through. Some freak stole photos of my daughter and used them on several mommy websites and she even created her own website pretending that Bella was her daughter. At the time we didn't have the means to go to the full extent of the law, but now we do. So, if there are any freaks lurking around on my blog, don't even think about it! And to all of my fellow bloggers out there, please do what you can to protect your family from cyber-identity theft, it happens way too often out there in this huge internet world. Believe me, you don't want to go through it. Use watermark, don't mention any last names, you could even use fictitious names or nicknames, don't ever show your address in any photos or profiles, etc. For those of you who are already taking steps to maintain your privacy and protect yourselves and families on the internet, good for you!

Another fun day at the park!

A Beautiful Afternoon

2008-04-23T22:36:00.003-06:00

It was another beautiful and sunny day today. Isabella and I enjoyed the warm sun while we played in the backyard this afternoon. The light was perfect and I took tons of pictures of her adorableness while she played. Here are a few of the shots:

Ready to slide.

The little mommy.

Rock-a-bye baby.

My little geologist inspecting a rock.

static + wind = Bella's hairstyle.

"Yeah, I like to swing high, mommy!"

What a sweet smile.

More Sunny Days

2008-04-22T21:00:00.005-06:00

We haven't had snow in a week now, so we've been enjoying the great outdoors with the warm, beautiful sunshine. There are so many great parks around here. I think we could make our rounds going to a new park every day for 2 weeks. Today we went to Isabella's first storytime at the library. It was very engaging for Isabella and the other children. The lady not only read books, but also lead the kids in fun songs and the kids were able to use some little musical instruments. After storytime, we signed up for our first Colorado library card and Bella picked out a Sesame Street DVD to borrow. I was trying to encourage her to get a book, but I guess she figures that we have a whole bookcase of books at home. Next time, we'll avoid the DVD section and go straight to the books. Isabella does love books and lately she has preferred to "read" them on her own. She points to various objects on the pages, names them, turns the pages, then announces very clearly, "All done". She'll usually let me read to her every night before bed, though. Well, I have some work to do before bed, so I'll leave you with some photos from the past couple of days: A sunny, warm, and fun day at the park.

Isabella was so excited to eat this big chocolate chip cookie during the fellowship time after church and she looked so cute in her brown and pink polka dot dress with her coordinating hair bow.

I took this picture of Pike's Peak from the road near our house today. I decided to keep driving while Bella napped in the car after our trip to the library and Target. It was a little hazy today, so it wasn't the clearest view I've seen, but it still is a very impressive mountain standing at 14,100 ft above sea level.

Comfort and Sunshine

2008-04-21T22:18:00.003-06:00

Before we moved to Colorado 3 weeks ago, Isabella's crib was still in our bedroom. Now that we have more space and an additional room that we didn't have in California, she now has her very own bedroom and she really enjoys her own space. I have to admit that I got up and checked on her several times during the first night that she was sleeping in her room away from us. I made sure she was covered, that she wasn't too hot, and just looked in on her peaceful face. David and I both commented that we missed not hearing her breath or her saying, "doggy" or laughing, in her sleep, but we know she's safe and content in her own room 10 feet away. No matter what, it's still not the same as it was for 23 months of her sleeping within arm's reach of me and often times in bed with us. Yes, we are proponents for co-sleeping and I still am that's why when David is out of town, I bring Bella into bed with me when I go to bed. She's just so warm and cuddly even with her legs randomly draped across me, and there's nothing like being greeted first thing in the morning to my almost 2-year old saying to me, "Hi Sunshine!". Some people would say I'm selfish for bringing Isabella into our bed, but Dr. Sears would be proud.

A Sunny Day

2008-04-18T22:34:00.005-06:00

It was a beautiful sunny day today so we went to the outdoor outlet mall. Isabella loved running around outside and playing with the other kids. We had a successful shopping trip. I bought some winter gear for next year that was on clearance including ski/snow playing pants for myself, warm waterproof gloves for Bella, and good gloves for me. We also bought a couple of pairs of sunglasses at Children's Place for Bella so we can keep a pair in the diaper bag and a pair in the car. The sun is so much brighter here in Castle Rock, CO at an elevation of 6,200 ft. and I really want to do what I can to protect her young, healthy eyes. As we drove home, I explained to Bella about wearing the sunglasses to protect her eyes from the sun so that she wouldn't just play with the glasses and end up breaking them. She was saying, "Sunny, glasses, sunny". I think she really took me seriously because she asked for her glasses when we were driving home from our friend's house tonight, in the dark. She also insisted on wearing them to bed. She is fast asleep, but don't worry I took the glasses off after I took the picture.

Never too Cold for Outside Play

2008-04-17T22:19:00.004-06:00

Isabella and I had fun playing outside in the snow again today. It was a bit more on the chilly side, but she did not mind in the least. Her slide was more like a slip-n-slide and she got stuck in her swing because of all her winter gear, but all in all she had a great time. I really need to invest in some waterproof jogging pants or something to put on over jeans. I don't necessarily need snow pants, just something to keep me dry. It's amazing how much better Bella eats and sleeps after some good outside play. She ate all of her warm soup and a turkey sandwich after coming inside, then she took a 2.5 hour nap. That's what I'm talking about! She is just such a blessing!

Snow and Tea Party Time

2008-04-16T22:08:00.005-06:00

The weather forecast was right, it's snowing! I promised Isabella we could make a snowman tomorrow, it was too cold and it was getting late. She won't let me forget my promise either.

One of Isabella's favorite things to play is tea party. Love the sunglasses!

From Snow to Sun to Snow...

2008-04-16T00:03:00.005-06:00

Last week we had snow, today it was sunny, tomorrow a snow storm is expected, that's Colorado.

One Person's Trash Is Another's Treasure

2005-08-26T00:32:00.000-06:00

Since I've done some heavy summer cleaning, I've recently begun selling random things on ebay. It was so easy to get started and now there's no stopping. I have my system down now starting with taking digital photos of each item, putting the items up for auction, then printing the shipping label with the postage on it and dropping the packages off at the Post Office or FedEx. I started by selling some Madame Alexander Dolls that have been sitting in their original boxes and unplayed with for the last 16 or so years. I've also sold a 3-year old digital camera, some name-brand jeans, and some old Disney memorabilia. There are billions of people out there willing to buy just about anything. Now, it's like I'm looking for things to sell around the house that we don't truly need. It's not only the thrill of seeing the money come into my Paypal account, but also the satisfaction of getting rid of stuff that I know I'm not going to use. Like the saying goes: One person's trash is another's treasure!

Hunan Hand

2005-08-23T11:43:00.000-06:00

I had a terrible night last night. I made salsa with some chili peppers from my garden and about 30 minutes after that my fingertips started burning. It felt like I was holding all of my fingertips on top of a hot griddle. We tried everything, cold water, ice, vaseline, cortizone cream, some organic cream, aloe vera, etc. David looked it up online and found that what I had is a condition called Hunan Hand. They originally discovered it because of people working with the kung pao peppers in Chinese food. I guess the oil from the peppers soaked into my skin. So then the internet said to wash with abrasive soap and lemon juice to cut the oil. I have never felt so much pain! Needless to say, that didn't work much and it just made me cry and shake. At one point I asked David to take me to the hospital, but there wasn't much visually that they could see, just very RED tips. I laid on the couch with ice on them, took 4 advils and finally went to bed with the ice and fell asleep. It was only then when I was sleeping that the pain got better. I woke up this morning and the pain is all gone I just have some very dry, rough fingertips! I'll be using rubber gloves when I make salsa from now on!! The crazy thing is that this happened before about a month ago. I made salsa in the morning, showered, then I was driving to my parent's and that's when my fingers started burning. That time it went away in about an hour. David read that after the first time it happens, you develop a sensitivity and it gets worse with each successive time!! Crazy!! I'm going to buy a box of disposable gloves today!!

Birds, Birds, and More Birds

2005-08-20T11:56:00.000-06:00

On a recent trip to New England, I bought a bird feeder that I'd been wanting for our backyard. The first day I filled it and carefully hung it with some wire from the tree outside our living room window. Then I waited and waited and didn't see one bird visit it until 4 days later. One House Sparrow came and nibbled for a few seconds and flew off. Another one came, then another and another and before I knew it there were four birds on the feeder at once and four more lined up on the fence for their turn on a perch. I have House Sparrows and House Finches visiting the feeder now and these birds can sure eat!! I have to refill the feeder two times a week, but it is so worth it as I enjoy watching my birds while sipping my morning coffee. I even feel protective of my birds. Twice I've ran out to the backyard in my robe to shoo away the neighbor's cat off the fence! I love birds!

Crafty Carianne

2005-06-21T18:20:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd share a few of my projects I've been busy working on:

1) Project Paint:

When my husband was in New Orleans last week, I painted our light wood hutch black to match the rest of our furniture. It was quite a project, masking off the glass taking the doors and handles off and putting them back on. Priming and painting it was the EASY and enjoyable part! I actually watched Star Wars Episode I and drank a couple glasses of wine while I painted.....and I thought it was just the paint fumes:) Anyways, I love how it turned out, especially the contrast of the silver handles that were once black! There are a few spots that I'm not so proud of, but unless you're really inspecting it, they're not noticeable. To top it off, my dad, nicknamed Earl after Earl Scheib Paints, was very proud of my craftiness!

2) Project Centerpiece:
(See above photo)
I don't know how or when the vision came to me, maybe from an old issue of House Beautiful or a Pottery Barn catalogue, but anyways I thought of it and headed over to Michael's Crafts to buy the supplies. I wanted it to be Asian inspired to go with my bamboo placemats. I bought the vase (with a 40% off coupon of course) and river rocks all for $25. And yes, the bamboo is alive, I bought it at Ikea for $2 each. I really like the way it looks and so do all of our visitors when the see it.

3) Project Garden:

Last year was my first year of gardening although I was thrilled to get a few ripe tomatoes and a handful of green beans, I'll just say it was not a bountiful harvest. This year, Things Are Different! My tomato plants (I have 3 different varieties: Brandywine, Celebrity, and Better Boy) are in full bloom. Yesterday for lunch I steamed some tasty green beans from the garden and made homemade salsa with my green chili peppers. I am also growing cucumbers, yellow squash, basil, rosemary, dill, and parsley. I'm learning more each day:)

4) Project Backyard:

I separated this from the garden project because it was actually my wonderful husband who planted me the grass on a hot Saturday after getting up early to help move some furniture at church. He did a great job! I love looking out my windows and seeing my blooming petunias and gladiolas. And it's a good workout when I use the weedwacker to cut the grass:)

Happy Tears

2005-06-04T00:48:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned earlier this week, I work with autistic children. There are difficult days in this job working through various behaviors or modifying a task so my kiddos can grasp a seemingly simple concept. And there are the days that end with happy tears. Today was one of the later days. My little girl I've been working with for six months actually looked at me and addressed me by name without any prompting. I had tears in my eyes as I gave her a big hug and a kiss. A perfect ending to my week:)