What's Been Going On:

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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:)

Tea Tree Oil

I have a new favorite item in my medicine cabinet made of Tea Tree oil. It's the Desert Essence Blemish Touch Stick and can be found at Trader Joe's with a small price tag under $6. This stuff is amazing, it really works on those unsightly blemishes! It comes in a small glass bottle with an easy to use roll-on applicator. I put it on a blooming blemish at night and the next morning it was almost gone. It can also be used on insect bites. I put it on a mosquito bite I got in the Bahamas and it stopped the irritating itching right away. I think I'm going to try the face wash next:)

Spring Cleaning

Maybe more like Summer Cleaning! We started this past weekend by tackling the biggest spot first: The Garage. We loaded up the dumpster with empty boxes that once contained items such as a food processor, sewing machine, computer software, microwave, etc. We were really able to donate a lot of things that I previously had some attachment to. In the midst of my cleaning frenzy I realized that the more things I got rid of, the lighter I felt. It's a nice feeling:) And this is just the beginning of more cleaning projects. So, if you get a few moments, start small and clear out some clutter too:)