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!