Living it Up With Nana!

Nana sent me some pictures of all the fun she and Isabelle have been having while Jamie and I work. I have to say I'm a bit jealous, but so glad that she gets to have such a great time while we're gone. We feel very lucky that she is able to explore new things with Nana and learn from her! It makes us feel so comfortable knowing she is in good hands while we are at work! Here is some proof of the major fun Belle is having.

The two of them went to a Farmer's Market where they rode a train, got some yummy, healthy snacks, and looked at cute puppies.






My aunt and my cousin's daughter came to visit for a week. Holly and Belle had a ton of fun together. This is a trip to the zoo where the two of them were inseparable.

(That's a gorilla's giant face in the window-one of Belle's favorite animals right now)

My mom took Belle to Tales for Two's at the library. It's fairly similar to Book Babies except they read a story and do a craft with kids age 2 through preschool. We weren't sure how it would go given she's not even two yet and had never been, but she fit in perfectly! She knew exactly what to do and had the greatest time ever. She followed all the directions and made a cute little craft -with a little help from a preschool boy who apparently taught her all about how to use glue properly. I would have liked to see how this went. Little Miss Independent doesn't like much help these days :). Here she is following along with the story/singing...

Very serious business...


I laugh every time I see this photo because she is totally into the singing. Belle sings ALL the time-in the house, in the car, in the store. We don't really ever know what she's singing, but she is completely serious with it and will sing for 10 minutes straight!

The great thing about the library is that it is a short walk from our house. So, Nana and Belle usually stop and have a picnic lunch, then Belle passes out in the stroller, and when they get home Nana can take a nap too (a much needed thing after trying to keep up with Belle)!

Hmmm....where's Belle?Belle swinging on everything in site. We blame tumbling class!

This is only the start of the fun that Belle will have this year with Nana! We look forward to seeing what other adventures she goes on!

18 Months!

It's hard to believe that Isabelle is 18 months old! She has become the independent toddler we have always heard about. She wants to do everything on her own, with no help. Nice at times and difficult at other times. Her independence makes us laugh! For example, Belle insisted on wearing this outfit yesterday. A shirt, her moon boots, and a diaper. So, that's what we did and she was very happy with her choice. Dad especially enjoyed her outfit when he got home from work! Nothing like a good laugh after work!
She also prefers to walk on her own these days and be in the lead. She is always on a mission and very serious during her walks.
Then when she decides she's had enough, she'll plop down and wait for you to carry her back to your original destination, which is usually not very close. But who can resist her cute face and we love that she is so into exploring the outdoors! And luckily she is still a little pipsqueak (about 21 lbs.), so it's not too hard to carry her.

The other night I put a video on so I could make dinner. When I came out to the living room I saw Belle using Sierra as her pillow. I thought it was so cute. We're pretty lucky to have such a sweet dog.

Work has begun...bleck!

Well, work has officially started for me and Jamie. Although we've been back a week, I have only been in twice because of my part-time schedule, so I'm still not feeling like it's official. Come next week, I think that will change. Isabelle had a great time wearing out Nana on Monday and Tuesday while I was at work. They did more things in two days than I think I do with her in a week. They went to the park, to the pool, to the library, on walks, to the playground, shopping, the list goes on. Nana sure shows her a good time. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them. I'll have to make sure she takes the camera next time.

The next day, George came over while Anne worked. The two of them hadn't seen much of each other this summer so they had to do some reuniting which was beyond cute...
They were chatting it up and laughing hysterically on Belle's patio swing.

A few laughs and swings later, back to the hugging.


It was a pretty warm day, so we filled up the pool and the two had some fun splashing around in the water and making the hose spray all over the place.

They then watered the flowers for me which I really appreciated. Belle used to be into picking the flowers and bringing them to us...very sweet, but totally destroying my beautiful pots. So, I'm glad she has a new hobby of watering them now!!
These two will have so much fun hanging out with each other every Wednesday this year!

Last Summer Trip/Family Reunion

We just got back from a week trip out to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I'll warn you now, there are a lot of pictures. I haven't posted anything in quite some time, so I figured it was fair game. Plus, I know Nana and Papa wanted to see pictures to go along with all the stories we told them the other night, and Grammy and Pepe would probably love to reminisce the trip. So here we go...

After flying into Boston and staying a night in Manchester, we headed to Colebrook, NH for a family reunion. On the way we stopped at a ski resort and rode the tram up the mountain. Belle loved riding the tram and pointed out the window and said "up, up, up" as we got higher and higher. We had a great view of the valley and the mountains in NH.
We also did a great hike that lead to more great views.

We then arrived in Colebrook at Jamie's aunt and uncle's lodge. They own a beautiful lodge in Northern NH that is on a pond, which really in Colorado terms is a lake. Apparently out there they consider enormously large lakes a pond?? Here is the whole gang, including Belle's other great grandma, Meme, whom she met for the first time! Get this, there were almost as many kids as adults! And all kids were under 6. It was a happening place for 4 days!

Our little outdoorsy Belle spent most the time outside in the beautiful weather. She loved being down by the lake.

She couldn't get enough of Murphy and Guinness (the dogs, that is. Not the beer).
Kayaking with mom.
If she wasn't on a boat, then you would most likely find her running around with one or two or three or nine of her second cousins. Here are 6 of the 9 kids who had MAJOR fun on the bouncing castle that Jamie's cousin brought. Yes, Belle loved this so much that Jamie and I are considering purchasing one. Hours of entertainment.

We spent a lot of time taking rides in the "paaatty" boat (i.e. "party" boat if you don't understand New England accents like me). I'm pretty sure I understood about half of what Jamie's family said. I really needed a New England accent dictionary. We managed to fit 6 of the kids on the boat for this ride.
Ali and Belle chatting it up. These two had so much fun together and were pretty much inseparable the entire trip.
Lollipop time.
Playing in the trees, collecting sticks, and rocks were some highlights.

Again, in the paaatty boat. Helping Pepe drive and honk the horn.

With Grammy, waving at other people who live around the lake.
Brennan chasing after Belle to give her a hug. This was a nightly thing. It was so cute, but Belle wanted nothing to do with hugging boys. Let's hope that continues well past the teen years :)
Some morning girl fun. Aunt Linda painting Belle's toes. Her very first pedicure! She also got a tattoo. Sweet and tough at the same time.
Our last day. You can see the lodge, the lake, and all the beauty around. We were sad to leave.
However, we moved on to some more fun! Here we are in Wolfboro, NH. We stayed in this little cabin right on a lake.

It was such a cute town. Belle really enjoyed walking along the water's edge and watching all the fancy boats come in.
We then ended our trip in Boston. Belle rode the subway for the first time and thought it was great fun. She considered it a train over a subway and loved to say "choo choo." Here is Belle at the Boston Aquarium . We have never seen Belle so excited in her life. The sea life was beyond amazing to her little eyes...
Now were back and sad. That's because our summer fun has come to an end and we both go back to work next week. Boohoo! We do admit that we have a great life. Nothing beats being able to be home together as a whole family in the summer!