Kick off to Fall!

Last weekend was full of fun Fall activities! It started out with a Princess/Pirate party for Belle. Of course, she was a princess! She wouldn't wear her princess tiara, but she was all about her dress. She loves her tutu that Grammy made and when she puts it on she always twirls around! She loves it so much that this morning we had to wear it to tumbling class. When I tried to take it off it turned into a major meltdown (common these days...she really wants her way!). So, we wore it to the rec center. She did decide to take it off before starting tumbling, but she had to wear her sun hat instead. We have officially entered the period of toddler independence!

At the party, Belle was a little uncertain as to what you do after a pinata is broken. I don't think she even knew what was coming out of the pinata and why all the other kids were going crazy, but it did make her laugh and she did finally go pick up some.....ducks. No candy. Good job! Mom and dad picked up the candy for her (and ate it)!

The next day we took her to the corn maze. She loved it for awhile until she decided she was too tired to go any further and we had to carry her out. It was still a lot fun. This is the "where do we go?" hand signal.
Lost in the maze.


Picking up corn along the way.Too tired to continue, so dad carried her out.
Then we went to visit the ponies. She is still a little too young to get a pony ride, but she thoroughly enjoyed just looking at them!

The carriage ride. She spent some time staring at the huge horses.
On our way out we stopped at the gardens and she had a little break. It was a great weekend for us. Up next....the pumpkin patch!

**Some latest achievements we are excited about! These are things that make us so proud these days!
1. She has started to say some the 3 word sentences! Woohoo! It's getting a little easier to communicate with her.
2. She has # twoed it in the potty three times now!! Woohoo! No promises for any more. It might have just been luck.

19 Month Adventures

Belle just turned 20 months! She is becoming such a big girl and it's amazing how many changes we notice in her growth, her vocabulary, her personality, her sense of humor, and her ability to do things on her own. Here are some of the fun activities Belle did at 19 months:

Belle went to see the King Tut exhibit with Nana and Papa at the art museum. It appears she is becoming much more educated in the arts than Jamie and myself! We haven't even been yet and it's a 10 minute walk from our house! Honestly, I didn't think she'd be too into, but I was proven wrong. From the pictures Nana sent, you can tell she had a great time and really enjoyed the children's area at the end.




Belle started up swimming and tumbling again at the Wash Park rec center. Nana and Grammy have enjoyed taking her to swim lessons while Jamie and I work. She is a water lover for sure! She has no fear about sticking her head under the water and she is becoming quite the bubble machine. When she's not in the pool, you'll find her blowing bubbles in the tub every night! After swimming she gets to go play at the playground and have a picnic lunch. Oh, and get a lesson on the history of Wash Park from Nana. She has learned all about the trees there....


Belle also fell in love with another dog, Ollie. Our good friends had a new baby so we got to watch their dog while they were at the hospital. Ollie was pretty much smothered by Belle! We're pretty sure Sierra was glad to have her climbing all over Ollie rather than on her all the time. I think she prepped this dog perfectly for the new addition to their family.

Hugs.....


and kisses....
This summer we apparently had a green thumb because we had vegetables all over the place. Belle became a great gardener and found a deep love for tomatoes! After a few false pickings, she learned the color red and got much better at picking the red, ripe tomatoes rather than the green, unripe tomatoes.

Since the garden is dwindling at this point, I thought I'd share a couple pictures of what we have left. Belle picked most the tomatoes and had a little help with the beans. We also had a boat load of peaches, half of which we had to give away. They look delicious in the picture, but we're all pretty sick of peaches at this point.

Squash, cucumber, pepper

Simple Pleasures

We love you, Belle, for your great sense of humor! You make us laugh every single day!

(Honestly, we didn't set this up. She was wearing this shirt and playing under the umbrella and her hair had complete static electricity!)

(she is saying "pow" here)

Farms, Fountains, and Fun!

Belle had a couple days of complete fun. We went to Belleview Park one day where she pet some farm animals, rode a train, and played on the playground. Then the next day she got to beat the heat in the fountains at City Park. Here are some shots of the exciting adventures.


A little hesitant to meet the baby cow.
But that didn't last long. She went right down face to face with the cow. (Trying to feed it like it's Sierra)
A clear distance from the dirty pig....
She loved the sheep because they were "baaa-ing" louder than anything and that was pretty funny to her.
The goats just constantly ate and were really friendly. Belle enjoyed following them all over the place.
Her new best friend. These two had some sort of connection going on.

At the playground, playing some beautiful music.Isabelle has no fear! Not sure if that is good or bad at this point, but she sure loves to go down slides, with no help. This was no toddler slide either!

A little snack break before riding the train.On the train and really checking out her surroundings. We can't wait to take her again because she loved the ride. She shouted, "choo, choo" most the entire ride (and I enjoyed it only costing $1.50! Can't beat that!)

The next day was boiling hot so we decided to take her to cool off at the fountains in City Park. It was a bit wild with all the big kids running crazy, but she enjoyed the sidelines where she still got wet and could watch all the craziness.

Cooled off and time to go.....

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.