Balloon and Sky Fest

One weekend, Isabelle and I went to Aunt Alysha's for the annual Balloon and Sky Fest with great hopes of seeing hot air balloons and riding vertically in one. Unfortunately, all hot air balloon activities are very wind sensitive and are not inflated or fly if the winds are more then 8-10 mph. Fortunately, this slight breeze kept us from dying in the wide open sunny airport. The other factor that saved us was that we happened to have some umbrellas in our vehicles for some shade. That would have been a huge selling item for a vendor.

Surprisingly, Isabelle did pretty well with all the air show part except when there was a couple explosions on the ground in front of us during a show that startled everyone.

After a few hours there, we went back to Alysha's to cool off, relax, and play. Little Miss Muffet decided to sit on this tuffet drinking her water. However, no spider came along.

Aunt Alysha found a bandana to play with too. Isabelle dressed up as a pirate and a hippie.

Another fun toy was the fuzzy pink bunny ears Aunt Alysha gave her for Easter along with the bunny from the movie "Hop" which is appropriately named Hop Hop. Sometimes Isabelle wanted to wear the ears and other times she wanted other people to put them on. That weekend she learned to say "hop" and supposedly hop herself but I have never seen it.

Even without the hot air balloon show or ride, we had a great time. Maybe next year the winds will stay away.

Buddy's Birthday Bash

Isabelle went to a birthday party for her church buddy, Jordyn. She even carried the present around the house for a while without digging into it.

At the party, Isabelle had a lot of fun playing with a bunch of kids her age. While holding the balloon, she also paid close attention to how Jordyn ate her cupcake. Maybe Isabelle will learn by example and dig in at her next birthday.

No Fooling

No fooling, April Fools Day was a great day spent with friends. Isabelle played at the park with Nina and Adela while mommy visited with her high school friends, Katie and Melanie, and their husbands, Reid and Timothy.

 Isabelle loved bouncing on this toy.

  She likes the swing again!

The merry-go-round was fun at a slow speed.

Melanie, mommy, and Katie pose for a picture.

Melanie and Timothy Worstell were visiting Florida from California. So we picked up the Webers, met the Worstells for dinner at a Golden Coral followed by some time at a park and ending with ice cream.

Though it was a short visit, we had a lot of fun. I'm so glad we were able to make it work.

Practice Makes Perfect

Isabelle has been getting music practice on my keyboard playing in all octaves.

She plays both pianissimo and fortissimo. Sometimes Isabelle adds her own notes to a classic.

Though the chair is barely tall enough, she still manages to reach some buttons above the keys for a little variation as well as some elbow playing.

Her favorite button changes the keys to play animals and other silly sounds. In this video after the ribbit, she says "frog". Usually she gets a percussion beat going too and then dances but I didn't catch that on video.

Sure hope Isabelle continues to love music and eventually learns to play an instrument.

Daddy's Birthday

We celebrated daddy's birthday the weekend before. Isabelle was babysat by a church friend while mommy and daddy went out to eat at a Brazilian Steakhouse. The rest of the weekend was just quality family time. Now that Isabelle has motor control of her hands as well as some eye-hand coordination, she colored for the first time on daddy's birthday card.

The day before daddy's birthday, mommy left for Aunt Alysha's, and Isabelle spent the night without mommy for the first time. Daddy and Isabelle had a great time playing at home. Meanwhile mommy and Aunt Alysha had a great girls time out shopping, eating, and playing video games. Isabelle and daddy did just fine without mommy who would like to get away again.

Tea Time

Isabelle got this tea cart set from someone at our church who had babysat her and probably will again. She loves serving mommy and daddy drinks and snacks.

 
Of course with her imagination, Isabelle has also used the cart for her books, animals, pillows, and recently dumps everything off pushing the cart around the house upside down.

Nap Procrastinator

Some days Isabelle is a nap procrastinator. On this day she continuously threw out her stuffed animals and pacifier.

Then she cried for them, occasionally calling the animals by name, Scooter and Eeyore.

I know I was probably only encouraging her, but it was just too funny not to get pictures and videos. What had brought me in the room in the first place was hearing the music from her zebra. She figured out how to put her foot through the railings to spin the top for the music to play.

That was challenging to get on video but her attempt in this clip amused me.

Later that day on a second attempt for a nap, I forgot to turn the zebra out of reach and was fortunate to catch her doing it with her hands. For a short time after that incident I made sure the zebra was out of reach for naps and bedtime. It has not occurred again yet but since I don't always check the zebra's position, it is bound to happen on another nap procrastinating day.

All Dressed Up

Isabelle has finally grown enough to wear this beautiful dress she got from Great Grandma Bernice and Great Great Aunt Gayle. 

 
The purse I found at Target for $1 matched nicely too. I also found some sparkly bracelets that she puts on and off her arms or carries in her purse along with her cell phone and keys.

Protecting Those Baby Blues

Living in Florida, Isabelle needed a pair of sunglasses. Found some cute ones for $1 at Target. She has one with purple polka dots and one with frogs, of course.

May be a while until she wears them longer then just for taking a picture.

Zoo Again

The zoo never seems to get old especially when there are new baby animals. During this visit Isabelle saw the baby zebra. Reminding her of the jump and spin zebra back home, she really wanted to get closer to ride.

We also had the chance to see the elephant statues closer as they weren't crowded at the time. She was intrigued by their height and the shadows they cast.

Another new exhibit for us since I had just realized it was back there by the cats was the otters.

 I love having a membership at the zoo so we can spend more time at exhibits when we go and not feel like we have to see everything all at once.

Story Time

Isabelle loves to read!

Occasionally she even reads to me.

She's also really good about reading to herself.

Goldie Locks Big Chair

Who needs a chair that is just right

when you can sit in the big chair?

The Latest Hat Fashion

Isabelle insisted that is were her shorts belonged.

Green Bean

Eating a fresh green bean raw.
The hungry hippo couldn't wait for them to be cooked.

Makes a good teether.

Playdate

Isabelle made a new friend in our neighborhood. Keegan is 5 months younger. These are actually pictures his mom took of them playing together.

Isabelle had a great time playing with the "new" toys and new friend. Hope to have many more play dates.

Mommy's Cake Eater

Aunt Alysha made Triple Chocolate Cake for mommy's birthday and we got to take some home.

Isabelle definitely approved Aunt Alysha's delicious baking ability!

St Patrick's Day

Four leaf clover hunting.

Even with leprechaun socks, no luck this year.

Bananas Over Bananas

Time to get this blog jump started again. Life got busy for a while. I hope up coming blogs will prove that. These next blogs I had outlined what I wanted to post with the titles, pictures and videos already in place. Just needed a chance for writing descriptions, which will now be shortened, and actually post them. Hope you will enjoy them again even though they are so old.

Though we haven't had any in a while, at this time Isabelle was bananas over bananas.

Of course she was saying "nana" before I started filming.

Once she got the banana she ran around the house attempting to open it.

I finally caught her and got her in the highchair.

See how badly she wanted that banana with her huffing and puffing? That was the first time she had a banana that wasn't cut up.

And I finally got her to say "nana" again.

Mommy's Actual Birthday

On my actual birthday we just hung out at home. In the morning, Jon brought Isabelle in the bedroom with cards from each of them. Later that day I got a basket of pretty flowers from Jon that I never took a moment to photograph. That evening while Jon ran some errands, Isabelle and I spent some time outside. With her beach chair and toys, she was spotting planes. Notice that she is wearing Oscar the Grouch socks especially picked out by me that day as she was being pretty grouchy.

We attempted bubbles for the first time. I blew some for her but with the light breeze she wasn't able to play with them. Isabelle was very interested in the wand so I let her at it.

With her spoon skills intact she knew to dip the wand in the bottle. I wisely decided to hang on to the large bottle to keep her from knocking it over.

The wand kept falling back inside the bottle and was not easy to fish back out especially one handed. I have since bought a smaller bottle that we can use the longer wand with and refill the liquid when needed.

I thought perhaps if Isabelle waved the wand she would make her own bubbles and showed her how to do that. Instead she had bubble liquid flying everywhere. Though not on this video, she did make one small bubble this way. Lots more bubble practice to come.

Once the bubble liquid was rinsed off our hands, bucket play resumed. She kept walking off through the bushes, waving goodbye, and going around the corner of the house.

Getting through the last over grown bushes slowed her down as she didn't want the branches to touch her.

Isabelle the explorer also decided to check out the palm tree trunk.

Although my actually birthday had no extravagant events, I had a great day. I especially enjoyed those precious moments with Isabelle.

Birthday Beach Walk

The day before my birthday we all went to Fernandina Beach for the afternoon. It was such beautiful weather that we were able to enjoy lunch outside at a cute cafe downtown and do a little walking around too. Being from Nebraska I have had quite a few snowy birthdays so now that we are in Florida I wanted to go to the beach for my birthday. It was our first beach outing of the year and a different experience with a walking Isabelle. Unfortunately, this beach walk was pretty short as it was breezy and cooler by the water.



Definitely looking forward to many more beach walks.

Tumbling

While at Aunt Alysha's during mommy's weekend birthday celebration, Isabelle once again enjoyed her time there.

She learned to crawl up the stairs chasing after the cat. Since our home is one level, we don't have to worry about stairs. Unfortunately when no one was paying attention, Isabelle made it half way up the stairs and then tumbled all the way down. Good thing the stairs are carpeted. Except for being a little shook up, she was fine. Now there is a gate up when we visit to prevent that again.

Isabelle enjoyed playing in the backyard with the dump truck filling it with grass, leaves, and dirt.

Notice that she is driving the truck backwards but then decides carrying it is easier until the plane distracted her.

Sure hope to have many more fun times at Aunt Alysha's.

Celebrating Mommy's Birthday

Wow, so glad I jotted some notes down shortly after my birthday as it is now a month later when I am finally writing this. The weekend birthday celebration didn't get off to a great start as we headed to Aunt Alysha's and realized too late that Isabelle's overnight bag wasn't in the car but on the kitchen table at home. At least we didn't forget Isabelle. Between Target and Walmart we were able to get the necessities. Jon and I dropped Isabelle off at Aunt Alysha's and proceeded on down to Orlando to Medieval Times for dinner and a show.

I had been to it before but this was Jon's first time. We both enjoyed our time out even though our knight was unsuccessful in the tournament. This clip shows our knight fighting the bad guy. You may want to turn your volume down as the crowd really gets into the drama.

Love the sparks flying and how realistic the fight looks. I think my favorite event was the jousting with the splinting wood. Again, turn down the volume.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, we picked out a horse for Isabelle named Prince that has become one of her snuggle animals. I highly recommend attending one of these types of dinner and a show.

We returned that night to Aunt Alysha's with Isabelle already sleeping. The next day we lounged around getting spoiled with a breakfast of pancakes and triple chocolate cake after lunch. As a gift, Alysha sent home a pot of pink tulips that bloomed beautifully through my birthday. I am attempting to save the bulbs in hopes that they will bloom again.

We are so thankful that Alysha is close enough to have fun weekends like this occasionally. Even with the forgotten luggage, my weekend birthday celebration was great.

Tickle Me Isabelle

Isabelle loves to be chased, wrestled, tickled, and giggled to exhaustion (sometimes her, but usually us). Often she will even lay on the floor expecting someone to come tickle her. Occasionally she even resorts to crawling as she has seen mommy or daddy crawling to chase her.

Far more amusing to have our own Tickle Me Isabelle then Tickle Me Elmo, or in her case the Tickle Me Ernie she has.

Mommy's New Clothes

Isabelle displays typical girl qualities in loving clothes. While inspecting mommy's new clothes, she in particularly showed curiosity in the bra.
Though I know it will come too quickly, Isabelle has quite a few years before she needs to figure that out.

Laundry Training Part 2

I wanted to share this clip as well but it was too lengthy for the other post. Isabelle even hands her clothes to me to put them in the washer. This is easy for her to do as her hamper is collapsible.

Got to love how she hands me one sock at a time for quite a while. The concept of putting things away is also sinking in as she proceeds to put her hamper away in her room at the end. There will be more laundry training to come.

Laundry Training Part 1

Isabelle likes to help me with laundry in many ways. For a long time now she has been pushing the laundry cart between the laundry room and our closet with a little steering on my part. When heavily loaded, the cart is difficult for her to maneuver on carpet but rolls easier on tile. Here are some clips that show her pushing the cart for a short while before getting frustrated with the carpet and then parking it into the laundry room.

Isabelle also helps close the dryer door and even sometimes gets it latched. At the end of this clip you can hear her say "all done".

It is so nice to have my little helper make the almost daily tasks more fun.

Spoon Skills

Isabelle is becoming more independent. She has been taking her loaded eating utensil from us and feeding herself for some time now. This night she chose to do the loading too and I was brave enough to let her do it with such a messy item, yogurt. The mess has stayed confined to her tray and self so far.

I love how Isabelle uses both hands to work the spoon in this video. She feeds herself well with either hand once there is food on the utensil. Still don't know if she will be right handed, left handed, or ambidextrous. Her spoon skills have improved enough that she is eating cereal from a bowl with a tiny amount of milk. Often she resorts back to the hands especially when frustrated that things are not going the way she wants with her utensil or if she is too hungry to patiently use the utensil. That makes for even messier yogurt eating. Guess its about time to break out the finger painting projects!

Pray, Praise, and Give Thanks

Leading by example works especially on a toddler who soaks in everything so easily. For the last couple of months I have been saying a prayer at all Isabelle's meal times. She has now joined in occasionally saying some of the words and always folding her hands. Isabelle has learned that before she starts to eat to fold her hands and wait for me to say, "Thank you Jesus for my food. Amen.".

Listen carefully in this video for her saying, "Thank you Jesus.". One time she actually did say "Thank you Jesus food." but I guess I didn't get that recorded.

Thought this was a cute clip too. Since Isabelle generally starts eating before we do, when daddy and I say our prayer for our meal she often joins in again.

Isabelle also has a bed time prayer that daddy and I usually say together before we lay her down for the night. Many should recognize at least a variation of this, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Angels watch me through the night, and keep me safe 'til morning light. Amen.".

Though not often displayed by visual example, Isabelle also will fold her hands occasionally throughout the day praying as well. If I notice I will say, "Thank you Jesus." again because there is so much more to be thankful for beyond our food. Sometimes I have noticed that those moments indicate that she is ready to eat or ready to go to sleep. She will also fold her hands when daddy or I are folding our hands when we are relaxing. Daddy and I discussed that we must have been taught to fold our hands when we were sitting perhaps to keep us from fighting with our siblings or to keep out of other trouble.

We are still working on folding her hands during church but those prayers tend to be too long for her toddler attention span.

These are all good reasons to pray and I hope we can continue to lead by example.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) -- "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Mamma Mia

Isabelle loves pasta! We usually do other shapes of pasta but this night we finally had spaghetti again. So Isabelle got to experience spaghetti noodles for the first time. She seemed quite confused and at times frustrated on how to eat them but did eventually manage to eat some.


Sorry the video doesn't show her eating any but her playing with the noddles is amusing.

Even with all that crazy hand movement, there was no spaghetti on the ceiling, walls, or floor. Glad I didn't put any sauce with it though! I think Isabelle would prefer I stick to giving her the other shapes of pasta for now.

Shoes Fetcher

When it is time to go somewhere, someone just needs to say "shoes" and Isabelle will retrieve her shoes saying "shs" repeatedly on the way to the front door where they are located. This works most of the time for her to get the correct everyday shoes and not her dressier shoes. She'll plop down on the ground, either trying to put them on herself or waiting as patiently as a toddler can to have someone else put them on her. Isabelle has also learned that the only way she is going to be able to go outside is if I have my shoes too. Once she has her shoes on, she proceeds to get mine. This works when they are a matching pair and not two lefties or two righties of different pairs.

There are other times that Isabelle will displace the shoes around the house possibly trying to tell us she would like to go somewhere.

Isabelle knows when we come back inside that she needs her shoes off as well and plops down again waiting for them to be removed.

Shoes are currently so interesting to Isabelle that going down a shoe aisle at a store gets her quite excited. She motions for her current shoes to be taken off and wants to try on the new ones. Maybe there should be a new catch phrase. Instead of "like a kid in a candy store" it should be "like Isabelle in a shoe aisle".

Little Stinker

Though Isabelle resembles a boy, I just had to buy this shirt and she just had to wear it this day when she was sporting a curly mohawk.


Sometimes the smell is coming from daddy, but usually it is Isabelle.

Snuggle Animals

Since we removed Isabelle's bedtime bottle quite a while ago now, I thought it was a good time to replace that comfort item with a stuffed animal. I chose the hypoallergenic, washable Eeyore she got from my awesome friend, Joshua. I like that she can take it anywhere and I can still get it clean afterward. Isabelle also chose a puppy from daddy's collected Ty Beanie Babies named Scooter. And the latest addition is a horse from mommy and daddy's Medieval Times outing that is named Prince, more on this outing in another post to come. She is nearly inseparable with these buddies now especially at bedtime and naps.


Isabelle will even let us know when it is time to sleep by calling for "Scoo-ter, Eyoeyo, Prs", finding them, and heading for her bed. I will work on getting a video to hear her calling them. With her imagination ever developing she also plays "nigh nigh". Having a multitude of choices with the ginormous Care Bear collection and many other random ones, I foresee Isabelle choosing more snuggle animals in the future.

DinoAlive

Once again the zoo has not disappointed us. DinoAlive is the latest exhibit that was available free for early viewing to members at the beginning of the month. Isabelle and I headed out one early evening just for that hoping to make it out of the zoo in about 30 minutes as we had Bible study that night too. I knew the exhibit was at the far back of the zoo but I didn't know many other members would be in the line to get in as well. On top of that it took 15 minutes to see the first two dinosaurs. The rest of the way had a wider path that we were able to get through a little more quickly but still had to power walk out of the zoo to book it to church. The exhibit was quite impressively live like with these animatronics moving and sound effects. Contrary to the pictures below, thankfully Isabelle was not scared, unlike some of the other kids. She seemed to enjoy herself pointing when they moved and saying her "see", "oh", and "wow wow".

I do like Isabelle's faces. Maybe she's thinking, "are you sure he only eats plants?" and "I'm more concerned about those dinosaurs behind you, mommy, with their sharp claws!". At the end of the exhibit there were those tiny dinosaurs appropriately tearing up Barney.

Of course there was the infamous T-Rex and babies in the nest. Again Isabelle shows a face of concern of "why are we standing within chomping distance?".

We enjoyed the free DinoAlive exhibit and would gladly pay next time if anyone in the area cares to join us for the fun adventure!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

While Isabelle plays outside in the patio, I try to get caught up in what's happening in the real world by reading the headline stories of interest. Of course the comics are a must as well. On one occasion Isabelle decided she needed to sit in a chair and look through the newspaper too. Either she was reading up about our local elections or searching for the comics unsuccessfully.

No harm in an early start at keeping up with the current world news.

One Small Step for Most, One Giant Leap for Her

Our home is only one level so Isabelle rarely gets practice with steps. We have a step down at the front door, into the garage, and at the patio. Now that she is walking everywhere, we have been encouraging her to take the steps too while holding our hands. Going up the steps was no problem and if we aren't there quick enough with a hand, she just crawls up. Going down terrified her even with helping hands offered. One day Isabelle was playing in the patio and I was lucky enough to catch this video.

Talk about gutsy especially while holding the basket! I think I was pretty gutsy too just watching!

Then attempting going up with that can do attitude even when she fell and coming back down with the nondramatic response after falling! I was expecting the worse. If only she would do this every time when faced with a step or any obstacle, for that matter! Sometimes I just want to show her these videos to remind her that she is capable of going down the steps without help. At least she is no longer terrified feeling helpless standing on top of a step. Isabelle continues to improve on going down these small steps with our helpful hand. Just goes to show that letting them figure things out on their own is sometimes the only way for them to learn and hopefully I won't cringe too much in anticipating disasters.

Giddy-Up, Zebra

After visiting a friend in VA who had this zebra and seeing how much Isabelle enjoyed it even then when she was much smaller, I was thrilled to find it at a consignment store this fall. I finally got her room rearranged and found a place to put the zebra in there. She does pretty well when someone sets her on it. She originally just rocked but she now also spins. Maybe the actual jumping will come as she gets taller.

It was rather impressive how she was able to dismount so gracefully even though she was still a little short when this first video was taken a month ago.

These more recent videos show her also spinning and another dismount. Isabelle isn't always confident in her ability to dismount so again pretty impressive. It will also be nice when she can mount herself on the zebra too.

Another great purchase made to help Isabelle get some energy out.

Playing Mommy

Isabelle has started to really take to her dolls and stuff animals. I guess she has picked up on some of my motherly tasks too. On this particular day she carried her cabbage patch doll, Erika, all over including the window to see the puppy. She also was nice enough to feed her and entertain her with music.

Ok, so Isabelle did accidentally drop Erika but every baby falls at some point. She was just preparing Erika for the real world.

Sleeping Angel

Every night before I go to sleep, I slip into Isabelle's room to cover her with a blanket and turn off the light. One night I found her asleep in this position where she looked like an angel with her arms up like that.
I managed to take this picture without waking her up and now can share a picture of our sleeping angel.

More Outside Fun

With quite a few days of nice weather, Isabelle got to experience outside even more. She continues to adjust to the elements: walking on the grass, touching the grass, and getting dirty. In these pictures, she is easily amused by the neighbor boy who purposely performs for her. Looking closely at the other two pictures show her dirty face especially around the mouth. All this outside play has led to more baths which thankfully she is enjoying again.

Got another video that day. Isabelle was still reluctant to fall on the grass but was at least willing to pick up a piece to give to me. At the end you can see all the dirt on her hands too.

When I tell Isabelle to get her shoes, she actually gets them and gets very excited since that means she will be going outside. On nice days, we go out shortly after breakfast and again after nap for about an hour each time. It is so engraved in her personal schedule that she even gets her shoes or goes to the patio door before I mention either. Even all the pollen and sneezing as well as the gnats bugging her haven't kept her from going outside. Sometimes the gnats are so bad that they get stuck in her hair and I have to blow or pick all of them out. Feels like monkey grooming, but I don't eat them. One time it was dark and she was insisting on going outside but didn't get to. Another time it was a chilly day yet she insisted on going out. I put her jacket on, plopped her outside, and went to get my sweatshirt. When I returned she quickly retreated back inside. I guess she has adjusted to being in Florida.

We don't have any outside toys yet so Isabelle has been enjoying the beach and pool toys, mostly the buckets and balls. Either she places the balls or grass in the buckets and wonders around with them. She finally accepted sitting in the grass too.

Here's a little bucket playing, pointing at the frogs on the decorations, and cleaning up the toys. When she finds a "job" to do, she is one busy girl. Easter egg hunting this year should be fun.

Once Isabelle gets accustomed to sand, she will have a great time playing with these toys at the beach also. As much as she loves being outside, there will be many more fun outside pictures to come.

Eat, Sleep, Play, Repeat

Isabelle has started to handle her fork and spoon during meals. Just as Ariel in the Little Mermaid, I think Isabelle confused her fork for her comb. At least Isabelle then puts food on the fork and eats her food properly. Although it looks like she is just having fun playing with her food, she is learning.

On another occasion, the inevitable finally occurred. Isabelle fell asleep while eating. When I was getting her out to lay her down, she stirred a little and reached for some food. So amusing!

After nap time, we went outside to play. Isabelle had never walked on grass before. Being St Augustine grass, which is quite stiff, as well as having some what new lumpy sod made that a bit of a challenge. I love hearing her "wow, wow, wow" at many different things and seeing her point too.

When Isabelle faces something new, she often resists the consequences. She loved walking on the grass but couldn't stand falling on the grass, touching it, or getting dirty. When she did fall on her bottom, she got so upset when I wouldn't help her up since she still uses her hands to stand and they would have to touch the strange grass.

Here Isabelle points at the dog and a bird, does a little jig, and celebrates being outside.

This video showed her walking on the grass better then the other one and her excitement about being outside.

Isabelle loves being outside and continues to get better walking on the grass as well as dealing with the other consequences of being outside.

Bawling Belly Boo

These videos may look a little familiar back to the magnet videos. Just wanted to post these separately as they show other Isabelle characteristics. The first one Isabelle is upset that I won't let her have the camera so you get a little taste of her tantrums. She quickly recovers from that and tries to play peek-a-boo with her shirt. She had done that before with her dresses which are quite easier to do. Isabelle often shows her belly and sometimes even finds mommy's or daddy's. When playing peek-a-boo with her hands, they only get as far as covering her mouth.

This video you can hear her say "dere it is" which she often says when revealing hidden things or herself.

Already she plays these simple games and continues to learn everyday.

Playing with daddy

This dinosaur was a steal I found at a consignment store last fall for half price. Isabelle got it for Christmas. I thought it was so cute that Isabelle and daddy were playing together.

She does well with the balls but as you see, sometimes she pushes the buttons that the balls usually hit upon entry just so she can hear the sounds. Isabelle quickly figured out how it really works.

Valentines Day

Thought this video was appropriate for this Valentines post though it was not taken that day. This is a doll she got from Grandma 'Dene for Christmas. Thankfully the voice box is removable and sometimes is removed for personal sanity.

Valentines Day morning daddy sent Isabelle in the bedroom with cards from both of them for mommy. Later that day some flowers were delivered in a Hershey's Kisses vase that I found ironic since I asked for no candy. When Jon got home, however, he said they were the incorrect arrangement. The florist exchanged them for the right ones that evening. To my delight, I definitely liked the correct arrangement better. Isabelle enjoyed the flowers as well. She often pointed at them and said her version of "oh pretty". Near the end of the roses looking nice, I put the bouquet on the floor for her to look at it more closely. Isabelle and I would enjoy more flowers to come.

"Aunt 'Lysha, see?"

Aunt Alysha came one Friday to watch Isabelle while Jon and I went to a fun adult church activity. I dipped a variety of items into chocolate at Peterbrookes Chocolatier with the ladies while Jon enjoyed drinks with the guys next door. Then the ladies joined the guys for pizza. We all had a great time. Meanwhile Aunt Alysha was being an awesome babysitter and even got Isabelle to sleep before we came home. This is worth mentioning since at that time it was very difficult to get Isabelle to sleep at night.

Aunt Alysha stayed the night and then went to the zoo with Isabelle and I the next day. Of course, we spent a long time at the giraffes. The pictures below from top left across show the females eating, the male telling them to move, and the females dispersing. Found that amusing. The bottom pictures show the cute baby giraffe. I especially like the one where the baby kisses mommy.

I think the giraffes are a favorite since Isabelle can very easily get down and watch the giraffes. Below are some fun Isabelle facial expressions while watching the giraffes and showing Aunt Alysha.

Another favorite is the giant anteater all shown on the left. Isabelle looked at me as if asking "where is he?" in the first picture. Then he came around, you can see his nose in the next picture followed by his tail. What a great exhibit, so up close!

Aunt Alysha had Isabelle pose for the gorilla picture with some hesitation but then she proceeded to check him out closer afterward. The other up close exhibit with the tapir was neat until it sprayed the glass. Also got a decent shot of the ostrich this time.

When we got to the squirrel monkeys, Aunt Alysha and Isabelle decided to monkey around too. Isabelle chased Aunt Alysha around the tree for a long time giggling and having fun.

At the end of the day, Isabelle showed little sign of being tired and was pushing her own stroller. If only I could have ridden. She likes to push her stroller but occasionally needs some steering guidance.

Here is a short clip of her pushing by herself.

All around a fun weekend. Thanks Aunt Alysha for watching Isabelle, putting her to sleep, and enjoying the zoo with us!