A Party!

Uncle Brenton got married yesterday!  We are so happy to have Auntie Karina join our family.  Mommy and Daddy were both in the wedding, so Iz had a date with T and Grammy (and T curled Izzie's hair for the first time!).  All Izzie really understood about the day was that there was going to be dancing and cake--but that's all she needed to know to be excited!  She had to be escorted out for the ceremony (it was just too hard to see Mommy and Daddy up front without causing a scene), but she was back in action once the reception started.  (I forgot my camera and we never actually ended up with a pic of the bride and groom...so we'll have to add one when we get it!)  Congrats Brenton and Karina!

Just chillin'

Look at that hair!

A kiss for Mommy...

And a kiss for Belly...

She got sick of pictures pretty quick (you can catch a glimpse of the lovely couple in the background)...

...But everything was better when she found the cake pops!

Her Big Smile

 
Izzie calls this her big smile.  "Mommy!  Mommy!  Beeg smile!"  It's one of my favorite things about her right now. 

The other thing I love about her is how good she as at giving hugs.  It's a process.

She declares it first:  "I hug"

She throws her arms open wide

She turns her head

She goes in for the kill

Her teeny little pudgy hands pat your back while she does it

And once she give one to one person in the room, everyone else present is fair game. 

19 Month Maniac

This 19 month old has changed so much!

*Izzie's constant conversation has been present since basically birth, but the exciting thing now is that we can understand her most of the time!  She still will say certain things over and over and over--getting in our face and looking really serious--and we have no idea what she's trying to communicate, but those times are fewer and farther between.

*Isabel counts..."one...two...three...four...sixsevennineTEN!  We're missing a few numbers, but her enthusiasm makes up for it.  She went shopping with Grammy at Walgreens and found a puppy she wanted.  "One, two, four, seven.  Moh puppies peas Gammy."  Shock of all shocks she came home with two puppies instead of just one.  I was actually surprised she didn't have seven.

*Izzie reads books to us now--even turning them around to show the pictures like they do at school.  But  "myself" means she's going to read to herself and you should find something to do to keep yourself busy.

*Isabel describes everything:  "Birdie is high", "Rock is heavy", "Chickie is hot", "Bible so funny" (no, I did not make that one up--she was reading to herself and laughed as she said it--so we have some work to do).

*Munchkin LOVES her babies.  "Uh oh, she poopy.  I change."  She is so sweet and tender-hearted as she takes care of her dolls.  It is precious.

*Izzie has an opinion on most things now.  The shoes she wears, the show she wants to watch, the baby she wants to play with, the food she wants to eat...  Though it's occasionally exasperating, it's really exciting to see her coming up with her own ideas and seeing her little personality develop.

*Iz has turned into a tall and skinny little girl!  The only remnants of the chubbalicious we once knew are the little pouches of unnecessary fat on her inner thighs (but who doesn't have that...?).

 

 

A Funny...

Auntie Em sent me this picture while Iz was at her house one day.  You know how sometimes you have a day where everything seems to work out perfectly?  This day was the opposite for poor Emily--3 unhappy kids who refused to take naps and were generally grumpy.  The culmination of this lovely day was a half-naked Iz running through the sprinkler with Caden while holding Jerry and sucking on a binkie (normally reserved for bedtime only).  On those kind of days, though, it's all about survival.  Whatever makes them happy and gets you through the day.  God bless you, Auntie.

"Will work for food"