Summer Summary

Our summer was amazing.  Izzie and I had so much time together, we got to spend so much time with other people we love, and we just got to have fun being a family and having adventures.  I made a bucket list for us at the beginning of summer of 40+ things I wanted to do with Izzie.  I didn't want to waste a second of our summer, and I was afraid it would fly by too fast (which it did anyway, but at least we have lots of fun memories!).

Our list had projects, activities, places to go, games to try, toys to make...  It wasn't so much about checking everything off the list (because we didn't!) but just having new experiences with her.  Some things were quick and others took more time, some were huge successes and others were a total bust, some were about learning and others were about making a mess, but we had FUN!  We learned a song and danced in the rain and decorated sugar cookies and built a cardboard house and saw an airplane and had a dance party and went to the library and learned to play hide and go seek and played with fake snow and had a pajama day and went on a picnic and played with slime.  We still have 7 items to check off (why won't anyone let you feed ducks anymore?!?) and then it will be time to make a new list!

Storytime with Caden and Aves (at the beginning of summer--look what a baby she is!)

Turns out Izzie's rules for dominoes are way better

She loves the zoo!  We had a membership so we went lots!

First baseball game

Don't worry, folks.  We still had plenty of chillaxing time!

My homemade finger paints turned into a gloopy disaster, but that didn't stop her from enjoying them!

We visited her school one Friday to celebrate International Mud Day!

Izzie developed a passion for cleaning ("Moh keenin', Moh keenin'")

We spent time with Great Grandpa

So...the decorating was a little uneven, but the cookies were still delicious! 

Reading books with Grammy.  This summer she really got into reading books out loud herself.  

Colored ice cubes make for fun driveway paints! 

We had several swimming parties at Grammy's

Family reunion at a cousin's farm.  She sat in the dirt forever and literally rubbed clods of it all over herself.

She became a swimming maniac!  Two six week sessions completed and she goes underwater without crying or choking.  Success!  (And her first sucker as a reward!)

Heart Smiles

I know I'm belated in my posts.  Forgive me.  School has started back up and we have yet to form a routine.  So, more stories and pics to follow soon (hopefully), but here's a snapshot that I just love.  I have it hanging at my desk at school because seeing it makes my heart so happy.

They just crack each other up!  (And yes, she's wearing his pjs.)

Our Toddler

I would like to reserve the right to use the term "toddler" loosely with this one.  She is now and will forevermore be my baby girl.  However, given her tendency to speak in sentences, I might have to accept her move out of the world's definition of "infant".  To celebrate her move from infancy, this little one will be starting in the toddler room when the fall term of her school starts in a few weeks.  So yesterday was our darling's last day in the Gingko Room (infant room) at Dimensions.  We LOVE her room and her teachers, and we will miss them so much.  But, this little girl has outgrown them and must move on.  So watch out, Oak Room.  HERE COMES IZZIE!

This was what our little Munchkin looked like when we first sent her to the Gingko Room, and then a picture of her at school from only 6 months ago.

Last day in the infant room?  This calls for a headstand in bed!

Chasing after cousin Caden on the way in.  These two have enjoyed having a lot of time together outdoors at school this summer.  Iz will miss him a lot this fall as he heads to the preschool side!

Iz's hallway (and gigantic stroller).  God bless those teachers for thinking it's fun to take 6 kids on adventures to explore their world.  Sounds like too much work to me!

Isabel's name tag.  It hung above her crib when she first came, but got moved once she started sleeping on a mat on the floor at the beginning of the summer.

Such a fun and happy place to be!

Izzie's cubby and cupboard space.

Miss Denise and Miss Abby.  We love you!

I think Abby and Denise thought I was a little off my rocker as I took pictures of everything on Izzie's last day.  But it's hard to admit she's growing up (and that I'll have to be going back to school soon, too!).  She spent a lot of time in that room with those lovely ladies, and we appreciate them so much!

Isabel's Words

I can't believe how many words Izzie has in her vocabulary now.  She literally is learning 1-2 new words A DAY!  It's unreal.  Communication with her has changed drastically in the last month.  Here's the words she is using in context now...

hi, bye-bye, night-night, baby, ball, duck, fish, puppy, owl, snake, bubbles, car, book, birdie, more, thank you ("deedoo"), cookie, cheese (both for food and cameras), cracker, broccoli, apples, peas, Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Caden, Callie, Carter, T (for Auntie), Pixie, yeah, no, yucky, shoe, uh oh, I, mine, nose, eye, cheek, door, knock, rock, binkie, stuck, good morning, Mickey, show, sit, look ("Wooky!" is a really popular one right now), swing, milk, water, Elmo, one, two, potty, peek (for "hide and seek")...

(disclaimer:  most of these words have an "ee" sound at the end of them right now)

And she's putting phrases together ("more cookie" is a popular one or "I sit" -- she really likes declaring where she is going to be at).   It is so much fun hearing her sweet little voice and so exciting to see her figuring things out in the world around her!

(Ironically, even though she says "peas" she will not say "please".  She still does the sign language for that, and we can't convince her to do otherwise.  The fact that we used to say "Say please" and get excited when she would sign it is hampering our ability to get her to actually SAY please.  "Say peas, Izzie."  "Peas."  "Say please, Izzie."  (silence as she makes the sign).  She'll get there eventually.)

Fourth of July

We had a lovely Fourth of July.  A bunch of friends and their kiddos came over and we had a blast.  A massive water balloon fight (Bryan filled 400 balloons!), playing in the sprinklers, grilling out, parachutes and smoke bombs, ice cream sundaes, yard games, and a lovely fireworks show to top it off. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I realized how independent my daughter is becoming during that party.  There were many times where I wouldn't see her for awhile, and would go find her playing with the kids or running through the sprinkler or grazing off of everyone else's unattended plates, just having fun doing things on her own!  Such a big, grown girl.

We had one funny moment at the end of the night when we were doing the "big" fireworks.  It was after 9 o'clock, but I had let her stay up because I wanted her to see the sparkly stuff.  I kept asking if she wanted to go to bed, and she kept telling me no so I let her enjoy the show.  We were sitting on a blanket in the yard watching Daddy and Uncle J light off the fireworks, when one of those really loud, screaming fireworks went off.  She started crying instantly and waving her hands, saying "Nigh-night! Nigh-night!"  So she went to bed and didn't see so many sparkly ones after all!

Auntie Em brought some cool sunglasses for the kids.  And Izzie loved the water guns Auntie Brittany brought.  She couldn't quite get the hang of it, though, so she would just point it at you and you had to pretend you were getting wet.

Izzie was not impressed with the water balloon fight -- a little too much action and screaming for her tastes -- but once the ammunition was out she really enjoyed running through the sprinkler by herself.

An outfit change (headband made by Auntie Em) once the wet activities were done. 

You must do cheesy decorations on the Fourth.

Look at all those kiddos!  No wonder Izzie had fun!

Her first date with Brayden, her someday husband (so far the marriage is arranged, but we have no doubt they will grow to love each other).  Caden popped by to be a chaperone after he saw them sitting alone.  Brayden seems to be in awe of Izzie's pickle pounding abilities.

Part Three

We spent the last part of the trip in Wichita, just us three.  We picked it because it was a halfway point between Texas and Lincoln, but we had a lot of fun there.

We hit some outlet malls in Oklahoma City on our way to Wichita on Thursday.  Score!  An Ariel for Izzie, as well as her very first pair of Nikes.  Daddy was really excited to buy her those!

Setting up camp at our hotel.  Iz slept like a champ at night and took great naps. But we found out darker was better so she slept in a lot of bathrooms... 

 Another phone!  Hotels rock!

Yummy

Post swimming cookies.  You have to recharge. 

We went to Exploration Place on Friday.  It was AWESOME.  Children's Museum on steroids.  Bryan and I had just as much fun as Izzie.  We were really excited because they had a special dinosaur exhibit...

...but as it turns out, Iz prefers her dinosaurs stuffed or in books.  These were a little too real-life for her tastes.

We could have spent the whole day there -- we didn't even make it to all of the stuff!

Hats and trains...sounds like Daddy's specialty.

Helicopters, airplanes, tractors, oh my!  This girlie had plenty of things to drive.

She love the teeth trivia game, though I wouldn't say we scored very well...

This lovely man wanted to teach us about archaeology.  Iz wanted to dig in the sand.

Back to the hotel for a nap and then for a walk along the river.

There were tons of beautiful paths and sights along the way.  Quite lovely.

Saturday was all about shopping!  When we sensed Izzie's patience was running low, we spent a good hour on baby rides, in the playland, and at Build a Bear.

The experience of making Ralph ended up being more traumatic than fun (she might need to be a bit older next time), but she is quite in love with him now.

Checking over our purchases at the end of a long day.  No surprise she spent a lot of time trying on the new shoes...

Part Two

The second part of our trip was spent in the lovely town of Haslet, TX.  We got to spend a lot of time with Matt and Leslie, and their kiddos James, Pierce and Iris.  Swimming and relaxing and snuggling and sunning.  Much fun was had by all!

Cowboy boots go with every outfit in Texas

 If you're thinking these two look like trouble, you would be correct...

 Pierce was generous with his toys...

But when Pierce is away, the Iz will play...

And this is why I love rompers...

Peek A Boo!

  

We couldn't leave Scout out of the action.  Sweetest big girl puppy ever.

 Sun hats are going to make a comeback after this picture...

No words.  She just rocks it.

Family photo op after a fun day at the beach!

Who doesn't want to snuggle these guys?!?

 Izzie and Iris sharing a secret...

Delicious.  I'll take seconds.