7.16.2009

Children's Museum






Today Isabella and I met Christa, Will, and a friend (Stephanie who has a 10 month old and 2 1/2 year old) at the Houston Children's Museum. They have the best tot area upstairs. Isabella had a blast. The highlight was when she got to see the Bordon COW (real cow) being milked and when she got to pet it. Afterwards we were wiped out so I ran through McDonalds and got her a happy meal. We came home and crashed for a couple of hours until Dave got home at 7:30. Isabella will be one in a few weeks. Here are a few updates.

- she can bring me certain toys that I ask her to give me (cow, pig, etc)
- she is now on Whole Milk instead of formula
- I am about to stop the stage 3 baby food all together
- she loves Grapes!!! (of course I cut them into small pieces)
- she drinks out of a big girl sippy cup (with a straw)
- she can point to her nose, eye, ears
- she has been mimicking more words
- she can stand in one place for about 30 seconds
- she has 6 teeth (4 up, 2 down)
- she is such a sweet, loving, happy girl
- she is now in her big girl forward facing car seat
- some of her size 3 shoes seem a little tight...size 4 we will be there soon!

7.15.2009

Idaho






We just got back from a week in Idaho. April opened her coffee shop a few months ago and we were all very excited about checking it out. April lives in a very small town called Mullan, Idaho with less than one thousand residents. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. The weather was gorgeous the entire time we were there. It was a wonderful relief from the heat wave we have been experiencing in Houston this summer.

We (Dave, Isabella, Christa, Paige, Will, and I) flew into Spokane, Washington Tuesday afternoon, picked up our mini van rental and then drove the 1 1/2 hour trip to Mullan. We immediately drove to the coffee shop and were very impressed with the building, the food, and the drinks. My mom and dad (who along with Morgan would join us on Friday) rented a house a couple blocks away from April's house and the coffee shop. We spent the next couple of days relaxing, spending time with April and her family. We drove to Cour de Lain to go shopping on Wednesday. It is a beautiful small town with a huge lake. It reminded me of Lucerne, Switzerland.

Thursday evening Christa drove to Spokane to pick up Brad from the airport. My parents used some free airline tickets that had whacked out times and ended up having to lose a day of travel. They finally made it in Friday morning. Saturday we went on a silver mine tour, the kids got to pan for gold, and then we took the longest gondola ride up the mountain (19 minutes long). The view and weather were gorgeous. Sunday everyone except my parents went for a bike ride on the Hiawatha Trail. It was about a 15 mile bike ride. The first 1.7 miles you had to go through a dark, cold, wet tunnel. Poor Isabella and Olivia (who were being pulled in a trailer on the back of Dave's bike) got splattered with mud. Isabella was not a happy camper.

Sunday we drove back to Spokane, dropped Brad off at the airport and checked into the Holiday Inn to get ready for our very early flight out. Funny thing was that Brad's flights got all messed up, we ended up seeing him in Denver for about an hour and then flew home within minutes of each other. (Brad had different flights because he stopped in Denver for a work conference beforehand).

We arrived Monday back into the heat wave of 2009. Things are back to normal. My goal for the rest of the summer is to start eating healthier (I have gained 6 pounds so far and am almost 19 weeks pregnant), exercise, start working on lesson plans, and spend as much quality time with Isabella as possible.

7.05.2009

4th of July






We had a great 4th of July weekend...It actually was a long one for Dave. He had Thursday- Sunday off!!! Lots of quality family time. Saturday we took Isabella to the Cinco Ranch parade. There were a ton of kids with decorated bikes. They had such a nice, family set up...Lots of fun jumps, food, music, and games. Next year the plan is to doll Isabella and the new baby up in 4th of July gear and decorate a wagon. They even had a dressed up dog category! Christa, Brad, and Brad's girls came over to hang out for the rest of the day. We went to a 4th of July party that was a lot of fun. Isabella got scared from the fireworks so I went inside with her during that part of the party. Sunday we met friends at a new restaurant in the Heights for lunch called Beaver's. It was pretty good. Although we are starting to realize that taking Isabella out to eat is getting more difficult the older she gets. Tomorrow Dave works and I plan on packing for our trip to Idaho on Tuesday. We are super excited about seeing my sister April's new coffee shop and of course her, Olivia, and Mike. Isabella looks a lot like my sister's daughter Olivia.

Isabella is talking a lot more....although most of it is still babble...getting bigger every day...We both are enjoying the summer time together. It will be hard going back to work!