Sunday, April 27, 2008

One year!



yes, isabella celebrated her one-year birthday this past weekend. how did one year pass by so quickly?! i had heard that the more kids you have the faster it goes, but i just didnt' think that could be true until now! here are 12 fun things about isabella . . . and some fun pictures from her birthday celebration. (big sister emma picked out all the decorations, party hats, etc. i think she has a future in party planning!)

oh, when i asked emma what was her favorite thing about isabella now that she's one . . . emma responded . . . "cake."



12 fun things about isabella . . .
1. her laugh - she loves laughing, and if you've ever heard her laugh, you know what i'm talking about . . . a deep, very funny, from the belly laugh
2. her kisses . . . when she kisses you, she gives a full mouth, sloppy kiss, but when she hears you make a kiss sound, she'll pucker up and smack her lips making a kiss sound back
3. she crawls really fast, and when she really gets going, she'll look where she wants to go, put her head down (very aerodynamic) and start crawling
4. the way she is always saying, "tickle, tickle" . . . it kind of sounds like "ditka, ditka"
5. she can say woof, woof . . . she kind of grunts!
6. her rhythm . . . she hears music and she starts rocking and dancing
7. when she gets excited, her legs and feet and arms and hands start shaking like crazy
8. she is pulling up on everything and walking around all the furniture . . . i'm sure walking on her own is coming soon, especially now that she has all the walking toys from her birthday
9. she loves to look out the windows . . . she especially loves watching out the front windows and seeing the cars and trucks go by
10.she is full of giggles when we take the girls up for bed and she sees emma following behind
11. she loves looking at books and will help turn the pages when we read . . . her favorite books are the ones that have real pictures in them, not the animated graphics
12. the way she scrunches up her face and breathes in and out through her nose

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Staying Home

yes, i've made the decision to stay at home and be a full-time mom. at the end of may, i will be staying home full time . . . not working anymore! wow, it's a huge change. i'm looking forward to having some more time with both of the girls, and to having some alone time with isabella that i haven't been able to have. i'm also hoping to feel a little less overwhelmed. i, admittedly, am a little nervous about finances, but we've been taking steps that will hopefully help as we make this transition. mostly, i'm excited to step into this new chapter in our lives!

any other moms out there who left work to stay home full time with any tips or thoughts? would love to hear from you!