We are still alive

I thought perhaps I should note some memories here or I will never remember any of them! It's been 5 months since my last post. In that time, I've taken the kids to Colorado (John still talks about Auntie Susie and the airplane rides), Izzy learned to walk and completely keep up with her big brother, we went to Lake Tahoe which the kids LOVED (can I say, so much more relaxing than the beach since there are no waves!) John turned 3 and picked a Cookie Monster cake from the grocery store for his family party. 

John is potty trained but still thankfully not too old to be still taking a nap. He loves letters and numbers and shows about words and reading. He loves reading books and his bible story at night. He loves to help in the kitchen. For a year his favorite breakfast has been waffles (whole wheat, don't dare buy "yellow" waffles) but lately has been in an oatmeal kick...the waffles may be on the way out! He is a good Duplo builder and has recently learned to ride his trike. He still loves puzzles and is up to 24 pieces with little help. 

Isabelle is nearly 18 months and so different in so many ways than I could imagine. She is so verbal. She will repeat anything you say and speaks far more than John did at this age. Except "yes." She says "mm-hm" which sounds like "nun-uh" so you really have to listen closely when she really does want something. She also loves helping in the kitchen, puzzles, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  She is adventurous and brave, tackling the likes of bounce houses and jumping off furniture like we've never known in this house. She is a great post-nap snuggler and quick to offer affection. She also loves reading. And playing Doctor.

The two kids together are their own little force. With the right energy levels they just feed off of copying each other which leads to great hysterics. They often have picnics together, play Lego city together (John builds the houses, Izzy builds the cars) or they cook pretend food, whatever...they get along for the most part really well. 

I hope this is enough of a memory to remind me of These two at this age for years to come when reviewing this blog. I love these two!!!

Isabelle is one year!

Our sweet girl! ONe year old! This last month has covered a lot of ground. 3 teeth sprouted up and we went on a long road trip, which you handled perfectly. We went to Disneyland and you loved all of it, music, rides, characters, food. You give kisses freely, are super chatty, love to brush your teeth, love goldfish crackers, and reading. You keep up with your brother as best you can and do it well.
You are 16.5 lbs and just shy of 30" long. You are going to be tall! Happy Birthday baby girl!!!
I'm posting this 2 weeks after your birthday and i wanted to add that you are now a full blown drama ridden toddler! When you don't get your way,  you arch your back and throw yourself down and scream. It's quite entertaining. But you also love adventure and will do anything John does. I'm so excited for you to enjoy being 1!

Isabelle is 11 months!

At 11 months, Isabelle is doing her best to keep up with John. She is so chatty and loves to make all kinds of sounds. She's learning to sleep longer at night too...yay! She has 2 teeth and loves yogurt melts and cutie oranges. 

I will paste in some other milestones when I have her calendar handy...

Isabelle is 10 months!

...in 2 days!

I cannot believe this girl is nearly 1. She is still my "baby." And compared to her brother, still small and babyish. I have very little memory of John at this age/stage, so I have nothing to compare to. But her little personality is really coming out and we just love her to pieces.

I think she's maybe 17 pounds, but long. She is finally crawling, and pretty fast at that. When she spots me sneaking out of the office and into the kitchen, she quickly abandons what she is doing and makes a beeline for the kitchen...saying, "dada!" No really. I'm about 50% mama and 50% dada. She also says ba ba (bye bye) when she waves.  She also signs "all done." John did none of these before 1!)  She loves to eat, string cheese being a big self-feeding favorite and probably also yogurt. She started drinking from a straw cup, so I can pump and give her milk in a cup now.  She is almost at the point of drinking milk after dinner and then going to bed without nursing...but still waking to eat at night...we are working on that! She plays with her ears when she is tired/falling asleep. She still uses the pacifier a little bit before sleep.

She loves to stand up but isn't quite cruising yet. She loves to go outside, and to play with cars. She definitely lets her will be known when she is denied John's toy or activity. She likes to repeat sounds to you make back to you (she used to do this months ago but took a break from it.) She's fun! She's also a bit more of an early riser than her brother...sigh. Oh well! 

John is 2.5!!!

When you are still too young to be in school, I think the half-year marks still bear some significance. At least John as a 2.5 year old is very different than 2, and very different than the 20 month old I see holding newborn Isabelle in pictures. (Really? Did that happen 10 months ago?)

John continues to be a happy bundle of energy.  His favorite activites are doing puzzles (he can do pretty advanced ones without help...if 9 pcs is advanced?), coloring (sometimes), reading, watching TV (this is always a favorite), playing outside, going on walks/park/store, building blocks, playing with his food.  His imagination has totally exploded. I'll listen to him with his 2 giraffes, "Hi Mr. Giraffe. You want to go to the park?" "Yes I do! Let's go down the slide!" and on and on. Not to mention talking to imaginary people in the house, eating and playing with imaginary food...it is fun to watch.  Another favorite, random game -- he says, "You be Ernie and I'l be Bert." And then you both have to laugh like those two characters. (Or any other Sesame Street character he chooses.) Zach can do a great Bert laugh but I always hope to get assigned Ernie. Does anyone even know how Big Bird laughs? I always butcher that one.

Verbally, John seems to have great skills for his age. Just recently he's started saying milk, yogurt, music, and moon all correctly. (Still drinks Nilk all day long though.) And he calls Isabelle "Izzybelle."

He makes us laugh, he makes us crazy, we love our Johnny boy!

Isabelle is 9 months!!!

In true second child fashion, this monthly update is again well into month 9, and again I struggle to recall what was new last month buy OOPS don't include what she is doing now because I need content for 10 month post!!
So in her 9th month Isabelle got her first 2 teeth. Right around NYE, which explained the getting up 7x a night around Christmastime. She became a very speedy scooter and continued to love all food,and mastered a shrill screech for parental attention when she thought John was getting too close.

Isabelle is 8 months (still...barely!)

*In writing this post I confused the birthdates of both of my children MULTIPLE times. I've finally sorted it out correctly, thank you cookie dough for the clarity. Isabelle is not 9 months for another 10 whole days, so this post is still completely accurate.

Isabelle: 8 months.  December 27, 2015 Izzy turned 8 months. At that time, she had just successfully completed her first Christmas and was quite skilled at both opening and eating presents, ribbon, and tape.  She seemed to prefer a lot of her brother's gifts, which worked out because he was pretty interested in hers.  She could army scoot/drag herself everywhere she wanted to go.  She still wakes 2 times a night and takes 3 naps a day. Actually, around this time, she was actually waking up closer to FIVE TIMES per night which turned out to be a tooth (I'll save that savory detail for the 9 month post)

She is an absolute joy, FANTASTIC on car rides, was pretty clingy in the month of December, much to the chagrin of every relative wanting to hold her!  She is around 15-16 lbs, wearing size 2 diapers and 6 month clothes.

John at 8 months here.