vacation at the lake

We had a fun week at the lake. Our daycare provider has been on vacation for two weeks so I think Isabelle missed other kids. The weather was pretty ok. It was warm enough to play in the water but we only had one really sunny day (not counting the day we left) and one tornado warning. 6 adults, 3 toddlers and 2 cocker spaniels in a two bedroom cabin for extended periods can get a little crowded.

These three are pretty cute eh? They all played good together but about 30 minutes before we left Kaylee and Isabelle started really playing good together. It was like they realized after 5 days that they could do whatever they wanted together...then we left...bummer

We spent a lot of time outside, Isabelle didnt like to be in the water as much as the other two but she was very content to run around the beach and play on the pontoon boat. We took a boat ride every day after dinner, that was a big hit!

Isabelle loves looking at fish on TV and in aquariums but she wasnt very excited to get much closer than that. She was pretty fascinated with walleyes, northerns and sunnies, but clearly this was too close for comfort.

Here is a shot of the whole gang. Of course the weather is beautiful, it was the day we went home. I think it always happens that way.

Isabelle is showing flashes of potty training, but then they vanish. She spent most of last week with Grandma and turned into a potty pro. She even pooped in the potty. Then we get her home and it is all fun and games and she doesnt take it seriously. I think she was just showing off for Grandma. Yesterday we went to target and she got to pick out her very own potty seats (even though we already have two). Wouldnt you know...she picked out two Dora seats. Hopefully she will get excited about going potty with Dora...

its been a while...

It has been a while since the last post. Things have been really busy around here. We have had so much going on and it scares me to think that the state fair is right around the corner...and with the fair comes fall. Scary. Isabelle is such a big girl now. I cant get over how well she communicates and how much she understands. We are still in the middle of the terrible twos, but she seems to get the whole discipline thing...sometimes. Tonight Gina told her that if she didnt stop putting something in her mouth that she would have to take it away...Isabelle then called her "that sneaky fox"...a reference to the Dora character that steals other peoples stuff. She can still have quite the little attitude but is mostly a sweetheart. We are still enjoying the new house but it has been a lot of work. Maybe next time I will post some pictures of our updated landscaping.

painting and father hennepin festival

Another fun summer (sort of) weekend for Isabelle, Gina and I. We went to Father Hennepin Festival (in the rain) and had a good time. Isabelle only actually rode one ride, but we attempted to get her on a few, she did better than last year so hopefully she will enjoy them more next year. We played a few games, won a few prizes and even fed the animals at the petting zoo. We got up close and personal with a camel and it actually bit me on the shoulder when I ran out of food, it was a hungry little fella. Painting has become a pretty regular activity around our house. Isabelle really enjoys it...

Isabelle liked the fishing game and picking ducks out of the pond...

Here is our aggressive camel friend...

I am not sure she really enjoyed the ride, but managed to hang on without crying.

what a great holiday weekend

What a fun holiday weekend. We had a bbq with friends, brought our boat home, continued to landscape around the house, played in the pool, went for our first bike ride with Isabelle and had a bbq with Pappa and Nanna. Isabelle is loving all of her new birthday toys.

Having a pool on the deck is amazing. Cook dinner right inside as she splashes around. She really loves it. Her friend Olivia came over on Sunday and had a good time in the pool.

In between dips in the pool the decided to take a ride on Isabelle's "bicycle"


Isabelle also had a good time chasing bubbles with her new golf club.

She cant actually ride her bicycle yet but loves to push herself around on it.

Isabelle had a great second birthday party! Thanks to everyone who attended, she really had a blast. We learned on Monday morning that she did it all with a sinus infection...what a trooper. She got a ton of new clothes and toys and she has been playing with all of them. Play-doh was a new toy for us, but as you will see below, it is going over pretty good. The warm weather has been nice but Isabelle doesnt seem to like the sprinklers or getting wet as much as she did last year, if this weather holds out we will keep working on it.

Blowing out the candles on her Dora cake...thankfully there is only one piece left

Isabelle loves cooking in her kitchen so tonight we made play-doh pizza, I actually think she was going to try and take a bite of it!

More play-doh...

water the flowers is now a nightly activity.

She now has her very own watering can...

going shopping...

Things around the new house are good! We are busy but have gotten out in front of a lot of our tasks. Isabelle will be two in a couple weeks. We took her two year pictures today and I am incredibly excited to get some of them posted here. I took a really long video of Isabelle...posted below....we were playing in the backyard and she just grabbed her bag and said that she had to go shopping! She put on her shades and headed up to the car...hillarious!

The swing is getting some use now that the weather has changed for the better...
Nothing like a littel early morning BBQ!

The New House and Potty Time

So I thought I would post some house pictures. Believe it or not I dont have any new pictures of Isabelle. It is pretty odd to not have a pile of new photos to select from. Hopefully things will calm down pretty soon and we will get back to "normal". We have been spending a ton of time on the house and mostly the yard. We are really happy with how things are coming along. Isabelle went potty in the toilet (her little toilet) twice tonight, it will be nice to have the potty training thing done...hopefully she continues to make progress.

One of my favorite features of the house is of course the yard...we turned the ugly dead circle that was left over from the pool and turned it into a playground. Isabelle loves it.

The front of the house was a bit of a disaster. There were lots of plants (way too many) and lots of really old and really shabby looking wood chips. On Sunday Gina and I capitalized on a long nap and dug out some of the over grown plants/bushes and replaced the nasty old wood chips with new ones...I think it looks a million times better.

Here is a shot from the street....we love it!

Back to the backyard...if you look closely you will see a red fox standing by the back fence. We first noticed her on Saturday. I was worried that she was threatening Sophie by hanging around and staring at us. Then she came out with her 5 little baby cubs. Momma sat between us and the little ones and they played in the yard for a long time. It was really cool to watch. I love this yard!

Big cheesey smiles...

Nothing new and very exciting here. We are continuing to settle into the new house and Isabelle is enjoying her new playroom and her swingset. The neighbor girls are really taking an interest in Isabelle. The made us a bunch of welcome cards and delivered them today and they tooks some of their own toys and wrapped them up and delivered them as a welcome gift for Isabelle.

Believe it or not Isabelle will be turning two this month. It is hard to believe that she will be two. Time is really flying. Time to start planning a birthday party. As you can see below, Isabelle has really got big cheesey smiles down to an art.

all moved in

After a very hectic 4 or 5 days we are all moved in to our new house. Isabelle and Sophie both really like the space to run around. Isabelle now has her own bbq grill on the porch (Thanks Nanna) and her own swing set in the back yard. Isabelle is working on her 2 year molars so she is a little cranky but nothing too bad, she hasnt been eating much so we are trying to get her something she will eat...as you can see below tonights dinner was watermelon, mixed veggies, pizza and cocoa puffs. It didnt take our neighbor girls long to come on over and play. Isabelle has a lot of new friends...

Cooking...
She really likes her grill...

Who would have thought...pizza and cocoa puffs...

So many neighbor kids...The big round circle used to be a pool and will soon be cleaned up into a place for the swing set.

The view from the deck! Room to run. Now we need to buy a lawn mower. (Thanks to Al and Andy for cleaning it up today).

Easter

Isabelle had a fun Easter. She spent time with both sides of the family and had a ton of candy. Unfortunately she was recovering from strep throat, then got croup and is now getting her 2 year molars! What a week. She has been an unhappy little girl, fortunately the demon(s) that had possessed her have passed and we had our little a sweetheart back today. Next week is the big move and we are really excited to get going...only 7 days away

she really likes sunglasses....?
The dog was more excited about the easter basket...

sunglasses!

Isabelle is a huge fan of the nice weather and daylight savings times. We are getting some quality outside time. She is now in love with glasses and even wheres them inside (see below). Not much else is very exciting, we are just waiting to move into our new house and watching Isabelle get big. We had a couple visits from the "terrible two fairy" over the last couple weeks but it seems to be a phase that comes and goes...i like it when its gone!

say cheese...

Nothing very exciting here. We are all anxiously waiting for spring and our new house. We will be moving in a little over a month. We cant wait to have more room to play, inside and outside.

CHEESE!
While watching Dora..."oh no!"

Lazy Saturday...

Isabelle loves Mommy's hat.

whats going on...

The other day Isabelle walked into our room and said..."whats going on daddy"...I had to do a double take, it was pretty shocking. I think I have said this every other post for a year but boy is her vocabulary developing fast. She now says a bunch of phrases that are pretty adorable. It is a lot of fun being able to communicate with her more. We have had a few early signs of the terrible twos...those are the times that I wish we were communiating less!

Isabelle likes cooking in her Elmo microwave...

Sleepy...

Peanut butter and jelly....everywhere