I didn't do it!

Isabella has found a new toy to play with, the toilet and toilet paper. She loves to unroll it, tear it, and eat it. I caught her in the act this morning and got some on video. She cracks me up with her head shaking. I guess she's heard the word no quite a bit lately. :)

Here's a few pictures we took of her this afternoon. She loves books, bubbles (see last picture closely), food (especially pasta!) and her pink phone. What a girlie girl!

Cheerio Mess!

Look familiar Anna? As soon as I turned around and saw this scene I immediately remembered Sadie with the Doritos. :) Ithought I'd give her the box of cheerios to take a few o's in and out of the box, but she had another idea. Poured them all over the floor. It's a little crazy making dinner these days. If she's not on my hip she's right under my feet. I've found I can do just about anything one handed. Do the laundry, vacuum, take dishes out of dishwasher, make the bed, and the list could go on and on. Maybe I just need to do that all the time, or risk a cheerio mess like this one...................

1 year pictures

Isabella had her 1 year pictures taken today. She did so good! This picture session was the only one where she was fully rested and ready to go! It was still pretty tough getting her to smile though. We tried to make silly noises, clap, and shake things to get her to smile, but she just looked at us like we were crazy. This first picture was taken with Tessa too. It was the only we got of the two girls together. Tessa wanted to play with the legos in the waiting area instead of getting her picture taken. But that's ok, we'll try again next time. After the photo session we went to eat at Red Robbins with Gigi, Aunt Benda, and cousin Tessa. It's our monthly outing with the girls. They love it there.

Isabella and her Gigi.

This was at Red Robbin. Their expressions are exactly the same. Too cute.

Recipes

I would prefer to microwave than to cook, however, when I think back at some of my favorite foods I always think of mom's vegetable soup, roast with veggies, and her yummy lasagna. I want Isabella to grow up thinking her mom can really cook (even though she can't :) So, with that said I figured I'd rather learn how to make a few really good meals that would be memorable than a bunch of not so good ones that people would want to forget. If anybody has a good beef stroganoff recipe (with rice) and don't mind sharing that would be great! Also, I like simple, the less ingredients the better. If you have any others you would like to share that's super yummy, fill me in! I know Peter would sure appreciate it. :) So far I know how to cook a good chicken pot pie, taco ring, and meatloaf. Thanks!

I usually don't bake that much because of this experience:
I tried to make a caramel pie last year when I was pregnant. I remember spending hours on it and I just knew it was going to be the best pie ever! Little did I know I used the wrong kind of milk ,condensed milk instead of evaported milk I think and ruined the whole thing. Since I was pregnant you can imagine how that went over. I cried the whole afternoon. Peter thought I was crazy. Anyway, so you can see I would love your feedback. Thanks friends and family!

BTW, Mom is doing well, she left the hospital the other night and had an MRI done today. Hopefully everything will be much better from here on out.

Prayer Request

I just got home from the hospital where mom is staying. She spent the night there last night. Yesterday she passed out during her church service and she was having chest pains. Her vision went in and out and she knew something was very wrong. The doctors are doing many tests on her and have not found anything yet. This morning they did a stress test to see if something shows up there. Please pray that the doctors will find what may be wrong and that it would be easily treatable. Hopefully she will be coming home today. Thank you! Love to you all.

My Climber

Ok, totally disregard the statement I made earlier about Isabella not being a walker. She is so much the walker she can't stand it. I haven't seen her crawl at all the last couple of days. Walking is her new favorite toy! I picked her up from the nursery today and the worker told me she was a climber. I knew that already by her climbing experiences at home. (check out the pics) I watched her in the nursery before she saw me and she was climbing all over the little seats. This was the first Sunday she actually did not cry. I was so happy for her! The separation anxiety has been quite a challenge the past couple of months. I'm hoping after this morning she's good to go with being there.

At one point she had both feet in the red cart. Holding on to the couch for dear life.

Here she managed to climb on top of the ottoman to watch the Wiggles. I sure hope her eyesight doesn't go bad at 1 years old! By the way, if anyone has a good remedy for getting the Wiggles music out of your head when you go to bed, please let me know! Ugghh!

Isabella's Milestone

Ok, I am really freaked out by Isabella walking now. I wouldn't say she's a "walker" yet, because she still loves to crawl, but she's really loving this new walking thing. I was talking to my friend Krista on the phone today and Isabella walked right past me all the way through the kitchen into the dining room. It was so strange to see that! She's still my little baby and I'm soooooo not used to seeing her walk around. I'm happy for her though. She's getting to be so big. Here's a video of her walking.

Peter and I had Tessa yesterday while Amanda was at the hospital. She and Isabella played in Isabella's water park on the deck. They had fun in their "birthday suit". It was cute watching them play. They always have fun together. Every time Isabella sees Tessa she squeals and laughs ready to be chased or chase her. I love watching them play.