Isabella's Turns One!!!

Today is our baby's first birthday. What a blessing she is to us all. It has been a precious year, savoring every stage and age and knowing too well how fast it all slips by. We had a lovely family birthday party yesterday but I do not have the pictures yet. I have been dying to post these pictures that my friend Michelle took for Isabella's first year picture. I know there are a lot, but there were so many good shots it was difficult to narrow it down to even these ones. I know the grandmas will appreciate the number but the rest of you will have to bear through them.

So Isabella is walking and talking (sort of) and changing every day. She is quickly moving from a cautious walk to a little run. Still falling every once and a while but no crawling anymore. She loves the steps and we now have to keep the gate up at all times or she is up them before you know it. She is talking. She says "mama" but it is mostly when she wants to eat and now that I don't have the milk and she is with daddy more while I work the "mama" days seem to be fading out of the picture. She say "dada" a lot! She loves to say "dada" every time I say "mama" and she seems to say it with some attitude almost like she knows that I want her to say "mama" and she is messing with me. She just started saying "uh-oh" which sounds more like "uh-uh" but works like magic when she falls or crashes, she almost cries but then someones says "uh-oh" and she pushes back the tears and says "uh-uh" and picks herself up and moves on. She just started to say "no" but it is mostly after we say it, she has yet to figure out she can tell us no. She says "hi-ya" when she picks up the telephone or remote and carries it around the house on her ear, pretty cute. She continues to be fascinated by Kadie and Jack and totally loves Lucy (the dog). She is eating all kinds of finger foods and drinking whole milk and loving it. The 2 signs she does are dog and milk, she refuses to do any other sign language and stares at us like we are idiots when we try to get her to. She remains petite and super light. She does not like to cuddle much, as she always has things to be doing. She loves to carry her blanket around and wrap it around her head. She absolutely hates getting her diaper changed and it sucks for anyone who has to tackle her to do it. She is a crazy child in the bathtub, just crazy. She loves the water and is out of control in the bath. She loves to wrestle with Daddy on the bed. She loves to chase Lucy around the house with her toys. She loves her crib. And we love her. She has a sweet smile, brilliant blue eyes and a happy little personality. Happy Birthday Issie. We thank God every day for the blessing you are in each of our lives.

Pumpkin Patch

We did our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend. Brad was out of town at a retreat so I had another crazy mom moment and thought we should go anyway. It was fun, until it wasn't. Isn't that the story of my life. We got up early, skipped church and thought we will be the first ones there, go through the whole thing, get pumpkins and be home by lunch. Apparently we were not the only people thinking this was a good plan. The line to get in was wrapped around the parking lot. I had Issie in the backpack (too muddy for the stroller) and I thought we were all dressed warm enough as it was supposed to be in the 60's . It never got about 45 while we were there. Jack and Kadie did great, played on the hay stacks and the hay maze, went through the petting zoo, got yummy hot chocolate and fresh squeezed cider and even reluctantly agreed to not do the corn maze (Issie was starting to loose it and my back was aching at this point). So this is when we jump on the tracker and head out to find the best (or easiest to carry) pumpkins. Issie is freezing, starving and sleepy by now. We get to the field and find that most of the pumpkins (at least the close ones) are rotten. I finally figure out we will need a wheelbarrow and find one, we head at least 500yards into the patch with the baby on the back and the wheel barrow. The kids finally find 2 for themselves (they are well trained and pick small ones, since they know they will have to carry them but also have learned it is easier to clean small ones when it comes time to carve). I however, find this funky shaped gigantic weird looking pumpkin that I have to have. I find some other dad to put it in our wheel barrow, I can barely push the thing back up the hill to the tracker. At this point Issie is passed out in the backpack and leaning over the edge. I irritate the entire group at the hill by just by passing the line and asking the tracker driver to help me. It takes several men to get my pumpkin on and off the hay ride and then we need to find another wheel barrow and another man to get this thing in the car. The kids are DONE, I am exhausted and aching and we still have a huge somewhat ugly pumpkin in the back of the minivan that I have yet to convince Brad to get and bring into the house. I really think I have moments of temporary insanity. It was however a good day, I love pumpkins, I love fall, I love watching my kids run around having fun.

This picture does not do justice to my pumpkin. When I get it out of my van I will post a proper picture.

Grandma Mary and Grandpa Al

My new schedule has left me a bit behind on posting the happenings of our family but I still want to document it all so I may just have to do it in little bursts of energy. My mom and Al came to visit in September and had a wonderful time at the coast, Mt St Helen's, the zoo, and visiting with the kids. It is always fun to have them come and stay for a while.A beautiful day for the viewing of the volcano!
The kids took every opportunity to perform for a new audience and we had several concerts and dance performances. Jack sings song after song and Kadie plays along on the drum or occasionally does some extra dance moves. It is very entertaining and Grandma and Grandpa were a great audience.

Jack just belting it out.

Precious moments captured of sisterly love.

My favorite moment of my moms visit was when we did a bomb fire in the fire pit and Jack sang to us. Kadie was so hilarious. She stood behind him up on the hill and danced the most precious and funny dance. We would laugh and Jack would whip his head around to see what she was doing, she would then promptly stop and then he would continue and so would she. It was beyond hysterical. I have rarely laughed as hard as I did that night. The pure innocence of these kids catches me by surprise sometimes. Love you mom.

Back to Work??

It is a crazy time in our family but we know God is faithful and we are feeling blessed in many ways. Brad unfortunately lost his job this week. I will be temporarily heading back to work 3 days a week this week. We are totally blessed by the flexibility and demand of my work and know that God is always providing for us. We feel secure in knowing that all the things that really matter, money cannot buy and lack of money cannot take away. We would cherish your prayers for opportunities for Brad as his desire is to work and our desire is for me to be able to stay home as much as possible with the kids. Also prayers for peace and faith in this time of transition. We are grateful for all of our friends and family who continue to support and encourage us as we know many of you are in similar situations. God is good, we have grateful hearts. We will keep you posted.

Last day at the Beach

These pictures are a little bit late but I just recieved them from my friend and I could not resist posting them as we head into fall. We went to the beach the last week before school started for one last day of fun. The weather was rotten but the skies opened up with beautiful sunshine for about 90 minutes while we were at the beach. It was perfect. The kids had a great time, and me and my friend Mel had a great time too. I love that the coast is only a few hours away. We live in a beautiful part of the country. There are a lot of pictures but I could not just pick a few.