Isabella - 18 months!

Isabella you are the sweetest little girl! I can't believe you are already 18 months old! It seems like last month that I was watching you in your little baby swing and now you're a running little toddler. It is so fun watching your little personality grow everyday. You are so observant, loving, silly, sentsitive, curious, strong willed, and happy. You were such a good baby and you are turning into a smart, energetic, and good little girl. 

Your big brothers, your daddy, and I love you so much! You have us all wrapped around your little fingers still! I love when you yell daddy or mommy when we walk through the door and you come running up to us. The way you run is the cutest thing I must say. You are also starting to say so many new words and I love hearing you talk. You can shake your head no, and yes, which you do a lot! You can sign please and thank you. You can say bubba, baba, dada, mama, Bella, la la (dolly), night night, snack, juice, and can say many other words we say, only leaving out the first letter :) 

You are a petite little thing after losing all your baby chub, but you're getting tall. You are still such a good sleeper. You love to eat, in fact I think you eat more than your brothers! I love that you'll try anything. You love chocolate like mommy and peanut butter like daddy. You love to twirl and dance when music comes on. You love bath time, your pacifier, your blanky, necklaces, drawing, playing mommy with your dollies, shoes, and books! You love when mommy reads and sings to you before bed. 

You follow your big brothers around everywhere they go, and if they don't include you or are mean to you, you tell me and we make it right. Sometimes you do drive by slapping when your brothers are sitting or laying down, getting them back I presume! 

You are such a people person! You are my social butterfly. You love babies and can spot them a mile away, much like your mommy did when she was your age! You love "talking to people" and if they aren't looking at you, you work hard at getting their attention. You wave at everyone and say hi to anyone we pass by whether it be on a plane or at the grocery store. 

I love dressing you up each day. Your hair is growing and is light brown and straight as a board like daddy's. I love it! Your eyes have changed from blue to a blue/green hazel. You have your dad's big and contagious smile, like your brothers too. 

You love nursery so far at church and had your first day alone without mommy last week, and you did great! 

I love when you get so excited about something and scream! We love you forever princess and look forward to the next six months of fun with you before you turn two! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was different this year for us. We had no family in town to spend the holiday with, and that made me a bit sad. However, I decided to make the best of it for the kids and it ended up being a wonderful day and holiday weekend! Sometimes being with my little family alone is a good thing I think, because it strengthens our bonds with each other as we learn to lean on one another and create new traditions. 

We have spent Thanksgiving alone once before and that was when Jonathon was two. It was just a few months after we lost Ryan and I didn't feel up to being around lots of family and cousins and other babies. So, Jake was supportive in that even though I know he felt bad not being with his mom and siblings. He made a small turkey for us three and I made the sides and dessert and we had a great day :) I'll always remember it. 

Caleb had a Thanksgiving day party in his pre-k class. They had a feast! It was so cute watching him with his little friends and seeing all the work that he's doing. I love what he chose to put on his turkey placemat of the things he's most thankful for :) 

Thanksgiving morning I made cinnamon rolls and we watched the Macy's day parade. Someday I would love to spend Christmas in New York! The kids loved seeing all of the characters, especially Santa at the end. I got busy cooking my first ever turkey while they watched the parade, and I might have called my grandma and mom a few times haha. It turned out to be a piece of cake and totally yummy. We had homemade mashed potatoes, stuffing, fruit salad, my mother in laws awesome homemade bagel rolls and pies! I was like a mad woman in the kitchen all afternoon while the kids played football with Jake. But it all turned out great! 

Watching daddy slice the turkey 

Our feast 

Jake and his turkey leg, the boys thought  this was pretty funny, me, no. I wouldn't eat a turkey leg ever.

Want some pie? Pumpkin and pecan are my favorite for thanksgiving. 

After we ate and rested we got out our Christmas decorations and decorated the house :) The boys were very excited to do this and even though I was tired, they were set on doing it! 

The day after thanksgiving we went to the Christmas light parade in downtown Fort Worth. It was so fun and cute! There were elf helpers, hot cocoa and gingerbread men passed out, the weather was cool and perfect and the light parade was so festive. It was a great way to ring in the holidays and Christmas spirit and kids had so much fun! 

Girls Trip

Isabella and I enjoyed a six day trip home to California for my friend Nicole's wedding, just the two of us! It was such a fun girls trip :) She was a good girl on the three hour flight, because I brought all of her favorite snacks. If I have snacks and drinks for this girl, she does pretty well anywhere! The only thing she was fussy about was the pressure bothering her ears upon landing. I tried getting her to drink her bottle or suck on her pacifier to help pop her ears but she wouldn't take anything. Everyone around us on the plane commented on how well she did and how adorable she is, I agree! She waved at the people seated behind us, in front of us, and to the side of us throughout the flight. I just love her sweet and social personality. 

We had a great time visiting our favorite people. She warmed up to her uncle Chris very quickly, and perferred him to hold her, it was so cute. I love how comfortable she is with my family. 

Next stop was lunch at our favorite french restaurant and bakery with my mom and aunt Julie! Bella loved the sandwiches, but not the sprouts that aunt Julie tried to give her ;) 

She also loved the cookies at hungry bear cookies, they are the best! Fig Garden village is the cutest place. 

Our next stop was visiting great-grandpa Ferguson. He got such a kick out of her and was so amazed every time she spoke some words. She was also so comfortable sitting on his lap. She couldn't stop staring at him. They shared bananas together and in this moment I wanted to capture it forever in my heart, because it was the most special thing watching them interact. 

Wedding Day! I have seen a gazillion weddings in my day in the last decade and this one was definitely on top of the charts, not just because one of my close friends was being married, but every detail was just so adorable and the location breathe taking up in the mountains in the National park. 

Watching the beautiful ceremony 

The sun setting on such an enchanting reception among the redwoods!  Bella and Grandpa checking it all out. 

This girl loves marshmallows, as you can tell! She was starving as we waited for the dinner to start so grandpa gave her some and she shoved them into her mouth. 

Me and my girl all dressed up, such a fun time we had a such a fun memory for me! Many more dress up dates to come.

The beautiful bride Nicole and her "Something Blue's." Cutest idea! 

It was so fun catching up with my other close friend Ashley! We were missing the other Ashley who was out of town, we make up the three Ashley's! 

She was such a gorgeous bride. I am so happy for her! Her husband is so sweet with her and they looked so extremely happy. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and sweet, the reception was fun, food was amazing, and all of Nicole's touches to her camping theme wedding were so cute! From the blankets in tents for guest to have, to the hot cocoa and smores bar and bonfires... I'm so glad I was able to be there! They spent three weeks in Thailand for their honeymoon! Lucky :) They deserve it.

And I finally was able to meet angel Ivy, Ashley's  newborn baby girl #3! 

The last couple days of our trip after the wedding were spent hanging out with family and enjoying the fall CA weather. 

Isabell loves babies, she couldn't get enough of baby Ivy again when we met up for a play date at Riverpark for some lunch. 

Beautiful fall leaves in my parents neighborhood 

We took grandpa to Tahoe Joe's for dinner the night before we left for Veterans Day! He's my favorite WWll vet, and the cutest! He was so surprised by how much Isabella ate, she even tried grabbing his food when she was done, that girl! I love listening to his war stories, but there are parts he doesn't share because he says it's too hard to talk about :( 

Saying goodbye to gradma Helen, they were playing dollies together :) I'm so thankful for moments and memories like these. My grandma was telling me that she never had a doll growing up in Oklahoma. She moved to CA with her family when she was 8, which consisted of her four sisters and parents packed into an old car with everything they owned on top of it. If you've ever read the Grapes of Wrath, it could have been written about her experience. Cooking on the side of the road, being called an "oaky" at her new school because of her accent, suffering through her father Jack's alcoholism which he developed once they got to CA.... And here Bella has a dozen dolls, I feel so blessed for all that I have. I love my grandma so much and relish each story she tells. 

Landing home in Dallas, we were both very excited when we saw our guys, we missed them and boy did they miss us ;) Jake held down the fort well, as always, and the boys had a fun time, watching movies, playing sports, eating pizza every other night and scrambled eggs and toast haha. 

It was a great six days home!