God is good!

no particular reason for the title. He just is.

here are some pics to show what we've been up to the last few weeks.well...this doesn't really show what we've been up to, but she's pretty cute, right?oh the cheeks!

the sun has come out a few times and we went for a family walk to a nearby park. she LOVES being outside.

kaya showing isabella the pictures in brown bear (isabella's favorite book these days)

these girls REALLY love eachother. its so much fun!

(i love how she just casually has her hand on kaya-there were tons of pictures of her doing this. so stinking cute!).still loving her food. finger foods have become my best friend...they keep her busy for so long.

again, just a cute pic. and also i wanted to show off her new boots. :)

we went last wednesday to visit molly. she did awesome on the plane again (it probably helped that both of our flights were at bedtime so she just slept the whole way). i had lots of fun hanging out with molly. lots of relaxing and laughing. pray for her because she's into her second trimester and STILL sick...all day long. its miserable, and i can't wait for her to feel better! (you WILL, molly!).

i only took three pictures while we were there! what was i thinking!? a few things of note: 1) isabella LOVED john. it was pretty funny, and also slightly hurtful to molly. :) 2) we got to go to meghan (maxwell) beck's (not to be confused with meghan becker, MOM!) baby shower. she's having a boy AND a girl, and looks amazing with those twins! i have no pictures to prove we were there. boo. but, it was so much fun to sit together and talk babies. oh how we've grown up since our college days! :)

the new face isabella picked up while in california. molly was constantly saying, "i know, isabella! isn't it SHOCKING!?"

(please excuse her hair in this pic)

so, i had packed some summer clothes for our trip to california and when i was unpacking today (yes, it took me 4 days to finally get to it, but trust me, that is REALLY good time compared to our last trip. right, moll?) anyways, i realized that she won't get to wear a lot of her summer clothes and it made me sad. so we had a little photo shoot today.

and finally, a video of her doing some of her "tricks." enjoy!

oh dear

i think we are starting to see a bit more personality out of our little darling. the back arching has begun, people. and she's STRONG. its not only when she's mad though. she did it today during ben's circle time at preschool. totally happy sitting on my lap, watching all the kids sing songs and then, WHAM, flails back into my chest and looks up and smiles at me. its pretty comical actually. i think we are seeing the beginnings of a sassy little girl. and i like it!

the girl can eat

isabella LOVES to eat. it seemed like a slow start, but now she gobbles up all of her food and often we have to cut her off. the other night we fed her some sweet potatoes and when she was still hungry i peeled and mashed up a pear, and she ate the WHOLE pear. it was probably too much food to feed her, but she kept pounding her tray (see video below) and opening her mouth, and it was just so funny/cute that we couldn't resist.

enjoying a mum mum. (thats what its called...its not me baby talking).messy face

i just thought it was cute that she was sleeping with her legs crossed

how He loves

i love this song and want to listen to it ALL day long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-lYps

happy new year!

what better way to start new years eve than a shopping trip to the village?its a whole new world now that i can set her down. holding hands on the slide

then i thought it would be cute to sit the girls together. kaya thought it was a good idea too...she also immediately wrapped her arms around isabella and started rocking side to side.then she wanted to check out isabella's hair...

then she wanted to see her so here she is trying to turn isabella around...then she shakes her head 'no' and pushes isabella away. she was done holding the baby. but, now that isabella is a little more interactive, the girls can really entertain eachother...its pretty cute!just some cool girlscan you tell that mike is wearing a party hat? no?...how about now? is there anyone behind us?
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...HA--ppy new year!

ps. for darla- 2 words. 2nd word. 2 syllables. 1st syllable: kid. 2nd syllable: man. NICOLE KIDMAN!

christmas day

christmas morning was SO fun with a baby. she woke up really happy (i think she was excited it was Jesus' birthday), and it was snowing and beautiful and cozy. she did kind of get into ripping at the paper, but she mostly liked the ribbon-oh her and ribbons or tags!

we (i) HAD to get her her first doll on her first christmas. and this reaction was WELL worth it!

i promise she was happy, but i think the camera blinking out of control (set on the timer) really confused her. also, please excuse her hair. yes, i know i did a terrible job trimming her bangs.

no, this isn't staged.

finally wearing her christmas dress that i picked out last christmas when we found out she was a girl! so crazy how time flies.

grandma with her 6th (and favorite) grandchild.

the girl cousins.

the christmas miracle: she's sitting up!

her new toy was a big hit!

christmas eve

here she is christmas eve morning playing in her crib while i got her bath going.

hello cricket. their first meeting went well. isabella was VERY entertained.

"opening" a present from grandma and grandpa. cozy jammies!

trying to watch her daddy and uncle josh play basketball in the kitchen.

REALLY serious about cards.opening her christmas eve gift from us. jammies!
merry christmas eve!