A Visit from Charlie and Jane

Newlyweds Charlie and Jane came to visit us a few weeks ago. They could only stay for a night, but we had a great time! They didn't know it, but they came on a very momentus occasion. No, not Isabel becoming a firefighter. Izzy's new bed!

Isabel had figured out how to climb out of her crib. Well, really, she figured out how to get really mad at us and dive-bomb out of her crib. So, we had a problem on our hands. The solution? A big-girl bed! Yep, we converted her crib to a bed and Charlie and Jane visited us on the first night we used it.

She ended up loving it and now is the happiest little girl. The only problem now is getting her to quit playing in her room long enough to actually take a nap. (She normally reads in her bed. She also has a basket of stuffed animals that she takes out in her bed and puts back into the basket, repeatedly.)

My favorite part of the weekend was when Charlie started giving me some parenting advice. Now, I have to admit, Izzy rules the roost. We are working on that issue, but I told Jane to memorize Charlie's advice and be sure to repeat it back to them if they have a little girl. I'm sure - and you'll agree after the picture - that Charlie will not be wrapped around a little girl's finger at all... : ) (Did I mention that Izzy got Charlie to actually read her a story??)

Isabel's Christmas Party

Isabel had a Christmas party at school. They had a feast of chicken nuggets and put on a preview "Jingle Bells" show for us. We got to sit in circle time with them, although Isabel was stuck like glue to mommy most of the time. (She has hit that stage.) Her teachers gave her some fun gifts, including a new book! Isabel, who always likes to put things back together, tried to rewrap her present after she opened it. It will be interesting to see what she does with the paper Christmas morning.

Isabel takes the show

Isabel's Christmas Program at school was really fun. Her class started it off with Jingle Bells. Izzy loved her bells and danced all the way in, as you'll see in the video. She is the one in pigtails. Sorry for the quality. Our "nice" DVD recorder doesn't download the video files well. We had to use our digital camera for this one. Notice how she also claps for herself...

Afterward, she wanted to go up to the front for everyone else's songs, so I spent the rest of the program in the sanctuary narthex... trying to keep her entertained. She found a bowl of candy canes, that I finally had to give to the church secretary the bowl to hide. I thought four was enough. Call me crazy.

Thanks to all Izzy's classmates and teachers - Ms. April and Ms. Wendy!

Decorating for Christmas

We are decorating for Christmas, and we started with Isabel's part. She gets hero own tree (and mommy does too). She can decorate it how she likes, as you'll see by the ornament placement.

She loves her tree and comes downstairs everyday saying "whoa." Our electric bill may be crazy, because we have to keep it on all the time.

November shots

Here are a few shots of our November. We took Isabel to the park one day and had a picture extravaganza. Too bad it was muddy and she wanted to jump off rocks to catch ducks. So very hard to reason with a 20-month-old.

We also spent time with Isabel's best friend Catherine - or Cate as she calls her. The guys attempted to up an "easy" tent for them to play in, and all the girls wanted to do was watch Mr. John's fish tank.

Charlie-wad's Wedding in Edisto

This November we celebrated my God-brother's wedding weekend at Edisto Beach. Gigi and Pop Pop got us a house and we took all the kids - along with a babysitter to the stars (of course her name is Emily!).

Isabel had an amazing time at this house. It was the set-up for real, with its own playroom, crib, high chair, you name it. The boys were only upset by one thing - that the trampoline in the back was broken.

As for the wedding - it was amazing! Charlie and his bride Jane were gorgeous. Cheryl, Trent and everyone else were so much fun.

We used to go to the beach with Cheryl and her family every summer, and we decided that we'll now get the grandkids together every summer at Edisto. Can't wait to have Isabel play with Trent's kids. (Isabel would live on the beach if she could, so the only problem would be getting her to leave the sand.)

November Moments

Sometimes we catch Izzy doing some crazy stuff. Sometimes we prod her to do crazy stuff. Here are some samples of each...

Elizabeth Scott's 3rd Birthday

November 28 is a bitter/sweet day for us. It is Isabel's older sister's birthday. Since she is in heaven, we have a tradition of sending up pink balloons with notes to her. Here are some shots of us during Elizabeth's party. (Thanks to Gigi, Pop pop, Angie, Clayton, John Gray and Reading for sending up pink balloons in Belmont!)

Happy Turkey Day - Gobbie, Gobbie

We had a great Thanksgiving. Isabel had a "feast" at her school and reluctantly wore her Turkey hat. She was so good when I walked in. Well, at least until she saw me! It is something about a mom that makes a sweet girl whine and cling. We had a good time anyway. It was so fun to see her interact with her school friends.

We traveled to Meme and Grandpa's house for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Isabel still does really well in a car - thank goodness for mobile DVD players. Once there, we had a ball! Isabel and her cousin Josh fought over riding horses but managed to play really well together. She learned that a turkey says "Gobbie, Gobbie" and she got to see her baby cousin Banks. To top it all off - we had wonderful food the entire weekend. (We won't discuss her lack of sleep and EARLY morning.)

Per Allen family tradition, we got the Allen Christmas tree and Isabel had a great time decorating it. She kept pointing and saying "Ah!" She even managed to put some decorations on it.

We also went to the Raleigh Marbles Museum. I think Isabel's favorite part was having her cousin Riley ride with her in the car. They wore matching scarves and entertained each other to no end.