What the...????

I use the phrase, "what the...?!?!" a lot. I don't finish the phrase (usually), because most mature audiences know how that story ends.

Tonight, I threw out a "what the.....?!?!" and Isabelle turned nonchalantly and said...

"No, Mommy, you're supposed to say "what the hell?"

Oops. I know one of my new years resolutions!

On the fifth day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…

Five Super Bowl Rings!

Tonight, Isabelle was asking when Santa was coming back to bring her more presents. So I tried to explain how giving presents is so much better than receiving them, and asked her if she’d given presents to her Pretty Lamb, Arthur, Baby Lola (and her other cast of characters). She then started handing out ‘pretend’ presents to us.

At one point, she told me she had a very special present for me, and that I should open it slowwwwwly. So I did as I was told. And I pretended to just LOVE my pretend gift, even though I didn’t know what it was. And she asked, do you know what it is, Mommy? It’s RINGS!

Rings, I asked? RINGS?!? Like, maybe….Super Bowl rings?

YES! YES! Super Bowl Rings, Mommy! Are you so ga-cited (aka, excited)?!?!?! (as she jumped up and down, clearly excited she had given me a gift that I truly loved)

Well, YES, that is everything I wanted for Christmas this year, Isabelle! But you know what? We need to give Super Bowl rings to everyone on the team. Like Ray Lewis...

And Joe Flacco, Mommy?

Yup.

What about Ray Rice?

Absolutely.

Does Todd Heap get a Super Bowl ring, Mommy?

Of course he does!

Who else gets a Super Bowl ring, Daddy?

Well, let’s go through the roster…

You see, what some of you faithful readers may not know, is that Isabelle played a key part in the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup this past hockey season. Every day the Blackhawks played in a playoff game (and let me tell you, there are a LOT of hockey playoff games), Isabelle sent a picture of herself in her Blackhawks jersey to Uncle Don in Chicago (well, Uncle Don DID buy her the jersey after all, it was the least we could do). And while the team didn’t win every game that Isabelle sent a picture for, they obviously won MOST of them, because they have the Stanley Cup to prove it.

So, the fact that Isabelle gave me rings tonight as a present, leads me to believe that maybe she’ll be a good luck charm for the Baltimore Ravens obtaining a whole mess of Super Bowl rings this year, and the almighty Lombardi Trophy which has eluded Ravens fans for 9 years.

Festivus Maximus, everyone. May your heart bleed purple, and your new year be shiny and bright.

A Christmas Story

The day was lovely. Our three-year-old slept in until 8am. We ate way too much food all day long. I don’t think there was more than a 20-minute break between stuffing food in our face. Santa was very good to Isabelle this year. It’s nice when you only have one child, because Santa brings it pretty heavy. And well, he should, because she’s a pretty good kid.

The boring gifts were opened first (by design) – books, movies, stickers, flashcards. Then the good stuff came next – dress-up clothes in a trunk, Barbie princess dolls, Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, a Dora Mega-Blocks roller coaster set, a jewelry-making kit, a Chicago Cubs winter hat. And then, the “money” gifts were left until the end…

• a two-sided easel from Geega and Grandpa (magnetic, dry erase board, chalkboard, and more)

• a digital camera from Mommy & Daddy with zooming capabilities, games, and a 400 picture capacity

• a GOLF CART from Santa for the dollhouse people, but then became a golf cart for the new Disney princess dolls (the roof doesn’t exactly fit on with their tiaras and bouffants, but they get around just fine); their first trip in the golf cart was to go to the “store” to buy “beer” because they were going to a really great party that night (ummm, OK, at least she pays attention)

• the 4th annual White House Christmas ornament from Baba (oh how we love those ornaments, they are sparkly and such a great collector’s item)

• $100 towards the “travel fund” from Uncle Don & Aunt Susan (again, still not sure what that thing is, but they keep saying I’ll really love it one day)

• $50 from Grandpa for my “pinky” bank

Mommy and Daddy made me lay down for a nap around 1pm, but I didn’t sleep. I just played with more of my new toys, read my new books, and didn’t stay in bed. Mommy finally let me get up and watch one of my new movies, I chose Snow White. But it was SCARY and I cried and didn’t want to finish watching it. So we watched the Princess stories DVD instead. That wasn’t scary. It was just cheesy plastic deliciousness that I could watch for hours. I guess the Princess era has arrived!

For dinner we had a baked ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. We had a baked apple crisp for dinner. I didn’t eat any of it, except for a few pieces of ham. Then I had oranges, cheese, turkey, bread, and some M&M’s. It was an exquisite dinner indeed.

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus. Merry Christmas, every one.

Spoiled? Probably a little...

For weeks, Isabelle has not been able to come up with any concrete answers to the, What do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas? question. We got the vague answers of...

toys,
   books,
      clothes,
         pretty shoes,
            princess dresses, etc.

It was only within the last few days, after we were finished shopping, that she finally came up with a real answer. It was unique, cute, and well...impossible to find. She wanted a golf cart, for her dollhouse people and Barbie dolls, so they could ride around just like they were in Puerto Rico. Ummmm, OK?

So online I went and found one option which was a pink (of course) golf cart for the "High School Musical" doll set. (Whatever that means). Except it was $50. Seriously? I can't pay those prices for this stuff, I just can't.

I also found a die-cast metal one for about $10, but it was way too small for Barbie, and probably wouldn't be amenable to her dollhouse gang either. That dollhouse family is a big, roudy bunch and I could see a fight breaking out between them, Dora, and Diego. There was just not enough room in the die-cast version.

So, I moved to Plan B. Ebay, from where all impossible-to-find toys (and pretty much everything else) can be found. And alas, I found my holy grail. It was an older model of the now-$50 version of the pink golf cart. It used to be for Barbie, and someone was dumping one for $9.00. I won't get it to Edgewater in time for a Santa surprise, but boy, will I look like the rockstar Mom when I give it to her a few days after Christmas!

I had to pay about $15 for shipping, of course, but that still brings the total golf cart purchase to only $25, half of what I might have paid if I caved to the full-price retail 2010 version.

So, you might say she's spoiled. And maybe she is. She certainly didn't need one more gift to open for Christmas, Saturday morning is already going to take forever. But we only get a few years to play Santa, and I get a year-end bonus from work every December. I can't think of any better way to spend it.

Merry Christmas, my little Bean. And many Happy New Years to come!

Izzi's Annual Photo Book

Sorry for the delay, grandparents. Izzi's annual photo book will still be published this year, but we're a bit behind schedule. We're putting the final touches onto the book now, and we will probably order it after Christmas when the crazy shipping rates go down a bit. Merry Christmas to all, and Happy New Year. Just a sneak peek, here is the cover...

The Big Book

I remember when I was a kid, we used to get the BIG book from Toys R Us every year. It was as thick as the phone book (at least in my memory) and filled with brightly colored pages packed with more toys than my little brain could even imagine.

Do they still print The Big Book? I have purchased several thousands of dollars worth of crap made in China by children just a few years older than Isabelle, and I still don't receive The Big Book in the mail. What gives? Does anyone know if it even exists anymore?

In absence of the almighty toy catalog, I sat Isabelle in my lap tonight and accessed The Big Internet instead. We surfed the websites of Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, Kohl's, and K-Mart tonight. I wanted to see what Isabelle wanted for Christmas. I thought, erroneously, that maybe she would see something that really jazzed her.

And boy did she ever. She wanted every single thing she saw. And isn't that the way? When we were handed The Big Book as kids, we wanted everything we saw too. It was fun to "shop" with her tonight, but I still have zero idea what to get her for Christmas. We have a few things purchased already (I start early, since her Birthday is in November).

But we do need at least one show-stopper, and we have to fill the ridiculous stocking that Auntie Gail made her three-plus years ago. The stocking is almost as tall as Isabelle, it's super skinny, and it has zero elastic in the design so the only thing that would truly fit it a very tall, elegant umbrella. I don't think Iz would be too psyched about that gift, so we'll have to get creative. I'm thinking, a few newspapers to occupy at least half of it. Then some balled-up socks, she could always use new pajamas, and a quick trip to the dollar bin at Target -- that should do the trick.

Ed and I have date night at Target planned for Monday night...how romantic! I'm excited to "be" Santa Claus this year. Now if I could just get her to believe in the magic key that Santa will use to get into our chimney-less beach cottage, we might actually pull this holiday off!

The Elf on the where?

The Elf on the Shelf has landed in Edgewater. Geega finally found one last year and gave it to us after Christmas was over so we got to introduce him this year. For those of you know don't know of this new must-have trend, it's a book that comes with a little elf in a santa costume. The book explains how he works. He's sent by Santa himself to watch over boys and girls the weeks before Christmas. Every night, he flies back to the North Pole to give Santa the report for that day (the good, the bad, and the ugly).

Now there are a few rules. He cannot be touched or his magic will dissappear. He can't talk to you, but he is a very good listener. So if you really want Santa to bring you a special toy or present for Christmas, you can tell him what your wish is for.

The true magic of the elf is that he pops up in the oddest places around the house. You might wake up to find him on your bookshelf. You could turn around one day in your playroom and find him staring at you from the window sill. Or he could be a spunky little guy who climbs into your Christmas tree while you are playing in the living room. Hopefully he doesn't scare you when you go grab your juice out of the fridge, he very well might be waiting for you in there.

When he arrives at your house, you have to give him a name. Isabelle named her Elf "Wizzle" with a little help from Ed.

The Angel Gabrielle?

Confusion reigns in the Siler household. Isabelle got her very own Nativity set this year (thanks GeeGa and Grandpa!). It's a "Little People" set (and no, I don't mean those who are vertically challenged). The "Little People" are a Fisher Price collection of toys/sets.

So in the Little People Nativity Set, there is an angel. And the angel is a pretty little blond female. So Ed and I were trying to give Isabelle the rundown on who's who in the Nativity set, and sadly we were having confusion (to say the least). Maji or Wise men? Stable or Manger? Were Mary and Joseph married or not yet? The set came with 4 animals but no shepherd boy, where is he? And how did those animals get there? Whoa is me!

So we did the best we could. Then last night when I was shopping, I found a BOOK called "The Story of Christmas". And it was geared to Toddlers...perfect! So I read the book for her tonight at bedtime and lo and behold, the book tells it like it is!

The angel sent down by God was Gabriel. And he wasn't any petite blond hottie like the Little People like to pretend. So the 12-page board book took about 30 minutes to get through because of the barrage of questions about why the book had a BOY angel and her nay-tivity had a GIRL angel. And where were the GIRL angels in the book? And why didn't her nay-tivity set have a BOY angel?

Fisher Price, you need to hire a few more Christians to correct your set and add a shepherd boy so those animals don't get loose. Oh, and while you're at it, you might want to find a more PC name for your collection because those vertically challenged people have taken over the Little People name. They even got a cable show now. Just sayin.

La Isla Del Encanto

...or...The Island of Enchantment, for those of you who don't know Spanish. That is Puerto Rico's slogan, if you will. And how fitting it is. We just got back late Saturday night from a fabulous ten days there visiting Grandpa Siler, Abuela Carmen, Aunt Jessie and her boyfriend John, Carmen's son, Luis, and Carmen's daughter, Tashi with her four-year-old son, Nafet.

All ten days were perfect weather, 82 degrees, sunny, light tropical breezes. We only had a few rain showers at night while we were sleeping. Most of the amenities have closed down at Palmas del Mar (the resort where Ed's Dad lives and works) due to the economy and a called bank loan. The golf course, tennis club, and beach club are all pretty much shut down. They have been taken over by the homeowners, though, and plan to re-open in the new year. Preparations are being made now.

We were able to hit the beach club one day when they held an "open house" to try and entice residents to join. The "Beach Club" is a huge pool with swim lanes, volleyball courts (in the pool), a regular swim area, and adult water slides.




They also have a massive kid pool with an interactive water play area with a few small water slides, water guns, and a huge bucket that dumps water every minute.

Izzi had no fear this year, running through the powerful fountains in the kiddie pool. She had a blast, and I have about 100 pictures to prove it.






This was the first year I didn't go down the big-kid water slides at the Beach Club. Because the club was only open one day last week, and it hasn't been open in SO long, it was pretty crowded and I didn't feel the need to stand in line with screaming 10 year olds.

On Tuesday, we went on a ferry ride to Culebra, a separate island off the coast of Puerto Rico (but still part of PR). The ferry ride was ROUGH, to say the least. We all took Dramamine, but Isabelle still got seasick. She was a trooper though, as soon as we got back onto solid land and got some lunch, she was rearing to go! We saw a huge iguana at lunch whose name, apparantly, is Tangelo. He's been a member of the restaurant/bar "Mamacitas" for about six years now.

The water at Culebra was more turquoise than any of the Caribbean water I've seen (Bahamas, Jamaica, Aruba, Cancun). The pictures don't even do it justice, it was superb. The sand was like baby powder. The day we were there, the water was a bit on the chilly side (for that part of the world) and a little rougher than normal so Isabelle couldn't go in too far, but she was, again, fearless in her attempts. That's her in the back trying to catch up with Aunt Jessie, Luis, and John.


The ferry ride back to mainland was much calmer, thank God. Everyone slept the ride back except for me and Carmen. We took pictures and chatted most of the 90-minute ride. We saw one of the best sunsets of the week on that ferry ride. The pictures, again, don't do the sunset justice. The island up ahead is Vieques, another separate PR island located between mainland and Culebra.

One day, we went to Luquillo for lunch, a small town about 30 minutes north of Palmas. They have a group of "kioskos" (kiosks) with tons of choices of authentic PR food and other delicacies. I had the best Peruvian ceviche of my life that day and vow to learn how to make it just as good as I ate that day. I can't wait another year to have it again.


The rest of the week, we lazed around the beach and various pools in the resort. We traversed by golf cart (called golf cars there). We saw a pretty amazing sunset every night, and we took over 500 pictures so we could relive the vacation every day until we return.

Te amo, Puerto Rico, la isla del encanto...

Palmas from the Beach Bohio

Izzi and Ed on the golf cart at Palmas Doradas (our neighborhood)

Izzi and Jen at the Beach Club

Another sunset, from Edd and Carmen's backyard

Happy Birthday Princess!

I can't believe our baby is three years old today! Yesterday, at daycare, they had a party for Isabelle. We walked in to streamers and a huge birthday sign. I brought cookies and candles, and she wore one of her Princess dresses and her Princess Tiara to celebrate the special day.

She already got a big train table from GeeGa and Grandpa, we set that up early so she could start playing with it. Today, she woke up to presents from me & Ed, and her party this year is at an athletic club called Big Vanilla. She has 8 little friends coming. Big Vanilla has a list of "themes" to choose from so we chose the only gender-neutral one they offered - Under the Sea. We had cupcakes made by our friend Patty. Ed & I made sandwiches in the shapes of fish and crabs and seahorses using cookie cutters. And we'll have goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish to nibble on.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful baby girl. Thanks for the best three years of our life so far.

She wore her Ravens purple beret...

…the kind you don’t find in a second-hand store.

Isabelle got a unique gift in the mail last week, just because her Aunt Susan loves her. Meandering around the streets of the Montmartre district in Paris, Aunt Susan spotted the perfect gift for our Littlest Raven. A perfectly purplicious beret befitting the most fashionable Parisian. Très chic!

Three going on Thirteen

We're just three days away from the Third Birthday. This week has brought a more-than-usual hectic schedule between me having a work training event this past weekend, an out-of-town guest for two nights, Ed trying to finish his third Grad class before vacation next week, preparing for the pending Birthday Party this coming weekend, me finishing up a creative writing class, ahhhhhh! Calgon, take me away...

My weekday mornings are chaotic under normal circumstances, and I only have one kid! But in recent months, Isabelle has been sleeping late, thus leaving us less time for the required routine (breakfast, getting dressed, finding coats and shoes). This morning, Isabelle apparantly woke up before my alarm even went off. Typically, when she wakes up before me, she comes into my bedroom and stirs me awake, alerting me to the obvious conclusion that it's time for breakfast, getting dressed, and going to school.

This morning, I'm not sure if she tried to wake me or not (I was admittedly in very deep slumber). When my alarm sounded, I performed my normal routine of slapping the snooze button in disgust. Isabelle sauntered into my room, informing me that she already put her clothes on, but now she reallllly wanted her banana and OJ-juice.

As I pried my eyes open, not quite understanding what she was saying, I saw with an unreal fascination that she had, indeed, put her clothes on already. (Note: This was not an outfit I had laid out the night before). She had actually gotten her little stool, pulled it over to her tall dresser, and went through three different drawers, choosing the pieces that any good outfit requires (shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and underthings).

She had chosen her Ravens purple long-sleeve t-shirt, a pair of blue stretchy play pants, matching blue socks, and her Ravens purple boots. She explained, quite pointedly, that her boots and shirt were purple-purple, and they matched! She then explained that she really wanted to wear her purple "Wild Things" shirt but she couldn't figure out how to put it on (ha ha). She was quite proud of herself, and I was speechless with my own pride.

I realized quickly that I've probably been "stepping in" a little more than I should. In our hectic morning routine, I often pull out an outfit and rapidly get her dressed for the day. I do this mainly because of time constraints -- she has been able to put some of her own clothes on for a while now (I just don’t have the patience most days). But, I have been remiss in allowing her the autonomy to try and "do it herself".

Even more surprising was the coordination and utility of the outfit that she chose. Not only did the colors and styles match, but she also chose a good play outfit for daycare. She could have just as easily ended up wearing a too-fancy dress or a Halloween costume.

We’re just three days away from the Third Birthday. Hey Doc, where's the PAUSE button on this time machine???

The Wickedest Witch of Selby

Halloween was a blast this year. It was a chilly night, but we had no rain like last year. Izzi and I were decked out as black and pink witches with full makeup to match. Our little witch got very into character, cackling her way all over the neighborhood. She wished everyone a Happy Halloween, she proclaimed "Trick or Treat?!?!" on cue, and pretty much said Thank You each time without being prompted.

One of the first few houses we visited, she went up to the door for her treats. She turned around to come back down the front walkway and tripped over some uneven bricks. She screamed in terror and pain and I thought she had really hurt herself. Hat askew, plastic pumpkin rolling down the walkway, and dress caught under her feet, she landed flat on her face. I picked her up and checked out the usual spots (knees, face, hands) for blood or raspberries. She was free of any glaring injuries. When she finally caught her breath, she finally was able to tell me what was wrong. "Myyyyyyy cannnnnndddddddddyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!". She was devastated at her spilled candy all over the brick walk beneath her. Hilarious. We picked up the candy and were on our way with cackles of delight and a bit of smudged face makeup.

The rest of the evening, we steered clear of any houses with big steps or uneven walkways. We had no more spilled candy tragedies for the remainder of the night.

We finally circled our way back to the community beach. The neighborhood association puts on a Halloween party every year with treats, a haunted hayride, and a costume contest. Isabelle WON this year for the scariest costume in the 'under 5' group. She got a big gift bag full of treats, coloring books, pencils, crayons, stickers, and light sticks.

The only bad part of Halloween this year is that it's over. Izzi did not like having to take the decorations down. But she quickly got over it, when we went to Factory Card Outlet to get the party favors for her friends who are coming to her Birthday Party next weekend.

The Wizzer Davaz

With Isabelle officially being a Witch for Halloween, she knows the Wicked Witch of the West from my favorite movie. Isabelle was introduced to the Wicked Witch of the West, on a birthday card we saw in New Jersey in July when we went to Auntie Gail's house for her Surprise 70th Birthday Party. Auntie Gail had received an audible birthday card (one of those cards that plays music when you open it) with the Wicked Witch on the front.

Isabelle LOVED it and so Auntie Gail mailed it to Edgewater a few weeks after her Birthday festivities were over. We still have the card and Isabelle loves to hear the music and see the green Witch on the cover.

Isabelle learned the catch phrase of the Wicked Witch, and cackles with delight as she recites..."I'll get you my pretty, and your little DOG too...". She wanted to see the movie, even if she is still way too young.

So I took her to the Library this week to pick up a copy. I popped it in, and the black-and-white portion just bored her, and she wanted a "new" movie on. Then the tornado hit, and she ominously remembered the sand storm that we got caught in this past summer (like FOUR months ago). She was petrified to say the least.

I fast-forwarded until we got to the color portion of the movie when the Wicked Witch shows up and delivers her catch phrase. Isabelle collapsed in a puddle of tears, she was too scared. So we had to turn the movie off. Maybe next year.....

When Ed came home that afternoon, she told him, quite ceremoniously, that she does NOT like that "Wizzer.....Davaz" movie. (There was a deliberate break in the two words).

W-h-a-t-e-v-e-r

Two going on twelve, that's our daughter right now. We decided to commit to a new regime in the Siler household. We will make time for Church every weekend. We are planning on sending Isabelle to The School of the Incarnation (the only Catholic grade school in our area) in three years for Kindergarten. I've already called, and the only pre-requisites are that your Parish Priest knows your family on a first-name basis, and that you send those pretty little envelopes in each week (preferably, you "bring" them in each week).

Isabelle can already recite the "Our Father" by heart, we do so every night before bed. We also tell God what we are thankful for each night before bed. She says Grace before each meal. So, she is well on her way, but we've been remiss in attending Mass the past three years of her life.

So this weekend was our foray into regular Mass attendance. (Isabelle HAS been to Church a few times, just not recently).

Let me start by saying that Isabelle was very very very well-behaved. She understood that Church was like the Library...you cannot talk. You can whisper if you need to, but you can't talk out loud. She was very excited to recite her "Our Father" with the entire congregation, and did so on queue.

During the Mass, I was deliberately responding at the appropriate times in a louder and clearer voice than normal, while looking at Isabelle so she could understand what the parishioners "should" be saying. I didn't ask her to say anything, I just wanted her to hear and see ME responding so she started to witness how the whole Mass thing worked.

At one point, during the Penitential Rite (Lord have mercy...Christ have mercy...Lord have mercy), she was sitting on the pew, and she rolled her head back and said, "What...Ever....GOD".

Ummm, WHAT?!?!?  She had never busted out a "what...ever" (snotty, teenager style) before this day and she decides to drop one in MASS?!?!?  Ed & I were horrified, yet found ourselves chuckling. I couldn't face my fellow Church-goers for the rest of the Mass.

I just hope it was a one-time thing. Although, that just means next week will bring something "new" which could be even worse. What....ever, Isabelle!

A Haunting Halloween

This is our first Halloween that Isabelle understands what is going on. She is excited about the candy, the trick-or-treating, the hay ride around the neighborhood, and hanging out with her friends. And she is VERY excited about dressing up in her costume.

We tried to give her autonomy with her costume choice, but she waffled worse than Brett Favre about what she wanted to wear this October 31st. Her top two choices were Witch and Butterfly, with a few lower-ranked choices in between (like, Princess, Ghost, Frankenstein, Ravens Cheerleader). Ummmmm, no, have you SEEN the Ravens Cheerleaders? Yikes.

We already had Butterfly wings that I picked up for $.50 at a yard sale in Spring. Izzi's BFF, Clare, has a blue tutu that would have worked as a second piece of the costume and I would have made her some antennae from arts-and-crafts supplies around the house. But, the Witch won out. She wanted to be a Witch more than a Butterfly (scientifically measured by counting how many times she mentioned each costume choice).

So we asked around, and found a costume to borrow (from Miss Trish, our daycare provider). Her daughter is 9, and had two Witch costumes to choose from.

So, stay tuned. You will soon see a few pictures of Isabelle, the "Wicked Witch of Selby" in her black and pink costume, a home-made magic wand, a long scraggly wig, and some face paint. We can only hope this year's weather is better than last year when it was chilly and rainy.

PS: Oh, and Mommy is going to be a Witch too. Daddy will not be wearing a costume, par for the course.

I-Z-Z-I

So a few months ago, Isabelle started to "recognize" her written name (well, her nickname anyway). When she sees "Izzi" written somewhere, she says "I-Z-Z-I, that says IZZI!"

So at "school" this year the kids started working on writing their name. It took her all of three weeks to "get it" and tonight she grabbed a marker and a piece of paper. She asked us if she could write her name for us. Sure!

So in red magic marker tonight, on September 29, 2010, Isabelle Natalie Siler wrote I-Z-Z-I on a piece of paper without a model to go off of and no letters to trace. She just wrote her nickname out all by herself.

Just to remind you readers and family members......she's TWO years old. Granted, she's just a few weeks from turning three.....and already going on four. Lord, give us the strength we need!!!

As a postscript, Miss Trish has already decided to switch her school things to "Isabelle" since she will probably have to learn to use that in Kindgergarten. So at this rate, Izzi will probably be writing I-S-A-B-E-L-L-E by her third birthday. I'll let her sign her own birthday card to herself, ha ha.

Our Littlest Raven

Izzi sitting in Club Level, learning to yell DEFENSE!

On August 26, 2010, Isabelle got to see her very first Ravens game. Granted, it was a pre-season game, but Ed took her up to the game to see how she would do. She was a trooper and stuck in there until the 4th quarter. Even better, our neighbors parents were going to the game and taking their granddaughter up, so they offered to give Ed and Isabelle a ride. They even had a parking pass. Sweet! Otherwise Ed would have been hoofing it about a mile from where we park to get to the stadium. That wouldn't have been fun with a Toddler in tow.

Isn't she the BEST Ravens fan ever?!?!?

Iz met tons of people who couldn't help but comment on her enthusiastic showing. She was dressed to the nines (hate, beads, Flacco jersey, purple sneakers). She yelled DEFENSE when Daddy told her too and she did so fiercely! She even learned a little of the "Move Those Chains" chant and arm movements from Uncle Ivars (Ed sat in Club Level with Iz but they walked up to our nosebleed seats during Halftime to see our regular crew.

Our Littlest Raven fan is on-board for a lifetime of excitement, highs, and lows (like the Week 2 game against Cinci....ugh!)

Izzi with Uncle Ivars in Section 543

Find your beach

We just got home from a very long overdue and much needed vacation. We flew to Tampa last Thursday and stayed until Tuesday. On this trip, we got to go out on TWO boat rides, with Ed's Aunt Joann and Uncle Ron. Both boat outings were fantastic. The first night, they took us to this huge sandbar that was created from a storm a few years back, it's a mini-island with more seashells than we could fit on the boat. Amazing!

We also got a very nice piece of coral. Shhhhhh, not exactly sure if it's legal to take those things home, but it was up on the sand, not in the water, so we think it's OK, right?

We actually saw a pod of Dolphins playing in the Gulf of Mexico. If you look closely, you'll see the dorsal fin of a playful Bottlenose in the middle of the picture below:

When we got to the sandbar, Isabelle had a huge wide open area to just run and be FREEEEEE. She scared away all the birds for Mommy. It was a beautiful area with crystal clear warm water, no waves, and like I said, more seashells than you could possibly carry.

On the second boat ride of the week, we went to a shallow water sandbar area and anchored out with a few other boats. We got floaty things out and tied up to the boat so we didn't drift away, the current was pretty strong that night.

Isabelle is starting to love boats, just the reason to buy one in a few years when she's a bit older. This was the first visit to Tampa when we got to ride on a boat. I always love seeing a town from the waterside view, it really is a totally different perspective. We passed Kenny Rogers house one night (well, one of them anyway). But I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the mansion on the water. Below is a pic of Isabelle and Mom-Mom Susan a few minutes before sunset.

And the actual sunset on the Gulf of Mexico is below. I've seen a lot of sunsets in my lifetime, and they all leave me speechless with their beauty. But watching the sun set on the water is pretty cool for an East Coast girl. I've been fortunate enough to see a waterfront sunset in Key West, Ireland, and now Tampa. Amazing.

Fantastic vacation, but as always, way too short. We're going back to Tampa for two full weeks in February. One week to work and one week to play. Ed has a conference down there for a week, I'll work from Susan and Bill's house while they play with Isabelle. The second week will be time off from work so we can play play play! It won't be boating or beaching weather, but at least there won't be snow or sub-freezing temperatures. We can still do the zoo, children's museum, and Busch Gardens!

All aboard!

Last month we went to a 2nd birthday party for our friend Charley Mahoney. We rode the mini steam engine trains at Leakin Park over off Route 40. It was a beautiful (but hot) day and we had a nice party back at the Mahoney's house afterwards. Here is pic of Izzi and Mommy riding the mini-trains.

Dog is God Spelled Backwards

We got an email from LRR (Labrador Retriever Rescue) today asking for emergency Foster Homes this coming October. Several of our regular Foster Home Families are going on a group trip this October leaving our all-volunteer organization very short on Foster Homes for about 8 days this Fall.

We recently lost both of our precious Labbies in less than a year and we needed a break for a while. Isabelle was still a baby, and we figured we would wait until she was a bit older before we became a dog family again. I figured when the time was right, an opportunity would present itself.

Oddly enough, the friends we went to the concert with yesterday were talking about their dog, and asking us when we thought we might get another one. A few hours later, watching late night cable at Ed's cousin's house, I caught the last half of Marley & Me on HBO and ended up in tears (once again) watching the movie based off the classic book about a "bad" yellow Lab and the family who loved him. I realized that I do truly miss having a warm, wet nose in my life.

Today, the opportunity presented itself. An "emergency" email from LRR asking for foster homes this October. It seemed like kismet with the dog conversation and movie yesterday. I volunteered our home for those 8 days in October, without even clearing it with Ed first. (I told him immediately afterwards, and he was fine with it.)

Granted, we're only volunteering to foster for 8 daysl. But anyone who knows us, knows where fostering Labs has led us in the past. We had 2 dogs at one time for several years (3 different Labs rescued so far). And the director of LRR knows us well enough that she will ensure we get a great foster dog, that she knows we'll fall in love with, and end up adopting. Susan is the quintessential organizer of what we call "suckers" in our LRR organization. Those are the "foster homes" that end up adopting the dogs we're only supposedly providing temporary foster homes for.

So, this might be a bit sooner than what we thought? We said 2011 when we'd start fostering-to-adopt. But I have a feeling that Isabelle is going to have a fuzzy friend in her life sooner than planned. I just pray that we don't have another Winter like last year, for more reasons than just not wanting to walk a dog in 4 feet of snow!

Juicy Butter

I made a turkey & cheese sandwich for Isabelle the other day. And she brought her plate over to me with one bite taken out of the sandwich and told me it need something juicy. Ummm, what?

She further explained, "Mommy, it's DRY!". So I put some butter on the inside of the bread. (I didn't think she would tolerate mayo or mustard and I didn't have any salad dressing she would like either.) Turns out, she loves butter. (But hey, what's not to love?)

So today she got a sandwich for lunch, and I put a tiny bit of butter on the bread and she took the first bite. Her eyes got really wide, and she asked me, "Mommy? Did you put BUTTER on this sammmmwich? I really really LIKE it!"

I do love a little juicy butter on my sammmmmwich every once in a while, ha ha.

The Unmentionable Helmet

Izzi spent the day with Aunt Kim (Ed's cousin), Uncle Chris, and Ronan yesterday. Ed & I went to the Hot August Blues Concert at Oregon Ridge. And the name held up to it's meaning. It was HOT and the music was a great mix of Blues bands. We went to see our favorite live act, Mister Keb 'Mo. We travel to see him whenever he's within 2 hours of us. He's just that great. The headliner was Lyle Lovett and he was fantastic with his FULL band. There must have been 30 guys up on the stage and they sounded superb. He even treated us to our favorite song of his, If I Had a Boat. Fantabulous.

During the concert, I got the attached picture from Aunt Kim, sent to my cell phone. It was sunny and I couldn't see the pic very well so I texted her back thanking her for putting a helmet on Izzi. She texted me back that it was UNDERWEAR! Ha ha.

Her 2-year-old son just got new underwear but has NO use for them yet. He thinks they are hats. So Ronan and Izzi were running around their backyard, riding bikes, with Thomas the Tank boys underwear on their heads.

Viva la Redneck Babies!