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.