With most of our immediate family members in town, Brian, Isabelle and I are able to spend each holiday with LOTS of family. We usually bounce around from one house to the next (thankfully with a nap in between) and we get a big dose of family time...which we both LOVE.
Of course it's quite easy for me to say what I'm most thankful for this Thanksgiving. Isabelle is the center of my world and the light of my life, so she's the easy answer. But the big general answer is the PEOPLE in my life. Without some of these people I wouldn't even have my daughter (parents, in-laws, husband...duh!) and without them I certainly couldn't be the mom that I am to her. My brother and my husband's siblings are our very best friends and I can't imagine what life would be like without them. And my friends--those I see every week and those I speak to only a few times a year--are a vital part of my happiness in life. My neighbors, Isabelle's little buddies, and even my customers are people who enrich my life.
This time of year we spend so much time (and money!) focusing on things--what gifts to buy, what outfit to wear, how many yule logs to make. I might not have a lot of stuff, but I got my peeps. And I gotta lot of them...and that's all I need.
Isabelle is now 17 months. I can't believe that she is turning into a little girl. She is absolute JOY in our house and I am continuously amazed by how much more fun she gets with age.
Her favorite thing to do is run around (well, really fast walk) and she will spend all of her awake time doing just that. It is a rare moment that she sits in one place. 
Back and forth...so silly!
Daddy's gonna get ya!
Wait, Crocket's gonna get...your toy!
This is the daily routine. Isabelle runs around with toy. Crockett steals it. We all yell at Crockett (Isabelle included). Crockett drops toy. Isabelle runs with toy. Repeat.
Isabelle finally got her first haircut. I decided it was time to get rid of that nice rat-tail. 
Oh, but she still has the mullet! I wouldn't deprive her of that. Oh, well...it's the cutest short-long I've ever seen!
Here are some things about this little girl at age 17 months that I don't ever want to forget:-She's a great sleeper. thank goodness!
-Pretty good eater, although getting more and more picky. Loves spicy food (especially sausage)!
-Not saying much that we can understand, but we think she says Daddy, Mommy, all done (ahh dah). All I know is that she understands everything. We'll have full-on conversations...she seems to get what I'm saying, but I have no idea what she's saying. Her favorite word is still "Ehhh??" (usually in 2 or 3 syllables, always in question form...if you don't answer her she will continue to repeat and increase in volume)
-Not saying much that we can understand, but we think she says Daddy, Mommy, all done (ahh dah). All I know is that she understands everything. We'll have full-on conversations...she seems to get what I'm saying, but I have no idea what she's saying. Her favorite word is still "Ehhh??" (usually in 2 or 3 syllables, always in question form...if you don't answer her she will continue to repeat and increase in volume)
-LOVES books and will go find a book, bring it to you, and sit in your lap for storytime.
-Obsessed with being outside. She's like Crockett with "walk"...when I say "outside" the whining begins.
-Very shy...it usually takes her at least half an hour to get into her groove around new people or in new places.
-She's learning to feed herself with a spoon (doing well!) but will get SO frustrated when it doesn't land in her wide-open mouth.
-Loves music and bounces to the beat or "dances" (squats up and down)
-She has a happy bounce...usually when she's eating something yummy.
-Tuesday is her favorite day of the week. That's because it's trash day. When she hears the truck vroom up the street she reaches up to us with excitement...watching the garbage truck pick up trash is quite possibly her favorite pastime.
-She's OBSESSED with bulldozers, cars, trucks, buses, tractors, trains, boats, bikes. And leafblowers, lawn mowers, pretty much anything that makes noise. Oh, and she LOVES planes. Looks up in the sky when she hears one.
Can we say "TOMBOY" ??
-She's not afraid to get dirty, but she wants her hands clean...hates having messy hands.
-Recently she is loving things on her head. After I show her how cute she looks in the mirror she proudly trots around the house with her "do".
-Isabelle's most peculiar obessession is putting things around her neck. This has been going on for several months now and it is trip to watch (not to mention a little scary). The episodes can go on for several minutes (you know, that's like hours in "toddler time"). If it's long, skinny, and can possibly choke you, she'll happily bring it over her head and wrap around her neck, over and over and over. It could be a thick wool scarf or a string of dental floss. Either way, it's going around the neck.
-Isabelle's most peculiar obessession is putting things around her neck. This has been going on for several months now and it is trip to watch (not to mention a little scary). The episodes can go on for several minutes (you know, that's like hours in "toddler time"). If it's long, skinny, and can possibly choke you, she'll happily bring it over her head and wrap around her neck, over and over and over. It could be a thick wool scarf or a string of dental floss. Either way, it's going around the neck.Or a bathrobe tie.
Or a bag handle.
Or my underwear and sports bra.
Finding an open underwear drawer is like hitting the jackpot. 
No matter what silliness she is up to, my sweet Isabelle is always making me smile. Even during those dramatic meltdowns. She might be a tomboy, but this girl knows drama!
Or a bag handle.Or my underwear and sports bra.Finding an open underwear drawer is like hitting the jackpot. No matter what silliness she is up to, my sweet Isabelle is always making me smile. Even during those dramatic meltdowns. She might be a tomboy, but this girl knows drama!Uncle Matt can't get enough of her either. And she can't get enough of him!
Neither can we...especially when he invites us to dinner parties. Last weekend he and girlfriend Laurie invited my parents and us over for a wine tasting and 4 course gourmet meal. We had a blind tasting, and after rating 4 bottles of Zinfandel red wine, ranging from $5-$35, we learned that price does not necessarily correlate with taste! We ranked the $5 bottle at the top of the list!
Yum, yum...beet salad, butternut squash soup, pasta with lamb bolognese sauce, brussel sprouts, fresh bread and ice cream with dark chocolate and salted caramel to finish it off! Bon appetit! 
Neither can we...especially when he invites us to dinner parties. Last weekend he and girlfriend Laurie invited my parents and us over for a wine tasting and 4 course gourmet meal. We had a blind tasting, and after rating 4 bottles of Zinfandel red wine, ranging from $5-$35, we learned that price does not necessarily correlate with taste! We ranked the $5 bottle at the top of the list!
Yum, yum...beet salad, butternut squash soup, pasta with lamb bolognese sauce, brussel sprouts, fresh bread and ice cream with dark chocolate and salted caramel to finish it off! Bon appetit! 
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