Looks like we've been a little remiss in our updates to the blog, and for that, we apologize. We've all been battling a cold here and there, but the kids definitely get it the worse. Poor David had a persistent cough, so we took him to the pediatrician, and she saw an ear infection, and he got some antibiotics. As soon as that cleared up, he got a new cold within 48 hours. Isabelle has also had her fair share of coughing and runny noses. Incredibly, they don't seem to mind when we approach with the Kleenex.


Let's see, four weeks to catch up on. Well, about 28 days ago, we headed over to Mike and Heather's. Our kids and their kids are starting to be friends. It still takes Isabelle a little while to warm up to people, but after less then an hour or so, she starts running and screaming like they've been playing all day. David, the explorer, keeps us busy at all times. There was an added bonus with this visit, as Paul, Amy, and Haley were also visiting. It was the first time we got to see Haley, who is just as cute as could be, and we haven't seen Paul and Amy for months and months. The little girls got to play after a little while, and the boys were, well, boys. Collin ate and slept, and so did David. But David also has a little adventure time, enjoying the sound of a fine wine bottle hitting the floor. That kid is so quick when he spys the opportunity to run away and get into something. I swear, I put him down to hand something to Isabelle, then, BOOM! He's in the other room pulling bottles out of a rack and watching them roll on the floor.


The following weekend was Thanksgiving. We had a really nice dinner at home this year. Don't worry about that face Isabelle is making, she was in the middle of saying, "look at all the food!", and the camera just got a strange expression.
With the two kids needing naps in the middle of the day, and the prospect of driving an already over congested freeway for hours, we just didn't want to have miserable tired kids driving for most of Thanksgiving. My family did get together at Joan and Matt's house, where my aunt-in-law, or sisters mother-in-law, or however the phrase goes for Matt's mom, brought over a big dinner prepared by Marie Calandars. I hear it was very, very good.

We did get to see most of my family the weekend after Thanksgiving though.
We all met at a half way spot for lunch, which happens to be a Japanese buffet, so there is enough of a lot for everyone. I know, Japanese for a Thanksgiving meal? Sure.
As long as we are together. And, it's kid friendly.

In other news, David's getting closer to talking. He is starting to say syllables, but no words yet. And he doesn't really have the correct enunciation yet, but then again, neither do I half the time. He says, "Hi," but it sounds more like 'Heh'. And "Hello" sounds more like "Heauw." I'm still waiting on Daddy or Mommy. Of course, Isabelle's first word was nothing as endearing, but just as memorable:
"Uh-Oh"

Isabelle continues to make us laugh. The other night I walked into the living room, which had just about every book they have strewn about on the floor.
So, since I am trying to encourage her to clean up her messes, I said, "Somebody left all these books on the floor."
To which she replied, "Yes, SomeBODY did!"

She also has developed her own unique potty humor by singing her version of the "Farmer in the Dell." On Isabelle's farm, the child take a pee and the Farmer takes a poop. Hi-Ho the Dario!!!

Tia a blanket around your neck and what do you get?

The Super Kirbys!!!
Featuring: Super Daddy!
Super Belle (aka Super Frog)
Super Giggles

So here's a funny story... Tonight at dinner we're all sitting around the table and Isabelle passes gas. My eyes get big and I say, "What was that?" (Isabelle is smiling proudly.) John says, "That was a motorcycle!" Then Isabelle says,"that wasn't a motorcycle silly, I gotta frog in my bo-bo!!" Talk about an out of the mouth of babes moment... and all this time we thought she really believed that frog were making those sounds...

Here's a shot of Isabelle's latest masterpiece. She sat down at the table and said "I'm going to draw a rhinosuarus!" and this is what she turned out. Brilliant, isn't she?


Here'a also a cute shot of John, David and Loopy on a lazy Saturday...

New things that the kids are doing... Isabelle becomes more and more of a grown-up. The other day she was telling me... "Mommy, you are so helpful!" and "Mommy, I am so proud of you!" She also likes to pee on the potty and then asks me to pee on the potty too so she can watch me and then she cheers "Yeahhhhh Mommy!!" complete with her hands in the air like I just won a race. So funny...
Here's a fun picture of her. Her Aunt DeDee sent this fairy dress... isn't she cute?

David is getting so big!! He had his first ear infection, which wasn't very fun, but he was really a little trooper. They weighed him when we went to the Dr. He weighs 29lbs 6 oz!

He has started to want to do the same big kid things that Isabelle does. The other day Isabelle asked for a snack, so I gave her her usual juice and snack in a cup. David started fussing at me, so I thought it was time for his nap. I put him in his bed and he fussed and fussed some more, so I got him back up. Then he went over to Isabelle and tried to steal her snack. "Ohhhhh, do you want a snack too??" I said; (I'm quick like that.) So I got him a snack in a cup and he very happily tottled over to the couch, climbed up by Isabelle and ate his snack beside her. Here's a picture, 'cause it was so stinking cute!
Here's also a picture of David in my current favorite outfit... Little Mechanic cover-alls that say "Pete's Garage" on the back. He looks adorable.














And here's Isabelle in one of her favorite outfits... polka-dot pants and her rain boots!! I wouldn't let her wear her favorite orange horsie shirt. It was too cold today, and besides it didn't match. At some point she won't concede so easily because it's much more fun to wear all of your favorite things at the same time!! Match, smatch!!!




Toodle-loo!

Happy Halloween!!!
Grandma Jeanne came to visit for 3 days! On Monday the kids got to spend the whole day playing with her and John. John took the day off so we could all stay at home.
Both kids started Halloween early by getting up at 5 a.m.! I guess they didn't get the memo about the end of Daylight Saving Time. Since Grandma Jeanne was visiting so we tried our best to be quiet and occupied until 7.
Then they went off to daycare in costume to play with their friends. As you can see from the pictures, Isabelle was Tigger and David was a Dinosaur... cute cute cute!! (Isabelle wouldn't let me paint her nose or make whiskers though.) We went down town for trick-or treating only for about 45 minutes. This was plenty of time for both of them. For David it was a little overwhelming and he was fighting a cold and ear infection:>( Isabelle is at the age when things are scary, and she's not that fond of crowds anyway... And then there was the whole getting up at 5 thing, and for some reason, they were excited about being in costumes all day, so naps didn't last long either. It was fun to see the costumes and celebrate. Isabelle didn't really want to take off her costume when we got home and liked looking at all of her candy. She would dump out her little Winnie-the-Pooh/Pumkin head candy bucket on the table, sort it out,and put it back in her bucket. Each time lining all of the candy up in neat little ways.

The kids had a good time with Grandmas visit. As soon as we got home on Wednesday, Isabelle asked, 'Where's Grandma Jeanne? Is Grandma Jeanne commin' in? Daddy, when will Grandma Jeanne come in?"
The little tail on her costume would wag from side to side when she walked.

After our trip to Monterey two weeks ago, Isabelle keeps asking about going to the beach. So this weekend, we decided to head on out again. This time we took a jaunt over to San Francisco's Ocean Beach. Thanks to a lack of preparation, we discovered there was a marathon on Sunday finishing at Ocean Beach. So parking was not an option. We headed to Golden Gate park for a picnic near Spreckels Lake instead. Then, after an hour or so, we headed south, away from the marathon finish, and found a spot midway down the coast shore.

The kids by this time were a little tired. We had been in the car for a while, then we had lunch, and we were about an hour past nap time. But when we got to the beach, Oh Boy! This is the best sand box ever!

It's Halloween soon, so that means another trip to the pumpkin patch. The kids had fun, of course. But there was a new wrinkle this year.

SCARY MONSTERS!


David didn't even notice them, but Isabelle and her imagination had a harder time. Fortunately, she didn't really see any of them until we were leaving. I think it was the one with the little sensor to detect movement in front of it, then it let out that old hag laugh, a là Margaret Hamilton. We didn't know she was bothered by them at all until we were on the way home, when she usually recants the events of the previous hour or so, and she told us she, "didn't like those scary monsters. No. I don't like them." Then for the next four days, she said she didn't want to go back to the pumkin patch with the scary monsters. We told her they were just pretend, and that the monsters could not do anything to her or us, and I think she may know that now. Or she just forgot, as yesterday she said, "We go to see pumpkins again?"

She still had a great time looking at all the pumpkins, and riding in the wagon. Every now and then she would point and yell, "Look at that one!" Naturally, she wanted to bring home about 15 pumpkins. But we got a few small ones, and one that is about as big as David, as you can see in one of the pictures below.

Well, just when I thought it was a fluke, Isabelle peed on the potty again! She's also said she wants to wear pull-ups! Well, at least for this moment she wants to wear them. We'll see what she says tomorrow. Anyway... looks like we're on our way!! Good-bye diapers!! At least half of them.

The kids just love to get up on our bed and goof around.

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend we went to Murphys (outside of Sacramento in the "gold country") for our friend's Megan and Steve's wedding. It was a fun time and the location was beautiful and also really great for the kids. There was a nice big lawn to run in and a little playground. Mostly I think they liked being around all of the new people and running around like little maniacs! I am sad to say that we have no pictures. We took the camera with us, but I don't think it even made it out of the bag.

We were home for 3 days and then we went to Monterey for the weekend. John's sister and brother-in-law have a house there and had invited us for the weekend. They've put a lot of work into the house and it shows... it's really turned out nice. The kids liked running up and down on the hardwood flooring and hearing their voices echo through.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium one day. I don't know if we enjoyed it more or the kids did. We could spend a lot more time there, but we kinda had to hustle through to see most of the exhibits. Since we were there last, mmmmm, 8 years ago, the aquarium has added a kids play area. I think Isabelle could have spent all day just in there, until it got too crowded. David had a good time too. We put him down on a wave simulator, and he was off, giggling and flopping around.

Isabelle peed in the potty!! I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and she came in to say she wanted to sit on the potty. So of course, I helped her with her pants and diaper and she sat down. She has done this many times and usually just sits there and then tells me she's done when she's tired of sitting, but THIS time... tinkle tinkle!!! I gasped!! "Isabelle you just peed on the potty!" We were very excited; me more than her, and she hasn't done it since. It's a start though!

Isabelle is very selective with her affection. I am plagued with the thought that I have done this by hugging and kissing her too much, and so now when I ask her for a hug and a kiss she often tells me no. So, I try to respect her not wanting to, even though it's a drag...I try not to make any big deal about it, and am glad that she can assert herself and speak up if she doesn't want to hug or kiss someone. Sometimes with me particularly, I think she does it as kind of a game because she gets a funny little smile on her face and will say something like, "are you sad?" or "boo-hoo", and that's sort of funny. Today at the park I asked Isabelle if I could have a hug and her reply was... "Nope, they're all gone."

David has developed a little stinker trait as well. When he's eating, and he's starting to slow down, he'll take a piece of whatever we are feeding him, look at it, then us, then slowly move his hand to the right. To the edge of high chair tray, then over the edge, and then food soon lands on the floor. I can just imagine David saying to himself, "Do I want another slice of this hot dog? Mmmmmmmm, NO." Plop! "Do I want another slice of this cheddar cheese? Mmmmmmmm, Yes!" Gulp!

Of course, all this is soon followed up with, "How do I get this ketchup off my hands? I know, I'll rub it in my hair!"

Thankfully, we have a garden hose.

The other day, Julie was driving the kids to daycare or someplace, when she hears from the back seat, "Ow! What happened to my eye!" Now, David hasn't started to speak yet, so Julie turned her attention to Isabelle, who was squinting with great concern. It seems she had got a hair in her eye, which hadn't afflicted her to this degree yet before. So, we needed to take action....

Isabelle had her very first real haircut on Saturday! As you can see she was a little unsure about what Mary was doing, but she did great.

Now she finally has even bangs, and her hair is out of her eyes.

Here are just a few random pictures of the kids... We had a yard sale last week and the kids loved spending the whole day outside (it was a beautiful day, after many pretty hot ones...) We had a picnic lunch on the front lawn. Isabelle loves picnics.


Here's a picture of David being cute in his Elmo pjs. He's so cute. People are now saying he looks just like John.


And here's a picture of Isabelle eating chinese food with chopsticks. I don't think people believe me when I tell them that she really does eat with chopsticks. She won't eat chinese food any other way.

David had his 1 year Dr visit on September 8th. He weighs 25lbs 9 oz (11.6 kg) and is 32inches (81.25 cm) tall! What a big boy... and so brave. He didn't even seem to notice that he got shots! It appears that he's pretty much caught up developmentally, although he isn't saying any words yet. He's practicing sounds, and I don't think it will be long. His walking has improved and he enjoys practicing! He and Isabelle love chasing each other around the house. They both run around laughing and Isabelle says... "here comes trouble and double trouble!!" David is trying to run, but is not quite there yet.

Another big switch is that he has learned to go to sleep by himself... and happily does so!! I remember that Isabelle would have a really hard time and usually cried and ranted for 10 minutes on the dot before going to sleep. David used to really like to be held and we'd do the whole bounce and sway bit, but now he seems to like to just get in his bed and play then lays down among his animal friends and goes to sleep with no fuss. It's awesome! It also means that he sometimes wakes up early in the morning and sings and plays, but often goes back to sleep.

Both kids seem completely adjusted to daycare. Isabelle acts like the house is hers and just runs in to join in whatever is going on. David doesn't cry anymore when I am leaving or at random times when he misses us (sometimes at the end of the day, when he's hungry and other parents come and go before John gets there.) The day care provider, Noah, is awesome. Isabelle has made some frineds and wants to go "see the kids" even on weekends. I guess John and I are already chopped liver... does it really start this early????

It's been a long time since we posted!! Life has been busy! Here's a picture of Isabelle and David playing patty-cake. And a picture of Isabelle in David's bed with all of her critters. For some reason his bed is more fun to play in.

I went back to work full-time and we've put the kids in day-care part-time. It's been a good change for everyone, I think. Isabelle absolutely loves it there. She's made some friends and the change of environment is good. Every day she come home and tells us about her exciting day... riding in the wagon, playing with the blue sand, playing with the kids and the big momma kids (apparently nothing just big or small; it's big momma or baby sized). One day last week she and her friend Jesse ran around and played "funny faces" and chased each other, laughing for 45 minutes.



David seems to like it there too, although he is still at an age where he would like us to carry him around all day and snuggle. The people at daycare are very attentive to the kid's needs are are big on comforting when it's needed. David's not really at an age that he likes to play with toys with other kids, but he does crawl around chasing and laughing with Isabelle and seems to like the social part of daycare too. And the environment of the daycare is pretty similar to home, same kind of toys, same kind of music, books and most importantly, the way they interact with the kids jives with the way we do things. I think that was one big reason that Isabelle never really adjusted to the last daycare we had her in... the expectations were just too different.

I am so grateful to have had the last year to be home full-time with the kids. It was such and important year to be able to do that. Now though, I still get to be with them in the morning and John gets the evenings still. I make it home to kiss them good-night and get to spend a little more time with John. And we get to have weekends off together. So after all of that... yeah... good change.



A couple of weeks ago we went to Tahoe with John's family. Susan had found a house to rent for a week and we spent a few days visiting with everyone. The kids had a terrific time with all of the attention, but didn't sleep much. Even so, they were happy and fun and didn't melt down until we were about home. Two days away seems to be enough for them, and for us... we were all tired and glad to be home.

Above are a few pictures of the kids at the park in Tahoe. David likes climbing up the slides, which is good exercise for him, since he can't really slide dwon them very well yet, and isn't too steady walking. Isabelle played basketball with Aunt Susie and Uncle Greg.



We also celebrated David's first birthday in Tahoe!! He got lots of presents and clothes and had fun painting himself with chocolate cake!





Another milestone for David is that he started walking!!! His first steps were taken on August 13. When we were in Tahoe he took 9 steps. He is still practicing, of course, but is doing really well! He can walk holding something in his hands now... mostly he walks with that cute shoulders hunched, arms poised to shoot out and maintain balance posture that they start out with. He'll be running in no time.