Almost 2....

Isabelle loves kitty cats lately...she calls them "meows"

Here we go Steelers!

Isabelle absolutely loves when I push a chair up to the counter and let her "help" me :)

Adores her big cousin Karli...this was taken after we went to the Dixie Stampede, they had a blast!

I can't believe that in a little over a month, my baby girl will be 2 years old!! It can't be true!! As this bittersweet moments nears, I can't help but to reflect on how much she has grown up this past year. She is talking like crazy, she'll repeat you and say anything you ask her to. She's putting several words together now and she's doing really well with her numbers and letters. She loves to dance and sing songs, and she's really starting to develop an imagination. I feel like I say this about every age, but I'm really enjoying her at the age she is now and so wish that I could freeze time! We have so much fun playing together and she is constantly making us laugh. However, the "terrible twos" are definitely rearing their head, but we're dealing with it :) She's definitely a very strong willed child (aparantly I was the same way at her age!) but she has a very sweet and sensitive side as well. We thank the Lord every day for our precious Isabelle

Trip to Erie

Riding on the train through the Erie Zoo, Isabelle loved it, she kept saying

choo choo!!

We spent one day at the Erie Zoo with some of Jeremy's cousins. Izzy's really into animals right now so she really like it, especially the monkeys.

This is Jeremy's cousin's little girl , Lilly. She is 3 weeks older than Isabelle, but much taller! They had a lot of fun playing together.

One day we took a ferry on Lake Erie, we had a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful

I love this picture, Isabelle is waiting patiently on the pier for the boat to arrive

Back in August we drove up to Erie, Pa to bring Jeremy's mom back home and visit Jeremy's family for a few days. The drive wasn't bad. We recently got an '08 Nissan Pathfinder so it was a pretty comfortable trip and Isabelle did really great. We were busy most of the time visiting people and going to places around Erie, but we had a really nice time. It's so important to us that Izzy gets to see her extended family whenever she can as she's growing up. She was really well behaved had a great time!

Playdates, Parties, and Beach!

The Kalukas came to Myrtle Beach with Miranda's family. The kids got to play at the beach one day. One rainy day, Miller and Miranda came over for a playdate.

Isabelle stopping for a snack break at the beach one day

Isabelle helping her friend Gigi open presents at Gigi's 2nd birthday party.

Isabelle and her BFF, Gigi!

Isabelle had a playdate one day with her friend Annorah. We went to a children's museum, the girls had a blast!

Isabelle has had so much fun this summer. In between trips out of town to visit family, we have spent a lot of time at the beach, the pool, and hanging out with friends. She is at such a fun age now and really enjoys playing with other kids. Can't believe summer's almost over!

New York Trip

In the beginning of July Jeremy, Isabelle and I flew to New York for 9 days. Our first stop was Albany where we stayed a few days with my brother Thomas, his wife Elise, and their two kids Thomas and Leah. We had such a great time just hanging out with them. It was SOO hot up their, so we spent a lot of time at their local pool and in the baby pool in the backyard. For July 4th we went to Elise's parents' lake house to barbecue and play in the lake. I love my brother and his family sooo much and wish we could spend more time with them. However, I'll take what I can get, and we really enjoyed our visit with them. The kids got along real well and had so much fun playing together. From there, we went to my parents' house for a few days. We hung out at the house, went out to eat, and did some shopping. One day, Isabelle stayed home with my mom, and Jeremy, my dad, and I went to West Point and did a bus tour. In all the years I lived up there, I've visited West Point, but never did the tour. It was really interesting, and it was a beautiful day. Our last day in New York, we drove down to Long Island to go to my friend Danielle's baby shower. She's expecting her first baby at the end of August. My good friends Casey and Danielle were there as well. We all talk often and see each other whenever we can, but it was so neat to have the four of us together. By the time we flew home, we were all completely exhausted. We had a wonderful time, but it was very busy with a lot of traveling. Isabelle was such a good girl, she slept well, ate well and was pretty well behaved the whole time. We're so thankful we had a safe, fun trip!

Isabelle loved Mamaw and Papaw's porch swing

The whole gang!

Me and Izzy floatin' in the lake

My sister-in-law Elise and sweet baby Thomas

Leah and Isabelle playing in the water, Izzy loved the baby :)

Isabelle, Leah and Thomas in their 4th of July gear

Dad and Jeremy posing with cardboard cadets at West Point

Family shot while out at a restaurant

Isabelle hanging with the girls

Old Friends : )

Meeting Miss Ellie

Isabelle and Miller having a picnic on the kitchen floor

Pretty Ellie....love those thighs!

All 3 kids happened to just be in a diaper at one time, so we grabbed a shot

Isabelle playing on the arcade games after her first movie

Me and Ellie Belly!

About 3 weeks ago we finally got to meet Ellie! We had been trying for months to make the trip up to see that sweet little girl, but every time we were actually able to coordinate our schedules something would always happen...a child gets sick, someone comes into town,etc. So, things finally lined up right and off we went. Ellie is such a sweet and adorable little girl. We had so much fun playing with her. I couldn't get enough of those chubby cheeks and thighs!! Miller and Isabelle had lots of fun playing together and Isabelle actually got to see her first movie. A local movie theater does free movies for kids on Wednesday mornings so we packed up the kids and off we went. They lasted about 30 min before getting too antsy which wasn't bad for a 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 yr. old. It was a short little visit, but we had a really nice time. Thanks Jesse and Miranda for putting us up for the night, we had a great time and we love your beautiful little family : )

5 years

Stroll on the marsh walk

Out to dinner where we had our first date!

About mid July marks 5 years since Jeremy and I started dating. On our first date, Jeremy took me to this romantic little Italian restaurant called Old World. We had a wonderful time that night...and obviously things worked out for us! Memorial Day weekend we both had off together and decided to take Isabelle and have dinner at that same restaurant. Wow...what a difference 5 years makes! Here we are, married almost 3 years with a precious 1 1/2 yr old baby girl! It's been such a wonderful 5 years. I still tease Jeremy how he only ate about 1/2 of his dinner that night, and I remember thinking, wow for a big guy he doesn't eat much...boy was I wrong! He admits he was nervous that night and that's why he didn't eat much. Once his true colors really came out, I now can say he eats more than anyone I know!! We had a wonderful time having dinner as a family, followed by a nice stroll on the marsh walk.

Hair!!!

This one's a real good shot of her mullet!

Pigtails....yay!

My bald little girl is finally starting to get some hair!! Recently, the back of her hair has been long enough to put in pigtails and she looks like such a big girl. The top of her hair, however, is still thin but it's getting there. When her hair's not fixed, she's definitely sporting a mullet! I can't bear to cut the back, so I'm just waiting for it to even out. I love having a little girl and really look forward to fixing her hair more in the future!