The Great State Fair of Oklahoma 2011

Isabella loves the fair. Correction... Isabella loves the rides at the fair.

This year, when we heard that Toy Story 3 on Ice was going to be coming along w/ the fair, we had to buy tickets. Jackson has been obsessed with Toy Story for awhile and we knew he'd love it. We got pretty close seats and we were right up close to the rink. Isabella was acting like a teenager- grumpy because she no longer wanted to see Toy Story but rather wanted to start riding the rides. (After the show, she said she only liked the intro w/ Minnie & Mickey & nothing else.)

Jackson was quite mesmerized by the show and watched it all pretty closely. We were glad to see the claw in the show, that is one of Jackson's favorite parts.

We then ate lunch (which I was happy to find a place with wraps for me and grilled cheese for the kids!) and then we were off to ride the rides! We weren't sure how Jackson would do so we put him on the little dragon roller coaster with Bella to see if we should buy a wristband or just a few tickets. Turns out, he enjoys the rides as much as Isabella! Jackson and Isabella ended up riding quite a bit together and they both had lots of fun. Unfortunately it was pretty hot and sunny so after a bit of riding, Jackson was hot and tired. So Mike took Jackson to look at the animals and Isabella and I took off to ride a bunch of rides together. I picked the first ride (which was a mistake), the Gravitron. Now this is the ride where you lean up against the wall, the spaceship like ride spins really fast, and then the wall slides up & you are pressed against it and off the floor. Isabella did not like this ride one bit. She actually cried & wanted to get off. Of course we were stuck so I did my best to calm her down (didn't work) while we endured the ride. When we finally got off, she said she hated it and that I was not allowed to pick any more of the rides. So I learned my lesson! She picked all the rest of the rides and did fine with them all... even other spinning, bigger kid rides. Just not the gravitron! It was all fun for me because it has been so long since I've been on a real ride and it was fun to see Isabella have such a good time. 

We checked out some animals and then went into the butterfly tent where the kids got to have butterflies climb on their hands. Then we headed home (much to Isabella's dismay and a huge fit did follow). We were hot, a little sunburned, and TIRED!

Happy Birthday Song (Isabella's 5th)

Isabella's 5th Candy Land Birthday Party

Isabella is really into sweets (although they are limited) and so she was super excited to have a Candy Land birthday Party. (She also likes to play the game, too!)

Here is the invite that I made for Isabella. If I had my way, it would have just been the one w/ her picture. But she wanted to have the cartoon one from the game & I couldn't talk her out of it. She didn't even want one with her picture on it. So we compromised & had a 2 sided invite... one side was her pick & the other side was mine. :)

I had a lot of fun with the decorations although it was a little work. ;o) We had a candy bar/buffet with a lot of candy (& we have a lot left over! We'll be in candy for a loooong time to come!). We made large scale lollipops with balloons, wrapping paper tubes, & cellophane. I made the candy land trail with construction paper from the front door to the living room. We made large scale hard candies by wrapping 2 plates in cellophane and we hung these up around the house. And then of course we included Isabella's yearly photos which we hung up above the fireplace with the lollipop labels marking her age in each picture.

We had a couple activities for the kids and one game. The kids made King Kandy Castles out of graham crackers (non-hydrogated oil ones ;o), ice cream cones, frosting, & sprinkles/candy. They were not all very structurally sound but I think we managed eventually to get them to stand up right. The other activity was making necklaces out of Cascadian Farms Fruitful O's cereal (did you know that regular fruit loops has hydrogenated oils in them?!?!). Our game was playing musical candy land- we had the candly land squares in a circle & the kids walked around in a circle to the "Lollipop" song & when the music stopped they had to stand on a square. The one that didn't have a square was out. A little side note on this game... I had talked to Isabella beforehand about this game. She really wanted to play it but I told her that she might not win & if she didn't win we couldn't have any kind of fit or crying or we just wouldn't play it. Well that little warning didn't make any difference because when Isabella was kicked out of the game she burst into tears. Mike took her to her room to calm her down. It was pretty silly (to me, anyway) because she already got a big sucker (which was also the prize for the winner) just for being the birthday girl. But when I reminded her of this she informed me that she was hoping to have 2 suckers!

My Mom did a wonderful job once again at creating a fabulous cake that was also very yummy! Isabella loved it & had been looking forward to eating the frosting filled ice cream cone! I will post her birthday song video soon... Isabella was very sweet in wanting her brother to help her blow out her candles.

Our friends & family that helped Isabella celebrate her special day!

Posing for pictures after the party-

I think the party was a big success and Isabella had a great time (with the one little not winning game exception)! I had a lot of fun planning & preparing but I am glad the parties are done with for this year! I need a break!! :)

Isabella is 5!

I know this is coming a bit late... but at least not a full month late yet!

Isabella turned 5 on Saturday August 6th, 2011! I cannot believe I have a 5 year old! She has grown up so fast. Isabella is sweet, sassy, particular, dramatic, sensitive, silly, creative, inquisitive, & so much more! She loves to dance (especially to the Nutcracker but will make up dances to any music). She loves to watch Scooby Doo & the Nutcracker (how is that for a good mix?!?!). She loves to pretend & she has a few imaginary fairies that live in a small castle in her room. She likes to bring them along to various things, she plays with them, and she wants to make real food to feed to them! Oh & that is another thing... Isabella loves to be creative in the kitchen. She doesn't want to follow a recipe, she wants to make her own recipes. A couple things she has made have been peanut butter mixed with sesame seeds, garlic salt spice mixed with sesame seeds, and BBQ seasoning mixed with sesame seeds (I think she might be on a sesame seed kick!). She has made treats for the dogs which have been things such as treats frozen in water smeared with peanut butter. Right now she is tearing up some leaves from my sweet potato vine (I accidentally broke off a branch) & mixing them up with a dog treat to give to them. So funny!

We have started homeschooling Isabella this month and also have joined a homeschool co-op which we go to every Tuesday from 830-230p. She is in various classes in the co-op including science, pre-reading, health/safety/manners, music, & PE. So far it's going well! Jackson & I are there all day in the 2/3 year old room and we all get to eat lunch together so that is really nice.

Isabella and her brother continue to have a like/dislike relationship. Some times they play & get along really well. They can be so sweet to each other... giving kisses, sharing, & taking care of one another. Other times it is nearly World War 3! Mostly yelling, pushing, & pinching but every once in awhile Jackson will bite Isabella or Isabella will scratch Jackson (bringing about blood). I have decided to read up on some ways to help them get along better more often... so we'll see how that goes!

Isabella is done with dance and swim lessons (I need to post her swim lesson photos/videos from this summer! She made such great progress this year!!) & is now in gymnastics. She requested to go back to gymnastics & is liking it well so far. Jackson goes too at the same time for a parent/child class.

I can't give any stats on weight/height at this point, we are scheduled pretty far out for our well child visit. But I can say that she is growing! This fall I bought her size 6 pants b/c last winter her 5T was a bit short. She is in size 9.5/10 shoe & 5 in tops & dresses. Isabella continues to be our good eater although she does like to complain about this & that... I guess she has realized she has an opinion about things! She LOVES candy (Candy land party pictures coming up next) but we do limit her to small sweet snacks only after lunch & dinner (if she finished her meal). We have relaxed quite a bit on this since she hadn't had any sugary snack until she was nearly 2! But we do still opt for real sugar & no HFCS or hydrogenated oils.

Isabella shortly after birth

 Isabella's picture from the hospital

Isabella posing for her 5th bday party invite

Isabella on her actual birthday, just before her party started

We're so excited to see what this next year holds & to watch her continue to grow in so many ways! We love you, Isabella!!

Wine Making

Mike had gotten me a wine making kit for Christmas but I hadn't realized that you need a lot of equipment to make the wine from the kit. So for Mother's Day he got me all the equipment. I set to work making my fruit wine. Surprisingly I had a little helper throughout the whole 4 week process- Isabella! I thought it a little odd that she was so excited to help make something she couldn't even enjoy but she helped with every step! I was a bit worried about how the wine would turn out when the directions said it should stay around 65 degrees seeing that it is the middle of summer & my house doesn't get below 73 degrees (which is at night!) and usually is around 76 degress. So I alternated ice packs around the carboy (the big glass jug it sits in) & hoped for the best. When it came time to bottle, it ended up making 29 bottles of wine (the kit said 30 but I didn't skim very low when transfering it into bottles in order to avoid the sediment). And thankfully it tastes pretty good so the temp must not have effected it too much. I look forward to making more wines in the future but will probalby wait until the temps cool a bit so maybe I can keep it cool in the garage. I want to try some not so sweet wines next!

Arkansas Trip Summer 2011

We FINALLY made it over to Camden, AR to visit Grandpa & Granny! We had planned to go at Thanksgiving but then Isabella got pink eye. We then planned to go again at the beginning of the year but then the roads were icy. So finally it worked out for us over the July 4th weekend. We had a really great visit & the kids enjoyed being spoiled by Grandpa & Granny. They loved playing out on the back porch... with bubbles, chalk, & a bucket of soapy water. In a few of these pictures the kids are enjoying some yummy watermelon Granny cut up for them. We are already looking forward to the next trip!

Jackson's 2 yo well baby check

We had Jackson's 2 year old well baby check on June 20th (which was about a month and a half late). Dr. Morrow said that Jackson was looking really great & healthy. (We are really thankful to not have had any illnesses in a while!)  He measured above average on developmental things including speech.  Jackson did super well for his exam and was very cooperative. He even answered Dr. Morrow's question about where he slept saying, "mmmm bed".  And she could hardly believe that sometimes Jackson is mean! As far as his stats go, it appears our little Jackson is a little short. :) Maybe he'll take after my Dad with short legs. ;o) He weighed in at 30lbs 2 oz which is about the 75% and his height is 34 1/4" which is about the 25%. His head was 19 1/4" which is 50-75%.  We're so happy to have such a healthy, growing boy!

Another recent happening in our house is that Jackson is no longer nursing.  We were down to just nursing before nap and nothing would distract him from it! Well, I had a doctors appointment during nap time on the 24th of June so Mike put Jackson down to nap. The very next day when I went to put him down for a nap, he was excited about a new library book that he didn't even mention nursing (normally he points to the chair & says, "me, me" & that is him meaning he wants to sit there & nurse). Day after day it went on this way w/ him wanting to read his books from the library. Then on the 28th he did say "me, me" & point to the chair at nap time but I quickly grabbed a book & said, "don't you want to read this book?" and he did. So he hasn't nursed since the 23rd and I consider him weaned. My belief that gentle child led weaning is the right thing to do is confirmed again with Jackson (confirmed for the first time with Isabella just before she turned 2). I was slightly doubtful b/c it didn't seem like he was ever going to give it up but it really had to do with when he was ready.