Belly shots @ 34 weeks

My sister, Jennifer, did a great job taking some belly pics for us this past week. These were taken exactly at 34 weeks. So here are some of my favorites...

ELMO!

This past weekend we took Isabella to see an Elmo production- Elmo's Green Thumb. The local newscaster came up to the stage to introduce the show & asked everyone to yell out their favorite character when she counted down from five. Well when everyone yelled out, Isabella got scared (oops! Forgot to warn her about it being noisy!) & just started crying. Thankfully she settled down pretty quickly when the characters came out but she was still a bit nervous for about the first 5-10 minutes of the show (see picture of her digging her nails into my hand which then turned into her picking her finger nails & then she stopped altogether). Isabella loved the show and when you ask her about it the first thing she says is, "I want to go again!"

Round Two update

Everything seems to be going well with this pregnancy. I am 31 weeks... so getting close but yet it seems so far away! I'm growing bigger & bigger everyday it seems & my energy is zapped most of the time fairly quickly! At my midwife appointment today, she confirmed that Jackson is head down so I am hopeful that he stays that way! He is very active... I'm pretty sure he is a lot more active than Isabella was. He is always moving around this way & that & I see limbs move across my belly throughout the day. I hope this is not any indication of his energy level when he arrives- I've been hearing lots of things about high energy boys! ;-)

And here is my big 'ol belly shot at 30 weeks-

Isabella is 2 1/2!!!

It is hard to believe that Isabella is 2.5! We're half way to three... time flies! Isabella continues to amaze us with all she learns on a daily basis. It is so fun to see. She continues to love to be read to & has taken a liking to classic stories like goldilocks & the three bears, three little pigs, the gingerbread man, etc. She likes to pretend to read & she will open the book & say, "once upon a time..."

traveling to AR to visit granny & grandpa- stopped to eat lunch & Isabella loved jumping on the picnic benches.

Our only snow fall this winter (thus far).... Isabella loved it! Mommy was too wussy to go out in it so Daddy took her for a walk & to play. She found her sunglasses just shortly before going outside & had a renewed interest in them... that is why she is wearing them- not b/c it is excessively bright. :)

Isabella is learning so much, it is so hard to keep up with everything she learns on a daily basis. She knows her alphabet, can count to 16 or 17 (depending on the day!), and she knows all her basic shapes & colors. She has a memory that is better than mine... which isn't saying much, but she can remember things very well! It surprises us a lot of the time.

We also enjoy all the funny things that come out of her mouth. It is so hard to remember them all, but we try! One day I was telling her not to do something and she says to me, "Don't be grumpy at me, Mom" Another day Mike was trying to get her settled down in her bed and through tears she told him she was "sad" (she uses this one a lot). When he asked her why she was sad, she said, "because mommy & daddy tell me what to do!" Awww, poor Isabella! She can be very dramatic. Sometimes when we try to get her to settle down from crying unnecessarily she'll tell us, "I just want to cry! I sad!" I'll have to do better at remembering more because she says some pretty funny things almost daily!

Christmas 2008

Isabella got some princess dress up clothes from grandma & papa for Christmas. She is loving all things princess & has fun dressing up as one! The princess fascination was all her doing after seeing a preview for the movie "twelve dancing princesses". Ever since then it has been princess this or princess that.

Boxes are still a lot of fun!

This is the coat Laura got for Isabella for Christmas in the Netherlands- so pretty!

We took the carriage ride through a park here in Midwest City to see the light display. We had done it last year as well but this year was much more exciting for Isabella!

Trips to granny & grandpa's

Since our last update we've been to visit granny & grandpa a couple times, the last time was this February. Isabella always has a fun time visiting & she loves to play with the cats!

Isabella with granny in her new Christmas outfit.

Opening early Christmas presents when we visited for Thanksgiving.

Isabella's new room

I've been working on Isabella's new room for several weeks. Being pregnant I can't do as much at one time as I'd like to. We kept it a surprise from her & didn't show her until it was completely finished. She was excited & loves her new room. We have kept her in a crib for the time being but this crib will turn into a toddler bed, day bed & then a full sized bed. So we'll wait til she is ready to make the transition & not do it just b/c baby is coming.

The board with the flower & butterflies that says "bloom" is a growth chart.

The chair folds out into a bed.