Christmas with Elmo

Isla is Elmo crazy! This year we got her a pair of Elmo pajamas, a Sesame Street themed kitchen set and my mom got her a stuffed Elmo. She's also crazy about Barney and loves her Barney movie that Gigi got her. Every day she wants to watch Elmo and Barney. We have to limit her TV time with these two or she would watch it all day! Luckily we have Elmo books, stickers and coloring pages too. I feel like our house is exploding with Elmo... but it's a super fun stage! It makes me curious to see what the next stage will be.... maybe Disney princesses or super heroes. Isla is such a fun special girl! Every stage has opened our eyes even more to the blessing that she is.

Here's a few of our favorite's from Christmas 2013...

19 months going on 9 yrs old...

Isla loves the older kids. She likes watching older children, playing with them and doing exactly what they do. I've seen this in her from a very young age. When she first started daycare at 6 months old, her eyes would always go straight towards the three year olds when we would walk in and as soon as she could crawl... she crawled to them, sat with them and watched their every move.

It makes me think about the future. If she'll remain like this for her entire childhood...always wanting to be like the older kids (just like I did) and not wanting to wait to grow up.

Lately, she likes to play like she is leaving. She gets her "purse", mommy or daddy's keys, and toy phone and heads for the door. She comes up to me and Joel and says, "bye" as she puckers her lips for a kiss. What a glimpse into the future. I think we are going to have our hands full for many years to come with this special girl!

The Joys of 18 Months...

The Joys of 18 Months:

• You love to snuggle - FINALLY! I've wanted to snuggle with you ever since I first learned I was pregnant, but you've never been big on cuddles. If I tried to stroke your head or rub your back after you fell asleep, you would immediately wake up. You needed your space as you slept... but at 18 months, you LOVE to snuggle. You scoot close to me, place your forehead against mine and wrap your arm around me as I hold and pat you to sleep. It makes me love co-sleeping even more. 
• You are talking - A LOT! You are pretty much saying anything and everything under the sun. You love to repeat mommy, so I am very cautious and accountable for the words I speak (which I've grown to love). 
• You are a singer. You love to sing songs and sing-a-long with me. You especially love the "Cousin Song" we made up where we sing all your cousins names. You also love 5 Little Monkeys, all though sometimes you ask me to change it up and sing, 5 Little Doggies, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Alphabet Song and 10 Bears in the Bed. You also love your Good Morning Song, which you actually taught to me!
• You are very silly - and FUNNY! Your dad and I crack up laughing at you constantly and you love to make us laugh. You like to hide behind the door way to the kitchen and peep your little head around to surprise us. You like to dance silly and play Ready, Set, GOOOOO! You love to be chased, thrown in the air and tickled. You also love to tickle us - instead of tickle, you say..."giggle, giggle, giggle." It's so cute!
• Your favorite pretend game is to play night night with your babies, or really any item you can find. You lay them down, cover them up with a blanket, sock, tissue, or anything you can find and pat (or beat) their backs saying - "night night baby....LAY DOWN!" It's definitely humbling hearing your parenting come from your toddler's mouth. 

Each month we enjoy you more and more and I thank God for blessing us with you daily! You are such a light. We love you.

xo, 

mommy

Isla Prefers the Reindeer...

Isla was a ball of energy this weekend! She was running wide open throughout the day and crashed before 6pm both Saturday and Sunday... must be all the talking she is doing that is wearing her out! She says nearly everything these days and repeats everything too. She carries on conversations with herself, her toys, friends and sometimes me. :)

This weekend, we took her to see Santa. We really talked Santa up all weekend. We watched Santa cartoons, played with Santa ornaments and looked up different pictures of Santa. She loved talking about Santa and the idea of seeing Santa.... but she did NOT like Santa. Not even a little... She was actually terrified of him when it came her turn, so much so that she kicked Santa in the knee!

She did however love the gift that Santa gave her and she told him, "thank you."

We'll try again next year. Merry Christmas!

Isla Rae's 18 months old!

Happy 1/2 Birthday to my sweet Isla Rae!

The months have flown by and I can't believe how much you have grown and developed. You are such a smart little girl, yes little girl... I'm beginning to admit you are not a baby anymore, but you will ALWAYS be my little baby no matter how old you get.

You love to read books now, and your daddy and I love to read to you. You have your favorite ones and The Hungry Caterpillar continues to rank high on your list.

You are talking.... A LOT! You can pretty much say anything you want and love to repeat me. 

You love to sing your cousins names, and you especially love to say Harleigh's name!

I love to hear you say, "meeeeer Bella, meeeer."

It's so cute to watch you play with her. You love to play nite nite....but you hate to go nite nite... ironic.

You tell Bella, Elmo, your babies and me to go nite nite and cover us all up. You have a great imagination. You love to pretend.

We have so much fun together and I can't wait to see what the next year holds for us my sweet sweet girl. I love you so much!



xo,
Mommy

Big Girl!

On November 4th, the big 17 month milestone, Isla decided she was going to use the potty for the very first time!

We had been practicing for a while on her Elmo potty that her Aunt Heidi and Kamm cousins had given her as a gift. She loves to sit on it and pretend to potty so she can then flush and hear Elmo shout, "Hooray!"

I recently gave her a book about going on the potty too. She loves to hit the button on the book and hear the potty flush. Every time she hits the button and hears the flush she claps and cheers.

I was cooking dinner on Monday when Isla ran in the kitchen, shouted and signed, "potty!"

I didn't really think she was going to do anything because normally when she tells us she needs to potty, she has already gone, but we ran to the bathroom anyways.

When we got there, she hadn't done anything yet. I stripped her down and set her up on the potty. She sit there knocking her knees together and smiled at me. It had only been a minute when she reached back, flushed the potty and stood up.

I asked her if she was all done, thinking she didn't really need to go and then to my surprise... I saw the smallest little poo ever! I got so excited clapping, cheering and exclaiming what she had done. She was excited too... so excited she reached down and picked it up!!!

I knew at that moment, I couldn't freak out, so I kept on cheering and told her to put it back. I told her good job, but next time... let's not pick it up.

Since then she has gone three times. She mostly tells us when she needs to poo. She hasn't gone at school yet, but we're continuing to work with her and I think our Elmo potty at home is helping a lot, because she is crazy about Elmo.

We're looking forward to many more hilarious potty stories and hoping that this is the last time we have to ask her to put it back.

Letters to Isla Rae - 17 months

Dear Isla Rae,

You are 17 months today and wow - how you have changed - in just the last week! I can tell such a difference in your little, or big rather, personality since you moved up to the Toddler 2 class at school.

You are talking more. You pretty much repeat everything I say...especially the last word in my sentences. You are very happy. In fact, "happy" is your favorite word. You are super curious. You love to read books and you will even sit down and pretend to read on your own now. Its so cute to see you pointing to the pages and humming little words...especially when you are holding the book upside down! You are obsessed with your pink kitty pajamas. They have cats on the feet of them and you cry every time we change your diaper or have to take them off for any reason... I'm not sure if I would even call it a cry, you actually scream and have a total melt down. You absolutely LOVE those PJs. We're going to need to find a back-up pair!

You are super loving and love to hug (which I especially love!). You're starting to get more into girly things, even more than before. You love hair bows, sparkly shoes and clothes and to put dresses on. Your favorite food is pasta and cheese of course. Your still somewhat of a picky eater, but I believe it's only because you currently have 4 molars popping their way through on the top and bottom of your gums! They are actually cut through so I think it's safe to say you now have 12 teeth! Your favorite character is Elmo, but you still love Barney and you love to sing the Barney theme song. It's adorable to hear your little voice singing. You are playing on your own more and more and very content these days. You love to play with your little wooden dollhouse and dolls. It's cute to watch you put the baby to bed and pretend like the dolls are kissing one another. You have the sweetest heart and I can tell you are going to be a very loving girl.

You amaze me everyday and make me excited for each and every day. Can't wait to see what you will accomplish this month!

Love,
Mommy