Wonderfully Made

To my daughter, 

You are perfect. I’m not saying this because I believe you are are faultless or always have the best behavior. I say you are perfect because you are made in His image, beautifully assembled by Him and there is not one single thing about you that happened by accident. 

God designed you and everything about you was made with a specific purpose in mind. From your nose to your toes, he thought of everything and designed each and every part of you uniquely. You are wonderfully made in His image. Please remember that as you grow and become the beautiful girl he planned you to be. 

As you get older, you will begin to hear and see things from the world… the world compares others, criticizes others and calls out our so called ‘imperfections’ but just remember… God does not make imperfections – You ARE Wonderfully Made. 

Remember when you look in the mirror that true beauty comes from within, assess your heart not your outward appearance. Beginning at such a young age, I can see your loving and caring heart blossoming at every milestone. You are such a blessing, wonderfully made and everything about you was perfectly designed. 

Love you,

Momma

At Nearly 15 Months...

You love...

• Running down the hall way shouting "ahhhhhhhhhhhh" as you run with your arms pulled back behind your back as if you are getting ready to take off in flight like an airplane.
• Your Minnie Mouse train
• Boxes. You love to push the diaper box down the hallway or around the dining room table and you especially love to get inside the box. We pretend its a car and push you up and down the hallway. You say "wee" and "vroom." It's a lot of fun and a great work out for mom and dad.
• Your dog. You get so excited when you see Bella and you love to say her name.
• Eating noodles. You love any type of pasta and any pasta sauce. It's always messy, but I love seeing your smiling face with spaghetti sauce on your nose and all over your face.
• Shoes! Shoes are your favorite. You love to say "shoes" and you love to wear shoes. Sometimes you even cry to put them on or fuss at me when I take them off. You especially love your silver sparkle shoes.
• Books. This is a new love of yours. In the past you haven't been that interested in reading books, but now, you love to grab a book and read before bed time.
• The Five Little Monkeys Song

Daddy duty

Dear Isla,

I’ll be spending my first consecutive days/nights away from you this week for a work trip. I know you are going to be in great care with your daddy by night and school by day. Honestly it will probably be harder on me than it will be for you.

As you are growing out of your baby ways and moving into toddlerhood you have become a better sleeper.  Don’t get me wrong, you still put up a flight – some nights are easier than others – but for the most part, you are going down easier and sleeping better. 

You’re also eating better too. You love to feed yourself using a spoon or fork, but you also LOVE to get messy dunking your hands into your bowl and squishing your dinner in between your fingers. I love the expressions you make at dinner time, the way you smile at me with food rubbed in your hair, on your nose and all over you beautiful cheeks. It’s one of my favorite times of the day – besides the morning when you usually greet me with a sweet smile. 

I’ll miss spending breakfast and dinner with you, bath-time, snuggling and reading books and also those sweet smiles and hugs in the morning, but I know you are going to have so much fun with your da-da and I’m going to get the sweetest welcome home from you when I return. 

I love you,

Mommy

Isla goes to the Zoo!

On Sunday, we took Isla to the zoo for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect as the stroller has not been her best friend in the past.

To sum up the trip, she LOVED it! She was as content as I've ever seen her in the stroller all day. She didn't squirm, fuss or even want out.

Her favorite exhibit was the bears. They put on a show for us! They walked along the rocks right in front of us, in plain site for Isla to see. They moved their lips and paws up and down, splashed and jumped in the water and shook all over. Isla screamed out in excitement and pointed to them over and over again. She really got the most excited at this exhibit.

She called all the animals with a tail a dog. She would yell out, "daaaw" and we would correct her saying, no Isla that's a zebra or no Isla, that's an elephant... and she would say, "No, daaaw." It was so cute.

Later that evening while we were giving her a bath, Joel asked her what does a dog say and she responded, "moooooo." Haha - we got some work to do on our animal names and sounds, but she loves all things bears!  

Isla 14 Months

Happy 14 months baby girl… or should I say my little toddler.

To me you will always be my baby girl. I’m learning to accept that you have now transitioned into toddler-hood. I think it’s safe to say you are more ready to grow up than I am to accept you are growing up! 

You have changed so much over the past 2 months. You are talking a ton, super silly and goofy, love laughing and especially love to put on a show… you love all the attention – such a ham!

• You love to stack and un-stack block
• You are starting to like to read books more
• LOVE to brush your teeth (you actually cry for your tooth brush at night and in the mornings)
• Love shoes…everyone’s shoes actually… especially those of others. You like to wear your dad’s shoes around the house. It’s so cute!
• You love frilly dresses and getting dressed up.
• You still love to be chased around the house
• And recently, you LOVE giving Bella hugs. You get so excited when you see her.

Your little personality is bigger than ever and I am so very grateful to be your momma! Thank you for all the laughter you have given to us. Let the giggles keep coming!