November...

24.5 weeks

Isla and Dad, all beautified.

showing her Oiler pride

helping decorate

us.

gearing up to frolic in the freshly fallen snow.

our little reindeer.

giving Santa some love.

loving her "be-bo" in her new Christmas jammies.

The Things I am Crushing On...

As the birth of Annie draws closer and closer, we are slowly starting to design and put together Annie's room. I have been spending an unusual amount of time on Etsy... shopping, dreaming and wishing.
Here are 3 stores I am crushing on:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWoodenOwl - we purchased a custom made Owl clock for her bedroom... should be here soon! Yippee!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HopSkipJumpPaper - the little signs are adorable. I just fell in love.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LilypadLaneDesigns - the ABC garland is just too much cuteness for me.

We haven't purchased much, but I am hoping Cam will let me splurge a little on some cute things to complete the nursery. We'll see.

Small Isla

Today while Peanut was napping, I decided to look at some old photos of her when she was a new baby. I can hardly believe she was ever that small... that delicate, that pure, that helpless and that trusting. She still is all those wonderful things, but she's growing up... and fast, which unfortunately means an inevitable loss of innocence, that first devastating hurt when someone breaks her heart, that first blow when someone betrays her. As her mom, I just want to protect her, and Annie, from all of these things but I can't. I can just be the best mom I can and raise my girls with integrity and self confidence and be there for them in a real, non-judgmental, sincere, loving way. I digress... a little, but as I stare at these images, I can fast forward my life 20 years and envision myself doing the same thing. She just looks so content... so beautiful and untouched. I love her. And I continue to aspire to be a better Mom... day in and day out, I pray that I am everything she needs. Always.

so dreamy.

 safe and protected in the arms of someone who loves her most of all.

love.

ps - sorry for the unveiling of the heart here... must be the preggo hormones making me all emotional and nostalgic. 

Happy Halloween!

This year's Halloween festivities were quite fun! Isla is getting old enough to be excited about things. She was SO loving her costume and wanted to wear it all the time! She was walking around saying "Tick or Teat" all day! We were practicing... by the end of our evening, she was yelling it at each door! So cute! 

On Friday night, we did a little pumpkin carving... however, Isla was a little weary of the "gunk". She doesn't like 'mess' on her hands, so she just sat with daddy and watched him. She joined in by adding her touch to our pumpkin's face

On Halloween night, we headed over to Chris and Nicole's place to do a little trick-or-treating with them and Isla's cousins, Maddie and Kenzie. Isla was a little slower then those girls, but we had a blast! Isla lasted about 15 houses and got quite the loot that we added to her potty basket... not before picking out our favorites however (Caramilk anyone?). She had an absolute blast but boy, was she ever tuckered out at the end of it. We ended our evening with a visit to Nana & Popi's place for a little Kit Kat and some photo ops. Already looking forward to next year... what shall our 2 little ladies be? 

Kenzie the Snow Tiger, Isla the Giraffe and Maddie, the Black Cat.

best. shot. ever.

note the chocolatey drool...

and Isla's 'too much sugar' face.

And, just for funsies, last year... Isla the Peacock.

Potty Training

So Isla is almost 22 months old (where did the time go, honestly) and with Annie's arrival vast approaching, there is nothing I would love more than Isla being potty trained... one girl in panties and one girl in diapers sounds much more appealing then changing 2 poopy bums everyday... plus Isla is really loving becoming a 'big girl' and discovering her independence. She has been telling us for weeks now when she has to "poo-poo" and has been going on the potty for number 2 for a little while now. We bought her a little Sesame Street potty that sits on top of the toilet so she doesn't fall in. She often just enjoys sitting on the potty, reading books and getting a good feel for it. We have read her several books SEVERAL times about using a potty and she seems both excited and ready to be a full blown potty user.

We decided to do two things: I went to the dollar store with Isla and let her pick out a basket. I then filled the basket with several treats; crafts, books, toy cars, a slinky, stickers, hair clips, tattoos and candy. We have explained to her that this is her "potty basket". Whenever she goes successfully on the potty, poop or pee, she can pick ONE treat from her basket. She is very excited about this. Also, Cam and I decided to make her a 'potty chart'. It is taped up in our bathroom where she can see it. Every time she successfully goes on the potty, we mark it on the chart and she gets to place a sticker inside the toilet bowl.

(just for fun... such a cute picture of my lady)

Here is hoping...

Crafty Things

First, a non-craft thing:
Isla LOVES books. She is obsessed. She loves being read to and her latest bit is grabbing books, saying "Me, Me, Me" and climbing into her reading chair to peruse the books at her leisure. The other day, she was wearing her new winter boots (which of course, she loves) and I found her in her chair like this:

 *note the boots.

lift the flap ones are top notch in her books (no pun intended... haha)

warms the heart.

Crafty things next: for those of you who know me well know that I am NOT creative nor talented in really any kind of way. Several of my close friends have very obvious talents and for that, I am envious. I, however, do not. I have accepted this. Sort of. But with Annie coming, I have been inspired to branch out a little and do some new things. Now, baby steps people. I am not all of a sudden Martha Stewart, but I have been dipping my fingers in some creative juices for Annie's room and I must say... I am thoroughly enjoying it. Here are a couple things I am working on: 

 letters to hang in Annie's room... now, I am not done yet. I plan on adding some detail to the black letters with the hot pink paint... I tried stenciling but alas, it failed. I am open to any suggestions besides free hand... remember... not talented. 

Cam and I did this together. He drew it and we both painted it and outlined it together. It is to hang on the outside of her bedroom door. We have also started one for Isla too!

We are slowly getting ideas of how to decorate Annie's space... it will be similar to Isla's mainly because we are reusing the bedding which is black, pink and white so that is the color scheme we are going with. As you can see, touches of lime green will accent the room too. It's starting to come together! 

Wish me luck on my continued creative endeavors!

Fall Family Fun