I am employed.

So, I am officially an employee again. Nope, not teaching. I just got a very part time job at my favorite store ever, Anthropologie in West Ed. I haven't started yet but I do have a training session on Saturday. I am really excited about it and I think it could be a great opportunity to meet some people and to contribute, at least a little bit, to our household finances... plus the discounts are REALLY great. I will be working 2 evening shifts a week and no weekends so I can spend time with my family. I hope everything works out great :)

I. Am. Bad.

I cannot believe a month has gone by since my last blog... A WHOLE MONTH. Ridiculous really. What have I been doing in that past month? Lots and nothing... all at the same time.
I always find the month of December to be incredibly busy, exhausting, fun and did I mention busy? I do know that it is January 14th, and no blog post, but January has also been super busy for us too... hence the lack of blog posts. My New Years resolution is to blog more regularly (well not really, I never maintain NY resolutions, but if I did, this would be it). I thoroughly enjoy blogging because I thoroughly enjoy my life.
Well after Vegas brought us Christmas... ISLA's very FIRST one! It was incredibly exciting and magical to watch her discover lights, wrapping paper, ornaments, boxes, plastic and to see her play and explore each and every new toy, article of clothing, book etc... that was given to her. We had an absolutely lovely Christmas with our daughter and the rest of our families. There were lots of festivities, filled with food, love, laughs, gifts, snuggles from Isla, pictures and videos (a new video camera was Cam's gift). Here are some photos.

Isla trying to eat her new monkey, Casey.

 In awe of Elmo. Thanks Uncle Brock & Aunty Sue. 

 All dressed up for church, Christmas Eve. 

 The Schellenbergs. 

 Christmas morning in her new Sesame Street Chair.

 And in her new wagon.

 with her cousins at Momo's house. Not a fan of Claus' hat.

 Listening to the Christmas story.

 Her little car. She loves him very much. 

Reading a new book with Dad. 

January brought Isla turning one. I know, she is one. Where did the time go? Honestly... it feels as though I blinked. Here she is... my one year old. What can I say about her? It seems as though in the last month, she has really 'grown up'. We can see her personality more and more and boy, is it a good one. She loves to laugh and smile at everyone she sees. She also loves to wave... it's her favorite thing. She waves at everyone and everything, including the TV and dogs and cats. She pretty much eats everything we eat and we are starting to wean her from formula and on to regular people milk. New favorites: peanut butter and strawberries. We have taken to calling her 'little monkey' because that is what she is. She climbs on EVERYTHING. Yesterday, I discovered sitting on top of our side table, how she got there remains a mystery. Also, she has an adorable rocking horse and today, she climbed onto it herself and then proceeded to stand on the seat and rock back and forth. She is nuts. She has 8 teeth now but I can feel (and see) more coming, due to the excessive drool stains on her 14 shirts she goes through daily.  She is the sweetest thing ever. She LOVES LOVES LOVES music and books and will sit with a pile of books for hours. She loves her daddy very much and tolerates her mommy. She is the center of attention, ALWAYS, and is always hamming it up for everyone around her. She knows her head, ears, bee-bo (belly button) and her toes and she will point to them when we say them. She knows several other words: shake, splash, wave, no and a few more. Every day, we see her learning new things and it really is the most incredible thing. She is a sponge. Her favorite thing is to copy people and to try and do what they do. She isn't QUITE walking but I feel as though it's close. She took 5 steps today... BY HERSELF!! It was amazing and one of mine (and hers) proudest moments. I love her. A Lot. For her birthday, we had 2 parties. One family party, where I made lasagna (yes, domestic me), cake and we just hung out here with Isla. We had a 'kid' party where we did a Sesame Street party, complete with amazing cake and cupcakes that I did NOT make, a pinata and lots of kids. 15 to be exact, not to mention, 20 adults or so... maybe more. It was an amazing success and I think everyone had lots of fun! Isla loved the tissue paper and really enjoyed the cake and pizza she got to dig in to. It was the cutest. More photos. 

 Her present on her chair. SO cute. 

 The birthday girl in her birthday hat and shirt. 

 Her first cake and sparkler experience.

 Us teaching her how to blow out her candle.

 MMMMMMMMMM cake.

 loving the boxes. 

Her Sesame Street cupcakes. AMAZING. Thanks Kennedy! 

 And her Elmo Cake. 

 THE BEST.

 Some of the kiddies eating their lunch in the 'picnic' area.

 Us opening gifts and Isla receiving her first 'name' item.

 More cake and more candles.

 Us: "CHEESE". Isla: "CAKE".

 Laughing.

 Luci getting a crack at the pinata.

 The goods.

And, the kids. 15. Isla... shirtless.

What a trip!

ok. I would be blogging for days if I went into details of our trip to Vegas, but some key words come to mind: relaxing, rekindling, incredible, fun, warm, satisfying, fulfilling, belly-filling, enlightening and many more...
We had an absolutely incredible time! We ate, we drank, we shopped, we laughed, we roller-coasted, we Cirque'd, we dammed, (ha... toured the Hoover Dam), we jacuzzied, we slept etc. Here are some photos:

Us and the Jolie-Pitt's. 

right before riding the roller coaster at NY NY.

enjoying a delicious meal at Olives in the Bellagio... note the beautiful fountains in the background.

Heading out to Mon Ami Gabi for my birthday meal.

in front of the beautiful tree in the Bellagio.

enjoying the glorious sun.

heading to Mystere by Cirque De Soleil.

Hoover Dam.

my sexy husband and me at a lookout point near the Hoover Dam. Lake Mead in the background.

There is lots and lots more, but here are a few highlights. 

Vegas Baby

Well... Vegas is here. I booked this trip for Cam and I way back in August and now, we leave tomorrow! I am so excited and so nervous all at the same time! I haven't been away from Isla very much and this certainly will be the longest amount of time we have been separated. I know she will be in great hands (some time with Momo, Nana & Popi and Auntie Nicole & Uncle Chris), but I just don't want her to be a nightmare. Haha. Alas, this trip is about Cam & I having some very much needed, well deserved, greatly anticipated alone time to talk, sleep, eat and love. It really will be amazing. I will limit my Isla thoughts to 2 per day. BAAAHAAA. Yea right.
Well, talk soon everyone!

11 Months

Isla is 11 months old today. Wow. She is so big. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone... I think I say that every month, but it's 100% true. I feel as though I blinked and here she is: crawling, laughing, trying to stand all by herself, dancing, waving, kissing etc... it's just amazing. She has brought so so so much enjoyment to our lives and she becomes more fun every day. She has quite the little personality... always wanting to be around the action. She is a lot like me in that sense. She continues to look exactly like Cam but every now and then, I see a little me in her. The biggest thing this month is trying to stand... and SLOWLY trying to walk. We walks across furniture all the time and loves to walk with us... so maybe soon?? I can't say I am too eager for that to begin. Needless to say, she simply rocks our world.

first time sledding

mesmerized

playing in her house

us

beauty

There. A little dose of Isla....

Birthday Karaoke

This Friday, December 10th is my 26th Birthday (seriously, when did I get old?). But, alas, I won't be here to celebrate... I will be celebrating in VEGAS sans the baby with my amazing husband! Needless to say, I wanted to do a little something with my girlfriends... so we decided upon Karaoke. Thanks to my amazing sister in law Nicole for planning such an epic event. With a few close girlfriends, we ate and sang the night away with some amazing renditions of hits, such as: "Push It" by Salt-n-Peppa, "Big Butts" by Sir Mix a Lot, "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins, "Summer Lovin'" by the cast of Grease, "You Were Meant For Me" by... I dunno and others. Needless to say, it was a really fun evening filled with lots of laughs and lots of terrible singing. Haha. Here are some photos.

What birthday par-tay is not complete with out a birthday shot...

My gorgeous friends: Jennifer and Nicole (also my amazing sister in law)

Jennifer, Nicole, Jenelle and me. 

Damn....

They like big butts...

Maggie and Bree join us for some Summer Lovin.

It was such a fun fun fun night! Thanks girls for helping me celebrate the big 2-6. A memorable one indeed.

I'm Alive

Just a post to let you know that indeed, I am alive and have not fallen off the face of the planet. Woh... life can get really busy really fast. But I am back.