3 and 21!

Today makes Tanner 3 months old and Izabel 21 months old! I can't believe it has been 3 months already with Tanner in our lives but in other ways it seems like he has been here forever!

Tanner is doing a lot of interacting now. He smiles and coos and loves to be told how handsome he is. He has found his hands and feet and really enjoys sucking on his fist no matter how hard we try not to let him. He is finally doing really well at sleeping pretty much through the night. He wakes up sometimes but I don't feed him and we go back to sleep until it is time to eat. He loves to look at the baby in the mirror even though he doesn't know it's him. He is a very laid back guy and doesn't really cry often unless he is hungry. He loves his swing and I'm glad someone is finally getting some use out of it! It's in the kitchen now and it's really helpful to be able to put him in there so I can cook or do some chores. He has moved into size 2 diapers and is wearing 3 month clothes. He is a big boy but it works for him! I think we might have a football player on our hands and I'm sure his Daddy would be very happy if it ended up that way! Maybe they could share the same number!!! Now that he is bigger and things are a little more manageable we really are enjoying being parents of two!

Izabel is turning more and more into a little girl every day! The baby days are gone and the terrible twos have already arrived! She is still a very loving and happy girl but she's started to hit other kids when we are out playing. We can't figure out why and we're trying very hard to stop it but we also realize it is something that comes with this age. She's in two play groups for kids born in 2007 and she loves going on our playdates! We go 3-4 times a week to different places in the area and she's gotten really good at playing on the playgrounds or in the bouncy houses! She gets so excited when I say we are going out. She also loves to play outside and in the pool. I don't get her in the pool often because I'm usually home alone with both of them but when she does get to go she is so happy! She's still wearing size 3 diapers and she is between 12 months and 18 months clothes depending on the brand. She's still only saying a few words but she knows how to get what she wants so it doesn't seem to be a problem for her! She loves watching her Baby Einstein movies and gets so mad when I don't let her (which is pretty often!) She's a joy to have around and I love watching her discover new things and abilities. You can actually see her processing and it's so exciting to see her figure something out! Only 3 more months and she'll be two and I just can't believe it!

Harley Girl!

A few months back we had pictures taken of Izabel on a Harley power wheel. They were a father's day/birthday present for Papa so I wanted to keep them a secret even though it killed me not to post these pictures! We put the pictures in a Harley frame and sent them up to him and he loved it just like we knew he would! Now that he has seen them I can post for everyone else to enjoy!

Uh Oh!

Izabel doesn't talk much but every once in a while her jabbering will turn into something that we understand and yesterday she woke up saying "uh oh!" It is so cute when she says it and it really makes me smile!

4th of July Flashback

Did Izabel's 4th of July shirt look familiar??? That's because it was her 4th of July dress last year! She obviously hasn't gotten much bigger but gotten taller because the shirt still fit perfectly it was just too short to be a dress. I bought Izabel a new dress for this year but it was way to big so I pulled out last years dress, put it on as a shirt and put some jean shorts and off we went. It was too cute!

4th of July Weekend

Our 4th of July weekend was fabulous and even though we are exhausted today we had a great time! It started on Thursday when my Aunt Gerlinda, Cousin Becky and her kids Jacob and Tobi came into town from Georgia. After getting all our chores done and running some errands we headed over to my mom's house to visit with them. The last time my aunt and cousin were here was for our wedding! We played inside for a while and then we all got in the pool. The pool was freezing because it is pretty shaded. We stayed in as long as could for the kids but when they started shivering we were out of there! Then Izabel and Tobi played for a while inside. They did NOT get along! They were fighting like crazy over the toys. I have never seen Izabel act like that but Tobi was being the same way. We finally broke up the fighting and headed home.

Izabel and Tobi

Becky and Me with Tobi and Izabel

Friday morning everyone met at my house to go play at Kangaroo Jac's. This is the indoor inflatable place we went to last weekend. We thought Jacob and Tobi would enjoy it and it would help us keep them entertained without fighting! They had a blast and Izabel was certainly happy to be back. She knew exactly what to do and even managed to do a couple of them all by herself. We also ran into a new friend from a playgroup which was fun as well! After we played for about an hour and a half we went to McDonalds for lunch and then headed home to take a nap! Later on Noah and I met Amy and Ray as well as Becky up at Keegans for dinner and a few drinks. We had a great time and it was nice to get out for a while and spend some time with Noah!

Climbing up all by herself

and coming down all by herself!

For our actually 4th of July celebration we spent the day at my mom's house for a cookout and pool party. We had lots and lots of food and I made a very yummy and pretty (if I do say so myself) flag cake! We were in and out of the pool and I brought the picnic table and let Tobi and Izabel finger paint but they had the most fun just playing with the hose! Izabel would hold it up and Tobi would put his head under it which they both thought was big fun! Eventually they were both exhausted and with no naps they were pretty cranky. We can usually see the fireworks at Mt. Trashmore from my mom's backyard but we didn't make it that long. We were home and in bed before I started hearing them and Izabel was so tired she didn't move once! 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and we had a great one this year!

My Yummy Flag Cake!

Happy First 4th of July!

Family Pic

Grandaddy and Izzy in the pool...I love this pic of them!

Daddy and Tanner taking a nap together

Finger painting...she had to taste it first but then she got the hang of it!

I think Tobi had more fun painting himselfDrenching Tobi with the hose!Tanner even had patriotic pajamas!
Sunday we got up and went to Sunday school and then Noah called and said he would be home early and he wanted to go do something with Izabel. I think he was a little jealous of me getting to take Izabel to jump so he took her back to Kangaroo Jac's and I think this time he had more fun than she did! It was a rainy day so the place was packed and Izabel was pretty cranky. A lot of the big kids aren't very patient with the little ones. They had a nice time together though. Then we went to dinner and Izabel slept in Noah's arms until the food came. Aunt Theresa came over when we got home and Noah and I went to see Public Enemies. We weren't very impressed. It's a true story and it was interesting but it was slow and I kept waiting for it to be over. My recommendation: wait for it to come out on dvd!

Here they come

She loved having time with Daddy

Kisses in the tunnelSliding down together

I had to have a little fun too!

Like I said we had a great weekend and it was really great to finally get to spend some time as a family! We loved having Daddy around lots this weekend and already miss him terribly today! We hope everyone else had as wonderful a holiday as we did!

Playdates and Playgroups!

We've used meetup.com in the past to find other moms and kids for us to hang out with. In fact that is how I met Rebecca last year! We've recently joined two play groups for kids that were born in 2007. That means that all of the kids are around the same age as Izabel and a lot of them have little brothers and sisters Tanner's age as well! Rebecca belongs to one of the playgroups we joined so Izabel already knows someone when we go to their events.

Monday we met Rebecca, RJ, Rylee and Phyllis at Lynnhaven Mall to play for a little bit. I had to pick up Tanner's 2 month pics and it was too hot to play outside at the park so we headed to the play place! Izabel has been having a hard time being patient with other kids and has been doing a little hitting! We're working on it but she wasn't very good while we were there. She ended up sitting with me several times :( No pics from this playdate because I was holding Tanner and constantly having to go get Izabel and make her have a time out!

Tuesday we met the new playgroup called Little Ones of 2007 at Macarthur Mall. I was a little hesitant to go to this playgroup because after I had emailed the organizer of the group Rebecca told me some not so good things about them but since I had already made arrangements to go I figured I would check it out for myself. I actually had a great time. They were all very friendly and every mom came up and introduced herself and talked to me. Izabel was still doing a little hitting but behaved a little better. I had lunch with some of the moms and found out they have a book club! That is really exciting to me because I am going to have time to read again one day and maybe this will help me try to find the time and give me someone to talk to about what I read! I've been hoping to find a good book club for a while! I decided to join the playgroup and see how it goes but so far so good! No pics again but this time it was because I was too busy talking! My sister and my dad came over to hang out in the evening. This is the hardest part of the day for me because I am tired after a long day and usually a long night and Noah is not home to help do dinner or baths or bedtime at all during the week so Amy and Dad have been trying to stop by every once in a while to lend a hand!

Wednesday we planned to go to a playdate with the other playgroup. This one is called 2007 Kids and this is the one Rebecca is in as well. The playdate today was supposed to be a music class but but there was some kind of mix up with the teacher so we ended up just playing on the playground outside at the church. Izabel loved the huge playground and she climbed all over it all by herself but it was SO hot so we didn't stay too long. We went with Rebecca and RJ to the new McDonalds because they were giving away free cheeseburgers but it wasn't so packed we couldn't even find a parking spot so we ended up at Tropical Smoothie. Izabel and RJ loved their smoothies and they were so cute together like they always are! They both have always been cute but they seem to be getting cuter now that they are older. RJ is doing a lot of talking and can pretty much say anything you want him to (and some things you might not) which is a little frustrating since Izabel still doesn't say hardly anything but we know it will happen suddenly and once she starts she'll never stop! I did actually get some pics from this playdate! After naptime we went to wal-mart to try and find some pool floats for Izzy. We plan to be in the pool a lot the next few days while my cousins are here visiting!

She's not afraid at all!

RJ is too cute!Sliding...can't forget the sippy cup!

Best friends!

Rebecca and Izzy

I hope everyone has an amazing holiday weekend! Enjoy all the cookouts, pool time, and fireworks and don't forget to wear your red, white, and blue! (Old Navy has $2 flag tanks on Friday if you don't have one yet!)

Weekend Update

This weekend was pretty busy but a lot of fun! On Friday my mom and I took the kids to the mall. Izabel got a new bathing suit from Gymboree and I got a shower present for Mimi. Then we had lunch and let Izabel play at the play place. We ended up leaving early because she was being mean to some of the other kids. We're working on the social interaction so hopefully she'll get better at this! Then we got in the pool for a little bit. My mom stayed over and my dad came over to babysit so Noah and I could go bowling with Ann and Andy. We had a great time and it was nice to have a date night!

Saturday I went to Mimi's bridal shower. Mimi is a sorority sister and one of the first friends I made when I got to college. It was exciting to see her and some of the other sorority sisters I haven't seen in a long time. She had a wine themed shower so there was lots of wine to drink and we got to decorate our own wine glass to bring home as a favor! It was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went. Then I rushed home to pick up Noah and the kids and head out to Jackie's house in Hampton. She is visiting from Hawaii so we wanted to get out there and see her. Noah took Izabel in the pool and we hung out for a while before heading home to have dinner and go to bed! We were exhausted!

Tanner and Jackie

Izabel in the cute Hawaiian dress Jackie sent her!

Izzy and Jackie swimming!

She could swim on this float like she swims in the bathtub!

Sunday Noah had to work but I took the kids and met Rebecca and the gang at Kangaroo Jacks. This is another indoor inflatable play place but it is all big inflatables. My dad came along to take care of Tanner so I could play with Izabel. I had to go with her up almost every one because she couldn't climb up by herself. I got quite the workout pushing her up everything and I'm sure my arms will be hurting tomorrow but we had a great time and we can't wait to go back! We want to take Daddy because we think he'll have a great time too! After we played for a little while we all went to Red Robin for lunch. There was a guy dressed up as Red Robin and Izabel started to cry when she saw him. It was so unlike her but I think she was just really tired. We came home and took a nap and then played until Noah came home! Then Noah and I went to Cinema Cafe to see The Taking of Pelham 123 and use our June tickets!

Izabel jumping in the smaller inflatable

Granddaddy taking care of Tanner and watching us!

That's Izabel coming down on the left and me at the top. RJ is at the top on the right!

That's me and Izzy all the way up there! We only made it up there one time!!!

RJ and Izzy coming down fast!

Riding the dinosaur together :)

Eating lunch at Red Robin

We have more play dates planned for this week so look for frequent updates! We have to get a lot of fun things in before I go back to work! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend!!!