Thursday, May 24, 2012
Big news
It was a milestone weekend, one for which I can take no credit! Izzy decided on Saturday morning that it was time to potty-train herself. When she woke up, she pattered out of her room and into ours and declared "MommyIneedtogopottyrightnow!" Who am I to argue? After we whipped off her jammies and diaper, she sat right down on her potty seat and proceeded to pee a fairly impressive amount.
Since that morning (5 days ago), she hasn't really had an "accident" to speak of. There have been a couple of pre-pee dribbles that have necessitated a change of undies, but for the most part, this girl is a CHAMP when it comes to doing pee and poopers on her potty. We have a portable, foldable potty seat that we bring along everywhere now, along with a ziplock of fresh pants and undies... just in case. So while it is a bit more inconvenient to find potties on the spot wherever we may be, she is doing an awesome job of telling me each time she needs to go, and holding it until we find a nearby bathroom. And the payoff of not having to change diapers is so worth it.
So far, we have continued to put her in diapers for naptime and overnight, but I think her diaper has been dry when she woke up every time except for one morning. So who knows- maybe next week Mom will get up the guts to have her sleep in undies, too. What's the worst that can happen? More laundry? Bring it on.
Anyhoo, we are so very proud of our girl. Growing up before our eyes, I tell ya. And before I get too mushy or nostalgic, let me say that one of the highlights of this milestone is NOT BUYING ANY MORE DIAPERS!!!! YESSSSSSSSS.
Oh, and as a little post-script, I would like to note that Izzy's favorite game right now is making food for her stuffed friends and protecting them from cookie monsters. For example, I frequently overhear variations on the following conversation:
"Would you yike an egg and pepperopi, Pancake? Here is a plate woh you. Don't worry, I will keep you safe wom a monster. I yah you (I love you). "
I think it's safe to state that I could not be more charmed.
-c
Sunday, February 19, 2012
A Party to Remember!
We have had an amazing celebratory weekend for Izzy and Reg's birthday (Izzy on the 19th and Reg on the 20th)! On Friday, my mom, Bob, John, and Patrick ("Dodo") flew in from Michigan, and Wes and Lou rolled in about midnight from Kansas City. Yesterday (Saturday) we had Izzy's birthday party, which included about 15 of our closest friends and family. What a wonderful memory-- our girl is so very loved. These days we are all about Elmo and Big Bird, so we went with a Sesame Street theme, and I ventured into the land of (cup)cake decorating. It was a fun project and the cupcakes turned out way better than I expected. Izzy did fairly well with so many people here, but was a bit overwhelmed by it all. Thankfully she had her 2-year old buddy, Wrenna, to share in the joy of opening gifts and eating goldfish...
We laid low for dinner last night, hanging here at the house with family and Abby from Denver-- who definitely qualifies as family. :) This morning we went to church and enjoyed a birthday lunch to celebrate Reg and Izzy's birthday, as well as Mom and Bob's first anniversary! Goodbyes always stink, but it's been an unbelievable super weekend and we feel so blessed. I'll keep it short and sweet so I don't get overly sentimental or teary, but I can't say enough about the last 48 hours, and the beloved people with whom we got to celebrate.
We laid low for dinner last night, hanging here at the house with family and Abby from Denver-- who definitely qualifies as family. :) This morning we went to church and enjoyed a birthday lunch to celebrate Reg and Izzy's birthday, as well as Mom and Bob's first anniversary! Goodbyes always stink, but it's been an unbelievable super weekend and we feel so blessed. I'll keep it short and sweet so I don't get overly sentimental or teary, but I can't say enough about the last 48 hours, and the beloved people with whom we got to celebrate.
Happy birthday to you...
Dearest Isabelle Grace,
Two years ago, I was staring into the most beautiful eyes I have seen. The most perfect fit in the crook of my arm. The softest skin I have ever felt. The smallest toenails I have witnessed. The strongest love I have experienced. Oh, dear girl, you came into our life and we had no idea just how amazing this thing called parenting would be.
Today you are two. You still have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, but now they take in everything that happens around you, and look upon others with love. You are 35 inches tall, but you are still the most perfect fit in my arms. Your skin is still the softest, but now it boasts a few little scars that tell of your adventures thus far.
Your toenails are getting bigger. You have glorious curly, golden hair that, when wet, reaches down past your shoulder blades. You give hugs and kisses without reservation. You sing the ABC's (the "AB's") all by yourself and say words like stegosaurus (tay-go-do-dah) and guacamole (gah-co-mo-wee). You make up songs about your world. You pray for your family, friends, and animals. You speak in sentences. You say "I love you" to people, in words and sign language. You know your numbers up to ten. You go nowhere without your beloved BoKitty and PancakeDoggy.
Your favorite foods are grapes, broccoli, and chocolate chips. You compare things (i.e. "Wolfie is black like Pancake"). You are so very spirited. You tell us your whole name ("Idee-bay-oh Day Do-Dah"). Your smile can light up the cloudiest, darkest day. Your giggles sound like angels. You bring us more joy than we knew was possible, and to us, it is a glimpse of heaven. And the love-- oh the love-- without a doubt, is still the strongest I have experienced.
Thank you for the joy you bring, Sweet girl. God's love is reflected in your eyes and your spirit every day, and we cannot imagine a moment without you. We love you so very much, Izzy, and could not be prouder to be your parents.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy
Two years ago, I was staring into the most beautiful eyes I have seen. The most perfect fit in the crook of my arm. The softest skin I have ever felt. The smallest toenails I have witnessed. The strongest love I have experienced. Oh, dear girl, you came into our life and we had no idea just how amazing this thing called parenting would be.
Today you are two. You still have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, but now they take in everything that happens around you, and look upon others with love. You are 35 inches tall, but you are still the most perfect fit in my arms. Your skin is still the softest, but now it boasts a few little scars that tell of your adventures thus far.
Your toenails are getting bigger. You have glorious curly, golden hair that, when wet, reaches down past your shoulder blades. You give hugs and kisses without reservation. You sing the ABC's (the "AB's") all by yourself and say words like stegosaurus (tay-go-do-dah) and guacamole (gah-co-mo-wee). You make up songs about your world. You pray for your family, friends, and animals. You speak in sentences. You say "I love you" to people, in words and sign language. You know your numbers up to ten. You go nowhere without your beloved BoKitty and PancakeDoggy.
Your favorite foods are grapes, broccoli, and chocolate chips. You compare things (i.e. "Wolfie is black like Pancake"). You are so very spirited. You tell us your whole name ("Idee-bay-oh Day Do-Dah"). Your smile can light up the cloudiest, darkest day. Your giggles sound like angels. You bring us more joy than we knew was possible, and to us, it is a glimpse of heaven. And the love-- oh the love-- without a doubt, is still the strongest I have experienced.
Thank you for the joy you bring, Sweet girl. God's love is reflected in your eyes and your spirit every day, and we cannot imagine a moment without you. We love you so very much, Izzy, and could not be prouder to be your parents.
Love,
Mommy & Daddy
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Michiganders in FoCo
It's been a big week for the Loewens! G-Ma and Baba (that would be my mom and her husband, Bob) came to visit! We had a great time during the 4 days they were here, even though I had to work 2 of the days. They were good sports and met up with us during our work day on two different field trips! And with three kids under three, I appreciated the extra sets of hands! We spent our evenings at the hotel swimming and eating, and then on Saturday, we all (including Reg!) headed up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a wonderful trip, and included live music, picnics, swimming, hiking, shopping, playing, reading, and of course, plenty-o-eating. Hooray!
G-Ma and Izzy watching as Bob mysteriously disappeared into the indoor part of the swimming pool! Where did he GO?!
Kicking, kicking...
Isabelle's first experience with a french fry and ketchup was a raving success.... like mother, like daughter.
The girl was equally delighted with her first taste of blackberry frozen yogurt!
Hiking in RMNP... nice view from up there!
Throwing rocks into the lake with Daddy!
Finding letters in the store names on the main drag in Estes Park.
Silliness at the Cherry Store on the way back from Estes Park.
We all had a great time and hope G-Ma and Baba will come visit again soon!
G-Ma and Izzy watching as Bob mysteriously disappeared into the indoor part of the swimming pool! Where did he GO?!
Kicking, kicking...
Isabelle's first experience with a french fry and ketchup was a raving success.... like mother, like daughter.
The girl was equally delighted with her first taste of blackberry frozen yogurt!
Hiking in RMNP... nice view from up there!
Throwing rocks into the lake with Daddy!
Finding letters in the store names on the main drag in Estes Park.
Silliness at the Cherry Store on the way back from Estes Park.
We all had a great time and hope G-Ma and Baba will come visit again soon!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Bappa, Lulu, and Uncle Ethan
We had a wonderfully full house over Memorial Day Weekend! Reg's family, Wes, Lou & Ethan came to visit, and Reg's cousin Kyle also spent two nights here, as he had a weekend class here in Ft. Collins. We were pretty cozy, but had a grand time all together! Here are some highlights:
Showing Grandma Lou ("Lulu") and Grandpa Wes ("Bappa") all of the family pics on the fridge:
Snuggling with Uncle Ethan:
Exploring with Grandma Lou:
Going for an exhausting hike on Daddy's back:
And just generally delighting in the warmth that comes from being with family:
Hooray for long weekends! (And relatives who don't mind long roadtrips that shorten the long weekends!)
**Also, pics are courtesy of my awesome father-in-law, as I went camera-less for the weekend. Thanks Wes!**
Showing Grandma Lou ("Lulu") and Grandpa Wes ("Bappa") all of the family pics on the fridge:
Snuggling with Uncle Ethan:
Exploring with Grandma Lou:
Going for an exhausting hike on Daddy's back:
And just generally delighting in the warmth that comes from being with family:
Hooray for long weekends! (And relatives who don't mind long roadtrips that shorten the long weekends!)
**Also, pics are courtesy of my awesome father-in-law, as I went camera-less for the weekend. Thanks Wes!**
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Rocky Mountain High
Well, we have officially been here three weeks now. Crazy. Slowly but surely, boxes are getting emptied, items are finding homes, and Isabelle is beginning to sleep on a schedule again. Thank goodness. :)
One item we have been saving up for is a decent kid-carrier to transport our beloved into the mountains regularly. Reg ordered one a couple of weeks ago, and we had the chance to try it out last week on a short hike up in the foothills, called Horsetooth. The bad news- we kept it short due to lightning and thunder in the distance, and due to mom's post-pregnancy lack of fitness (yes, we'll call it post-pregnancy even though it's been a year and a half, shh....). The good news- she loved it!! Hooray!
We went about a mile up, and although we went through about two cups of cheerios and twenty-seven verses of Old MacDonald, we all made it without shedding a tear! It was wonderful to be in the mountains, with our baby on our back (and by 'our' I mean Reg's) and our puppy by our side. We look forward to many, many more hikes in the years to come!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Breathe.
Well, this morning at 6:03 a.m. my wonderful in-laws pulled out of our driveway, FIL driving the U-Haul trailer, and MIL following in my little Chevy Tracker. Yesterday was a crazy day full of lifting, taping, grunting, sweating, feeding toddlers (and by toddlers I mean Izzy), more lifting, more sweating, well, you get the picture....
We all fell into bed (aka a couch and two cots) at 11 p.m. utterly exhausted. Thankfully all three adults were slightly more peppy when the alarm went off at 5. After the 'rents left, with "COLORADO OR BUST!" written on the windows (ok, not really, but that was the sentiment!), I got busy scrubbing baseboards, filling trashbags, and moving the Goodwill items into the sunroom. I got close to an hour of work done before the bean starting wailing. So we did a quick diaper change/cup of milk, and then continued our work, literally attached at the hip.
7:45 a.m: Enter G-Mama (hooray for G-Ma's!!!!). With an extra set of hands to feed the baby- I mean toddler- breakfast and help me throw away odds and ends, we pounded out most of the rest of the cleaning by about 11:30. Oh, and I should mention that during that time, G-Ma and Isabelle took two loads of crap- er, stuff- to Goodwill and a load of luggage to her house for the evening, giving me some blessedly productive bonding time with the baseboards and cobwebs here in our humble abode.
Once I almost passed out from hunger (literally!) at 11:45, we went to G-Ma's house, grabbed some lunch, then headed to the pediatrician's office for Izzy's ear infection follow-up. Once home, Busybelle promptly sacked out, hopefully for a good long last nap at the Hamilton House. G-Mama just left to take a load of baby stuff to a shelter in Lansing, and I am taking ten minutes to sit and breathe on the couch before reuniting with my beloved baseboards.
It's sort of surreal that 24 hours from now we will be through Detroit airport security, and 30 hours from now we will once again be residents of The Centennial State. Seeing that in print makes my heart start racing with excitement to see Reg/sadness about moving away from family/stress of the next 24 hours, but I read some wisdom on a poster the other day. Keep calm and carry on. So calm I will keep, and on I will carry. Okay, it's go time.
We all fell into bed (aka a couch and two cots) at 11 p.m. utterly exhausted. Thankfully all three adults were slightly more peppy when the alarm went off at 5. After the 'rents left, with "COLORADO OR BUST!" written on the windows (ok, not really, but that was the sentiment!), I got busy scrubbing baseboards, filling trashbags, and moving the Goodwill items into the sunroom. I got close to an hour of work done before the bean starting wailing. So we did a quick diaper change/cup of milk, and then continued our work, literally attached at the hip.
7:45 a.m: Enter G-Mama (hooray for G-Ma's!!!!). With an extra set of hands to feed the baby- I mean toddler- breakfast and help me throw away odds and ends, we pounded out most of the rest of the cleaning by about 11:30. Oh, and I should mention that during that time, G-Ma and Isabelle took two loads of crap- er, stuff- to Goodwill and a load of luggage to her house for the evening, giving me some blessedly productive bonding time with the baseboards and cobwebs here in our humble abode.
Once I almost passed out from hunger (literally!) at 11:45, we went to G-Ma's house, grabbed some lunch, then headed to the pediatrician's office for Izzy's ear infection follow-up. Once home, Busybelle promptly sacked out, hopefully for a good long last nap at the Hamilton House. G-Mama just left to take a load of baby stuff to a shelter in Lansing, and I am taking ten minutes to sit and breathe on the couch before reuniting with my beloved baseboards.
It's sort of surreal that 24 hours from now we will be through Detroit airport security, and 30 hours from now we will once again be residents of The Centennial State. Seeing that in print makes my heart start racing with excitement to see Reg/sadness about moving away from family/stress of the next 24 hours, but I read some wisdom on a poster the other day. Keep calm and carry on. So calm I will keep, and on I will carry. Okay, it's go time.
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