Evil Knievel

      Isabella is a total water baby. Every time I go to take a bath she has to take one with me as well as all of her "waterproof" animals. In fact, the other day she was watching a movie so I thought I could take a bath by myself. As soon as she heard the water running she ran to get her animals, threw them in, and jumped in with her clothes still on. I said "Bella what are you doing?" She said "I taking a bath with my animals, and elephant and monkey, and giraffe, and mommy, and paints, and colors." I said I know but why didn't you take off your clothes and she just smiled. Sorry I didn't get a picture of that!

     So you can imagine if she feels that way about baths how she feels about the pool or the beach.  Yesterday Heather invited us to go swimming and off she ran. Here is how the conversation went.

  Bella- "Mommy I gotta get my bathin soup and go swimmin in the pool with Ethan and Header and Mommy. Yay Ethan!"

Me- "okay  Bella lets get dressed and Mommy has to change too.

Bella -"Mommy I gotta get my shoes on and go swimmin in the pool with Ethan, and Header, and Mommy. Yay Ethan!"

Me- Ok lets go

Bella- Yay Mommy swimmin in the pool! Yay Ethan!

    Lately Bella has been using a swim ring and she jumps right into the pool. She had swim lessons last year but she doesn't remember any of it so she usually swallows a lot of water so every time she jumps in  we say "close your mouth". Nothing. She smiles so big I don't think she could close her mouth if she tried. Up until this point she refused to wear the water wings but I think she was so excited this time that she was ready to try anything. We put them on and she clung to me for about a minute. Once I pried her fingers from mine she realized she could float and had a grin from ear to ear. The good thing about these wings is that they seems to force her to paddle and kick with her arms and legs where the ring she could really just float there. Very soon after she decided she wanted to jump with the wings. I was concerned but she did before I could stop her. Of course, she went under but she popped right back up smiling as if this was the best thing ever. It must have been because she did it at least 20 more times. She must have also thought to close her mouth because she came up grinning every time. Heather and I didn't realize how long we had been in the water. Turns out it was at least an hour and half but it was after dinner so we didn't have to worry about too much sun. Anyway, the kids must have been irritated with the wings because they both got out and started taking them off and putting the rings back on. I looked up and Bella was ring and water wingless and I went to go let her in the pool. Before I could get there she jumped in with NOTHING! My little daredevil. Of course she went under and came up grinning albeit a nervous one. Heather was calling her Evil Knievel and I think she is right. Bella seems to have no fear. SHe wanted to go get her wings again after that but it definitely didn't slow her down. Bella is just like her daddy here (they seem to think they are invincible). I guess I am now set up for a lifetime of worry. At least she won't lead a chicken life like I have. Don't worry though Grandma they were well supervised!  Next time I will get pictures for sure!

Booth's Bowery

     We literally ran home to Daytona yesterday because Heather was craving Booth's Bowery wings and we love the place so we tagged along. We thought we could also visit my mom for an early birthday. When we got to Booth's they were dead and we were hungry so we thought this will be great. The food was good but we waited at least an hour for it. It was just plain ridiculous. It seems as if everywhere we go these days is like this. My parents said that they have gone way downhill and I believe them now. Its a shame because it was one of those places that were different in that area at (least for us) and now I am afraid we will not be going back. Our server never even updated us on what was going on which we never really found out as I think they had three other tables to serve besides us( I know I should be more sympathetic). On a positive note the kids had a blast playing video games. They did a car racing game and Bella kept crashing and would not let me help her straighten out. They were both yelling at the screens...hilarious. These pics of them shooting are priceless.

Ethan's birthday

     Wow, Ethan is 3 years old. When I think about that it kind of makes me sad. I remember Heather calling to tell us he was here. I was still 7 months pregnant with Bella and so excited to meet him. 2005 was a great year for us for these two reasons. Ethan and Bella's births.  Ethan's Nana and Papa threw a party at their house and cooked out. Ethan is very interested in superheroes so that was mostly the theme but when Heather let him pick out his cake he chose Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Ethan is a free spirit if you didin't notice as he loves to be naked or very close to it. The whole day up until we went to the party, Bella kept saying "its Ethan's birthday we gonna have cake, and balloons, and hats, and presents!" It was hilarious although she surprised me by not trying to open all of his presents for him. She did try to claim one of his toys for herself though. They both played with his Batcave(at least I think that's what it was) Everyone seemed surprised that she wanted to play with "boy" toys but that's Bella. When we went to the store I gave her a choice of three books: Little Mommy, Mariposa Barbie, or Thomas the Train. You guessed it, she chose Thomas the Train. I guess I should stop pushing the girl stuff on her...

Jon visit

     We went to Port Orange this past weekend to visit my buddy Jon Jon from California. Jon and I have been friends since senior prom when we went with our friends. A very eventful evening indeed. Anyway Jon has this glorious life in CA and blesses us with his presence once or twice a year so I just had to go see him. Last year when he came with his GF Serena,  Bella was in love. This time not so much. As you can see by the pictures she wasn't very happy. To be fair she hadn't napped all day and fell asleep right after she arrived. Once she woke up she warmed up a bit but still wanted nothing to do with pictures. It was a great visit and we hope to get to CA to see Jon on his turf.

We also got to visit with my mom and dad and cousin Jayce.

     

Mike's Birthday

Ahh, another year older! These birthdays these days seem to come fast and furious and again we ponder where the time has gone. Mike celebrated his 34th yesterday and Ethan will be 3 next week and Bella will be 3 in a few months. It is not necessary to discuss my age. While Mike was at  work Bella and I bake him a spice cake(his choice although I think he wanted pumpkin) Bella and I had a playdate at O2B kids with our new MOPS group(Mothers of Preschoolers) so we made the cake before we left and put it on the cooling rack until we got back. Ok so anyone who knows me knows that I do not cook very often but I do love to bake. Generally I do a good job but I can never seem to ice a cake without getting crumbs all over the icing. I spoke to several people about this including people I don't know and got lots of advice but the best one being just let it cool completely before icing. SO thats what I did. When we came back from O2B I was ready to ice and turned over the cake onto the platter. A whole big chunk of the cake fell off with it. The same with the second layer. SO I did my best to patch it together and used tons of icing but to no avail. There was just a huge hole in the back of the cake. I tried to take pics of it from the right angle and Mike was very understanding but it was so frustrating! Now I know to not put warm cake on a rack to cool. Oh well it tasted good and I used cream cheese frosting(that's my favorite part anyway). MIke wanted to go to this place called Clarks fish camp for dinner to get some good seafood(presumably because I hate it and we never go to seafood restaurants...bad wife bad wife) His parents, brother, Rob, Danny Heather Ethan John and Kathy all joined us. This place is just crazy because I have never seem so many stuffed (previously alive) animals in my life. They had lions,coyotes,birds of all kinds, snakes,bears, tigers, baby giraffes. OK I don't know why they were stuffed although I am hoping it was not for the sake of this restaurant but it was like a huge zoo only they were all dead. The kids thought it was great and they also had a deck outside you could go see LIVE turtles and baby alligators. We go  to place cuz the food is great although I came home with some nasty heartburn last night. We came home and had cake and the kids got their second wind and started a laughing crazy fit. Ethan asked Bella to come run with him and she said "I'm too busy" so  he tried again. "Come run with me Bella"  Bella- "No Ethan I will watch you, I'm too busy" (all the while with her hands way up high on her hips). I am not sure where she gets this stuff.

Fourth of July Weekend

    Mike had a three day weekend so we thought we would go home to Port Orange for the Holiday. What didn't occur to us until we got there was the races were going on. I mean really we grew up there how could we not remember? Anyway we kept out distance from Daytona for that reason. On the fourth we just hung out with my mom and had a cookout with my sister Adrian. The picture here is the only one I could get of Bella's face and her cousin Jayce .  Towards the end of the day (Mike had been gone golfing most of the day) we had dinner and ended up staying in for the evening. Bella wanted to go to the beach but we just didn't want to fight the crowds. We are terrible parents aren't we? Well Grandma Pru put her to bed and the neighborhood was just getting started with their own fireworks. They were setting them off until after midnight and Pru said Bella kept asking her to stop the fireworks. 

    On Saturday we took everyone to Ikea in Orlando to check out a new entertainment center. Since we got rid of the mamba jamba TV we needed something to suit our smaller one better.  Mike and I just love IKEA and we also got to meet Tommy, Danielle, and Savannah there. We haven't gotten to see them since graduation and we  walked the entire store and just plain exhausted ourselves. But Mike got a new EC for his birthday and we definitely got some exercise in. We had forgotten how big IKEA is! Next we headed to check out Tommy and Danielle's new house and are so jealous because he is so close to work that he can ride his bike. Plus Savannah kept saying that Bella couldn't go bye-bye because she wanted her to stay there. Bella misses her "nannah" so much. There are so cute together . Unfortunately I was so tired from IKEA that I forgot to take pics of the girls and I am so mad at myself:(

Books

   This is not family focused but I want to talk about a few great books I have read lately. Yes I have Bella back on a sleep schedule so I have found some time at night to read. It helps that there is nothing on TV right now.

    The first book is called "Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And Other Ways Toddlers Turn Your Life Upside Down"  by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. This book is about toddlers and the authors perspective on raising them. It is just plain hilarious. She says what most mothers won't say out loud and I was literally laughing through the whole book. I would not recommend this book to someone whose baby is not yet a toddler although she does have a book called Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay for the younger set. ANy mother out there who needs a laugh and don't we all out to check this out. Heather has mine right now so you will have to fight her for it and we all know you don't mess with the pregnant lady.

    Shortly after Smokey passed I finally read "Marley and Me" by John Grogan . I thought I had recovered enough to read about another dog. You know, there were so many days where I thought Smokey was such a bad dog. BOY was I deluded. Marley was just plain horrible. This book was funny, scary, and touching all at the same time. The end got me good(turns out I wasn't recovered enough). We are considering getting a Lab for our next dog in a few months and some days I am so excited and other days I am just plain terrified. However, it was a good book my recommendation would be not read it right after you have lost a pet but I can't wait to see it in the movies in December.

    The most recent book I read is called "The Year of Fog" by MIchelle Richmond. Wow. The book is about a woman engaged to a man and she takes his little girl Emma to the beach. She looks away and the girl has disappeared. The book takes you through a year of her search to find her and the language is just beautiful. It sounds really sad but it has just been added to one of my favorite books list. It is almost 400 pages and I read it in three days. It was unputdownable. It makes you also realize what parents, guardians, or significant others go through when someone is lost and that the story does not end just because it is no longer in the news. I know you are thinking it sounds depressing but it wasn't and I loved it. 

    

Movies

    We have been fortunate enough to be able to see a few movies this summer with Sydney babysitting and a few good kid flicks out there. Also our movie theatre is having a weekday special where you can  get in for $5 and then get a drink and refillable popcorn for $5. SOLD!

    I went one night with Mike and Danny to see Indiana Jones. I knew this wouldn't last so I noticed that Sex and the City was playing and the same time so I got through their previews and a little Shia Lebeouf and I did it. I movie hopped. Call the movie police.  I saw Sex and the City and I just loved it. Truly the best movie I have seen in a long time(I know that's not saying much but anyway). For those of you fans out there who haven't seen I suggest you make it a priority. 

    The other movies we saw with Bella were Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda. She seemed to enjoy both of course give her some popcorn and M&M's and she's thrilled. In both movies she kept saying very loudly "what happened Daddy?" I think she liked Kung Fu Panda better though. Wall-E was good but there was almost an hour in the beginning where no one said anything. I was tempted to movie hop again. It did get better though and Wall-E was certainly endearing. 

Kung Fu Panda had lots of animals which I think appealed to Bella and somehow we have all of the toys from McDonalds so that sweetens  the pot. I swear I DO NOT feed my child McDonald's every day. Maybe just every other...just kidding!

   

Puzzles

     Bella has developed a huge interest in Jigsaw puzzles. We got one from Target (Cars,she picked it out and carried it through the whole store, and if she set it down she would go back and find it again) and a few from the Dollar Tree. At first she would get frustrated but she asks us to help her and we do a few pieces and she does the rest. Now she will put them out one by one and do the whole thing herself. We are still working on somewhat successfully in getting her to clean them up.