Happy birthday, sweetheart!

This morning I found myself saying, "One year ago today..." And how things have changed in a year. I never realized how different things would be or how much better. Our sweet Isabella has brought so much laughter and joy into our home. What an amazing blessing she is.

Happy Birthday, sweet Isabella! Your daddy and I have really enjoyed this past year with you.

Here are some pictures of our birthday party in Little Rock:

She didn't want to wear her birthday hat as much as she wanted to play with it.

Isabella liked the hat much better on mommy.

Isabella has learned not to trust that she's going to like everything I want her eat, so she's looking at this cake very uncertainly.

Hmmm... I like this stuff.

Yes, this is good...

This is much easier!

Isabella really enjoyed her birthday party. She was putting the icing in her mouth as fast as she could, but she still took the time to stop and wave to everyone watching. Several times, she'd stop and look around and wave. She didn't seem to mind at all being the center of attention.

Wedding weekend

We traveled to Little Rock on Thursday in my dad's RV. I've determined it's the only way to travel with a one year old. Isabella was able to play on the floor, take naps on the bed, and eat lunch at the table. It was wonderful. I hate to even think about riding in the car 7 hours with her strapped into a carseat. This was so much better. Little Rock was great, and probably would have been more fun if it hadn't been so hot. The highs were around 101 degrees with heat index of 110. I guess the heat and humidity just made us appreciate air conditioning that much more. We LOVE air conditioning!! John and I made it to Corky's BBQ where we had our first date (in NC) of the modern era, as John calls it. Lauren and Cody got in late Friday night, so Lauren and I spent some time Saturday shopping and getting ready for Isabella's birthday party (more to follow on that.) We got a lot of good family time together, and just really enjoyed our long weekend.

John and I were talked into playing canasta with my grandmother and her friend, Annabelle. We really enjoyed it and started getting into talking canasta smack. I love those red 3's...

What a great place for a nap!

Matt and Kasey's rehearsal dinner was casual and Western themed, hence the cowboy hats and boots. The wedding was at a beautiful mansion in downtown Little Rock. Kasey looked gorgeous, and Matt didn't look so bad either. He's a very lucky guy, and we're a lucky family to have Kasey joining us! I hope they can get back to Birmingham soon!

Kisses from grandpa

Larry and Claire went all out for the western theme

I love getting to see my cousins, Lane, Nathan, and Amber

before the wedding

Lauren and Cody

Matt and Kasey

Proud mama

Isabella took her first steps today!! The first was kind of a shuffle, but the second try was definitely a step. She was so proud of herself. When she looked up at me with a sparkle in those sweet blue eyes and a huge grin on her face, I could tell she knew she'd accomplished something big. I can't describe the pride I feel watching her accomplish new things. I feel the most incredible sense of joy just seeing the pride and happiness in her face. My heart swells with love for this little girl; so much more love than I'd ever realized possible. It truly makes my accomplishments seem secondary, when I feel so much more joy in the triumphs of another person. Way to go, Isabella! I'm cheering for you every step of the way!

Happy Early Birthday!

John's family (most of them) are going to be out of town for Isabella's birthday and three of them (John's mom, niece, and brother) all had birthdays this past week. So, we usually have a big June birthday party for all of them and this year Isabella was included in the fun. We had a great dinner followed by bubbles and playtime in the yard and then cake! Candace made the most beautiful and delicious cake for Isabella. You really won't believe how perfect it is. So, Isabella got to have some cake before her first birthday. Lucky girl! I think she liked it!

She had her eye on the duck the whole time. She got such a huge chunk of icing in her mouth, I had to go in after it. She wasn't happy when I took the duck away. She loves the cake!Opening giftsPlaying with grandma

We kept cheering for her to walk, so I think she's proud of herself. She's finally clapping and standing at the same time.She was standing for such long periods, we really thought she'd walk today.

Playing with bubbles with her cousins

11 months

It's so hard to believe we're so close to having Isabella for a whole year. I love this little girl more than I could have imagined possible 11 months ago. She's growing up so fast. She now has 4 teeth coming in on the top, and is dealing with it a little better now. She still crawls lightning fast, but now she's stopping to work on just standing still. Balance has been a little difficult but she's figuring out how to stand for up to 10 seconds at a time. (You're going to see the PT in me coming out. I'll have her working on single leg balance soon.) She usually falls when she tries to do anything with her hands, like clap and stand up at the same time. It's pretty cute.

She has learned to clap. I will cheer for her when she eats something I want her to try, so now she'll eat a Cheerio and then she'll clap for herself. And I'm thinking "big deal, that's an easy one!" She's also getting pretty good at blowing kisses, but she licks her hand instead of kissing it. I always laugh when she does it, and then she gives me a huge grin. I think it just encourages her to keep licking her hand and throw some more kisses. Okay by me!

I think she's getting closer to saying "dada" with more meaning and purpose, which is making John much happier. She needs to learn that one, because I think she could get anything she wanted if she says it. Not that there's much she doesn't get anyway.

She loves bath time. It's becoming more and more difficult to keep her still. She moves from her tummy to crawling around the tub to trying to stand up, all within seconds of each other. It takes great attention to keep her in one place. Mimi got her a blow up pool for the yard, and she LOVES it. Today is the first day we've used it, but as you can see, she's having a great time. It's like extended bathtime, and for mommy it's a break!

Blowing bubbles

Here's to 5 years!

John really surprised me on this anniversary. Our 5th anniversary was yesterday, May 29th. We had plans to go to an associate party for the firm that John's working for this summer. I know it doesn't sound like a great anniversary celebration, but I was okay with this because it's important to John and he'd really like to work for this firm. He told me we'd get dinner on Saturday night instead. As the party progressed he asked if I'd like to get dessert somewhere to celebrate a little tonight. I agreed and he took me to Shula's for dessert. I was secretly wondering why Shula's since they aren't known for dessert, but didn't ask. I did ask if his mom knew she was babysitting Isabella on Saturday night since she emailed me earlier that day to apologize for not being able to babysit that night. I thought it sounded strange, but John assured me that his mom knew. We probably weren't dressed exactly right for Shula's (John was in shorts, and I was in a sundress... more fit for the barbeque outside we had just left) but they let us in. John also brought a large backpack in with us, which wasn't inconspicuous at all. He told me there was a gift inside for me, so I didn't give him too hard of a time. We enjoyed our desserts and then John presented me with a hotel key for an overnight stay at the Wynfrey Hotel. After a slight freak out because I've never stayed away from Isabella overnight, I relaxed and enjoyed the adventure. And when I say adventure, I mean finding out what John had brought (or rather forgot to bring) for me. After dessert we headed to the check-in desk to pick up a few toiletries (the assistant said "You both forgot your toothbrushes?!") When we got to our room, John surprised me with a beautiful pair of diamond earrings. (Yay, John!) We had a great evening out and enjoyed relaxing in bed when we woke up in the morning with no one to cry out and wake us up. Of course, the funny thing is that I was going crazy not having seen Isabella in more than 12 hours, so we headed home by 8:00. When we arrived we found that Isabella had only JUST woken up. She NEVER sleeps that late. It just continues to prove my theory that my aunt Kathy is magic.

Here are a few pictures of Isabella enjoying her evening with Mimi and Kathy (not shown.) We don't have any of our date night, sorry! Happy Anniversary, baby! I loved the surprise! I did tell him that if he surprises me with any longer trips, Lauren has to come home and pack for me!

Mimi giving Isabella a bath in the sink

Sleep

Isabella has adopted this as her new sleeping position.  I think it's too cute!  Her little bottom sits up in the air.