on the move!

we're on the move people. on the move. the family reunion was great, though the daddy got sick and isa decided there was way too much going on to get much sleep. but all that aside, it was a really nice little getaway. food, family, fun, and cool mountain weather. ahhhh. vacation.

we headed into denver today for a little more fun before the mommy heads to new york city. though we had previously planned to hit up the denver zoo, three digit temperatures dictated something different. so we went to the denver aquarium instead and really enjoyed it! it's not the largest aquarium, but for an aquarium in a landlocked state it was pretty impressive! isa got to see her fair share of fish, sharks, and other sea creatures... all of which she called "nemo!" stay tuned for a picture filled post when we get back to town.

in the meantime, send your all your good vibes to us as we travel and play, so that the mommy can enjoy her time in new york and phil can enjoy his one on one time with miss isa!

see you next week folks!

flashback... saturday?

ok, this time we actually forgot. so here's a flashback saturday for ya, with isa at about 6 days old. she is actually sneezing in this photo, not crying, in case you were wondering.

tomorrow we're off to colorado, and then the mommy goes to nyc! so expect seldom blogging until we get back in about a week and a half. see you then!

happy 23 months isa!

it's a big day today! all the ultrasound excitement aside, isabel is 23 months old day! can you believe it? that means next month she'll be TWO years old. hard to believe. so what's the goose like at almost two? busy! she is still the busy body of the house-- she never stops moving and lately she never stops talking either. she is really starting to enjoy pretend play too, which is really fun to watch. she spent most of this afternoon babying all of her stuffed animals-- and asking me to re-swaddle them about a dozen times! and she has taken keen interest in the potty as well. not that this translate into actually going potty very often, but atleast pretending to! that's a start i suppose.

these photos were taken at a playground up in the canyon we call "the buffalo" or in isa terms, the "buff-lo." it's a cool little playground that has some kiddie climbing features, which isa really likes. although as you can see from the picture, it's a toss as to who had more fun... isa or daddy?

thumbs up! it's a...

... cute little baby! this is an picture from this morning's ultrasound. the little one gave us the thumbs up! all is well baby says, all is well. and it certainly is! much to everyone's surprise, the placenta has completely moved up (hallellujah!) so there is no more worry of placenta previa like there was with isa. that was a very welcome surprise. and all the measurements are right where they should be. other than that, it appears that we have a very modest little baby on our hands. and while we *think* we know the gender, i wouldn't suggest going out and buying any blue or pink just yet. the little one had it's legs firmly crossed the entire time, and while the radiologist pulled out all of her tricks to get a definitive look... she wouldn't say 100% one way or another. but, for those of you who are dying to know, you can check out the comments for this thread to see what we *think* the little peanut is!

FREE SHIPPING SALE!

FREE SHIPPING SALE in the shop, on all ready to ship items! now through friday only!

(U.S. addresses only please.)

mama duck and crib chatter...

mama duck

isa is starting to become really motherly with her toys and animals. she has taken a particular liking to the set of rubber duckies that arrived in the mail from her gramma and grampa. she likes to feed them, read them a story and then put them to bed in her crib. this morning she did all of those things, in addition to playing some music for them to dance to. to which she said, "mama duck. dancin!" all of this, in addition to the latest verbal leap, makes for amusement for all of us. i'll post later with some of her more humorous and sweet phrases that she surprises us with, but this morning's wake up conversation sums it up. i heard her jabbering around 8am and walked into her room, at which point she rattled off, "mommy! turtle jammies! kitty cat paci! banana please!" well, ok then... happy saturday to you too miss isabel!

priceless

isa is going to make herself sick licking the bowl and spoon... of chocolate icing, you might be thinking? cupcake batter? cookie dough? no... pesto. yes that's correct... my child has a serious thing for pesto. if i don't get that bowl and spoon away from her, there might not be enough left for dinner! let's hope the basil crop keeps up! speaking of which, garden pictures to come.

flashback friday

taking you way back... all the way to april 2007. happy friday!

baby in a box

i've been looking for a nice toybox for a while now. the previous one was a thrift store special that was falling apart and not exactly child friendly. so i was thrilled that i found this nice leather here in town for a really good price (imagine that!), especially since the one i had been eyeing from ikea has been out of stock for a long time now. as it turns out, isa really likes this one too... but more as a place to play in and not so much to actually store her toys-- which she would rather disperse around the house. plus it makes a nice window seat to check out the front yard and all the birds that come and go during various times of the day. whatever works.

party girl!

the goose likes to be the life of the party-- whether that be showing off her swimming skills, dancing in circles around the deck, or simply putting away massive amounts of hummus! with the daddy working out of town, isa and mommy went to our friend missy's BAD (big a$$ deck) party for a little company. once isa had gotten her share of bouncing around the kiddie pool, fully clothed, she moved on to bigger and better things. namely entertaining the crowd with her dancing and eating skills. ah, good times, good times.

impatience pays

or atleast i think so. sometimes.

we have a new ultrasound date for the littlest bean! to my surprise, radiology had a cancellation so we get to catch a glimpse of the little booger before the family reunion and mommy's nyc adventure! woohoo! it's scheduled for next tuesday at 10am.

i think i have devised a plan to spread the word (on pink or blue) without ruining the surprise for those (patient souls) who don't want to know. what if i divulge the news in the comments section of the post? that way, if you don't want to know then you just don't read the comments! you see, everyone wins... and the patient souls get to test their will power by not reading the comments for that post over the next few months. me thinks this might work well!

july. blah.

well, it's officiall july. and officially hot. and the mommy is officially pregnant. isa and i went for a short walk this morning and i'm not sure who was going to melt first. atleast she had a sucker. and i was the dummy who was drinking *hot* coffee. bright idea huh? another good idea... some new shorts. since i am officially pregnant (and past the "too many donuts or pregnant?" stage), all those super cute shorts i bought early in the spring just don't quite fit anymore. sigh.

speaking of pregnant, the littlest baby is now 17 weeks old in utero. almost half way there! woohoo! assuming s/he cooperates, we'll know if it's a pink or a blue on august 5th. anybody wanna place bets?

ok, i take it back...

she will model, on occasion. it just takes some bribery.

the shop is OPEN!

woohoo! the shop is OPEN!

there are lots of new sets and dresses, with more to come!

p.s. in case anyone is wondering why it's willow in the picture instead of isa... it's because isa has finally put her foot down and absolutely refuses to play model anymore. sigh. what's a girl to do? get another model i guess.

for nanny

these are the lupines i mentioned in the comment response. unfortunately i didn't take any other pictures of what's blooming--oops. isa actually recognized the lupines from our front yard. we have two new ones we planted this year and have been babying them as they start to bloom. we told isa that they are "baby flowers" and that we need to be extra gentle with them. so when she saw these she said, "babies! babies!"

there were lots of other beautiful wildflowers too, thanks to the wet spring: indian paintbrush, spring beauties, mule's ear sunflowers, et al. the bottom picture was our camp spot. the tent is just out of view to the bottom right. one of the best things about this area is that there is so much land that you can totally avoid established campgrounds (and loud neighbors) and just pull off anywhere you see fit. which means you can usually get a nice little view, along with your peace and quiet!

campin'

"driving" the car while mommy and daddy packed up.

said packing.

sleepy morning baby talk.

one last tickle, just for good measure.

Well, we're back! We are glad we escaped the mayhem in town yesterday, though camping with a toddler isn't exactly the most relaxing of ventures! Especially a toddler that has several teeth coming in and decided that she didn't need a 4th of July nap! But we did get to check out a new area and that was nice, and other than isa's bedtime protests, it was very, very quiet. It was also a really nice break from the heat and we didn't even get carried away by mosquitos. There were some, but considering it's July they were not as bas as they could be. Isa enjoyed pointing all of them out ("skitos!") this morning as we laid in the mosquito-free tent. She also enjoyed playing "follow the leader" on the trail (she was the leader), smelling all the flowers, and building little rock towers around camp.

the parade

here are some shots from the 4th of july parade this morning-- and now we're off to go camping! kuddos to daddy for chasing isa around in the heat this morning!

CSA summer...

vegetables? we got your vegetables! last fall we signed up for a summer CSA share here in town. CSA stands for "community supported agriculture" and is a system that allows people to buy shares of produce from local growers. it's a very brilliant, yet basic system, that helps support local farmers, cuts down on fuel consumption, and provides healthy (often organic) food for communities. this is our first year taking part and our first weekly pick up was today. it's gotten off to a late start this year, due to the cold spring, but we are excited to take part. given the climate, the first few weeks consist mostly of greens and radishes and herbs, but come august production is in full swing and the baskets will be overflowing! we are actually splitting our share with friends, being that we are a small family and would have trouble eating all of it ourselves-- especially with our own garden. so there you go, a little summer goodness! let's hope isa gets back on the veggie train soon, because there will be alot to eat!

to the woods!

well folks, it's time to get out of dodge! as many of you know, this sleepy little mountain town turns to a patriotic war zone come july 4th. it's maddening and insane and we'd like to avoid it as best as possible. i suppose i should preface by saying that i do really like the big, bright fireworks that go poof. those are fine. but what i do not like are the screamers and M80s and blackcats being set off all through the night around here. where is the fun in that anyway? or in shooting pedestrians with bottlerockets (i do not exaggerate here. it happens.)? no thanks.

rant over. we are going camping instead! pregnant with a toddler and camping? yeah, go ahead and give us the parent of the year award or something. but we're actually looking forward to it! rest assured it will not be the "roughing it" camping of previous years, but will involve lots of pillows and down comforters and large cook stoves and maybe even some popsicles. stay tuned for pictures!

and happy 4th to you and yours.

shop preview!

a little sneak peak at some of the new lounge sets going up in the shop. there will be about eight or nine total, plus two new dresses. there will be more sushi, and flowers, and animals, and even something for the littlest world traveler-- a little something for everyone! stay tuned, the shop is slated to reopen on july 7th!