The Mousel's: Bikes, Beer, and a Baby: Isabel, Neglected?

***Two posts in one day...crazy, I know! Also, this is a long one, but I felt like I needed to document some of Isabel's developments as I have not done a post like this in awhile.**

The last couple posts have been true to our title: Bikes, Beer and a Baby, but I guess we need to make sure we tie in our toddler as well. Believe me, there is no neglect happening with the teenager-in-training at this house. It really is Isabel's World all the time!

The last couple weekends we have been busy working putting Isabel's new big girl room together. The room is painted, furniture is assembled, and closet reconfigured. We just need to accessorize for the finishing touches (hint, hint Auntie Ree-Ree). Isabel LOVES the room...she wants to be in there all the time, and when she is in there she has the biggest smile on her face and runs crazy! She knows that it is her "nigh-nigh" room, but I think the excitement needs to wear-off a little before she actually gives it a go sleeping in there. I know some might want pictures...you'll just have to wait, though, until it looks more complete. Think PINK!

Isabel is in full-on toddler mode with "MINE!" and "NO!" being her most used words. Seriously, her first phrase/sentence was, "No, my b." (B is what she calls her blanket.) Once she started stringing words together, I can't believe how fast it continued to develop. It seems to me her language development is pretty average, but it is quite spectacular to witness how fast it continues to develop. She has a couple phrases that we have no idea what she is actually saying or where it came from...she know exactly what she is saying; however, we often need to play the guessing game until she says, "yeah, yeah." One of the phrases sounds like, "I choo. Mama, I choo. Dada, I choo." She also is big into saying everyone's names who are in the room. She will go around and point to everyone while saying there name. Trying to get her to say stuff is fine, but the best, though, is when she just says things unprompted...not to put on a show, but trying to converse in a real way. A proud mama moment was when she started to say "thanks!" (for some reason the thank YOU is not part of her vocabulary yet) without being reminded. I definitely beam when those manners come through without the reminders.

Isabel will still eat anything. We have not come across anything yet she just flat out refuses to eat. It is tough sometimes monitoring her eating. As with most kids, I assume, how much they eat fluctuates so much. One week she will eat really well, while the next she eats very minimally. One thing we have to watch closely, though, is her snacking. She would snack all day if she could; and really that is not the worst thing if she was always snacking on the right things! Don't get me wrong some of the things she loves to snack on are good for her: cheese, nuts, raisins, yogurt, and fruit (particularly Cuties), but she will never turn down the "num-nums" either. Speaking of eating time, Isabel would rather sit in a regular chair than her high chair so she kind of splits her time between the two.

Books, books, books...Isabel cannot get enough of books right now, which makes mama and dada very happy; however, she also likes to take them all out the basket then choose the 1, 2, or 8 she wants to read. I think it is so cute when she sits on daddy's chair in the living room and pretends to read. Her little voice speaking gibberish, but a very confident gibberish, can melt a mama's heart.

Other toys she loves right now are her hair and make-up set, her kitchen pots and pans along with her Tupperware pitcher and cups, and balls. She has really taken to actually throwing balls lately, which is a proud dada moment as he has been trying to show her how for a while, but she was not all that interested until now...she actually has caught a few balls as well.

Lately, Isabel has been learning some lessons by pushing boundaries. A couple weeks ago, we got a naughty note home from Barbie's that Isabel pinched another little boy (he is the one that had been biting her around Christmas time). It is an ongoing I want what he/she has and I am going to take it while the other then seeks revenge. Isabel has a love-hate relationship with that little one as the other day they were in cahoots sneaking into the bathroom to play in the toilet water...I never said Isabel was a girly-girl. I think Isabel is starting to understand more when she has done something wrong. Later in the week, she hit up the toilet again so Barb said she had a stern talking with her. When I asked Isabel why she was in different clothes, Isabel lowered her head and didn't want to make eye contact with me.

Final note, Isabel LOVES babies. She cannot get enough of baby cousin Caleb. We went to visit him last week and she tried to pick him up off the ottoman...note to mama: do not leave new baby and Isabel alone in a room. Even though Ethan is not really a baby anymore, she absolutely cannot wait to see him and continues to show him the ropes (and now he comes to Barbie's three half days a week). She also talks to Baby Mousel, strokes mama's tummy, and gives it kisses. It will definitely be an interesting transition when the new baby comes, but we think she is going to be quite the helpful big sister!

Isabel in Action: