Horseback riding

On Friday our friend, Landon, texted me asking if we wanted to go horseback riding at his parent's ranch.  I was super excited because Izzy loves animals.  She has her "own horse" in the living room that is pretty big (bigger than dogs) and makes noises.  I couldn't wait to see how she would be around real horses and thought she would love every minute of it.

Izzy and Hurley, Landon's dog.  Hurley has spent many afternoons in our backyard at bbq's, so Izzy and Hurley are good friends.  If I could find a dog as well behaved as Hurley we would have one for sure!

Izzy was way more timid than I expected.  If I took her near a horse she would hold on to me really tight and whimper.

As you can tell, she is squeezing Daddy because the horse is getting too close.

She is crying and reaching for mom because she is scared.  Definitely not how I imagined the afternoon going.

Going in the corral, getting a little closer!

When I got on, I thought maybe Izzy would ride with me.  She wasn't too sure about it at first.

But then she started enjoying it.

By the end she was loving it!!

She wanted to lead the horses around.

If she was not riding she would start crying.  So Kathryn was kind enough to let Izzy ride with her.  It's funny how quickly she changed her mind about horses.

After horseback riding we went to a park and had a bbq.  It was a great day!!

18 months

I can't believe Izzy is 18 months.  I still remember being pregnant (even though I try to forget feeling sick and pricking my poor finger multiple times/day).  I had no idea how you could love someone so much until she came along.  She has brought so much joy and happiness into my life.  Although there are days where she drives me crazy too!!  She loves to throw herself on the floor when she doesn't get her way, which isn't much fun, but for the most part she is happy!

Eating is her favorite activity.  Whenever I'm in the kitchen she tries to open the fridge.  We are going to have a problem when she can do it herself.

I love her summer clothes, that she can finally wear! Although today the high is 50 so she is back in a sweatshirt.  But on warm days, I'm all about summer!!  And yes, she is in my high heels.

I told her to smile and instead she laughed, so I'll take it.

She is trying to open the water bottles.  She loves to get into everything!!

Stats:

Weight: 31 pounds (99+%) the doctor said she was off the charts, so we'll say 99%

Height: 33 1/2 inches (94%)

Head: I don't remember the circumference but it was also off the charts.

The doctor asked me if I had any brothers who were big to explain her size, but that's a negative, so who knows where she gets it from!!

Things about Izzy:

• She loves to empty baskets, drawers, boxes, anything she can
• She loves to help load and unload the dishwasher
• She helps with the washing by putting the clothes in the washing machine for me.  Unfortunately she likes to turn the washer on/off too, which causes problems.
• She loves playing with water fountains
• She loves standing on the edge of the bathtub so she can turn the sink water on and run her hands under it.
• She loves to skype with family
• She loves to play with my Iphone, especially the animal sound game.  She can make animal noises of: monkey, pig, dog, cat, fish, guinea pig, beaver, horse, lion, there's probably more, but those are some of my favorite.
• She LOVES to read, this is probably her favorite.  If you say an item in the book she can point them all out.  
• She loves to play outside.  She bangs on the sliding door saying Please until you take her out.  When she comes back in she usually cries.
• She loves to go on bike rides.  She climbs into the bike carrier on her own and sits there until she is taken on a ride.
• Her favorite foods are: cheese, tomatoes, yogurt, strawberries, and fruit snacks.
• Words she can say: mama, dada, derdle, doggy, Guillaume, bye, papi, mami, abi, papa, hi, ice, eyes, nose, toes, ankle, cheese, snacks, puppy, horse, thank you, poopy, yum yum (for food), bath, water, baby (which she calls all of her animals), hot, book, play, and papa.  I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of right now. 

I could go on and on about cute things she does, so I'll stop there!!  

Mother's Day

Being a mother has been the greatest blessing in my life.  It definitely teaches you so much about sacrifice, humility, unconditional love, charity and JOY.  Izzy has brought me so much joy in my life.  I love her more than words can describe.  I love when she smiles at me, talks, laughs, eats, says PLEASE after she is told no.  I am so grateful to have her as my daughter.  I love you Izzy!

I love this dress. My mom bought it at a boutique in Bay City.

No luck with getting a smile

Trying to get a mother/daughter picture after church

All she wanted to do was sleep

I also love my mother so much.  She is a great example to me.  Many people say we look alike, hopefully one day people will say we act like! I hope to be like my mother.  She is so caring, selfless, charitable, loving, kind, and thoughtful.  She always goes out of her way to make sure her children are happy and taken care of.  I remember her waking up with me every morning for seminary.  She cooked us breakfast everyday-eggs with cheese, bacon, and biscuits with gravy--Delicious!!  She taught me right from wrong, helped me with school work, supported me in activities-tennis, dance, class president, whatever I wanted to do she was there for me.  I am so grateful to have such a great example in my life.  I hope I can be like her!

I couldn't find a more recent picture.  This is when my Mom came out for Izzy's birthday.

Izzy and I went to a wedding reception together so I thought I'd get a few pictures of us dressed up.

She always looks at the camera like "what are you doing?"

I knew things were too quiet, but I assumed Izzy was playing in the silverware drawer in the kitchen, but this is what I found when I walked in.  Luckily, I had bought some Magic Eraser sponges and it came right off.

She even colored herself!

New York

We flew to New York for Easter Weekend.  On Thursday morning, I was checking in for our flight while Mike parked the car and the sky cap attendant said, "Is your husband going to change seats with you?"  And I said, "Why does he have the aisle?" He said, "No, he is in first class."  Mike is a Medallion member with Delta so he is eligible for first class upgrades.  I asked if I could get an upgrade too since I was with him and I was able to!  We ended up getting upgraded on the way home too.  It was awesome, big seats, lots of leg room, actual meals, plus tons of snacks, free tv, headsets, and movies.  We loved it!  It was Izzy's 26th flight, but her first first class ride.  

Izzy's first time on a subway so we had to document it.  Yes that's my brother on the end; I never realized how he towers over us.  Not sure where he got his genes from.

Celeste and Izzy at Rockefeller's Plaza.

Izzy pointing up at the building.  I don't think she has ever stood at the bottom of skyscrapers before.  She was amazed.

Izzy chasing the birds at Rockefeller's Plaza

The ice skating rink at Rockefellers Plaza.  Mike did not know it was there year round; he wanted to go on the ice so bad.  He said he has always wanted to skate there.

Izzy did not want to be held because she was having so much fun chasing the birds, but I wanted to get a picture with her Aunt Celeste.

Bunny balancing an egg on its nose at Rockefeller's Plaza.

It was cold, if you can't tell.  We were waiting in line at Shake Shack.  This is the best burger/shake place in NYC.  The only problem is everyone else knows about it so we had to wait in line for an hour.  But it was well worth it and it was nice to be with family.

While everyone else waited in line, Izzy chased the dogs, birds, squirrels, and any other animal she could find.  She is such an animal lover.

Super skinny building.  Not sure how anyone lives in there.

One night Izzy woke up at 1 AM.  She never does this at home, but sleeping in the same room in an unfamiliar bed threw her off I guess.  So I brought her in bed with us (which has never happened before and I'll never do again.  I don't know how people sleep in the same bed with a kicking, rolling, toddler) and gave her a bottle.  She fell back asleep.  At 5:40 AM she was up again; we didn't know it til she stood up and body slammed Daddy and she just started laughing.  She thought it was hilarious; she stood back up and said, "More!" We were both wondering what she was doing.  Mike didn't think she would go back to sleep because she was so animated.  I got a bottle and she fell back asleep in our bed.  At 9:30 when we were ready to go out for the day, she was still fast asleep so Mike decided to take advantage of it of give her kisses, she was out!!  Eventually we had to wake her up because we had to meet everyone at 10.  She was a little stinker that night, but so cute!!

Still fast asleep!

Celeste is an intern at Goldman Sachs.  She took us to her office space and showed us around the building.  Well, she showed us as much as she is able.  It is very secure, you are only allowed to go to the floor where your office is and the elevator knows this when you swipe your badge.  She works on the 37th floor so she has an awesome view.  Izzy loved standing in the window and looking out, this girl has no fear.

Celeste, Dennis, and Kathryn

Izzy loving the view

Saturday we went to a Met's game.  There was a 2 hour rain delay.  Luckily, my dad had bought nice tickets so we had access to the Caesar's Club, which had food, couches, tvs, etc.  So I sat in there with Izzy while she took a long, much needed nap.

The game finally started and was pretty exciting.  The Mets hit back to back home runs, which is always fun.

Sunday morning we went to church with Celeste.  The building was awesome, it looked just like all the other buildings around it-narrow and tall.  The gym was on the 5th floor.

The whole gang.

Easter's second easter.  She already started eating the chocolate by the time I took the picture.  She got a little doll too from the Easter bunny.

Trying to get more candy out.

Sunday we hung around Celeste's apartment and went to Central Park.  It was a fun, relaxing day with the family.  She and Brandon made Cafe Rio pork salads, which were delicious.

Dennis guarding the table.  Izzy loved to grab the Dr. Peppers and take a sip before someone caught her.

Izzy loved playing around this chair, not sure why, but she LOVED it!

I am so glad I was able to be with my family.  The previous week was very hard for me, such a wide range of emotions, and this was just what I needed.  It was great to be around them and feel of their love and support.  I am so grateful for the gospel in our lives and the knowledge that I have of eternal families.