Merry Christmas!

We have had a wonderful time in Indiana at my Mom and Dad's house (Mom and Dad Byers). We had some great snow (even though Isabella despises it), great food, and some great baby sitters!! Isabella has enjoyed playing with her cousin Lydia, and was even able to hold her 6 week old cousin Lauren! We have discovered that Isabella is a very sensitive person, as she HATES it when babies cry. Her vocabulary has exploded while we've been here. Some of her favorite phrases are "Silly Daddy," "NO, NO, NO," and "Bye, Bye Lights" as we pass houses with Christmas light decorations. She has to keep track of everyone in the family by doing "role call" at the dinner table.

Her favorite Christmas gifts were definitely her new baby laptop from Auntie Cheryl, bracelets, and small Winnie the Pooh and Mickey figures. She also enjoys her new purse and putting pretend lipstick on her Daddy.

Steve and I have enjoyed a couple of date nights, including eating at a wonderful Sushi restaraunt! We were able to meet up with my best friend from college, Erin, and her husband Allen and son Alex. Alex is just a couple months younger than Isabella so they had fun playing with together.

Since our last posting at Thanksgiving we've had some exciting news that we're expecting a baby in July!

Isabella on her Nana's lap reading.

Isabella HATES the snow and says "cold, cold, cold" whenever we go outside.



Trying to get a good Christmas picture

Isabella with her Great Nana (wearing the sweater Great Nana knit for her)

Isabella was very excited about this Christmas gift

Isabella and her new bracelets

Isabella playing with cousin Lydia

Isabella opening up her gift from Uncle Will, Auntie Liz and cousin Kacie (Thank you!)

The 3 of us

Isabella holding cousin Lauren

Skyping Christmas Day with cousin Charley and Auntie Claire from England

Lydia is ready for dessert!

Nana and Great Nana with their Grand Girls

Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving in Houston, with Steve's family. We had a wonderful time! Isabella did great on our drive and loved spending time with her cousins. She was definitely spoiled over the weekend! We had quite a surprise when we returned to Abilene, SNOW!!


Auntie Cheryl became Isabella's favorite when she introduced her to Whip Cream!



I AM a big girl!

The cousins

The Men and Boys of the family

Isabella and Nicholas

Isabella hanging out with some of the cousins and Great Grams

Auntie Carissa was another favorite of Isabella because she had a cell phone with lots of buttons and pictures.

Happy Halloween!

She really is Izzy Bee! Isabella handled wearing her bee costume for some cute pictures and walking to about three houses before she had enough of it. She was ready to come home and hand out candy.

What did you put on me mom?



Ok, I'm ready to go.



It's hard to see around this hood.



I'm too cute!



Woops! Showing a little diaper.



Get this off me!

Grams and Great Grams visit!

This weekend Grams and Great Grams came to visit from Houston. We had fun at the Pumpkin Patch and eating at Perini Ranch. Isabella enjoyed showing Grams and Great Grams all her books and playing with them outside.


Four Generations


Isabella and Grams at the Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch

We had a wonderful Saturday at the Abilene Pumpkin Patch. Isabella seemed a bit overwhelmed with the massive amount of pumpkins, and choosing the perfect one. She enjoyed looking at the miniature gourds, and actually preferred them to the pumpkins because she was able to walk around with one in each hand.

This is a fun swing! But would someone push me please!

I love my Daddy!

I really like these small things, they even have handles!

This pumpkin weighs more than me!

Daddy, can you pick this one up for me?

Hey! This makes a great seat!

A perfect picture.

This one is perfect for me!

It's spoon time!

Today I decided that it was the perfect time to introduce the concept of eating with a spoon to Isabella. I just bought a new plate set and it came with a great spoon, plus it has Dora on it so I knew she'd like it! As we sat down to dinner this evening, I handed Isabella her spoon and she went right to town. We're not sure how much food actually made it into her mouth, but she had fun and it had high entertainment value for Steve and I.

Our little musician

Isabella has discovered the piano and the "wonderful" sounds it can make. She has been very busy "composing" some new songs for us. We have titled her latest piece Thunderstorm. If you call our house you will often hear her "practicing" in the background.

Just chilling...

One of Isabella's favorite things to do is to chill with dad and look at pictures and listen to music on the computer. This is pretty much the only time Isabella will sit still while she's awake!

Hook'em Horns!

We're settling in here at home and enjoying being with our friends again. Isabella loves all her "new" toys that she hasn't played with in so long. She also loves going out to our backyard and playing with the dog. We had some friends over on Saturday and watched the UT football game, so Isabella had to show her Longhorn spirit!

Hook'em Horns!

Touchdown!

We're Home!

After four months away...we're finally home! It was wonderful getting back to "good old" Abilene and all the friendly people. Texans are truly some of the friendliest people in the Country! Our wonderful friends Jonathan and Christine picked Isabella and I up from the airport, bought us a great Thai dinner and had even stocked our refrigerator! Our Air Force family is such a blessing! Steve drove home and arrived last night. He's already back in the swing of things at the squadron and is looking forward to flying again!

We'll try to add some new pictures in the coming week after we get settled back in.

A trip to Indiana

Isabella and I took a quick trip to Indiana to help celebrate my Mom's birthday. Isabella had a wonderful time hanging out with her cousin Lydia. It was so cute to see them play together and "talk." One of her highlights was a trip to the zoo!



Happy Birthday Nana!



Isabella and Uncle Jon



Going for a walk with Poppy



Sitting at Poppy's desk



At the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo



Isabella and cousin Lydia



Playing with bubbles



Isabella and Beckham waiting for Poppy to finish up a conference call



Isabella and Nana reading in the tent



Smelling the flowers in Nana and Poppy's garden



Isabella LOVES flowers!