Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Since we couldn't be with you this holiday, we made some videos with wishes of a very happy turkey day from our family to yours! Lots of Love!

Groovin' to some Christmas music

Today Miss Izzy had her 12 month check-up. She is 28 1/4 inches tall and weighs 20.15 lbs. Izzy demonstrated for the doctor that she can stand on her own, clap her hands, and practice walking. Also, I talked to the doctor about giving her foods, such as egg whites, and she informed me that some of the food allergy info is a bit outdated and as long as mommy and daddy don't have food allergies, it should be fine to give her all those foods I was holding off on. So I suppose she could've had the full-on egg white birthday cake afterall! Oh well! It was still really good and I, um, I mean Izzy has been enjoying it. So apart from being a bit conservative on what she's been eating, everything looks great and our little Izzy is growing and growing!

Showing off my chubby cheeks:)

One of my many signature looks. I call this one "Blue Steel."

Cheeeeeeeesssseee!

Strike a pose

Clap, clap, clap your hands!

Photo-ready

Standing all on my own!

Izzy quietly partaking in her birthday cake...

...And the after effects of sugar!

Happy First Birthday, Isabella! What a wonderful year it has been, from tiny newborn to our now chattering, toddling, dancing little girl! Our lives are truly blessed and we cherish every moment with our Izzy. Since her actual birthday is today, a Monday, we decided to celebrate yesterday so we could have a full day of birthday festivities. First we went to the Children's Museum which has a "Tot Spot"--a perfect, pint-sized play area filled with toys and games and places to explore. Izzy loved climbing along this path that went up small stairs to a wavy floor then down a ramp. There were buttons to push, balls to bounce, wheels to turn and much fun to be had at the Tot Spot. So after spending much of the morning at the museum, we then had a late lunch at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Express, got home, opened presents and cards. Then it was birthday cake time! Long before her birthday, I was worried over the cake. Should I order a cake? Make it myself? Should there even be a cake? Izzy hasn't had any sweets, yet, which I didn't think was that big of a deal until I realized her birthday cake would be the first time she would ever have sugar! She's had fruit, of course, and loves her veggies, but I never included sweets into her diet. So, after much deliberation, I ended up making her a vegan cake which had a lot less sugar than the traditional cakes you buy or bake. The frosting was made from an organic mix and was not sugar-shock sweet, either. No, it did not taste like card board! Even my highly-trained sweet tooth approved! When we presented Izzy with her cake, she considered it for a bit, but really didn't know what to do with it. We gave her a big chunk to demolish but she ate it quite delicately, in fact, and it was decidedly not the cake diving scene I had envisioned.  An hour later, however, it was a different story. She was flying around the living room in a sugar-induced frenzy. Great. Right before bed-time, too. I shudder to think what she would've been like if we had given her a high octane cake! But we did finally manage to quiet her down and get her ready for bed. Sigh. Though she is only one and not likely to remember it, we'd like to think she had a good birthday filled with fun, wonderful presents and, of course, cake! 

Baby you can drive my car

Alright, mom, pay attention: the right pedal is the gas and the left one is the break. 

Sweets for the sweet

Daddy at Cafe Express

Peek-a-boo!

Having lunch at Whole Foods today.

Happy Birthday!

A happy face

Recently, Izzy has been crawling around with stuff in her mouth. This next picture is her with a corner cushion in her mouth (you put these rubbery dealies on the corner of coffee tables to prevent babies from knocking their noggins on them.) Well, Izzy has learned to take these cushions off and likes to carry them around the house, hide them and generally make a mockery out of our baby-proofing attempts!

Barnes and Noble has a Thomas the Tank Engine play area where I take Izzy every once in awhile. She loves Thomas and friends, but mostly enjoys seeing the other kids there.

A couple of weekends ago we went to a park that is smack-dab in the middle of downtown Houston where Izzy was able to crawl around the grass for the first time. At first she was weirded out by the "non-carpetness" of it all, but once she got used to it, she was off like a flash, racing over hill and dale! On Halloween, Izzy and I met up with some friends to see a presentation of the Beauty and the Beast. It was a Spanish adaptation complete with a Chupacabra as the Beast. Definitely not Broadway but, hey, it was free and Izzy enjoyed it. She even tried to "sing" along. After the play, we walked around the park and found this baby-sized playground for Izzy and her pal, Carolina, who just turned one. They had fun on the slide, swings, and tunnels. We also got a glimpse of local wildlife: ducks, squirrels, muskrats. Yep, we saw a huge muskrat swimming in one of the lakes. It was huge, about the size of a small dog and it had bright orange teeth! He seemed to think we were going to feed him and swam over to us, Eeek! Needless to say, we did not stay to pet him! We took Chris to this same park yesterday to play in the Izzy-sized playground. And to find a muskrat. Just kidding. If I never see one of those critters again, it will be too soon!

Getting into the swing of things. 

Workin' out with my personal trainer. Two more reps? Whew! Powerlifting is hard!

Weeeeeee!

Taking a ride on this...well, not sure what this thing is called but it's fun!

Ready. Set. Go!!!!

Pep talk before the big game. Or swing. Whatever.

Weeeeeeee! Part 2

Off on my expedition thru dark caves and tunnels. Don't wait up.

Tunnel of hugs

Who would've the thought the light at the end of the tunnel could be so cute?

A tiny house for a tiny mouse

Bookstore baby

Hmmm, Green Eggs and Ham or War and Peace? Decisions, decisions.

Starting early with the video games.

Wow, this carpet is kinda scratchy. And green. Cool.

Yoga practice in the open air

Close-up!

People watching

Glad my cel-mate is mommy