Weekend filled with mixed emotions

This weekend was both a happy time and a very sad time for me. Friday DH and I flew to Texas for one if his friends wedding. His friend who I have met a few times has been through A LOT the last year and a half. He had a brain tumor (not cancerous) removed just over a year and a half ago and ever since has been rehabing from the damage the surgery/tumor caused. He has had to learn how to eat again, speak again and still has issues with facial muscles that haven't come back as well as some vision issues. He has been with his now wife for several years and after delaying the wedding once because his rehab was as far along as he wanted it they finally tied the knot on Saturday. It was an amazing wedding and the most beautiful setting for a wedding I have ever been too. There was not a dry eye in the house during the ceremony and their first dance. It was a wonderful occasion.

The other emotion i felt this weekend was sadness. When we landed in Memphis on our way to Austin I got a voicemail that said my grandfather "Opa" had passed away in New Jersey. He was 97 and I knew his passing was eminent but because we already had our trip to texas planned we went anyway not knowing exactly when he would pass. So the funeral was yesterday and I was not there. This broke my heart in more ways that I can express. Unfortunatley since we were in Austin the airfare (even at a reduced berievement fare) would have cost $1000 and I would have had to leave Austin on Saturday to get there in time for the funeral. As much as I so badly wanted to make the trip it really didn't make much sense. I heard the funeral was very nice and that all the grandchildren and cousins made the trip (except me of course) I sent my Oma a card explaining my sadness for missing the event and I had flowers sent to the funeral home. We decided that since we missed the funeral we would book a trip in the upcoming weeks to fly to NJ with Izzy and spend the weekend with my Oma. I know she will enjoy this probably even more than if we were at the funeral, but it doesn't make my guilt and sadness go away completely.

I pray that she is able to handle the grief of losing her husband of 70 years!!!!!!!!!!!!! But is she isnt' able to handle it, I hope the rest of the time she has left on this earth is good.

Long Time

Wow it seems like forever since I have blogged. Our life has been so busy since we got back from our vacation (which was GREAT by the way). Every weekend this month with the exception of last weekend, have been filled with weddings and wedding activities. This weekend we have our last wedding which thankfully at least I am not standing up in however, it is in Austin TX. I am so looking forward to next month when our lives go back to "normal"

It is so nice this week, my younger brother is in town from Florida and it has been so nice to see him. It has been since May I think since I saw him last. Izzy LOVES him. And he does so well playing with her. Yesterday I wished I had the video camera so that I could have captured the pure joy they had playing wiht each other on the neighbor's trampoline. My brother is a big bad police officer and SWAT team member who just melts around his young neice. It is so nice to watch.

On the Izzy front I absolutely can't believe she will be 20 months old tomorrow! I dont' know why that sounds so much older than 19months and that suddenly the reality of her turning 2 is just around the corner!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can't believe it!!!!! Where did the last year especially go? My baby girl is very quickly becoming a little person! Her vocabulary has just exploded the last couple weeks! She is so much easier to communicate with, she now tells us what she wants sometimes before we ask but if you ask her a question she will actually answer you with a yes (she say yeah) or no (sound like "new") She is the happiest kid, she hardly ever fusses! She is so laid back and goes with the flow so easily when she gets dropped off and my parents or dh's parents for the day, night or even the weekend when we have been busy with wedding stuff. She really is the definition of pure joy! She loves to play with her choo choo's and her cars and doesnt' care much for dolls or stuffed animals. She LOVES to bow bow,(bounce bounce) on the neighbor's trampoline and play with the 7, and 8 yr old girls that live next store. We had our second mom/toddler class this week and she is doing great! The first week she really had enough of circle/song time after about the 3rd song out of 5 I think but this week she sat for it much better. Her favorite part of class seems to be the end where the teacher gives the kids some stamps on their hands, she loves her "hamps" and is so excited to show them to anyone who asks to see them. Last night in teh bath I washed them off and she said "all gah" for all gone. She really is too much!

I love watching everyday the person she is growing into and love most hearing her little voice as she explores the world. I had no idea I could love anyone so much!

Anniversary weekend and change coming

I am so excited for this weekend! Dh and I are celebrating our 5 yr wedding anniversary!!! We are going back up North to my in laws cabin on Saturday for a few days, then on Monday we are leaving Izzy with them and heading to michigan wine country and we are goign to stay 2 nights at a B&B that we stayed at last yr. I am so excited!!!!! It is so pretty up there and the b&b has the BEST breakfast!! We are going to visit some wineries and taste some wine :) Eat at a fancy place for dinner one night and just relax! I can't wait!!!!

In other news, I am thinking about putting Izzy in daycare one or two days a week versus having the babysitter we have now that comes to our house. I feel like as she gets older she needs to be exposed to more things. A friend of mine loves where she takes her son and it is really close to my house. They dont' have any minimums so it sounds like I could put her there as little as one day a week. I need to get over there and check it out and see how much it costs etc. Right now i have a babysitter that comes to the house once a week (who i love dont' get me wrong) and then one day a week I take Iz to my moms....I am pretty sure my mom woudl be really disappointed if I took away her day but at the same time it would be so much easier to put her at hte place right by my house. Who knows I need to do some research and see how much money we are talking etc. I am also going to enroll Iz in a mother toddler play/music class once a week. I am already dreading the weather turning colder and not being able to be outside and do a lot of the activites we do now. I am still working the two days a week and really enjoying it. It is a great balance for me. I just switched my work days from tues/thurs to tues/wed so i can pick up my 11 yr old niece from school every thursday. Having had her a full day a week this summer we have really bonded and I think it is really important to keep giving her that time with me, plus she loves being with Izzy and is a huge helper.

So lots of changes coming I think but hopefully they will work out.

Garden Girl

We were up North last weekend at DH's parents cabin and we had such a nice time. Before Izzy I used to LOVE going up there for the weekend, it is really pretty and peaceful. I would relax, read and enjoy some wine and cards with DH's parents. Well last summer when we went there with Izzy I HATED it!! Izzy didn't sleep good and was kinda crabby. But this year, oh what a difference! She LOVED it. They have a very large garden with beans, pickles, corn potatoes, carrots, squash etc. Izzy was a big help at helping to pick beans. She also got to ride on the lawnmower tractor with her grandparents. She just loved all the time outside. And she slept GREAT. The first night it was hard to get her down but once she was down, she slept 13 hrs, and took a great nap on Saturday and slept 13 hrs again Sat night! Couldn't have asked for better! Even the car ride wasn't too bad but on the way home it normally takes 3-31/2 hrs and it took over 4 b/c of construction.

Here are some of the photos from the trip

18 month well check up and Ice cream!

Well I took Izzy her 18 month check up today and the doctor was very pleased. She said she is where she should be developmentally and kept commenting on what a great personality she has and how sweet she is. That makes me so happy!

She weighed 24 lbs (40%) and was 32 3/4" long (70%)

I don't have a ton of time to post but I wanted to post these pictures from last week of her enjoying an ice cream cone! What pure JOY!!!! Yum Yum she loves her ice cream (sounds like hi meem)

Amazing BM!

I don't have a lot of time to blog as I REALLY need to clean up this house a bit because we are having our sub block party tomorrow and will have people over. Since I just put Izzy down for a nap I have about an 1 1/2 to clean like crazy!!! But I had to take time out to post an e-mail from our BM C. I just recently sent her a bunch of the professional pictures we had taken of Izzy at 15 months. She just received them and this is what she said. I have tears in my eyes

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!! First of all, i want to say that i am so thankful for meeting and having y'all as a part of my life. I thank you very much for having such a open adoption with me i appreciate it very very very much. :-} I got the pictures in the mail today. She is soooooooooooooo beautiful!! I can't believe how tall she is. She's very big. She looks very happy in all the pictures even with the one with her little tongue sticking out. HA HA HA HA. Thank you once again. I love them all. I went back to work just this week and it's smooth right now. Tell Chris i say hello and give the Princess a hug and BIG kiss for me tell her that i love her too. I will talk to u soon. Take Care and god bless. LOve AlwAYs, C

How awesome is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This wonderful woman has been through so much in her young life and I feel so much love for her. It makes me happy beyond words to read those kind words from her and know that she feels the same for us that we feel for her. Our adoption story is such a blessing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

18 months

Well Izzy turned 18 months last thursday! I really can't believe it! She is such a big girl, defintely not a baby anymore! Her words have really started to come along the last month or so . Some of her newest are

Nana

High Chair

Buh Bye

Ball

Dora (sounds like dada)

ice cream(sounds more like hi meem)

Duck

Bubbles

Belly Button (sounds like bebe buh)

She is just such a little person I can't even handle it! She loves imitating what she sees us do, like every tuesday i write the babysitter a check and she likes to take the check book and pen (with the cap on) and write a check. She also likes to file her nails on teh nail file. She is still a pretty good eater, although she is getting a little pickier. Her favorite food is still Cheese, followed probably by hotdogs and ice cream :-) She has finally settled into the one nap routine pretty nicely and will normally nap 1 1/2 hrs-2 hrs which is GREAT. She still goes to sleep around 7 and wakes up between 7 and 7:30 although Sunday morning she slept until 9:30 and I thought she was dead!, she has NEVER slept that late! We have also taken her the last two weeks on our friends pontoon boat and she LOVES it. As long as she has her snacks and gets to go swimming she is a happy girl! She doesn't even fuss much about the life jacket.

I am lacking in new pictures because we had forgotten our camera at a friends house and just got it back on Saturday. Here are a few I have taken with my phone the last 2 weeks.