Memorial Day Madness

What a day! We braved the blistering heat to have an all day long cookout at my in-law's pond. I did NOT go in the water, (fish biting my toes freaks me out), but Tracy took Isabel in. Sadly, she seemed to hate the pond as much as her mother. It's too bad, too, because she looked really cute in her swimsuit! The day was redeemed for her, however, when she was introduced to watermelon on the rind. It was heaven for my happy eating baby! She sucked down two complete pieces before she was cut off. We got to eat great food, fish, swim in a pond, look at barnyard animals, and get a sunburn. It was the day of Memorial Madness!

Two weeks and counting......

It's official. I am two weeks away from going back to school! I am very excited, but also really nervous. I haven't been doing homework for YEARS, and I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to get back in the habit quickly. I'm currently signing up for classes, and I'm going to have to take more hours then I had originally thought. This makes me scared that I won't have enough time to really be with my family. I am already hating putting Isabel in daycare, and now I'm afraid that I won't have much night time with her due to homework. I'm sure that I'm just panicking, but I can't help but feel some anxiety about the close coming future. Let's hope that all goes well!

Home alone and.......alone.

Both Tracy and Isabel are out of town right now. Tracy is at a research conference in North Carolina, and due to the large number of extra rehearsals my choir has called this week, combined with the fact that we cannot seem to locate (or pay for) baby sitters for all these rehearsals, Isabel is at Grandma's. So, I am home alone. ALONE. No little hands grabbing my pants, no husband demanding laundry or errands, no fighting over who's going to change the baby! I AM FINALLY ALONE. I shall go see a movie! I shall go out to eat! I shall sleep till noon! I shall watch endless hours of television! I shall turn up my stereo as loud as possible and dance around the house! Naked!

It sure is quiet around here........... I miss my baby.

Isabel's love affair with cake!

My daughter has been officially introduced to the world of sugar! First came the icing which was licked so violently off her fingers I believe she took a layer of skin with it. Next came the yellow cake which she ate with wild abandon. It was hysterical to watch; she is not used to heavy amounts of sugar in one setting. Both fists were working together like machines, stuffing as much cake in her mouth as she could stand. It was worth denying her 12 months of sugar just to see her enjoy this one moment so much. Oh yes, and in the midst of all this.....my daughter turned 1!

Isabel's Year Pictures

One small step for Isabel.....one giant leap for the Kitchel's!

Isabel officially walked yesterday. I was in the other room frantically trying to put together Isabel's scrapbook for her birthday party. Suddenly I heard shouts from downstairs and the heavy stomping of my husband flying up the stairs. "She walked!" he proclaimed, Isabel sitting proudly on his shoulders. It's true. Our little baby has figured out how to put one foot in front of the other. We kept putting her on one side of the room and making her walk to us, over and over. You would think that the 5 steps she took constituted a marathon the way we were shouting and cheering when she showed off her new skill. It may be a small feat in the scheme of her life, but it sure made for an exciting evening!

Climbing every mountain...(and under them, too!)

Isabel is getting more and more creative with her maneuvering skills. It used to be fairly safe for me to throw up a gate or two and leave the room for a few minutes. If I do that now, when I return Isabel has taken every book off the shelf, turned the bookcase over, and used it as a ladder to swing from the ceiling fan. Every experienced mother in the world has warned me, "Wait until your baby starts walking! Then they'll be into everything!" This worries me. She's already into everything! (And under everything- like her crib in the picture.) I fully expect that one morning I'll wake up to find she's crawled out of her crib, opened the gate, lowered herself down the stairs, and made some pancakes. All I can do is hope that when that day comes, she'll do the dishes when she's finished.