Raindrops and roses.

Currently it is raining. And it has been raining for three days or so. Sigh....life back in the Pacific Northwest. I must say, however, I have really been enjoying the seasons being back. Currently the leaves are bright shades of yellows and reds. Before the rain came in there was a crisp breeze with cold sunny fall weather. I missed that. I even missed the rain a little. Not ten days in a row worth (which is the currents forecast), but a little.

Today Miss Isabelle woke up grumpy. A very unusual occurrence for her and for us. It's so strange to hear her fuss and cry and grump. It's almost, well, funny. Not to say that I actually laugh at her, but I just cant take it too seriously poor child. Luckily, her grumpiness wore off after nap number two and she was back to her normal happy self.

In old news: she is still pulling herself up onto everything and stepping tentatively around. She has been spending more time on the stairs and we have been trying to do some "stair training." This entails (a) trying to get her to go down the stairs on her round belly and (b) letting her fall just a little bit down the stairs when she is reckless on them - you know to let her understand the consequences of falling. Neither of these exercises are really catching on, but hopefully they will with time.

Also in old new Isabelle continues to be an eating machine. Baby food, even the lumpier varieties, are being phased out in favor of people food. She LOVES meat (unsurprisingly). Last night she ate an entire strip of flank steak and tonight she ate more stew meat than did her cousin Molly (who is 9). She really enjoys diced peaches, peas, and almost any kind of cheese. Last night we also discovered that she likes broccoli and potatoes. Yum. Anytime you are eating she wants some of it, whether it be chicken, cous cous, rice, Nutrigrain bar, or pasta. We are going to start working with fish and some other items. Here's hoping she ends up with a broader food palate than Mama has.

In new news Amy and I took ITL to the Rose Garden (the weekend before last when the sun was out and it was warm). In violation of all Rose Garden rules, Isabelle found it quite fascinating to pluck the roses from the stem and eat the petals. Luckily, none of The Rose-wardens saw and Isabelle remained happy as a clam.

Oh, and she still likes to eat grass...