Happy Halloween little labybug.

Today was Halloween and Isabelle was a happy little ladybug. Paul brought her to work so she could spread cheer around the office. Turns out the candy at the office spread cheer (and stickiness) to her:






She made sure to visit my assistant Tangi ("Tonjee!"), one of her favorites. Tangi happily drew with Isabelle and let the little buggie type on her keyboard. She also fed her a box of mini tootsie rolls, likely cementing a place in Isabelle's heart forever. Of course, after Isabelle had stuffed almost the entire box into her mouth and was drooling tootsie droll, the ladybug was handed off to Mama...we see you how really are Tangi.



We took her to Linda and Clark's where she trick or treated with Zach and Molly. Here is her first trick or treat door ever:



I am not sure that she caught on to the strange ritual that is Halloween. As you can see below she attempted to break (and enter) into every house we went to. The whole taking candy and leaving seemed a bit mystifying -- if not satisfying gastronomically.





And alas it is fall in Oregon and there are mountains of red and brown leaves piled up on the streets. A perfect recipe for childhood frivolity and fun on a crisp Halloween night.

Skuebees.

Isabelle is starting to put little phases together. Mostly right now its two words and its fairly redundant, i.e., "hold it" "shut it" "close it" "wash it." This morning when Paul went into her room she said "Mama, get" meaning she wanted Paul to get me. I love hearing her new phrases and seeing the wheels turn in her little toddler brain.

She has come up with some phrases and new words that I find particularly cute. When I am with her and she indicates, with outstretched arms, that she wants to be held, I say "do you want Mama to hold you?" She has seized on the last words and now when she wants to be picked up says "hold you" only is sounds like "holjou." Paul took her to the daycare at the MAC and when he came to get her after working out they asked what was the deal with the "horse shoe"....poor Isabelle-sometimes its tough to get held.

The other word I love is "skuebees." Isabelle clearly knows the word "move" and if you are sitting or standing somewhere she wants to b she will push you and bellow "MOVE." Trying to raise a respectful child, I have asked her to say "excuse me" when she is asking someone to move. "Excuse me" comes out as "skuebees" a word which has now become part of our everyday household vernacular.

Isabelle and the Big Apple.

This past week I had to go to New York for some schmoozing of clients. Because we have the frequent flier miles and because I hate to be away from Isabelle, and because Paul has cabin fever, we decided to make it into a mini-family vacation. So on Saturday we jetted off to the Big Apple.

Isabelle and I sat next to each other in first class, with Paul across the aisle. She sat like a big girl in her seat and was generally a very good little traveller.



We had a layover on the way to NY, with a delayed flight, making it a long day. Given that she refused to nap on the plane...at all...she was a little grumpy on the second leg of the flight. There was some yelling and some crying at 30,000 feet - but not too bad. Chris Collinsworth, who shared a cabin with us on the flight, didn't seem to mind too much. Paul made me swear not to tell him I was still bitter about the Chargers/Bengals game from the early 80's...sigh, I am so very constrained.

We stayed at the Ritz, which was a magnificent hotel and right across the street from Central Park. I must admit that the one time I went to NY in 1995 I didn't see Central Park. In my mind I thought it was basically a huge park with running trials. Boy was I wrong. That place has a ton to do and is great for little kids like slides, swings and sand.



They have water-park fountains, which Isabelle of course loved!




The first day at the Park there were a lot of children around, while the second day, not so many. Why the reduction you ask? Because the second day Isabelle went to the Park it was cold. I mean 50 degree cold. Other children (look in the far background on the rocks) had sweaters and sensible clothing on. Isabelle preferred to be "nudie" (Paul required she keep a diaper on to her dismay) and played in the water until her lips started to turn blue and her jaw was chattering. She is such a water-baby.



Isabelle had fun in NYC. We took a carriage ride around the park, ate at fun restaurants (mmmm, pasta and stealing Mama's sandwich--good times!) and had a great time. In particular she liked the subway (or "train" as we called it). She begged to ride it and was unhappy when it stopped. She also had fun riding in the NYC cab, she was alone on the love for that one. She loved seeing the lights in Times Square and would have run down the streets had she been given the opportunity.








Isabelle also loved room service. It was during this trip that she turned the corner using her fork. She also liked the chocolate they put on your bed at night. We didn't realize she found them, until she was on, oh, her third. MMMM nothing says a good start to a great day like chockie for breakfast!

Ice cream and wheels.

And alas, here it it...the coveted tricycle in all of its glory:




Isabelle loves her tricycle. She can't yet use the pedals, but loves to be pushed around wearing her helmet ("helmue"). We use it instead of a stroller when the weather is nice and we don't have too far to go.

A few weeks ago we walked up to a restaurant in our old neighborhood with our good friends Aaron and Melissa and their son Owen. On the way back we stopped by Dairy Queen so that the kids could have a treat. Owen had a cone covered in some nothing-natural-in-it-at-all red shell and Isabelle had a dilly bar. The children were happy, if not messy. Ah, to be young with an ice cream during summertime.






But alas, we live in Oregon where the summer seems to have turned into fall without warning. The rains are back and the sky is gray. It feels like fall. Whilst I sit huddled under blanket on the sofa watching the rain fall and grumbling about the damn weather, one small person in our household looks out the windows with delight. After all the rain is WATER is it not? And who loves water more than Isabelle??? That's right - no one.

So to bleats of "side side" (outside), I open the back door and let her escape. Knowing full well that her dry clean clothes are soon to be a thing of memory. She often invites me rather strongly to join her outside. Sometime I have to take my shoes off so she can scoop cold sand onto my toes. Most of the time I am just required to stand in the rain and push her on the swing. She seems to delight in this activity. Oh, and I have to sing. An activity which wouldn't be quite so troublesome if our neighbors weren't right next door. Lucky for them, and me I suppose, their children don't seem to want to be outside in the rain. So I am generally to embarrass myself with ringing choruses of Twinkle Twinkle while having the rain and cold sink into my bones.




But it makes Isabelle happy. And what in this world could possibly be better than a cheery, chubby, exuberant little girl? Why nothing, of course.