Back on track!

So, I'm back on track with the blogging. As Gilles previously posted,
we went through computer problems in October. Once we finally
discovered what it was, it turned out that it made more sense to just buy
another one, rather than fix the one we had......We finally got around to
it, and are the proud new owners of another MAC laptop wonder. I love
these things. I will finally be able to blog once more, and you will all
get to keep up with the photos and going's on of our little Isabelle.

Rather than go over the past few months, I'll just recap some Isabelle
news and post some photos.

Thrilled with her new ponytails!



Christmas, in a word, dreamy. Great relaxing vacation (thanks in part
to Mom's new hot tub), her amazing cooking and some fabulous gifts,
and, most importantly, Isabelle and Olan reunited for a couple of weeks.
Those two are precious together. Meg talked about it in her blog and I
find it unbelievable myself; they play SO well together, and they seem
to realize that there is a special relationship they share.
Isabelle's favourite person to give big kisses to is Olan, and that boy is so
sweet, I cannot get enough of him. We're visiting again over Valentine's
Day and Meg has already ordered them matching shirts to wear for the
occasion......Yet another photo session opportunity.

She started walking right after Christmas and is now running through
the house. I'll say this for the late bloomers......they start off slow,
but catch up quickly. It's incredible that she's only been walking
for a month and is, quite literally, jogging through the house already.
She still looks, for the most part, like she's had a shot of jack
Daniels too many and she weaves around, but she doesn't fall that often at
all, and when she does, it's generally very gracefully at that! She's
much harder to keep track of, but at the same time, it's SO nice to be
able to put her down when we're out and about. Case and point, we were
at the Children's Museum on Sunday and she was off - loved the big open
spaces and the kids that were all around, and she can wander to her
hearts content to the things she considers fun looking. Before, she was
at our mercy as we were carrying her around. Loving her independence.



We took her to an indoor playground called Cosmic Adventures last weekend and ended up getting her a year membership it was so much fun. They have two areas specifically for toddlers, and it's an incredible setup. Big foam ladders leading up to slides which end up taking you down into big ball pits. Big tic tac toe games, see saw's, play homes, and that's only the toddler section.......I can't even begin to list everything. Safe to say it's a kids paradise! Throughout the winter months, we thought it would be great if Kristy could take Logan and Isabelle once a week for a treat, and an opportunity to run wild in a safe environment. Her parents, quite stupidly, have already determined that she is too small for some of the bigger kid areas. We decided that she would love one of the even bigger slides, and she did...three times. On the fourth descent, she wiped out half way, slid partially down on her face and got a bloody lip. I have never felt so guilty in all my life. TODDLER section Alyson, not the BIG KID section.

Heave Ho Mom!



In any case, other than the aforementioned incident, she's doing great. She continues to amaze and astonish on a daily basis, and we are convinced that she is the brightest 16 month old EVER. A couple of days ago, Gilles asked her to put some paper towel in the garbage, and was knocked over when she actually did just what he asked (no comments on why he was asking her to do this - we usually have no child labour issues)! She went from the family room into the kitchen and opened the cupboard door - VOILA. Sounds silly, but they pick up on everything and you have no idea until they bowl you over with their newly acquired skills.


She's sounding out lots of words and is quickly becoming a whiz on the
Baby Einstein flash cards. Of course, you really need to be able to
speak in Isabelle tongue to get all the words. I used to wonder at
parents who translated for their children.....How did they understand the
garble coming out of little mouths? Now, I know. Nana, is not for
Grandma, it is for Banana, and Melmo is really Elmo, and if she's pointing
at her stomach, it's because he's on her diaper, which is what she's
trying to show you. Baa, is sheep, and Moo, is cow, and Cack is for the
Duck, not to be confused with Cackers which is for her crackers, and so
on and so forth. She loves the word "GO", and another favourite is "UH
OH" which she picked up from her cousin Olan. We could also discuss
the signing, which adds yet another dimension to Isabelle tongue........

Mid way refueling.....



We spent a weekend of late looking after the cutest 80 pound bulldog
you've ever seen. My boss, Tom, was taken to the hospital quite suddenly
and I volunteered to take care of his dog, Clementine, in the interim.
Contrary to what we expected, Isabelle was not freaked out by this
cannonball like creature who slobbered all over her, she was quite taken
with her. She loved the snarfling and drooling and snoring, and was
also quite happy to get out and walk her 5-6 times a day. Not having a
backyard with a fence, we were not taking any chances with accidents and
so had her out QUITE frequently so as to avoid any accidents. Not
that this helped, since there were some, but we tried!

This weekend we hit the canal and had a blast. Isabelle was completely turned around in her sled at one point so she could wave to everyone we were passing!