Jessica, this one's for you

I love that I get to share my passion for scrapbooking with my cousin Jessica from Puerto Rico. We enjoy admiring each other's creations over e-mail and talking layouts, sketches, embellishments, paper, you name it. Although we've both been pretty "inactive" lately in the scrapbook arena ~ her due to a temperamental 4 month old baby girl, and me due to a temperamental pregnancy and a very active 2 1/2 year old ~ we still talk about it whenever we get a chance.

At the beginning of January/08 I made it a point of trying to get "caught up" with some of the pictures sitting on my desk for quite a while, and I am proud to say I got a few layouts done. Here's a small sampling:

Also, check out Eclectica's website tomorrow, where you'll be able to see another layout in their Same Product-Three Looks section.

Alrighty then, I guess I'll be going now since Isabella is adamant I get inside her tent with her and she's determined not to take no for an answer. I'm thinking I better take our phone in there with me just in case I need to call 911. Wish me luck,...

Jess, I'll talk to you soon. Love you guys!

First timer

As many of you may already know Scott and I love going to the movies. Before Isabella was born we went every single weekend, sometimes more than once, depending on what was playing. After Isabella, well we've been forced to dust off our Blockbuster membership cards and wait 6-8 months to catch that "new release" that looked so good and pump up our movie channels. Don't get me wrong, we still get to go sporadically, but with the babysitting costs we only go when it's a movie that we both really want to see. Other times we take advantage of the time alone to go to dinner, a show or just sit at a cafe and have conversations containing full, uninterrupted sentences ~ but that's besides the point, so let me get back on track here,...

OK, so until last night I had never been to the movies by myself, ever. Just the thought of it made me feel very uncomfortable ~ as if the people sitting around me would look at me like I'm some kind of anti-social, friendless weirdo or something, as if they really cared. I know it's all psychological, but you would not believe how many movies I've missed on the big screen because of this little hang up of mine. Scott on the other hand has absolutely no problem going by himself, so he doesn't quite understand why it's such a big deal for me.

Anyway, for the last few weeks I've been telling Scott and various girlfriends that I really, really, really want to see Juno. But I was never really met with much enthusiasm. So finally last night I bit the bullet and gave in, Scott kept Isabella and I got to go see this wonderful movie. I'm not exactly sure what role my pregnancy hormones played in this, but I pretty much laughed or cried throughout the entire movie. It most certainly exceeded my expectations~ the dialogue, the story line, the characters, all of it. I totally get what all the buzz is about and I highly recommend it.

So there you have it. I went to the movies all by myself and it turned out OK (and just between you and me I actually enjoyed the "solitude" quite a bit). I guess there really is a first time for everything. Who knows, maybe a couple hours at Starbucks with a good book is next,... or maybe I shouldn't push it quite yet. Have a great week!

Where does the time go?

Holy Cow! I know it's been a while since my last post, but logging in today it really shocked me to see my baby countdown saying there's only 62 days to go. Truth be told, it's really more like 55 days since it'll be a scheduled procedure this time around (although we don't quite know the exact date yet). So I guess I really have to get going on some of the things I'd like to accomplish before baby Sam's arrival. Things like finishing up Isabella's new "big girl" room and getting her settled in, updating the nursery with more "boyish" accents, and completing some additional random things around the house before the arrival of my parents. Oh, how exciting!

Speaking of baby Sam, Isabella says she is so excited about being a big sister and having a baby brother. She constantly talks about how she's going to help me feed him and bathe him and how she's going to share her toys with him. So the other day we were talking and I explained that when baby Sam comes out of my belly then that'll be the time when I really need her "big girl" help. Suddenly she looked at me with this panicked expression and said: "No, baby Sam doesn't come out. Baby Sam stays in there." And here lately she's insistent on baby Sam living across the street with our friends Christie and Madison. I guess it's really easy to be a great big sister to an invisible/absentee brother. We're just hoping she might change her mind when he's finally here.

Let's see, being that I never really blogged about our Christmas and that January is almost over, I'll make it short and sweet. Christmas at the Butler house was pretty quiet. Isabella had a lot of fun opening her presents, but she wasn't feeling quite like herself and a belly ache prevented her (and us) from really enjoying most of the day. One of her favorite presents was a new kitchen her Nana and Papa sent her and she still plays with it daily. Oh, the delicacies we've all enjoyed since its arrival.
Although we really enjoyed ourselves during Isabella's Christmas break, I have to say I'm quite happy school is back in session and we have some sense of "normalcy", whatever that may be, around the house. And trust me, mama surely cherishes her free time.

Otherwise, it seems like we've been so busy lately but I can't honestly tell you what it is we've been doing. Oh well, hopefully the next few posts will contain pictures of Isabella and Sam's finished rooms. Until then,...

Happy New Year!

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful, happy and healthy 2008!

A different perspective

First of all let me start by saying that I am most definitely NOT the mother that I thought or said I would be. I was, to say the least, a much better parent before Isabella came along. If only I could do what I said I would and not do what I said I wouldn't at least half the time, my parenting would be out of this world.

Luckily this is not a post about my parenting shortcomings; certainly no one has that kind of time. It is however, a direct result from a conversation I had with my friend Christie today after we picked Isabella up at MDO. You see, Isabella proudly showed me an ornament she made today in class and I couldn't wait to get home to put it up on our Christmas tree.

OK, so rewind about 6-8 years to an era when my Christmas trees were a "work of art". Every year I slaved over the tree for days decorating it in a specific theme (a different one each year mind you, which can get really expensive, really fast). Year after year Scott would find some of his childhood ornaments and hand them to me to incorporate into the tree decor. This is probably what I worked the hardest on ~ I was determined to find the best possible hiding place so that they were concealed, but yet I could tell Scott they were on there. Yeah,... not one of my proudest moments.

I also remember telling Scott numerous times that some day when we had children I would still have my very own beautiful tree but that we'd have a different tree to house all of the kids' ornaments. This is where that different perspective kicks in. Seriously, what in the world was I thinking?

Like I mentioned on the previous post, I love my big beautiful tree which is packed with a huge assortment of ornaments ~ some from years of collecting, others brand new, some are Scott's childhood ornaments and yes, ALL of Isabella's handmade ornaments. Would you like to take a guess as to which ones are my favorite? I can't even imagine her art not being a part of our tree. Her ornaments actually make the tree and she's so incredibly proud to point them out to us.



Hey, I guess this counts as one of those things I said I wouldn't do, but I am doing and I actually feel like a better mama for it.

Catching Up

OK, so it's been about a month and a half since my last post, and I swear it feels like it's just been a couple of days. Time is just flying by these days. Anyway I must warn you, this is kind of a long post. Alrighty then, where do I start?
For the last few weeks we've either been crazy busy or nursing one nasty illness after another. Unfortunately, I can't report that we're finally healthy being that as of right now we are ALL suffering from terrible colds. Ever since Isabella started preschool it's always one thing or another, and it really stinks for me since there isn't much I can take these days. Oh NyQuil, how I love and miss thee,....

I am however, happy to report that our Christmas cards have been mailed and our trees are all finally up. Three in total this year and I love every single one of them. My favorite one is the one in the living room. I love the feeling of calm and peace it gives me from just looking at it. Isabella absolutely loves sitting in front of it and admiring all the lights and ornaments. She especially likes the new ornaments I got specifically for her this year. We still haven't done the outside lights, but I'm not really stressing over it or much else for that matter.

All of our Christmas shopping is done allowing us time to relax, enjoy the true meaning of the season and all the fun events we've taken Isabella to in the last few weeks. We've seen Santa Claus a couple of times, but I think it's safe to say she's still quite leery of him. She really tried to do the whole "sit on his lap and tell him what you want" thing at Zoo Lights, but changed her mind at the last moment. The closest she has gotten to him was at the Pink Palace Museum Enchanted Forest where she made him move in order to be in the picture (God forbid she's uncomfortable or inconvenienced).
Anyway, whether she's close to him or not she's always made it a point of telling him what she wants for Christmas, and her list goes a little something like this: a baby doll, puzzles and chocolate chip cookies. And truth be told, she's been consistent about her list since before Thanksgiving. So let's keep our fingers crossed and hope she gets exactly what she wants this Christmas.

We also had the honor of attending her first ever Christmas Program this year where her class sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jingle Bells". It was awesome seeing all those 2-year old kids up front. They all pretty much stood there looking out at the audience during "Jesus Loves Me", but when it was time for "Jingle Bells" their job was to shake their bells and that's exactly what they did, and may I say she did it beautifully. We are so very proud of her.
Isabella's Nana sent her the most beautiful dress and beret for the special occasion. Now you tell me if she wasn't working the "Holiday Attitude" look.

Too cute to spook

The last couple of years we haven't really gotten into the Halloween thing with Isabella being so young. We've gotten the costumes, taken her picture, and that's about it. But this year it's a whole different story. She absolutely loved her Butterfly Princess costume, her Princess candy bucket and her ballerina slippers, and she looked beautiful!
She had a great time at our church's Fall Festival this year where she got to wear her costume for the first time, play lots of games, have her face painted (by her mommy), and eat tons of candy.

But quite honestly, the highlight for Isabella was being able to go door to door, say Trick or Treat and get free candy. You wouldn't believe how quickly she caught on to this new concept. By the time we got to the second and third house she was an old pro. We really enjoyed walking around our neighborhood with our friends, the Padawers. Madison was dressed as Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, with the big red hair and everything. They looked seriously cute.
In other news, we had our ultrasound this Monday, and thank God everything looks great so far. We were able to see the little heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach, hands, feet,... well, pretty much everything but the baby's face, being that is was on its side or its belly during the entire procedure. And yes, I did mean everything. I am pleased to inform you that we are having a baby BOY! Yeah! We are so excited. Even Isabella seems pleased with our news. I think she would definitely struggle if she had to share her princess status with someone else in the house.

Fun at the Patch

So we finally made it to a pumpkin patch this year with our great friends the Padawers. We have been postponing our trip because it's been so hot and my idea of a pumpkin patch visit and a hay ride usually involves jeans and warm, cozy sweaters, not shorts and T-shirts. Since we got there in the morning it was still somewhat "chilly", but unfortunately it wasn't long before the temperature was up in the 80's.

We kicked off our adventure with a hay ride out to the fields where we got to pick our own pumpkins right off the vines. Then we headed back to the "farm" to play in the playground, ride the train, pet and feed the animals, roast marshmallows and jump in the moonwalk. A funny thing that happened was while Isabella and I were posing for a picture in front of the goats, one of them decided my hair looked good enough to eat and took a big ol' bite of it scaring me to death and making me jump a good ten feet. I seriously do not remember the last time I moved that fast.
I think the girls would have been quite content to stay there all day, but we finally convinced them that the adults were hot and hungry and that we needed to go get some lunch. But it was a very good day filled with so much fun and a whole lot of laughter.

I must confess

Isabella had her school pictures taken last week, and I must confess I was petrified. Why?, you ask. Well, here lately when you ask her to smile for the camera she loudly says "CHEESE" and makes the scariest looking face. And I know I'm her mama and I love her to death, but when I say scary,... I mean scary. Scary like "Chucky the doll" scary (please refer to exhibits A and B below):

Exhibit A ~ Here's Chucky the doll:Exhibit B ~ Here's Isabella looking "Chucky-ish":
Due to this small issue, we actually had some impromptu smiling practices/sessions at home before her school photos were taken. Needless to say we got this look from her more than once, and every single time her daddy would praise her by loudly exclaiming "Beautiful!". Seriously?!?! I could have killed him every time he did because I just knew all of her pictures would end up looking like that.

Anyway, today was the big day, the day we got to pick up the pictures. I found myself walking towards the table with quite the array of emotions going on inside me: anxiety, anticipation, fear, dread of the unknown, uncertainty. I gave the lady Isabella's name and she pulled out her pictures, she then looked at me and said "Oh". Oh? What is that supposed to mean? The first thing that popped into my mind was CHUCKY! Then she says "You're going to have a hard time choosing". Phew,...

The pictures were stunning. I picked 6 poses from a total of 10 available and absolutely loved them. I'm pretty sure we're going to use one of them on our Christmas cards so I'm only going to share a couple at this time. These are scanned copies so they are not as good as the originals, but you get the idea.

Yeah, no Chucky doll here, just our beautiful girl who constantly keeps us guessing.

I don't ever want to forget,...

So Scott and I were talking about a funny thing that happened in the car on the way home from dinner Saturday night. Just a few days later and we're already struggling to remember ALL the details. But we've finally managed to piece it together and it goes a little something like this:

At Hannah's birthday party all the girls got one of those funky straws with lots of loops in their cups. On the way home Isabella pulled her straw out of her cup and since it was so dark she was having a hard time getting it back in the right spot. So she asked her daddy for help. Scott took the straw put it in the cup and gave it back to her, to which she enthusiastically responded:

"Good job, Daddy! I'm so proud of you!"

Scott and I looked at each other and started laughing. Of course, as you can imagine, her daddy instantly turned to mush. Not that it takes much,...