Sweetest girl in the whole wide world...

This post is for Isabelle. If there were a perfect age/stage in her life, this is it. She is a really happy girl. She has her moments of course, but generally, she is just an absolute JOY. I really, honestly think she is the sweetest little girl EVER! Don't worry, I am not partial or anything! ;) I wish I could freeze her just as she is now for awhile....because soon there will be no trace of baby in her at all, she IS a toddler technically anyway...but she is still my baby. And heaven knows I LOVE babies! But when the baby part is over and gone...for me personally, not so much fun. Especially the terrible two's! Anyone who is around Riley enough knows she is a fun girl...but watch out for the tantrums and other challenges that come with the age.

Isabelle is SO smart. She will repeat things she hears us say and will try to pronounce anything we ask her. She is part monkey considering her love of climbing and part Tigger as she LOVES to bounce! She loves music and likes to dance...though I think most tiny tots like dancing/wiggling. She loves her sister and wants to play with her but also is very good at playing by herself sometimes. She loves reading books and RUNNING as fast as her legs can carry her. One of Trav's favorite things about Izzy is how she will stand or walk around with her arms behind her back.
She is so close to being able to sing her whole alphabet....and anytime she sees letters on anything she will go point to them and say "A, B, C"; we need to work on recognizing which letter is which though...
One of my favorite things about her is how cuddly she is. She gives the best hugs and is such a snuggler! It devastates me to think this may not last....but maybe it will. A mom can hope, right?
She can be a little bit independent, but still mostly needs help. "Help we" is how she asks for help. She can be needy for attention sometimes, and while her timing isn't always convenient, it reminds me that she is still a baby and she needs her mom or dad. Because she isn't as independent as her big sister who likes do so a lot (not everything, but a lot) for herself.
This hat is really stinking cute...we bought it for Riley, but Ri won't keep it on like Isabelle does. Isabelle is cautious around people she doesn't know or hasn't seen for awhile but if she is around them for a little while, she warms up. Some of her favorite people that she asks for are Aunt Kim, Hailee, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Dana, and Camryn.
We can ask Isabelle to go get something, and she will go right to it, know exactly what we want, and bring it to us, no additional instructions needed. Riley is totally opposite. She knows what we want usually but is sort of aloof and clueless and will look right past what we ask her for... no matter how we try to explain or tell her where the item is.Izzy LOVES her blanket and asks for it a lot. She also loves her nap time and bedtime, and sometimes even asks for it before we offer. But if we ask if she wants to take a nap or go night-night, she often replies, "Yes." I love that she says Yes and not yeah. or ya. She will tell me "no" sometimes but usually when you would expect to hear it... like when I ask her if she needs a time out, she will say "NO!"
She also loves milk. And she is a good eater with the exception of mac n cheese and grilled cheese...which is weird, because she loves cheese. The girl loves lettuce, again unlike Riley who seems to only eat it if we are at Olive Garden...it must be the salad dressing. Who could blame her? It IS tasty.
Isabelle's favorite food is probably strawberries (or "strawbabies" as she calls them).
Isabelle has full blown conversations when no one is listening and while they aren't necessarily intelligible...it is so fun to listen.
At night, I check on her before I go to bed...and I usually ache to just scoop her up and hold her or bring her to bed and snuggle her all night. I resist this urge, as we aren't really the type to keep our kids in bed with us, except on extremely rare occasions when one is sick/sad/whatever. And even then, it's very rare if that is a whole-night type of deal. But she is just so precious and changing fast. And I am SO SO SO sad!!!!!!!!!!
I know there is so much I am forgetting to document about Izzy at almost 17 months old...but at least this is SOMETHING! At this moment she is sitting in a little princess chair with her blanket reading herself a book. Out loud. So cute!

Stayed tuned for a future post about Riley and her current likes, dislikes, attitudes, and quirks... It may take me some time....considering my recent blogging history has been minimal...but oh well.