Princess Isabelle

My baby is 2! We had a fiesta for Izzy when she turned 1, so I wasn't planning on having another party this year. It only took a little convincing to get me on board for another celebration though. Let's be honest, I wanted to host at our new house. Don't worry, elaborate birthday parties won't be an annual thing.  I'm glad we ran with the party idea. It was a hit. The princess theme made the occasion feel extravagant.

Costume Contest:

Isabelle loves all things girly and my sister suggested having everyone dress-up. So many people went all out with their costumes! Some of the costume awards given were: "Royally Boring," "Royally Funny," "Royally Original," "Royally Underdressed," "Royally Elaborate," etc. All of the kids got an award and prize. Grandma Langlois won the "Royally Elaborate" award. She had a light up eye mask, brought a pumpkin like Cinderella, had glass slippers, etc. I was shocked to see that my dad even dressed up for the occasion. I pulled out an old dress I had worn to a school dance. I considered wearing my wedding dress and went as far as trying it on. Hosting in that sucker sounded daunting.

Food:

Costco pizza, fruit, salad, soda, cookies, and doughnuts.

Games:

Kiss the Frog! Hence, the lipstick. I was impressed that the kids were able to kiss so accurately and close to the frog's lips, even blindfolded. We also played "find the missing glass slipper." Each child got a chance to hide a princess slipper and someone else found it. We helped the kids find the slipper by singing princess songs softly/loudly as they got closer to the slipper. (I learned in this process that finding a princess song that everyone knows is challenging.) Simon started an impromptu reenactment of Cinderella and Grandma proudly played the roll of "Fairy Godmother."

Party Favors:

I may have gone a little overboard with the prizes and goodie bags, but what can I say? Having a princess theme made things easy. There are princess goldfish, fruit snacks, puzzles, coloring books, magic wands, nail polish, you name it.

Attendees:

Gigi and Go-Daddy (Grandma and Grandpa Denning), Grandma Langlois, Jill (aka Princess Leia) and Daisy, Nana and Papa, Jeff, Lindsey, Simon, and Esther, as well as Jake and Hailey. Jess has had a bad cold, so we missed her and Chris. Joel and Alexa and Alex and Alexa weren't able to make it.

So glad Daisy is still here and could come!

Presents:

Man, Izzy was spoiled rotten. We didn't have dress-ups before, but now we have a humongous bin full of all the princess dresses a girl could ever want. Don't forget about accessories. She got her fair share of those too from clip-on earrings to crowns and magic wands, this girl has everything she could ever want. The game Pretty Pretty Princess was made for Izzy and she is now the proud owner.

Izzy's 2 Year Old Check-Up Stats:

Weight: 27 pounds 8 ounces (66 percentile)

Height: 34.25 inches (60 percentile)

Head: 19 inches (76 percentile)

Isabelle:

*Loves: dresses, jewelry, having her nails painted, high heels, etc. She comments on my outfits regularly and changes her outfit multiple times a day. She is in charge of picking out her outfit, so don't try.

*Loves: to be out and about. if we're out running errands, she'll frequently say, "But I don't want to go home" and gets quite sad at the thought.

*Is pretty fearless. At the pool, she wants nothing to do with me and gets mad if I help her. With her floaties on, she feels capable of doing anything. She didn't bat an eye when she recently started nursery at church and was left in a room full of strangers.

*Wants to be a big girl and do things herself. Lately, she's been asking to sit on the potty and rips her diaper off. (We'll be potty training soon.) She also doesn't want to be carried in the hiking backpack and prefers to walk, no matter how steep the hike is.

*Knows what she wants and makes it known. Her tantrums are not for the faint of heart. We're just glad she no longer gets so upset that she turns blue and passes out.

*Is not a fan of quiet time or bed time for that matter. 

*Has never liked her carseat. We changed her carseat from rear-facing to forward facing the instant we could. (Now that she's 2.) It has helped, but hasn't completely solved the problem.

*Is the best talker! Seriously! She speaks in long sentences. People can't believe she's just barely 2.

*Is absolutely beautiful! Random strangers comment on her hair and eyes frequently. Our first Sunday in our new ward, young women were offering left and right to babysit her. We had family pictures taken last night and the photographer couldn't get over Izzy. I'm dying to get the photos back. Based on the few I saw, Isabelle looks like the prettiest princess in all the land. Happy, happy birthday!

Sweaty St. George

Jill, Rob, and Daisy came to UT. It has been over a year since they've visited, so having them around is delightful. Daisy had her baby blessing and we also went on a little getaway to St. George before Rob had to fly home. (Jill and Daisy are here for the summer- yay!) 

Sweaty St. George has never rang more true. Wow, this summer has been scorching hot. I'm not being dramatic either-- the heat here in UT has been breaking records. On our way to St. George, we stopped at Cedar Breaks National Park. (This is near Parowan.) It was stunning and much cooler up there! We ate lunch and did some hiking. The views were breathtaking. I was proud of James for surviving the 2 miles. The car break for the kids was an excellent energy zapper. They both fell asleep when we continued our journey to St. George. 

My dad's friend, Mark Ostler, owns a home in St. George and was generous to let us stay there. We had plenty of room to spread out. We grabbed pizza for dinner and the cousins explored all the toys in the house. They were in heaven. Coincidentally, Esther and Isabelle had the same pajamas which was a dream come true for Izzy.

Monday evening, we saw the play, "Annie" at Tuacahn. The play started late, and Jeff and Lindsey were gracious to stay home with the sleeping kiddos. "Annie" was spectacular. Miss Hannigan was over-the-top. I will say that at times, the heat was pretty uncomfortable. I can't stop listening to the Annie soundtrack. Our kids have especially taken to liking, "It's The Hard Knock Life" and ask to listen to it on repeat. Andrew and I get to experience Tuachan again in August which we're looking forward to.

Tuesday morning, we hiked! The hike we originally wanted to do is booked through the year. Apparently it's quite popular and amazing. We had a couple other hiking options. That morning, someone posted that they had extra tickets to the Kanarraville Falls hike. (This hike is near Cedar City.) What! We snatched those tickets right up. There were only 4 tickets and Jill, Rob, Lindsey, and I were the lucky ones that got to go. In Rob's words, "It was the best hike of my life." The hike was about 4 miles round-trip. I was definitely glad we didn't have kids with us because we walked through water during a huge chunk of the hike. We also went in a slot canyon. It was very cool! Some rain started right as we were finishing up the hike. We were glad to be out of the slot canyon and saw lots of flooding later on the news. I'm amazed we were able to get tickets for that hike!

Tuesday evening, we had take-out from Viva Chicken, played Frisbee Golf, got Neilson's Custard (a tradition),  and played the game "Salem." I happily volunteered to stay home and put the kids to bed during frisbee golf. Have you seen me throw a frisbee? haha. We laughed a lot while chatting with everyone. For the record, I did NOT hold my concrete upside down this time and have it fall out. Joel and Alexa weren't able to make it, so not everyone was there which was a bummer. Playing games with my parent's is always a hoot. My mom knows all about the history of the Salem Witch Trials and her insights and comments made for an unforgettable game.

Throughout our time away, I had lots of phone calls relating to the new house. Fortunately, I was able to take care of most of that while we were driving in the car and our realtor was able to meet the foundation and flooring workers for us. Wednesday morning, the boys went golfing and we cleaned and then headed home. Thursday, was closing day on our new house and I was eager. The whole drive home, I kept thinking, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a day away!"