cousins!

here are some pictures to tide everyone over until we get back to the previously scheduled program. these were taken today as isa and mikey (28 months) played together. pretty darn cute, indeed.

of funerals and viruses...

... yeah, it's been that kind of week around here. sigh. least important things first-- i paid a nice chunk of money last night to have my computer thoroughly cleaned. the poor man (who called himself 'Sebastian') in that Indian call center had his work cut out for him. and while i scoffed at the price tag for fixing my computer at first, nearly five hours later i was fully appreciative and very, very grateful. it turns out that my desktop was infected with the Antivirus2009... a name which made the techies in that Indian call center gasp. great. luckily it was found and cleaned before it wiped out my entire machine, including ALL of our pictures of isa, all my business info, everything. note to self: back up the pictures and don't accidentally open spam email or pop ups. in the end i was glad i didn't try to do it myself and was very pleased with the service. if any of you dear readers should have the misfortune of encountering this virus in the future, shoot me a note and i'll send you the company recommendations.

on a more important note, we are leaving tomorrow to travel back East for my grandfather's funeral. very sad but true. it will doubtlessly be a sad and long trip. getting last minute airline tickets from here in bumble is like trying to make a pony magically appear out of thin air. no small feat. no small price tag either. but we did get tickets and off we go. all peaceful thoughts are much needed and appreciated. see you next thursday...

Babble: Droolicious Review!

those in the mommy blogger world have likely seen Babble before. it's a very popular website, as it's Droolicious blog. so we were understandbly pleased to get some good air time over there today, by way of a Mountain Aven Baby review!

the birthday camping trip

we're back! and pretty tired. *yawn* but isa had a really great time, so the sleep deprivation was worth it. we are glad we motivated to go camping this time of year too, as it won't be too long before it gets awfully cold up there at night. and given that isa doesn't like to sleep under blankets, it would get even more cold for her! speaking of sleep, this time we decided not to bring the pack n' play, as isa refused to sleep in it last time anyway. and while this made for easier packing, it meant that isa had the run of the tent when it came to bedtime. that translated into her playing steamroller for several hours before she finally passed out.

while mommy and daddy could have done without that part, the rest of the trip was great. isa really enjoyed being out and about. she helped us identify whatever she saw on the trail sunday... "rocks. bugs. sticks. trees. flowers." which was entertaining to say the least. we hiked in to a little lake on sunday and enjoyed hanging out and watching people fly fish. isa did her fair share of rock throwing (oh the number of rocks a toddler can throw into water!) and looking for nemo, whom she was convinced must be in that lake somewhere! then we hiked back out and set up camp by the big lake, which meant more rock throwing and nemo searching. all in all a good time was had by all!

you'll see isa's birthday present, a wooden barn with animals, in the tent pictures. we decided to save this gift for a few days and give it to her on the camping trip. this turned out to be a great idea, as it was really entertaining in the tent when daddy was packing/unpacking and the mommy wanted a break.

for gramma schneider...

yet another benefit of the eco-groovy electric lawn mower... it's quiet enough to cut the grass with a baby on your back. bonus!

win a Mountain Aven Baby tee or onesie...

want to win a Mountain Aven Baby Supa Star tee or onesie? head over to Simple Mom to check out a recent review and enter to win some free loot! the shop is being reviewed on lots of blogs and sites in the coming weeks, so be sure to check them out! and maybe even win something! free stuff... doesn't get much better than that huh?

isa's second birthday, in pictures!

here are some photos and videos to share of isa's big day. it started off with the opening of several gifts this morning, as soon as she woke up (hence the pajamas and bed head!). we think she thought it was christmas... close enough! this afternoon we had cupcakes and more gifts, and then a few hours spent outside running off the sugar high! enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABEL!

one day old!

one year old!

two years old!

it's hard to believe that the goose is TWO! two years old! as cliche as it sounds... time sure does fly. so what is isa like at two? fearless. perceptive. sensitive. active. loving. tempramental. unpredictable. and the list goes on! happy birthday to you sweet goose, we hope this year brings you fun, love, and laughter! stay tuned for more birthday pictures and videos...

NEW dresses!

the NEW dresses are ready! woohoo! isa enjoyed being silly and having her picture taken in one of them-- which included showing everyone her new teeth (as seen in the second photo!). go check them out... the coriander sparrows and the grove organic dresses!

quote of the day...

isa: he sleeping! (holding wooden lion, wrapped in her blankie.)

me: he's sleeping? the lion? what's the lion's name, isa?

isa: cookie! his name cookie!

me: oh, cookie! that's a nice name.

isa: yeah. hi cookie!

ok, ok...

since the demands for belly shots keep coming... here you go. 23 weeks. if it's possible to "carry" a baby in your back and arms, we'll i'm doing it folks! and no wise cracks from your southerners about my pale arms either, lest you all get a snarky geography lesson and no more belly shots ;-)

the children's museum

we haven't been to the local children's museum in ages! but today was a good day for a playdate with charlotte and the air conditioned museum never fails to keep to the kiddos occupied. it's not a huge space, but for a small town it's a great resource. we hope to take advantage of it more this winter, when isa needs entertaining and the mommy needs a nice place to sit and watch! the fact that it's only a block away is another bonus. our friend morgan was there today too, which was even better, since she loves isa and isa loves her... good times, good times.

it's on SALE...

the Juicy Pears dress in on SALE! this fabric combo won't be coming back next season, so i need to clear them out. the new fall dresses (and all the other favorites!) will be available very soon. check back this weekend for the newbies! the lou lou, mirabella, urushi, mod trees , morning glory, and numbers dresses will be restocked over the next few weeks too!

bennett's birthday!

today was isa's good buddy bennett's second birthday party! isa and bennett go way back... all the way to the womb. so we were honored to help him celebrate his birthday this afternoon! isa thoroughly enjoyed herself, as you can see from the pictures, and we'll be lucky to keep her awake until bedtime. there were rubber ducky races in the creek, bubbles, water balloons, kiddie pools, badmitton games, and of course cake and ice cream. that's alot of action for toddlers, and their parents too. here are some pictures of miss isa enjoying herself...

Brrrr...

Nothing like having your snack while wearing a down jacket huh? It's chilly here today! Though admittedly not cold enough to wear a winter coat indoors. But you can't tell Isa that, of course. It actually got down into the thirties last night and it's a cool and gray fifty degrees now. The break from the heat motivated the mommy to get out some warmer clothes to see what might still fit from last year. And being that isa is such a snow bird, she took full advantage of the chance to wear her jacket, snowsuit, and fleece pajamas around the house. Whatever floats your boat kiddo.

It's likely that this weather won't stick around for long, but it's a welcome break for now. We are planning on going camping next weekend for isa's second birthday, so if the new snow in the mountains is any indication, we might be using that down jacket sooner than you think!

baby prepping

i always get hassled by people who ask why i don't make all of isa's clothes. my usual response is that more sewing is the last thing i want to do at the end of the day! so poor isa gets slighted, or so it would seem. but on the rare occasion that i have a little free time, and motivation, i do some sewing that has nothing to do with the shop. such was the case when i decided to make a stack of receiving blankets for the new bambino. anyone who has used regular ole receiving blankets knows that they are rarely big enough or thick enough. so, being that i have fabric and a machine at my disposal, i decided to change that this time around. the result was a great stack of blankets for the little winter baby, double sided in thick flannel. while we are not exactly lacking in blankets around here, how could you have too many blankets for a wyoming baby born in december, right? exactly.

speaking of babies... folks have been asking how isa has taken the news. well, honestly... she hasn't taken it at all. because we really haven't made a big deal out of it yet. or atleast in her terms. she has an inlking that something is going on, as we always make it a point of talking about her friends' new siblings. but we haven't done the big "you're going to have a new baby brother/sister" deal yet. we'll probably wait til very close to d-day to break the news. since she really has no concept of time, it would likely be confusing to make this big fuss about a new baby and then have to wait weeks or months for one to arrive! don't you think?

baby babushka

we had a little photo shoot this afternoon for a new shop item-- babushka baby: russian dolls lounge set. isa was being particularly silly and sweet, which meant i actually got some good pictures of her little face! this is a rare treat when it comes to modeling these days. so i thought i'd post some outtakes as well :-)

saturday morning antics

somebody woke up with alot of energy this morning! there was a dance party in the living toom before 8:15am. of course, once the camera came out, the dance party abruptly stopped. so most of this video is of mommy chasing isa around with the camera, trying to get her to repeat her moves. instead we got some puzzle play, a little dancing, and some footage of isa putting her sea creatures to bed. as you can see, she loves her puzzles (puggles!) but we need to find one that has her two new favorite creatures... sea turtles and seals. in the meantime, atleast i know where she is stashing some of her puzzle pieces!

back to the aquarium...

as promised, here are some pictures from the trip to the denver aquarium. sadly, these are the only pictures we have from the whole vacation! long story, but there were dead batteries, missing cameras, and busy parents... none of which make for good photo taking.

but these are nice enough and you get the idea! isa LOVED the aquarium, even though she was extremely tired and teething. she had just watched Finding Nemo for the first time too and proceeded to call most of the fish "Nemo". while there, she learned alot of new names for various species and now has fun naming all the sharks, whales, and other sea life she sees out and about (ok on toys and in books, not real ones. we live in wyoming people!).

good morning goose

the goose says good morning to you. i found this picture while cleaning off the ole camera card and really liked it. so much that i felt it worthy of it's own post. this one is for the grandparents, who have waited (somewhat) patiently through two weeks of no new isa photos!

win a Mountain Aven Baby gift certificate!

hey you! there's a giveaway over at Momma Sassy... leave a comment on this Mountain Aven Baby review and be entered to win a $25 gift certificate in the shop! It's good toward any item!

On another exciting note... we're HOME! and very glad to be back. it was a nice (if long) drive yesterday and miss isa was especially excited to be back on her home turf. after a little unwinding and unpacking, we'll back to the ole blog with pictures from the vacation! stay tuned.

on modern art or the art of trying on maternity clothing

ok, so much for a "down" day. we managed to pack in another full day here in manhattan. the morning (er, noon?) started off with a free trip to the Guggenheim. andrea's boyfriend jake works for the museum of natural history, which means he and his guests get into any museum in the city for free... score! that was a nice bonus and meant that we didn't feel obligated to spend loads of time in the museum because we had paid to get in. good thing too, since i am apparently not the most appreciative patron of modern art. i mean, i like it, most of it. but i cannot stand in front of each piece for ten minutes while i contemplate the details. i just can't. i don't have the attention span.

so after that, it was off to park and lexington avenue to see where the rich people play. once we got past the glitz and glamour, and down into a more reasonable neck of the woods, a bit more shopping ensued. this is where the mommy got to actually try on clothing *gasp* for the first time in many, many years. it seems that having a toddler and living atleast five hours from any descent establishments does not lend itself to such things. so the day was thoroughly enjoyable for that reason, among others. and i managed to score some good deals for the ever expanding girth in the meantime.

as for isa and phil, they are still living it up in denver. i am told that isa has some "serious" new molars about to make an appearance. which is all fine and well, except that she still has four other teeth trying to come in as well. sigh. reality looms on the horizon.

new york, the pedestrian city...

i have decided that if there were a neighborhood ticklist, we would have done some serious ticking yesterday. it was a very long day. and my feet hurt just a tad from it now! let's see, there was... soho. chinatown. little italy. soho. canal street. brooklyn. prospect park. upper west side (which is where andrea lives, but hey it counts!). all of that in one day. plus lots and lots of subway trains, a fabulous free concert in prospect park, shopping in chinatown and soho. and much, much more.

yesterday had lots of adventures, but i have to say that the highlight was the free concert in prospect park (i heart brooklyn). it was a free show put on by the city and featured different african musicians from all over the continent. the music was unbelievable. the weather was perfect. and it was just the nice relaxing (ok, there was dancing, but it was still relaxing) afternoon we needed after the shopping-fest earlier in the day.

speaking of the shop-o-rama... chinatown is a trip! it just happened to be the day of the chinatown summer festival so the place was packed! this just added to the general sense of craziness that is chinatown. haggling was interesting as well, being that i am not a haggler, but the ladies in the shops sure seemed to enjoy it. i picked up a few cute things for isa and baby #2 and called it good. there was just too many things to see and do and the general overwhelmingness of the crowds didn't lend itself to leisurely looking.

ok, off to the Guggenheim... more later!

mommy goes to new york (part 1)

greetings from the big apple! i made it... though not without hours of delays in both denver and new york (yes, we sat on the runway at la guardia for an hour after landing because apparently they weren't expecting us). but all i could think during the repeatedly delays was, "atleast it's just me and not a tired and cranky toddler too!"

but here i am, in new york city. my friend andrea, whom i am staying with, met me at the airport and gave me the scoop on getting around like a local... via subway and bus, and taxi if i am really that lost. this has been good for my sense of direction and my desire to not be a total tourist. though admittedly, i am a tourist, i know i know. today was her last day of work so i've been flying solo and enjoying finding my way around. this morning i met another friend, jillian, and her husband and son at the museum of natural history for a little cultural experience. it was really an amazing place, though i felt like i needed about three days to really see it all. being that it was a saturday, the place was absolutely packed! but it was still a good time had by all and i'm really glad i got to see them and the museum on my first full day in the city.

so what's the best thing so far, you might be wondering? hands down... the FOOD. we had fabulous indian food last night (and this morning!) and will be headed to chinatown for some more edible goodness tonight. i almost cried when i walked into the neighborhood grocery store... there was just so.much.good.food. and it was everywhere! i forgot what it was like to have anything and everything at your fingertips. this i will miss greatly back in the cowboy state. sigh.

so that's it's from here. the first installment. hopefully there will be some pictures to come, if i can borrow a camera! and for those of you who are saying to yourselves, "who cares about new york? what about isa?" well, rest assured, she is doing just fine with daddy in denver. and i have made sure of this by calling a bazillion times a day just to check in. though she is being her normal almost two year old self, she has treated him to two naps in two days! that's a relief to hear, as it means he is atleast getting a little break here and there!

stay tuned for more...