Family Photos: 2012 Edition

Every year since Isabella's birth we've had family photos taken.  This year we contacted Kim Davis, who had taken our photos last year, to schedule a session.  In the past we have taken the photos near Isabella's birthday, but with the brutally hot summer we had I decided to wait until fall.  I thought the cooler weather and changing leaves would be nice for photos. I scheduled the session for October 13 because my 20 week ultrasound had been scheduled for October 12 and I thought it would be fun to incorporate a few gender reveal photos.  Things change, huh?

We wound up taking these photos a week later because the 13th was a cold, drizzly day.  It was definitely chilly the day these were taken, but I'm happy with how they turned out.  I did tease Clint about the fact that he seemed to screw up all the photos I looked good in. :)

I wanted to make sure Leo was included in the photos in some subtle way, so you'll find little nods to him in these photos.

Sometimes it's hard to go about life as planned when everything has changed, but I'm glad I went ahead with this photo session. My little three year old is at such a fun and frustrating age, and I feel like we were able to capture the sweetness and joy she brings to our lives. I honestly don't know what I would do without her.

Happy Haloween!

This is really the first holiday where Isabella seems to be old enough to understand that something different is going on, even if she's not quite sure what it is.  I've tried to squeeze in some fun Halloween activities, even when Daddy has kind of rolled his eyes at me. You've already seen our pictures from the pumpkin patch, so I'll give you a peek at what we've been up to since then.

Isabella "helped"me carve a pumpkin.  I thought she'd like digging around in the pumpkin goo, but she decided she'd rather pull everything out of the recycling bin.  I carved her a pretty fabulous Mickey Mouse pumpkin, but forgot to get a picture. :(

Isabella and I headed to our playgroup's Halloween party, where she fell in love with this ride-on toy.

We decorated a pumpkin with markers.

We went trick-or-treating at the mall.

Finally, we passed out candy to trick-or-treaters.

We don't really have any good pictures of her in her costume because, well, toddlers are insane.  She never sits still so the photo thing is a challenge.  Maybe someday.

Busy Weekend

We normally have very low-key weekends.  This weekend was a little different.  Saturday night, Clint and I went to my cousin Josh's wedding.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures, but it was a beautiful wedding.  Congratulations to Josh and Jenny!  I hope you're enjoying your honeymoon in Hawaii!

Today we took Isabella to the pumpkin patch.  Clint wanted to go this morning, but it was a little chilly at 44 degrees, so we had to wait until after her nap.  When we got there we had to wait in a very long line for the hayrides that take you out to the pumpkin patch.  Isabella did pretty well; she wanted to get down and run, but we were able to keep her occupied by letting her hold the camera.  The girl loves her electronics! 

She seemed to enjoy the hayride and looking at all the scenery.  When we found a pumpkin that we thought would be a good size for her I put her down to check it out and she loved it!  You'd never no that since she isn't smiling in a single photo.  She also took out her pigtails in the car ride over so her hair was a mess.

Nice, huh?

After the pumpkin patch we stopped by my dad's house to meet his new puppy, Eli.  Toddler + puppy = fuzzy pictures.

Ok, so it was more the toddler's fault than the puppy's.  He was surprisingly calm.

Now that you've read the rundown of our weekend activities, are you ready for our really exciting news?  Isabella peed on the potty!  Twice!  In the evenings she's been tapping on the bathroom door, and when we sit her on the potty she goes!  I really don't know how she's figured this out since we haven't really been working on potty training.  She does have a potty chair, but we just sit her on it before bath to get her used to the seat.  It's amazing how much they pick up on without you even realizing it. 

Of course, she is only 14 months old so we don't expect her to really be potty training soon.  I can't help but be a little excited though!