Annual Patten Family Vacation: Corolla

Dear Izzy,

This year was your second trip with the Patten clan.  (You were only four weeks old when you participated in your first family vacation.)  Almost a year older, you got to really experience the joys of the Outer Banks for the first time and play in the ocean and in the sand.  Mommy and daddy were fully prepared for a week of changing poopy diapers full of sand, but, to our surprise, you never consumed one drop.  You were mesmerized by the texture of the sand and even tried to throw it around, but you never put any in your mouth.  And the ocean... You loved it!  We had to constantly keep an eye on you to make sure you didn't get knocked down by a wave.  Its vastness and its enormity did not scare you.  You seemed determined to conquer it.

We were also lucky enough to have a pool at the beach house we rented.  Unfortunately, the water was much too cold for swimming, but it warmed up by the end of the week.  While we waited for it to warm up, we made due with your very own blow up pool.











All week you got to spend time with all your cousins and aunts and uncles.  You aren't used to being around so many people, but you LOVED the attention.  I think our favorite time during vacation was the night we all went to the beach to take pictures.  Here are some of the shots we captured:
































It was wonderful vacation.  We got to reconnect with family and see you grow up before our very eyes.  We were sad to see our time end so quickly, but it just made us that much more excited for next year's vacation!






You have a whole year to rest up until the next one!

Love,

Mommy

Nearing Your First Milestone...

Dear Isadora,

You're 11 months old... You're almost a year old!  How did this happen?!

You're walking like a pro.  You're babbling like crazy.  You know how to whine.  You even know how to push literal buttons and mommy and daddy's figurative buttons.  Is there anything you can't do?

Excellent table manners there, Iz...

Yes, there is... Use a spoon.








You'd rather chew on the wrong end than use it properly for eating...  But you'll get there one day, I'm sure.  There's no taming you yet, my little bear wrestler.




In the mean time, you are still dubbed our little "Goat Baby."  Here's why:



You never met a book you didn't find DELICIOUS.

Love you little goat.

Love,

Mommy

Mother's Day Thank You

Dear Isadora,

For Mother's Day, I told daddy that all I wanted was to redecorate our master bathroom -- new shower curtain, new bath mat, new shelves, and new paint.  Expecting to receive a gift card to Lowes or Home Depot on Mother's Day morning, I received this instead:






It was the sweetest, most unexpected gift I could hope for.  Having your first work of art is an honor.  My favorite part was seeing your sweet little hand print in the bottom right-hand corner of the work.  Even daddy's extra special touch of adding the decorated mat made me beam with such pride.  I am so happy that I get to have you as my daughter and have your daddy as my husband.  Don't get me wrong... Daddy's still going to help me redecorate the bathroom -- he just reminded me that you are the best gift I will have ever have.

After receiving your beautiful artwork, daddy made us the most delicious breakfast of French toast and bacon.  Mommy wished every day could be Mother's Day after eating a breakfast like that!




Mimi and Pop-pop even came down for the weekend because Mimi wanted to see you for her Mother's Day, too.  You don't get to see them every day, but when you do see them, you love spending time with them.  You loved having your Mimi and Pop-pop time!





During their visit, they got to see just how much you've grown.  I told them that since you turned 10 months old, you started taking your first baby steps.  In only the past two weeks, you went from only being able to take a few short wobbly steps to being able to walk all around the living room.  Mimi and Pop-pop were very impressed by this.  One of your favorite things to do now that you can walk is to walk all the way to window and hide behind the curtains.



Besides walking, you've started doing something else that is new... One of your new quirky habits has been eating books.  Yup, you read that correctly.  You EAT books.  Mommy and daddy often joke that you're half goat... So far you've eaten about five books and chewed through the cases of three DVDs.  But you only have six teeth!  You may only have six teeth, but you know how to use them.



Izzy, thanks for making life so interesting and fun.  I don't think I'll ever stop loving being your mommy.

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

Your First Wedding

Dear Isadora,

It was another weekend of traveling for you, my dear.  This time, we headed down to Ocean Isle Beach to attend the wedding of mommy's very good friend, Shannon, and her soon-to-be husband, Jim.  (They were the lovely couple  who babysat you in February so that mommy and daddy could have an anniversary date alone, remember?)  Shannon asked mommy to be her Matron of Honor, and mommy happily accepted.  While mommy served as Matron of Honor, daddy was in charge of keeping you fed, diapered, and happy at the wedding.  (I'd say he did a bang-up job, kiddo.)  It was a perfect day for a beach wedding, and what a beautiful wedding it was.



















Not only was this your first wedding, but it was your first time you got to swim in a pool, too... You LOVED being in the water!  You are a true water baby.  As soon as your legs hit the water, you were kicking nonstop and laughing all the while.  It was the cutest thing I had ever seen!













 


Everyone at the wedding raved about you, saying how well behaved and happy you were.  In fact, they gave you a nickname, too -- Isadorable.  Sounds like a winner to me.  How about to you?






Love you my little mermaid.

Love,

Mommy

Your First Easter

Dear Isadora,

For your first Easter, we had two very busy weekends.

The weekend before Easter, we traveled to Emerald Isle to visit your Auntie Barbara, your Uncle Chucky, your Cousin Lennox, and your Cousin Piper.  Every year, they hold an Easter egg hunt at their house, and we got invited to join in on the festivities.






You got to dress up in a cute Easter dress and watch all the big kids hunt for eggs.  There were eggs galore! (Maybe next year you'll have that walking thing down and will be able to join them!)  You had a great time playing with your Cousin Lennox, you mostly snatched toys away from your Cousin Piper, and you followed Auntie Barbara around like a cute little puppy.  (You love some Auntie Barbara!)






The weekend of Easter, we traveled up to Pennsylvania to visit your Auntie Kristie, your Cousin Thomas, and your Cousin James.  They agreed to babysit you for one night so that mommy and daddy could cross the last thing off their married to do list (a trip to New York City!).  I don't think you really liked being in your car seat for 7+ hours (we took breaks!), but who could blame you?  When mommy sensed you getting antsy, I handed you the remote to the portable DVD player.  It seemed to appease you... for a little bit any way.




On the day that mommy and daddy left for New York, you did great and really enjoyed spending time with your aunt and cousins (I don't even think you noticed that mommy and daddy were gone at all).  They reported that you slept in past 7 o'clock and took two 2-hour naps (unheard of in our house).  Although mommy and daddy had a great time in the Big Apple, we really missed you and couldn't wait to see your smiling face again after our trip.






After a long journey back home, you were happy to be back in your own space.  After several hours on the road, mommy and daddy decided to make actual Easter day a lazy Sunday with our Izzy.  It was perfect.  A day full of snacking and napping.

Maybe next year we'll give you a traditional Easter holiday. What do you say, kid?

Love,

Mommy