It's a New Day

Dear Isadora,

Last night, the majority of the country decided to re-elect Barack Obama as President of the United States for the next four years.  Today, some people in this country are very, very disappointed and have lost hope.  Other people are ecstatic and continue to have hope for this country's future.  Such is the state of many things in life, my dear.  There are ups and there are downs, but we accept and move on and adapt as necessary.

As you grow and start to understand the world, you will find that everyone has their own idea of what is right and just in this world.  As an American, you have the civic duty of voting and giving those ideas a voice.  It's a beautiful thing.  Sometimes you will find yourself a winner and sometimes you may find yourself a loser.  But I hope that no matter the category you find yourself in, you remain humble and respectful of the process.  Politics, you will find, much like other fiercely passionate topics such as sex and religion, are not the easiest conversations to have with someone, but I hope that you don't grow up oblivious to important events and decisions that could influence how you live your life in this country.  It's important to be informed and want to be informed.  It's important to recognize injustice and use your vote to make a change.  It's a lot of responsibility, I know, but I hope you don't shy away from it.

Mommy and daddy brought you with us to vote in this year's election.  We made it a family affair and headed to our designated voting location a week early to cast our votes.  Did you know that daddy didn't start voting until he met mommy?  Last night, he thanked me for encouraging him to exercise his right to vote.  I will do the same for you as soon as you are eligible to vote.  Just remember -- we may not always agree or see eye to eye on things, but I want you to know that I will always love you and will make an effort to respect and understand our differences.



Always aim to rock the vote, Isadora.  Your voice is important.  Always remember that.

Love,

Mommy

Happy Halloween!

Dear Isadora,

My, how time flies.  Last year, Halloween didn't mean much to you....



But this year, you were totally jazzed about Halloween.  This year, mommy made your costume.  I made you a sushi roll t-shirt for you using pieces of felt.  The finishing touch was mommy's ninja headband.  Tada!  Instant sushi chef.  (Mommy dressed up as a loose cannon detective.)  I posted pictures online of you in your costume, mostly to share with family and friends.  Your Aunt Kristie commented on one of your photos and said, "I am envisioning years of halloween costumes as a diana patten production!!"  (She's probably right.)









From what I could tell, you loved Halloween.  Every time trick-or-treaters rang our doorbell, you bolted toward the door to greet our visitors.  You were excited to see what costumes they were wearing and to see the crowd of strangely dressed children at the door.  Daddy held you up high so that you could get a good view of all the costumes.  You also cried every time trick-or-treaters got their candy and left -- you wanted them to stay a while.





You still don't get the concept of candy (which mommy is fine with).  You were, however, obsessed with playing with  the candy bowl, using the lollipops as drumsticks and the boxes of Nerds as rattles.




All in all, I'd say it was a delightful Halloween.  I hope you don't mind -- mommy and daddy may keep your Halloween costumes on course with Japanese themes until you tell us to stop.  Next year, you may be a sumo wrestler... Just sayin'.

Love,

Mommy

One Year Photos

Dear Isadora,

Today, we went to our favorite place, Portrait Innovations, to get your one year photos done.  We've taken you there twice before: once to get your 6 week photos and once to get your 6 month photos.  And just like today, they didn't disappoint.

We brought three outfits for you to change into today: a Japanese yukata, an Okinawan yukata, and one of your new birthday outfits.  You didn't enjoy changing your clothes or having mommy try to do your hair between takes, but you did enjoy all of the attention.  The photographer tried to get shots of you sitting down, but, for the most part, you refused to sit and wanted to stand as much as possible.  (We're starting to see more of this strong will of yours.  I think you get it from daddy, but daddy thinks you get it from mommy.)

Here are some of mommy and daddy's favorite shots from the shoot:










Aren't you a doll?  I think we're due for another family photo with you soon... I think we should all where our yukatas for it!  (Even Daddy!)  What do you think about that?  Yeah, I thought it was a brilliant idea, too.

Love,

Mommy

Happy First Birthday, Isadora!

Dear Isadora,

One year ago today, you made mommy and daddy's dream come true.




 Now you stand before us, a little person, so vibrant and full of spunk and personality.  It's been quite an amazing year being your mommy and daddy, my sweet baby.





 For your first birthday, we had a small, intimate party of close friends and family.  It was a hot day (over 100 degrees!), but we made due by staying cool inside and enjoying the taco bar that mommy and daddy made for your guests.  It was a packed house, but everyone made themselves at home.  We also set up a swimming pool in the back for all the kids to splash and swim in.  So much was going on, and it was all for you.



The most precious moment for me during your party was when we sat you in your high chair and gathered around to sing "Happy Birthday" to you.  The singing brought the biggest smile to your face, and you began clapping in joyous approval.  I almost cried...





After singing, we gave you your first birthday cupcake.  You weren't quite sure what to do with it.  But once you did, you didn't want to let it go!  In fact, you didn't let the cup cake leave your mouth for the longest time.  It was hilarious.





























The day went by so quickly.  At the end of the day, your daddy and I couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe we have a one year old!"  You've been a joy to have in our lives so far, Miss Isadora Yume.  I can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you.



 


All of our love,

Mommy and Daddy

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