Happy Holloween...I mean Birthday!!!!

Ok, so I know this is uncharacteristic of me, but I have a few spare minutes, so I thought I would share about our fun Halloween with the Isbell side of the family. Yes, my father-in-law's birthday is Oct. 31, and no, we did not go trick-or-treating in honor of him. However, we did spend our weekend with him. Anna Joe (my sister-in-law) and her boyfriend also flew out from Chicago, which made it an extra special birthday for dad. It was also her first time meeting her new little niece...whom she did not drop once! =)
Jesse had a cute little costume that he wore for the day, and we made fresh-squeezed orange juice from their orange tree.
And no, Nate and I did not kill each other...this time. =) Unfortunately, Stephen picked up the "plague", and was very sick the second day of our stay. But, a week later, I am happy to report that he is almost fully recovered. =)
Happy Birthday, Papa Bell! It was so much fun visiting you!!!

Two months

Ok, So I haven't updated this blog since Hannah was born, and I can't say that I never have time..I was able to write that whole first sent acne before I had to pick up the baby. =) In the last two months, we have adjusted very well to having two little ones. Hannah is a sweet, pretty little girl, and Jesse is an energetic, busy little boy. Jesse's vocabulary expands more and more every day; he is even putting two words together at times. He loves his little sister, and is learning to be gentle with her. Hannah had her one month check up, and was 10lb. This week we will have her second month check up, and I will update on her status then.

The biggest adventure we have had in the last two months was a trip to Pennsylvania on the first of October. Stephen's cousin got married, and we went to the wedding. We stayed in PA a whole week, and very much enjoyed the vacation. My in-laws came with us, and it was wonderful traveling with them. They really helped keep Jesse entertained and Hannah soothed while we traveled. A big thanks to the Alan Roush family who let us stay with them the entire time, and were such gracious hosts. And Caroline, thanks again for the beautiful pics you took of the kids! I'll post some here, and my face book has all of them.

Caroline's Pics

The only other big news to report is the demolition and reconstruction of our fence on the south side of our house. Nate (Stephen's brother) and Randy (Stephen's good friend) came down last weekend to help Stephen with this project. They moved the fence forward to the front corner of our house, which opened up the usable back yard space considerably. They also destroyed the two raised planters in the back yard, haled away the dirt, and took down a 30 foot flag pole in the front yard. All in 1 1/2 days!!!!! Thank you so much for all your work, guys! We could not have done it alone. Thank you also to my mom and Lindsey ( Randy's wife) for coming and helping me feed the guys, watch the kids, and keep me company over the weekend. it was so much fun. I look forward to work weekends with this crew in the future.

Hannah Elizabeth Isbell Arrives

YAY!! After 9 months of waiting, Hannah Elizabeth Isbell arrived on Tuesday, August 18, 2009. She weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz and was 19 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine. Below are some pictures...we are loving our new arrival. Jesse loves to give her kisses. Please get a feel hours of extra sleep for us.

It's a Puppy!!!!

Yes, we broke down and bought a puppy this past week. She is half Beagle, half Basset hound, 7 weeks old, and the cutest little thing you ever did see. It's a good thing she's cute too, because after a sleepless first night - listening to her howl and cry, and having to take her outside often to relieve herself - I was almost wishing we could take her back. But that was just the first night. Every night has gotten a little better, and I have gotten a little more sleep. Last night I only had to take her outside once, and she barely even whimpered all night. She is very friendly, and playful, but not as much work as I thought she would be. I think I can handle taking care of a toddler and a puppy. They both take naps. =) Jesse isn't quite sure what to think of her. He likes to watch her play, but when she wants to play with him, he doesn't know how to respond. He'll back up, whine, and want to get away from her. LOL This might take a little while for them to be good playmates. But I am here to help them learn how. Hope you like the cute pics. We all went to the park the other night, and Jesse was playing peek-a-boo with the dog over a rock. Oh, the dog's name is Freckles. =)

Bragging

Ok, I know I just posted, but I couldn't resist putting this video up, just to show how smart my little guy is. =) And the other pics are from when we had a cozy evening last week, eating popcorn by the fire (Jesse's first introduction to popcorn). We love spending time together.

East Coast Trip, '09

Ok, now that we've covered Easter, here is the update about the trip to the East Coast. The reason for the trip was business. Stephen had a conference for two days. Jesse and I came along to make a vacation out of the weekend. It's not every day that you get one of your two airfares paid for by someone else to a place that is very close to relatives. So, Jesse and I hung out at the hotel in Maryland for two days, and then we traveled up to New Jersey to visit my Uncle Earl and Aunt Dianne. We were only able to stay with them for 24 hours, but in that time they took us up to N.Y. City. Stephen had never been, so it was a treat for him especially to see the Statue of Liberty, Ground 0, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Although we did not get into the heart of N.Y, we did enjoy walking around South Seaside Village (I think that was the name of it), and eating at a restaurant there. Jesse was spoiled by his great aunt and uncle, and came home with two toy cars (a taxi and a police car) and two "I Love N.Y." onsies. =) Thank you! He also loved my aunt and uncle's huge, 125lb Newfoundland dog, Sydney. That black mass in the front of this picture is her. It made us really excited about getting our own dog for Jesse to play with. =) As far as the actual traveling went, Jesse did really good, but it was exhausting for us to keep him entertained for the long flight to and from the east coast. We are not sure that we are brave enough to try it again any time soon. But we are really glad we were able to make this trip.