We have never had so much fun...

I drove past our local DQ and saw a group of high school/college aged kids hanging out. I thought to myself...people always say those are the best days of your life, but I think I would have to disagree. Jeff and I have never been happier, we are having a blast!

We constantly have smears of drool and graham crackers on our shirts, find cheerios everywhere, are always trying to keep Isabel out of Murphy's dog bowl, and have eaten funky baby foods in hopes that it will make her like them more. Our days are also filled with sloppy baby kisses, introducing Isabel to new exciting things like the pool and ice cream, playing hide and seek behind the couch, celebrate daily in small victories like seeing her figure out how to keep food on a spoon and get it all the way to her mouth, and many times a day have our hearts melted just by seeing her smile.

I would definitely have to argue that THESE are in fact the best days of our lives.

Yesterday marked one month since we have been home from China. I sent off our photos to be developed and just got them all back in the mail....we had almost 1,000 that we took! I am going to get them organized into albums and record all the thoughts, feelings and emotions that we experienced. Just seeing them makes me miss China. Don't get me wrong, it was a tough 18 days, and I love being back home, in my own bed and being able to eat "American" foods. But the time we were there was so special, something I will never be able to put into words, nor be able to explain to people. I am forever grateful for those 18 days.

But, like I said, we are definitely enjoying being home. Isabel seems like she has been a part of this home forever and her presence can be seen by the scattering of toys throughout the house at all times. Our family room is covered in toys, and random household objects Isabel has decided to make into toys (water bottles, the wipe container, dish towels)...who would have thought that a messy room could make me smile so much?

We are doing great and getting into the swing of things. We are setting up a time to get her photos taken...by an actual photographer, not just the amateur shots that I am taking to record even the most trivial of events. She seems to already be changing so much from the Isabel we brought home one month ago!

Sunday we are having a belated birthday party for Isabel. We are just inviting family as she has only met our close friends and their kiddos briefly. But when you get both sides of our family in one house it is a pretty large crowd, so it should be a lot of fun! We weren't sure what theme to go with, but finally decided on Backyardigans. Isabel doesn't really watch TV, but one day I was flipping through the channels and Backyardigans came on....she LOVED the music. So, that is the one show she "watches". Really she just likes when they sing songs and dance....she stands in front of the TV and waves her arms around...too cute. So, instead of going with a ladybug and panda theme (which is what I had previously planned on doing) we are doing Backyardigans and I will make cupcakes with each of the characters on them.

Jeff finished band camp last week, so it has been a lot of fun having all three of us at home to spend time together as a family. We introduced Isabel to her blow up swimming pool. She has a blast in it, and it has been great with the super-hot weather we have been having here. We also set up a castle tent for her to play in. It was given to us by my boss's sister and we are very thankful as Isabel loves playing in it...sometimes with Murphy!

Here are some photos of the past couple weeks:

Playing with Carter and her new set of blocks.


Okay, I promise not to run this one into the ground, but c'mon...I couldn't resist this one when Carter, Isabel and Murphy were waiting for Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jon to come over:


The whole family can fit in the castle tent!




Feeding myself is fun....especially when I splatter it on mom and dad!


I am soooo stylin' in my ladybug pool!


At Carter's house...Isabel loves his Elmo Chair, it shakes and giggles when you sit on it.


Isabel doesn't let me mess with her hair...nor does she like hats. But the other day she let me put a couple rubber bands in her hair...her first hairdo:



One of daddy's favorite moments...sharing ice cream with his daughter.


Definitely a favorite of Daddy's...drum lessons with Isabel.

The Marimba is serious business...she really concentrated when she would play:


I think we may have a future rock star in our midst: