"You will not love your firstborn better, but you will always love him differently"

Isabelle, our firstborn.
When I found out that I was expecting Isaac, I was warned that being a mother of two would be a huge step, one that would present me with many challenges. Although I was scared, I was also excited to see what life had in store for me. Isaac is finally here and I see now that I was not fully prepared for what was to come... but how could I have been? The funny part about it is that Isaac himself is not the challenge. Isaac is my calm baby. He is loving and cuddly but he also needs his space. He sleeps better when he is in his swing and wakes up in a good mood to get a snack or a change. God knew what he was doing when he gave me this calm baby... I needed an Isaac because I already have an Isabelle.
Oh Isabelle, my baby girl. When Isabelle was born she gave David and I a sharp slap of reality. She was the most adorable thing we had ever seen but boy was she thick-headed!! She was colicky for the two months of life and would only quiet down if we bounced her. Even after she got older she still had some colicky symptoms and my nursing moms diet was slowly whittled away. She slept in short bursts, only when she wanted to and only if I was there with her. If a pin dropped she would be sitting up, awake and ready to go. She always wanted to be held, my little koala bear, God help me if I walked across the room without her. She hated the car seat and would scream until blue in the face when I put her in there. It took me a long time to voluntarily leave the house. I was so happy to be her mom but everyday was a constant challenge to stay calm and patient and not end the night in hopeless tears.
Isabelle is almost 2 now and David and I have learned during that time that we must look at her in a different light. This little girl has spunk!! She has molded my heart into a mothers heart. I can't think of one day where she hasn't taught me a lesson in patience and love. Before, we just wanted to survive the day, but as she has grown we have begun to see the gravity of the situation. God has entrusted us with this vibrant young soul, hungry for life and waiting to be guided and loved. I am a better person because she is here. Daily I am challenged to "put on Christ" as I respond to her and it is through Him that I find peace in the chaos.
Isabelle has been particularly "spunky" lately as she deals with the new experiences and feelings of being a big sister and I am beginning to understand why having two children is challenging. I know that I have much more to learn from my children, Isaac will have his own lessons to teach me, but I also know that my heart will continue to expand as my love grows.

I love you Isabelle... I love you Isaac. Love, your Mom

Baby Isaac David - Our New Addition

I didn't know it then but when I last blogged in January little Isaac David was already in my belly, growing safely inside of his mama. Now, nine months later, Isaac has decided to join us, and a proud mother is excited to blog about her new baby boy!!
Although unflattering, I knew that I would have to show a pregnancy shot. Here I am just a few days before the birth...
The last few weeks of the pregnancy were hard. I managed to catch the flu just one week before the delivery and was absolutely miserable for four long days. David took good care of me though and by day five I felt much better. On Saturday the 26th of September, my mom flew into town to be there with us during our last few weeks. Isabelle really loves hanging out with her grandma and will be sad when she leaves this Saturday.
Isaac was due on October 1st and at 4:15 p.m. on his due date my contractions began. Isaac was born shortly after at 7:09p.m.. He weighed in at 7lbs. 5oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.
He is perfectly healthy with all of his fingers and toes ... and boy is he handsome!! I think I'm in love!!
Isabelle is in love too...
And can't stop kissing her new little brother on his "coco"...
Although she has her moments, she seems to be handling all the changes well...
Her new smile includes the cutest little wink ever... see above...and below...
Daddy is in love too and is enjoying the addition of a son after living with two women in the house for a year and a half. They already like to chill together and enjoy the calm of guy time...
Welcome Isaac David to our family!! We love you more than we could have ever imagined and have enjoyed every day that you have been with us so far.

Thank you, Lord, for such a beautiful blessing!!

Missing Daddy...

I know, so many excuses!! I haven't blogged in forever and all I have to say for myself is that I am loving being a mother and have been putting all of my time and energy into Isabelle. It may also be that I have been a little too lazy to blog...
There were so many amazing pictures and stories from over the holidays that I got really overwhelmed and decided to skip those weeks and start fresh beginning with today. Thanks for caring about our lives here in Florida, it means a lot.
Me and Isabelle are missing the man in our lives. When our favorite guy isn't here it makes life a little empty. Needless to say, we can't wait for him to get home to his girls.
While David has been gone, Isabelle and I have been keeping busy. We've been spending a lot of time with some amazing friends who have been and continue to be our support system.
Here is my friend Jan and her son Isaac posing with Isabelle and I after having lunch on the back porch. Jan has been a life-saver!!
This is my friend Lisa, one of the funnest girls in Florida!! I can't lie, we've had some shopping therapy and some ice cream therapy to get us through the lonelier days.
So where are the pictures of Isabelle?? Here she is chillin' with her friend, Isaac.
Here are Isaac and Isabelle playing in the sand.
Look at those adorable faces...
Isaac is wondering why there is a girl in his tub.
I don't know what was going on here but I thought it was cute...
Because of their complicated love/hate relationship, they decided to pose for the camera after pushing each other around.
Until tomorrow!! Love y'all!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!

This past Sunday, David, Isabelle, and I went to the Mexico Beach Tree Lighting Ceremony right here at our very own Sunset Park. I can't lie, we have been shamelessly hitting all the Christmas parties in the area!! Santa drove in this time on a firetruck with his sirens blaring and lights flashing!! I guess since he didn't have Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with him he needed to use the firetruck lights to guide his truck. We had a really great time singing Christmas carols and drinking hot cocoa and eating cookies. The Christmas tree and all the decorations were really sensational. It made for an amazing last Christmas here in our beloved Mexico Beach. Here are some photos from the evening.
Me and Isabelle standing next to the tree...notice the festive lei's...
David and Isabelle enjoying the background of Christmas decor and palm trees...
Isabelle still isn't liking that guy Santa...Here is another picture of me and Isabelle but this time with a beach themed background of ocean and palm...
And lastly, here is Isabelle with her daddy...
Love y'all!!

Here Comes Santa Clause!!

But this Santa flies in on an F-15!!

This Saturday morning we went to the children's Christmas party on base in an airplane hanger and we had tons of fun!!
Not only did Santa fly in on an airplane, but they also had lots of fun arts and crafts activities, moon jumps, and best of all food!! Here are Isabelle and I enjoying some pink cotton candy...
Isabelle had lots of fun getting her face painted!! Can you tell??
She got a pretty snowflake...
Even though we had already seen Santa at the Base Tree Lighting Ceremony (pictures will come soon), we thought it couldn't hurt our chances if we gave him our Christmas list one more time. Here we are standing in line to see Santa...
Isabelle liked the Santa at the Tree Lighting Ceremony, but this time she wasn't so sure of him. Hmm... he is kinda scary lookin'...
Love y'all!!

Isabelle's Turn

I've had my turn in the spotlight, now Isabelle wants to tell y'all how excited she is to visit San Antonio for Christmas!! Here is a short video of our big talker...



Love y'all!!

My Isabelle

Before you see any pictures, I must tell everyone that Isabelle is getting more teeth!! She has been abnormally cranky over the past week or so and no fun to be around, but we couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Both David and I are feeling guilty because it didn't even occur to us that it could be her teeth. I guess that is what she's been trying to tell us all along!! Poor teething Isabelle.
A couple of weeks ago I showed you this picture and told you that it was a sneak peak of an adorable set of photos that I would post soon.
As you can guess I forgot to post them. Now that poor Isabelle is grumpy and teething, I wanted to post pictures of her being happy and having fun...
Being overly dramatic like her mother...
And making silly faces like her dad...
There are pictures with Santa coming soon!! I promise!! Love y'all!!

Chillin' with Daddy

Today was surprisingly relaxing for a Monday. Isabelle and I spent a couple of hours playing together at the park. Although we spent the majority of our time swinging on the swings, which she loves, we were also able to watch some people playing catch with their dogs for a little while. Isabelle seemed to really enjoy watching the dogs run around, I think that she is just eager to learn how to run herself.
I took these pictures of Isabelle and David a couple of weeks back and forgot to post them. I came across them again today and thought that they were too cute to pass up. I hope y'all think so too.
Here is Isabelle just relaxing...
In a really cute position...
On her daddy's lap
Love y'all!!

Isabelle and Her Mama (that would be me)

December has arrived and the countdown to San Antonio has finally begun!! As soon as David and I finalize a departure date, I will put a countdown gadget on this page so that everyone can countdown with us. The year is going by so fast and our little Isabelle is growing a little more each day. It scares me sometimes when she wakes up in the morning a little heavier, smarter, or cuter than she seemed the day before.
On that note, David has been commenting about how I don't have very many pictures of myself on this blog, since I am usually the one to say "that is a great picture" and grab the camera. So here are some pictures of me and Isabelle in the morning, just waking up and enjoying being able to rediscover each other all over again.
Best Friends...
Kisses!!
Big Smiles!!
Love y'all!!

Learning to Crawl!! (Sort of) Part 2 of 2

It was a rainy day today here in Florida. Despite the rain, we were still able to have some friends over to grill some burgers, play games and have fun. We definitely had a great time!!
Here are some more photos of our little Isabelly "crawling" around the house. She imagines that she is an explorer discovering new and distant lands!! Well, at least a little farther than just under the bed.
She started out sitting on the green blanket...
She scooted herself backwards until she got stuck straddling a paper bag full of groceries...So I moved it for her and she ended up under the chair...
And once again, I don't think that was her intended destination
But don't worry, daddy rescued her!!
Love y'all

Learning to Crawl!! (Sort of) Part 1 of 2

I'm happy to say that we had a great Thanksgiving over here in Florida. We got together with a bunch of our friends to eat, play games, and have fun, and we did!! Of course we missed spending the day with our family, but we have made some great friends that made the day very special. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!
Our Isabelly is learning to crawl!! Ta da!!
She can't however learn to crawl forward.
I have to smile when she gets frustrated because she is going backwards. I hear from Grandma Elizondo that apparently Isabelle gets it from her daddy because baby David also scooted backwards. David laughs when he sees her!!
Isabelle's adventure started with her sitting next to the bed...
You can see by the look on her face that she knows she isn't going in the right direction...
"Ok, well... this wasn't my intended destination, but hey, at least I'm moving (even if it is backwards!)"
Love y'all!!