These days...

are ones I will always treasure. I truly feel like we are moving beyond the baby days and onto toddler-hood. Izzy is 20 months and with each passing day I feel more and more like I'm with a cute little kid instead of baby. Every now and then I see glimpses of baby Izzy, but mostly we chase after a happy little pre-toddler. The past weeks have been busy, sometimes a bit exhausting or wild (mostly cause I'm up too long and way too tired), but mostly they have been fun-filled and VERY entertaining days. So here are a sample of pictures from our past week. (naturally I took lots of pictures).

Looking so grown up, but she's still got those cheeks I love to kiss!

I'm in her space apparently.

She is a huge fan of going outdoors, even if the temps are in the teens. She can now put on her hat, coat and shoes by herself. It's very helpful.

Usually smiley and cracking herself up

I LOVE her smile!

She is a monkey-see, monkey do kinda gal. It's good and bad. You really have to watch what she sees (banging nails into walls, she'll do the same thing when your not looking later).

Every time she sees me cleaning, organizing or cooking, she immediately comes running to "help" me and copies what I do.

Helping Mommy clean the kitchen walls. She really seems to enjoy cleaning and organizing. Robert gets a huge kick out of these when he sees Izzy copy me. She is definitely my daughter.

And then she cleaned all the dining room walls too :)

The next day she helped me sweep and mop the floor :)

She also loves to put away dishes and will pick things up off the floor when asked and sometimes spontaneously on her own. So glad she helps with chores already!

Helping Mommy bake banana bread. She always has her own bowl to mix. Just like Grammy and Great Grandma.

She loves baking. And flour, apparently.

Enjoying hard-earned banana bread....

A little bit of sassy going on...no idea where she learned that! Haha!

This is everyday Izzy. Great mood. Great smile and recently pretty cute conversations too!

The little mini conversations with Izzy usually just involves her responding with one or two words, but I feel like she understands us very well and it's just plain cute to hear her talk.

Unruly hair getting more unruly each day! We keep cutting her bangs but they grow back very quickly. She is still not a fan of hairbows or clips. Oh well. I know she isn't a girly girl, so no big deal. This is also the face she makes when she makes monkey sounds. I think it's hilarious!

And then there's the snow. Lots of snow this winter. Izzy doesn't like to be bundled up to play in the snow, but if she can get her hands on it to eat, she's a happy camper. She say's snow so cutely, with just a hint of the "S" sound and very slowly. And she usually says it like it's a rare gift (because she wants to go eat it!)

And she will sit and eat snow forever, regardless of how cold her fingers get. funny girl.

Sometimes we get her bowls of snow. She'll eat 2 full bowls of snow (not snow cream) and want more!

Bedtime snack: snow!

She is a dare devil to the T. Which makes me nervous (and her Daddy even more nervous), so when she gets in her climbing mode, we have to keep a sharp eye on her to avoid injuries. Her latest thing is standing on the arm of the couch and jumping off. Or sometimes falling off into bookshelves or windows. We're working on that.

Rolling on top the laundry basket. She is very creative with her play and doesn't mind a few bumps or scraps. She did get a good cut on her finger this week and learned the word "Ow". Then she said it all night and didn't use that finger at all. She also is not a fan of bandaids.

Everyone always asks how I take care of Izzy after work, and try to explain why, but really it's just something I do. Having her home with me and taking care of her the majority of the week is very important to me. You know, no one can take care of your kid like you can syndrome? That's me. It's tough, don't get me wrong, but I can tell Izzy loves having me home and it actually helps me bounce back from the night shift mode.

At least once a week, this is how our days go: I take care of Izzy all day, nap, go to work all night, come home and take care of Izzy until nap time again. It's usually about 24 hours awake - straight, which makes me pretty tired and sometimes grumpy, but we have our routine and most of the time we are fine. We go to Chick-fil-A and the library and shop at a store or two. Izzy seems to understand I'm tired on these days and goes easy on me.

She is even learning to lay down and watch her VeggieTale with me on those mornings when I just need to rest for 30 minutes instead of staying busy with her.

Izzy likes to feed her toys, and says "Cow, Eat" at chick-fil-A (yes, she feeds all of her toys) She is a good little momma.

I love those chubby hands. Always have, always will!

This is Izzy being sweet and letting me rest (A rare occasion, believe me) She says nigh-nigh and lays down with Baby. I'm laying down at the other end of the couch. I like those half hours.

We continue to enjoy all the small simple thins with Izzy and can't get enough of all her cute grins, mannerisms and talking. She is full of personality and life, and while we're starting to see a few (terrible two's?) tantrums (YIKES!) she is still very sweet, loving and thoughtful. Not to mention funny as all get-out!

As far as the tantrums go, I think she throws her fits only when she is upset and doesn't know quite how to express herself yet, and I'm okay with that. I kinda do the same thing. So, I usually try to ignore her for a minute (unless she is destroying something, I intervene) then help her with whatever she is frustrated with. Distraction is a beautiful thing and I can hand a handful of upset minutes each day. She's a good kid.

She loves to get into the closets and get out our shoes. I've even seen her in my heels (I dont grab my camera because that makes me nervous to leave her side), but here are a few photos of her

Walking in daddy's shoes