Recap 2011

January

We enjoyed a very white winter - with 10 snow days off to be a snuggled up together drinking hot chocolate and enjoying some old movies. Izzy got a good feel for sledding and snowballs - but didn't seem to like when her hands when numb from the cold!

February Mim & Papa came to visit since we missed Christmas with them...still had lots of snow and we spent a lot of time baking - Izzy gets flour everywhere every time, but has a blast. Izzy also mastered climbing things this month and proves to be quite the little monkey! She wanders up and downstairs without assistance now.

March

Trip to Arkansas to visit Grammy and Grandpa Voyles with Aunt Cheree. Izzy spent lots of time in the garden digging carrots and dirt with Grandpa; got to visit Harding where Mommy & Daddy met. She loved all the fountains and front lawn to run around on! She unfortunately fell and broke her two front teeth (on concrete floor). She was fine overall but Mommy had a huge meltdown when it happened! No permanent damage done though...

We also squeezed in a trip to Florida to visit Mim & Papa, MerMer & Aaron. Izzy rode around with her grandparents of the golfcart a lot and enjoyed exploring outside in their big yard. We also went to the Tallahassee Jr Museum (aka, a Zoo) with lot of animals to see. Izzy went to the beach for the 2nd time, but she was not a fan of the sand on her feet. However, she loved the seagulls! She no longer enjoyed carrides after 2 back to back long trips. Oops!

April We slowed the pace down a bit, but still enjoyed 3 Easter Egg hunts as well as dying our own Easter eggs. We were excited to learn Aunt Cheree is expecting (Izzy will finally have a first cousin this year! Yay!!) Park days started to become a very frequent activity once it warmed up. Izzy has no fear of any park equipment and plays on the much larger playgrounds easily.

May. 7th Wedding Anniversary! Wow! we celebrated by going out for dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant & planning a big trip to ....Ireland! Yep, we took a 10 day trip to Dublin Ireland to visit our friends, the Hutsons. Had an awesome, relaxing vacation. Izzy did amazing on the trip and bounced along with no problems for her first international trip. Mommy was more tired on the trip and realized she must be pregnant when hiking wore her out and train rides made her nauseated!

June. Izzy turned 2 and we celebrated with a fun Finding Nemo birthday party with ALL her family there as well as 8 friends - we had a wonderful time!! We learned Izzy's all time favorite food is cupcakes - She dug into the cake face first. again. before we sang to her. Nice. Izzy gave up sleeping in the crib overnight when she turned 2. Now she is in a big girl (full size) bed.

We officially learned we are expecting our 2nd baby in Feb 2012. Mommy told Daddy on his 29th birthday! Surprise!!

July. Lots of time spent at the library, lake and splash pads/pools to keep cool. We met Aunt Cheree & Uncle Daniel at Chattanooga Aquarium and had a blast there. Izzy was not a fan of the July 4th fireworks, but we enjoyed watching them for several days. Daddy had a more flexible schedule and we enjoyed having him home a bit more in the summer!

August. Mostly August was hot, hot, hot!! Which kept us indoors a lot of the time! We all went to the county fair for the first time (together) and had a blast, riding rides, petting animals, and eating all kinds of fried food! Robert started his second year with Centerstone, a school based program, counseling kids at Ross Elementary and enjoys his work there.

September Izzy started Mothers Day Out for the first time and loves it. We got a season pass to the Nashville Zoo and started going once a week, Izzy has a talent for memorizing animals and recognizes a majority of animals we see there. Getting back into a weekly routine helped Mommy keep her sanity working full time, watching Izzy when she's off and growing brother.

October

Trip to Atlanta Aquarium with Mim and Papa - what an adventure. Izzy's favorite was the dolphin show, which was really cool. It's a great place to go, but very busy! Overall, we had a great weekend getaway with grandparents! (and a little rest for us since Izzy attaches herself to Papa when he's around!) We went to 2 Fall Fest's and kept busy with all the activities offered at those festivals. Izzy enjoyed trick or treating for the first time. She was the cutest pink pony you ever saw. Not a fan of fake smoke or spooky Halloween decor though. We were too busy to make it to a pumpkin patch, but did manage to carve fun pumpkins together!

November We choose a name for "brother"... Levi Jackson...hard to do, but excited to finally have that nailed down! But we still have to get his nursery all set! We hosted American Thanksgiving with a house full of mommy's family - the Voyles, including Nana & Grandpa who made it down from Canada! Daddy made a delicious turkey and we enjoyed lots of yummy food. Got to meet and play with cousin Jack for the first time. He is sweet and loveable (and a great practice baby for Izzy since Levi arrives in 3 months!)

December We took a big trip to Florida to celebrate Christmas with the Stewarts. Izzy was really into Christmas and Santa this year. She learned several Christmas carols and sang the whole month long. On New Years Eve, Izzy was amazed by the fireworks and loved seeing & hearing them!