Half Pint Hullabaloo

Whew! It's been a crazy couple of weeks but I've finally got a chance to write up a blog post about the Half Pint Hullabaloo. This was a great event for pre-school aged kids in our town. Nothing expensive or over the top, just some volunteers putting together cheap, fun entertainment for kids. It couldn't have come along at a better time because we were running out of indoor activities to keep Isabel happy... a frightening prospect, now that she has started throwing wailing, flailing, head-banging tantrums.

Block City


Racing Through the Tricycle Course


Graciously Letting Mom Finish the Art Project

Picking Up Steam

This weekend Isabel had a breakthrough in her walking abilities. Friday night we were getting her ready for bed, so she was dressed only in her diaper. She just started walking across the room, showing off her pudgy little legs! Now she's a walkin' fool... and she does look pretty silly, like the cutest Frankenstein ever.

We took advantage of her improved skills today by venturing outside. We had a freakishly warm day here in Ohio - 75 degrees. Isabel crossed her first street, made friends with some passing kids and their puppies, and met the neighbors. I'm so happy it's getting warm (finally!)... we're running out of things to do with Isabel indoors. I'm sure we'll get at least one more snow before summer... this is Ohio after all.

Signs

Isabel has been learning so much at her daycare. She hasn't spoken anything besides that one "dada" I wrote about a few weeks ago and possibly the word "cat", but she still communicates... using sign language. Yes, just like in Meet the Fokkers. Now, we got a Baby Signs book before Isabel was born but we only made a few half-hearted attempts at teaching her anything. The staff at the daycare, on the other hand, teach her a new sign every week. How many of those she remembers, I don't know. However, she uses the signs for "eat", "all done", and "more" regularly. She may be using more but since *we* don't speak sign language, we would have no idea! Guess it's time to hit the books.

The sign for "Eat"

XOXOX

This weekend we taught Isabel a valuable new skill: how to give kisses!

In these pictures you can also see the haircut I gave her last Monday. I trimmed her bangs so they wouldn't be in her eyes anymore. Kyle held and distracted our squirming child while I did the snipping. No one warned me how hazardous it is to have sharp scissors near a toddler's face (although it seems obvious in hindsight)! It's a tad crooked but all in all her first haircut went about as well as we could hope for.