Look!

I have a new best doggie friend. Sadie, Sarah's Golden Retriever, was patient enough to let me stroke her, give her kisses, and generally flop and wallow all over her body. She gave me plenty of licks whenever I asked for them and cleaned up all my messes after dinner. I miss her already!

Happy birthday, Nikki!

Mommy seems upset that I got out all my toys, but I had a very important project to complete, and cleaning up only got in my way. It's hard to keep up with your correspondance when Mommy keeps the stamps out of my reach, so I had to get a little creative.

Where's Isabel?

Mommy caught me playing peek-a-boo with my reflection in the oven door. What can I say? How could I resist playing with a baby that cute?

There she is!

As you can see, I had a fantastic view of the shenanigans at Fiesta last weekend. Sadly, Daddy did not let me have any beer OR any funnel cake.

Doggie? Did someone say doggie?

Doggies are my FAVORITE thing these days. I like to look at my doggie picture book or my stuffed doggies and talk about them with Mommy and Daddy. I make the sign for doggie, which is snapping my fingers, and say "Woof, woof." They get very excited and woof back at me! Sometimes doggies walk by our front yard and Mommy will take me out to visit them. Some of them are a little scary at first, but I LOVE it when they give me big doggie kisses. I just can't stop talking about them.

Last weekend we went to Sea World, where I saw some black and white things swimming in a pool. I turned to Mommy inquisitively and signed "Doggie?" But she informed me that in fact they were penguins and showed me the sign for "bird." That is very confusing to me, as I thought that sign indicated the yellow bird that I take to sleep with me. Hm.

I'm taking a poll

All those who check my blog at least once per week, leave a comment here. Just curious-- there are those who don't believe that I have a serious readership. Prove them wrong!!!

This guy is visiting me this weekend. He kind of reminds me of my Granddad. When Mommy asked me if I remembered him, I shook my head no.

I've never paid much attention to the stairs before, except sometimes screaming when I'm being carried up them because I know I'm headed to bed. But today Mommy left me in the living room to carry something upstairs and I REALLY wanted to follow her. So I decided it was time to learn. I really had no trouble at all, just went straight up. When I reached the top I decided to turn around and go back down--that wasn't so easy. Luckily for me, Mommy was there to catch me. Sadly, when I try to see the stairs now, there is always some big plastic thing blocking my access.

Two-fisted approach

It's good to have two beverages on hand, just in case you change your mind.

I discovered this weekend that some people keep even more interesting things in their purses than Mommy does. I'm trying to convince her now to get some makeup so I can play with it.

My day

I'm not sure what has gotten into me today, but I am feeling EXTRA sneaky. I started off my morning by scarfing a paper towel and leaving small wet bits around the house. I proceeded to master the child locks on the kitchen cabinets to crawl under the sink and explore some interesting bottles. When Mommy took me upstairs to distract me, I found her purse and dumped it out to investigate its contents. I went to find Mommy, who was cleaning the bathtub, and since she was busy I had to amuse myself somehow. I opened up the lid to the toilet and starting plunking my tub toys inside, one by one. That was very satisfying, and it got Mommy's attention. Further experimentation with the toilet revealed that pulling on a small shiny lever makes the toilet emit a satisfying "swish" sound.

In other news, I have come to the realization that my food simply tastes better when Mommy blows on it first, so I refuse to take a bite until she does so. If she forgets, I purse my lips and blow a little to remind her how. Dinner seems to really be going my way since I learned how to say that I want more or that I want a drink using my hands.

Thank you to Sarah for my new swimsuit... I'm sure I'll get plenty of chances to try it out over the course of the long, hot summer.

My neck

Yesterday I visited a neurologist to make sure that my neck is okay. I always thought my little head tilt was rather charming, but apparently my silly parents and doctors were worried about it. It turns out I have two fused cervical vertebrae, but they are not even what causes my head to tilt. Neither situation is hurting me or keeping me from getting around the house a few steps ahead of Mommy, so the doctor said we don't have to worry about it at all. Yay!

Quote of the day

"Isabel, don't eat the cabinets, baby!"

Okay, so maybe it's just me, but this had me in hysterics. As if we had termites for chubbles or something:).

Lucky Seven

I was cranky all this weekend--it seems that not only did I pick up a fever at the doctor's office, but I've been cutting a new tooth! It's my lower left lateral incisor. I think I'm going to begin work on the right one soon.

My favorite food these days is rotini pasta with tomato sauce. I will eat it with my hands right off my tray, but all food really tastes the best directly off Daddy's fork.

And what have we here?

I'm just helping, Mommy.

Um, Mommy, I'm not sure I'm ready for this yet. Do you really think I have enough hair for pigtails?