Delicious Fall

Our camera broke the week we were in New York. We got to take pictures there for about two days. We've got some cell phone pictures I need to put up here, but I thought I better get an entry in cause it's been awhile.
This fall has been the best fall for me that I can remember in a very long time. I usually start to get anxious the end of August anticipating fall. I mourn the end of summer. It feels like time is moving too fast and everything is changing. As the days get shorter, I get more anxious. The darkness makes me feel even more anxious. I was telling my mom how it goes for me and she was like you have just got to change your perspective! She listed off all the things there are to love about fall and seasons changing: it's like you get a new wardrobe when you bring your warm weather clothes out of the closet, curling up by the fire, hot chocolate or tea, beautiful colors, baking, holidays. I said ok, enough is enough. Enough with this drama over a season changing. I decided to be excited about fall and winter coming. This September and October have been like a tender mercy from the Lord for me. It has been sunny and warm and beautiful. The air has that crispness in it that lets you know it's fall. The days are getting shorter, but the sun out almost every day has made the transition so awesome for me. I have noticed all the changing colors of the leaves, I have been excited about the holidays and interested in decorating our apartment. Ian and I are even dressing up for Halloween. He is a rocker and I am his rocker chick - totally hot. Pictures to follow. This may sound like a silly thing, but for me it has been huge and I have felt like God made this beautiful Fall just for me. And besides if it gets too dark, ill just go tanning :)
So this next portion of today's entry is to unabashedly brag about Isla. You have been warned. She just gets cooler and cooler every day. Her voice, her hands, her nose, her giggle, her eyes, her tummy, her little bouncy run- I just want to eat her up all the time. She is incredibly smart and really keeping me on my toes. Ian and I have to be super careful about what we say. She just needs to hear something once and she's got it. The other day she dropped something I think, but all I heard from her in her tiny little voice was "Holy Crap!" Woops.
Here are some new "Islaisms"
The other day I made carrots and seasoned them with parsley. Isla saw the seasoning on them and pointed to them and said "dirty carrots!"
I took her to the park a couple weeks ago. I would help her climb up on something and then she kept leaping into my arms without any warning. I would catch her with my heart racing. Once she did it when we were both on top of the slide and she would have fallen about 10 feet. She just smiled at me each time and said "good catch." Seriously
She has about 5 friends in our little apartment complex that she LOVES. Deanna, Sergey, Hannah, Adam and Lilly. She loves people.
She and Ian are hilarious when they play monster. If Isla gets too caught up in it and starts to get scared, she will start saying, "Hi daddy. No scared. It's ok. Hi daddy!" It's as if she is trying to tell herself, It's just dad, don't be scared, its just dad.
She loves music. She can pick out a guitar and a piano from a song.
She's always telling me now, "I wanna hold you mama."
When I got home from being gone all weekend and she saw me she said, "Oh, I found you!"
Ian and I have such a blast with her.
Ian, Isla and I just got back from visiting my cousin Beth and her new husband and their combined six kids in Star, Id. It's a way cute town outside of Boise. Beth, me and her step daughter ran a 10k in Boise. It was awesome. It ended on the BSU football field which was way fun. Ian and Isla were there at the end to cheer me in. They are the best cheerleaders ever. It was so fun to see the girls and it was fun to get away as a family. Life has been pretty busy lately so it was a good break.
Ian has been doing awesome at work. He has big responsibilities on his shoulders now that he is managing. He has had to work late a lot the last couple months and it's been stressful for him but he takes it on like a champ. His company is lucky to have him.
Well, I think that's it for now. Until next time...

The Big Apple, Dates, Music and Delicious Fall

Well, I haven't proven to be the most dedicated blogger in the world so there is a lot to catch up on today.
First, our trip to NYC. I LOVE that city. It has such a soul and energy that I fell in love with. I told Ian my new dream is to live in NYC and work as a landscaper in one of their many urban gardens. I am sure I could support us as a gardener. He could go work for Glenn Beck or something if that wasn't quite making ends meet. I've never loved a city like I love NYC. We started out at the Statue of Liberty. There is such a strong spirit there. I thought about how important it is to our Father in Heaven that His children b e free. I thought of how many of His children throughout the world are living without freedom and how grateful I am to be living in a country where I am free. Then I had another thought. Do I really live like I am free? How many limitations do I put on myself? How many times do I tell myself I can't do something? How much am I trapped by fear or guilt or shame? How many of God's children live in a country where their freedoms of this world are taken away from them, but they have a free spirit still? I felt the spirit speaking to me that my Father in Heaven wants me to be free. He sent His son to make it possible for me to live a life free from bondage and chains. It is up to me to use my free will to take advantage of that, to bring my whole soul to my Savior and live a life with Him. There is real power and freedom in that.
Next we went to Ellis Island. This again, really got me thinking. How did I get so lucky to be born in Spokane, WA USA? It made me really interested in the current immigration debates. I am not educated enough to give an opinion, but I felt a real compassion for those searching for a better life. My first inclination is to say, "Bring em all! There's a place for everyone!" I know I have no education on the complex issues, but that's what my heart wants.
Let's see, we saw the Empire State Building, Time Square, Madison Square Garden, The David Letterman Building and the Hello Deli. My other two favorites, however were Central Park and Broadway. Central Park is so gorgeous! I love the contrast of tall sky scrapers mixed in with natural beauty. I wish I could run in that park every day. And broadway...wow! We saw the Phantom of the Opera. It was breathtaking. Ive never seen a broadway show in my life. I didn't even know what the Phantom was really about. (truthfully, I still had to have Ian explain a lot to me afterwards. Its hard to understand what those opera singers are saying) Yet even with that being said, there is this emotion that you can't help getting caught up in. It was awesome. Saul gave me his Phantom soundtrack and ive been listening to it over and over in the car. Isla likes it!
We saw ground zero and went to St. Paul's Cathedral across the street. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city and now a survivor of the attacks on Sep. 11th. The inside has mostly been turned into a memorial to those who lost their lives that day. While we were there, the news was buzzing about the Mosque that Muslims want to build across the street from ground zero. When I heard this I felt angry. I felt like the freedoms our country is based on are being taken advantage of. Yes, we believe in religious freedom and tolerance, but these are supposed to build strength and unity. I felt building the Mosque in that particular spot only caused people to be victimized all over again. I am currently involved in a leadership program with Landmark Education. Our first weekend of the program was on the weekend of Sep. 11th. The classroom leader is from New York originally. He talked about honoring those who died on that day. It was his opinion that a way to honor those who died is to search for ways to give people power in their lives. He said when people feel they have no power, then they use force. It sounds so simple, but I agree with him. I think all the suffering can be traced back to this- a lack of power, which causes people to feel free. and not the kind of power that you have because you can control someone else or that you are stronger than someone else, but the kind of power you have knowing that you are free, that you are validated as a human being and you have everything you need inside of you, you are in control of yourself, you matter and your life has a purpose. I know- another naive idea maybe, but that's what I think.
To end on a lighter note, we also got some good shopping in, some good pizza eating in and some yummy gelato tasting in. Oh and we went to Grand Central Station! I feel so lucky to have seen everything we did. I love America! What a great trip!
ok, I am feeling in the need for a break so even though this post was titled with lots of other subjects, I think I am going to make this a to be continued and get back at it tommorow. So until then...

Isla-isms

Ian and I are going to New York City!!! I can't believe it! Last fall we got notice that our free flight with our frequent flier miles was going to expire. We never went on a honey moon so we thought well, how about now? When we looked to see where we could go, the airline had blocked off pretty much everywhere. We did have thise options of NYC or Florida. Ian has already been to Florida and we both have always wanted to see NYC so we booked the flight and 10 months later I can't believe we are leaving tommorow.
Isla is staying with Gramma and Grampa Williams. I know she will have a blast and be in the best care, but we are going to miss her terribly. We hope she still remembers who we are when we get back and won't be too offended about how long we will be gone. We love you girl!
I wanted to help my parents out with a few of Isla's quirks, her words and schedule etc. So here is a little guide to Isla right now. We'll call it Isla -isms

Schedule
Bedtime is between 8 and 8:30pm. The routine is bath, jammas, brush our teeth, read a few books, prayer and then give her Owlie and her pillow and put her in bed. We usually go through the whole "night night, sleep tight, love you" round.
She wakes up anywhere between 6 and 7 AM. She tends to want cuddle time when she wakes up. If you spend a few moments and give it to here, she is a much happier camper.
Breakfast ideas that she likes: Yogurt, melon fruit, bananas, toast, oatmeal with yogurt, pancakes
She usually snacks every couple hours
PS we are still working on the usage of a spoon and i wouldn't say we have reached the proficient level yet.
Another PS is that right now Isla has a small come apart if something she is eating breaks. For example if her bread breaks. To avoid this, I break things into small pieces for her before giving them to her.
Snactk ideas she likes: apple, carrot, cucumber, cheese, banana, melons cottage cheese, crackers, rice cakes
Nap Time: She is transitioning into one nap but it's not set right now because sometimes she still wants two naps. In general, she seems to be ready for a nap around 10 am. If she doesn't seem tired, you can keep her up and when she stays up later, she usually just has one nap on those days. Sometimes i give her a long nap in the morning and then a short 30 -45 min nap in the late after noon like between 3 and 4. 'Im sorry we're trying to get this worked out right now so it's more watch and see.

Vocab
Moonie means Smoothie and by the way, another idea for something she loves to eat
Mia Mia Meeeilk means Milk (we're not sure where she got this. I think she's just so excited about her milk that she has given it a bigger word.)
Poop Brush means tooth brush (no I did not teach her this, we're just working on pronunciation. Tooth is hard to say.)
Poop Paste - you guessed it - tooth paste. by the way, I let her chew on her brush and do it herself and then i say ahh and try to get some brushing in there myself. She has a couple molars now!
Mutnels means muscles. She tells me when she's pooping and then she tells me she is using her "mutnels" to get the poop out. PS Im trying to get more water and fruits and veggies in her so she doesn't have to use so much of her "mutnels" to poop.
Sparkle Butt means she farted and yes, I taught her this much to the dismay of Ian. Ian thinks a girl should just fart like the rest of the world, but the problem with this is I still haven't admitted to him that I have ever farted. I would much rather admit that my butt sparkles. So Isla has caught on.
If she says "hand" while you are putting a shirt on her it is because she is playing a game with you, like where is my hand? When her hand peeks through the sleeve it's very exciting!
Any engine is an airplane to her right now and she will keep repeating airplane until you say, "Oh, I hear it or I see it and then "bye, bye airplane!"

Fears
Her only two fears are the vacume and the blender. I usually warn her before I turn them on that it's going to get noisy. Sometimes she will want me to hold her while I use the blender or the vacume.

I think that's it. Thank you Mom and Terry! We are so appreciative to you for doing this! We love you!

This is dedicated to the one I love

I just wanted to take a moment to say what a great guy I am married to. He works so hard for me and Isla so that we can have what we need and have a great time too. So far this year, Isla and I have gone on all kinds of "field trips" together.

In March we went to Seattle with Robin and the boys to see the Tulip Festival and go to the Zoo.








In June we went to visit my Dad in Folsom for a week. We swam in the pool every day and took trips into San Francisco and walked along the Pier and visited China Town.

In July we went camping with the Bickley side of the family at Sullivan Lake for 3 days. We have had a blast! All the while Ian was working tirelessly in his little office on the 3rd floor, putting out fires at work.

He came home at night to eat frozen food or mac n cheese. He never once complained but was just so excited for us to be having a great time. He totally respects and values my job as the mom. He thanks me for what I do for Isla and he works hard. When she was born, he took on a second job so that I could be home with her and we wouldn't have to put her in day care. He took pride in all this because he knew how much value I could give to Isla and he makes me feel respected for it.

On top of all this, he is totally supportive of all my goals and dreams I have for myself in addition to my mama career. Because of him, being a mom is a great adventure.

I always wanted to be able to take my kids all over and expose them to all kinds of different things and adventures. I have been able to do that with Isla because of Ian. What a guy! I love you babe and I'm so thankful for you!

Bammas and Bampas

Isla is the luckiest kid in the world. She has three grammas, three grampas, two great grammas and one great grampa, or bamma and bampa as she calls them. All except Bamma and Bampa King live within an hour and a half of us and they all love her up pretty good. Great Gramma and Great Grampa Bickley live a mile from us and Isla and I walk over there to visit quite a bit. This week we went over there and played in Gramma's garden fountain. Isla's favorite game is "horsey". Amazingly enough, my 87 year old Grandma never says no to her. She puts Isla on her leg and says, "giddyup horsey!" and then she just goes until she can't anymore. She is one of the most incredible women I have ever known.
On Monday we went to Gramma and Grampa Hansen's to celebrate Grampa Hansen's Birthday. Galen, Kathy, Gramma Jeanne and Bill Baker were there. Great food, great company, lots of love. We told Grampa Hansen why we love him and there are lots of reasons to. I am grateful to have such a kind hearted. loving man as a father in law. He is crazy about Isla and she loves him right back.
Isla has shown signs of loving music since she was a couple months old. At the Hansen's she asked to get up to the piano. She sat there for quite a while, pounding out keys for us. She would turn the music book as if she was reading the notes and then keep playing. Then she would turn to us and start clapping for herself. Her self esteem seems to be well in tact. She loves clapping for herself. :)
The last couple days have been busy for us. My brother Jackson went through the temple for the first time yesterday. He is going on a mission to the Dominican Republic. I am really proud of him. He has grown into such a cool guy. He is funny, smart and kind hearted. He will be a great missionary. It was good to be in the temple. It was good to be there with Ian and with my family. I learned a lot this time, being there. My brother Jordan came from Arizona and my Dad was here. Its been so great having family here. Dad is staying here at our place. Tommorrow we are going up to Colville to have dinner at Mom and Terry's with Jordan and Jackson. Isla will be loved up to her eye balls. Her Grandparent's are crazy about her. I love my family and I think Im probably the luckiest grown up kid in the world.

Joining the blogger world...

Isla is 16 months old now. We tried out the nursery at church today. I had a way harder time than she did. I sat in Relief Society next to Sister Case and told her I was sad that Isla was already old enough to go to her own class. She said, "With kids the days are long and the years are short." Im seeing how true that is. I am also seeing how true it is that you forget that cute thing they did that you thought you never would forget which brings me to a blog. I haven't been the best at journaling and im hoping this will give me a way to keep up with recording this amazing time in our lives...life with Isla.

To give a short recap, our story began the fall of 2006. Ian's aunt Kathy and my mom decided they wanted to set us up. We both reluctantly agreed to give our number. My mom decided to add a special touch and gave Ian my phone number along with my senior picture. Perfect! Amazingly enough, it worked. Ian called me and our first date was to the Ram in Riverside with an institute class to follow. We spent the next year on the phone a lot, ( we lived an hour away from each other) going on many runs, making dinner together, eating out, watching movies, attending weekend seminars, trips to Seattle, trips to the Lake, snowmobiling. It was a great year. We got married in his Aunt Kathy's backyard on December 15, 2007 in winter wonderland of snow. It was a breathtaking scene. I wore a white down coat and Ian wore a black down coat. Our siblings were our bridesmaids and groomsmen and my dad walked me down the snowy aisle. Our guests had never attended a wedding like it before! Everyone was stressed about the weather but I just new it would be beautiful and it was. After the ceremony, we had an open house in Galen and Kathy's house. There was delicious food and a red velvet wedding cake that me and Ian's mom made together along with hot chocolate. Ian sang to me followed by the traditional embarrassing rendition of "unfortunate man" by my uncles. It was a beautiful day.

Three months later we were surprised to learn that a little one was on the way and we spent the rest of our first year of marriage preparing. We welcomed Isla Jeanne Hansen into the world on her daddy's birthday, December 31, 2008. And life was never the same. She was born into a winter wonderland. We brought her home to our tiny one bedroom apartment with a burning fire. We all three slept together in our room. We spent five more months living in that tiny place on the third floor.

When Isla was one month old, we all three went to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony. Isla looked like an angel. Ian and I placed our hands on each other with Isla's tiny hand on top and were sealed together. What I remember about that day was being so grateful to the Savior, that because of Him we can always have a second chance. I was grateful that because of Him, we can make mistakes and that He can bring peace and healing to any experience in life and that there is hope and a reason to keep trying. I felt grace and forgiveness and love.

Isla is such a miracle. She is funny, charming and the most outgoing, friendliest people person you will ever meet. At church on Sunday she can be seen with a new friend every week. She has never met a stranger. My grandpa always says, I see someone new walking the halls holding Isla each week. Ian and I just got done putting her to bed. She now has her own room. Our bedtime routine goes like this: First me and Isla take a bath, second I hand her off to dad who wraps her in a towl and puts her diaper on and gets her in her jammies. Then he warms up some milk while I read her stories. She drinks her milk then we all pray. Tonight for the first time she folded her arms during the prayer. Then Isla turns off the light by herself. Then we get "Allie" her favorite friend, the stuffed owl that Aunt Jordan made for her. We say "night night" and she says "sleep tight." She has developed a pretty extensive vocabulary at this point. Our week usually looks like this: Ian works Mon through Fri as an Educational Services Manager for Innovation computing. He's a computer guy :) He loves his job and he's great at what he does. As for me and Isla, Monday we wake up, have breakfast and then go to the library for reading time. She's been doing this since she was about 4 months old and she loves it. Then we go grocery shopping. Then lunch time. Isla takes a nap. After her nap we go for a run. ( I push her in the stroller.) On Tues and Thurs we go to the Bischoffs. Robin and I take turns running. Isla loves to play with Zane, Owen and Ronan or as she calls them, "boys". Friday night is pizza night. Sunday morning is Swedish pancakes (she calls them "mancakes") and then church. Ian and I fit a date in there somewhere. Life is good.

Isla's favorites right now are: airplanes, birdies, flowers, cars vroom vroom, coloring, anything with a motor, bread, crackers, cheese, apples and bananas, jumping on the bed, playing monster with dad, kisses, waving hi to strangers, outside, clouds, the moon and turning on and off light switches. We are learning how to be soft and how to use a spoon and brush our teeth.