Life is Full!

I won't bore you to death with how busy we've been... Going on play-dates, Gymnees on Sundays, swim lessons, and work/school. It makes for a full day. I'm literally "on-the-go" from 5am-7:30pm and go to bed around 8:30... Cant wait for Thailand in 2 1/2 weeks!

Update on the girls...

Isabelle
-She says "ayi" for everything! And says, "uh oh,"and "dada or daddy"
-LOVES Travis. I mean ADORES her daddy. She loves me too but they really have a special bond that is super sweet...
-Claps her hands when she us
-Gives us kisses, which is basically just opening her mouth and pressing it on our mouth or cheek. So delicious!
-Loves cheese, yogurt, blueberries, and avocados. She pretty much eats everything which has been fun, except cow's milk. It's too hard for her to digest right now.
-She has a thing for playing with panties (Beth's favorite word) and puts them on her head, wears it as a backpack. Every morning she does this, which has been a little routine.
-Getting more teeth!
- Ayi calls her "Isa" pronounced "Is-ah" without the "z" sound, more of an "s". This is now in the race for the nickname war that Isabelle will decide. I still just call her Isabelle- it's really not that long.

Gabriella
- Says she's going to be a "Barbie-Fairy-Doctor-Mom" when she grows up. Makes sene.
-LOVES her little sister and gives her cuddles
-Keeps bringing home "Fancy Nancy" books from the library
-Doing well in swimming and was the kid that demonstrated different strokes for her PreK-4 class. They're in the middle of a swimming unit.
-Loves anything to do with art and brings home awesome creations. She has a great imagination
-I can see her emotional development starting to blossom a bit... she's showing empathy and becoming a little more patient. The teacher says she works well with others and asked the new kid to sit by her on his first day. Dont get me wrong- we still have tantrums now and again and it mainly has to do with clothes. I know, she's only four!

Whoa! Look at these Genetics

LaNita Tebo (Trav's Mom) and Isabelle Tebo

We received some old pictures from one of Travis' family members and came across one of LaNita when she was a baby... You can really see the similarities between her and Isabelle. Like I've said before, those Ihlenfeldt genes are strong!

Chinese New Year of the Dragon

Gabriella in her Chinese Dress

The Chinese Parade at School

Holding her Homemade Chinese Lantern

She's so happy to me!

Waiting for the line to go again...

Miss Chatterbox talking to me 

while I'm snapping pictures!

Daddy and Gabriella

Strike a Pose

Isabelle and Scary Chinese Performer!

There are my lil ladies

The Twin Towers- Reagan and Gabriella

They really look alike here!

Mama and her Girls

Daddy and his Gabby

Personally, the year of the Dragon is my favorite year and clearly superior to the cock and pig. I may be a bit biased since I'm a Dragon but still, it is a cool year. Chinese people think so too, so there will probably be even more Chinese kids being more in 2012.

Every year, the whole school does a parade and the best part is seeing the little kids and the dragon dance. I bought Gabby a cheap dress (which promptly ripped, good thing it was 3 bucks) and her class made red lanterns to hold while they walked in the parade. She was SO proud of herself and my friends thought she did great too.

What's even better is that we have a week off of school. We basically hibernated because Gabby got sick but we went on play dates here and there and hung out with some friends. It was SO COLD that none of us really wanted to leave the house. The negative is that we had no ayi so we actually had to clean. I know, poor me.

From Baby to Toddler...

Doing better and better w/ the finger foods

Big smile!

One Year Old Today

Love her!

Gluten Free Cake for Bella's Birthday

Still impossible to get a good picture!

Where did the year go? Isabelle is officially one years-old! At times, I felt like Isabelle would always be a baby but now she is a full grown walking, talking toddler. Okay, maybe not totally talking but she's understanding things... 


We had her one year check-up and she's 31.5 inches in height (97%) and 22 pounds (75%). She's tall and strong, much like her big sister!

New Years Eve 2011

Beth and Cara

As with most of my New Years Eve's with kids, I didn't do a whole lot. I did get to spend the night with my BFF, Beth, and she had a little shindig with kids and their parents. I had a good time catching-up with people and eating yummy American snack food. Everyone left around 8. Afterwards, we watched TV and went to bed at about 11:00. I know-I know, lame! But since I didn't have kids with me I actually got to sleep-in. Yay!

Isabelle's First Birthday

Invitation

The Cake and Party Favors

The Cookies were Awesome!

Daddy and his Lil' Bella Boo

Isabelle Mae Tebo

Excited about the Food!

Uncle Marty and a Happy Isabelle

Love Her!

Ron, Charlie, and Francine

Cat, Meredith, and LaNita

Geoff, Toby, Langston, Tahnee, and Marty

Guidemama Carmela

and Joey

Josh and Beth

Toby, Jenn, Reese, and Wyatt

The Happy Tebo Family!

Okay, so a month early, but her first birthday is super special and we wanted to share this with family and friends... We decided to do a time capsule, like with Gabriella, and requested family and friends bring something that evokes the year she was born... Isabelle will open this up on her 18th birthday. We all had a good time and the adults got to go out afterwards. Yay!

Family Pics 2011

My BFF, Beth Zarling, took some gorgeous pictures for our X-mas present... We took them in Tacoma at an old Baptist Seminary. Thank you!