Spending time with my cousins

Theo, Isabelle, and Emma

Isabelle and I took a trip over to Nanaimo for a little visit with Baachin and Auntie Mako. While we were there, Auntie Hiroko and Isabelle's cousins came up from Victoria for a visit too. Isabelle gets so excited when she sees Theo (6) and Emma (3). It was great to spend time with the family. Jiichan wasn't there because he was working...maybe next time.

Shelby and Isabelle

Shelby and Isabelle sharing a little girl gossip.

"Whatcha got there Isabelle? Can I have that too?"

Isabelle and I went to Parksville to visit Tricia and Shelby while we were visiting Baachin and Auntie Mako in Nanaimo. Tricia and Shelby live in Calgary but were in BC visiting family over the holidays, so we took the opportunity to meet up. It was so exciting because it was the first time Isabelle and Shelby met. Shelby is 5 weeks younger than Isabelle. Tricia and I had a chance to catch up while the two girls played. It was awesome!! It was so sad to leave and we really wish they lived closer to us. Hopefully we'll see each other again soon.

Me holding Isabelle and Tricia holding Shelby.

Cool as a Cucumber!

"How do I look?"

"Say what?"

Isabelle got some new sunglasses for Christmas. It's a little off season but she seems to love them and doesn't even try to take them off. This is the same little girl who cries when you leave a hat on her head for too long. It'll be good for those odd sunny days in the winter and great for summer next year.

Trying out the new stuff

"Thanks for the toy train Grandma, I'll have to keep it hidden from

Daddy so he doesn't take it away from me. Here, I'll just lick it to mark it as mine."

Loving tummy time with her new mirror from Daddy.

Would you like fries with that??

It's a Pickell family tradition to have hamburgers on Christmas Eve. Since it's just the 3 of us this year and Isabelle's first Christmas, she was helping out her Daddy flipping burgers. Next year she'll be working the drive-thru.

Eye Spy...

Isabelle was watching me do the dishes this evening and when I looked over to see what she was doing, she had pushed her toy (Freddie the Firefly) off to one side of her swing and was looking at me through the one ring. She could've easily moved the ring out of the way but she thought it was pretty funny and kept it that way for about 10 minutes or until her Daddy moved it out of the way to give her another toy. Silly Munchkin!!

Seasoned Pro...or so I thought!

Isabelle got her second set of immunization shots on Wednesday and I thought she had handled herself quite well. She cried at the time of her shots then fell asleep right after. When she woke up from her nap, she was her cheerful self (see picture of her sitting in her swing) so I thought she was going to be fine but boy, was I ever wrong...
About 4 hours after her shots, I guess her leg got sore and she started crying pretty hard or what I call "The Voiceless Cry of Death." She had a fever for about 24 hours and was very cranky due to the pain in her leg but we persevered and made it through without taking any medication. She's a little trooper!!

Happy Holidays!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE PICKELL FAMILY!!

Going out to enjoy the sunshine!

Isabelle and I went out for a walk today to enjoy the nice sunshine. We walked up to the Royal City Centre to take a look around and get some vitamins for Mommy. It was pretty cold out and I wanted to put some gloves on her but she started crying because then she couldn't use her hands to grab her toys. I tried not to push it because then she would get upset about everything. I was lucky enough to get the hat on her!!

Kai, Tai, and Momo

Momo-chan, Tai-chan, and Kai-chan

Momo-chan went over to Kai-chan's place after BabyTalk today to play for a little bit and Tai-chan was there too. Momo-chan and Tai-chan are very close in age and Kai-chan is only about a month older. We (the Mommies) hope that they will grow up to be good friends and speak Japanese with each other.

Last Day at BabyTalk

Before the music and dancing...

After the music and dancing...

Today was the last day of the BabyTalk sessions. It was a party with treats for the mommies and it was a chance for all the babies to hang out one last time before the holidays. We also did a music session with all the babies and danced around the room. Isabelle really enjoyed it and was laughing during the waltz. I guess all that dancing pooped her out but she got up later to get her picture taken with all of her friends. See you all in the New Year!!

Clockwise from Isabelle: Cassie-Anne, Thomas, Benjamin,

Sarah, Kai, Finley, Tyler, Holly, and Ariel.

Finley's looking right at the camera :o)

The Balancing Act

Isabelle is practicing her sitting and balancing by grabbing onto her link-a-doo's. She's getting pretty good.

Timberrrrrrrrrrr...

This Little Piggy

Isabelle has this stuffed animal that moves and does "This Little Piggy." She loves this toy because the feet light up and move and she always tries to grab on and shove the pig in her mouth. Even if she is crying, she will actually pause to listen to the toy do its thing and then resume crying.

Flying with Daddy

The initial shock...

The giggle...

Takeoff!!

Everytime we play flying, we always make the sound of a rocket ready to launch and it startles Isabelle initially (the look is priceless), then she realizes what is going on and giggles. She really loves flying.

Rocking Horse

When Isabelle went over to Salt Spring, she got a rocking horse chair that Grandpa made for her. It even comes equipped with a seat belt. She can't quite sit on her own yet so we had to wedge a cushion to hold her up but she loves riding in it. Thanks Grandpa!!

Visit to Nanaimo

Completely content with Jiichan

Laughing it up with Baachin

After visiting Grandma and Grandpa on Salt Spring Island, we traveled to Nanaimo to visit Jiichan, Baachin (proper way to say Grandma in Japanese is Baachan but Baachin is something that has stuck since Theo, Isabelle's older cousin, couldn't say Baachan when he was a toddler), and Auntie Mako. Andrew (aka Daddy) couldn't stay with us because he had to go back to work but we still had fun while we were there. It was a relaxing visit and Auntie Mako even babysat for a couple of hours while I went out shopping. She didn't even cry once!!! That's a first since she cries for practically everyone, including Daddy. See you again soon!!

Hanging out with Auntie Mako

First Visit to Salt Spring Island

Sitting with Grandpa

Sharing a funny moment with Grandma

Andrew, Isabelle, and I took a trip to Salt Spring Island on Thursday for a couple of days to visit Grandma and Grandpa. This was Isabelle's first trip to Salt Spring Island and the first time she has seen Grandma and Grandpa since she was about 10 days old. It was a big adventure for her. She had a fun and relaxing time checking out the chickens, reading magazines, and catching up with Grandma and Grandpa. See you again soon!!

Relaxing, catching up on the latest of Model Railroader.

"What are those?? I've never seen chickens before!"

Lots of snow on Salt Spring. "Get me off the ground Mommy...it's cold!"