Happy 1st Birthday Isla Frances!!!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!!!!! 

12 months old and the last time we will take a picture with this calendar blanket! Where did time go?!

Oh that smile... you get me every time!

Oh Isla, you have been the biggest blessing of 2020!! I always felt while I was pregnant with you that your spirit was strong and your purpose here was important. For some reason, I knew that you were being born in 2020 for a reason. I had no idea that a worldwide pandemic was about to plague our world. I had no clue that two months after I gave birth to you, we would be quarantined to our home and not allowed to go to work, or school, or do anything we thought was normal. I had never experienced so much control, and lack thereof. But YOU made it all better. Your constant presence in my life this year grounded me and left me with the knowledge of what is important. YOU and your siblings. I have dedicated my life this year to loving you and ushering you through your infanthood with lots of cuddles and possibly too many kisses ;). I can't help it!! Your cheeks are just so delicious! I've given you the nickname "Munchies" because I just want to munch on you daily! You are so fun during the day while you wander around the house wreaking havoc and getting into EVERYTHING! You LOVE to dance and you can't help yourself once that music turns on! You just have to move! It makes us all laugh hysterically and then we all start dancing with you! But my most favorite moments of all are at night while I rock you to sleep. It is the only time you and I get to bond in silence and it is so so precious. We play with each others hands, or I sing you songs, or sometimes we just gaze into each others eyes and smile at each other. I love you so much baby girl.... it makes my heart want to explode when I hold you! You love attention, but it also makes you very shy and you sweetly bury your face in my shoulder and then peek around to see if anyone is still looking at you :). I love that trait a lot too :). Your siblings are obsessed with you and you are the center of attention at all times. This makes it hard to homeschool the older kids but we somehow make it work! You are so smart and are trying so hard to talk! You are forming sentences but they aren't quite understandable yet. But sometimes I swear I know exactly what you just said! And when I respond to you, you start nodding your head and smiling!! Bath time is your favorite time and you love playing in the bath with your siblings :). Sometimes you bathe with Austin and other times you bathe with Evie. You love them both so much and they have a blast with you  while you all splash around and laugh loudly :). I hate cleaning up the water afterwards but LOVE seeing the sweet bond you all have. This quarantine has been a blessing in that way because it has allowed you three to really bond together as we have all the time in the world together! In truth, it is impossible to ever find time alone in this tiny house! So I worry about how lonely you will be if life ever goes back to normal and they go back to public school.... You have started walking but you only do it on your own terms and usually when we aren't ready for it. As soon as we get excited, you get embarrassed and immediately sit back down so I think that's why you prefer to practice on your own ;). But just two nights ago you started walking all the way down the hallway and have been taking long walks like that ever since!! YAY!!!! We were all so happy and excited for you! The next day, at the park, I finally got a video of it! :) 

Oh how I love your beautiful little cake-stained face!!

Your first Birthday party was a beautiful princess party! You and Evie were both Snow White and your cousin Gracie came over as Anna from Frozen :). Because of the pandemic, we can't go anywhere, so we bought a ball pit and a play place and set it up in our living room for you all to play in! Your Grandpa Nathan and Aunt Briana (Nana) and Uncle Thomas were also here and we all had a blast watching you kids play! Your smash cake was a funny experience because you didn't know what to do with it haha! You swiped your finger through the icing and then looked at us all confused. So we tried to have your siblings and your cousin show you how to take a bite out of your cake but you just looked even more bewildered haha! So then your Aunt Nana got the genius idea to take the top level of the cake off so you could see the actual cake part below the frosting and it worked like a charm! Before we knew it, you were covered in cake and trying to share with anyone around you :). Getting you cleaned up was quite the feat that took me and your Aunt Nana together to make it happen. Then you opened presents and it cracked us up because you loved the sound/feeling of the paper ripping more than you cared about the actual present inside. You were so meticulous about it! You had your Grandpa Nate laughing so hard :). We spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, eating, and playing! It was a beautiful day to celebrate our beautiful girl! 

All the pretty princesses ready to party!

You loved your new wheels from Great Grandma Wiegel!

Meticulously opening your presents hehe!

Our successful playhouse!

Because of the pandemic, we couldn't have a lot of people over for the party. We have been limited to only 10 people per household by our State Governor :(. But we made it a party to remember with the people we did have and you got lots of phone calls and birthday cards from everyone else! You are very loved Isla!

Blowing out the candles on your first birthday cake! You didn't understand any of it and Austin ended up blowing it out for you ;).

I love this picture so much and that you and Austin are gazing into each others eyes :). You love him so much! And we all love YOU so much!

Trying to get Austin to try some of your cake-fingers hehe!

You just didn't understand what was going on....

Then you tried to see if Grandpa wanted some! :)

Your Mommy and Daddy love you so so much baby girl!!

Cousin Gracie showing you how it's done! haha!

Oh my goodness, your look of disgust when Nana tried to show you how to eat it! ha!

NOOOWWW you get it! You dug right in once the frosting top part was gone!

Yummy Yummy!!!

Trying for a second time to get Austin to lick your fingers hehehe!!

Oh that face!!! I could gobble you up! Cake face and all!!!

Now for the great clean up attempt haha!

Nana had to borrow a new shirt from me by the time we were done because you were so dirty! :) But it was all part of the experience!! Happy Birthday baby girl!

You are so loved Isla girl. Your name means "Queen of the Hebrides" and your middle name means "Noble and Free". You were named after my Great Grandmother who meant the world to me and I see so many beautiful characteristics of her in you :). I am also constantly seeing your noble side and why I felt prompted to name you the Queen. You have an important life ahead of you and I can see it in your eyes. You are an old soul who is just so happy to be alive and to be a part of it all. You make our home so happy and we all adore you. I am honored to be your Mama. Thank you for choosing our family and for making our year so beautiful. Happy Birthday my love :).

Merry Christmas 2020 and a Happy New Year!!

Christmas Eve was full of traditions and we had a beautiful time! The kids and I made cookies for Santa and then later we all decorated them together as a family :). We ate our traditional soup dinner and then made hot cocoa and drove around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights :). We had the Christmas music going and the kids were laughing and joking in the back seat. It was beautiful. I found myself this entire holiday just trying to soak it all up. The love, the laughter, and the fact that together we have it all :). We also opened up our Christmas Eve gifts to each other and that is always fun! I love seeing what the kids picked out for us and for each other. It shows their sweet, thoughtful side and it makes my heart melt. Austin spent extra money on Evie so she could have her own makeup kit and she loved it! And they both spoiled Isla :). I think the greatest gift a parent can be given is seeing how much your children love each other. And ours definitely do! Then, when it was time for bed, we set out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer like Evie had promised in her letter to Santa. And before we knew it, it was 6:30am and the kids were bursting through our bedroom door all wide eyed and bushy tailed and ready to run downstairs to the Christmas tree! :)

Making Christmas Cookies!

For some reason, my girl here wanted to cook topless.... and we went just with it ;)

Oh I love this particular tradition so much!

It's decorating time!

We made sooo many cookies and ate half of them while we were decorating haha!

Even Isla approved of her cookie! :)

We had a beautiful Christmas this year! It was small and comfortable and so so happy :). Plus, it was Isla's FIRST CHRISTMAS! So we had lots of fun with that! She was in heaven trying to open everyone's gifts and getting into all of her siblings presents hehe! It was a struggle trying to keep her at bay but we all loved every minute of that day :). 

The kids got everything they asked for and more! Austin has been begging for a hamster all year long and he ended up getting two!! They are adorable little white dwarf hamsters and he named them Rollie and Polie :). They were the stars of the show that day and every kid was fighting over who got to hold them :). Evie loves watching the cashiers at the grocery store do their work and is always saying that's one of the many jobs she wants to have when she grows up. So she got her own little grocery store and she was in heaven! Grandma Helm also showed up that day and joined in on the fun! We rarely see her because of COVID and quarantine, so the fact that she risked it to be with us for Christmas meant a lot. And it was such a beautiful day! The kids also got their own Polaroid Cameras so they can start learning the art of photography and they spent the entire day taking pictures and documenting in their new photo albums :). We had a yummy Ham dinner and didn't want to say goodbye to the day or the fun. It was a Christmas for the books!! 

This is the only photo Josh and I have of each other on Christmas day and it means so much to me! we have Isla smashed in between us along with so much love. 

Isla loves her Daddy and she was so happy!

Watching Rollie and Polie run around!

Isla opening up her first presents :)

Lots of smiles that day :)

Isla was running rampant and getting into everything she could find! :)

We love Great Grandma Helm!! It was so special getting to spend Christmas Day with her!

I tried to show Grandma how Isla can walk....

But Isla only walks when she feels like it and she was having more fun just getting lots of attention than actually taking steps hahaha!

GOODBYE 2020 AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

    We had the most amazing New Years Eve party!! We turned on the disco ball, busted out the Martinelli's and had a dance party!! It was a blast! We also went to the store earlier that day and bought all sorts of fun foods and laid it all out on the table buffet style to eat all night long while we partied :). We were disappointed by the television and it's lame version of Rocking in NYC this year because the pandemic has made it impossible to go out or do anything normal or fun. They didn't even do the ball drop!! And that's usually our cue to send the kids to bed! So we did our own countdown and shot off our poppers and confetti and even took poppers outside to run around annoying the neighbors ;). This year has been so hard and I am so glad we have each other. While Josh was holding me on the front porch and we were watching our kids running around throwing POP-ITS, I just tried to soak it all in. The fact that we survived 2020. The blessing that none of us have caught the dreaded COVID-19 Virus. The miracle of adaptation and how it has made us even closer than ever before, and I didn't think that was possible!! The joy that we have had as Daddy has been allowed to work from home during quarantine all year. The beautiful bond that our kids have formed with their new baby sister and all the time they have gotten to spend together because they haven't been able to go to school outside of the home. The quote, "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." came to mind and it is sooooo true. We don't have the biggest house or the most extravagant life, but we have something even better. A beautiful family who loves each other dearly. I always knew that, but 2020 proved it. Thank you 2020 for your MANY lessons, despite my reluctance to learn them at times. And PLEASE 2021, BE KIND!!!!! 

As you can see, our dance party got CRAZY!!! hahaha!