Merry Chanukah

Isabella had a great Chanukah. She was really in to lighting the candles and saying "Ameen" at the end of the blessings. She liked picking out the presents she wanted to open, but wasn't really into actually opening them. Once she got them opened, she was confused as to why she couldn't play with the toy immediately. She received some great, thoughtful gifts, so David and I were happy as well. We bought her two things for Chanukah: an "Isabella-sized" chair and a Little Tykes Coupe (We still have to pick it up. I always wanted one when I was little and never had one, so whether she wants it or not - it's hers). Here are some pictures of her from Chanukah in Dallas:



We ventured down to San Antonio for several days to celebrate the "last night of Chanukah." As was the case on the drive to Kansas City last month, Isabella, unexplicably, only slept 45 minutes. I don't know what it is with the drive "to" a destination, but she doesn't seem to want to sleep. Despite her brief nap, she was an angel. She sang songs (over and over and over again), watched a couple of DVDs, and played games. She's actually kind of fun to travel with...

Upon arrival, David got a haircut (or "haycut" as Isabella said). Isabella was fascinated with the process, but I fear when she's in the chair, she'll forget how much fun it was. From there we went back to Grammy and Jiddo's and walked around the neighborhood looking at x-mas lights (or "yights"). She gets very excited when she sees lights. After eating a great dinner, she went to bed and slept fairly well.

The next morning we went with Isabella's cousins Aaron and Arianna to the train at the S.A. Zoo. I thought she'd be really in to it because she had a blast on the monorail ride at the Dallas Zoo this summer, but she was too tired to enjoy it. She practically slept the entire time. Between the fresh air and the travel the day before, she was done before we even started. She was good - she just didn't get much out of it (it's hard to do when your eyes are closed). Later that afternoon she saw Honey and Aunt Fonda and did her fair share of showing off. She counted to 10, named all of her body parts (ok, almost all of them - I sensored it a bit).

Thursday (X-mas eve) she happily welcomed the rest of her cousins from McAllen. She was just exstatic when Aaron, Andrew and Allison arrived. If she weren't so tired, she'd have played all night with them. She didn't sleep very well, so neither did we.

Friday we went to visit Grandma Rose and Isabella got a taste of being spoiled. She was offered cookies! She was so excited she was in heaven. With a mouth full of cookie, she asked for more (we limited it to one cookie, though, or else she wouldn't eat dinner - which as it turned out, she didn't anyway...). After we left, unfortunately, Grandma Rose had a fall, but thank G-d, she came out virtually unscathed. She's a pretty amazing woman. Friday night was the Chanukah celebration. Isabella had other plans. She was an absolute NIGHTMARE. She didn't eat anything but jello, screamed and cried the entire night. I almost didn't let her open gifts because, let's be honest, what kind of a message does that send? "You can behave like a terror, but don't worry, you'll still get everything you want..." David talked me in to letting her open them, so, against my better judgment, I let her. She wasn't really that into it, so I felt a little better about it. She had an other terrible night, and consequently so did David and I.

Saturday David and I took a chance at a couple of retail sales and ended up at an retail outlet. We had fairly good luck - I can't complain. We visited Grandma Rose at home, and Isabella told her to "fee bebber." (feel better). It was so cute. Isabella ate a much better dinner that night and actually slept through the night away from home - it was a miracle. We sure needed it. G-d bless that child :)

Sunday we went to a brunch at Honey's and then hit the road. We made it back in fairly good time; less than 5 hours. We had fun, but were excited to be home in our own beds.

Here are some pictures from the week...Enjoy!: