What has Isabelle been up to?

Perhaps the better question is, what has Isabelle been IN to?

Answer: EVERYTHING!

In the past month, Isabelle has gone from a tentative crawler to an active, mobile, mischievous monster! Gone are the days of leaving cupboards and doors open. And not only is she fast, but she puts absolutely everything in her mouth. My other two never had much of an interest in eating everything they touched, so I've had to train myself to always be aware of what's in Isabelle's mouth. I've pulled out Legos, marbles, candy, toy rubber tires, plastic Angry Birds, and coins. I have to be diligent about keeping the kitchen floor swept or Isabelle will find herself a snack pronto. The older kids are constantly complaining about her hands getting into their games. I remind them that they used to love playing with her, but I guess that was only when she stayed in one place. She pulls herself up on everything and has a much longer arm span than any of us ever anticipate.

Isabelle is also very destructive. She loves emptying her shelves of toys or knocking down anything Logan builds. She is fascinated with ripping paper. On our most recent flight, I kept her occupied for over a half hour by giving her a napkin to rip into dozens of pieces. Her latest venture is a perfect example of her capabilities. It was a double offense-- not only did she unload half a roll of toilet paper, but she ripped it into a billion pieces, several of which ended up in her mouth.

 

Of course, throughout all this terror and destruction Isabelle remains eternally happy. She always has a huge smile on her face (unless I am fishing something out of her mouth). She especially loves two things right now: her blanket and the bath. I frequently have to change her pajamas twice at night because she heads back to the bathroom after her own bath to play and splash with the older kids while they bathe. But once we get her dry and start towards her room, she will nose dive out of my arms to get to her blanket in the crib. I never tire of watching her cuddle with it. I just wish she loved cuddling with me as much as her blanket. :)