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She can do so many things for us now–get Riona dressed in her pajamas, fill everyone’s water cup, empty the trashes and recycle bins, clean up her room, dust the shelves, put away the lower dishes. And so many things for herself–ride a two-wheeler, roller skate, in-line skate, ice skate, read the Magic Treehouse books, write letters to and about her boyfriends, read the instructions to and complete her homework… it’s almost too much to take in! Is she still a little girl? Am I still allowed to refer to her as a little girl? I think by the time she’s eight she might be as tall as me!

She decided on an all-girl tea party for her seventh birthday celebration, and when I told her that it would be three hours long, twice the length of most of the parties she attends, she replied, “Three hours is not long enough for me.” And after three hours of tea, sandwiches, cake, eight games, two crafts, and nine screaming girls, she put on a pouty face when it was over and asked, “What now?” Limitless energy! She is the last to go to sleep and the first to awaken.

Isabella, my oldest daughter, still relishes in being the center of attention, just like when she was the baby and was not only the first child, but the first grandchild. She will always be a social butterfly, always fight for her rights, and always know just how to manipulate every situation to her liking. Gee, I wonder where she gets it??

As sad as I was when she began first grade this year, I have come to accept this new age. Seven. Wow. Soon I will have a tween, a teen, a college student, a bride. And I know I will enjoy all of her ages, as screaming and wild as they may be. Happy birthday, little (big) girl!

We will not get to meet Lucy until the summer, but then we’re really going to get to know her. Picture this: a green minivan with a topper on the luggage rack, a bike rack on the back bumper loaded down with three bikes and a trailer, several suitcases, toy boxes, pillows, blankets, food boxes, a cooler, and electronic devices piled up inside, oh, and a family of five, a dog, and a cat. That’s us driving to Kentucky the day after school gets out. We’ll be spending the entire summer there so that Lucy doesn’t have to go to daycare! It’s going to be one crowded house, as Elizabeth and Zak already have a dog and two cats–oh, and did I mention just one bathroom? But we’ll make it work. Family is what it’s all about!

Anyone need a place to stay in Aurora this summer? LOL…

In addition to the excitement of roller skating and bike riding, Riona has reached her own milestone this past month: potty training. We hunkered down and stuck with it at the very end of Christmas break, and by the end of the first week back to school, she’d mastered the bathroom. After nearly seven NONSTOP years of changing diapers, we are officially beyond the baby stage! Exciting times in the Vittetoe home.

I have been busy working, baking the brownies and a new recipe: flourless chocolate cake (sure to be gone in an hour or less), and keeping up with my new blog. Bruce has been busy coming up with amazing new recipes and creative ideas for our dinner every night–everything from homemade hoagies w/meatballs to pepper lime chicken and latkes. It’s all about the food.

Another exciting event: as I write this post, my sister is in labor with her baby! More news to come when s/he arrives!

February is sure to be as busy. How the time flies when you’re having fun.

Isabella riding her bike with no training wheels.

Isabella has started to learn to ride her bicycle without training wheels. For a while now her bike has only had one training wheel on it. Her bike was run over by one of our cars when it was left sitting behind the cars in the garage. Luckily the only damage done was one of the training wheels was bent beyond use. Isabella had lost interest in riding her bike since she could only lean to one side without falling over. Well yesterday she decided she wanted to get her bike out and try riding it again. She was so excited to let us know she could balance on two wheels without using the one remaining training wheel. We went out to watch her ride around a bit and noticed she would still lean on the training wheel sometimes. I asked her if she would like to have the training wheel off and she agreed. It only took her a few times to realize she couldn’t lean that way anymore without falling over. The hardest part for her was getting started. We adjusted the seat, to make up for the growth spurt since she last rode it, which seemed to help her a little bit more on the take offs. With a little more practice she will be a biking champ like her mom.

If you would like to see a few more pictures of Isabella on her bike, check out the Fun Times gallery on our SmugMug photo page.