Isabella Turns...

ONE!

(No, she did not get a cell phone for her birthday.)
At one year Isabella loves to:

Roll on our bed. Crash on our bed. Do head dives on our bed--especially when she's tired.

Eat strawberries. The more the better. In fact, she is currently going through a phase where she
only wants chopped up fresh fruit: pears, pineapple, bananas, and especially strawberries.

Play in the sand. She used to love to swing at the park, but I guess she's over that.
Now she's all about the sandbox. She likes to dig, throw, eat, scoop and "organize" the sand.

Play with water. Loves the butterfly pool. Loves her bath. Loves to try and pick up the water
in her hands and drink it or simply put her face in it and lap it up (think:puppy).

Isabella loves being outside. If she's inside too long, she gets cranky.
She immediately calms down when she's in the great outdoors
(which is generally on the porch).

Isabella sorts q-tips, laundry, whatever you like.

She loves her books.

(Isabella and her cousin Jack)
She is surprisingly social. I just figured since Mark and I were shy as kids, she would be too. Not so. Once when we were out to eat, she was so engrossed in the conversation that two women were having at the table next to us, I turned her high chair around and pushed her up to their table. She loved it. They loved it. She's gotta be where the action is.

(Isabella and some of her other baby friends Naomi and Edward)

Other fun facts:
*At one year, Isabella has minimal strawberry blondish hair, 6 teeth and weighs 16 pounds. She's a petite little thing. I always leave her pediatrician's office feeling worried, but I'm pretty sure she just has the petite Holsten gene.
*Her eyes are blue, blue, oh so blue.
*She has dimples.
*She does NOT like trains at school carnivals, getting dressed, or nasal aspirators, especially the Swiss kind.
*Her nicknames given by family include:
-Izzie (Nana and Papa)
-Izzie B. (Uncle Dave)
-Bisa-Ella (Daddy)
-Isa-Smella (Daddy &Mommy--after she dirties her diaper. Sometimes we just can't help ourselves)

*Isabella has the busiest legs/feet around. Since she was a newborn we've been told she'll be a future dancer, swimmer, cyclist, runner, etc. Whatever she chooses one day is fine with us. We like to think she expresses her enthusiasm for life through her happy, little feet.
Here's my view of Isabella when I take her out running in the jogger stroller:

Thanks Nana and Papa!

The Sound(s) of Silence

Hello Darkness My Old Friend...

One may wish to live in the country for the peaceful, quiet life. Our new home is peaceful, but not always quiet, especially during sleeping hours Although this post is hardly a complaint (most of it, anyway) I would like to list for you the noises we are growing accustomed to, ranked from the worst to least offenders.

Offender #1: The Peacock.

As I have posted before, these beauties sound like wailing cats.
There are 3 that live in a neighboring pasture. They take first place for their caterwauling
into the wee small hours of the morning.

Quiet Offender #2: The Vineyard Fan. (See below for a closer look).
I don't know who the genius was that invented this gem, but someone decided long ago that the best way to keep their budding vines from succumbing the the spring frost was to blow air on them from massive, oscillating fans. (why not a giant electric blanket, I say?) The fans are utilized, obviously, when the air is the coldest. Our experience has been that that can range anywhere from 2-5 am. On a low setting, it's actually makes for a nice white noise. When the fan closest to us, however, kicks into high gear, it sounds like a crop duster circling our apartment.

The *only* reason the vineyard fan ranks #2 on my list instead of #1 is because--mercifully-- they are used only a handful of days during the year. (Also because for one particular member of the Holsten family, who shall remain nameless, (not me, not Isabella) the fans provide the fulfillment of said individual's fantasy of being
a pilot in some John Wayne WWII epic. )

Grrrr....The ironic thing is that as loud as the fan is, it still doesn't drown out the sound of the peacocks.

Offender #3: The Cows.
Actually the cows are very quiet. They don't even moo, which has proven to be inconvenient in my "What does a cow say? Mooooooo" game with Isabella. One night Mark and I woke up to some strange noises outside our apartment. We both thought someone was trying to break into the car (the New York mentality dies a hard death), We looked out the window only to the discover the cows were rummaging around the farm equipment in the pasture.
Don't cows sleep? I'll have to Google that and get back to you...

Offenders #4: The Guinea Hens and roosters (not pictured)
The guineas cackle. The roosters crow--and not just at dawn-- and get the peacocks all riled up.
According to my Google research, the guineas are a highly under appreciated fowl.
They are good watchdogs when anything unusual happens and they keep the field clear of ticks and snakes.
I'm sure the goats, with whom they cohabitate, appreciate that.

Offender #5: The water heater.
Apparently there's a little man that lives inside the water heater and gets mad when we use hot water. His MO is to gather all the rocks that have collected on the bottom in a bucket and then dump them. Sometimes one at a time, sometimes all at once, like a dump truck. Mostly I ignore his antics, but he's got me beat during Isabella's naps. Because the water heater is located right outside her room, it makes it hard to do anything with hot water while she sleeps (ie shower, do dishes, laundry and the like). Blame him for my messy house and unkempt appearance.

Noisemaker (never offensive) #6: Isabella.
I must admit that her "mamadadas" and "naynaynays" are music to my ears.
She still interrupts our sleep, but that's the joy of parenthood.

Well We're Movin' On Up... (to the North side)

We heard through the grapevine (pun intended) about a 3 bedroom apartment in the Napa countryside that was available for rent. I begged, no, cajoled Mark into making this move because we seemed to be bursting out of our 2 bedroom 864 sq. ft. apartment. The landlord is a man we know from church and this apartment that he rents out sits on his 3 acre property bordered by vineyards, an equestrian center and a farm of goats, roosters, guinea hens and peacocks. Dreamy. (minus the peacocks, which sound like wailing cats).
(a shout out to the '99 Ford Taurus and its cavernous trunk, which can hold anything...from Ikea)

First, a tour of our new outdoor space.: Our view from our porch and the porch itself.

The pasture in front of the apartment.

Our neighbor Bud's vineyard (to the East of us). Bud is the nicest guy. He chews his chaw while telling great stories about run ins with mountain lions, coyotes, and the workings of a vineyard.

A tour inside. The Bathroom.
There is no particular order to my tour. I did not choose to introduce the bathroom first because
it's my favorite room in the apartment, although it is quite nice.

The short hall way to the two back bedrooms.

Master bedroom. I love that it opens up out to the porch. Lots of light.
It's the coolest room in the apartment at night due to the sliding glass door, which is nice.
The same sliding glass door also permits us to hear the screeching peacocks--at 3 am--which is not so nice.

View from the kitchen looking toward the front door.

View of living/kitchen area from the front door.

Awesome Ikea island. A necessary part of the tour.

More to come...

Brush Your Teeth

I Love Paris, er, Napa in the Springtime...

10 Reasons to Love Spring in Napa, CA1. Wildflowers.

2. Alston Park.

3. Oak Trees (and wildflowers!)

4. Enjoying the great outdoors with your husband and baby.

5. Dawn.

6. Hot air balloons filling the sky right after dawn.

7. Playgrounds. (aka Isabella's turf)

8. Eating the wind (or attempting to).

Playgrounds!

9. Swinging.

10. Isabella (my #1 reason I enjoy Napa)

We Moved.

After a long blogging absence, the Holsten Family Blog is back. We moved to a new apartment in Napa. Details and photos will come in a future post, but for now meet our new neighbor.

Cow.
We are country dwellers now.