From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere!

Isabelle may look a whole lot like her mom but in one way particular she is very much her father's daughter. She and Ben share a similar sense of humor and most the time I am left scratching my head. They like to watch YouTube videos over and over together that they think are hilarious and although I give a valiant effort I am mostly just lost. They have inside jokes and laugh and laugh and Olivia and I just look at them like the nutsos that they are. Recently Ben and I were asked to fill out a parent questionnaire form about some of Belle's personality traits and quirks for school. They were deciding how "gifted" she was and we were asked all sorts of odd questions. One left us thinking for quite a while...Does she most often have unusual ideas or good ideas? I thought for sure she had unusual ideas where Ben seemed to think most of her wacky ideas were in fact good ideas...case in point.

One thing these two share is a love for anything Seussical. We own some of the books and Isabelle seeks them out from the school library weekly. They are fun silly stories and teach some of the best life lessons for all of us. I enjoy reading them...but only every once in a while. They are long and tongue twisters and Ben and Belle lay in bed and read them night after night and laugh and cry and carry on like two characters themselves. While they love If I Ran the Circus, I can read with my eyes shut, Oh the thinks you can think and so on, I love listening to them over the monitor laughing and giggling and sharing a true love of silly reading. Thank goodness Isabelle has her dad...or is it thank goodness Ben has Isabelle?!
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -Dr. Seuss

The end is here!!

New Years Eve was nice and quiet at the Cosby home this year. We had debated lots of ideas and plans but after such a busy year and holiday season we thought nothing sounded better than a night at home, just the 4 of us.

Isabelle went into full party planning mode and wrote her own list for the store. The four of us headed to town and gathered all of her supplies: balloons, streamers, flowers, party hats, noise makers, a cake, guacamole, chips, ice cream, pizza bites, sprinkles, etc. By the time we got home it was nearly 3:00pm so rather than put the loot away, we began partying. The girls decorated while Ben found our favorite music on Pandora. For the next 5 hours we ate, sang, danced, chased, played games, hula hooped, screamed and partied until we were exhausted. We counted down to the New Year with the folks in England and watched online as fireworks exploded over Big Ben. We ran to the back yard and yelled Happy New Year while we made noise and cheered and then hit the pillow with heavy heads at 8:00pm. A perfect Cosby New Year party!

2011 was a great year for our little family and one that brought many changes.

Ben left his previous employer of nearly 8 years and began his newest Venture. Along with this change, he not only relocated his office but his family as well to The Woodlands, TX. Ben mastered the "going to bed ponytail" this year, coached soccer and basketball and completed Insanity 2x. He is officially insane!

Isabelle began Kindergarten at Creekside Forest Elementary School, and enjoyed soccer, basketball, ballet, gymnastics and swimming lessons all this year. She continued her love affair with books and now reads on her own, began writing quite alot, quit eating most foods and discovered the joy of the Internet.

Olivia went from a baby to a toddler this year. She celebrated her first birthday, began to walk, run, jump and climb and started singing her ABC's. She endured two rounds of general anesthesia and two surgeries, became obsessed with shoes and getting herself dressed up pretty and developed a strong affection for cupcakes and neenus. (Hershey Kisses)

As for myself, Amy, I am just trying to keep up and keep everything in everyone's worlds flowing and functioning best I know how. We are excited for 2012 and think this is going to be another fabulous year for the Cosby crew! Happy New Year!

Gingerbread Holidays

Mrs. Grimes didn't want us to totally relax over the holiday break from school, so she assigned some homework to help fill our days. Isabelle was given a blank gingerbread man and was suppose to make him a part of our festivities. Then she was assigned to create a journal complete with pictures and captions about all of the fun her and her new friend shared together. Jelly of course made her ginger-person a girl with long blonde hair and named her Sparkle Ginger Baby! Here are some of the highlights of their time well spent...