Isabel the Great

In order to avoid discussing the question Nic just asked me (trust me, you do not want to know!) - I am going to talk some about our middle child - our only daughter - Isabel.

Here are 11 interesting things about Isabel.

1) She has quite a few nicknames; her first, Chooch, came from when my sister-in-law would call her chula,which translates to beautiful or pretty. Chula became chula maria, a take from her middle name of Marie. Chula Maria was subsequently shortened to Chooch. We still call her this, some 11 years later.

2) In the picture above - those are not REAL freckles. I am just a good make-up artist like that. (Ha!) But that is a real birthmark. We've always told her it was from an angel kissing her goodbye before she was brought to us. An Angel Kiss. I secretly think it's the cough medicine I accidentally took when I was four months pregnant with her. Hey, in my defense, everyone in the house was sick; I spooning medicine into everyone's mouth (including my own) - I didn't think twice about it. For 10 minutes. Then I realized what I had done and immediately called Poison Control. The very nice lady took my info and let me explain the situation. When I was done, she calmly said that I did not ingest enough to cause any harm. She then went on to say how we are all worry-warts. That if anything small or silly happened when the baby (Isabel) was born, I would probably try to blame it on this incident. Well... look at it?! It looks like a brown stain... Remind you of anything? Cough syrup, maybe?

You would think that birth mark would be the last of mean jokes handed her way. Nope, why stop there? Isabel also has vitiligo.  Thankfully, for now, it's only on one of her legs. I do see some spots popping up on her other leg. The beautiful thing? Isabel has accepted herself and her condition. Now, for sure she has her off days - the ones where she begs me to not make her wear shorts (it's over 100* in the summer here; jeans are not an option)... but really, for the most part, she is strong and confident. Which is a far cry from when she was 6 or 7. She's come a long way! I am proud of her! Isabel is BEAUTIFUL - and we wouldn't change one thing about her. Well, maybe #6 below.



3) As I type, Isabel is giving Nic a bath. He's dirty. She didn't want to. I bribed her. And now, as I sit here, working/blogging, I hear her bribing him!

4) Isa's best friends with a sweet girl named Hannah. They live super close (as in pretty much next door). They are the same age and really love the same things. Isabel has spent the night over at Hannah's house at least a dozen times in the past 6 months.

5) Isabel is FUNNY. She is always cracking jokes and is always ready with a come-back of some sort. Isabel's mom is ALSO very funny. That must be where Isabel gets it from. I'm just sayin'.

6) Isabel has a small (heck - let's keep it real) gigantic attitude problem. But we are working on it. She is not very patient... She doesn't like it when she doesn't get her way. She thinks things aren't fair. She doesn't like being asked to do her chores. She slams doors. She stomps her feet. She gets annoyed with her brothers. She likes to scowl. I have NO idea where she gets all of this attitude from. No idea. None. At all. Nope.

7) Isabel says she wants to be a veterinarian. Isabel also says she is deathly afraid of bugs and spiders. So much for loving all animals & stuff.

8) Isa loves the Disney & Nickelodeon channels - the "tween" stuff of course.

9) I think Isabel has Bieber Fever. I am actively looking for an antidote.

10) Isabel plays softball. Only during the spring now, but we hope to get her involved in a club where she can play more often. I think she is a great ball player.

11) Isabel cannot wait for Middle School. I have a feeling she is going to keep me busy! I think she is going to be really involved in school activities! She likes to try any and everything. Bring it on, Chooch, bring it on!

Who else thinks it's crazy that Isabel literally matched the ship? I promise we did not do that on purpose!

There you have it... Isabel in a nut shell.

Well, not really a nut shell.

That would be awkward.

=)