Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! A day late...but that's ok. Happy Black Friday to those of you braving the shopping world :) I may venture out myself to the craft store in a little while...we'll see!

Miles enjoyed his Thanksgiving, as we all did. We headed out in the snow to go up to Grandma Sara and Grandpa Tom's house. Uncle Danny is in town from college, which Miles was thrilled about! His girlfriend, Regin, also joined us for our Thanksgiving Day celebration. My parents also joined us for dinner and festivities. Miles was beyond thrilled to have all his grandparents under one roof and Uncle Danny and Regin around to play with! He ran and played all day with only one meltdown!

The day before Thanksgiving, Miles and I had a little prep work to do. You see, Miles wanted to make Thanksgiving cards for everyone. So, I busted out some serious crafting skills and we created...

Hand Turkeys!

Miles enjoyed coloring them, and most of all gluing them! He also enjoyed handing them out on Thanksgiving Day! One for each set of grandparents, Uncle Danny, and Regin. Plus one for Daddy (which isn't pictured).

I was also able to get a couple good shots of both kiddos early in the afternoon. Miles loves holding his baby sister.

And how he really feels about her... :)

One Month!

Time flies! My sweet baby girl was one month old on Sunday (11-21). I feel like it is flying by, which is both happy and sad, especially as we're 99% sure we're done having kiddos. After I had Miles, I missed being pregnant, missed having him in my belly, knowing he was safe and always with me. I thought for sure I wouldn't feel that way after having Isla. I was a fairly miserable pregnant lady this time around. I was so sore and exhausted, far more emotional (just ask Ben!), and ready for it to be over. As Isla grows and I think about leaving her (for any reason), I find myself wanting to tuck her back inside, just like I did after having Miles. I saw a pregnant gal the other day at Babies R Us and even felt a little sad seeing her cute bump... Yikes! Definitely emotions I was not expecting!

Well, our baby girl is getting bigger and older and there is nothing we can do about it, but enjoy it! She's getting slightly more interactive and spending longer periods of time awake. We're still waiting on her first "real" social smile, but we can tell it's coming. I just love the newborn stage (hence my career choice!), but watching her grow is fun too. Ben is certainly excited for her to be more interactive and play, especially since right now she is pretty much attached to me most of the time.

Growth wise, she seems to be doing great! I'm guessing she's over 10lbs now. Sadly, her newborn size clothes were worn for the last time last week...she's just too long for them! This week, she finally can wear her 0-3month clothing without looking like she's going to drown (though some of them already seem a bit short...I can tell this is going to be a problem in the future!). I'm proud to say that she has only breast milk (weather from a bottle or me) to contribute her growth to, but it still makes me feel like I cheated Miles because I had to supplement with formula. Damn post partum hormones and emotions!

Anyhow, on to the fun part...pictures!

Here is my dear, sweet Isla just moments (well maybe an hour?) after birth. Considering how much pain I was in, I don't look too horrible...


Here she was on her one month "birthday".

And here at 1 month 1 day:

For my baby shower, I got these cute stickers that you put on onsies, one for every month. I need to get around to doing that and taking a photo...you know, before month 2 rolls around!

Snow Day

Wow! We have had quite the winter weather to start off the holiday season! We have been dumped on by snow (about 8inches??? Haven't measured) and cold temperatures (currently 12 degrees F! with a low of -2 tonight!). We've also had quite a bit of wind, making for blizzard conditions. Absolutely crazy for this time of year. Usually this is January weather. However, Miles loves seeing the snow. I'm a little bit glad that we have some this year, but hoping it's not as much as two years ago.


Since it's pretty dang cold and windy, I wasn't about to venture out with Miles to play. Especially since I no longer own snow boots, pants, or proper gloves. The snow is a fine powder, so not great for making snowmen or anything. Despite the cold temperatures, Miles wanted to go play in the snow. So, I suited him up in his "new" snow pants, winter coat, fleece (not warm enough) mittens, and boots that are 2 sizes too small (he needs some new ones whenever we make it out of the house!) and let him out on our back deck with his little shovel. He had a great time, for about 15min, until he was too cold to play anymore. Since coming in, he's had hot cocoa and been in the bathtub/shower for over an hour warming up!

I think the rest of the day may consist of watching a movie, taking a nap, and drinking more hot cocoa!

Hanging with the boys

While Isla is very much a mommy's girl for the moment (I'm pretty sure it's because I'm the food source), she does enjoy her time hanging with the boys.

Isla and Daddy just a few nights ago. This daddy is quite in love with his sweet little girl. I have not doubt that she'll soon be a Daddy's-girl!

Miles, big brother, loves to hold Baby Isla. He also likes to "carry her to me", which freaks me out a little. He always wants to carry her to me and tries to pick her up. I'm afraid one day he'll actually do it and drop her. I let him "carry her to me" when I'm sitting next to them on the couch.

He really is quite smitten with her and has only hit her once (when he was mad at me). He's gone from worried/scared when she cries, to very consoling. He'll sit or stand next to her and say "It's okay, Baby Isla. It's okay. You don't need to cry." and usually puts his hand on her head (and once over her mouth!) to soothe her. He also feels the need to tell me when she's crying...like I can't hear her myself :)

Here are some morning brotherly-snuggles:

And, one of me and the babe, just for good measure :)

Tummy Time

Isla, unlike Miles, doesn't seem to mind "tummy-time". Sure she gets bored after a while, but Miles would just lay there and scream until you picked him back up, at least in the beginning. He got used to it and better at it. Isla has been more awake in the mornings and afternoons (for short periods of time) and we try to practice some tummy time.

Here's her practicing this past week.

In the boppy:

On the floor:

Whoops! She did "play" for a while. I was watching a show on-line and realized after a while (though I could see her breathing) that she hadn't been moving much. I took a peak and saw her fast asleep. Tummy-time is exhausting!

This was Miles doing some tummy-time at 1 month old:

And here at about 6-7weeks:

I have a hard time believing Miss Isla will look like this in just a few short weeks! They grow far too fast.

Newborn Photos

A few days after we got home for the hospital, my mom took Miles for the day and Isla and I had some good rest time. After a good nap and feed, we set up for a little newborn photo shoot. She was wide awake and alert, so I didn't get any good sleeping shots, but got some cute photos.

Later that afternoon, she was asleep in her Rock 'n Play and came unswaddled a bit. I thought she was in the cutest position and had to get a photo!

Story Time

As I mentioned in my last post, Isla has been more and more awake in the mornings for a few hours. Usually I'm getting ready and she hangs in her Rock 'n Play, bouncy chair, or doing tummy-time. It is difficult to keep Miles out of her face during this time (he likes to be in her face all the time...in a loving way...giving her hugs and kisses!). So, I've had to come up with ways for him to "play" with her, without upsetting her. The two main ways are singing (he does a great rendition of "I'm a Little Tea Pot" and knows a few good nursery rhymes) and "reading" to her.

Here are Miles and Isla enjoying some story time:

She was staring at him so intently this particular morning.

Randomness and a few firsts

I haven't been so great at taking pictures of our dear Miss Isla, so I've tried to make a point of getting some random photos each day. Hopefully, at some point, I can make a scrapbook of her first year...you know, after I finish Miles'! I also have her "newborn photo shoot" to blog about!

Here is her first bottle at about 3 or 4 days old. Sometimes I try to let Ben give her a bottle in the evenings and I'll pump instead of feed her. He likes it.

Snuggles with Daddy!


This was her first bath at about a week old. I had already pulled her belly button off, accidentally. She wasn't a fan! It lasted all of about three minutes and this was the only picture taken!



Here is where the randomness begins...

I took this picture for Grandma Sara. She bought Isla this outfit, which is adorable!


Just hanging out one night...wide awake!

She has been pretty awake in the mornings after about 10am for a few hours. We've been doing some tummy-time and usually she watches me do my hair and make-up!

Sleeping in her car seat at 'nother Grandma's.

She found her thumb the other afternoon and was sucking on it like mad!

"Playing" in her bouncy chair.

And for good measure, the very doting big brother, Miles!

Halloween Weekend Part 2

Christine came over the morning of Halloween to spend a bit of time snuggling Isla and chatting. Miles roped her into building a few towers for him to knock over :) She came with gifts of clothes for Isla, a big bag of 3-6mos clothes of Moira's and a puzzle for Miles.

After visiting, Miles took his "rest time" and then we got ready for trick-or-treating. Isla dressed up as and owl with her cute little hat. Her onsie also had an owl on it.


Miles dressed up as a tiger, which he was pretty proud of!

Then we met up with the cousins. Moira was a little bunny (with very floppy ears) and Peter was Super Pete! They were so cute! It was fun watching all the little kids admire each other's costumes. Miles was especially intrigued by the Buzz Lightyears and the Firemen. We went trick-or-treating at a local shopping mall that went from 4-6, so was pretty much all a younger crowd. The kids caught on quickly and everyone enjoyed themselves (and stayed warm!).

Here we got all four to sit down for just a minute. Poor Isla is blinded by her hat. I tried to get a picture of just the two of them with her hat fixed, but Miles kept saying "I'm all done with Isla" so I had to grab her before he pushed her off the bench!

After about 45min, we headed over to PF Changs for dinner.

After dinner, my sister, her husband, and the cousins left to go back home and we headed back to the park. Rumor had it that a church rented the carousel after it closed for the season and was giving out free rides and bags of candy. It was true! They rented it for two hours and we caught one of the last rides. It was a lot of fun!

After the ride, we headed home and Miles headed to bed (after some candy). It was a great fun and family filled weekend!