fun with friends!

today was Isabella's first time hanging out with her friends Landen and Andreas together. Me, Erika, and Amy wanted to some shopping at the Indy Kids Consignment sale and then went out to lunch. It takes Isabella a while to warm up to new people. At home she's wild and crazy, running around the house talking all the time, and of course having a few temper tantrums. When she's around new people she just observes quietly. She doesn't say anything and usually stays close to me. Eventually she feels comfortable enough to talk a little but nothing like when she's at home. Tomorrow is Andreas's first birthday party and I can't wait to see how she does with all the other kids there. Here are some pictures of Isabella with her friends.
On Monday I'll be 28 weeks! Starting the third trimester. Crazy! This also starts the Dr. appts every 2 weeks now. I feel bigger and bigger each week now! I just bought the bedding for Grace's room and a few cute summer dresses! I really wish I could start putting her nursery together but Isabella is still using the crib. Not sure when we'll move everything into Grace's room but I can't wait!

27 weeks!

My big girl!

Yesterday Isabella moved up to the next class at daycare. This is the fourth room that she has been in so you would think that it wouldn't be a big deal, but I was kind of sad. This room is for 13-18 months but the kids only move up when there is an opening in the room. Isabella is almost 15 months and is just now moving. The difference is that in this room the kids walk to the cafeteria instead of eating meals in the room, they sleep on cots instead of little cribs, and they only take one nap instead of two! This is a pretty big change! Her teacher was very excited for her to move up because there hasn't been any girls in that room for months. So yesterday when I picked her up she was in pig tails! Her first pig tails! She was just so precious but I wanted to cry! It was like one day she was still my baby and then yesterday she really wasn't my baby anymore, she was my little girl! I know I'm going to have a baby soon so we'll be back in that baby stage for a while, but it's still hard to see Isabella growing up so fast and moving out of her baby stage. Just look at how cute she is! I could just eat her up!This week I am 26 weeks in my pregnancy which is almost unreal to me! I can't believe how fast it's going this time. She'll be here so soon. I was a little late at taking belly pictures this time. My first one with Isabella was at 18 weeks and my first one with Grace was 21 weeks.

21 weeks

26 weeks

well, it's been a long time! Isabella has changed so much since the last post. (of course since the last post was when she was 5 months old and she is now almost 15 months old!) Life these days consists of chasing Isabella around the house since she can now walk and run, play with toys all day long, have many fun babbling conversations, and snuggling, but only in about 30 second increments before she runs off to do something new! She is my angel! Every day I look at her and think to myself how incredibly lucky I am to have her in my life. She's everything to me! I wish I would have posted something for each of her milestones, but at least I have kept up with her baby book! Right now she has 7 teeth, still sleeps 11-12 hours at night, has been done with bottles for over a month now, eats all kinds of foods, talks all the time but is shy at first when in a new environment, dances when she hears music, shares kisses with Dave and I, and so many other precious things with something new almost everyday!

In June our life is going to be twice as busy when we welcome Grace Elizabeth into the world! Tomorrow I will be 26 weeks! This pregnancy has flown by! Every week goes faster than the one before. I was so nauseous again in the beginning. The good thing about this pregnancy is that it ended around week 15! So this time around I can just enjoy being pregnant. She is so active now! Squirming and kicking all over! I love to just sit on the couch at night and feel her move. I can't wait for her to come! To have my two daughters together! I love saying that, "my two daughters!" My newest cousin, Joshua Michael, was born today and it just made me even more excited to hold my own baby!

I'm not as good at taking and posting pictures as I used to be, and my computer is so old I stopped using it. Now this computer won't open a memory card :o( Maybe next time I can put some pictures on Dave's new computer, the only worth while computer we have!

more of May 2010

May 9 was my first mothers day! But really every day feels like mothers day to me! Dave (and Isabella) bought me a beautiful dress to wear on Sunday, which I then had to go out and buy a new pair of shoes for! :o) We spent the morning at home and the afternoon at church. They had a part of the service set apart to recognize mothers and also pass out gifts. We also went out for dinner with my mom and dad. I am one blessed mommy!!

This month we have also started vegetables for Isabella! I decided to take on the task of making her baby food not because I plan on doing the whole organic thing or have any weird issues with baby food, but because I am cheap and baby food is expensive! So I went out and bought a hand held blender, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, green beans, and peas. After cooking, blending, and freezing, I have a good supply to start off with. I tried carrots first. Instead of eating them it was more like wearing them! I thought the carrots tasted pretty good for being pureed but she was not a fan. A few days later I tried sweet potatoes. This went much better! She didn't eat very much but at least she wasn't acting completely disgusted with them and was actually taking bites! We'll give the carrots another try soon. After she tries more of the veggies then we'll try fruits. Meal time is a very messy time! food all over her face and hands! She wants to suck her thumb after every bite and then she wants to rub her eyes or her nose. Before I know it she has sticky cereal all over her face, in her hair, up her nose, and all over her shirt. But she still manages to eat the whole bowl!

Her next milestone will be sitting on her own. She pretty much has it down but just needs us there for the occasional tip over. She also loves to talk! She talks all the time! And she even screams! It's funny and adorable now, but I just hope she doesn't scream when wants something a few years down the road! She really is a great baby and so beautiful! We have so much fun sitting and playing and listening to her talk! Life is wonderful! :o)

my new life!

Isabella is now five months old and I haven't been on here once since she was born! I guess that makes me the worlds worst blogger, but I've spent every spare minute loving all over my beautiful daughter! I guess I should go back to the beginning...

labor and delivery

We arrived at Community North at 6:00 on Dec 10 to be induced. It was crazy all day knowing that I was going to have my baby the next day! I was very uncomfortable all day. It was the first time I was starting to feel contractions so I think labor would have come on its own soon anyways. My last meal was mexican- Real Hacienda! So good, but not a good choice before labor :o/ When I walked into my hospital room I was immediately nervous when I saw everything to start my IV. That night in a nutshell... almost passed out from getting my IV, contractions started after the medication I was given but thankfully never needed Pitocin, finally took something for the pain and was able to sleep briefly before getting my heavenly epidural, and then SLEEP! Dave and I were able to sleep all night while I labored painlessly! Some things were a blur though. I was a little delirious either from being tired or from the epidural or both. When i woke up around 6 am my nurse said I was 10 cm and 100% effaced but we were going to wait to push until 7 when the Dr. got there. In the mean time I managed to puke across the room...on Dave. Lovely. He did well though. After about 20 min of completely numb pushing our angel was here! More beautiful than I could ever have dreamed! I cried, but tried to control it otherwise I would have been sobbing uncontrollably. It was the moment I had waited for my whole life! Those first moments when your life is completely changed are amazing. All of a sudden you feel love like you never knew existed. I loved my little girl more than anything I have ever loved before, I loved my husband more than I have ever loved him, I loved myself for what I had just accomplished, and I loved God more for blessing me with beyond what any one person deserves! The next couple of days were spent recovering and getting used to being a parent and then we brought Isabella home, finally! :o)

weeks 1-8

The first two months I spent all my time at home with Isabella! It was wonderful! Dave had two weeks off around Christmas time which was perfect! We were all able to be home together! Her first Christmas was spent with both sides of the family. We were also able to go to Michigan for five days. Those 8 weeks flew by and I loved every minute with her. Every day she was growing more and more and getting cuter by the day! Finally it was time to go back to work on Feb. 4. I was so sad. I would cry just thinking about it in the weeks before. I cried all the way to the daycare and tried to pull it together but cried when I had to put her in a swing and walk away. I cried on the way to work and some when I got there. That was the hardest day ever! I couldn't wait to get back to her. I went to visit her on my lunch break too. My second day back I didn't cry. It's never easy to leave her, it's just easier to control my emotions. She had her 2 month physical and she weighed over 10 pounds! I couldn't believe it! She started off 6 1/2 pounds, dropped to 5 lbs 12 oz and now she was 10 pounds!! It was heartbreaking to see her cry after her first shots, but she did really well after.

3 months

She's getting bigger every day and her personality is coming out more! She smiles all the time. She also wants to roll over so bad! It has also started to warm up outside so we've been able to go on walks. She is such a great sleeper! She had started sleeping through the night consistently right around the time I went back to work, thankfully! And now she has even started sleeping 12 hours! She has a specific bed time too, 8:00. It never fails, 8:00 come around and she's done! We had her first pictures taken at JC Penney this month. She was so good! The photographer was really good with her too! She smiled the whole time and we have amazing pictures! She is so beautiful! I couldn't choose which ones I wanted so I just got the cd with all the pictures. April 4 was her first Easter. It was a beautiful day and she looked so pretty! That was also the day I found out I was pregnant last year. What a wonderful year it has been!

4 months

Every month just goes by faster and faster now. April really seemed to fly by! She makes so many funny noises and loves to talk, laugh, and blow bubbles! She has also been sooo slobbery for the past month! We go through lots and lots of bibs! At her 4 month physical she had gained another 4 pounds since her last visit! She's just over 14 pounds! Crazy! She did a little better after her shots this time. She cried until I picked her up and then she was ok! But she did take a good nap when we got home! This month we have also started rice cereal! Her first time was so funny! She made the funniest faces! She was definitely unsure of it and spit most of it out. What a messy process! Over the next few weeks she really started to get the hang of it and does so much better. She stopped spitting so much out and started to get better at putting her mouth around the spoon. It's a constant struggle against her thumb during meal times though. She wants to take a bite then suck her thumb! Cereal gets everywhere, but we have such a good time! She also started rolling over. She first rolled from her back to her stomach but didn't always like being on her stomach. A few weeks later she figure out how to go from belly to back.

5 months

she turned 5 months one week ago and for some reason 5 months seems so much older than 4 months. She is so much fun! She laughs all the time, and has recently started babbling non stop! It's the cutest thing I've ever heard! She is so interested in what we have to say, especially when her daddy talks. She stops what she's doing and stares so intently at him. She has also started to notice Addie more and also reach out and try to pet her. She chews on everything now. Rolls back and forth all over the place, and even yells and screams. She lets you know when she needs something! We just took a trip to Tennessee for my sisters wedding shower and she was so good the whole weekend! I was so relieved since it was a 6 hour drive. She was only fussy in the car right before her naps. Otherwise she was a perfect angel! :o) Every day when i pick her up from day care she gives me the biggest smiles and tries to give me kisses! I love it so much! And all the women there love her! They go on and on about how she is the best baby they've had and how sad they'll be when she's gone over the summer. Dave will be done with work soon and will watch her over the summer. I'm definitely jealous! She develops more a personality day by day. She brings so much joy to lives and is such a blessing! Our next big step is vegetables. I'm hoping to make her baby food myself. We'll see how that goes.

Hopefully my next post won't be 5 months away. So much is about to happen over these next few months. It's going to be a very exciting summer and I can't wait to watch Isabella grown and learn new things every day and hopefully share more details!

39 weeks

A lot has happened since the last post. I had my first baby shower on Oct 17. Erika hosted the shower for me and all my friends. We had a great time! We decorated onsies and tried to guess how big my belly was. Painting the onsies was a lot of fun once everyone started and they were so cute! Amy won the game of guessing my belly size. She's also pregnant so she did have some advantage over the others! We also had AU's homecoming that weekend so Heather was able to come and spend the whole weekend with us! I was so glad to see her as well as all my other friends. We finished out an amazing weekend by going to Brown County for some "shopping", more like browsing, but we still had a great time!

My second shower was a family shower on Oct 25. It was nice to get together with my family! Everyone pitched in with the snacks and then we opened gifts. My cousins Ava, 3, and Hattie, 7, helped by bringing me gifts and unwrapping them! Ava loved tearing into the gifts, it was so cute! I was so thankful for the baby showers! Between the two of them we got everything we needed!

On Nov 7, Dave and I went to have maternity pictures taken. It was a fun experience and I'm so glad we did it and now have amazing pictures to remember my pregnancy. The photographer was Joy Oxenrider and her website is http://www.motherslight.net/ She did a wonderful job!

Since then, Isabella has really taken up all available space in my belly! She's always up under my ribs squirming and rolling around! Her kicks are now much stronger and it's fun to watch her move from the outside! I've also had to stop wearing my wedding ring :o( I was able to wear it for our maternity pictures though! It's just a little too tight now and I never know when I'll be able to get it on, and once it's on I never know if I'll be able to get it off! So it's just safer not to wear it. In the past couple of weeks I have also noticed my feet and ankles swelling. I already can't wait for that to end! It just makes my legs feel so heavy and tired after work.

I also started having weekly Dr. appointments! I can't believe how fast these past months have gone! All the appointments have gone well. She's always measuring right where she needs to be and her heart rate is always good. Today was my last appointment and there is still no progress! She just doesn't want to come yet! I don't think she will come early. We have already been scheduled to be induced on Dec 10. We'll go to the hospital at 6:00 to get things started and then Friday they will start the Pitocin. It's so nice to know that no matter what, I only have one more week before I get to see her! These last weeks are the hardest to wait! Not only am I ready to not be pregnant anymore, I'm more than ready to meet our daughter! I'm almost done with work too. We've just been taking this week day by day to see what happens, but I'll work up until my due date.

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year since it was so close to my due date. We had our first Thanksgiving with the Neals and Dave's parents in Anderson and then on Friday with the rest of Daves family and my parents at our house. We decorated for Christmas too! I love having our Christmas decorations up! I can't wait to spend our first Christmas together as a family!!

31 weeks

My 30 week appt was last wednesday and it was the first of going every 2 weeks! Everything is still going the way it should and she's growing the way she should. I asked the doctor if she could tell how the baby was laying, but she said it would probably be the next appt when she'd be able to tell. She guessed that she's head down already though because of how strongly she picked up the heart beat from my lower abdomen.

She's moving more and more every week now! Sometimes I think she's just rolling all over the place in there cause the movements can be so big and right up under my ribs! I absolutely love feeling her move all day! I feel like it's our quality time together even though she's not here yet. So far I've gained 21 pounds, which is hard to look at! I'm really hoping I don't gain too much more, but now is the time when she'll start gaining more weight herself.

I'm finally at the point where I feel like each week is actually progress and I actually feel like I'm closer now! Even though every week brings me closer already, it has always still felt so far away. Yesterday was our third prenatal class and next week is our last one. We toured the maternity unit and talked about pain management options during labor. That class made things seem more real, like we can finally see the end! I'm even more excited than before and keep thinking about what she'll look like when I see her for the first time! All the labor videos we watch in our class just make me emotional trying to imagine that first time we see each other.

Her room is complete beside all the "supplies" that we'll get at the showers and after them. My first shower is this weekend for my friends and then Oct 25 for my family. I am so excitied for this weekend! Not just for my shower but for AU's homecoming and getting to see all my friends and going to Brown County on Sunday. A perfect weekend!

Here's what Isabella is doing this week...This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy. This week marks an incredible milestone in your baby's lung development. Before now, the air sacs and branches in her lungs were present but not functional. The lungs were not able to inflate properly. However, now there is surfactant being produced in her lungs. Surfactant prevents her lungs from collapsing outside of the uterus and she is able to take in air and breathe properly. The fetal ear is almost completely developed both inside and out. She can hear your voice and other familiar sounds that she will recognize after birth. She is putting on white fat under the skin and the skin's color is pink instead of red at this point. Her fingernails have grown to the end of her fingers and she may scratch herself while she is in the womb. She's going through major brain and nerve development these days. Her irises now react to light, and all five senses are in working order. (She won't pick up anything from her nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.)

Isabella at 28 weeks