The Fourth

Our Fourth of July this year was about as relaxed as you can get. We:
- attended a church breakfast
- moved back into our house after four days of crashing at my aunt and uncle's house due to insane power outrages from the Derecho storm
- took a family nap
- had sandwiches for dinner with some of Russ' family
- went home and put the girls to bed before the fireworks even began
- watched two episodes of the tv show "Numbers" on Netflix and went to bed

Looking back at that list, it looks like we had a pretty pathetic Fourth of July, but I thought it was great! It was also at least 100 degrees here, so that made staying inside even more appealing. Plus, I got a few cute pictures of my girls wearing their Fourth of July best and any day I get a cute picture of my girls (even if the one of me and my girls is blurry and Isla is screaming) is a good day. :-)

Natalie - 20 months

Natalie is continuing to talk up a storm and I love hearing her sweet little voice. I wanted to record some of my favorite Natalie-sayings at 20 months.

• She calls herself "Nattie"
• She can count correctly to five, but thinks it is so funny to count "1, 2, 5!" I'm not sure why she gets such a kick out of it, but she laughs every time.
• She absolutely loves cars and points out all the different varieties of cars and trucks on the road. My favorite is "Dump dump" for dump truck. 
• She loves to say "I did it!" after finishing a puzzle (one of her favorite activities) or anything else she is working on. She also says "I like it!" when we give her something to eat that she likes or when I'm getting her dressed in the morning and show her the outfit I've chosen for the day.
• She is very independent and likes to do things for herself. She often says "Nattie do it" when I try to do something for her.
• Natalie asks about Isla every morning as soon as we go in to get her out of her crib. She likes to look at her and show her things. She also likes to help get diapers and burp cloths when they are needed. Whenever Isla cries, Natalie immediately says "Isla sad" and often follows it up with "binky mouth".
• She is a total tease and likes to make jokes. The truth is that she just loves to laugh and she finds herself pretty funny. She says "I funny bunny!" all the time after doing anything she finds amusing. 
• She continues to love books and is developing favorite pages or parts of the story. It is becoming more and more difficult to read a book straight through because she wants to turn to her favorite part and read it over and over again. Her two current favorites are "Blue Fish" (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) and "Boom Boom Brownie" (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?). The reason Mr. Brown is called "Boom Boom Brownie" is because one of her favorite parts of the book is "Boom Boom Boom Mr. Brown is a wonder, Boom Boom Boom Mr. Brown makes thunder." Although she likes to read specific parts, I can recite both books in their entirety completely from memory. :-)
• Natalie is at such a fun age and I love how much we can communicate now. I am constantly surprised by things she can do and words that she knows and I absolutely love watching her personality grow. 

We pulled out the blow-up pool for Natalie last week and I could hardly believe how cute and grown-up she looked. I think she gets cuter by the day.

Isla - One Month

• 10 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 1/4 inches (90th percentile for both)
• Isla is very strong and holds her head up often and well. She also has strong little arms and has already managed to work her way out of being swaddled (even the ones that close with velcro in multiple spots). 
• She likes to be awake for long stretches of time. It is not unusual for her to have 3-4 hour stretches of awake time each day. She is very alert and likes to look around with her big, beautiful eyes. 
• She sleeps for one 5-hour (sometimes close to 6-hour!) stretch at night, but then has a difficult time going back to sleep. This means Isla and I typically have a 11/2 to 2 hour bonding session somewhere around 4 am. We're working on that.
• Isla is a terrific nurser and has been since her birth. Unfortunately she gets pretty bad gas/burp bubbles that are often difficult for her to work out.
• Due to all the bubbles in her tummy, Isla loves tummy time. She greatly prefers it to being on her back. 
• She has a nickname. Although Natalie knows and uses Isla's actual name, she has been calling her "Tiny" ever since we brought her home from the hospital. Russ and I now find ourselves calling her "Tiny" as well.
• She is the sweetest little thing and we are so lucky to have her in our family. We love you baby Isla!

Splish Splash

 

We spent a great afternoon at the pool last week. Natalie was a little unsure of the water at first. It has been a whole year since the last time she went swimming, so it was understandable, but she was jumping off the side into Russ' arms in no time. I do love her sweet little hand on Russ' back right when they first got in. It's so nice to have a strong, safe Daddy to hold you when you're getting used to something new.  

 

 Isla spent most of her time at the pool asleep in her car seat. Fine by me, though she does have a few cute suits she'll have to try out before summer's end.

Daddy

We sure love our Daddy around here. Natalie and Isla are so lucky to have him and boy, do they know it. I think the best part of Natalie's day is when Russ comes in the door after work. Also, every single time the phone rings during the day, Natalie is convinced it's Daddy calling to say hi.
I asked Natalie a few questions about her Daddy and she actually gave me relevant answers for two of them. :-)

Q: "Where does Daddy go during the day?"
Natalie: "work" and "golf"

Q: "What do you like to do with Daddy?"
Natalie: "peek-o seek-o"
(Peek-o seek-o is Natalie's word for hide-and-seek)

Thank You

A huge thank you to my sister, Rebecca, and my Grandma Stansel for coming to help out when Isla was born. Rebecca, or "Rebec" as Natalie called her, arrived three days before Isla was born. She was Natalie's best buddy while I was in the hospital, particularly the day Isla was born, as well as our whole first week as a family of four. She made us delicious dinners and even stayed a night with me in the hospital. Talk about nice...those pull-out chairs in the hospital don't look particularly comfortable!

Sadly I didn't get a single picture with Rebecca. How did I let that happen?! Luckily she'll be back here in a few months when Gerrit starts law school at GWU! We can't wait to have you back!

My Grandma was also so kind to come out and help. To my knowledge she has been there to help after the births of every one of her 27 grandchildren (of which I'm the first!), which makes her an expert in the "helping out with a new baby" field. She was wonderful. She played with Natalie, fixed breakfast, lunch and dinner, cleaned my house and talked with me while I nursed and nursed.

I was spoiled rotten to have these wonderful women in my home spending time with me and my family. Thank you for all you did to help and for being such a support to us. I don't think I would have made it through the first couple weeks without you both!

Isla Lillian

Our precious baby Isla arrived last Friday afternoon. We are so in love with her.

Isla Lillian
June 1, 2012 at 1:34pm
8 pounds, 3 ounces
20 1/2 inches long

 First picture with mommy and daddy

 Our family of four!

 Grandma and Grandpa

 Aunt Rebecca

 Natalie getting a closer look at her new sister

 When we came home from the hospital Isla gave Natalie a present for being such a good big sister. It was a baby doll for Natalie to take care of. We told Natalie it was her very own baby and now she calls the doll "Own".

 Isla and "Own" relaxing together during dinner our first night home from the hospital.

 Great-grandma Stansel

 

 Natalie asked to hold Isla for the first time and I was so glad my camera was right there. 

Best moment of my day.

 Sisters