Giggles

Isla was full of little giggles tonight. I think it might be the cutest sound in the world.

Blessed

Isla's blessing weekend was absolutely crazy. My mom had been in town for almost a week. Thursday evening my Dad and brother Jonathon flew in as well. Friday we packed and packed some more. Saturday morning we moved. I can hardly say it was just Saturday morning though. The move began at 8am and Russ brought the last box over to our new place somewhere around 12:30am that night. I don't know for sure because I was already asleep. Russ is a good man. And so, for that matter, are my dad and brother and Russ' dad, brother, brother-in-law and our good friend Brett. They helped us move all day long. We also couldn't have done it without my mom, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. Sunday morning went smoothly, mostly because I had packed all of our church clothes and Isla's blessing dress in a special suitcase that only I was allowed to touch during the move the day before. It was also a huge blessing that we even had milk in our refrigerator, and all the credit on that one goes to my selfless friend Emily who spent her Saturday afternoon helping me unpack and going grocery shopping for me. Yes, she went grocery shopping for me. It was so kind.

Sunday afternoon finally arrived and everything calmed down, even if it was only for about an hour. Isla was so beautiful in her white blessing dress. She looked like a little angel. It the same dress that Natalie wore a year and a half ago and that I wore 26 years ago on my blessing day. We were fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and family members there to support Isla and our family. Russ did a beautiful job on the blessing. Among other things, he blessed Isla to stay close to the Lord and to learn through the experiences in her life how to be like Him. I couldn't hope for more for my daughter. I am so grateful for Russ, that he holds and honors his Priesthood and is such a wonderful father to Natalie and Isla.

The blessing circle included Russ, Isla's Grandpa Waddell and Grandpa Marsh, Isla's uncles Jamie Marsh and Abraham Deskins, Isla's great-uncle Jim Stansel, and our good friends Brett Hamilton and Jeff Jardine.

Right after the blessing, before church had even ended, Russ had to leave to drive down to UVA for a week-long banking certification program. After church ended, most of the family went back to my in-law's home for dinner. They were so kind to host us and it really worked out that I didn't have to make dinner considering I didn't know where most of my kitchen things were after the move. My Dad and Jonathon flew out the next morning and my Mom and I were left with the girls and a house full of boxes. It is a miracle that she was able to stay that week. She helped me with the girls while Russ was gone and managed to unpack the majority of my house before she left the following Sunday.

Like I said earlier, Isla's blessing weekend was crazy. But it was also amazing. I realized amidst all the craziness just how blessed I am; how blessed my little family is. We were the recipients of so much kindness and service. We have two beautiful little girls and we have the awesome opportunity to teach and raise them. Most of all, we know of a kind, merciful and loving Heavenly Father and of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us and who leads us to be like Him. We are blessed indeed. 

2 Months

Our little "Tiny" isn't so tiny anymore! At her 2 month well-visit Isla confirmed my suspicions that she had gone through a major growth spurt. She is weighing in at 12 pounds, 15 ounces (90th percentile) and is 24 1/2 inches tall (98th percentile). She grew 3 1/4 inches in one month!

At 2 months, Isla:

• is smiling all the time. She gave her first smiles the day before she hit 6 weeks and has been giving us big grins ever since.
• has started cooing and becoming a little more verbal. She has also become a little drool factory.
• still likes her swing and her playmate, but will still always prefer to be held.
• eats 6 or 7 times a day, depending on how her naps end up falling. More often than not it's 7 times. I haven't been great about making sure to give her bottles regularly, but every time I have pumped and Russ has offered her a bottle she has taken it. 
• is sensitive to me eating dairy. I am so glad I finally figured this one out. Poor little Isla's tummy was really hurting, but cutting out excess milk and all cheese has transformed her. Luckily I can still have yogurt and a little milk in the morning. I am going to have a cheese-eating party once she starts eating solids and her tummy isn't so sensitive anymore, but in the meantime I am so happy that she isn't hurting anymore. 
• is partial to her Momma. When she is upset, no one else can calm her down like I can.
• generally sleeps a 6-hour stretch at night, eats, and then goes back to sleep for a few more hours.
• definitely has her Daddy's eyes. They are a very dark grey color and just beautiful. 

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.