Burke Lake Park

We enjoyed a lovely fall day at Burke Lake Park yesterday. I had never been and I'm thrilled that we finally took the chance to go. It was beautiful. They also have a fun train that Natalie absolutely loved. We'll definitely be back.

  

 

Recently

We have been having a lot of fun lately doing normal, everyday things. Here are a few of my favorite pictures that capture my life these days...

For starters, my little girl is growing up. I love those big, brown eyes.

She thinks the merry-go-round at the park near our house is the best thing around. She asks to play on it nearly every day.

Have you ever seen a cuter pink bottom? I didn't think so.

I love those little diaper bods. They're just so kissable.

We took the girls to their first volleyball game! We saw the BYU women's team play Princeton in a tournament at GWU.

There is a pretty significant amount of spit-up and drooling around here.

This is how Natalie sleeps much of the time...with her little feet crossed under her bum. I've been too afraid of taking a picture of her asleep in her crib for fear it would wake her up, so I had to catch it when she laid down to rest on the couch when she was sick.

She is my sunshine.

Natalie likes to do tummy-time with Isla.

3 Months

At 3 months, Isla is:

• 14 pounds, 4 ounces and 25 inches long
• smiling more and showing off the adorable dimple in her right cheek. She is giggling more too.
• sometimes sleeping through the night. She did it for a week straight and now she is back to waking up sometime between 3:30-5am to nurse. Luckily she goes right back to sleep.
• getting too big for her swing. She still likes her play mat and bouncy seat though.
• getting cuter by the day. Don't you think that's the way it is with kids? Every day she gets a little more smiley, a little more alert and I see her personality come through a little more.
• still a total mama's girl. Russ just thinks she likes to be close to her food source. :-) 

The last two pictures were taken seconds apart. The first before she realized I was there and the second as soon as she saw me. Don't you wish you got a smile like that every time someone saw you? It's pretty fun.

Splish Splash - Part II

This summer has been a little low on pool time. Not that any one thing is to blame for that, but a new baby and a move definitely contributed. Fortunately our new place has a community pool and we made good use of it the last week before it closed for the season. We also got to visit a friend's pool and found it's even more fun to swim with friends.

 

Natalie and her cute friend Ava. (Thanks for the pictures, Tiffany!)

Cousins

Technically, Natalie and Sophia are first cousins once removed, but that's all a bit complicated for two little girls who aren't quite 2 and 3 years old, respectively.  So we call them plain-old cousins and I hope that they grow into good buddies. They already play together well and I'm glad we live close so they can continue to develop their friendship.
We attended the baby blessing for Sophia's new brother, William, last Sunday and I snapped a few shots of the girls afterward. Such cuties, aren't they?

And then they were done. I expect I'll see similar facial expressions when they are teenagers...Scary.

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.