Halloween 2009

Today we had family come over to share in Isabelle's first Halloween :) We had awesome food - Brian's pulled pork was AMAZING - and watched some football. Isabelle was, as always, the star of the show! She hammed it up in her little pea-in-the-pod costume :)

Later on in the day, Isabelle decided she would try to express her happiness to mommy and daddy! Check out her little babbles and giggles :)

She is such a joy!!

Wiggles and Giggles :)

Isabelle loves to sit up to play, and she is becoming more and more responsive as we play new games with her. What a little cutie!! She also loves it when we read to her :) Life is SO GOOD!!!

Isabelle hangin on the couch

Isabelle wanted to hang out with mom and dad on the couch, watch a little Veggie Tales:)

Proud Father

I remember not understanding how my parents could sit and watch a football game on TV hoping to see my brother on the sideline, or how they would drive to watch my sister working as an athletic trainer at a baseball game. I couldn't believe that they would drive 2 hours to see me play every chance they had in college (sometimes even farther). Then yesterday my daughter reached her hand out to let me kiss it. She smiled when I did, and Jessica and I could almost see her thinking, " I did that." Later she started hitting her little sheep that hangs above her playmat.

I can't say I've ever felt more pride than I did in that moment. Short of marrying my wife, I've never felt more joy. Everyday she is learning, and I can't help but tell everyone I know what milestone she has reached now. I realize that being a parent means not only wanting to be there for the big, life-changing moments- but being willing to drive to the ends of the earth just to see your child's smile.

I have HANDS!

Isabelle discovered her hands last night. She's been on the verge of this discovery for a while - and today all she wants to do is bat around her little sheep on her play mat!! It's so amazing to watch her learn and grow! What a miracle :)

Isabelle's heart :)

Isabelle had a cariologist appointment today. She was SOOO good!!! She didn't cry AT ALL during the EKG - even when they pulled all the sticky electrodes off of her! She is getting so big.

The cardiologist said that she is doing great. About every other month, Isabelle wears something called a "holter" that keeps track of her heart rate for 24 hours - and both times it has been in the doctor's words "perfect!" The doctor even said that Isabelle may be off her medicine at 6 months!!!!!! That is so exciting. If she doesn't have another episode - at the very most - she'll be on her medicine until she is 1 year old. WE ARE SO ENCOURAGED BY THIS :) God is SO GOOD :)

Milestones :)

Isabelle had two BIG milestones today :) She was 10lbs. 4 oz. today at the Doctors!!!! YAY!!!!! Considering all of the issues we had with her gaining enough weight at the beginning - this is an exciting day for us. She is still pretty long and lean - but she's recently acquired a few fat rolls on her legs and arms. This is a picture of a little fat roll on her leg :D

Also - Isabelle rolled over from her tummy to her back today! (Actually she's done it 3 times now - but this time Daddy was there to see it - so it was the first OFFICIAL time) :)

Life is good!!

Isabelle - 10 Weeks :)

Our sweet Isabelle at about 10 weeks. She loves stretching out on her changing table and smiling at mommy and daddy :)

Baby Justin Chase Melin

Our best friends just had a beautiful baby boy Justin Chase Melin. How awesome is it that we had our first babies only 2 months apart?! He was born weighing almost as much as Isabelle is now ;) Congrats Melins!!

Mommy

I became a mom about 10 weeks ago, and it is the most miraculous, demanding, thrilling, and tiring job in the world!! So much has changed since August 4th - instead of sleeping, I am feeding the baby all night; instead of taking regular showers, I am changing huge poopy diapers all day (seriously - how can such a tiny package produce so much poop??), instead of spending romantic nights alone with my husband, we collapse on the couch together at about 9 and talk about the baby's bowel movements, sleeping patterns, feeding schedule... etc. However, instead of thinking about myself all the time, I have learned that being a mom means thinking always of her first. And it was worth every minor inconvenience the day she looked up at me and smiled, the first time my voice calmed her cries, the moments I watch her snuggled up against my husband. Every single day I have the opportunity to watch mini-miracles in my daughter. As she starts to discover her hands - I am actually watching her learn about the world. I love seeing the surprise in her face when she does something new. She rolled over for the first time a couple days ago - and she looked shocked, surprised, and kind-of scared - and I loved being there to praise and reassure her.

Being a mommy also means worry. I have struggled with this - especially at the beginning. I was extremely worried about her heart condition (Wolffe Parkinsons White syndrome - her heart rate can get up to 300 bpm). I checked her heart rate 10 times a day - counting the beats for the entire minute instead of 15 or 30 seconds. I agonized over giving Isabelle her medicine - did she swallow it all? oh no, it's a few minutes late? is this really the right dosage? In addition to her heart condition, I agonized over her weight gain. If she didn't gain properly - I took it as a personal flaw in how I was nursing her. Do I have enough milk?? Am I not feeding her enough?? Do I need to wake her every two hours?? She felt so fragile to me when she was only 6 pounds. I was sure I was going to drop her - or burp her too hard - or not support her head correctly. The first weeks were pure joy and raw worry.

I have finally started to relax. I will not break my daughter! She is strong - and I am very capable of meeting all of her needs. (It also helps that my little chubber is 10 pounds now) :)

In summary - I am a new person now that I am a mother. My world revolves around my family - and honestly little else seems important at the time. God's blessings are overwhelming!