An update on my loves...

Laylin Jane is off of the monitor! We're so thrilled that she is growing and thriving. She is still such a peanut, only weighing in at 12lbs and 8oz at just over 4 months, but never the less, she is chunking up at her own rate. She's so tiny, but still has little rolls and its so cute to see her putting on weight. We had her 4 month check up last week. She did great with her shots, got a great report and stayed around the 10th percentile for all her measurements (8% for head circumference, 9% for weight and 11% for height).

She has taken on a new interest in toys lately. She reaches for objects now and is starting to hold on to them better too. We're still working on her reaching for me, but that will come soon enough. She is a mama's girl for sure, just like her big sister. She's not quiet rolling over yet, but I can tell that will come soon too as she is eager to roll over on her belly. She is drooling a lot and like to chew on everything she can get to her mouth. She's smiling a lot and laughing out loud. Look at these cute faces!!

Isla Rae is a ball of energy as always. One of her favorite things to do right now is play hide n seek, we play every night before bedtime. Its so funny to watch her "hide". She usually picks a spot in plain site and I have to pretend like I don't see her. She gets so excited. The funniest thing though is most of the time when Joel or I go to hide she will forget to come find us and we'll be hiding for several minutes or have to come out and find her...then she'll excitedly tell us to go hide again, lol. 

She also LOVES to sing. She recently had a school play and sang three songs in the play. She practiced for weeks at home and I taught her some other Christmas songs in addition to those. three. She has a lot of Christmas Spirit and loves to pretend like she is giving gifts. Such a sweet heart. She'll hand me one of her toys and say, "Here mommy, I made this for you. Merry Christmas." So sweet.

She also loves gymnastics, or "nastics" as she calls it, while wrinkling her nose up as she says it. She just started this month and is already doing really good tumbles! She's got great form. She loves to dance too so that will be the next activity to come... maybe when she is 3.

I've been having so much fun with these two and wallowing in this period in my life. Everyone tells me I will look back when I'm older and these will be the best years of my life. I believe that's true and I can already tell how precious each day we're gifted with really is. These girls are the light of my world. I'm so blessed they call me mama. 

The Adventures of Isla...

In the words of Isla...."Oh my goodness!"

What a fun and FUNNY weekend we had with our beautiful energetic girl. She was simply hilarious this weekend.

First of all, we're potty training...which makes every day exciting and lots of unexpected 'treats' happen for everyone.

On Friday, Isla walked in her room and noticed the mess had magically disappeared. I told her I had cleaned her room for her. She said..."ooooh, thank you mommy!" excitedly. 

I was feeling so appreciated until she went behind the curtains (while naked) and peed everywhere. 

On Saturday, Joel went to help some family members with some home projects and it was just me and the girls. We had been taking Isla to potty every 30 minutes. When it was time to go, I noticed she was 'hiding' behind the chair. I asked her to come out and it looked as if her diaper was about to fall off. I asked her to come over to me so I could fix it, and then I noticed it was still intact... it was just so full of poop it was about to fall off! She had been hiding, doing her business. 

She looked at me with her head hanging down and said, "I didn't poop mommy."

I replied, "well, who pooped in your diaper then?"

She said, "daddy, did it."  (reminder: he wasn't even home)

I said, "your dad pooped in your diaper?"

She said, "yes, hurry lets hide it!"

On Sunday, we were sitting at the table eating our sandwiches. She ate all of hers so she got to eat some pretzel mix. I was tending to Laylin and noticed Isla was having a full blown conversation with herself at the table... all by herself. So I started listening in.... she was holding a tiny pretzel up close to her face, talking to it... Here is what she was saying...

Isla (talking to her pretzel): Ooohhh I'm so sorry. Shh, shhh, it's okay. 

Me: "Isla what's wrong with your pretzel?"

Isla: "It's sad." 

Me: "Why is your pretzel sad?"

Isla: "Because it misses its mommy."

Me: "Where is its mommy?"

Isla: "I ate it" 

and then she eats the 'baby' pretzel, haha.

And besides all the funny things she said this weekend, she cracked us up with her funny actions too. We play hide n seek a lot at home and do lots of chasing each other. She has always loved to be chased. We've been working on hiding a lot because she normally either doesn't wait for you to come find her or when you say, ready or not here I come... she replies with, Here I am, hiding under the table.... or Here I am behind the curtains. haha. Joel and I laughed at her until we were both crying last night. Joel was playing hide n seek with her and she kept telling Joel to go hide, in which he did, but she would get distracted and forget to go find him. Poor Joel would be scrunched down in an uncomfortable spot hiding forever until he would finally give up and come out because Isla would have forgot to come find him. 

She is the sweetest, most adorable little blessing in my life and I have so so so much fun with her! Oh my goodness.... I wish I could stop time. 

Splish Splash...

I've mentioned before how much Laylin loves bath time. She smiles nearly the whole time she is in the water and loves for water to be poured over head...(unlike big sis who hates to get her face wet)

Today, her love for the water really started to show. She got so excited as I bathed her that she was kicking, splashing with her arms and squealing... yes, squealing. It was so funny!

It's so so cute to watch her little personality develop. She was so calm and relaxed once we got done and went right to sleep.

Love my sweet little Laybug!

My growing peanut...

Someone is chunking up!!

Laylin is...

• laughing out
• smiling a lot
• making spit bubbles
• cooing loud
• recognizing voices
• holding her head up very well
• very active
• kicking a lot
• sleeping well
• loving toys
• GROWING!

Giggles and chuckles...

My sweet angel started laughing today... and I mean really laughing out loud. I love love love to hear her get cracked up. She has become very playful and ticklish under her chin. She did it for the first time on Sunday, a little yesterday and A LOT today! I really got her going. I haven't got a video yet, but we were able to call dad at work and let him listen in on all the chuckles. It simply made our day. I love that one look at my daughters can make all the troubles and stresses of the world melt away in an instance. I'm so blessed to be their mommy!

My girls...

My girls have been keeping me busier than ever lately. Since Laylin's choking incident right before she turned two months old, we've all been in overdrive and I've mostly been unplugged from writing. We're getting back to normal, or I should say our new normal and Laylin is doing well. She's on a cardio-respiratory monitor which both keeps me up and night and gives me peace of mind at the same time. We're not sure how long she'll have to be on this or her medication at this point, but likely for at least another month if not longer. 

At 9 1/2 weeks old she finally tipped the scales over 10lbs. At two months she was still coming in under 10lbs at 9lbs 10oz. Our little peanut is in either the 20th percentile or below on the charts, but is growing proportionally from where she started at 6lbs, 9oz. I could really tell a difference in her weight while we were in the hospital. I could see her chunking up and her little rolls forming on her thighs and under her chin. I love a chunky baby! Isla had rolls like that too, even more so. 

Laylin is so so sweet. I look at her in awe every day. She has the tiniest dainty features. Small face and head, tiny hands and sweetest expressions. She even looks precious when she cries (which before this recent incident, she didn't cry much at all). I feel like God has blessed me with the best baby! 

She loves to cuddle, take baths, suck on her paci, swing, coo and she is even starting to laugh out now. I've noticed she really hates to wear hats, but other than that I haven't noticed anything that she notably dislikes. She is, for the most part, a vesry content baby. 

My other "baby" has really taken off growing a lot recently too. Isla loves to sing, dance, tell stories, color and anything princess or Tinkerbell related. But her most favorite thing in the whole wide world right now is SHOES! She loves shoes. She probably changes shoes at least ten times a day. I'm forever picking up tiny shoes all over the house and find them stashed all over the place. I think little Miss Isla is going to be a girly girl. She is so much fun and each day these two girls bring more joy to my life than I ever thought imaginable. I seriously feel like the richest person on this earth to be their Mommy!

Favorites of the Bradbury girls...

My girls are growing and changing so much every day. There are so many things I love about each of their stages/ages.

I'll start with Isla who is 2 years and nearly 4 months old...

• She calls popcorn, "copcorn"
• How she shouts "fireman" every time the fireworks display over the castle before a Disney movie
• The way she says yellow, "llellow" using no y at all 
• Her favorite word is, marvelous and she throws her hand over her head with a big expression when she says it.
• She loves wearing her dress up high heels. Its usually the first thing she does when she gets home... takes her normal shoes off and puts on her heels. She LOVES shoes!
• She tells me, "I love you sooooooooo much" often. She will point to her little eye, then cross her arms over her chest and then point to me. She did this the other morning when Joel was taking her to school. I watched her through the window pointing to her little eye, crossing her arms then pointing to me all while mouthing, "I love you."
• The way she plays with her babydolls and calls them all Laylin.
• How she rubs her earlobes when she gets sleepy or tired to soothe herself. She started doing this after we stopped nursing and hasn't stopped yet. Its so sweet.
• Her excitement and sweetness for life every morning. She brings so much pure joy to my life.

And our little peanut Laylin, who is 7 weeks new...

• I love her smiles while she is sleeping
• The soft "Ohhhs" that she coos back to me
• Her daintiness and petite little features
• The softness of her skin and little dimples on her hands
• The way she loves to snuggle and be warm. She loves to be swaddled
• How she loves to lay on my chest with her legs tucked up and around me like a little frog
• Her sweet whispy hair

My girls bring us so much love and laughter. I seriously never knew my heart could be this swollen with love and contentment. God has blessed me beyond measurement with their beating hearts!

Isla's got a BIG personality!

Isla's BIG personality has really been shining lately. She is such a talker. She enunciates really well, doesn't shy away from big words and repeats EVERYTHING. She'll even sing the last lyrics of a song right after it goes off.

My little mimicker is so fun at nearly 28 months old. She loves playing with her baby dolls, making us lay down and play like she is our mommy, tinker bell, wearing her wings and high heel shoes, stickers, stamps and going outside. Oh, she also LOVES her little sister Laylin. She can't stand for Laylin to sleep. She wants her to be awake and be two inches from her face at all time. She loves to help out when Laylin needs a diaper change or if Laylin is crying she will try to sooth her by saying "it's okay Laylin" and giving her the paci.

My little Isla Rae has finally become a good sleeper. She sleeps in her big girl bed all through the night now with no fuss about going to bed. We have a great routine down now and she looks forward to story time. One change recently is that she likes to "read" to us now since she has many of her favorite books memorized.

She doesn't like brushing her teeth, so this is always a battle. She also doesn't like a ton of veggies, but she is starting to try more. Most recently she started liking broccoli (score!). She's still crazy about her staple foods, oatmeal, noodles and cheese. It could be worse I guess. At least I can sneak berries into the oatmeal and veggies into the noodles.

Besides talking a lot, she is also singing a lot now too. She loves to sing the songs she has learned at school, church songs and "let it go" of course. She also loves to dance. Fridays have become "Dance party nights" at our house. Joel and I pick a Pandora station and we all dance together for about an hour or so. I love these fun, goofy Friday nights!

Now that Isla is getting older, we also started game night on Wednesdays and movie night on Thursdays. I love these little traditions in our household. It gives us all little simple things to look forward to and its such great family time.

Isla has such a fun sweet heart. I'm so thankful for all the time I've been able to spend with my two sweet girls lately! So far the terrible twos haven't been terrible at all!

Laylin Jane is 1 month old!

Sweet little peanut hit the one month milestone last week! She is such a little nugget. At five weeks, she just now weighs 8lbs, 12 oz and is 20.75 inches long. She is in the 20th percentile for height and weight and 6% for head. She has the tiniest, daintiest features.

She is such a good baby. I think it's a combination of her laid back temperament and us also being a little more laid back this time around. I guess you kind of have to be more laid back the second time around!

She's only had a few super fussy times thus far. She really only cries if she is having gas pains or is hungry. She's a great sleeper and nurser for the most part! I feel so blessed for this. She takes 2+ hour naps during the day and often will sleep for 4+ hour stretches at night. This was a big change from big sister who only liked to catnap at 30 minutes at a time.

She likes to cuddle and sleep on my chest like a little frog. I adore that she is a snuggle bug! She likes baths, showers, her paci and riding in her carseat. She's starting to make some noises outside of crying, but no cooing just yet.

We can't wait to see her develop and grow, but while we wait, we are soaking in all of her tininess. I love this little girl so much.

Laylin Jane Arrives!

We were blessed to welcome Laylin Jane into this world on August 9th, 2014 at 3:28am. She weighed 6lbs 9oz, and was 19 inches long.

Our little peanut only made us wait 2 days past her due date, unlike big sister who was 9 days late. I went into labor on Thursday after our 40 week check-up. We knew the contractions were different and stronger, but we couldn't get them to be consistent or in any kind of pattern for the 30+ hours I was in labor.

We headed to the hospital on Thursday night, August 7th, only to be turned away as I was only 2-3cm dilated. The contractions kept getting stronger so we went back to the doctor on Friday around lunchtime, but was sent home again. I was at a standstill and just wasn't progressing enough. I needed to be at least 4cm before being admitted to the hospital. The midwife suggested maybe it was false labor because I had been having contractions since late July, but we knew this time was different. It was more intense, and they weren't going away. With much disappointment (and a few tears) we headed back home to continue laboring. Luckily we had a lot of help from our mothers taking care of Isla during this time. I was fortunate enough to do most of the hard labor in the comfort of our own home and Isla was so good through it all. Somehow we managed to mask that I was in any discomfort or pain at all. At one point we told her I was cheering and she would cheer along with me.

I continued to labor at home with the best coach in the world, my husband, until 10pm Friday night. At this point it had been well over 24 hours since I went into labor and we knew I was getting exhausted, feeling defeated and well, in a lot of pain. We decided it was time to give it another shot... third time's the charm, right? We headed to the hospital and were so excited to learn I was 6cm. So excited that I cried tears of relief and pain all at the same time.

They admitted me and I ended up getting an epidural at midnight when I was 8cm. Things moved pretty quickly from there on out. My contractions were finally consistent at 1-2 minutes apart and my water broke. Around 3:10am on Saturday, I told the nurse I felt the baby coming. Sure enough, she was ready to make her big debut and came so quickly that the midwife couldn't get there in time. Our nurse, Racheal, delivered Laylin at 3:28. The ironic thing about our nurse is that her name is Racheal, just like my mother and they both spell it the same unique way. Neither one of them had ever met another Racheal that spelled their name that way. I thought  this was so cool.

After 3 big pushes, they laid Laylin up on my chest and it was one of the sweetest moments of my life. It was so intimate. It was just the nurses, Joel, Laylin and me. I held Laylin in my arms for a few hours before we even weighed her or did any of the other required stuff. She barely even cried.  She has been so content since her arrival. We feel incredibly blessed to have such a special, healthy, tiny girl.

Big sister, Isla, was the first visitor. She came to see her around 10am on Saturday and we explored Laylin together. Isla especially loved her tiny feet and toes. Because we had such a smooth delivery, we got to come home on Sunday at 11am. Isla was there waiting to welcome her baby sister home. She has been very excited about being a big sister and helping take care of her little sister. Besides occasionally wanting me to hold her when I'm holding Laylin, she's been adjusting very well. Her sweet heart is so refreshing and I can tell these girls are going to be lifetime best friends.

It's been a while...

Since I'm also blogging over at The Mommies, it has been a little more challenging to post my thoughts on here. I've had so many precious moments with Isla lately that I've wanted to jot down on paper so that I don't forget, but between work, motherhood, being a wifey and just plain being 40 weeks pregnant, I haven't had the time.

Isla is in the cutest stage now if I haven't told you already. She is having big girl conversations and saying the sweetest things. She has been praying for her pink ball nearly every night for a week now. I think she is concerned because it is dirty and I keep telling her I need to clean it. She also started praying for her paci since we have been trying to slowly persuade her to give it up. She prays for Joel and I, her sissy... (which we aren't sure where the phrase "sissy" came from because we have been calling baby #2 her little sister) and her cousins at night too.

She likes to talk to her sissy in my belly right now too. This morning she even disciplined her for the first time. I was walking around and the baby kicked me in an uncomfortable spot so I yelled out..."Ohhh!"

Isla responded, "You okay, mommy?" In a very concerning voice. I told her I was fine that it was just her baby sister moving around and kicking. Isla then lifted up my t-shirt, looked straight at my stretched belly and said... "No, no baby <insert baby's name>. Don't kick my mommy. That's not nice. Time-out!"

It was all I could do to keep from laughing. I squeezed her so tight. She has been giving the best hugs and squeezes lately and always so excited to see her dad and I if she has been away from us for any length of time.

I think she is going to do really well with the baby. She loves babies and doesn't seem to mind when I hold other children. I know there will be an adjustment period, but she is already so excited about the thought of a baby.

We have decked out the nook under our stairs with babydolls and babydoll furniture along with her other play things. We turned the unused space into a play area for her and she loves it! Of course, she always wants me to go in the tight space with her and sit down in the floor to play... or even lay down in the floor so that she can pretend to be my mommy and pat my back.

She's a constant reminder of one of my greatest purposes on this earth and we feel so blessed He entrusted us with such an awesome toddler!

Baby #2 is officially due tomorrow. We are as ready as we'll ever be and I'm looking forward to it finally being time as I've had so many false alarms in the past few weeks. These last weeks have been hard for me. I can't seem to get comfortable and sleep is no where to be found, but I'm trying to enjoy these last few days of pregnancy in case this happens to be our last child. We don't know what the future holds for our family, but we sure are grateful for today and the growth He has blessed us with!

Bradbury Babe Update

Less than a month to go (hopefully) until Baby B #2 arrives! I'm already dilated 1/2 centimeter which is way better than I was with Isla. Baby #2 is still very active, but I feel her mostly at night now. I can tell this sweet thing is going to have her days and nights confused already. She is head down and ready for take off whenever God gives her the green light. We are hoping for smooth sailing with her arrival and that it isn't a three day excursion like it was with little Ms. Isla Rae.

Isla is making big moves too! She moved up to the Twos class at school. We have noticed such a big change in her since she turned two. She's been talking very well for quite some time, but now it's even more than words and sentences. She is having great conversations with us daily. I love it when she asks me if I had a good day... or if I'm ok.

She loves to pretend. Her favorite toy right now is her baby doll... and she is calling all of her dolls by her little sister's name. (Yes, we have decided the name, but not completely sure on the spelling so we haven't fully announced it yet).

Some of my favorite Isla words and sayings right now...

Lellow - for Yellow
BELLLLLLL---AAAA - for our dog, Bella
She changed the words to Bingo to Bella and loves singing that song now
She still loves the song 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed and also loves to sing, I'm in the Lord's army
Since I've been sick with the baby, she asks me if I'm ok nearly 100 times a day now. She is so concerned for her mommy's well being
She calls holding hands, hand hugs and loves to snuggle with me in the mornings

She is simply the best thing and medicine for my heart. Although turning two has brought on challenges and lots of emotions, I wouldn't change a thing. She is learning so much and so am I. Each day we are learning, growing and teaching one another. I love her BIG personality!

A birthday to remember...

Isla turned two on June 4th, but we had her party on Sunday, June 1st. All of our family came to celebrate our little nugget becoming a big girl. Her party was Care Bear themed. She loves the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake right now.

It was a beautiful day and we all had a blast! She got lots of goodies for her birthday including a tricycle, helmet, clothes, shoes, pajamas, tutu, puzzles, books and princess attire. She was beyond excited to open presents and she had more sugar in a matter of an hour than she had ever had before! Since her party, her new favorite thing is marshmallows so we are using them as prizes for potty training... which is going really well so far.

Here's some pictures from her birthday celebration...

On her actual birthday, we had a relaxing morning together and then she went to school for a few hours to celebrate with cupcakes with all her school friends. I picked her up late morning and we went uptown to have lunch with dad. She got another special treat of pizza, and decided she didn't have enough cheese so she poured dad's cheese from his salad on her pizza... looks delicious, huh?

We had a picnic in the park and then she played with all cool structures, bells and water fountains around the park.

We then had naptime, and played outside for the rest of the day. We had a great dinner together as a family and sang happy birthday to our little "baby" one last time for this year. She blew out her candle and loved eating cake. It was a very special day to all of us.

I still can't believe it's been more than two years since I first held her in my arms the first minute of her life. Time flies by so quickly and we feel so blessed to have been given the gift of parenthood these past two years! Can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with Isla Rae!

Happy 2nd Birthday Isla!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet girl, Isla Rae!

These past two years have been filled with sleepless nights, new challenges, unknown strength and patience and most importantly a love and joy that I never knew existed. A love that is so powerful and fulfilling. A love that has made me a better person and shown me the love God has for me. I have laughed through the tears and laughed until I cried on multiple occasions. These past two years have been the happiest years of my life yet and I am so incredibly grateful God has blessed me with the honor of being this very special little girl's momma. 

Isla's first two years have been so special, eye-opening and full of life! She has such a big personality and a lot of love for everyone. 

At TWO years old, she loves to sing, dance, give hugs and hand hugs, play with her baby dolls, boss Bella around, be outside, run and her newest loves are her high heel shoes and bicycle. 

Happy happy birthday Isla Rae, I love you to the moon...and back!

Praises!

On this day two years ago, my body was getting ready to go into labor. I started laboring with Isla around 6:30 pm, but she didn't make her debut until the 4th, two days later.

I can't believe it's been two years already. It's so emotional to think about. It seems when you want something to hurry up and get here, time goes by so slow. But when you want the hours, days and years to last forever, they go by in a blink of an eye.

These past two years have been the best years of my life so far. Filled with unimaginable joy, laughter, challenges and strength. God has opened my eyes and heart to a new found love. An unbreakable love I share with my husband as we parent and partner together on everything. An unconditional love I have with my daughter... as even on her hardest days, I know deep down, I will look back on these days as the best ones of my life. What amazing gifts He has blessed me with!

Isla's first two years have been such a learning experience for me too. I've learned so much about her and Joel, but also so much more about myself. I've learned I have more strength and patience than I ever thought possible. I've learned I can go on a very small amount of sleep and still manage to function. I've learned the value of "me" time. I've learned about a love I never knew before. I've learned how much my own mother loves me. I've learned more about God's unconditional love for me. I've felt a greater sense of compassion, gratitude and empathy. Children open our lives to seeing so much more if we allow ourselves to be truly present and engaged in the moments.

Twice, I was told by doctors that I would have fertility issues and likely be unable to carry a baby on my own without medical assistance. God has prevailed and reigns in my life. He has answered our prayers with not just one pregnancy, but two. As I feel baby #2 kick in my belly, I'm reminded of His love, blessings and power.

Psalm 113:9

He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.

An Update On My Darlings...

A little behind on posting updates of my little nuggets so here's the headlines...

Isla Rae

• She's more grown up than ever before! Everything is "no, mommy...Isla do it" Then she tries for a little while and will then say, "hep, mommy, peas hep" (help, please, help) It's so cute and heart wrenching to watch her grow up so quickly. I'm savoring those hugs, clings and kisses more than ever before because I know how fleeting these moments are. 
• She loves books! She loves to read to us... she has several books memorized and to be read to. It's basically the only thing she wants to do besides playing outside.
• She loves to play outside. She is such an adventurer. She is very curious. She likes to get down really close to the bugs on the ground and investigate what they are doing and where they are crawling too. She loves to rub the bark on trees, feel the grass with her hands and feet and dig in the dirt! While I garden outside, we look for worms and I dig them out for her. She has a special Mickey Mouse shovel that she uses too. Now, she wants to look for worms all the time when we're outside! She also loves to color on the sidewalk with chalk and she likes to tell me which animals, letters or words to draw. 
• She's still a big singer. Her favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jesus Loves Me, BINGO and a new one... The Ants Go Marching
• She can count to 14 now without skipping any numbers and sings her ABCs without skipping any letters. 
• I can tell she is getting taller by the way her clothes are starting to fit. She's wearing size 2T, 4 diapers and 5 in shoes. Her hair is growing a lot too and it curls up on the ends! 

Here's a few snapshots of my peanut at Easter.

Baby #2

• We have decided a name. She is no longer nameless to us and Joel and I refer to her by name now.
• She's measuring right on track for a due date of 8-7-14
• She's super duper active!! With Isla, I normally would feel her kicks and movements in the late evening and all through the night. With this little one, its non-stop all day and night. She is always moving!
• She's been easier on me than my first pregnancy. I've still been sick (in fact I got sick over the weekend) but it's not been as intense as it was the first time around and it hasn't lasted as long. 

We're so excited for baby #2 to get here and make little miss Isla a big sister! 

A big girl now...

On Friday, my little "baby" spent her first night in a big girl bed (toddler bed).

Until then, we have been a co-sleeping family and I have loved and cherished every moment of it. To be honest, it was me who wasn't ready for her to spend the night 'away' from me on Friday. I was planning on us making the transition Easter weekend when I knew we would have more time together and more time to rest if needed due to a restless night. We had been prepping for the transition for weeks though... talking about her big girl bed, making her room more fun with a star nightlight, Elmo sheets and blankets and letting her baby doll sleep in the bed overnight.

On Friday, after I put new soft sheets on her newly adorned Elmo bed, she couldn't wait to get in it! We read books as she laid in bed and something told me she was ready...even though I was not. We read 5-7 different books, turned out the lights and turned on her new nightlight that also plays music. She asked to hold my hand so I laid down beside her in the floor and held her hand with her tucked in tight with Elmo, baby doll, her stuffed dog and kitty and paci of course. She fought falling asleep for a good hour, but never cried. I slept in the floor beside her until about midnight and got up and scooted to our bed (about 10ft away from her room, if that.). She woke up once crying for us, but after a quick hug, she fell back asleep. I woke up again at 4am and found Joel asleep in the floor beside her bed. I guess we both really missed our little snuggle bug.

The next night was a little tougher as she woke up more, but last night she didn't wake up at all. She did fight falling asleep for about an hour, tossing and turning, singing, counting and doing anything she knew to keep herself awake. After she gave up the fight, she woke up at 6:40am. She's doing so well with the transition and we are so proud of her. Such a big, smart girl!

This process has proven to me one more time why we should trust, pray and not worry. I had been so worried about the transition, dreading it for months, procrastinating the inevitable transition. Once again, God has shown me that I should not worry about tomorrow, I should not worry about things outside of my control, I should not worry at all...I should pray and trust. Thank you to Him for making this a smooth transition and for His continued love and blessings on our growing family!

Differences the 2nd time around...

With baby #2, things have been different from the beginning. They say your children have distinct differences and this pregnancy has shown me that so far. While I've still been sick, I've noticed a few key differences. 

The sickness didn't last as long as it did with baby #1. With my first, I was sick until 28 weeks. And when I say sick, I mean constantly throwing up with morning sickness all throughout the day. With baby #2, I'm now at 24 weeks and while I still may get sick once a week or so, it has subsided for the most part. 

I have more energy with this baby. I'm not sure if it's because I have no other choice with a little toddler to run after or simply because my body is better prepared for what is happening, but I've had a lot of energy and been able to be proactive at work and home. 

I can feel baby #2 more. With baby #1, I could feel the kicks/movements earlier on, this time around, it took longer to feel the movement, but now I feel her constantly! It's like she is doing an Insanity workout inside my tummy. Especially at night. Fingers crossed this is not a glimpse into the future of having her days and nights confused. 

With baby #1, I over prepared...this time...no so much. I feel like I have nothing prepared. With baby #1, I was focused on the nursery, registries, name selection - everything baby related consumed my world. Obviously, I don't have as much time on my hands, but I'm still just as excited about baby #2. I think it's just that I have now experienced what it's like to bring home a new baby and I now know, I don't need to stress about her room, clothes or things. If she's anything like the first, she won't spend much time in a beautifully decorated nursery anyways.

We're beyond excited to welcome in our new little love and adorn her with just as much love and affection as we did with our first... if anything she may get a little more affection as she'll have a big sister who loves her too!

4 more months!

Isla 21 Months

It's hard to believe my sweet girl is 21 months already. She has really developed a lot this month! Saying complete sentences, singing songs, learning her ABCs and counting to 14, (she always skips 3,4 and 7).

At 21 months Isla loves... to sing, count, chase Bella and be chased, be tickled, do 'round about, round about goes the bear', READ books, oatmeal and yogurt, be held, give hugs, play with her teapot and cups (but she pretends its coffee instead of tea), play with her babies, real babies, sun glasses, crackers, paci, dancing.

Isla dislikes diaper changes, getting her face and hands wiped, undressing and dressing, broccoli, riding in her car seat, going to sleep. 

Favorite things to say....

"I need to hold you"

"Me not like it"

"Bella!"

"Thank you, Mommy. Thank you"

She can sing her ABCs now, she usually skips T, U, V.

She can count to 14, but ALWAYS skips 3, 4 and 7. 

She LOVES to sing songs and dance. 

She is a true blessing to us and we feel so fortunate to have this little ray of light in our lives! Happy 21 months sweet girl. 

It's a...

We are so thrilled to announce that baby #2 is a GIRL!!! We did our gender reveal this weekend and had fun with silly sting and balloons. Isla was a little confused by all the silly string. She couldn't figure out if it was pink noodles or slime. It was so cute to watch her run around during the shoot though. Big thanks to Joel's talented sister who took all the pictures! We cannot wait for our little girl to arrive!