My Arrow

On Monday, my sweet girl will hit yet another milestone. She will be graduating from Toddler I class to Toddler II.

Every day I'm amazed at her growth and advancement. The new words she says, the songs she sings, the signs she learns and all her new activities like jumping and dancing. As I peruse pictures in my Facebook feed, I see pictures of babies at 1 week, 3 months, 5 months, 9 months, etc. and with every image of these sweet babes, I find myself reminiscing of Isla at those stages. Her chunky rolls and cheeks. The sweet dimples in her tiny hands. Her high pitch cries. The tiny clothes and all the sweet memories that come along with every stage.

The images remind me how quickly time goes by and how precious each day is that we are blessed with. Since having Isla, I find myself more thankful to God and I'm constantly reminded that I should have always been this thankful.

The saying, "We aren't promised tomorrow" is a common phrase I've heard all my life. After He blessed us with Isla, this saying really became a stronger statement to me. Now everyday, I find myself making sure she knows how much I love her and love her daddy... and not just by the love I have for them in my heart, but really showing them love through my actions and words. I say, "I love you" if I am ever leaving them for the day. I make it a point, no matter how busy, to stop what I'm doing give multiple hugs and kisses and share smiles and laughs with one another before departing.

This practice has also helped my marriage. I love on my husband more now, I am more patient with him for the little daily nuances we may encounter, I forgive quicker and I find myself appreciating him more.

Having Isla has been a blessing in so many ways. Through God's gift of her, I love deeper (both her and my husband), appreciate more and live in a constant mind-frame of gratitude.

She is my blessing, my arrow and the Lord has strengthened me through the gift of motherhood.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalms 127: 3-5

Precious Stage

Isla is nearly 17 months old now, and this has proven to be one of my favorite stages. While this stage has come with a new set of challenges, she has become so loving, snuggly and FUNNY!
I love how loving she is. She gives out hugs and kisses so freely. One of our favorite games is the hugging game where she just goes back and forth from Joel and I giving us hugs and kisses... over and over again. Her MMMMWAH's get bigger and bigger with each kiss. I love this! I reflected on Friday night after we played this game how short this stage really is. I know there will come a day where she grows more stingy with her hugs and kisses.

She has also become a cuddlebug. She has always loved for me to hold her, which I never minded at all, but lately she holds me as I hold her too. She wraps her arms around me, clinches on to my shirt and lays her head over on my shoulder. In those moments, I feel so at peace. For brief moments she also lies still on my chest or in my arms as we read books or watch one of her favorite shows.

She keeps us laughing all the time at this age. She LOVES to dance... and we love it too! Her dance moves are so funny and cute. Each night before bed, we've been having a dance party and every night gets funnier than the last as she learns to wiggle and move.

I'm so thankful God has trusted me to be her mom and experience such an amazing stage in her life!

You are so very special Isla Rae!

Loving the unexpected

To my daughter,

You are growing up so quickly that I can hardly keep up. Each day you do, say or sing something new. Yes, you are singing and humming little tunes now. The newest one is "Ring around the roses." You love the part at the end where we fall down to the floor. It's so cute to see you developing into such a big smart girl. I'm beginning to envision you as a little girl... what you'll look like in a few years, your tiny voice and all the new experiences you will bring to us. It has been an unbelievable journey since we first found out God blessed us with you. Everyday brings something new whether its in the form of a new found laughter or challenge we didn't expect - you have made me love the unexpected.

You bring more joy to our lives than I ever thought was imaginable. I hope you always know how much I love you, how special you are, how big of a difference you make and how important you are.

Looking forward to all the adventures to come as we progress in your toddler II years.

xo,
Mommy

Peeeas and ank eww...

We've really been working a lot with Isla to sign and say her manners - please and thank you.

She has been doing such an amazing job with both saying and signing, please. When she says please it sounds more like - peas..it's so cute and irresistible.

Her thank yous are cute as well and sound more like - ank ewww.

She's also signing shoes, cracker and fish very well. Our little girl is growing up so fast and she amazes me everyday.

Never enough time...

Recently, I saw a post over at the Mommy Page that hit me like a ton of bricks.

Ever since I returned from maternity leave, I’ve felt as if I just can’t keep up. I’ve been beating myself up that I’m not spending enough time with my daughter, not reading enough books to her, not taking her to the park enough, not doing enough crafts, not capturing enough memories through video and pictures and just not being with her enough…

Time has been flying by and I finally see what my own parents tried to tell me for so many years. It seems with one blink 6 months has flown by, then a year and now nearly 16 months. After reading about how we are only blessed with 940 Saturdays with our little ones before they head off to college (yes, that’s right – that is the number of weekends you’ll have with your little one from birth until they graduate), I decided I am going to stop beating myself up with the “not enoughs” and start living in the moment. Instead of wishing for more days, I’m going to enjoy every single minute of my Saturday and Sunday with my daughter and giving thanks that I am blessed with those days. 

You see, I feel it’s so easy to get caught up on the ifs – if I only had more time – if I could only stay at home – if I could only be with her more – that it’s easy to lose sight of the day and moment you are in. Constantly wishing for something that is not obtainable for us now and beating myself up for not doing more only brings me down and does not make me a better mom… but focusing on the time I do have with my daughter, the fun we have, the laughter we share, the learning experiences and sweet loving moments – those moments no matter how short – are moments that will carry me through a lifetime of busyness.

15 Months - Happy & Healthy

Isla had her 15 month check up today. She is growing beautifully! Her measurements seem to be consistently in the same percentile for all categories.

Weight 24.8 - 75%
Height 31.25 - 75% (projected to be 5'4 - 5'6 as an adult)
Head Circumference - 25-50% (she has a little peanut head)

As I sat Isla up on the scale, I was amazed at how much she had grown. I could picture her as a newborn as she sat in the same positioning as she did for her very 1st check-up. Time is flying by and every day I am amazed at the beautiful and smart little girl she is. I hope 20 years from now, I can close my eyes and drift back to these sweet memories. This truly is the best days of my life thus far. 

Letters to Isla Rae - 15 months

Isla Rae, 

At 15 months you have so much energy. I love to watch you running (yes, running!) up and down the halls making it known that you are having so much fun with every step. I love to chase you and Bella around the house and hear your sweet giggles as I get closer and closer to you. 

You are so loving and sweet. You love to snuggle, lay your head over on my shoulder and give hugs and kisses. When you give me a hug or a kiss you always exaggerate by saying, “mmmwahhh.”

You have become more of a picky eater and it’s become challenging to get you to eat your veggies. You still like avocados (some days), potatoes and carrots. You love fruit. I can normally get you to eat any kind of berries and watermelon. I try to sneak some veggies in by giving them to you in a smoothie and his has worked for the most part. You also LOVE yogurt, cheese and macaroni or really any kind of pasta.

You can still wear size 12 months, but for the most part I dress you in 18 month items right now. You’ve been holding steady around 22-23lbs for a while now. You haven’t slimmed down since you started walking like everyone said you would – and I’m glad. I think you look adorable.

Bella is definitely your best friend. You love to sit beside her, pet her and chase her. We’re trying to teach you to pet her easily because you get so excited your petting is more of a smack. Bella is so good around you though. She has the sweetest nature to her and she protects you. We’re so happy that the two of you love each other so much.

Newest thing you are doing this month is talking more…. Lately, you’ve been saying “I know” a lot!

You started saying it right after I said it to you one day and now you say it all the time. It’s so funny to hear you going around the house repeating it over and over again… I know, I know, I know.

I hope you always know how much I love you. You are my heart and soul and I cherish every single minute the Lord blesses us to be together every day. I hope you always know and feel how much you are loved and how special you are. You are one of a kind!

Love you,

Momma