Let it shine!

Lately, Isla’s been showing a lot of personality. She raises her little eyebrows a lot! She has been a very happy baby recently. I’m so glad she got over the crud she had been carrying around for weeks. I can tell she is like a new baby this week. 

She smiles often. I love how her eyes and nose scrunch up when she smiles and I love how she raises her eyebrows in curiosity. She is a very curious baby. She’s always investigating everything. She’ll pucker her mouth and “ohhh” and “ahhh” while she looks the object over. It’s so much fun to watch her explore and discover things now that she is mobile. 

Oh and how mobile she is now! She is all over the place. There is no containing this one. She loves to roam around the room and she really loves to go places where she knows she shouldn’t.  It’s so funny, we’ll tell her, “No ma’am, don’t go over there.” She’ll turn around and look back at us and smile a mischief grin. She’ll act like she’s disinterested in going to the no-no place and the second we turn around she is grunting and pushing her arms and legs forward so quickly trying to get to the no-no place before we can. Then, if we just let her go, she’ll quickly get bored and head back to her play area. She knows what “no ma’am” means and she tries to push the limits all ready! 

I think we are going to be in for it as this little firecracker grows! I hope her patience grows with her. :)

Pucker up!

I literally can’t get enough of Isla’s sweet cheeks and rolls. Since she came into this world, she has been receiving non-stop smooches from me. Lately, I have been working with her to teach her what a kiss is and get her to show love. Last month, she started to lay her head over on my shoulder or chest and squeeze me with her tiny arms. Oh how I savor these baby hugs. 

Yesterday, while waiting in the doctor’s office, Isla leaned over, grabbed my face and moved in for a big wet kiss. She then proceeded to give me several more smooches with her little lips puckered so sweetly. Joel thought it was the cutest thing ever. I asked Isla, “Can you give Dada a kiss too?” and sure enough, she leaned over and gave Dada a big loving baby kiss.

At daycare, her teacher told us how loving she has been towards the other babies. She kisses her friend Samantha on the forehead and pats the other babies’ backs.  

I love how quickly she catches on to things and just how loving she is. She is too sweet for words! I’m looking forward to sharing many more kisses and loving moments with my sweet baby girl…

Stand by me...

Not only is our little peanut crawling all over the place, she is also standing! Her favorite game has been “pulling up” for quite some time now. Even before she took off crawling, she would want to pull up with the help of mommy…sit back down… pull up again, sit, pull up, sit, pull up… you get the picture. She could play this game for thirty minutes or longer, never getting tired of it. 

Now, the first thing she does when we put her in the crib in the mornings or evenings is grab a hold of the rails and pull up. She no longer needs mommy to stand by her side or give her a helping hand. If there is a stool, a cabinet, a table, a chair, a dog, a stair or a knee she’ll find a way to pull herself up!

She is so strong. It’s so funny to watch her stand. She is either standing on her tip-toes or rocking back on her heels, but never standing flat footed. She is growing and developing so fast. I know it’s just a matter of time before her standing turns into tiny steps and then those wobbly  steps  turn into a steady fast run . Until then, I’ll be soaking up every minute of her tiny journeys and enjoying all the wonderful things motherhood has opened my eyes to!

Scripture for Isla: Hebrews 11:1

Bible verse to teach your children: Hebrews 11:1

Adventures of 8 Months...

Eight months is definitely one of my favorites so far. Isla has been so much fun! She has such a funny personality. She loves to laugh and smile. She is getting into everything now! She loves to be on the go and is always busy. She doesn't want to miss a thing... and yes, that means she's still not a good sleeper. We've come a long ways though! She is sleeping better than she was.

At eight months, she has become a better eater. She is starting to really like her solids and is super interested in eating and watching us eat. She has mastered crawling and is quick! She used to just crawl a foot or two and then stop for a rest, but now she crawls all over the place without a rest and she does it quickly! She loves for me to crawl with her and chase her around... it's so cute. She will turn her head and look back for me and then try to take off as fast as she can. She also likes to try to stand up while crawling. She pushes her legs and arms straight and tries to pull up. She will pull up on anything now, and she also likes to play while kneeling. She is so loving. She loves to lay her little head down on my chest and snuggle into me. I love it too.

Every month continues to be better and better. I can't wait to see what else she accomplishes this month.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! What a sweet day this is! I feel blessed to have so many loved ones in my life. Today, I am reminded of the love I have for my husband, my daughter, my family, my friends and most importantly the love I have for the Lord.

To my husband: I love you, I love you, I love you. I realize today, that I don't say those three little words to you enough. I'm so blessed to have you in my life and I always look forward to today and the traditions we have started over the past 4 years.

You make every day fun and exciting. You are a wonderful husband and father. I love watching you in your new roll as a daddy and I can see Isla's love grow for you every single day. I know she is going to be a daddy's girl... I can already see it.

I love how helpful you are, how you turn a heavy situation into a light one, how you can always make me laugh and put my mind at ease. I love the life that we are building together, how we approach everything together as a team and how supportive you are. I love that you put God first and the initiative you take. I love how real you are. I know I can always count on you. Thank you for opening my eyes to so many wonderful things in the world and sharing so many blessings with me. I am proud to be your wife. I love you.

To my daughter: Happy 1st Valentine's day love bug. You have shown me a love that I never knew before. A love so great and enduring. Just one single thought of you, instantly brings a smile to my face and a happy tear to my eye. You have given me so much true joy. I love you so much sweet pea and can't wait to share many more special days with you.

To my family and friends: No matter how busy we may get or how far away we may live, my love continues to grow and the roots run deep. I would do anything for my family and loved ones. I consider myself  blessed to be part of such a wonderful family and have so many loving and caring friends. I love all of you!

To my savior: Thank you for loving me. Thank you for continuing to forgive me, prune me and make me better. Please use me to serve others through you. May I always show others the same unconditional love that you show me every day. Even though I continue to fall short, your grace is always there. I pray that as I persist in my walk of faith, that my heart continues to grow and I be filled with your spirit so that others see my light for you. Please help me to show love not only on this day, but every day with every passing year. I love you.

I love her ears...

Little baby Isla had her first (and hopefully last, wishful thinking...I know) ear infection this week. The lining of her nose was also infected... so pretty much she has a sinus infection too and all these infections caused her tear ducts to be clogged. With all this going on, you would think she would be in a terrible mood and be upset, but not our girl.

The doctor looked at her yesterday and said, "she has to be pretty miserable", but nope... she has been happy as can be every day this week. She has been in a super good mood, her teachers have commented on how happy and content she has been throughout the day. She has napped well at school and been very giggly at home. Other than her having rough nights with sleep this week, she has been the best baby. The doctor said she will be back to her full self within three days of the medicine and I can't imagine how happy she will be then. It amazes me how resilient she is. She seems to have a high tolerance for pain too.

It's going to be hard to detect if she has ear infections, because she doesn't have a fever and doesn't act like anything is bothering her. She also pulls on her ears to soothe herself so it's really hard to tell if she is soothing herself or if she is hurting. Since Sunday, she has been sleeping horrible though. She has been waking up every two hours on the dot and crying out for me. This was my sign that something was going on. Just to be safe, we took her to the doctor, and I'm so glad we did!

I'm looking forward to nursing her back to good health and seeing her happiness levels continue to rise! Love my sweet sweet baby girl.

Isla loves her Dada!

"Dada" is Isla's favorite word. She loves to call for Joel if she can't see him or even when he is in sight she will start calling out for him, "dadadadada". This weekend, she started signing "Dad" too! She had been mimicking us when we would do it, but today, she did it all on her own and while Joel was holding her! It was so cute!

My friend, Kristen, shared the "Dad" picture idea with me and I made this for Joel for Valentine's day, but I just couldn't wait to share. I'm so excited to see the father/daughter bond unfold between Joel and Isla. He is such a wonderful Dad and I know he is only going to get better! I love you, dadadadada!

The Proverbs 31 Mother

The Proverbs 31 Mother is such a great post today over at The Better Mom! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Busy bees

As you can tell from my lack of posts, It has been another busy week! It seems every week is busy now that we have miss Isla. This week we've all been fighting off yet another cold. We're at the tail end of it, but I am so ready for flu/cold season to be over! I am really looking forward to the Spring this year. I just hope we actually have one and the weather doesn't roll right into Summer as Charlotte is known to do.

My daffodils have already bloomed, which makes me even more eager for warmer temperatures. I'm really looking forward to taking Isla to the park, pushing her on the swing, family picnics, walks on the green way and just being outside this Spring! Isla loves being outside and I know she's going to love it even more now that she is growing and noticing every little thing.

I'm also looking forward to mine and Isla's Spring wardrobe. After Fall, I'm over sweaters and boots and ready to move right back into summer dresses, frilly tops and shorts. My Winter wardrobe always makes me feel so drab. For Isla, I cannot wait to put her in rompers and sundresses. She has so many cute ones just waiting for the season to get here. I especially love the ones with ruffles on the butt. So cute!

There are so many things I want to do with Isla, I just pray I don't let myself get too busy and forget the important things. It's so easy to get stressed and overwhelmed with the work week. I have to stop and remind myself to slow down and focus on what really matters.

Happy 8 Months!

Dear Isla,

Happy 8 months baby girl! I thought of you this morning at 6:50am... I can't believe 8 months has already flown by. Eight months ago, I was holding you in my tired arms at that time. We were looking at each other for the first time, crying together and sharing an unbelievably profound love. Since that first look, my life changed forever. I became a mommy to the most wonderful little girl in the world. You make your dad and I so happy and grateful. We hope you always know how much you are loved and how big of a difference your life has made.

At eight months, you are...

• crawling around... slowly, but crawling none the less. 
• You pay attention to the details.... there will be the tiniest speck of lint on the carpet and you will sit there and poke it or pick at it... being sure to investigate every little aspect of it. Its so funny how curious you are.
• You use your little pointer finger to investigate everything...being very cautious before reaching out and grabbing something.
• You are much more content playing on the floor or in your pack-n-play now that you can get around.
• You love to pull-up! You would much rather stand than sit.
• Clapping is your favorite thing. You love for mom and dad to sing to you while you clap your hands. 
• You also still love jumping.
• You are teething, but still no sign of any teeth. We know it's just a matter of time before those bottom ones poke through.
• You stick your tongue out a lot. We think you learned this from your buddy Samantha who sticks her tongue out when she smiles. You two are the best of friends at daycare. You love to "talk" to one another.
• You love saying "da-da" and even still get a "mmmma-ma" in there from time to time. 
• Your favorite thing to do at home is watch Bella. She can make you light up with a smile so easily.
• Your favorite food is green beans. So far you have tried sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, carrots, bananas, apples, avocados, and mangos. You liked bananas a lot too, but they didn't agree with your tummy so much. You weren't too keen on avocados the first time around, but seem to like them better after the third and fourth try. Mangos made you have a little rash, but you liked them... but still you haven't seemed to like anything as good as green beans. It's so cute, when you really like something, you hum while you eat. Cutest thing ever!

Every day with you brings something new and I realize how much I am blessed just by being able to hold, squeeze, kiss and love on you every morning and every night. You have brought us so much joy! Happy 8 months sweet pea! We can't wait to see what you will accomplish this month. 

7 Month Fun!

It's hard to believe our sweet girl will be 8 months on Monday! We've had so much fun with her this past month.

Baby Milestones: Isla 7 Months Old

This Week's Updates...

This week has flown by! We've been busy bees both at home and with work/school. Isla has developed so much this week! She is crawling better and better with every day. She has become a good eater of green beans, bananas and oatmeal and she has been sleeping like a rockstar! She has however reverted a bit this week with taking bottles and I've had to step in more frequently to feed her. Overall, she has had a great week and I'm amazed at how much she has grown!

We've been busy too with work, home life and keeping up with our families/friends. I have very exciting news that my brother is not going to be the only male in the Jones family any longer! He and Alexas will be welcoming a sweet baby boy in July and we can't wait to meet him! The Jones girls are so excited to have a little brother!

Isla will be 8 months old on Monday. I feel like it was just last week that we took her 7 months pictures! Time is passing by so quickly that I can hardly keep up. Trying to savor all of these sweet and precious moments and be able to relive them in the future. These are surely the sweetest days of my life!

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend! Enjoy the people you are with and tell someone you love them! I know I will be snuggled up with the ones I love this weekend.