2 Month Well-Baby Visit

Chloe had her 2 month check up yesterday and as expected, she is as healthy as can be! Her current stats are...

Weight: 13 lbs 10 oz
Length: 23 1/2 inches
Head Circumference: 15.7 inches

In the 5 weeks since her last visit she has gained 3 pounds, 1 1/2 inches in length and .7 inches in head circumference.

I found a neat percentile calculator online and this is what the results said for her stats...

Length for age is in the percentile: 75th-90th
Weight for age percentile: 90-95th
Weight for length percentile: 50-75th
Head circumference for age percentile: 75th-90th

I find it so amazing that not only did my body sustain her 9 months of growth inside the womb, but that it alone continues to nourish her as she grows outside of the womb...truly that handwork of God!

Six Flags!

I couldn't get this slide show to load in my previous post, so here are the Six Flags pictures...

Weekend of Fun!

This past weekend we joined Grandma and Grandpa McMinn, Auntie Meagan and Uncle Morgan in San Francisco for a Giants game! This is our 3rd game this year and finally we were able to see the Giants pull off a win! :) It was also "kids run the bases" day so Bella got to go down on the field and run the bases. I'm not sure if her or Andy were more excited, but either way, it was a lot of fun to watch.

After the game we made our way down to Pier 39 for some Clam Chowder. When we were done eating we said our goodbyes and headed over to Haight Street to Amoeba records.
After searching through thousands of CD's we decided to make our way to our hotel in Vallejo for a good nights sleep.

The next morning we woke up and got ready to go to Six Flags. We spent the day in the park and had a really great time. Bella was in kid heaven and went on every ride possible. By mid-afternoon she was riding the rides by herself as Andy and I could no longer stomach another second of spinning round and round. Not only did we have a great time in the amusement side of the park, but we also really enjoyed checking out the animals. I think our favorite was the Shouka Show (killer whale).

By the time we got home on Monday night we were completely exhausted, but it was well worth it. I've put together 2 slide shows...one from the Giants game and the other from Six Flags. Enjoy!

Soccer and Stuff!

Bella had her first soccer practice on Monday. She has been waiting for several weeks now for soccer to start so she was pretty excited when her first practice finally arrived.

When I signed in to Blogger today I noticed that there is a movie reel in the tool bar. It appears as though you can upload video now, so I'm giving it a shot by creating a quick slide show of the soccer pictures.



And now onto the "stuff"...

Here is another garden picture. This is one days harvest by the way. What you don't see pictured is the 18 cherry tomatoes (Bella counted) and 1 roma tomato we also picked. I plan on making several loaves of zucchini bread today. I'm going to give some away and freeze the others. If anyone reading this lives nearby and would like some squash please let me know! :)



After picking the squash Bella got the hose to water her pumpkin. I was still checking out the tomato plants when I heard her screech, "Bugs ate my pumpkin" and with that she started hysterically crying. I went over to see what she was talking about and this is what I saw...



Bad mom I am, I started to laugh. First off all it struck me as funny that she thought bugs could actually do that and just the sheer fact that she was so devastated by it struck me as a bit funny too (terrible, I know). I quickly controlled my laughing and comforted her as she really was upset by the sight of her half eaten pumpkin. I told her that I was pretty sure it wasn't bugs that ate it and that it was more than likely some kind of animal. After assuring her that we would do something to protect her pumpkins (possibly chicken wire around the garden box) she calmed down and said, "well that's okay, I still have 3 more".

And to wrap things up, here are a couple pictures of Chloe. Nothing fancy, just a few I snapped that I thought were pretty cute...

Green Thumb...

Well we all know that I didn't inherit my mom's green thumb, but it appears as though Bella may be following in grandma's footsteps. She is so thrilled by our garden this year and is constantly going outside to "see what's growing today". The other day she went out the back door and a few minutes later I looked out the window and this is what I saw...

Thankfully my camera was close and I was able to get a picture before she realized she was being watched. By the way she is hunting for "candied potatoes"...translate...Cherry Tomatoes! ;)



And here she is after realizing I was watching...



And since we managed to get ready for church this morning with a little time to spare I snapped a few pics of my girls. This morning Bella was singing a song that she made up to Chloe..."I have the best sister in the world...she is the prettiest little sister ever...I love my little sister so much" and on and on. I can't tell you how it warms my heart to hear her be so sweet and gentle with Chloe. I hope that someday Chloe realizes that she has the best BIG sister in the world!

And without further ado...here are the sisters...

2 months old!

Chloe is 2 months old today. I was looking at some picture from the day she was born and it's amazing how much she has grown already! We are having a lot of fun with her lately. She has figured out that she can get our attention pretty much any time she wants it by flashing a smile...of course we are suckers for it and eat it up!

Just like I was pregnant with Chloe longer than I was pregnant with Bella, Chloe now has taken longer to sleep through the night than Bella did. She still wakes up every 3 or 4 hours to eat, with the occasional longer stretch of sleep when cuddled up on her daddy's chest. Thankfully she only wakes to eat and then goes quickly back to sleep. Even though I would love to be getting more sleep, I am still enjoying those quiet little moments we share while the rest of the world is fast asleep. In those moments I remember just how long we waited and prayed for her and I thank God for each and every precious moment with her.

Here are a couple pictures from a photo shoot we did today...

PostSecret

Many of you have probably heard me talk about Post Secrets. I am so intrigued by the whole idea of sending off your deepest secret with the hopes of it being posted for the world to see. People wouldn't do it if they didn't find some kind of relief from their burden and it makes me wonder just how many people are walking around, weighted down by something that they feel they can never escape from.

Anyways, check out this video and then visit www.postsecrets.com every Sunday for new post cards.

30.

She smiles!

Chloe has been smiling for a couple weeks now, but it wasn't until Monday that I was finally able to get a picture of it.

I forgot how something as simple as a little smile can bring with it so much joy...

5 Years Old!

I'm not sure how it happened, but our precious little girl turned 5 years old today! She has been anticipating this day for several weeks and woke up absolutely thrilled to finally be a 5 year old!

She celebrated with her friends at Chuck-e-Cheese on Friday night and today we spent most of the day at one of her favorite places, the Waterpark! She had a great time going on all of the slides that she wasn't quite tall enough to ride last year. She even tricked me into going on one that she knew would scare me...little stinker! ;)

After we were done at the Waterpark we took her to get her ears pierced. She's been wanting this done for quite some time now and Andy and I talked about it and decided she could have them pierced when she turned 5, so she has been counting down the days! I decided to have them done at an actual piercing place and she did amazing! We prepared her, telling her that it would hurt a little and that if she needed to cry it was okay to do so. She made up her mind that she wasn't going to cry and determined little thing she is...she didn't shed a tear. I have a whole sequence of pictures that I will post later, but I have to say she looks pretty cute with her little pink earrings! :) After that we took her to Olive Garden for dinner and then finally made it home. She is now fast asleep, exhausted from such a long and exciting day.

I don't quite know how to express what I feel today. My love for her is so far beyond anything I ever imagined it would be and it only grows stronger with each passing day. She is an amazing little person and there are times (like today) that my heart is so filled with joy that it literally feels like it's going to explode. I told her today that she would forever be the one who gave me the most special gift I've ever been given...she made me a mom. Sometimes I get scared when I realize how fast she is growing, but at the same time I am so thrilled to see the person she is becoming and look forward to what each new year will bring.

So, in an attempt to not ramble on too much I will just say a very special HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY to our Isabella Grace. Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know and we will forever be grateful for the amazing blessing we were given that August 6th, 2002!

And of course we can't forget that Bella shares a birthday with another very special little girl. Our sweet Kendra! Happy 3rd Birthday Miss Kendra! We love you so much and can't believe that you are 3 years old already. Such a big girl compared to the tiny 2 month old you were the first time we met you! We hope your day was very special and look forward to celebrating with you next week!!

I will leave you with a picture of the birthday girl...earrings and all! :)