5 months old!

Chloe turned 5 months old today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how big she is getting. She marked the day by finally rolling from her tummy to back this afternoon. Of course the first time she did it we weren't watching, but she was happy to show off her new skill for us throughout the evening. Of course the rolling from tummy to back comes complete with a little one who thinks she is "SO BIG" by getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth.

One more thing worth mentioned is the giggling. I swear there isn't a sweeter sound than hearing your child really laugh for the first time. Chloe has let out a few giggles over the past couple months, but in the last 2 week or so she has really started to laugh. The best part of it all is that there is only one person in our house who can get her to laugh...her big sister.

I have a few pictures on my camera that I will transfer soon and get posted! Hope everyone is well! :)

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow! Is anyone else finding it hard to believe that it's November already? This year, and specifically the last 4 months of so have positively flown by! The last couple weeks have been extra busy with Halloween, the end of both Bella and Andy's soccer season and a very special baby shower for my dear friend Terri! I have so much I want to blog about, but no time to do so. :( I do however have to let everyone know that Chloe had her 4 month appointment last week. Her stats are...

Weight: 15.5 lbs
Length: 25 inches
Head Circumference: 16.5 inches

She continues to stay in the 75th-95th percentile on all of her measurements. The doctor said she looks "just perfect" and we rescheduled for her 6 month check-up. Her Dr. asked me if I was interested in starting solids yet and I told her, "not really". She said that was perfectly fine with her as it is really not necessary for them to be eating anything other than milk or formula at this age. It's funny because I can remember being so anxious with Bella to give her rice cereal and now with Chloe, all rice cereal means to me is that my baby is growing way too fast! ;)

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days. I will try to post again soon!

Getting so big...



Dancing Sisters





Mom, save me!!! ;)



Beautiful Girls...

Happy Halloween!

There will be more, I promise! ;)

As promised...

Ariel, Flounder and a Butterfly...



Beautiful Ariel...





How Chloe really felt about her Flounder costume...



Ariel and friends...







We had a fun-filled evening of trick-or-treating and Fall Fest '07 at church. Chloe was quite the trooper for her first Halloween. She wasn't too fond of her costume, but we managed to get a few pictures before it got too bad. Bella of course thought that dressing up as Ariel and having her Sissy be Flounder was just about the coolest thing. Bella is growing up so fast and tonight I realized just how "big" she seems. She was so beautiful all dressed up and watching her make her way from game to game at the Fall Fest with her friends seemed surreal. I swear she will be graduating from high school before I know it. ;) I'm completely exhausted now, but it was all worth it!

1 year ago today...

I saw this...



I honestly didn't know if those tests meant we would be holding a baby in our arms in 9 months, but by the Grace of God our prayers were answered! :)

3 month pictures...

Chloe will be 4 months old next week! With that, I figured I had better get these done if I wanted to capture her 3rd month in pictures! ;)

Anyways, here are a few of my favorites...









I'm sorry I haven't been around much...either on the blog or personally. We have had a very busy week or two and honestly I'm just exhausted. Here are a few things that have kept me busy.

Andy being in Colorado on business (thankfully he's home now!).

Bella contracting Pink Eye (in both eyes).

Chloe and the never ending cold (BYE-BYE Easy Going, HELLO High Maintenance).

Much loathed migraines and their sudden return after almost a year hiatus.

Those are the biggies for now. Like I said, hopefully in the near future I will share with you all the wonderful details in a "woest me" post!

Bella

I'm a mom!

I'm constantly aware that being a mom one of the best blessings in life, but there are certain moments that I'm so overwhelmed with love for my children that my heart feels like it's going to explode. Some of them are obvious (the day they were born, milestones, etc.) but others come from the most ordinary of things. Things like looking at this picture. I can't describe or really even put my finger on it, but all I know is that when I see this picture, I'm reminded of just how blessed I really am.

A little something to brighten your day!

I'm such a nerd!

In the past couple months my desire to obtain Photoshop for my Mac has become almost unbearable! ;) Today while searching the internet in hopes of finding a deal on it, I came across Adobe's website where you can download a free 30 day trial version. It's been on my computer for less than 3 hours and I'm already hooked!

One of the things I have been desperate to do is to make my own photo cards. I absolutely LOVE them and really wanted to do one for Chloe's birth announcement but they are so stinkin' expensive to have made. Well, with a little tinkering around, here's what I came up with...



Chances are this won't be the announcement everyone receives in the mail, but even if it is, I still can't help but share my creation! ;)

Goodbye Summer!

It's snowing.

Photo Fun!

This morning while getting Chloe dressed I started to think about how it seemed like just yesterday that I was doing the same with Bella. After a bit of reminiscing in my mind, I decided to dig out a few pictures of Bella at 3 months old. It was so much fun to look back on those days. She has grown so fast and sometimes I forget just how special it was becoming a family of 3.

Here are 2 pictures...one of Bella and one of Chloe...both 3 months old.

Okay, I've just spent way too much time trying to get them to post side by side, so this is going to have to do... ;)

Roley Poley!

At 3 months and 1 week old, Chloe rolled over for the first time today! :) She's been getting close, so I wasn't too surprised, but it was still very exciting to see her finally get all the way over. Of course as soon as she landed on her tummy and realized she was stuck there, she started to holler. ;) I will try my best to get a few pictures of her doing her new trick, but for now, you will just have to take my word for it! :)

Chloe Faith

I've been working diligently on this slide show for quite some time. Now that it's finally finished and ready to share, I have to admit that I'm experiencing a whole range of emotions.

I can't quite seem to accurately describe what I feel as I watch this video and reflect over the last 3 years of our life. There was always this amazing juxtaposition of emotions as we became increasingly aware of what a true blessing Bella was in our life and at the same time, how desperately we desired to have another child. It was as different as night and day, yet somehow the two fit together in a way that I can't really describe. It's the perfect picture of God's faithfulness in the darkest of times (whatever the situation may be) and we will forever be grateful for those really tough times because without them, we wouldn't have our precious miracle baby, Chloe Faith.

the|rock church

The local News and Review did an article on our church and I thought I would share it...

A Few Good People

3 Months!

I'm finding it hard to believe that Chloe is 3 months old today, but none-the-less, it's true! She is such a sweet little girl and continues to amaze people with her calm and happy demeanor. I'm constantly getting comments about what a "good baby" she is, and I have to say, she really is! :)

In the last week or so she has figured out how to grab her toys. It's so neat to watch her learn the most basic of things like how to use her hands. She has also gotten more and more responsive over the last few weeks. She just lights up when people talk to her. She is finding her voice and loves to mimic the sounds that we make. If you talk to her and pause, she will "talk" back...it's just too precious! And just because she loves her mommy so much she has been sleeping 7-8 hours straight for the last week!

I'll stop bragging now and share a couple pictures I took today... ;)

My long lost friend!

SLEEP!! :)

Chloe slept for 8 hours straight last night (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.)! After nursing her to sleep I put her in her swing while Andy and I hung out downstairs. I decided to go to bed at 10:30 and Andy was going to stay up to finish watching a movie he started. I went up to bed and quickly fell asleep and the next thing I knew I woke up and realized that I was still in bed alone. I looked at the clock and it was 3 in the morning. I couldn't believe Chloe hadn't woken up to eat and actually wondered downstairs to check on her. I found Andy sleeping on the couch and Chloe swinging away in her swing. I quickly sneaked back upstairs and fell back to sleep. It was a full 2 hours later that Andy woke me up asking me to take Chloe (he had come to bed at 4 and she had slept with him in bed for an hour). She ate and fell back asleep until 7:00!

I'm sure it was a fluke, but whatever it was I'll take it! It's amazing how good I feel after 6 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

Kindergarten!

Well, it's official...Bella is in Kindergarten! This is a day that she has been anxiously awaiting for some time and she was more than thrilled when it finally arrived!

There's not a whole lot I have to say about it, other than I simply cannot believe that this day is actually here. I know it sounds cliche, but I swear it seems like yesterday that I was looking at her for the very first time. As hard as it is to see her growing so fast, we find so much joy in watching the little girl she has become. She is such a joy to have around and is constantly making us smile. Her excitement for life is contagious, and I'm just so proud to be her mom!

Here are a couple pictures from this morning...

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...