4 Months Old!

13 weeks old (Nov. 5th)

14 weeks old (Nov. 12th)

15 weeks old (Nov. 19th)

Dedication, Sunday, Nov. 23rd

16 weeks old (Nov. 26)
Thanksgiving in Birmingham

17 weeks old (Dec. 3rd)

Yesterday Isabella turned four months old. It's so hard to believe. She literally is "getting so big". Sometimes I like to step on the scale with her and last week it said she was around 15 pounds! I tried to measure her length as well but she wouldn't stop kicking. I think she's around 25" though. We go back to the pediatrician on Thursday and I'm excited to see how she's doing and what percentile she's in.

She's been learning lots of new tricks lately. Yesterday she finally mastered rolling over. She went from tummy to her back without any help. She's working on back to tummy but can't seem to get her little booty to go over with the rest of her body. Jacob and I got so excited when she rolled over but I'm realizing that soon we will wish that she weren't able to do it. Next thing I know she'll be crawling all over the place.

Other new tricks include sticking out her tongue, "talking" and making sounds that sound a lot like growling. It's pretty funny.

This past month has been pretty busy. Isabella had her baby dedication at church. We travelled to Birmingham for Thanksgiving. We had a dorm-wide Christmas party and a baby shower for our dear friends Molly and Ben. We're looking forward to the Christmas break and spending some time with family and friends.

Hanging out with Uncle Joey

Joey came over to visit on Thursday night. Before he got there, Isabella was quite fussy. As soon as Joey got her, she started talking up a storm. Apparently she and Joey speak the same language. :) Joey would say "boooo" and she would repeat it back and laugh. This went on for the longest time before I thought to grab the camera. I was too busy enjoying watching her having such a great time! I wasn't able to capture most of their "conversation" on video but I was able to get a lot of her laughter.

At the end of this video she gets a little distracted because she sees her Mommy standing behind the camera.

Her giggles make me laugh out loud!

A little bit of "talking"

12 Weeks

Fall Festival

Happy Halloween!

Hide and Go Seek

This is what happens when Jacob is in charge of making the bed...

Where's the baby?

You found me!

Ok, I'm tired of playing.

Big Foot

This past Saturday was Homecoming at MC. As we were getting Isabella dressed to head to the tailgate, we discovered that her overalls were a bit long. So...Daddy decided he wanted to put some shoes on Isabella so her feet wouldn't get lost in her overalls. Well, all we had were newborn sized shoes (which obviously no longer fit) and size 2 (way too big). Daddy opted for the 2s and this was the result. Our child looks like she has abnormally large feet! Still a cutie though.

Don't worry. We didn't actually leave the house with them on.

11 Weeks

This is my favorite thing to do lately.
The little tooth poking through my bottom gum makes me want to chew on everything! (Yes, I'm less than three months old.)


Telling mom a story about something...


What?

10 Weeks

Supermodel...9 Weeks Old

Posing :)

8 Weeks and a New Toy!

My friends at MC threw us a little party in honor of Isabella!
They gave her the coolest little play mat and she seems to love it.

with Mrs. Ashley

Look at my pretty dress!


Mrs. Molly


We can't wait for Mrs. Molly's son, baby Michael, to arrive.


8 weeks old - playing on my new mat


Mr. Caterpillar (hanging on the left) got her so excited that she wore herself out and fell asleep!

7 Weeks

6 Weeks Old

Look at her grow!

3 Weeks Old - Wednesday, August 27th

4 Weeks Old - Wednesday, September 3rd

5 Weeks Old - Wednesday, September 10th

I love this picture. I think it embodies her sweet personality.

Proud Mommy!

2 Week Doctor's Visit

We went in for Isabella's two week appointment today. I never imagined that it would be so full of laughter. When we got there I was a little nervous because there were several snotty-nosed children in the waiting room with us. I didn't want to touch anything out of fear of the germs! When we got in the back they told us to undress her down to her diaper so we could go weigh her. When we got the scale, the nurse asked us to take her diaper off. Something in me said...this is not a good idea :) As soon as they got her weight, she started pooping and peeing. Jacob picked her up to start wiping her off and she continued peeing! It went everywhere! Jacob, the nurse and I could not stop laughing. We even had people coming out of the other exam rooms to see what was going on! All that to say, she was a whopping 8 lbs and 1 oz. She's gained back her original birth weight plus some! She was 7 lbs and 3 oz. at birth.

The laughs didn't end with the weight measurement. When we got back to our exam room they placed her down on a mat to measure her length. The nurse took her temp in her bottom and as soon as she pulled the thermometer out, she started pooping again! Poor kid!

Overall it was a great visit. I feel bad for getting the whole place dirty. I guess everyone else should be worrying about the germs we left behind instead of the snotty-nosed kids :)The doctor said she looked great and we'll be back in four weeks to get her shots. I'm sure I'll need some moral support for that visit. I'm not excited about seeing those tears :(

Abigail Isabella's Debut!

News??

Tomorrow afternoon we will go back to the doctor for our weekly check up. We have our hospital bags packed, car seat installed and I finally finished reading the baby book that I wanted to finish before Isabella arrived. We shall let you know if there is any new news!

I want to thank God for the safe delivery of our friends' baby today. She is breathing on her on despite her very early arrival and mom is doing well too. Please pray for the baby as she adjusts to life in the world and prepares to go home.

"Progress"

We went to our weekly doctor’s visit on Wednesday. Dr. Crews says that I am physically making progress towards Isabella’s arrival, actually a little further along than he expected me to be at this point. At the end of our visit, he jokingly said, “See you next Wednesday…if not before!”

Well, that definitely jumpstarted something in me to make sure everything was ready. When we moved into our new place last Saturday my mom teased me that I certainly wasn’t “nesting” yet. She had to constantly ask me where I wanted to put things in the apartment because I just wasn’t overly concerned with it.

Since our doctor’s visit we’ve washed all of Isabella’s clothes, blankets, and bedding. Everything is set up in her room and our bedroom is even organized. I’m so thankful for Jacob’s patience with me and willingness to help as I point him in the direction of where I want things to be moved or put away. This is also a very humbling experience for me because I tend to want to do everything myself and I physically cannot.

All that is left to do is put away a few boxes into storage. When I finished washing last night, I told Isabella that it was okay for her to come now! I love how I think that just because I think I'm more ready that she will come. Ha ha! Hopefully we’ll be posting some pictures soon because Dr. Crews thinks she won’t be late…

Welcome!

After many months of reading my friends' "baby blogs", I've decided to create one of my own for our little Isabella. I know I've enjoyed keeping up with my friends this way and hopefully others will enjoy mine as well!

It's hard to believe that Isabella will be here soon. Anyone who knows me well knows that not knowing exactly when she will arrive is difficult. The Lord has been teaching me a lot through this whole process. The theme of this summer seems to be waiting. We found out at the end of the school year that we would be moving to a different building on MC's campus. Well, they had to renovate all the bathrooms in that building and we were not able to move in until just this past weekend. It probably would have been nice to of moved earlier but I haven't gone into labor yet and most of the house is unpacked so God's timing is still perfect!

So now all we are waiting on is Isabella. We've got her crib set up. We've got the car seat. Her belongings are organized and all that we need to do is wash her clothes. At least that's all I think is left to do... Part of me is so impatient about her coming but then the other side of me is just fine with waiting. Thoughts go through my head about whether or not I am truly prepared. I told a friend of mine just today that I feel like I am preparing for a big test in school and I have a lot more studying I need to do! I know that people have been having babies long before I even began desiring to have them. But the perfectionist in me wants to make sure that I know how to do it all wonderfully before she arrives. When to feed her, when to change her, when to bathe her, etc.

I think I could read baby books all day and still doubt whether or not I am prepared. This is just one more area where the Lord is teaching me that I must rely on Him. Not only rely on Him but admit that I am not and never will be perfect. Jacob and I have had many discussions on parenting. We know we will not be perfect. We know we will make mistakes. I have to constantly remind myself that in this, like everything else I've attempted in life, I must rely on God's strength and seek His grace and provision. I must boast in my weaknesses in order that He might be glorified. I pray that Isabella will see Christ in us and through us. It is my hope that she will always know she is loved but I pray also that our inadequacies will point her to her own great need for the Savior.

As you read this, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that the Lord will prepare us and encourage us as Jacob and I prepare to become parents. Thank you again to all of our friends who have already blessed us with such wonderful gifts for Isabella. She is already one well-clothed baby and she’s not even here yet! We look forward to introducing her to everyone…all in God’s perfect timing.