Izzy is Two Months Old!

Christmas Day, Izzy was officially two months old.  It's weird because in some ways, I feel like she's been a part of our family for much longer, and in other ways I still feel like it was yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital :)  Here are some updates...

 Growing like a weed

Not sure how much  she weighs, and her official doctor appt. is still a week away.  I'm guessing around 12 pounds.  We'll see how close I am!  Size 1 diapers, 3 mo. clothes fit perfect, but she seems to be getting long fast... I wonder if she'll be a tall girl?!

Eating great

She has a definite routine now for eating - and even if she takes a feeding early or late based on my schedule that day, she still seems to settle back to eating at her usual times.  She dropped a feeding this month, but she's definitely making up for it by eating a little more at each of her other feedings.  She is taking a 3-4 oz. bottle better and better each day from daddy.  It's pretty cute to see Jeremy so proud when Izzy sucks the whole thing down without a fuss or a burp in between :)

Sleeping very well

Izzy is a good sleeper, and we are thankful for that.  She usually goes down between 9:30 and 10:30 for the night and is inconsistent when she wakes next. Her longest stretch was the night before New Year's Eve (9 weeks old)--she ate at 9:30 PM, was down for the night by 10:30, and didn't wake up until 6 AM!!  Usually it's anywhere between 3:00 and 5:00 am.  She is really good now about going back to sleep after her nighttime feedings, and I have to remind myself not to get too impatient when she doesn't go right back to sleep.  After all, she is only two months old, and still learning.  She still sleeps in our room, but she's ready to be in her crib.  She likes to be wrapped up tight for sleeping.  She naps well during the day - usually in her crib.  In the evenings, she likes to be snuggled, which makes supper time and Cooper time a little tricky when mom or dad is alone with the kids.

Likes

She likes to have 'conversations' with us, and she recently started 'talking' to her mobile and her musical monkey stuffed animal.  Likes her Nuk when she's tired or cranky.  Prefers to have a blanket near her face to sleep or calm down, too.  Likes being held up on a shoulder (I think she likes to see the action).  Definite preference for mom (which I don't mind one bit!).  Loves being in the Moby wrap.  Still loves to talk to Cooper and always seems to turn to him when she hears his voice.  Loves bath time.

Happy Girl!

She smiles a lot.  All. The. Time.  She doesn't make us work very hard for those smiles, either.  When she wakes up, she's happy.  When she gets her diaper changed, she's happy.  When she takes a bath, she's happy.  When she has a full belly, she's happy.  When she talks to Cooper, she's happy.  It's so fun to see her so smiley and content!   If she's not happy, she's either tired or hungry; there's not much in between!

Other Fun...

She has rolled over a few times from belly to back.  It's no fluke!  Has a strong neck and is loving tummy time now.  Likes to hold onto a rattle or small toy (much to Cooper's excitement).  Her eyes are still a beautiful blue and her hair is getting longer, although surprisingly, it's still brown.  She and I read stories often, and she can sort of sit in my lap now, making it easier.  She's working on learning to turn the pages ;) 

(Thanks Nicole for these two awesome photos!!)

Loving Tummy Time

Izzy loves Ty

Loving Bath Time

She's quickly earning the nickname "Smiley"

Our Littlest Elf

Chatting Away

Merry Christmas!

Whew!  We survived the whirlwind of five Christmas get-togethers, and we're all in one piece:)  It was a really fun five days, but a touch on the tiring side!  Hang on, because this might be the longest blog post I've ever written...

And it all began with a traumatic visit to see the Big Guy in Red... aka "Senta" as Cooper would say.  We tried to visit him Thursday night, and naturally, the line was 1 1/2 hours long.  So we decided to try again the next morning.  Thankfully, Jackie agreed to come on the adventure since Jeremy was working, AND the line was really short.  Cooper was all excited and was talking a big game... reminding me that Santa says, "He, ho..."  even getting giddy when we reminded him it was almost his turn... and then here's what happened when I set him on Santa's lap:

I think it's safe to say Cooper was a little scared.  Izzy, on the other hand, thought nothing of it :)  The 'elf' taking photos even whispered to her elf helper, "Wow, that's a loud one!"  She was trying to get Cooper's attention to get a smile (I don't know what she was thinking), all the while Cooper was wriggling away from Santa, trying with all his might to bolt.  It does make me sort of happy knowing if a stranger would try to snatch Cooper away, every person in the five-state area would hear his shrieking.

The festivities began on Friday night at Mom and Kevin's.  And in true Auntie and Grandma fashion, Cooper and Izzy were spoiled to pieces.

This is Cooper's stack, pre-demolition.

A Napa Truck!

Cooper totally 'got' the concept of opening presents this year, but he got fixated on each new gift he opened, which made for a very time-consuming process.  We think all the gifts and excited family were maybe a little sensory-overload, because he had to take a couple of breaks to cheer up.

Gotta get EVERY piece of paper off the box!

Checking out the weight restrictions on the new table

If we thought the fun was over after presents, we were wrong.  Cooper graced us with some new dance moves for the holidays.

Holiday party #2 took place at Dad and Chris's house.  Again, the kids were spoiled beyond belief.  But this time, Cooper was ready!

Chillin with his Aunties

Dana and Izzy

Dan helping Cooper with another cool truck

Checking out the new stools

Amanda and Izzy

Chris had a fun twist on the night for the adults, too.  We played all sorts of different games and the winners got to pick out some random, yet cool, prizes.  Jeremy chose a verrrrry tall bottle of wine (thanks, hun!) and I chose a set of cooling racks (for all the baking I do these days! Hahah).  It was a thoughtful and fun way to celebrate and put our competitive spirits to work!

Holiday party #3 was at Great Grandma Betty's on Sunday.  I am thrilled that while we were passing some time after church at the Kalal's, we got a great family Christmas photo.  We had been trying each day, (and even every day after) and this is the best one :)

Our new family of four-Christmas 2012

Mommy and Izzy

Mr. Funny Man at the dinner table

This gathering consisted mostly of eating and visiting.  Just one present from Great-Grandma, and that was JUST fine.  Cooper had a blast playing with his second cousins.  There are EIGHT second cousins all within 3 1/2 years of each other.  Needless to say, the holiday gatherings have taken on a new 'feel.'

That night, Amanda and Dan stayed at our house, and we built a Gingerbread house with Coop.  He was doing pretty good with putting candy ON the house...

And then his self-control flew out the window.

Holiday party #4 was Christmas Eve at Papa and Googoo's house (Grandpa Gary and Grandma Lori's).  We got to take the presents in stages for this one, since we headed to church after supper.  If there was any thought the gifts would all be opened before dinner, that was quickly proved wrong. 

The notorious bowling set.

The bowling set was notorious only because it caused quite a few tears.  Cooper loved it so much, he didn't want anything to do with any of his other million presents.

A cool new shovel!

 But finally, we got him to agree to a few more.

Our little Cowboy

Inspecting his cool new horse

In true Izzy fashion, she slept through most of the gift-opening.

Before church, we tried for another family photo.  This is my personal favorite.  It's a realistic picture of our life right now ;)

Merry Christmas, take 1

Merry Christmas, take 2... that's a little better

 When we got back from church, more presents.  This time, it was a little faster.

Taking his tractor for a ride in his new sled

And Merry 1st Christmas to our Sweet Little Izzy.  You have filled our lives with more joy and our hearts with more love than we thought they could hold.

The cutest gift under the tree!

Mommy's Girl

Izzy's First Christmas 2012

 Christmas morning, we went to church together, and had the whole morning just to ourselves.  Cooper discovered that Santa came...

He was very concerned about the half-eaten cookies

But he was excited about this odd-shaped gift

Daddy and Izzy, Christmas morning

Izzy checking out one of her new toys

Cooper reading a new book

Enjoying all the gifts... including Izzy's!

Christmas afternoon, we headed to Jeremy's great aunt and uncle's house, where Cooper reminded us why we call him the human tornado.  He was BUSY and went from one thing to the next, keeping us on our toes in a new place for him to explore.

What a crazy-busy, but WONDERFUL weekend.  This Christmas was so much fun--we loved watching Cooper's excitement and goofiness and we cherished our snuggles with Izzy on her very first Christmas.  The presents are great, but what I loved most of all was spending time with family, especially our own family of four.  I am reminded of what an amazing blessing it is to have a happy and healthy family.  What more could a person ask for!?

The Latest Happenings

Cheese!

It just seemed too perfect not to start this post out with this cheesy smile from Cooper.  He's finally started saying, "Cheese" for photos, and this afternoon a couple weeks ago was a particularly goofy afternoon.  You can just barely see his turkey feather headband from daycare.  It's been floating around our house just WAITING for Cooper to put it on and pose for a photo :)

It has been way too long since I last updated.  Hard to believe I'm home during the day and I still can't find ten minutes to update more often.  But I've been doing lots of snuggling and lots of playing with my babies, so I guess I don't feel too guilty...

Little Miss Izzy is ALL smiles.  This girl loves to show off her shiny little gums and her cute little dimples.  This particular morning, I took snapshots here and there during her smile-and-chatting session that lasted nearly fifteen minutes.  Pure love!

And, she LOVES to talk to us!!! It's the CUTEST thing!  At three weeks, Izzy was cooing, and at only five weeks old, Izzy started having 'conversations' with us!  She loves to squeal, sigh, and just plain chatter in her sweet little baby voice.  Here's a little clip from December 4.  Izzy's 5 1/2 weeks old.  She's in her favorite talking spot: on the changing table.

Here's some of the fun from December at the Kalal's:

Rearranging the pots and pans... again.

A catcher-in-training.  He's got a little growing to do.

Our first snow... just a dusting, but boy--did this little guy enjoy discovering what this white stuff is all about.

And then the REAL snow came!!!

Mom and Dad both got a turn playing outside with Coop.  Being pulled in the sled was his favorite!

Finally, after waiting and waiting, Cooper got to experience some real snow!  Last year, since Mother Nature decided to skip over winter, he really never got to play in the any substantial snow.  So we took full advantage of the first, heavy, sticky snow.  Cooper got pulled in the sled, built a snowman, and crawled around in snow piles.  His little hands HAD to be freezing, but he still threw a fit when it was time to head inside.

Milk Drunk

Getting stronger every day!  Dec. 19, 2012

And although I'm by no means 'counting' this as Izzy's first roll, today as Izzy was perched just like this, I headed to the kitchen to grab the camera.  I turned around for maybe three seconds, and when I turned back around--she was on her back!  Of course, I tried to get her to repeat this magic act, but to no avail.  You know what we'll be practicing tomorrow ;)

More smiles!  I just love to kiss these chubby little cheeks all day long!!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!  Doesn't she look like a little elf!?

And, like all the other parents in this world, I hugged my babies a little longer and a little tighter this past weekend after hearing the heartbreaking and unfathomable news from Newtown, Connecticut.  My heart aches for those families who lost a child to this unspeakable tragedy.  Although we will never understand how or why someone could do that, we need to raise our prayers for hope and peace to be returned to our country.  It makes me sad that our children need to worry and wonder if something like that could ever happen to them.  It isn't right.

Saturday, an amazing man was laid to rest... Jeremy's good friend Matt Shetka passed away last week.  It was a really tough week for Jeremy and will continue to be a tough school year.  Matt was one of the guys Jeremy always spoke so highly of.  They loved golfing together in the summer, and after working on the same team for five years, they spent many a prep time at school talking about God-knows-what.  I know Jeremy looked up to Matt and will always fondly remember the great man, amazing example, and stellar teacher Matt was.

Christmas is nearly here, and the whirlwind is about to begin... over the next six days, we have six events or parties to attend.  I can't decide if it's going to be better to have them spread out, or really stink to pack up six times... to be continued.