Check It Out - Our "Scrapblog"

FINALLY! Our 2009 scrapblog is completed and I have it in a shape that I would love for you to check it out (the 2010 scrapblog will be starting with Christmas). So here's the link and let me know what you think!!

http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbid=2118633

Love you guys!

It's Been Awhile . . . Mirabella is already 5 Months!

Boy, how time flies! I've been converting my blog over to a "scrapblog", which I will soon share the link with you! But in the meantime, so much has been happening in regards to Mirabella's growth! It's been so exciting! She is 5 Months and 2 weeks. Pretty much right on her 5 month birthday she cut her first tooth - the middle bottom - and the other middle tooth is coming in now too! This weekend she sat up on her own, which she loves. You can tell that she just wants to be able to move around to where she wants to go. Since about 4 months, she been loving her feet - grabbing them, staring at them, and pulling her socks off. She is babbling a ton and just lights up whenever someone new pays attention to her. Baby Bella started to eat some cereal around 5 months too! Some days she's really into it and some days she could care less. Like I said, it's been very eventful lately! Here's some pictures that aren't in any particular order . . .

Mirabella - 2 Months with Lamb

Here is Mirabella at 2 months old with the lamb!

Mirabella - 2 Month Birthday

My "little" baby Bella is now weighing in at 12 pounds 6 ounces and is 23.5 inches long.  She is growing so fast right before our eyes.  

We are very settled and feel comfortable with each other.  Brian and I have learned her different cues and cries.  She has about 3 different cries that she uses on a consistent basis - she has a talking type of cry that means that she wants more attention or to be held, she has a regular sounding cry that usually means that she is hungry or tired, and then she has her hurting cry when she isn't feeling great.  The last cry is so hard to hear because you know that she is hurting and it is so hard to console her.  It sometimes makes me cry because I feel so bad for her.  

A few other fun things that she is doing now is that she will look for something that she hears, including looking back.  She will often spit out her pacifier to suck on her thumb.  It cracks me up everytime I see her do it!  She used to fall asleep during our evening family walks, but now she stays awake for most of the walk to watch the world go by.  And she noticed Wallace about a week ago - it was the first time that she really saw one of the dogs.  Lastly, but not least, Bella loves her bedtime story with daddy - she listens intently, looks at the pictures, and watches the pages turn.  It is always a heart warming moment!

Today was also exciting (besides being her 2 month birthday) because we took Mirabella to have her portraits done.  We decided to go to Visage - Julie, the photographer, specializes in babies and children photography, and I think her work is amazing.  We have our appointment on the 20th to view the proofs and order our pictures.  I can't wait!

Meet Kinley Rose Ashton

David and Jen had their baby 2 days ago, July 24th!  They are now proud parents of a healthy baby girl, Kinley Rose Ashton.  She weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce, has strawberry blonde hair, and blue eyes (our little Bella seems so big now compared to Kinley).  We are so excited for Mirabella to have a cousin so close in age to her - I'm sure they are going to be great partners in crime!

Baby Smiles!

Around 5 weeks our baby, Mirabella, started to smile!  Almost every morning now she smiles big smiles at us!  I love it.  She is growing so fast that we can hardly believe it!  I have yet to get a good picture, so I'll try really hard this week to catch her in action and post it right away!  In the meantime, here are some new pictures:

Mirabella - 1 Month with Lamb

My first attempt to take Bella's picture with her lamb didn't go very well, as you can see, but I was able to get a few good ones!

Mirabella's 4th Week Birthday

Mirabella will be 1 month old this coming Wednesday!  What a difference from when she was first born - she is growing up so fast right before our eyes.  Our baby has become quite the snuggler, always wanting to be held!  Other notables:

• Mirabella will stare into our eyes now.  I love that she can watch Brian and me!  I was walking around the kitchen and she was trying to watch me move around the whole time.  Also, my mom got her a little stuffed giraffe in a purse and she loves to stare at it.
• We officially moved to the main room in the house.  The dogs are pretty used to having her around, but she has yet to really notice them.  That will be fun once she realizes she has 3 big, furry body guards.
• The little white dots on her nose (I think it's called milia) are starting to fade, but her baby acne is starting to kick in a little more.  Almost all of her skin is done peeling too except for a some patches on her forehead.
• Baby Bella loves to kick her legs now.
• Last, but not least, I discovered that she loves to be in her Baby Bjorn carrier.  I tried a more fashionable looking sling, but she literally screamed at the top of her lungs when I put her in it.  So I tried our Bjorn and it has become a real life savor.  We use it to go on walks and to go shopping since she is not a big fan of being stuck in her car seat. 

Mirabella's 3rd Week Birthday

Time is flying by!  Mirabella is growing so fast.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything, including updating our blog!  This week's notables:

• Mirabella did find her thumb, but she only sucked on it for a few seconds.
• Baby Bella had her first real bath.  She LOVES her bath time!  Often she is very fussy at night and taking a bath is usually very soothing to her.  I think Mirabella really likes the sound and warmth of the water.
• Our baby is not a big fan of putting on new outfits.  She really hates it when we have to pull something over her head and she lets us know by crying.