2 Months and Growing...

Belle is 2 months old today and I can hardly believe it! In some ways I feel like the time has flown by, yet in other ways I feel like she has always been here. I really barely remember what life was like before! It's insane!

Belle has hit a few milestones this past month. She started to smile at 4 weeks, she is packing on the pounds (she is out of all her newborn clothes!), and is sleeping in her crib and has had a couple all nighters (11pm to 5:30am)! She is growing and changing like crazy! She loves her playmat, and has begun to love her swing a lot more! I have even tried some Praise Baby with her, and she is warming up to that:-) Overall, I think she is used to life outside the womb and has realized that she likes it a lot.

We feel so blessed to have her and she is the joy of our lives.

Marc and Caden Came to Visit

Last weekend Marc and Caden came out to visit! Caden hadn't met Belle yet, so we were excited to introduce the two. Needless to say, I think Caden was WAY more excited about hanging out with his buddy "woof woof" (Mac). As you can tell from the pictures, they got along very well!

Belle loves her Uncle Marc

He LOVES Mac!

Caden definitely gave Belle lots of kisses, but I'm sure he will think she is cooler when she does more than sleeps, cries, and poops. Can you blame him? It was adorable to watch him interact with her. We hadn't seen Caden in awhile, so it was awesome to see him again and to hear how much more he is talking. He is a ball of energy and such a sweet boy.

Last weekend was also the first time I sang at our church, Cornerstone. I wanted to sing on their praise team but in between having a baby and getting acclimated to motherhood, it was a challenge to find time. Overall, it went well and I had so much fun. Paul and I are glad to be part of a church again and being able to use our gifts. It had been awhile, but we have definitely found a church home that we feel is right for us. I am even a part of their MOPS groups, which I love.

Belle Smiling and Cooing

This was my attempt to capture Belle smiling and cooing a bit.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

So, Paul and I were extremely excited to dress Belle up for Halloween. She was a monkey. The costume was still a bit big for her, but we thought she was still the cutest monkey we had ever seen. As usual, we went to Jill and Jason's to meet up with everyone. The guys took the kids trick or treating and the girls drank coffee at the house :-)

The week before Halloween Paul and I went to Liz and Mike's house for pumpkin carving. It was tons of fun and we were quite impressed with our pumpkins. Paul's is the Frankenstein head.

Hanging In There

Well, Cricket told me I need to update my blog more, so I thought I would write a new post to stay updated!

Nothing majorly new to write about, we are just plugging along in our new role as parents. We are learning a ton and trying to get some sleep at the same time. We are definitely waiting for all of those milestones that happen so early on. At this point we are eager for her to smile at us, and mean to smile at us. Right now, we find her smiling randomly, but not necessarily in response to anything...and definitely not when we talk or tickle her.

I am also ready for Belle to start packing on the weight! Haha! She seems so little to me still and I can't wait until she sports some chunky thighs and some rolls in her belly! At this point she still seems so fragile to me and I am ready for her to bulk up so she is a bit more resilient!

On a personal note, I visited with some of my old coworkers for the County Wide Food Drive today. It was so good to see them and reminded me how blessed I was to work in such an amazing agency with fabulous people. I am happy to be able to be home with Belle, but definitely miss the people I used to work with.

All in all, I love being a mom...even if I stress out about taking her to Meijer or how I am going to get myself together in the morning with a fussy baby. She is a blessing to us and is truly our greatest accomplishment.