First Halloween!

Well Idella's first Halloween has come and gone. We didn't really dress her up like anything this year, but she did have the cute pumpkin hat on all day. She was the talk of the town when we went to work this morning, especially since she was making eyes and flirting with everyone.

This first big holiday came and went so fast! I can only imagine how Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be. Again I'm so glad we've decided to do this blog so we can look back and appreciate all the big and small moments.

In just one week...

It's crazy how much Idella has changed in just one week. She has become so talkative; she doesn't even want her pacifier anymore unless she is going to sleep. The rest of the time she is squeaking and squawking to whoever will listen. She even laughs out loud when she gets really excited. Her favorite thing is when I blow raspberries on her stomach and give her kisses on her cheeks, she starts to freak out and talk to me and then comes the belly laughing. I absolutely love it, makes me smile no matter what every time.... Another thing she has learned this week is where her hands are, and what her mouth is. Anything and everything goes into her mouth... for example: her ducky during bathtime. She had the ducky on her belly having a stare down for a few minutes. Then she suddenly grabbed it and mashed it into her mouth. That is where it remained until I took it away. She constantly has her hands in her mouth. She likes to suck on her fingers and then rub them all over me. I keep telling myself she doesn't know what she's doing, but she seems to really enjoy it. Another new development this week is learning to make her bouncy seat bounce on her own. Usually I tap my foot on it and it bounces; however, since Monday she has learned how to really get it going on her own. I have to make sure she is stapped into it at all times. She also has started bracing her feet on the bottom of the chair and pushing off so it looks like she is going to flip over the side.

Every year in November the girls in my family (18 and older) go on a Christmas shopping trip in Portland. It is really just an excuse to leave the guys and headaches at home and eat and shop for a weekend. This year Idella will be going along since she is under a year old, next year she will have to stay with daddy. We have been practicing shopping, eating at restaurants, and traveling to prep. She has been doing fantastic! She loves shopping since she is so nosy, there is just so much to look at. She usually stays up while we are out and then crashes afterward, like in this picture with her grampy... This was moments after grandpa stopped in this week on his way home from work, it only took seconds and she was out.

She has so many more changes to come, and they are going to come fast! I just ordered more pictures to scrapbook for her and can't wait to keep adding to it. We also just got her one month pictures that Chris Riley took for us, he did our wedding as well, and they came out fantastic. We are going to take her around Christmas time again since she'll be around six months old and most likely sitting on her own since she is so close to being able to do that right now. I don't know if I have enough wall space in the house for all the pictures I want to hang up, especially since there will be so many more to come!

When did this happen?

So yesterday as Idella was laying down for a 'nap' I thought she was being a great kid and actually sleeping.... Then over the sound of her lion mobile (that I thought had lulled her to sleep) all I can hear is her blowing raspberries. When I go in to investigate she has rolled over onto her stomach (first time this has happened on her own) and there is spit everywhere from her blowing raspberries (also a new thing). When I roll her back over she starts freaking out squawking and talking to me and then rolls herself back over. So much for thinking it was a fluke thing.

Lately she has also started reaching out when she sees me or her dad. It's worth going running every night (even as cold as it is lately) just so I can come home and see her get excited and start smiling at me. She also has started trying to pull herself up to sitting by grabbing her pant legs. One of her favorite things is grabbing our fingers and pulling herself up to sitting or standing. She gets the cutest proud look on her face; similar to this picture. This was the first time she was in her high chair at the office. We were testing it out, she loved it because she was sitting up so high and could be right next to me while I am doing cash-ups.


Since it's almost Halloween I can't help but post the picture of her with her pumpkin hat. Gram W. was holding her in the kitchen and she was peeking over her shoulder, this is one of my favorite pictures of her.

She is getting so big and changing so much everyday. She is going to be 4 months old this weekend. We go to the doctors for more vaccines and a check-up next week. I'm sure we'll start with cereal and/or other solids soon, what a fun mess that will be...

Ten Things

Idella came to work with me today, which she usually does, but today I noticed how big she is getting! She is growing so fast and is becoming more and more curious everyday. We walked around upstairs at the store and her head was on a swivel. We were busy business ladies today, working late in the afternoon and then coming home. I really needed to clean the house but traded that time instead for a mini-nap with her. It was just one of those days...

I can't wait for her to grow up to do so many things with her, but I also want her to stay my baby. So here is the list of my ten favorite things about her from today since I'm feeling kind of sentimental:

1. The way her hair is growing in on the top of her head and it seems to glow because it's so blonde
2. The way she smiles at me when she first wakes up from a nap
3. How much she likes her stuffed giraffe blanket and how excited she gets when he "kisses" her

Idella & Mr. Giraffe

4. How she squints when we walk around outside and hides her face in my shoulder
5. The look on her face when she pulls herself up and I hold her so she can "stand"
6. The way she has learned how to make her bouncy chair rock n' roll
7. How she wraps an arm around mine and holds on when I am holding her
8. The way she "talks" and coo's to her lion/zebra mobile
9. How she sticks out her little belly when she stretches
10. Her smile and everything about it, especially the drool

So those are my top ten from today, I'm sure there will be at least ten more new things tomorrow...