2 Months

This post is a little late, considering Noelle will be 3 months in 8 days, but I wanted to write it anyways to keep a record for myself.

This month Noelle started smiling a lot. She is such a happy girl most of the time. She'll smile for about anybody and often times wakes up happy already. I love coming in to her big gummy smile waiting for me to come get her.

Can I just say that we love our doctor. We see Dr. Riggs at the Covenant Clinic. He is the father/father-in-law of our very dear friends Ryan & Mallory and we feel so blessed to have a doctor who we know holds the same values and beliefs as we do. We can trust his opinion and advice, knowing that he has a solid faith in Christ and truly wants the best for our kids. He is also SO encouraging. I look forward to going myself just because he is so affirming to us as parents. We couldn't be happier!

So, onto Noelle's two month stats:
Weight: 10 lbs 13 oz. 50th%ile
Length: 22 1/2 in. 50th%ile
Head: 15 in. 25th%ile

She is doing so well! The weight gain is always a relief for a breastfeeding mother to hear. It gives me a peace knowing she's getting enough. She was so happy the whole time and so smiley....I laid her on the table before her shots and she was just cooing and smiling...then the shots came and she cried so hard. Oh it makes me tear up every time. It never lasts long and she calms down as soon as I pick her up but it sure does tug at my heart strings!

Oh our sweet Noelle, you have forever changed our family. We were living life pretty well as a family of three and never knew anything was missing until you came along. You have filled a place in my heart I didn't even know was there. We love you so much. We could never imagine life without you now. You are such a great girl! So happy and cuddly. I love to snuggle with you while you are awake or asleep.
You sleep so great for us. Last night you went from 8:30-7:30 between feedings. It was wonderful and you woke up just as bright-eyed as ever! You've been eating between 3 and 4 hours during the day now. You are a pretty good napper....sometimes you'll sleep solid for over 2 hours and sometimes you wake up after 45 minutes. But mommy or daddy can usually get you back to sleep either by giving you your binky or rocking you. I love how you cuddle right up in my arms and zonk out. It's a peaceful time and I just pray for you, Denver, and our family. You're such a gift to us. We love you so much and can't wait to know you more and watch your little personality unfold.

Now for a picture of our little doll. I already posted the two cutest ones lately, but this one is pretty sweet, too. Can you guess who put all her toys onto her so she could play?

I forgot about this first: she started batting at her toys while in her bouncy seat! I was so excited when she first did it and now it keeps her busy for quite awhile!

Cutie Pie

 It's so fun to dress a girl!!!!

Two of my favorite things....

Feeling blessed today to have two of the sweetest kids around!

And feeling blessed by this nice weather!!!!! Wooohoooo!!!!!

Two Months!

Noelle is two-months-old today! We love you sweet pea!

Winter...

Well I can honestly say I am so ready to bid this Winter so long! With a newborn we've found ourselves spending the majority of our days inside.....with a 2 1/2 year old the days are starting to get LONG! We've found many new things to occupy our time - sinks full of water to play in (a wet floor to clean up after!), bowling tournaments in the basement, fort-building, coloring, lots of book reading, and anything else we can think of! We've gone out to play in the snow quite a bit - Denver loves going out with Steve while he's shoveling. I bundled him up and took him to the park awhile back on a nicer day to play on the equipment. It was really fun!

One of my favorite things about these last few weeks is watching Steve with the kids. He is an amazing father and we are so blessed he can pop in throughout the day and spend time with us. Honestly, anytime Noelle hears Steve's voice she smiles sooo big. She already adores him! He has his special way he holds her and it just lulls her right to sleep. She just stares up at him when he holds her. It's the best! He is also so good at playing with Denver - the wrestling, rough-and-tumble boy play that Denver needs and I'm not so good at! They find all sorts of things to do and Denver loves it!

Another favorite thing for me is to see Denver's heart towards Noelle. Never once have I seen him get jealous of her when I hold or feed her. And when she's around he's always in her face kissing her, holding her hand, covering her up with his blanket. It's precious. He says her name so cute. I feel so fortunate that he loves having her around. He has started calling himself Brother Denver. More and more I am seeing the truly special boy God has created him to be. He is "all boy" and loves to roughhouse...but at the same time he is so gentle and tender. I think he is so wonderful.

Noelle will be two-months-old on Saturday! I can't believe it! She is doing so well! We had a rough first month - I was all over the place emotionally and she was so fussy. I truly think it was because I was so out of wack that she was having a hard time finding security/settling. This last month has been so much better and we are seeing that she is such a happy girl and not so fussy at all! (Of course she does have her moments, though!) She smiles all the time and has started cooing. Once when I was holding her while she was sleeping she giggled twice in her sleep! It was so cute!

Well there's a little update from us. Looking forward to warmer days! After we head to Noelle's 2-month checkup next Tuesday I'll write a post on what she's up to these days and her stats. I also want to post a pic of Denver when he was little beside one of Noelle right now - they really look so much alike!
Now for a few pictures. Enjoy!

Sweet Girl

Just wanted to share a picture of Noelle from this week. Life has been so crazy and this girl has definitely rocked my world. I always heard that going from one to two children is the hardest and well......it has definitely proven to be a challenge for me. We are finding our way a little more each day and loving getting to know our little girl more and more. Denver is still so loving towards her and rarely gets frustrated by me holding or feeding her. I'm very thankful for that. He's also become very familiar with pbs kids shows...:)

Some info on Noelle:

She will be 7-weeks-old on Sunday.

She has taken over Steve & my room and we now have our bed in the basement.

She sleeps amazing at night. I feed her around 8:40 and she's usually asleep by 9 or shortly after, then she only wakes up to eat around 4 or 4:30 and sleeps til 8 or 8:30 and we start the day again.

She eats every 3 hours during the day.

Naps are leaving a little to be desired - but with time I know they will be longer.

She LOVES to be held or close to Steve or I.

She loves to lay on her tummy on my boppy and hold her head up. She's a strong little girl!

She smiles a lot now - especially when she's getting her diaper changed and I talk to her.

Lastly.....Spring please come soon because we are definitely feeling cooped up in the house and we all need some fresh air and to run around outside!!!!!

Introducing...

Noelle Dawn Nelson

Born December 12, 2010 at 2:10 pm

Weight: 6 pounds 8 ounces

Length: 19 1/2 inches

The best Christmas gift God's ever given us!

Denver is in love and his tenderness with her blesses me.