Isla's 3 month post

Bad news.... Isla is still getting older:( I guess it's okay because it's fun to watch her learn new things and I have to admit that I very much look forward to the day when I can take her out and do fun activities that she will appreciate! (but not too fast).

This last month has been full of firsts and it it is so fun to watch her as she continues to progress. 

• She has discovered her feet and loves to kick things! 
• She talks SO SO much. (and by talks I mean makes really cute and funny sounds that sound like talking) Most of the time when she wakes up I can just hear her in her crib talking away telling her mobile stories and kicking it:) 
• She loves to roll over to her side and often falls asleep this way now. I am convinced she would have rolled over to her tummy by now but since she HATES being on her tummy she is avoiding it I think...
• Because of the rolling over we can no longer swaddle her with her swaddleme that I LOVED! She slept so fantastic in that thing (that looked like a strait jacket) and last night was her first night not sleeping with it. Sadly she woke 3 times in the night because of it whereas she has been sleeping through the night great for over a month now. Hopefully this does not happen again tonight because I was one tired mama today!!!
• She discovered Weston! She likes to look at him and thinks he's pretty neat:) Weston does not reciprocate the interest. He just ignores her which I kind of like.
• I am starting to think her hair has a reddish hue to it, much like her cousin on the Murray side Avely. I don't know for sure yet because it seems to be changing colors everyday but that's what I've been thinking lately. 
• She can definitely grab onto things now and holds on to them for a long period of time. She likes to hold pretty much anything including her burp cloths. 
• She likes to eat things... Toys, hands, clothes, pretty much anything she can lift to her mouth.
• She likes to sit up! Assisted of coarse, but she has been enjoying her bumbo lately and we like that because it gets the pressure of her poor little head.
• She loves trying to fit both of her hands in her mouth at the same time.
• She thinks fans are the most interesting objects.
• She LOVES water. Bath time, swimming and listening to it run from the bath tub or faucet. 
• She won't let me cradle her in my arms anymore unless she is pretty tired. That is one thing I already miss so much. She's not my little newborn anymore:(

Picture time! Favorites from the last few weeks...

This is her adorable pouty face... I can't help it that I think it so dang cute!

This is a video of Isla talking a little bit.

This is how she falls asleep now... I always put her on her back to start out with:)

Just hanging out in the bumbo

Helping mom with the laundry. You have to teach them young these days!!!

Isla hanging out with her friend Audree. You can tell Isla is really tall, Audree is only a week and a half younger than her.

Grandma & Isla!

Oh ya

Tired from her first swim

Get those hands in my mouth!!!

Look how tall she is!!! I swear she does not look like a 3 month old in this picture

On a last (random) note. We had the pleasure of dog sitting this little guy this last week and Weston LOVED it! They played hard and we will be sad to see Winston (yes they have similar names) go home tomorrow:( He kind of looks like my parents dog Gracie if you ask me...

Isla's Blessing

On Sunday May 6th Isla was given a name and a blessing by her father:) I can't even begin to say what a special moment that was for our family and I am so proud of Steve. He gave Isla a beautiful blessing!

My mom was able to come for the weekend and even though I had just barely seen her a few days earlier it was such a comfort and blessing to have her there with us! We had people over after the blessing for some little treats and my mom helped me out so much preparing for that.

Steve had me write down some things that stood out to me in the blessing that he gave Isla so that we could always remember what was said. I jotted down a few things quickly right after the blessing because I would like Isla to know one day what was said. Some things that stood out to me in her blessing are:

• That she will be faithful
• That she will be empathetic (love this one)
• Have charity
• Keep her covenants sacred
• She will be healthy and live long
• She is loved by her parents and family very, VERY much
• She will love to give service
• She will have a willing heart to watch out for her fellow men
• She will go to the temple

I always want to remember that Steve got very emotional during the blessing and cried! I have only seen him cry a few times and it was such a tender moment. I also cried but I'm the mom so that is to be expected right?!? Isla really was a perfect angel the whole time she was receiving her blessing. She was asleep for the whole thing and woke up just in time at the end for Steve to hold her up and have her look at all the people.

During testimony meeting I was able to get up and bare my testimony and what a wonderful opportunity that is for us in our church. We are truly blessed:)

Even though this is the first picture here, it was actually one of the last ones taken and Isla was getting a little sick of the heat... Ignore her sad face and take a look at my cute mom!!!

I love these two:)

What a great day!

My mom loved sitting outside and soaking up the Arizona sun, Weston loved hanging out with her:)

This is where my mom could be found most of the weekend:) Glad she got to enjoy herself and relax!

3 Weeks in Utah!

Well Isla & I Just got back from our vacation & I would like to say it was a success! Isla was a great little traveler, she pretty much just slept in the car on the way to wherever we were going. I think that part might get harder as time goes on and she realizes how trapped she is in that little car seat!

The first part of our trip was to Zions National Park where Steve's parents have a cabin. When we left Arizona in was starting to get really warm and when we woke up on our first morning in Zions we saw this... 

I was very surprised! Our plan was to take Isla on her first official hike but when I saw the snow I knew that wasn't going to happen! That is until I went in and talked with Steve's family:) They told me that they were still planning on going!!! I have to admit, I thought that was crazy at first but they assured me that down in the canyon itself there would be no snow and it would be warmer. So we went! When we got down to the park entrance I could see that they were right. Steve snapped a bunch of pictures while we drove to the place that we would catch the bus to our hike.

Isla's first hike! You can't tell but she is in that carrier that Steve is wearing:) We dressed her as warm as possible and she pretty much just slept the whole time. In my opinion it could have been a little bit warmer.... I was not prepared for snow and cold but it worked out in the end and I'm glad we did the hike because how can you go to Zion's and not ENJOY Zions!!!

Isla in her cute hat we got her just for the hike. 

One of the days Steve and his brother Scott went mountain biking & golfing in the same day! When they got back to the cabin they were exhausted so they just sat their babies next to them and chilled like this for what had to be at least an hour. This was a cute picture of them just hanging out.

We sat Miles (Isla's cousin) & Isla next to each other and took a bunch of pictures. This is one of my favorites... I love how Miles looks like he is trying to eat his shirt and is sharing it with Isla:) Must have been a good tasting shirt for both of them to want some of it!

The Zions trip was so nice and relaxing! I was worried about how Isla would do, but she was fantastic! At the end of that trip I hitched a ride to Salt Lake City with my brother in law's family and Steve went back to Mesa for work:(

One of the reasons for coming to Utah was for my friend Jessica's wedding in which I was a bridesmaid. Below is me and my friend Shannon. Jessica, Shannon & I have been friends since about elementary school and have always kept in touch over the years so I was excited to be asked to be a bridesmaid and re-unite the 3 of us together for a weekend!

Jessica and her new husband Miles coming out of the temple.

Isla & I at Jessica's wedding reception

More friends!!! I love coming to Utah and getting to see Ashley and Brittney. This time is was even more fun because Shannon came too! We had a little Sunday brunch at my parents house and Isla got to hang out with her new friend Audrey:)

During our Utah adventure we did a lot of fun things. One of the highlights was taking Isla swimming for the first time! She loved to kick her feet in the water. She is getting to be sooooo much fun!

My cousin Lexi surprised us all by coming to visit from Chicago. I love that I got to see her and her daughter Macie and I'm so glad they came swimming with us!

My sister Alli, Justin & Haddy... I love these guys:)

Isla's first dip in the pool. I wondered how she would re-act to the water since it was not as warm as her normal bath water. She loved it for about a half of an hour and then I could tell she was starting to get a little cold. I took her out and she must have been exhausted from all the kicking and splashing because she was dead asleep the rest of our time at the pool...

Cousins:) My mom got Haddy and Isla matching dresses so we could take some pictures of them together. We tried very hard to get some cute shots but it's toughing taking pictures with their age groups. I think we at least got a couple of good ones of them together.

I cut my hair!

My precious baby

On my last day we had a pot-luck thing at my parents house to celebrate my sisters birthday and My brother-in-laws graduation. Pretty much all of my extended family came and it was so much fun to see everybody! 

This was such a wonderful vacation! It is always nice to see family and whenever we stay at my parents house we truly get spoiled!