SO head over heals!

My girl melts my heart!!! :D She has been making faces the last couple weeks that LOOK like smiles, but I just wasnt sure. Last night, she gave Craig and I a HUGE smile, and I got a little teary eyed. who knew a simple smile could just melt your heart like that! Craig and I were playing with her, and she kept smiling at us. I loved it. Then, we kept trying to get her to do it, and i think we just frustrated her. it was funny. Then, this morning when she woke me up, she started sounding like she was trying to giggle. So fun.

So, some other Annabelle updates...this little girl is growing! I am so proud of her. I understand that the fact that she has Downs, her growing is going to take a little more patience. But, I am still so so proud of what she IS doing! We went to the doctor for her 2 month check up on Wednesday this week. Her weight and height was on the lower end of the typical developing growth chart. BUT, her doctor said that in the Down Syndrome chart, she was JUST where she needed to be! I calculated that since she was last weighed, she has been gainging almost an ounce a day, so to me, that is awesome! She has grown a little over 2 inches. I am a proud mamma!

She also has been doing so well trying to hold her heavy head up. if I hold her straight up and down, she does pretty good. a little wobbly, but she is trying! We do a lot of tummy time, and she has also been working on lifting herself up a little. she doesnt like it at all, but she trys! thats all i ask! :)

Sleep department: AWESOME for momma! I am so thankful for this little sleeper! There was a night last week sometime that she slept almost 10 hours. I felt kinda bad, thinking she might be hungry, so I didnt let her sleep any longer than that. But, she has been averaging between 7to8 hours. I got a little worried that it was too long for her to go without eating, but her doctor said it should be alright. yay! Last night , she did wake up hungry in the middle of the night, so maybe this wonderful sleeping streak is ending. I dont want to get my hopes up that it will happen every night, but when it does, i will be SO thankful!!! :)

We are also working on getting ahold of someone with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). I hear that they will come to our house and evaluate her and work with us, letting us as parents know more about what we can do to help her thrive! I will do anything for this girl. :) I will update more about that when we move forward with it.

My sister now has summer since she is a teacher, so she has been with us all week! Annabelle really has the best aunt. i am really thankful for Lisa and the love she has for my daughter. we have been really blessed with aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends who are loving on our little girl! thank you, family!!!! I dont take your love for granted.

I am sorry i dont have pics to post right now. Head to my facebook, if you need to see pics. I post some all the time!

So sorry for my blogging neglect! I would say life has been super duper busy, but really, it hasnt been too bad. I am enjoying life every single day with my sweetie. We spend most days at home hanging out with each other. She is so alert and her naps are not as long during the day as they were. I am loving that. although, i dont get things done around here like i hope to. i managed to get 3 loads of laundry done the other day, and had all 3 clean loads sitting in baskets most of the day. I was not able to get to them because of spending as much time as i could with this little girl while she was awake.

she seems to be trying to smile at us sometimes. maybe gas? but it looks like she wants to smile. and it also seems like she really wants to talk to us. she makes such cute little noises.

she had her first trip to chuck-e-cheese last weekend. somehow, through all that chaos, she slept so peacefully! we went for my cousin's 6th bday! i will be SO OK with it if chuck-e-cheese is NOT annabelle's favorite place in the world. in fact, i am so ok with it if she really dislikes it. that place is nuts.

she also finally met my wonderful aunt pat, and my cousin pam and her 16 month old son. so, i guess we did have a pretty busy weekend last weekend. so fun though. do you have someone in your life that just seems to make your life richer? my aunt pat is that person. she always has been, but especially is now that i am a mommy. she enriches my life so much! she is such an amazing woman! i hope she knows how much i love and appreciate her! she is Annabelle's "Patty"!

Craig and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary yesterday! My parents came to babysit while we enjoyed time out! it was fantastic to go on a date with him. we talked about our crazy last 4 years and hope for at least 60 more of them!!!!!!!! :) ha. I love him! we are blessed and i am so thankful!

here are some pics...
me and annabelle wore matching bows to chuck-e-cheese. i figured that would be a good place to wear a childs hairbow!

and...craig and i going out for our date last night...

sweet sweet sleep.

just wanted to share some good news...
i decided over a week ago to stop waking Annabelle up for her feedings, and just let her sleep. cause, thats obviously what she wanted to do. I was encouraged by a few people to so this, even though it worried me that she would starve. They told me that baby WILL let you know when she is hungry! The first couple nights she slept about 4 hours. The past 2 nights, she has slept about 6 or 7!!! YAY! I try to go to bed as soon as she does so that I can enjoy that amount of sleep as well! it has been SO nice!!! I am so proud of her. I am pretty sure I have the BEST baby ever! I am loving my days with her. I know she is growing, even though still SO tiny. Some of her newborn clothes, which were so big on her, are starting to get snug. And her cheeks are filling out. which is just so cute.

Is it weird, or way TOO SOON that I want another one already? I would not be sad if I was pregnant again!

BUT, i want to soak up every single day I have with her. I want to enjoy every little moment. which I am. I love this little angel so much. In daddy's words, "she is our little buddy." She has the best daddy in the world by the way. He is head over heals. I love watching him with her. I am a blessed girl.

I should go shower because she is snoozin, and i might not get another good chance! ha!

Lets try this again

I tried uploading a video for your viewing pleasure last night, but it did not work. I am trying again. You maay not think my baby bouncing around is as cute as I think she is, but I'm posting it anyways. :) I love it when she gets so active. PS...she will be ONE MONTH old tomorrow! I cant believe it! I do feel like she is growing up. She is much more alert these days, and seems to be actually focussing her eyes on specific things. I love it when she opens up those big blue eyes and looks at us. She melts my heart. She gets so smothered in kisses every day! I cant get enough of her. I am also VERY VERY thankful for the way she has been sleeping. I decided not to wake her for her feedings anymore, and see how it goes. the last 3 nights, she has slept solid for 4 to 4.5 hours before waking me up. I feel like that is a lot for her, and it is a good rest for me! Thank You, Annabelle!!!! Lord, please let this continue!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

I am FINALLY sitting down this evening to send out birth announcements and Thank You cards!!!!!!!! I would like to tell all of you how incredibly overwhelmed I am with thankfulness for you. I have such a hard time actually telling people just HOW MUCH I appreciate them. Words, cards, gifts, just DONT do the job. I want to hug all of your necks. We have been blessed with encouragement. With LOVE. With Prayers! And with gifts for our sweet girl. I just want you to know that I could not hardly put in to words just really how much you have touched our hearts. Your love and support has brought us through the MOST EXCITING time of our life, and the hardest. You will never ever know what you mean to Craig and me, and to our little Annabelle. Seriously, you will never know. I hope someday that I have the opportunity to bless someone's life the way you have blessed mine.

THANK YOU!

PS...I will update Annabelle 'news' as soon as i get time. We just enjoyed a wonderful few days with my in-laws who just left to go home today. Life has been busy.

mornings with my girl

Trying to wake her up to eat is always funny to me. she makes silly noises and and stretches and stretches. i feel bad having to wake her up sometimes.

we went for our first walk today. lasted about 10 or 15 minutes because momma wore pants, when it is clearly shorts weather. and, depending on what direction we walked, the sun would hit her in the face, and i felt bad. we will figure this out soon. also, check out her crazy hair. i love it!

18 days old

Life of Annabelle at 18 days old...
-She finally lost her cord stump 2 days ago. No, i did not keep it, it looked like a giant scab.
-She has progressed in the nursing area SO MUCH! I am so proud of her. She does not fight me like she did before. She still LOVES that bottle though. (I do have to give her her vitamins in a bottle) So, we will allow her some bottles every now and then to make her extra happy!
- I THINK she is figuring out day and night. is that possible? She is much more alert these days, and does GREAT at sleeping during the night. O, Lord, Please let this continue.
- She melts in her daddy's arms.
- She is getting a whole lot better at tummy time, with her neck control and all. We are proud of her. She is feisty!
- She makes lots of noises. really cute noises. AND, she is learning that sassy whine, too. but, i still think that is cute too.
- She enjoys us singing to her.
- she discovered her little thumb to suck. she doesnt do it often, but its so cute.
- She was wide-eyed this morning as I folded her little hands to pray for our day.

GOSH, I LOVE HER! I want to enjoy every moment.