Busy, Busy Week

It has been a busy week at our house. On Saturday, Brandon had to work, so Liza and I went to the Clay Co. Fair in Spencer, IA to watch Grandpa Scott and Uncle Caleb show horses in the last show of the season. We rode down to Iowa with Mom and Dan so I didn't have to make the trek alone. It was about 45 degrees and pouring rain all day so Liza rode around in the stroller under lots of layers of blankets! She was so good though!
On Monday Liza and I met Grandma Ann and Brandon's aunts Chris and Patti for lunch at Applebees. It was good to get out of the house for a while!  
Yesterday Melissa, the Public Health Nurse came to weigh Liza. She now weighs 9 lbs. 15 oz! She's gaining an ounce per day which I'm told is super! She's starting to get a couple of chins and cute jelly roles on her arms and legs!
Today I had my 6 week check up and the clinic (Yes, my baby is already 6 weeks old - time flies too fast!). After that we ran lots and lots of errands. Liza was so good. She sat in her car seat and smiled all day. She was awake from 9:30-1:30, which is the longest stretch she's ever been awake during the day, and now she's snoozing away the rest of the afternoon. 
On Sunday my grandparents are having a potluck picnic at  their house which I am really looking forward to. I still have to figure out what to make to bring - any suggestions?! 
I finally got study materials for my LGSW exam.  Back to hitting the books!

In the meantime...enjoy these pics of my beautiful little girl!

Lots and Lots of Smiles!

Mom Turns 50!

This was a busy birthday week in our family! On Saturday the 11th, Liza turned 1 month old! It was also my mother in law's birthday that day. She and Scott came over for a while that night and visited Liza. My mom turned 50 on Tuesday!! Liza and I went out to supper with her to celebrate! Liza got both of her Grandmas the Willow Tree "Grandma" angel. They both loved them! 

Liza and Grandma on her 50th Birthday

Today great-aunt Melissa and Mike came to meet Liza. Grandma Ann also stopped by to see Liza before her and Grandpa Scott go to Iowa for the weekend for the last horse show of the season. If Brandon doesn't work on Saturday, we may venture down for it too!

BIG SMILES!!

Liza is growing leaps and bounds every day! She has now started to focus her attention on objects and follow them with her eyes. Daddy and Mommy have also started to see real smiles! We love those big toothless grins! She also is starting to talk to us. We love hearing what she has to say! We didn't get a weight this week but we can tell when we hold her she's getting bigger! I also want to know how much  she's grown in length. She is so long!! 

Liza discovered the animals above her swing!

I have about a month before I need to go back to work yet, but I am already really struggling about going back to work and leaving Liza at day care all day. I can't even bear the thought of dropping her off at day care. I have already shed many tears about this. Today I researched about how to start an in-home daycare. I never thought that that would ever be something I'd be interested in but the more I think about it, the more appealing it becomes. I don't think I will ever be able to do it, but a girl can dream, right? 
Any working moms out there reading this....how bad is it having to leave your kids at daycare? Does it ever get any easier? 

RaTtLe

Brandon didn't have to work today because of the rain so he got to spend the day and home with Liza and me! He spent most of the day on the floor playing with his baby girl which was so adorable I couldn't stop watching them! Daddy got Liza to do a new trick - hold and shake her rattle all by herself! She couldn't get enough of it and shook that rattle all day! Now we are just hanging out and watching the Vikings. It was a fun day at home as a family of 3!

Labor Day Weekend

Brandon, Liza and I had a nice, relaxing Labor Day weekend. Friday night we went over to some friends house to hang out. We brought Little Liza with us and there was another baby there that was born the same day as Liza. It was fun to find a playmate for her - too bad that baby lives in Iowa! 
Saturday Brandon landscaped the yard all day and we took a family trip to Mankato to go to Lowe's to get some more shrubs and plants for the yard. 
Sunday we got up and actually made it to 8:00 church. That is quite the accomplishment these days! Grandma Ann came over Sunday to play with Liza while mom and dad cleaned up the house because our friends, Matt and Heather came over the see the house and to meet baby Liza, of course! It was great to see them again and we had a great time! 
Grandma Barb came over today and watched Liza for the day so Brandon and I could get out and spend some time with just the 2 of us together. We went to Lambrechts so I could use my gift card from Ann for my birthday. We got some cool stuff for the kitchen and Grandma Barb's birthday present from Liza! We also did some Christmas shopping! Last year for Christmas Brandon and I and my brother and his wife did an ornament exchange. We found perfect ornaments for both of them at Lambrechts so we bought them! Then we went to Mankato, went out to eat and bought some things to put on the walls in the house so it actually looks like some one lives here. When we were in the mall, we walked past Motherhood Maternity and there was a cute pregnant lady in there trying on clothes and it really made me miss being pregnant! I might be ready for another little one sooner than I thought! Tonight I'm finishing up my thank you cards for all the baby gifts and doing birth announcements. Brandon and Liza Bear are studying.

Brandon and Liza studying

Liza's been up about every 2 hours over night the past couple of nights, so hopefully she lets me sleep a little tonight! That's it for now!

Turning 25

Today I turned 25! I spent the day at home with my precious little girl just hanging out. She gave me a great birthday present at about 7:30 this morning when she decided to have an explosive diaper that covered her, me and all her blankets! It took me about 45 minutes to clean up while she wailed her little lungs out because she was hungry. I couldn't feed her until I got all the poop off of us though! She was pretty good after that - even let me get a little bit of a nap in. When Brandon got home from work, he gave me a beautiful birthstone ring! I LOVE IT! I haven't been able to wear my wedding rings since I was about 20 weeks pregnant because my fingers got so fat and they still don't fit, so I'm glad to finally be able to wear a ring again. We went out for supper at the Lamplighter to celebrate. Now we are just hanging out as a family watching the news. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, beautiful daughter and amazing family and friends. I love you all!




                                             My present from Brandon

My Beautiful Baby Girl

7 lbs 9 oz!

We had Miss Liza's 2 week well-baby check up today. She weighed in at a big 7 lbs 9 oz! The doctor was very impressed with her weight gain and gave her a big A+ for health which made mommy and daddy very happy! We still need to wake her every 4 hours over night to eat if she doesn't wake on her own for the next 2 weeks and then after that we can let her sleep as long through the night as she wants. After her appointment we met daddy at the mall for some lunch and then mommy, Liza and grandma Barb ran a few errands. When we got home, Grandma Ann stopped over and visited Liza for a while. Daddy got home from class tonight about 9:00 and he's spending some quality time with Liza. I love seeing Liza and daddy play together. Daddy loves his girls and we love him!

Baptism

We had a very busy weekend! We had Miss Liza's baptism this morning. She did so good! Not a peep out of her the whole service, not even when she got the water on her head - just made a couple funny faces and then was back to peacefully sleeping away. Uncle Bryant and Aunt Abigail and Aunt Abbey were Liza's sponsors. We had both Brandon and my families and grandparents over to our house for brunch following the church service. I was able to catch a nap in the afternoon while Brandon hung out with Liza and then we went to our neighborhood block party to meet all the neighbors. We didn't stay long with it being 91 degrees outside! Tonight our friends Richard and Jenny, Justin and Ashley, Jeremy and Amber and Mark came over to meet Liza. She's got so many people who love her!
Aunt Abi did a photo shoot with Liza this weekend and is working on our baby announcements. They look so great! Saturday night we went with my mom, Bry and Abi to Quality 1 Hr Foto and got family pictures taken. We got some GREAT ones of our new family of 3. I am unable to post them because of copyrights but may try to attach the link to view them online. 
Mom and Liza don't have much planned for this week. Liza has her 2 week (I can't believe it!) well-baby check up on Wednesday and I have a dentist appointment that same day. Brandon starts school again tomorrow and will continue to work when he can. Hopefully he'll have a little it more time with Liza and me and home now that school is starting. We kinda miss him a lot when he's gone! 
Here's some of the pictures from Aunt Abi's photo shoot...


My first bath in the tub

                                                                     Our Family