An amazing Christmas!

We had such a wonderful time with our families this Christmas. It was so good to spend time with them. We were all completely spoiled - our car was bursting when we got back to Calgary and we even left stuff with both of our families!!! Helayna was such a joy - she is growing and changing so much! She is so much happier and loves to lay and kick and smile and talk. It is so awesome to watch!

She slept through most of the Christmas celebrations but I was okay with that! I know next year will be a very different story!
We thoroughly enjoyed watching Meadow though. She was so cute in her little Christmas dress. She got a sleigh for Christmas from my parents. I'm sure she will have lots of fun with it!
And Helayna celebrated a big birthday while we were away - 2 months old! She is growing like crazy. She's getting lots of rolls and folds and is just so adorable!

We unpacked all of our stuff tonight. I love unpacking - it's like Christmas all over again going through all our gifts. Wow, we were SPOILED rotten! I got a new set of dishes - white square ones - I've been eyeing them for years and am so happy to have them. I also got a new winter coat - a puffy black down one - totally wasn't expecting it but really, really wanted one. I also got a new tripod and reflector - can't wait to do another photo shoot. I also got some new clothes, pajamas, a rice cooker, scrapbooking stuff, an adorable pink water bottle, a movie, CD, and lots of other goodies!
Helayna was spoiled rotten too! She has some cute new clothes, shoes and toys. She also got some beautiful books, a jolly jumper and a Bumbo chair. She can sit up in it fairly well too!
We are happy to be back home again after being away for a week. It will be nice to sleep in our own bed again. Our little pumpkin got a cold while we were gone so she's fighting that - not feeling so great. I feel so bad for her - she's all stuffed up and congested. She's sleeping lots so hopefully she'll fight it off quickly. I just wish I could make it go away.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas! It's hard to believe it's almost 2007 already!

Merry Christmas!

May you find joy in the small miracles this Christmas!

We're off tomorrow to spend some time with our families for the holidays! I am really looking forward to Helayna's first Christmas. And I know we are both looking forward to some R & R at the grandparents' houses!

8 weeks

Today our little girl is 8 weeks old!
In the last week she's started doing this: which totally melts this mommy's heart! She's also started to find her voice. She's been cooing up a storm and it is the most adorable sound I have ever heard! Oh my gosh, it is just so sweet! She's been so much happier lately. It's been so nice. She's happy to just lay and kick and wave her arms.

We also enjoyed a visit from my sister, Melinda and her husband, Tyler.
They are living in Poland right now where Tyler is attending medical school so this was their first time meeting Helayna. It was awesome to see them with her and have them here. They cooked so many meals for us, cleaned our bathroom, helped us with Christmas shopping and did lots of holding! It was wonderful.

Now I'm busy wrapping presents while Daddy's giving Helayna a bath! It's hard to believe Christmas is almost here!

Our Weekend Photo Shoot

We attempted a photo shoot with Helayna this weekend.
We got a lot of this:
and this:
but there we also got this:
and this:
I think it was worth it but then again, that's not my arm up there! ;)

My first dress!

Mommy dressed me up in my very first dress for church the other night. I even wore my first pair of tights. Don't I look cute, even if I am a little annoyed?!?!

Look at how strong I am!

It amazes everyone how strong she is! She just loves to have her head back peering at the world! And most times she loves tummy time.
I can't believe how big she looks in this photo! 7 weeks now!

finally!

Well, I have a couple minutes to post. Of course the night after I posted about Helayna sleeping longer, she was up all night for the next 3 nights!!! And we've yet to see one of those 5-6 hour stretches again. Oh well, last night I got a 4 hour stretch of sleep and it was AWESOME!
She's also started smiling at us and it is SO awesome!!! Wow, that makes my day and all the sleepless nights so worth it!

Our week away was awesome! We spent some time with my parents.

We also hung out with my sister and her little girl!

Then we headed over to my in-laws.

And Helayna met some of her great-grandparents too.


We also had 2 showers and were thoroughly spoiled! It was such a good time! We hope to do it again in the new year.

Okay, she's crying, better run!

6 weeks old!

At 6 weeks old Helayna is:
• starting to sleep much longer at night - going 5-6 hours between her last feed before bed and her first night feed (which means mommy is getting 4 hour stretches of sleep!!! YAY!)
• very alert and aware - she spends hours staring at lights and faces - she especially loves to look at her mommy and daddy.
• colicky! FUN!!! Yah, right. She spends hours fussing and crying every evening, which can be very stressful.
• starting to develop her voice - making noises and grunts that are so adorable.
• likes to lay on the floor in the bathroom while mommy takes a shower, just listening to the sound of the water running.
• sleeping in her playpen every night.
• spoiled rotten by her grandparents!
• still loves to be held.
• growing like crazy - just look at those cheeks!
• nicknamed pumpkin, monkey, munchkin and turkey!
• a spitting image of her dad at this age.
• pretty in pink!

Hi!

We're back! We had a great week! I'll update more when I have free hands!