Thanksgiving at the Sheese's

We went to Pam and Kevin (our pastor) Sheese's home for Thanksgiving around 1 pm. We stayed until just past 7 pm. Troy and I totally enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving meal, including a sweet potato dish, stuffing, smoked turkey, a corn casserole, homemade noodles, a candied apple dish, and I can't remember what else. I made mashed potatoes.

I took this picture towards the end of our time at their home, the one time Isabella let Daddy hold her without screaming or crying.

Pastor Kevin Sheese

Justin Sheese, one of Pam and Kevin's two kids

Pam Sheese

Bonnie Hollingsworth, Pam's mom

Casey, the family dog

Joe Hollingsworth, Pam's dad

I wanted a picture with Isabella, too. There's so few of those. Troy took this when we got home.
Don't look too closely at my face; there are lots of spots and zits on it. :(

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I am writing very inefficiently, with only one hand, as I am holding a little colicky baby with the other hand. More on this entry tomorrow. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.


It is now the day after Thanksgiving. I like to take time to give thanks for various parts of my life. The following is a small list, by no means exhaustive list of things or people for which I am grateful:

• a gracious, loving, merciful Lord.
• Jesus.
  
• a healthy beautiful baby girl.
• my family.
• my good friends.
• having jobs.
• a good church family.
• our home.

she loves to stick her tongue out

Look at her!

a picture I took this morning

sweet baby sleeping

I can't seem to get enough of this precious little baby!

Isabella's 2 months old today

I have a stupid look on my face, because I was holding the camera at arm's length, taking the picture. I was too lazy to pull out the tripod.

"Wait! I know, I know, I'm 2 months old today. Yay!"

Oh my goodness, the Westcotts are expecting again!

Our beloved friends, Rhonda & John Westcott left South Texas this summer, with a little one in tow, to return to Uxbridge, Massachusetts, where John would be working at their home church as executive pastor. Well, their little one - Maverick Chandler Westcott - is now 4 months old. I found out via Rhonda's webpage that they're expecting again! That means that these two little bundles of joy will be only 13 months apart.

What some of you don't know is that Maverick was somewhat of a miracle. They were married 19 years before conception took place. Rhonda's a YOUNG 40 years old, and, by the grace of God, they're expecting again. Praise the Lord!

Blessings, love, and hugs . . . and hats off to you!

Isabella on her belly

Believe it or not, Isabella's actually asleep here.

a content baby.

a happy baby!

Before our date time last night

Troy and I went out to dinner last night, while a girlfriend came over to watch Isabella. I took these pictures not long before the friend arrived.

family portrait.

Isabella's almost looking at the camera.

She's smiling more and more now.

A daddy-daughter moment.

BTW, we went to a restaurant called Le Lai (pronounced Lee Lie). We loved the dishes we ordered. Will be going back some time. Will it replace Hop Tung as my favorite? We'll see!

First time out this week, since Sunday

This afternoon was the first time I've been out since Sunday. Pretty bad for me. Since I was young, I've never done well on days that I haven't gone out. The only time I went outside, at all, was to look in my mailbox. Well, I rejoiced at my freedom today.

Was a bit of work to be able to go out today. Nursed Isabella for much less time than she desired, in order to get dressed, get her dressed warm enough, and drop Troy off at school. Came back and nursed her. Then got everything ready for this little excursion. It's amazing how much time, energy, planning, and such it takes to go on a little trip with the little one. I had to make sure the diaper bag had the following items:

• diapers (yes, several of them).
• wet wipes.
• an extra onesie.
• receiving blankets.
• bag of breast milk in a cooling device (I figured people in a restaurant might not want to see me nursing Isabella; it would also make our lunch rather inconvenient - how would I get to eat?).
• a bottle.
• gloves for her.
• wallet (why carry two bags, the diaper bag might as well be my purse, too).
• cell phone.

Then, I went and picked up Junko.

We went to Le Lai for lunch. Never been there until today. We shared two dishes. She picked out an eggplant dish she's had before. I picked out a shrimp and asparagus stirfry. The dishes were both delicious. We both favored the shrimp and asparagus dish, today anyways. Then, we went to Starbucks, where Junko had a coffee and I had a caramel apple cider. I had been thinking about caramel apple cider ever since I had it last time. I felt so free!

When we got to the Starbucks, in the same strip mall as Cold Stone, I ran into a couple people I knew, one is the significant other of a colleague and the other we (my husband and I) sort of know through Manda and Johnny. I totally felt like some sort of social coordinator. I was standing among three other women, none of which knew one another. After making introductions, I found myself trying to conduct two different conversations with the people we saw at Starbucks. I felt really bad for the second gal, after finding out what her last five weeks has been like. For more details on this, see my Pregnant Women and Babies

Anyways, I loved being out, in the real world, doing real activities with grownups! Will have to make going out once a week for girl-time a must!

Junko and I talked about Christmas decorations, and she suggested having some sort of tree for Isabella's first Christmas. On top of that, my fourth grade classmate (and best friend) is coming for a visit around December 9th. My parents are coming December 22nd, for Christmas; they're staying until December 27th. Then, one of my really good friends, Richard, is coming from England for two weeks, from Dec. 28 to Jan. something (11th?). Having a tree would be a really good thing. Might see if anyone has a Sunday paper or I may have to buy one. Oftentimes, well - every other week, Hobby Lobby has a 50% of one item coupon in the paper. Perhaps I can use that to buy an artificial tree. We'll see. I'd love to have a tree, if that's possible.

After taking Junko home, Isabella and I swung by the department to pick up Troy. The departmental chair and the departmental secretary met Isabella for the first time. Everyone loved on her and commented on how adorable she is. Everyone seems to think she takes after me in appearance. I'm still not convinced of that, but I'm flattered. I'll cry if she ends up looking nothing like me (okay, I'm being a bit melodramatic).

Isabella, not long before her bath today

Isabella's actually asleep in the Baby Bjorn, for a bit of a change.
Do I really want to wake her up for a bath?

I mean, look at that peaceful face!

Yup, I did it anyways! Baby needs a bath.

Did she like the sponge bath? Nope. But, at least, she didn't scream when I took her clothes off or when I first started washing her face. Some time after I started washing her hair, she expanded her lungs and went on her way!

Getting Isabella ready for bed

2006-11-13

The lights were dimmed. I checked her diaper and put her pajamas on her. I was getting her ready for bed . . . was she ready?! Nope. She didn't fall asleep until between 2 and 2:30 AM, this morning.

Isabella's first dress

Though countless people were so generous with giving baby Isabella outfits, she didn't have any newborn or 0-3 month dresses. So, Mommy (that's me!) got her one, the one she sported for the first time today, for an outting to church.

These pictures were taken after we got home from church.

Does she REALLY look like me?

LOVE her, love her, love her!!!

Oh, it's the Daddy - daughter stare down.

There Isabella is, ladies and gentlemen.

Okay, we love you guys, bub-bye!

Can't get enough of our cutie?

2006-11-9

Can't get enough of a good thing, I mean person!

2006-11-10
What a cutie (I know, I know, I'm biased)!

Just when you think the smile doesn't get any bigger! What a way to melt Mommy's heart. Actually she smiles at me with her mouth wide open, too; those are winners, big time.

Getting out of the house for the first time in awhile

I was never quite the sort of person who found peace in staying home all day every day. Since I was young, I had to get out, even briefly, to feel decent. Motherhood has presented many a challenge in this neighborhood. I've stayed home many a fortnight.

This evening, when Troy came home, I broke away, to go to Target and to HEB (our local grocery store). Though I had a limited amount of time to buy our weekly necessities at these two places, I very much enjoyed the outting. Pathetic? Oh well, I don't think so. I got to go out!!! Yay.

Got a bit carried away at the grocery store. Somehow spent $130! Since Isabella's nutrition depends on me exclusively, I feel obligated to eat better than I would otherwise. So, I've been planning various meals, including having a tuna steak some time soon. There it is folks.

little isabella

Everyday I look at Isabella, she seems to be getting bigger, longer, and such. But here's a comparison that makes her still look small. She's our little darling!

many more isabella pictures for the day

For those Isabella die-hard fans, I thought you might be dying for more pictures of her. I took these today. She's six weeks old, well, just over six weeks old.

cute as a button, wouldn't you agree?

and, this isn't even close to the big grin she gives mommy!

ahhhh, a sleeping babe.

sweetness.

for those of you who don't believe me when i say that she's growing quite long, here's the proof!

for whom are we cheering?

mommy! mommy! la leche! la leche!

a content isabella. love being around mommy.

my funny little adorable child.
i wonder if she can teach me how to do that with my tongue!

what da ya think?

Which one's your favorite? Did you get your Isabella fix, yet? Me neither. Later gater.

7 hours she slept last night, amazing!

our gorgeous sleeping babe (do we sound like proud parents?!)

can't believe it! isabella slept around seven hours continuously last night. rock on baby! she also took two naps today, one lasting about an hour and another lasting over two hours. during the longer nap, mommy took a nap, too. good times folks.

top view of isabella in the baby bjorn

top view of isabella in the baby bjorn

I took this picture on October 30, 2006. I have seen and continue to see this cute view of Isabella quite frequently. Sometimes she has a pacifier in her mouth, sometimes she doesn't. Isn't she a beauty?