The Cuteness Continues

Here are a few more pictures from our photo session with Sara.  I just love this one with Bella clinging to Jason's leg.

Bella looks so cute in this picture.

A pensive moment...

I loooove this picture.  It just so captures Bella.  She loves her baby dolls and she takes such care of them.  For her, having a baby brother is like having a real life doll.  She LOVES him.  She will put her babies to bed, feed them, change them, dress them, and obviously comb their hair!

This is one of my favorites out of all of them.  I love our little family!

Jude's Newborn Pics

When Isabella was born, Jason had gotten really in to photography, so we just figured 'eh, we will do our own newborn pics'.  And so we did.  And they were great, thanks honey!  But everyone I knew had gotten professional ones done, and they were SO cute and well done and I just knew I had to do them for our next child.  

So when Jude was getting close to making his debut, I looked through a ton of photographers that had been recommended to me, and settled on Sara Seeton.  (http://saraseeton.com/ if you are interested)  I loved her photos and had her highly recommended, so I got an appointment set up and we were good to go!  When Jude was 9 days old, she came over and did a photo shoot.  She had a ton of stuff with her, like two huge suitcases full of props and everything!  I had no idea how much stuff it takes to make a good photo shoot!  She was so good with him, I told her she was the baby whisperer.  I was SO happy with how our photos turned out and wanted to share some of my favorites with you here!

I am mostly putting ones with Jude as the focus in this blog, but I will put up another blog with other family pics and some of Bella.  Don't want to overload you with cuteness all at once! =)

This says it all...Bella LOVES her baby brother.  She is constantly kissing on him.

This one cracks me up!

Jason would kill me if I didn't include this one...

I got this idea from a friend and just loved it!

Jude's First Few Days

 Bella started back to school today for the summer, so I think I might finally have more time to blog!  I wanted to post a few pics of Jude's first days in this world.  My water broke at 6am March 2 and I think I did a fist pump in the air and said "YES!".  I was SO ready.  He was born at 11:22am that day, so super short labor.  Our parents barely had time to make it in town!

We got to our room by lunch and had a great stay at Presby Dallas.  I love that hospital.  They are so great there I would highly recommend it!  The nurses are so nice, it always makes me think I should have pursued a career as a baby nurse, if only I didn't hate blood, needles and science.

Here is Jason right after Jude was born.  When Bella was born, Jason put an OU beanie on her, so I told him Jude was wearing A&M, no discussion.

 

Here is the first time Bella met Jude.  She was SO sweet with him.  She kept kissing him and saying "I got all his kisses!"  Side note, this picture went on Facebook and everyone thought that was me in it.  I so appreciate the vote of confidence that I might look this good right after giving birth, but no...that's my sister.

 

 

Jude sleeping with me sleeping in the background.

 

 

So sweet... 

Here is Jude in his going home outfit.  It was newborn size, but it swallowed him!  He ended up being able to wear it for Easter and his Sip n See!

First time in his car seat

You know he has to have a Mickey Mouse onesie. =)

Here is the first time we let Bella hold Jude.  He is obviously digging it...

Bella has decided she loves her old bouncy chairs...

Here is an example of how much more laid back I have been this time.  When Bella was little, I would never have let her take naps in her bouncy seat.  She had to be in her crib!  I was a little crazy.

When he was little, he always slept with his hands up by his face when he wasn't swaddled.

Enjoying a little tummy time.

Here is a more recent picture, I just wanted to show how much he has already grown and filled out.  It is amazing how fast time has flown this time around!  He is really such a good baby, and I am so much more laid back this time, too.  It is hard having two kids, but I am loving the dynamic!  It is like our family is complete now.  Oh, and I LOOOOOOVE having a son.  I know I have told many of you that I wanted another girl and cried when I found out it was a boy.  But I mean there is just something about little boys.  They are so cute and sweet and he has just stolen my heart from day 1.  I love you Jude!

Second Child

Well, we all know I have never been the best about keeping up to date with my blog.  But add pregnancy brain, followed by an actual baby, and I am pretty much like 'what blog?'.  Poor Jude, he is already getting the short end of the stick as the second child. 

So I figured I could just try to rewind a few months and catch up on everything you've missed.  Hopefully I can start catching up so Jude won't feel totally neglected! 

First off, I don't think I had a single belly pic posted.  With Bella I had about 27, so I figured at least one was in order.  This is me at like 8 and 3/4 months.

Here are a few pictures of Jude's nursery.  Believe it or not, I have planned to write this blog for a while so these pictures were taken before he was born.  So the nursery isn't totally done in these pics, but you get the idea!

We went with an elephant theme so we got these cute wall decals to start.

My awesome friend Jessica made me these cute pictures with little elephant cut outs.  Did I mention she had a three month old at the time she made these?  No idea when she had the time, but she totally rocks.

Got these cute little pictures on Etsy to go on each side of the window.

Another Etsy purchase.  There is so much cute stuff on there!!

Here is a shot with the book shelves mostly set up.  We basically moved all of Bella's old furniture in to Jude's room for him and got her all new stuff.  One of these days I will show all her new stuff!  Got to get her room done first.  I can at least say we got Jude's room totally done now!

Here is a bigger view of the room.  I have now spent many night time hours in that rocking chair.  It reminds me so much of when Bella was a baby and rocking her in the same chair.  I don't know if it is because I know it is the last time I will do it, or maybe because Jason takes turns with me this time so I am not 100% exhausted all the time, but I hardly even mind getting up and rocking that sweet little baby back to sleep.

Well that is it for now.  I would say from now on I will do better about writing, but I mean who am I kidding?  I have two children now.  I have trouble remembering if I have brushed my teeth in a day, so we'll just have to see.

Fourth Annual Top Ten Song List

I was looking over last years top ten list and I had commented then that 2010 was such a hard year to narrow down to 10 songs. Well, honestly I don't know if I was too busy to discover new music or if just nothing struck my fancy, but this year was easy. I was honestly worried I wouldn't have 10 to be worth of the list, but I managed! So without further ado...

10. Caroline by Brandi Carlile - I love Brandi Carlile and I finally got the chance to see her perform at ACL this year. She was my favorite performance of the entire festival, and even though she didn't actually perform this song, I did enjoy hearing her talk about how much she loves unicorns and Never Ending Story. I feel like we could be friends.

9. Helena Beat by Foster the People - While Bella prefers Pumped Up Kicks, I really like this song by FTP better. Maybe just because I heard PUK a bazillion times and got a little tired of it? Either way, this song had me groovin' in my seat when it came on the radio.

8. Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - This song was introduced to me on our girls trip to Destin last year and I have loved it ever since. I love the whistling and I am a sucker for horns. Plus it is just a sweet song.

7. Ready to Start by Arcade Fire - The latest album by Arcade Fire was really good. And if you have never seen them perform live, do it ASAP. I have seen them twice now at ACL and they are amazing live. They put on the coolest, funkiest show, so that even if you aren't a fan of their music, you still get drawn in. I love this song. I feel like it is about being brave enough to break away from things that hold you back so you can have a fresh start.

6. Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise by the Avett Brothers - I first heard the song 'I and Love and You', and decided I needed the album. This song is by far my favorite on there. The hippie in me loves the line "When nothing is owed, deserved or expected. Then your life doesn't change by the man that's elected". If only....

5. Just Stay Here Tonight by Augustana - Not the first time Augustana has made my list. I love the band and they released a new album this year. The whole album is really amazing, but this is my favorite song on it.

4. Here Goes by Bebo Norman - I love this guys voice. Something about it is just warm and gravelly. This song sort of has a similar message to Ready to Start, but this is a religious version I guess. Just a great song about trusting that God knows more than you do and you should go where He leads you, even though you may be scared.

3. Heart Like Mine by Miranda Lambert - I am pretty sure I heard this song last year, since House That Built Me is on my list from last year, but I absolutely LOVE this song and listened to it over and over this past year. I realize it is not a 'religious' song, but I know as a Christian I worry that I am not being good enough or doing what God wants me to do or whatever it is. Then I hear this song, and I just think 'Exactly!' I don't have to be perfect to love God, and sometimes I wonder if what I think is important and what God does are totally different. I mean does He really care if I drink a glass of wine (or two, or three)? Probably not if I am loving my neighbor, right?

2. Children of God by Third Day - This is my favorite Christian band. I love all their songs. If you have never listened to When the Rain Comes by them, especially if you have children, do so immediately. You will be sobbing by the end. But I digress. This is my favorite song of theirs this year. Me and Bella both love to listen to it and it melts my heart to hear her sing along.

1. Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart - This year was a no brainer for the number one song. A year ago I had never heard of this band, and when ACL announced they were playing I had no idea how excited I would be to see them in a few months. I got this song as a free download somewhere, probably Starbucks, and FELL. IN. LOVE. I seriously love this song. I remember thinking it was one of the best songs I had heard in years. It is folksy and chill and beautiful.

Honorable Mentions - Only a few this year, but here they are - I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers, Don't Turn Out the Lights by NKOTBSB (no I am not joking), Shot in the Dark by Augustana, Sprawl II by Arcade Fire

Thoughts? Any good songs that I should have been listening to this past year and didn't? I would love to hear what your favorite songs were in 2011!

Bella's Favorite Songs

If you know me, you know I love music. I have my iPod or iPhone going on shuffle pretty much all the time in the kitchen or car or whatever, so Isabella hears it a lot. And I have to say she has pretty good taste! In the last few months she has come up with what her favorite songs are and she will request them all the time in the car. Every year since I started this blog I have put out my top ten songs of the year list. So before I put that list out this year, I thought I would share with you Isabella's top songs. Most of them were either on my list last year, or are this year, so again, I am proud to say she has good taste. =)

5. - Little Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharoah - She is obsessed with the story of Little Red Riding Hood right now, so when she heard this song, she literally gasped out loud. Of course, when we tell her the story we tell her how the wolf was really just misunderstood and was a nice wolf.
4. - Children of God by Third Day - This one has posed some interesting questions. When she hears it she tells me she wants to see God and Jesus and I don't really know how to answer that. I tell her they live up in heaven and she looks at the sky and says she can see them. I just say ohhh really? Oookkk...
3. - Shot in the Dark by Augustana - This is her current fave.
2. - The Cave by Mumford and Sons - She loves how they hold the notes at the start of the sentences in the chorus and she will belt it out and shake her head. So cute.
1. - Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People - This is by far the biggest request I get. I sing along and change the words gun and bullet, to gum and belly. I would rather her not sing gangster type lyrics, especially at school or something.

As you can see, she has no country songs that she has taken a liking to, and she also begs me to turn off Adele's 'Set Fire to the Rain'. So I obviously still have some work to do in our musical education, but I love that she is so in to it!

First Trip to the Aquarium

Isabella had never been to the Aquarium in Downtown Dallas before, and I had never been except for an event one time. So we planned a play date with our friends Kyli and Caroline to go last weekend. It was a blast and I was amazed at the array of animals they have! I figured it was just fish, but no. There are penguins, snakes, a jaguar, monkeys and a sloth! I don't think I had ever seen a sloth before but they are CUTE. Apparently they don't come down from their tree but like once a month to use the restroom. Guess that is where the name comes from.

Here is Caroline with the flamingos - her favorite!


Isabella had a blast. She loved looking at the sharks and she has been standing on one leg like a flamingo ever since. It is also funny how people are just innately scared of snakes. I have always tried to act like they are no big deal. Like when we see pictures and we have seen them at the zoo. But we got up to the python cage and I said 'Bella look at the snake!', and before she saw it in the cage she immediately gasps, jumps towards me and searches the ground for a snake. Ok, the child has never seen a snake on the ground in her entire life. Isn't it just weird how kids know things? She wasn't crazy about looking at it in the cage either.

Here they are with the Jaguar. Sorry for the crummy iPhone pictures once again! I hear the new iPhone takes great pics, so hopefully one day soon my blog will look a little better. =)


Her absolute favorite part, though, was when randomly these Aboriginal dancers came out and did some tribal dance with incense and such. She still talks about it and shows me how the dance goes. Not sure if you can even see it, but up on that balcony is one of the dancers.