Well, I am finally sitting down to update our blog.  Where has the time gone, in just four days our little girl will be 3 MONTHS!!!!  She has already changed and grown so much.

HAHA>>>>I started this a couple weeks ago and finishing this up now....better late than never!  Noell is now 3 1/2 months!

Lets start with Miss Noell...

She already has many nicknames...princess, beautiful, sweetie, pumpkin pie are what Mommy and Daddy call her.  My dad, Todd, started calling her the 2nd.  She isn't the first Noel so she is the 2nd.  My uncle Randall says that she is not NO-ell, but rather 2L (LL).  So funny.

Milestones:

• Noell started sleeping through the night about a month and a half ago (same time mom went back to work). She sleeps anywhere between 7, 8, or 9 hours each night...a few times 9 1/2 hours and one 10 hour night.  I thank God every day that we have a good little sleeper.  There have been a couple times where she has woken up in the middle of the night, but I will take a couple nights every now and then!
• Noell loves baths.
• Noell LOVES to talk and babbles all the time.  I am pretty sure she says the words hi, yea, and momma.  It  certainly sounds like it anyway...lol.  When the "momma" sound comes out she is usually crying.
• Noell does great during tummy time and has built really strong neck and back muscles.
• Noell has most recently discovered her hands.  Because of it being winter and the prevention of face scratching, we had been putting mittens on her.  Well, she started sucking them a lot which made them wet...so we decided that during the day we wouldn't put them on.  She immediately started looking at her hands and watching her fingers move.  She also loves to suck on her whole fist!  
• Just this last week Noell has started to grab at different things...her toys, momma's hair, Katie's fur, the books that we are reading to her.
• Noell has involuntarily rolled over from tummy to back when she is sick of being on her tummy a couple of times.  Last week she was rolling over a couple times each day and now hasn't done it for a while again.  When she is on her back she arches herself so much that she is propped way up on her side.  It won't be long and she will be rolling from back to front and from front to back!

Our good little sleeper!

Such a big girl...working on her sitting!

Watching her hand!

A lover of tummy time!!!

Took Noell out to play in the snow for the first time!

 
Childcare:

Well mommy went back to work about a month ago already, and so Noell goes to my aunt Liza's house everyday.  My aunt used to watch me when I was little so it is great that she can watch Noell too.  Noell loves going there and enjoys talking with Liza, Doug, and her first non-family friend, Charlie, everyday and she likes to play with Molly and Lyla too (the pups).

Routines:

Noell has gotten into some good routines.  Liza has a good routine down at her house and our evenings are great too.  We give Noell a bath every other night.  When she is ready for bed, I nurse her in our rocker and then lay her down in her bassinet.  The mornings are a little different depending on how long she sleeps...but I get up before she does to get everything ready, daddy wakes Noell up and gets her changed, then momma feeds her while dad starts the cars and gets ready, and then we are on our way for the day!!!

Church:

We have been to church every Sunday except for three times since Noell was born.  We have also been going to the Lenten services on Wednesday evenings.  Noell does so well...she sits and looks around at the lights, the stained glass windows, the hymnals, and other people in the congregation.  She is just so curious.  Hopefully her wonderful behavior in God's house will continue through her toddler years :)  I am so thankful that my baby enjoys church.

Noell's Momma

Well, like I said I am back to work.  It is going really well.  I am super busy everyday and most days feel like I just can never get caught up, but somehow it gets done and we have fun!  It was fun to go back to see how much my students had grown when I was on leave.

After my 6 week appointment, I started working out hard.  At three weeks postpartum, I was two pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.  At six weeks I was finally down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but couldn't fit into my jeans....a little disheartening.  I started Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 and followed to rigidly for those four weeks, and by the end I had gotten down to 7lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight which was my first goal.  My next goal is my wedding weight where is another 7lbs.  This past week has been put on hold b/c of the stress and lack of sleep that comes with preparation for parent/teacher conferences as well as getting a horrible cold with all the bells and whistles (sore throat, loss of voice, cough, runny and clogged nose, watery eyes, and ear ache).  Next week I will get back on track!  I thank my friends and husband for the amazing support each and every day!!!

As I sit here and write this, I again just relax and think about how blessed and amazing my life truly is.  I cannot believe that I have such a smart, beautiful, healthy baby girl who makes me smile and who makes me know that everyday is worth giving it my all.  I look back at my whole pregnancy and birth experience and am just in awe what a miracle it was.  I just can't believe I am a mom, and I have a daughter, and that my body created her....her eyes, her nose, her fingers and toes, her smile, her hair, her belly button (I know Mike helped a little)...but it is so wonderful what our bodies are capable of doing.  Speaking of what our bodies can do...I am still nursing/pumping at work and it is remarkable that my body knows exactly what Noell needs and produces the nutrients that she needs and changes when needed.  So like my cold right now...my body has built/made antibodies so that Noell doesn't get sick...how great is that?  What do I make of all of this?  Take care of your bodies, because they sure do take a beating taking care of you!!!  Thank God for what your body can do because there are many times we take for granted those little things.

Our little family!!!

Noell's Daddy

Mike has been super busy with school, working at Menards at night and on weekends, and working at his new place of employment, Sampson Heating/Air Conditioning when he can fit it in.  After he graduates in May, he will be hired on full time by Sampson.  We are all definitely looking forward to that day.

Mike has gotten to pick Noell up a couple times from Liza's when Mommy has had class or conferences.  Both times Noell and him had fun...they read stories, play, talk, and Noell likes to watch Mike cook (see all the different things he does).  He definitely loves his little girl and cannot wait for May to be able to spend more time with her and watch her grow.

Mike and I went on our first "date" since way before Noell was born.  We saw the movie, Identify Theft, and went out to eat at TGIFridays.  We also fought a deep freeze and did a little grocery shopping.  While we were out, Grandma Rachel and Grandpa Todd enjoyed our kids, Noell and Katie!



Thanks for reading all.  I hope that spring comes SOON!  I cannot wait to get our little peanut outside more to enjoy walks, swimming, laying in the grass, swinging, taking in the fresh air, and so much more!