Isla's Newborn Photos

When Isla was 2 weeks old, I took her newborn photos. She managed to poop all over my sheepskin rug and then cried the entire time while my sister (Briana) tried to take the family photos. How we managed to get anything even remotely usable is beyond me! But somehow, we did!! These pictures turned out beautifully and I now have them hanging on our walls happily reminding me of the struggle that brings out the joy (metaphorically and literally speaking ;)). But seriously, how did we get such beautiful children?! We are so incredibly blessed! Oh, and not only was the baby screaming bloody murder most of the time, but Austin also had a high fever, and my hormones were raging so I was getting insane hot flashes! It was quite possibly the worst day ever.... and we all caught the flu from Austin right afterward. But it was worth it to capture these gorgeous pics! :)

TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL......

Happy Valentines Day! (a little late)

Valentines Day looked a little different this year, but the love was stronger than ever :).

I can't keep up with life and writing down all of our memories so this is a little out of order, but oh well! I'm just proud of myself for doing it!

We had a beautiful Valentines Day! It was a little different because I didn't make my homemade giant pink cookies for everyone like I usually do. But I made up for it with other fun little surprises for the kids as they woke up that morning :). Then the kids both went to school and enjoyed their Valentines Parties! I got invited to Evie's party and had a blast with her and her little friends! They were seriously so dang cute! It made my Valentines Day so special! While the kids were at school, it was just Josh and I with Isla so we gave each other our gifts and enjoyed the quiet of the house.... again, it was perfect! I have so much to love about my life and am surrounded by so many people who love me and I love them. So this was a very special day :).

The kids made their special Valentines for all their school friends!

They were so excited to pass them out!

Waking up that  morning to the fun surprises Mom had left out for them! I almost forgot and woke up in the  middle of the night in a panic! Like I said, life has gotten so busy and I am doing my best!

Loving on my boy before he headed off to school!

Evie's Preschool Valentines Day Party was a blast!

I had so much fun sitting at this little table with these little cuties and having all sorts of hilarious conversations!

Evie couldn't wait to give her teacher, Ms. Melissa, her special Valentine card! Austin had the same teacher and both of our kids adore her!

Oh how I love my sweet Evie-girl :).

LaFeber Life Lately: 2 Months with Isla :)

2 months of perfection!!

The time is flying by and I feel powerless to stop it! I only have 2 weeks left of my Maternity Leave and it is killing me :(. Fortunately though, I have cut down to Per Diem now and will only be working one to two times per month. With Josh's crazy job schedule, it just feels impossible to do it all. So my work life took the hit and I am totally okay with that! Josh goes back to work at the end of April so we have been taking advantage of this time having both parents at home to get all of our doctors appointments out of the way! So I have been getting oral surgeries to fix my receding gum line (so depressing) and Josh got a Vasectomy yesterday! So we are both in a good deal of pain but are trying to not let that get us down! I am actually really surprised at how well Josh is handling his pain... I had heard that this particular surgery was debilitating and he is still up walking around! WOW! Now that we have Isla, we feel like our family is complete and we are whole. I have felt like something is missing for quite a while now and now that she is in my arms, that feeling is gone. So we decided to get the surgery done before Josh goes back to work and it is too late! He doesn't get time off like the typical person so it was now or never.

Isla is growing like a weed (she weighed 12 pounds at her 2 month doctors appointment and is in the 75th percentile for everything!). She is smiling and loves making eye contact. She loves to just sit and smile at you while you talk to her and is trying her hardest to learn how to coo along with you! Evie loves her more than anything and is always right there by my side taking care of her! First thing in the morning she comes running into the room searching for her baby and she can't go to sleep until she has kissed her goodnight. The love my children have for each other lights up our lives and is the sweetest part of my day. Austin has warmed up to the baby and enjoys holding her and playing with her. Now we are working on getting her on a sleep schedule because Mama is really struggling in that department!

Taking Evie on a special little date to Starbucks before I dropped her off at Preschool! I've been trying to find little moments with each kid to make them feel special and it hasn't always been easy.

Dad is so great at getting Isla to fall asleep! All he has to do is hold her just like this...

I got cleared for exercise this month and have been doing my  best to make it happen! It's definitely not as easy now that I am the mother of 3!

I've gotten back into High Fitness with my dear friends and we exercise together at the church each week!

As you can see, we have a lot of fun getting our sweat on!

Evie reading "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" to the  baby so Mom could take a shower!

Oh Austin, you are such a character! And the baby loves it! :)

Enjoying all the snuggles I can while she is small!

Hanging out in Evie's room looking at photo books and talking about all of our fun memories :).

Family movie night!

Isla kept me busy during the whole movie hahaha!

Evie loves her little sister so much!!

Those little hands......

Oh sweet baby girl, how I love you!!

My girls watching TV together :)

Isla's all ready for her bath! Could she get any more delicious?!

Brotherly love :)

The kids making a leprechaun trap for St. Patrick's Day! :)

Austin dressed as Pete the Cat for reading week!

Austin's first grade class during reading week!

I love Ellis Elementary so much! They make learning fun!

Austin's class listening to stories told by community members.

Happy Reading week from Mrs. Westra's first grade class!

These spring days have been beautiful and full of sunny walks outside!

My sweet angel taking a nap.

Getting ready for church!

Could she be any more perfect?!

And lets just take a moment to admire these adorable little shoes that were Evie's when she was little! They had little black scuff marks on them because Evie was already walking when she wore them! She had the tiniest feet and wore baby shoes when she should have been wearing toddler size shoes! But I love that memory that the little black scuffs brings and am so happy to have these cute pink shoes back in my life :).

Oh how I love my girls.

Isla got her 2 month vaccinations and she did soooo good! She hardly cried! I was so impressed with her! This is a pic from that night. All she needed was a little Tylenol and she slept just fine! SCORE!!

She is starting to enjoy watching her mobile and this floor toy, but hasn't quite learned how to use her hands yet.

Having some floor time with my girls!

He finally conquered his fears and learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!!! Hallelujah!!

Things get interesting when Dad's in charge :)

Taking Isla for a cab ride hahaha!

This week I have started working on getting her to nap in her crib so I can get something done during the day! Yesterday she wasn't having it, but today it worked out nicely! She is still sleeping in her bassinet by our bed at night though and we will continue with that until she is a little older... I don't want to miss a thing since she is our last baby and will willingly put up with the lack of sleep at night if it means keeping her little for just a little bit longer....