Family Visit

My mom, brother, and sister came into town on Wednesday afternoon for a short, but fun visit. It was the first time that my brother and sister had met Alli, so they were so excited to get here and see her. Unfortunately, my dad and Josh had to work during their visit, but we all had a great time anyways. Lila kept everyone entertained with her silly-ness and was actually really well-behaved in the restaurants that we went to (a change that I hope will stick)! Alli was an angel as usual, and I think she really enjoyed having Grammy watch her on Friday while we all went to see The Help (which was the best movie I've seen in a LONG time!!). Lila, Alli, Chevy, and I were so sad to see them go this morning, but we will see them all again in November (and hopefully earlier, but no plans set yet).

Also, we meant to get an "Allison" picture with Alli (Allison Neal), my sister who's name is Allison Kimberly, and my mom who is Allison Elizabeth, but we were busy playing, feeding, visiting, cleaning and we forgot. We will hopefully get one in November!

 Kimberly holding Alli for the first time

 Grammy and Lila

 Lila wanting to hold her baby sister

 sweet Alli

 Lila is so excited for her family to be here

 Uncle Phillip with Alli

 sweet little feet

 I just love my girls!!

 Another picture in their coordinating outfits! I have to document them while they still fit!

 Alli's not too thrilled with Lila attacking her face like that, but Lila loves to do it!

 kicking in her pack-and-play

Crazy on a Sunday Afternoon

Lila woke up from her nap crazier than ever! She is such a ball of energy, and when she's happy, she's really happy...but when she's mad, she's REALLY mad. We just try to enjoy her happy moments and ignore her fussy moments. Here are some pictures from her crazy afternoon/evening:

 posing for pictures before church

love my girls!

 eating her dinner

 this is how we found her after her nap, one shoulder hanging down

 being silly laughing at daddy

I just love this crazy little human :)

One Month Old *August 13, 2011*

Wow, what a fast month it has been! Alli has already grown and changed so much in these past few weeks, and we're really trying to soak up all that this age has to give (lack of sleep and all!). They grow way too fast, and this newborn stage just doesn't last long enough. She is already so opposite of her sister in her likes and dislikes, so we are eager to see how her personality will be different as well. We're so blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy little girl, and we are having so much fun watching her grow and really come alive.

Here's what you're up to this month:


*you weigh 9 pounds and are about 20 inches long. (Daddy and I measured you with a tape measure, so it's not the most accurate thing, but it was close enough!)


*you are sleeping pretty well. You start off sleeping between 3-5 hours (from about 9-1 or 2), and then you wake about every 2.5-3 hours after that throughout the night. You want to be up for good between 8 and 10am. 

*you sleep swaddled from the waste down in your bassinet. You get so mad if you can't get to your hands, so we only swaddle you just to keep your bottom half warm in our cold room. 


*you are starting to be awake more throughout the day. You will give us 2-4 hour stretches of awake time with 2-3 hours of nap times in between.

*you are still nursing like a champ! You want to eat every 1.5-3 hours depending on the time of day. You like to cluster feed in the evening between 6-8pm, which is exhausting, but it helps you sleep longer. 

*you will take an Avent bottle somewhat well. You don't seem to like any other kinds, and the bottle sometimes makes you mad when you want to nurse. We try and give you at least one per day at around 8pm so that you will stay used to it. You take between 1-2.5 ounces at a time in your bottle. 

*you are finally taking a paci and really enjoy the newborn Mam pacifiers. You aren't a fan of any other kind. 


*your starting to wear some of your 0-3 month clothes and your newborn clothes are getting too snug, as well as your newborn diapers. 

*you like your swing okay, but could do without it. Sometimes at night, I put you in your swing, but don't turn it on, just to lift your head up so that your nose doesn't become stuffy after your feedings. You are only happy in your swing if you are well-fed, and it doesn't immediately put you to sleep. You really like to watch the animals turn around while the music plays on your swing as well. 


*you recognize our voices and will turn your head towards the sounds we make. You can follow our faces as well and are able to track objects with your eyes.

*you can lift your head about 45 degrees when laying on your stomach. During tummy time, you love to push your legs forward and back like you are trying to crawl. You also like tummy time a lot more than Lila did!


*you are getting really good about holding your head up straight when we hold you. You are getting so strong!

*we caught you smiling (really smiling, not just the sleep smiles), for the first time last week. It was the sweetest thing!


*you love to roll from your back to your side. At night when we lay you on your back, you immediately roll onto your side. You favor your right side, but will roll to the left on occasion. 

*you aren't so sure about the Baby Bijorn yet. When you are awake, you either want to be held or sitting in your bouncy seat. You also love your car seat and fall asleep the second that we take off in the car or stroller.

*you had two well-baby check-ups this month: one at 5 days old and the other at 3 weeks old. At your last check-up, you had to get blood drawn for a PKU screening. You did pretty well and only cried for a bit. 

showing everyone that she's #1

We love watching you grow and change, and cannot wait to see what you will learn next month!

Alli's Birth Announcement

I was so excited to get these in the mail today! I think they turned out really great!

Also, Kelli Acosta gave us a sneak peek of a picture that she took of Alli when she was just a week old. I absolutely love this sweet face :)

Lila's 15 Month Pictures

I bought a groupon session for portraits down in Galveston back in February and used it in May to take Lila's 15 month pictures. The photographer was super overwhelmed with the amount of groupon clients that she had, so we didn't get the pictures back until yesterday (over 3 months after we took the pictures). They turned out pretty cute, and it's crazy to see how much Lila has already changed since then!

Here are some of my favorites:

First Four Weeks

It's hard to believe that Alli has been here almost one month! She is four weeks old today and precious as ever!

11 Times You Still Need Your Mother

I'm just now getting around to reading some of my magazines, and I found this article in the May 2011 issue of Glamour Magazine.  I just loved it and thought that there was so much truth to it so I decided to share it with you too.

11 Times You Still Need Your Mother

by Kimberly Bonnell & Pamela Redmond Satran

1. When the love of your life gives you a diamond ring...or meets someone else.

2. The moment you pee on a stick and it's (OMG!) positive.

3. On the morning of your birthday, when no one else is going to call till noon.

4. When someone gives you a compliment so lavish you'd be embarrassed to repeat it to anyone else. 

5. When you find a lump. Or she does.

6. When the kids you're babysitting won't stop crying. 

7. When you get your first pink-eye or food processor...or mother-in-law.

8. When you need someone to assure you that, yes, 30 (or 40!) is still really, really young.

9. When you need to know the exact shade to fix your undereye circles.

10. When the recipe calls for evaporated milk and you're standing in the grocery aisle wondering, Is that a powder? A liquid? A gas?

11. When you've swung up to the sky, and it doesn't seem real until she applauds.