7 week smile

(just had my phone handy, but glad I could still catch this one)

She is smiling more and more and starting to make sweet little sounds. I love it!

Our growing girl

Paige is already 6 1/2 weeks old! I can't believe how much older she already seems. And I have some picture catching up to do, so here they are...

Making sure her binky isn't going anywhere...

Sleeping beauty. She quickly became too big for her cradle and started getting her arms stuck in the slats.

Her first time going to church (well...besides her blessing day)

Our little pirate. This is exactly what my nephew, Graham, does when he's being a pirate.

Our little girl turned 1 month! She had a doctors appointment and then we did a little mini photo-shoot to celebrate how big she's getting.

I love how the back of this outfit shows how fuzzy she is

Love when I find her like this...

5 weeks old! This is the outfit she came home in from the hospital and it's already fitting pretty snug

I love this dress my mom got her. A little private school girl/harry potter

Her first band aid :(  Her nails had gotten a little long and she was scratching her face, so I thought I would trim her nails. Needless to say, I got a little more than nail. I pretty much felt like the worst mother. On the plus side, we got to try out her cute Strawberry Shortcake band aids.

6 weeks!

Her cute romper from Marcie and new headband from her aunt Lindsay

Daddy time

*Side note: Check out my buff husband. He did a running competition with his brothers and won! He ran 360 miles in 9 weeks. As much as I hated how much he was gone running, I was very impressed that he stuck with it.

Trying out another new headband from aunt Lindsay.

Paige spent her first night in her own room. She did great, but it was a little traumatic for me not having her right next to my bed. She looked like such a big girl in her crib.

One of her fun tricks...blow outs. Ben held her in a disposable changing pad until I got her bath ready.

Paige is smiling more and more these days and I absolutely love it!

Facts about Paige:
     -loves walks in her stroller
     -likes her car seat (thank goodness!)
     -not a big fan of getting her clothes changed
     -has a clogged tear duct and hates when I try to wipe it
     -loves her bouncer and is happy when she spots the birds that hang from it
     -likes to wait until we have just barely changed her to mess her diaper again
     -enjoys peeing when her diaper is being changed (once resulted in pee in her hair)
     -always smiles when Ben plays the song "West Coast" and dances with her
     -loves her binky but tends to act like its poison when you first put it in her mouth
     -grunts a lot and occasionally snores
     -has long hair that I love getting to brush every morning
     -scrunches her nose and tries to eat your nose if you put it by her (its adorable)

We are loving our little girl and can't believe how big she's already gotten!

First Bath

Paige's umbilical cord finally fell off so it was time to give her her first real bath. She cried almost the whole time, but she still looked adorable. Now she's more used to it and doesn't seem to mind it. And she's only pooped on her duck towel once...so far :)

At home & blessing

 My dad flew in a few days after Paige was born. It was so nice to have my mom (who stayed to help for 2 weeks) and him there to help and entertain us while Ben went back to work. From doing laundry, going shopping with me for newborn clothes, to fixing the base plate on our entrance way, they were both a huge help!

Our little giraffes

I love catching them napping together, especially when they fall asleep in the same position

In her pajamas giving me a big yawn

We decided to bless Paige when she was just 11 days old because it was the only time we could have both of our families there. It was a little sooner than I had hoped to do (or sooner than I had hoped to be in a dress), but we're both very glad we did it because it meant so much to have so much family there for her special day. Ben gave a beautiful blessing and Paige slept the entire time. We were able to have Ben, both our dads, Bryce, and our friends Isacc, Pete, and Grant in the circle to bless her.

She wore the same dress the my great aunt made, my dad was christened in, and my siblings and I and my niece were all blessed. It was a little big on her, but special to keep the tradition going.

My mom and I found these shoes and I just couldn't resist

It was like 95 degrees outside along with the lovely IL humidity, so we limited our picture taking.

The Holms and Crookstons that drove down from Minnesota

Warnings from IL and my parents who flew in from WA

Coming home & photoshoot

We came home from the hospital Saturday morning. We were both excited to sleep in a real bed (especially Ben, who is way too tall for the pull out thing at the hospital), and I was excited for a shower (the hot water wouldn't work in my hospital room). It felt great to get this little girl home.

That afternoon Camille came over to take little glamor shots of Paige. Camille did an awesome job, we felt like we had our own professional photographer.

 And then I finally made her birth announcement to send out to family.