An Early Sunday Morning

Isabel woke up at 3:30am for her first feeding of the day. Alexis slept with us last night because Daddy was leaving this morning to go out of town. So, shortly after I started nursing, Alexis joined us and the three of us girls snuggled together while Isabel filled her belly. Ross' alarm went off at 3:50 and he headed out around 4:30. He is going to South Dakota with my Dad, Tim, Matt, his Dad, and Ronnie (friend of Ross' dad). They are going on a pheasant hunt. He'll be home on Wednesday evening. This will be the longest separation he's ever had from Alexis and of course Isabel too. And we're thinking this will be the longest we've been away from each other since we got married. He was homesick before he left, but I know he's going to have a great time!

Instead of going back to bed after Isabel was done, I just stayed up and got us packed and ready to come up to stay at Mom's while Dad and Ross are gone. We left the house at 7:30 in Mommy's pretty new red car! So, we'll be in St. Louis until Wednesday. Probably going to spend some time just resting. Haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately because we've had to get up and go first thing in the morning and I don't usually take a nap, might have to start making that happen though.

I'm going to try to see Lucille one day, but I talked to her yesterday and she's had the flu, so we'll play that by ear to make sure she's over that before we take the girls to her house. On Tuesday we're going to meet up with Monica and look at the bridesmaid dresses that they've picked out for us. Her wedding is April 9th, so I've got until then the get a lot of weight off. We're also going to look at dresses for Alexis, she's going to be the flower girl! Later this afternoon Sarah is coming over with Tyler, Riley & Sadie since Tim is out of town too. Mom is making some spaghetti and we're going to have dinner together. Might try to do a little shopping and whatever else comes up that I've got the energy for.

I love my new car! The trunk is so much bigger than the Grand Prix's was and the backseat too. Last night we stopped by Grandma Lea's house for the Harvest Party they had. I made Ross sit in the passenger seat to see how much room he would have with Alexis in her car seat on that side. Alexis had room and he wasn't totally crammed into the dash, which means it will be great, because he always drives when we are going somewhere together. I got the stroller, our biggest suitcase, our big diaper bag, and Isabel's bassinet basket in the trunk. In the old car, I probably would have only been able to get the stroller and suitcase in there. Now, the only thing I want to do is get my windows tinted and me and the Impala will be good to go for the next 8-10 years or 200,000 miles or when it dies.

I've been up since 3:30 so I'm thinking it's nap time for Mommy and Grandma can keep an eye on the girls for me. Alexis is getting a little better about listening...some days. Her back talk is sometimes out of control though. She is so stubborn and bull headed and she is pushing to get her way all the time. I will be thankful when we get past this stage, it's very tiring and frustrating at times. But, even though she has lots of "moments" when she's not the most pleasant child, she still can be the sweetest and cutest little girl ever. She'll just randomly come up to me and say, "I love you Mommy" and that is what gets me through the rough moments.

I hate to jinx myself by saying this, but Isabel is a wonderful baby. Friday night, I got 7 1/2 hours of sleep...in a row, with no interruptions! It was like a little bit of heaven! She is starting to be awake for longer periods and be more alert. She is holding her head up really well and looking around to check things out. She plays with her tongue a lot and is starting to make some little cooing noises. She's giving some little smiles too! :)