THE TRAVELING GARDNERS

Isabella made her big debut as we went to a Heritage Day picnic put on by our church.  The picnic was at our local fair grounds. And we had a lot of fun. As I was still recovering and only 4 weeks post partum, I over did it a little bit. But it was worth it. It was the first time I wore make up and straightened my hair since Bella was born. And it was nice to get out of the house. The Heritage Day picnic was to celebrate Pioneer Day. So there were some fun pioneer activities. There was also country music being played. Family photos were taken and given to us. And the food was a perfect summer treat of BBQ hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, potato salad, and cookies. The boys had a blast panning for Gold. Benjamin competed in a potato sack race.  My favorite part was the photographer who was set up taking family photos for no charge. They printed us out two copies right there as our picture was taken. And then the next day sent us a digital copy. ...

Isabella - 4 weeks old Our sweet princess is so loved. And she will always be protected by her two big brothers and Daddy.  I love this sweet little outfit that our friends Heather and James gave her. This was a newborn size outfit. We had to get her picture in it before she out grew it!  Zachary loves to check up on Bella. Here he is standing on the side of her crib looking in at her.  She turns her head when she hears the boys talking.  She just recently started taking naps in her crib, but still sleeps in her cradle in our room. She seems so tiny in her crib. It is so adorable. Both the crib and the soft pink afghan were a gift from Gramma Liz. I will show more pictures later of her whole room. Including the matching changing table that Gramma Liz spoiled Bella with. :)

With a newborn in the house, we are all a little sleepy. So, we take naps whenever we get a chance.  Zachary fell asleep sitting up on the couch. He put his favorite green blanket over his head and passed out. And sometimes when we 're not sleeping, we hang out in our pj's. :)

Here are some pictures of Isabella at 3 weeks old.

The Army had passed a new policy back in 2008. It allowed male soldiers to get 2 weeks of leave if their spouse has a baby. We were not able to use this back when Zachary was born, because Dan had to return to Iraq. And he had 2 weeks of R and R already given to him for the deployment. So, Dan was excited to be able to use it when Isabella was born. He also had a whole bunch of leave saved up. So, he combined 2 weeks of paternity leave and 2 weeks of his own leave. It was such a help with recovering from the c-section surgery. We loved having Daddy home for 4 weeks! Dan loved being able to grow out a beard. Here he is on his last day of leave. He had just come back from a bike ride. The boys were great at entertaining themselves while we rested and took care of baby Bella. She is still swimming in this outfit. But we love it so much. Here is princess at 3 weeks old. Snuggling on Daddy after a bath The boys have been so gentle and sweet with Isabella. Here is Zach showing off his g...

I look over at Isabella, and I can't believe how tiny and little she is. Safe in Daddy's arms

Isabella is 2 weeks old today.

4th Of July Family photo Our little firework is 1 week old today!                                                         Our yummy 4th of July dinner. This was the first night that I joined everybody for dinner since returning home from the hospital. Dan and my Mom made a yummy all American dinner with hot dogs, fruit, veggies, and potato salad.  Three generations  Ocean Grandma with Isabella, Benjamin, and Zachary  Snuggling with Grandma  They look so much alike.   Time to light the sparklers!  We made the boys yummy ice cream sundaes. We watched fireworks on TV this year. It was fun to sing along to all the patriotic music and see the fireworks going off across t...