We have absolutely loved getting to be with family so far since we’ve been back. Even amidst the busyness of Clayt and Laura’s wedding, we feel so blessed to have had some special moments with those who we love most. Here are some of our photos from our first day back and the rehearsal:
Laura with her new little niece and namesake.
One of my favorites – Our girls with Grammy and Grandpa
A Daddy with his little girl
Another Daddy and his little girl… does time really go that fast?!?!
Aunt Karyn and Noa, playing peek-a-boo at the fence
It was such a joy to celebrate the marriage of Clayt and Laura this last weekend. We were just so thankful to have been able to be here and be a part of their wedding. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to share a few photos. I am hoping that we will have more to share later, but here are some for now:
our best out of several attempts at a family photo 
loving being outside
Daddy and his girl
The Noll family
Martha and Ian were so sweet to come and take care of the girls for us while Eric and I were in the wedding. What a blessing! We loved getting the extra time to be with them too!
Family photo
Aunt Laura and Martha… both beautiful!
Eric and Grandpa
Aunt Pam, Uncle Rick, Nana, and Eric
Noa, all pooped out from the festivities, stole a quick nap at the reception
But she woke up in time to hang out with Aunt Laura before she left on her honeymoon.
We have successfully completed our first trans-pacific plane ride as a family of four and, really, it wasn’t so bad. We were blessed to be next to the only empty seat on the plane (empty because all the gadgets were broken) which was a great blessing. We were also flying during what would have been our night-time so that was a big blessing too. The girls slept a lot and we didn’t have any meltdowns. God was very gracious to us and we’re very thankful. Hopefully the flight home will be just as uneventful…
Here are some of our pictures from a wonderful visit from Grandma and Grandpa Chase. We were so thankful for their sweetness in coming to stay and love on us. Noa loved getting re-acquainted with them and it was so special for them to meet Martha for the first time.
Our littlest girl is getting so big!! Martha is growing and changing and continuing to charm us with her delightful personality. She is never far away from a smile and usually has a lot to say if someone will take a moment to engage her and listen. She is good at entertaining herself, however, and stays very distracted by trying to keep an eye on her big sister’s activities. She loves to be held, loves her paci, loves putting her hands in her mouth, loves getting her burper or blanket close up to her mouth and face, she loves music and 9 times out of 10 will stop crying at the sound of it, and she LOVES people.
She is growing a lot in her physical appearance as well. Just these last few weeks I’ve commented several times to Eric how she’s not a tiny baby anymore and thats a little bit sad to me. But I am so thankful that she is growing so strong and healthy. She doesn’t roll yet, but she scoots all over the place on her back. I have found her completely turned around in her bed from scooting.
She is sleeping great at night, usually going to bed for the night between 7 and 9 (depending on our family’s schedule and when I feed her last) and sleeping til 7 in the morning. She usually takes 2 long naps in the day and a few cat naps in between. We are so busy that its hard to actually be at home and get her in her bed for all her naps but if we can even get one good one in, I feel thankful for her sake. The rest of the time she sleeps in her seat, in a baby wrap on me or someone else, or on the floor somewhere. She loves getting into her bed at night. If she is fussy or cranky, as soon as I lay her down in the dark room, she calms down and drifts off. During the day, however, its hit or miss if she’ll fall asleep on her own. About half the time she seems relieved and happy to be in bed, and about half the time she cries as soon as I put her down and, let me tell you, she has a powerful cry that is, at this point, too hard for me to resist. When she cries, I usually go and pat her back, hold her a bit, or sing to her to help her calm down. I am not so good at “sleep training” as some people call it, but eventually, I would like to help her go down easily all the time for naps. We go to America next week for Laura’s wedding, and I guess I am hesitant to fight any sleep battles right now, knowing that she’ll be subjected to jet lag and a crazy scheduel for the 2 weeks we are there. Maybe when we come back we’ll work on it…
She is still eating well. We’ve been down to nursing 5 times a day these last few weeks, which is nice for me. She goes between 3.5 and 4.5 hours inbetween her meals. I’m thankful that she’s still a quick eater and, rarely gets frantic to eat when it’s time (maybe she is already showing the quality of patience?).
This fourth month will be a very exciting one for her, as she will take her first plane trip (out of the belly), and more importantly, meet many people who love her so so much for the first time. She will aslo attend her first wedding, and an important one at that! Eric and I can’t wait for our far-away family to meet this little girl who has captured our hearts and added so much to our family.
