i-z-z-y put my name in bold

she made it!  isabelle "izzy" joann baldwin was born 2/9/15 at 12:19pm. 9lbs 4oz, 21 and a half inches.  i'm not going to go into the whole labor process, if you want to know you can ask.  let's just say it was long and painful. the end.

this little girl is awesome.  she is such a chill baby compared to mae.  maybe it's because i'm already a parent?  who knows, either way, she is wonderful.

 we had two different names that we really liked, but i still wasn't sure.  so we looked on family search and found a few more names. isabelle was my great grandmother's middle name, and i instantly loved it, because then we could call her izzy!  still, cody and i were both pretty confident that she would be hylie.  but once we saw her, we both knew that it didn't fit. cody was the one to suggest isabelle. i loved the name, but i wasn't sure he did as much.  it totally fits this little girl.  joann is cody's grandmother's name.  some pretty special girls that we know have joann as their middle names as well, so she has a lot to live up to!

our hospital stay was way more low key this time around.  gram and mae stopped by for a few visits.  i was worried how mae would react to izzy.   she has been so clingy the past few weeks, and i've heard some crazy stories about siblings with new babies.  she has been so wonderful!  she loves to help with izzy, and gives her loves.  she likes to know where she is, and loves that she gets to sit next to her in the car.

she looks nothing like mae when she was born.  except the chin, they both have the scholz chin...sorry girls.  my mom says she looks exactly like me when i was a baby.  so we'll see!

we love this little girl so much.  my testimony of forever families has grown with each girl.  i'm so grateful to know that we will be with these two sweet girls forever.  

we have been so lucky to have gram with us the past two weeks!  it has been awesome!  and mae has had a blast with gram.  gram has taken her everywhere.  on valentines day, they made heart sugar cookies, they've made tons of treats, my mom has made us freezer meals, woken up with mae, helped with izzy, cleaned.  i am a lucky girl! we love you gram.  i don't want to think about when she leaves, but hopefully she and gramps will be back soon.

eviction notice

that's right, this kid is getting evicted!  i have an induction scheduled for this sunday evening.  so, baby girl baldwin will be coming monday morning.  i don't think i can express how ready i am for this.  hardest 38 weeks of my life.  can't wait to hold this little lady.

we've been enjoying our last few weeks as a family of three.  and enjoying some warm days, and exploring austin.  in an effort to hurry this baby along, i have been walking like crazy (but, she is going nowhere despite my efforts.  seriously, i'm talking multiple walks a day on top of my daily workouts, walking stairs over and over, i even read squats can help. i did so many for a few days i was so sore!).  we went down to lady bird lake to walk and take in the austin skyline. 

 on one of our many walks, we found someone throwing away this power wheels.  so, i took it.  yes, i'm that person.  it doesn't work, but munchkin has a good time playing in it anyway.

we had some beautiful days last week, and spent lots of time outside.  mae loves to ride her "motorcycle", especially when the big girls down the street are riding their bikes.  i'll be sad when she starts pronouncing things correctly, and using the right words.

i got a nasty cold/flu thing last week.  being a sick, pregnant mama is no joke!  lucky for me, cody was able to work from home and help one day.  and this lady was on her best behavior.  she had a blast outside playing with water and bowls.
we live in such an awesome ward, and have made so many great friends.  i had so many people offer to watch mae, and we had dinner brought to us.  we're so blessed!

big milestone for the baby bro bro.  reid entered the MTC on wednesday last week! so proud of him.  such a great picture of my awesome brothers.  i so wish i was able to be there with them.  i miss the four of us being together! but, i'm so glad they were able to get together!

mae is becoming very independent.  most days, she likes to pick out her clothes, and attempts to put them on.  here is the flip flop attempt.  

 she would not let me fix them.  and we have to hide these bad boys when the weather is cold.  she will not wear anything else if she sees them.  and she doesn't take them off.  they go in the bath with her, and to sleep with her.  this is a new phenomenon.  she gets so attached to weird things.  she had to have her sunglasses on for naptime the other day.  whatever, that's a battle i don't have the energy for.

the past few days, i've tried to spend more time playing with mae.  it's hitting me that in just three short days, it won't be the two of us.  she is such a fun, loving, playful, energetic little kid.  and i love watching her personality develop!