That foot belongs to me?

Iva is fascinated by her feet. She is always touching them.

Christmas...

Came early for Shawn. Thank you Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Now I can take my laptop back :)

"I didn't let go early enough."

The sun is shining. And of course, we have to make the most of the sunshine and "warmer" weather. So off to the Duck ponds/ nature park Meg, Iva and I went. The pond was frozen over, but we couldn't tell how frozen. So we decided to throw rocks at it and see. It was quite the adventure. Meg has no aim whatsoever :) She almost hit me, herself, and Iva's stroller- and that is no exaggeration. But the best was when she threw her rock and missed the pond? I asked her how that happened and she replied "I didn't let go early enough." I am not sure how that happens, but apparently it does? It was incredibly entertaining and I felt like a little kid all over again. We decided it was, also, a great stress relief. So next time you are feeling stressed, go find a frozen pond and bring some rocks.

Meg and the wind up.

My rock didn't make it through the ice.

Another unsuccessful attempt.

Yes, that very large pond is the pond Meg somehow missed?

Meg: after we both tried to throw rocks up high in the air and
almost had them land on our heads. Not our brightest moments.

My rock landed like a spear.

Baby Iva was there too... She loves her dragonfly toy.
As long as she has that, she is content. Thanks Miss Mary.

Baby...

Baby Creeper

Baby Boogers

Baby Pigtails

Baby Teething

Baby Rat Tail

Baby Bundled

Baby Doll

Baby Chomper

Disadvantages of Iva...

Sleeping in till 10 o'clock. (Warning may be too graphic for weak stomachs.)

Another Sookhoo...

When four became... Five! Welcome handsome little Luke Robert. He is adorable and precious. He is one lucky little guy to be a Sookhoo ;)

Inseparable...

Dug and Iva have become the best little buddies. Iva squirms to get near Dug and loves patting his face. She just smiles and smiles at Dug. Dug loves licking her hands and feet. He would lick her face, if we let him. It is pretty cute to watch these two watch each other. They always make sure they know where the other one is.

Bath Time...

Iva loves her baths. And I love her sudsy hair!

Let the Packing Begin...

We are super anxious to go to the DR and see Grammie and Grampie Shaver. We may not be going till Dec 3rd, but it is never too early to start packing. Plus I have never traveled with a baby before so I want to make sure I am not forgetting anything.

Any suggestions for what to pack? Or things I might accidentally overlook? We got swimsuits covered- thanks to the Hornes.

Festival of Trees

Catmull's Furniture provided a couch and love seat for a display at the Festival of Trees. Shawn helped deliver them so he got a couple complimentary tickets to the festival. He absolutely did not want to go and didn't tell me about the tickets. But I found out and plotted. We decided to make it a girl's trip. So Shawn's mom, Jamie, Meg, Iva and I all went. The trees were beautiful and got me in the Christmas spirit. The company was the best, the crafts were cute,the fudge was good, and the little girl dancers were adorable! And now I just need to wait for a Thanksgiving to come and go.

3 Months...

Iva is 3 months old. (I missed her actual 3 months, but we will back track a little.) Iva is an amazing baby. She is beautiful. Sometimes I can hardly believe part of me made that. She loves sucking her hands. She went through a short thumb phase, but now it is her pointer finger that she sucks on. She chews on everything... especially Shawn's finger. She drools a ton. She can sit up alone for 2 Mississippi. (You have to get her pretty balanced to start with.) She drinks a ton- weighs about 15 lbs. She has four leg rolls on her thigh. She looks like she has rubber bands around her arms and legs. She still sleeps through the night- usually 9:30-9:00. She loves and recognizes her dad and gets really excited when he comes home. (She loves and prefers men. Especially her great grandpa.) When she gets excited, she starts kicking her legs and flailing her arms. She loves kicking her blanket off her lap in her swing. She loves diaper changes and absolutely hates wet diapers. She hates clothes and loves being naked. This isn't working out so great now that it is in the twenties outside. She loves Dug and constantly watching him. She can roll on to her side. She has started sleeping on her side. She talks nonstop- she even wakes up talking. She is angry when she is hungry. She screams until she gets fed. She can hold her bottle if you put her little hands in the right spot. Well, on to the pictures... 

Pictures started off with bubble blowing...

Then tears...

A milk break... Check out that hair :)

And then came the smiles!

Iva and the bear... and that tongue.

Pinching her little chubby knee.

Love those eyes... and that smile.

And chewing her hands, of course.

A Fall Walk...

We decided to take advantage of getting outside one more time before the snow comes. We went to a little park that Shawn used to play at when he was in Elementary School. It has been neat to live where he grew up and hear all the little stories that places remind him of... they are stories I don't think I would otherwise hear.

Stopping to sit in the leaves.

It was a little too bright for this chunky monkey.

She loved the leaves and the sound they made. She is into sounds.

She loves standing and drooling. 

She always get so relaxed when Shawn is holding her.

She climbed her first tree. 

She tested out the umbrella stroller and handled it quite well.