Isla is 1 Month Old!

Our beautiful bright-eyed baby girl is one month old today!

Where has the time gone?! It is truly hard to wrap our brains around the fact that it has been a full month since we welcomed Isla into the world. Although on the other hand, if feels like she has been with us for so much longer. Getting to know our little pumpkin has been absolutely wonderful, and we fall more and more in love with her every day!

Isla continues to be the sweetest and most easygoing baby, and we’ve compiled a little list of one month highlights we always want to remember…

– Since birth, Isla has had impressive eye contact, and it just keeps getting better. She loves contrast, and her gaze is often drawn out the window at the trees and bamboo in the backyard. Over the past few days she has regularly locked eyes with us for longer periods of time, and is even beginning to coo and try and talk with us. That’s right, the sweet “ah-goo’s” have started!

– Snorts and chortles are common sounds coming from Isla… we joke that it’s the Chinese influence (although similar, her sounds are much cuter than the hocking and spitting we’re used to hearing in Shanghai)

– Baths and diaper changes are still Isla’s least favorite times, and are the only things that really seem to cause her to get upset.

– Isla is such a strong little pumpkin, and she is really gaining excellent control of her head and neck. She loves to arch her back and hold her head up to look around. Watching her little head (complete with a darling Alfalfa-like tweakers) bobble around is too cute for words!

– At night, Isla is still sleeping 3.5-4.5 hour stretches at a time (most nights- we’ve had a few 2.5 hour stretch nights)

– After sneezing, Isla’s brow raises dramatically in surprise and then she smiles… hilarious!

– Isla loves to lie on her back and kick her legs and wave her arms. After a while she can become over-stimulated, but relaxes as soon as she’s swaddled and sucking on her pacifier.

– Speaking of pacifiers (also known as ooh ooh’s around our house), Isla loves hers! She does a darn good Maggie Simpson impression that is too cute for words! Determined to hold onto her ooh ooh with her hands, but not quite having a full awareness of, or ability to control, her arms, can lead to some frustration, as I’m sure you can imagine, when she pulls the pacifier from her own mouth.

– We like to joke that, like highly trained horses, Isla is “bomb proof.” While she sometimes startles at sudden loud noises (jumps, arms fly up in the air), she does not appear upset or agitated. She sleeps through all sorts of loud commotion, and continues to love her white noise. It’s so nice not to have to tip-toe around her, and to know she can sleep just about anywhere!

– Snuggling is one of Isla’s favorite past times… and we love it too! It is also worth noting that she has the most kissable cheeks and forehead in the whole world!

Ahhh! We can’t handle the cuteness… she’s such a little sprite! (Notice her darling Alfalfa tweaker?)

Tomorrow is our little turkey lurkey’s one month check up. We can’t wait to see how much she has grown!