Jake

Welcome Jakob Sean Sumsion

Born February 26th, 2010 at 1 AM

8 pounds, 5 ounces 20 3/4 inches long

Laguna Beach, California

We are so thrilled and excited for my brother Sean and his wonderful wife Rachel as they welcome Jakob into their family. Rachel was such a rock star and was like a professional birthing machine! Both mother and baby are doing well and I don't think we could be anymore proud to be related to them. How awesome is it that Isabelle has another cousin so close in age!

Sean and Rach- we can't wait to come down and visit you and meet little Jakob! Congratulations on such a beautiful new addition to the family.

xoxo.

this is it.

Yesterday, I found myself the chauffeur of kind of a hodgepodge group- one very smart two year old, a sleepy 4 month old, and my awesome mother. As we drove across town in the crazy pouring rain, Madilyn led us in round after round of Itsy Bitsy Spider, complete with hand actions, facial expressions, and clapping. We laughed as we argued over the validity of Itsy Bitsy versus the less popular version Eensy Weensy and I believe the Itsy Bitsys won.

As I was driving, a still small voice whispered to me
This is it! This is where you are supposed to be.
This is what you are supposed to be doing.

This morning I was scrubbing toilets and folding laundry and accomplishing all things domestic. Except vacuuming, I hate vacuuming. I was putting away the same clothes in the same drawers in the same I did on Monday, thinking my life was a tad on the monotonous side. When I was finished polishing the sinks and windexing my mirrors, my house was shining.

Putting away my cleaning supplies-
A still small voice whispered to me.
It's okay! This is where you are supposed to be.
This is what you are supposed to be doing.

Later I was trying on some pants that were obviously not fitting past my thighs. Its discouraging really, to know I'm not one of those women who just bounce back from pregnancy. Have you ever seen a squash ball? Thats more my style of bounce. Just kind of dead and floppy on the ground. I looked in my closet and realized that 90% of the clothes hanging don't currently fit me. I cried a little bit.

A still small voice said to me.
Don't worry! It will come off eventually.
This is where you are supposed to be.
This is what you are supposed to be doing.

Isabelle has a bit of a bug lately and as a result is awake at 4 am consistently. You can probably guess that I am thrilled about this. Me - Sleep = Zombie slash Ursula. Now I feel so spoiled thinking about when she slept so well through the night- I should have appreciated it more. Anyway, as I was rocking her swaddled burrito body back to sleep, she looked so peaceful, her miniature lips parted a little as she breathed in deep sleep.

A still small voice whispered to me
This is it. This is where you are supposed to be.
This is what you are supposed to be doing.

Confirmation is so comforting.

Today I love...

This little baby.

Today I love...

my new haircut!

I don't care who you are, sometimes a haircut just feels good. It had been awhile since I had mine done *ahem since august* and it was way, way past due. I think she cut off about twelve feet, I'm not sure though.

We got to chit chatting as she was shaping my a-line cut. For the first time since I had Isabelle, someone asked me what I did for a living. For a second I didn't really know what to say. What was I now? I told her I stayed home with our four month old baby. I felt like I needed to qualify myself and explain that I went to a university and got a degree and everything...but I really enjoy what I'm now.. and eventually we will have more kids...and its a full time job! and I'm really busy! and I miss getting sleep..blah blah.

But I didn't explain myself. I don't really need to. I am perfectly content with being Isabelles mother. Its constant- its exhausting and complicated and overwhelming and I love it.

Even more than I love my new hair.

PS I have decided to embrace my current double chin. C'est la vie.

How to make an edible Valentine in 7 hours or less.

You will need these items:

And one special helper (with toys to distract said helper)

Soon it will start to look more like a cake and less like a bunch of ingredients.

Make sure you save the extras for a snack- and keep your phone handy to speedial your personal pastry chef sister.

And even though your counter will eventually look like this...

It will be worth it when you are all finished!

Yum.

First full size fondant cake = success.

4 Months

Dear Isabelle,

Thursday was your four month birthday! Today we took you to the doctor for your well baby checkup and you are doing great. You weigh 11 pounds, 7 ounces and you are about 25 inches long- this puts you in around the 25th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height. You may be a little petite but you are sure strong! You can stand assisted and sit with some help- although you do tiny baby crunches when you strain to sit up on your own.

You love it when we sing to you- your favorites are In the Leafy Treetops and You Are My Sunshine. When you get sleepy you rub your little eyes until they are red, and soon your heavy eyelids close and after a few verses of Brahms, you drift into a peaceful sleep. When you are awake you are full of smiles and giggles, you love to play in your Jenny jump up, you love to hold your rattle and play with the krinkly toy that I made for you.

You have lots of different little expressions. You have happy, playful faces and concerned, furrowed brow faces. You have hungry faces and tired faces and all sorts of faces in between. I love all of your faces, every single one, and I could just eat your cheeks right up.

I will admit I love playing dress ups with you already- you have tons of cute outfits and shoes to match. Wherever we go, people fawn over you and want to see you. You are truly one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen, and I'm so proud to be your mother.

Before I had you, everyone said how different it would be having a baby of my own. I had done a lot of babysitting and had nieces and nephews and all sorts of baby interaction. I thought dirty diapers and crying fits, snuggling and kissing and singing would be the same no matter the baby. I thought I knew- but everyone was right. It is insane how much we love and adore you, how much our world completely revolves around you.

There is a special book that my mom used to read to me called Love You Forever. You may remember it, as we have read it a few times.

A new mother held her baby and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held her, she sang,

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be.

Isabelle, I love being your mom, I love taking care of you everyday. As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

Love, Love, Love you.

xoxo

Momma

Today I love...

RKT HYBRIDS.

This is not their real name. I believe they are called Scotcharoos? To me they are a perfect blend of two of my favorite treats- rice krispy treats and scotchies. I was fully planning to bring some to our Superbowl Food Fest but accidentally consumed them myself. So, whoops.

My sister in law shared this recipe with me and therefore is completely responsible for me gaining twelve pounds.

You need:

1 Cup Karo Syrup

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Peanut Butter (I use superchunk. are you surprised.)

6 Cups Rice Krispy Cereal

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Butterscotch Chips

As you can see it is very healthy and encourages a wholesome diet.

On the stove top, combine syrup and sugar together until boiling. Remove from heat, add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Fold in rice krispy cereal until well covered. Place into 9x13 pan. Melt together chocolate chips and butterscotch, pour over cereal and chill.

I prefer mine cold. Right out of the fridge.

Do me a favor, make a batch (or a half batch! or a quarter batch! The math is very simple.) and try them out and then let me know how delicious they are. Alas, as the quest for Maui ready Micci begins, these are banned from my kitchen. I can live vicariously through you.

They also would make a great Valentines Day treat. Or a Monday treat. Whatever, you choose.

Today I love...

...Dove Chocolates, preferably of the milk variety.

We've been spending the last few evenings at my parents' house, since they put some new carpet in and have needed Jazz's man muscles to arrange furniture. I have been a big help mostly keeping the couch from floating away. Its nice to have a reason to be over there, even though we would probably be there anyway.

Two things you should know about my mom: 1) She is crafty and 2) She loves chocolate. A lot. She really, really loves chocolate. Lots of different kinds- ice cream, candy bars, brownies, cake, whatever- chocolate is her main food group.

One of my favorite things about my mom's kitchen is this cupboard with the delicious food bin. It always has a myriad of various treats and sweets to snack on. Among the Twizzler packs and weird halloween leftovers there is always a glass pyrex bowl full of little blue Dove chocolates. They are my favorite chocolate indulgence- smooth and creamy and just the right popable size.

Plus they have an uplifting message on the wrapper, so theres that. Perfect to stick in a heart shaped valentines bowl for your family/roommates/dogs/friends. Try some!

Happy February

I love February! The month of love. The month Jazz and I met. The month he proposed to me. Valentines Day and hearts and candy and flowers- whats not to like?

In honor of this lovely month, I am going to blog about all of the things I love. Family, food, products, treats, whatever. Basically- expect 30 days filled with pictures of Isabelle. No, I'm kidding. I like a few other things too.

Today I love....

Bearded boys who give babys baths. Clean fresh baby smell, cozy warm pajamas..you know what I'm talking about. I wish I could bottle how delicious Izzie smells after bath time and share it with you. Its that yummy. I'm lucky to have such a bearded boy on hand to share bath time with.