Isabel's two month appointment

We had Isabel's two month doctor's appointment today and her first set of vaccinations. Four shots in the leg (two in each thigh) and one oral vaccination. It was so sad and heartbreaking for me to hear a cry come out of her that was sheer terror and pain, unlike I have ever heard before. But, as I was standing there watching her, waiting to be able to pick her up and console her, something occurred to me. This is the first of many times as a mother that I will make a decision for her that will be painful at the time, but will protect her later on. God has placed the responsibility on me and Luke to make these decisions for her, always having her best interest at heart. She will often not understand at the time why we are choosing to have her go through something painful, but we can hope and pray that as she grows, and especially someday when she has children of her own, she will understand why parents have to allow their children to sometimes suffer pain. It is a tiny bit of what God the father experienced when he watched his Son Jesus suffer and die on the cross. I grow closer to the Lord each day that I am a mother, and I could not do it without Him.

Smiling at Mommy and Daddy

Isabel has been smiling at us now for a couple of weeks! Her first smile at yours truly (Mommy) was on January 30th, and of course melted my heart! Every day since then, she has smiled at one or the other of us, or both of us. A good time to get her to smile is when waking her up from a nap, when she does not wake up on her own. We pick her up and start talking to her, and as she starts to wake up she will often look right at our faces and grin. How adorable! She is also really trying hard to coo, and a few cooing noises have come out but she is not doing it consistently yet. When she gets excited she will move her mouth in all sorts of shapes and breathe really fast, kicking her legs and arms as she is trying to figure out how to "say" what she wants to say! It should be anytime now that she is cooing all the time!