Isla's stay in the hospital, just 2 days old

Sweet cheeks profile

hehe, look at that adorable face!

She loved laying on her Mommy 

Our sweet baby is born! Sept 30th, 2010

Isla Anne Nolan

Born at 6:02 am
9 lbs, 0.4 ounces
21 inches long

Isla's Nursery

The pretty pink glass knobs on her dresser

This is the beautiful dresser that Daddy refinished for Isla!

Her owl mobile over the changing pad, Mommy, Daddy & baby owl!

Her trofast system with dachshund lamp

The lamp gives off the best soft light!

Her crib with wall monogram!

With her crib soother on!

Glider and her "Hooray!" banner

Isla's monogram and the embroidery hoops I put together!

Daddy playing with Isla's little shoes!

Isla's closet and her adorable clothes!

Baby Dr. Appt Update!!

I had a dr. appt on Sept 22nd, just 3 days before my official due date.  I went in hoping that I'd hear that we're making progress and Isla would be on her way at any moment.  Unfortunately, that's not what I found out :(
I was told that I am 75% effaced and not dilated at all.  I was also told that I am still carrying her very high. I was told that I am at a higher risk for needing a cesarean procedure.  Isla is still a bit of a mystery if she's going to be a small baby or a bigger baby.  At one appt. I've heard that she'll be average (about 7.5 lbs) but at the next they thought maybe she wasn't dropping because she is bigger.  We're so curious about what she'll look like, how big she'll be, etc.  I have heartburn all the time, so we'd love if that old wive's tale was true that if you have a lot of heartburn, they'll have a lot of hair!  Isla also gets the hiccups a lot, almost every day.. well I guess it would be every night.  Daddy hates when she has the hiccups and will rub my tummy until it goes away, he feels so bad for her!  She must be a little gulper, taking big swigs of the amniotic fluid!  Maybe that means she'll be a healthy eater, I guess we'll have to wait and see!  I had to schedule my next dr. appt for Sept 30th (Thursday), which will put me 5 days OVER my due date.. goodness!  At that point, my doctor will begin talking to me about inducing labor.. I'm going to ask if we can induce as soon as Friday morning if possible!  I'm guessing they'll prefer the following Monday, which would be Oct 3rd.  I will update as soon as I have any changes..
Until then, we're on the same road.  Isla is a night owl and so that keeps me awake at night and means I take long afternoon naps!

Knock Knock

"knock, knock Baby Nolan... please come out and meet your Mommy & Daddy!! We're ready to see the most adorable baby in the world.. we want to know, will you have hair? will you look like your mommy or your daddy? will you have chunky cheeks? will you get the hiccups still like you do in my tummy? Come on out and clear the air sweet baby!"

doodle's first outfit

Dearest doodle,
I thought I would share what your very first outfit is for going out into the big world!  I think it fits our feelings for you exactly because it says "I love you.. a whole bunch" and that is so true!  I'm packing this outfit in the hospital bag as your "going home" outfit and I cannot wait to snuggle you up in it and hold you tight!  I hope that you love shopping and cute outfits as much as Mommy because we're going to have a lot of fun together!
Love you sweetheart!
Mommy

A Letter to My Baby

Hello sweet Isla doodle,
It's September 8th, 2010 and we're only 17 short days from your due date!  I am so excited to meet you and look into your eyes for the first time, I know that feeling will be amazing!  I have to admit, I am hoping you will come earlier than the 25th because I am so impatient, I dream about you every night.  I try to imagine what your little features will look like and what traits you will get from Daddy & I.  Daddy teases me all the time saying you will have little "bear feet" just like I do... and secretly, I hope it's true!  I have always wanted a daughter where people comment "she looks just like you".. how neat to have a little sweet baby that resembles me and was made out of love!  Daddy and I have our one year wedding anniversary on the 26th of September so I sometimes wonder if you'll be our 1st year anniversary gift to each other!  How neat that would be!!  Then again, the doctor said you may go past your due date so they may have to induce you as late as October 1st.  That would make a neat birth date for you, 10/01/10!  I guess it's all when you decide to come out and meet this world!  I love you so very much baby!

You are the poem I dreamed of writing, the masterpiece I longed to paint. You are the shining star I reached for in my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled... You are my baby. Now with all things, I am blessed.

Baby Shower at Work.... and CAKE!!

Look at this yummy cake!  My WONDERFUL co-workers are throwing me a mini baby shower today, we're having lunch brought in and cake!  I am so surprised and excited!  I am very lucky to work with such great people, it's nice to work in an office of only 10 sometimes- you start to become very close with your co-workers!  I am so happy!!

One of the sweetest moments in the world

I'm over 35 weeks pregnant now and feeling pretty uncomfortable!  Luckily I have a sweet husband around that tries to help me.  Like when he rubbed lotion on my poor, dry feet that I can no longer reach!  Yes, it did take some sweet talking by me for him to get it done.. but in the end, he's a good husband.  What I adore more than all of that is when I am restless at night and using all of my strength just to swing my large belly from my left side to my right, and my husband hears my groaning and tries to soothe me and his baby girl.  It's so sweet how it's an instant reaction, he reaches his hand out and rubs my tummy for several minutes!  Last night he tried to pull my t-shirt down to cover my belly too... but unfortunately my belly is outgrowing many of my shirts so that didn't happen! haha

Baby shower for Isla doodle!

My dear friend Tara Drollinger and her Mom (my PM, pseudo mom) threw me a lovely baby shower on the 7th of August at their home.  They served brunch with egg casseroles, blueberry bread, different types of muffins, cupcakes, orange juice and coffee!  It was delicious!  Then it was on to gift opening, we had a wonderful turn out.  I was pleasantly surprised and overjoyed (even with the hurt of missing both Moms that day).  Isla was given so many clothes and books, it was amazing!  Aaron and I were so happy with the mini-library we're able to start with!  Isla was given many classic books and we plan on reading to her quite often!
I wanted to post just a couple of  pics because I forgot my camera and I had to rely on Jeanne to do the pics for me!

This picture was taken after the shower with Isla's Grandpa (my Dad), we were comparing our bellies!

This picture is with my two best friends (Isla's Aunties) at the baby shower!  I just love these two! 

Tara Drollinger & Sharlyne Rael

I will post more pictures once Jeanne sends me them from the shower!  Thank you to everyone who was involved in this wonderful day, I appreciate it all! 

New car for the Nolan family!!!

This isn't the BEST pic of the new car, there's shade and it's taken with my phone.. but you get the idea!  We traded the corvette in for a 2010 Toyota Prius V!!!  Yea!!  It's so neat and full of fun gadgets including bluetooth, iPod, voice recognition, navigation, lane assist, some sort of sonar cruise thing??  In other words, a bunch of stuff.. it's amazing!!  The prius' are actually a lot bigger on the inside than people know too!  It's a great car and I can already picture our family outings and traveling in it!  It can get up to 60mpg which is so great and will save in fuel costs, I am a very happy Mommy!!  :) 

Averie Ann Henson

I wanted to put some pics up of Isla's future BFF, Averie Ann Henson.  She is so darling!!

Happy Birthday Averie Ann Henson!

Our dear friends Shawn & Chel had their beautiful baby girl July 13th at 9:32 am!!  They wanted a surprise and found out that they made a beautiful little girl!  She weighed in at 7 lbs and 1 oz and 18 1/2 in. long!  She is so sweet with a dimple on her right cheek!  Averie has some light brown hair and a cute little button nose!  Aaron and I went up early that Tuesday morning to meet Averie and we both loved her instantly!  Mommy is doing so well too, both parents are beaming with pride!  We are overjoyed for the new Henson family and we're so excited for the future with our families together.  We just know that Isla & Averie will be the best of friends!  Congrats again Chel & Shawn!!  I will post pics as soon as I can!!

Maternity Pictures!

Our sweet friend Nikki Ramirez took some maternity pictures of our little Nolan family yesterday, July 11th at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  She did a great job and we had so much fun hanging out with her and her family that day!  We're so excited for our little Isla Doodle to be with us on a trip to the Children's Garden, it was so fun and peaceful! 

The most beautiful baby girl in the world!!

Our sweet babycakes had a 3D ultrasound yesterday, July 8th.  She is just amazing and perfect!  We saw her smiling and kicking around inside my tummy, she instantly put tears into her Mommy's eyes while Daddy watched in awe and silence.  We are both so in love with our little sweetheart!  She weighs in at exactly 3 lbs right now and she was in the 59th percent aisle for where I'm at in my pregnancy, so she's very healthy and growing perfect!  Words cannot express the happiness she is bringing to our lives, we are so blessed to have our own little family!

4th of July!

The 4th of July was wonderful!  Aaron and I went downtown under the arch to Fair St. Louis with our own little picnic and listened to John Legend and the B-52's performing!  We even shared a funnel cake which I'm sure Isla was giddy over :)   This picture was taken at 28 weeks pregnant exactly (July 3rd), I'm feeling huge and uncomfortable but I just keep reminding myself of the wonderful reward that is coming!! We start our baby/birthing classes tonight, we will have a class every Tuesday that lasts 2 hours for the whole month!  We're suppose to bring 2 pillows and wear comfy clothes so this should be very interesting!  :)