4 months today!!!

Today marks the 4 month point! Only 2 more times of what we have been through and you are a whole year old! Way to grow Shiloh!
I've been taking note of things you did this month so that I could share them with you (and everyone else reading this blog). Some of you might find some of this monotonous and uninteresting, but these are little things that Sam and I enjoy so much currently and want to be reminded of them in the future when Shiloh is doing all kinds of other things.
1. You are SO chatty! We love hearing you talk! Sometimes it really sounds like you say "hi" and I wouldn't be surprised because I say this to you constantly. Because you are so chatty and because you are mine, I assume you are a genius. I also think the prenatal DHA/fish oil I took and Daddy's 4.0 combined made you extra brilliant. (I am kind of serious about that:)
2. Mommy rarely cuts your nails. But thankfully, this fact is the cause of something else we enjoy about you. As you struggle to fall asleep at times, you will scratch your hands on the sheets and it is funny to only hear that coming from your room at night. It's a cute sound, not scary:)
3. My absolute favorite is the way you eat now-very social! You will look up at me while you eat and flash me the biggest smile! Your smile is so sweet!!! I also enjoy watching your eyes roll into the back of your head as soon as you start eating like you are in milk heaven. Foodie from the start, just like your momma. Atta girl!

People ask us if we can see any personality coming out yet and we decided on a word to describe you: Spunky. Yes indeed you are. And we love it!

And guess what you started doing this week-not only are sleeping through the night and sleeping longer, but you fall asleep ALL BY YOURSELF and WITHOUT YOUR SWADDLE BLANKET! And all of this because your thumb is your new BFF. After a couple of weeks of trying, you were finally able to coordinate your thumb to your mouth perfectly. Trust me, we are not complaining about that! 

Unfortunately, our computer got stolen a couple of days ago, so we are without pictures from the beginning of the month because I did not have them backed up:( But enjoy the following event's pictures starting from Oct. 19th to today. I still feel hopeful that our stuff will turn up again or that a Mac will fall out of the sky to replace the one that was taken:) Hey, you never know! If you are wondering how I am writing this blog, it is because now I get to have "computer time" at the public library-it's so fun!

 Shiloh found her feet!

 At the zoo again with momma and friends-look at that sly smile!

 Too cute not to include.

 This is a picture of a good, serving husband. Yes, he is cutting out felt leaves for a garland I made. Yes, he offered. Yes, he is amazing.

 Cute footie pajamas! She can wear them now that she does not need her swaddle.

 We got to meet cousin Ryder finally! Ryder was born 6 days after Shiloh.

 We celebrated Uncle Frank's 30th Birthday this month-Here we are with all the Binkleys!

 So, we get out of the car and this is what Shiloh has done to her head band. And this is not the only time for this to happen.

 Shiloh attending her first baby party hosted by our midwives-they had a petting zoo.

 A visit with Nani and Mimi-Shiloh was freaking out, but was calmed by the bumblebee song.

 Going outside to spend time with God and daddy

 Helping mommy with laundry

 We celebrated Auntie Sheryl's golden birthday at Homestead Heritage

 And the food was AMAZING!!!

 The beginnings of finding her thumb

 Trying out the bumbo more and more

 Mom and dad got to enjoy some boba tea by themselves

 We love boba!

 We traveled to Bridgeport to attend the First Baptist BBQ. This is Shiloh and Nannie playing piano there.

 Dressed up in our very homemade Halloween costume-dressed like her mermaid. She had pigtails, a shell bra, and a felt flipper. All of which fell off as soon as we got to our destination. But we tried!

 I found my thumb!

 And now our 4 month pictures. They are not so good this month because she was #1 Chatty

 #2 Tired

 #3 Cranky

#4 Mesmerized by daddy

For not having all our photos for the month, I think I managed to get a quite a few in there. 

See you next month at our next computer time!

3 months

Okay, so I realized lately that I have this thought everyday: I have the best husband and the best daughter, so I am living the best life possible. These are just words to express a thought, but the feeling is deep and I really believe it. It could be border line prideful perhaps because that means I think everyone else is not experiencing the best ever, but I bet other people feel this way too. But maybe don't tell me that-I would like to think I really am just living the good life. Cause I am.
Some favorites from the past month:
Shiloh has found her hands and she loves them! She brings them together in front of her and just stares. She gets extra cute points for doing this while breastfeeding. It's so funny to me how taken she is by her beautiful hands.
And you know what else? This little girl rolled over for the first time like 3 weeks ago! She has done it a couple times since then, but mainly just likes to get up on her side.
Doesn't sound like very impressive feats, right? WRONG! It was the most honorable, amazing talent I have ever seen when Shiloh rolled over. And I mean it! So funny how a seemingly little thing causes me to feel so proud.
Ever heard a gibbon? If you live in Waco and have gone to the Cameron Park Zoo, they are the monkey-like creatures at the front of the zoo. And they make all those crazy sounds and you think "how do they do that?" That is how I feel about Shiloh's talking. She just makes so many different sounds-my favorite being her high-pitched squeal. She rarely wakes us up with crying anymore, but rather cooing and half-laughs. It's the best.
Forgive me if I talk in extremities too much. It's the only way I can express the feelings that I think might explode out of me sometimes.
Have you ever felt like a rush of endorphins or something like that to your brain? I feel that sometimes before I pick up Shiloh. It's a rush, truly. I think it is so awesome that God has made my body to react that way to something I love so much. I just want to squeeze her, but I don't do that anymore because she spits up on me:)
Here are some pictures from this past month for your viewing pleasure:

 I walked into the living room one day and found Shiloh sleeping on her side-look at that little bundle!

 And again the next day:)

 Shiloh got dressed up to visit her friends at the zoo

 I know it's blurry, but too cute not to post. She loves Peek and Squeak! (the elephant)

 JJ came all the way from Longview to visit us and come to Zumba!

 We think it is funny (and kind of scary at the same time) when she makes her "big eyes"

 3 months old!

 Playing with her mermaid and fascinated by her hands at the same time

 

 This video makes us chuckle, what about y'all?

2 months and more

I learned a good saying at Nest last week. The days are long, but the years are short. How true that feels sometimes! Even though "long days" are becoming fewer and fewer, I am amazed at how the time is flying by with Shiloh. I love this time though! I am so lucky to spend every day with her.
Highlights of this blog include celebrating our 1st anniversary and Binkley family vacation to the Frio in Leaky, TX. (I never heard of Leaky before either).
Sam and I got to travel to the outskirts of Waco to celebrate our anniversary at the White Rock Creek B&B. And it is now HIGHLY RECOMMENDED in our book. It could have been the fact that it was just the two of us, but the B&B was nice and they have mastered making an exceptional quiche. During this time I decided that I like anniversaries even more than birthdays (which is saying a lot because I LOVE birthdays). But it is like sharing OUR birthday together or something. This must be how twins feel every year:)
Vacation was also fun. We are so thankful to Grandma and Grandpa Binkley for organizing our trip because it provides great opportunities for us to build memories together-thank you Steve and Cathy! It was very fun and the river was beautiful but mighty cold. Mighty, mighty cold. I couldn't brave it for too long, but I sure did want to. Shiloh learned to swim. She is a natural. Mommy and Daddy just shivered on the side while she snorkeled with the perch.
Pictures below to go with my above narrations. Enjoy!

Shiloh ADORES Abigail Mayfield. I mean, how could she not? We got to visit with Abigail in Austin before a wedding we went to. This girl is so fun and she introduced us to two new yummies: oatmeal creme pies(not miss debbie's) and popcorn tofu. Thank you Wheatsville and Abigail!

Shiloh got to attend yet another wedding! 3 weddings in only 2 months of life. Our little social butterfly. She loved getting to meet my dear friends from high school. Reception was at the Oasis and if you couldn't tell from our shiny faces, it was rather steamy in there.

Just because she is so darn cute.

We celebrated our FIRST ANNIVERSARY!

Anniversary Bouquet-Sam brought these to me after work on Friday with a card that said "363 days later..." and it was a lovely letter indeed. Tears.

Sam got me some Polish pottery for our anniversary-a small obsession since younghood. Just now getting to indulge since I have a home to put it in.

Anniversary dinner at Cracker Barrel-Sam was really craving biscuits. So biscuits we had:)

Our roadtrips tend to take a little longer nowadays with feeding and changing Shiloh. This is her being changed in the trunk. Too funny to not include. I especially like the one sock look-she is trying to start a trend among other babies.

Spending time with grandpa at the Frio

Shiloh got to hang out with Uncle Nick and Aunt Catherine-she just loves those two!

 

 

 

Shiloh always asks to wear my sunglasses-I let her do it since they look so good on her.

Shiloh and mommy sitting by the river

This poor girl is going to have so many pictures of her sleeping-it's just so cute!

2 months old and happy about it

Shiloh just LOVES her mermaid

The Binkley Fam

Look! I can even eat Amy's ice cream and breastfeed at the same time-I'm like a professional:)

Sam loves his ice cream