Blessing

Grandma and Grandpa came out for baby N's blessing and we were VERY grateful they were here. It wasn't much of a vacation for them since we put them to work with the kids and helping us prep the house for moving, but we hope they managed a little R&R at the hotel. Baby N was great during the blessing and it was very moving (for me anyways). We were scared she would be too big for the dress, which is ironic considering I was worried she would be too little for it when we were buying it. #1 had that problem since we blessed him when he was only 2 weeks old. I ended up taking the tulle underskirt out so it wouldn't end up as a miniskirt on her and that seemed to resolve the length issue. Aunt Chandra did a great job finding this for us out in Utah- I love it.!


But I don't want to be pretty!


Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa




I'm starting to see the merit of getting a professional photographer. Or Photoshop. It's nearly impossible to get a picture with two kids (and two adults) where everyone looks good. Definitely worth the money. Once N's baby acne/cradle cap clears up (and I lose this blasted pregnancy weight!) maybe we'll go strike a pose somewhere.



Post-blessing: Grandpa took a nap and Grandma played legos with #1. They got him his first set! An addiction is born...






Watching a pro at work...




On the way back from dropping Grandma and Grandpa off at the airport, #1 threw up in the car. Once we stripped his clothes off at home, I found him like this. Have I mentioned how much this kid loves his sister? It's the greatest.

Little All Stars

#1 has done two classes since we last posted: Basketball and Track. S took him to track since his buddy was out of town. Both went over really well, but he is especially excited for next week where they will do a silly sports day. Apparently there will be scooters, which #1 has admired from a distance. We'll see if he'll actually try it.

Track Day









Basketball

Recap

Well, if the last post was for a rough day, we're officially in for a rough couple of weeks. S is prepping for his qualifying exams which will take place over spring break, I have a final exam for my last class so I can finally graduate from BYU, and we are moving to a three bedroom in our complex in 2 weeks. Nothing like getting it all done in one shot. This is probably the most stressful move I have ever prepped for. When S and I first moved out here, we managed to fit all of our belongings into 2 cars. The last place we lived in was furnished, so the move to our current abode was again pretty light. Now with two kids, a VERY (perhaps overly) furnished house, and a plethora of things I just simply "can't do without", I'm discovering what it is like to feel like the walls are closing in on you. It's been nice to go through everything and get rid of some stuff though. I finally went through our file cabinet the other day and #1 had a blast shredding documents with me. Two very full garbage bags later and one very dead shredder, I've learned you don't need to keep every bill/Christmas card/handout you ever receive. The past couple weeks have been pretty jam-packed too. Here are some pictures and video from #1's Pirate Party. I've discovered a lot of our video has #1's name in it- perhaps I'll bite the bullet and just revert back to our real names. Silliness. Anyways, we had a lot of fun dressing up and then going to the museum. It was a good day.

Making the cake the day before. This was a very fun and easy cake to do- no cutting!




Putting on the costumes...












Capping cake off with some pirate Scooby Doo




"I'm a pirate! Arrrr"


"Here's my pirate impression....Arrrrr"


"What? You want me to get in on the pirate stinkeye action?"


"Okay...Arrrrrr!"


And some pictures from the museum...(I'll put more up when I get them from a friend)

It was a rough day...

Rewind

Baby N, possibly #1 and I are all sick. Luckily this upcoming week doesn't have a lot going on with the exception of #1's Happy Unbirthday party and the arrival of grandparents on Saturday (no, that wasn't sarcastic :) ). I learned my lesson last year and kept things pretty low key this year with #1's party- just taking him and a few of his buddies to the museum, so I'm grateful for that. Poor little N is so miserable. I can only get her to sleep in her swing and even that doesn't work sometimes. Hopefully we'll all be back on our feet in a couple days and if not, at least we'll have reinforcements at the end of the week. I'm pretty behind in posting pictures for the family, so in no particular order here's what has transpired lately.

Little All Stars focused on T-Ball this week. #1 did well and seems to be enjoying his class.



I'm not huge on celebrating holidays, but we had a relatively eventful Valentine's Day. We went to a friend's house and decorated cookies, baby N got her first kiss, and S and I went out on a real date to a favorite restaurant.





I found N like this the other day. Apparently #1's fixation with creating patterns with objects is not just limited to toys. As a disclaimer, we don't normally have buckets of candy lying around the house. #1 is finally getting the swing of things with potty-training (at least when we are at home anyways) and we encourage this through excessive amounts of sugar. Perhaps he'll end up toothless, but that's better than the other option (in our opinion anyways).


N's acne is just getting worse, but I still find her irresistibly cute. She is such a sweetie.



In other news, we are moving to a 3 bedroom in our complex next month! It's crazy how fast it all happened, but as my mom said- that's how you know it's meant to be. We toured the place with #1 and he talks about his new house everyday. I think we are all pretty excited to have some more space and nicer digs. Perhaps being cooped up over the winter has added to our cabin fever.

Will I Miss You When You're Gone?

I've been thinking a lot lately about my current state in life. As a disclaimer, let me say I'm grateful to be a stay-at-home mother and I'm grateful for a husband who can provide for that lifestyle. However, I don't know if I will miss this time in my life once it is gone. This past Sunday there was a talk about finding joy in the journey and one particular quote stood out to me. The premise of the quote was that you should enjoy the craziness of children because this moment is fleeting and soon you will miss the pitter patter of those feet. Is it strange if I don't know if I agree with that? Yesterday, both of my children were screaming and I had to decide whether to appease them or make dinner. Yesterday I realized that the majority of my day involves multitasking and that I rarely have a moment to myself. Yesterday I literally felt like a prisoner in my own home because it took several hours just to get out the door. Yesterday I spent an hour dressing and undressing my toddler while he tried to decide if he needed to go potty. Yesterday I had to clean poo off the floor. I have a feeling I will not miss yesterday 20 years from now. I'm half-tempted to take a video of days like this so that if I ever do miss this particular time in my life, I can remind myself that it wasn't all cookie dough and cuteness. I'm enjoying my life, but I also look forward to the future when I won't feel as stretched or frazzled. Joy in the journey, to me, is finding joy as you go without desiring to return to another point in time. The only reason I feel like going back in time is usually so I could do things differently. I feel that way a lot, even about yesterday.

Things are going well here though and I don't mean to be a downer. #1 is slowly learning to use the potty and I am slowly gaining patience with the whole process. N has gotten a really bad case of baby acne and I am starting to wonder if I will ever have a baby that doesn't have skin problems. At least this will go away after a while, but it has deterred me from taking a lot of pictures, poor little thing. #1 is such a good brother and I couldn't have asked for this transition to go better- he loves that little girl.
Before


And After- they even cover her ears- poor thing.


Toys Under Foot
Lately #1 has been constructing elaborate designs with his toys on the floor. Here's his fence and tower setup. He also loves taking pictures and has adopted our old camera.





I love these guys. Life is good even if I feel like screaming sometimes.