Eli is 6 months!

I love this photo because in my mind I can hear the sound coming from his mouth and it makes me happy! If you look (really) close, you can see budding teeth coming through!

This month has been a month of big "firsts" for Eli. I will try to record a few:

1) first big illness (RSV) followed by his
2) first trip back to the hospital!
3) first tooth... followed by his second, third and fourth (all on the bottom row!)
4) first taste of avocado, mango, salmon, broccoli, prunes, (and sadly to admit...ice cream). He loves them all! A little non-traditional baby food items, but he just begs for solids of any sort, and sometimes this is all I have to give him when a hunger craving hits.
5) first family vacation...lake Las Vegas.
6) first time to meet Elmo and Judy, he loves them too!
7) first crawl! yup, he has the crawling thing down (backwards, but hey....he will soon get the forward thing. I can see he is very close)!

He is a great little boy and we love his skinny booty to pieces!

March Madness

Yes, Brian did get to enjoy some of the "March Madness" in Las Vegas as he cheered his cougars on in the Western Conference Tournament. BYU played some great games, I heard, but this post isn't really about that kind of march madness.

When I was pregnant with Eli, we heard this cliche saying that goes something like this: "When you have one child, you play double-team; when you have two children, you play man-to-man; when you have three, you play zone defense; and more than that you play self defense!"

I would have to agree, except the self-defence part kicks in at child #3! I admit that a lot of my blog posts are of the highlights of our family life. That's what I want to remember about this time in my life afterall. But the past few months have been especially difficult for me (and all of us, I should add). Brian has been traveling a ton more than usual. At the worst point, this last Sunday, he was home for 12 hours before he had to leave again (from 3am to 3 pm in the afternoon). The kids cried because they missed their dad so much and he was leaving again. And I was having a hard time keeping it together.

Something about fate is that whenever he is out of town, the kids get sick. All mothers know what it's like to take care of sick kids. No sleep. Fussy Children. I won't get into details. I am beat, stretched thin, and feel so overwhelmed at times that I have felt a nervous breakdown coming on! It's not just the  constant taking care of small children, but a demanding calling, teaching yoga, keeping the house clean, and training for a relay race of which I am the captain. I had no idea that I would have so much on my shoulders several months ago....

But here I am. And there isn't anything that I can change about it.

The Young Women's president in my ward began sending girls over each afternoon to help me out. An hour or two break from the kids was all I needed to be a better mom, get some things done for my calling, or even iron the clothes....A few ladies even brought dinner. All of this was so so so appreciated!

Through these past months I have learned to appreciate a few things a little more: Single mothers (my heart will forever feel for them), busy women who still find time to serve others, moms who have more than 3 children (bless you all!), prayer and priesthood blessings.

Sooo ya, I struggle. But I have been reminded, and know, what is important for me to do right now. And not everything will get done....on time.

 

 

Punky Brewster

Not to leave anyone out, Zoey also has her update. I look a these photos and think "Punky Brewster!"She has a fascination with crawling on countertops and getting into whatever she shouldn't. This day, it was my jewelry...all of it! I couldn't help but think it was cute. Although she didn't like me too much when I took it all back and put it away! She has these moments when I think, yup-she's all girl!

She graduated to a  big girl bed, is trying hard to learn her colors, has her potty training down really well, and loves to have someone read to her. She is full of questions, half of which I don't think she knows what she is asking, but copies Jackson's inquisitive personality and thinks it's the thing to do. She asks all the time when she can go to school. She likes to play tea party, loves her pink blankie, and sings herself to sleep. She's the best and the worst at times. She can be a real sweetheart and I'll think there is nothing sweater, but then she'll have horrible tantrums that make me think...well, otherwise! We love her!  

Jackson

Jackson is growing and learning so fast, and in so many ways. Yesterday, Annie offered to tend the kids for an hour so I could run and get a a break (Brian has been traveling a lot, so it was really appreciated)!

While Eli and Zoey were napping, Jackson and Annie went to a bike ride around the church parking lot behind our house. A conversation went something like this:

Jackson: "Do you see Jesus in Primary?"
Annie: "I am not in Primary, but I try to feel Jesus when I am at church." She then starts to explain about the Holy Ghost.
Jackson: "Can you lose the Holy Ghost?"
Annie: "Yes, sometimes you can."
Jackson: "Next time you lose the Holy ghost, you call up Heavenly Father and tell Him to get you a new one!"

So cute! I love that my children can learn principles like this from our family members...we have such a great environment for them to grow up in. It's nice to know that these teaching moments aren't wasted when I can't always be around.

5 months!

Eli is now 5 months old, I can't believe it! He has started eating solid foods, which means I have started making baby food. I am excited about this, it was one of my resolutions to make/puree/freeze baby food this year, and I think it will be better tasting, healthier, and cheaper. He likes carrots and bananas and rice cereal so far. I am going to try sweet potatoes and butternut squash this next week. He is ravenous for food! Loves it!

You will also often find him doing this:  

He loves his hands and tries to fit his whole fist into his mouth, but particularly his thumbs...which has me a little worried. Since he was born "tongue tied" he had to have his tongue clipped. But since then, he has been exploring the new freedom his tongue has and often reminds me of a lizard or snake. His tongue is constantly on the move, in and out, in and out....

He will have nothing to do with a bottle or binky. He sleeps well, and is really happy. He is my first baby to be "smiley" to strangers. He has the most interesting laugh i have ever heard. I love the uniqueness of it. When he gets really going on his laugh, he makes himself cough, which makes the family laugh even harder. 

Eli is also rolling now and will get on his knees and rock back and forth, so I'm sure crawling is just around the corner...as well as teething. 

SO far his eyes are still mostly blue, but they are starting to change, speckles of green and brown are appearing. I am always so sad when the eyes change....I wish they could stay the same forever. Not that he won't have beautiful eyes in another color, but I do feel sad that the eyes I have known for the past five months will be different. It's a sentimental thing of a mother, I guess. 

In a nutshell, he is awesome!  

New Calling

I was released as the Activity Committee Chair a few weeks ago and was enjoying my brief reprieve of having no calling at all. A first in my adult life! I had a feeling that the bishopric was looking at me for some new position, so I tried to avert any contact with them, but they soon caught up! I have been asked to serve as a secretary in the Primary presidency, and I'm actually quite excited about it. Jackson is in Sunbeams now, so I get to be with him (and Zoey will be joining next year, so I'll have two of our kids in Primary). I think it's a great stage for me and this calling.

Anyway, I share that because I received this e-mail from one of the former Primary counselors and thought it was so cute I had to share it. I always wondered what Jackson was like in his church classes!

She says:  " I'm so excited for you to be working in Primary. I've LOVED being there while my children started as Sunbeams. It's the all-time cutest thing to watch. So today, the Bishop was teaching about Faith and asked the children what faith was, got lots of odd definitions, none of them even close. Then the Bishop was trying to explain that most people haven't actually seen Heavenly Father and that believing he's there w/o seeing him is Faith. He asked if any of them had seen Heavenly Father. Jackson raised his hand. Then Mark, not to be outdone, raised his hand even higher. Then Daphne, then all the little kids have their arms shooting up in the air. So funny. I hope you have a great time in your new calling. Jackson is an absolute doll and he is so well-behaved in there. "

How cute! I'm glad he got the whole primary involved!

Just a phase

Some phases last longer than others. I think Zoey hit her "terrible two's" at 12 months and continues to linger there. It's the phase of  I want to do it myself and I am going to say NO to anything you ask and I want to be the boss... We remind ourselves it's just a phase and try our best to enjoy the bulk of it.

Brian and I have captured some random pictures of Zoey lately that just typify her personality.

 A little potty training accident ended up with her bathing in the sink...she really is cute in spite of the mess she made! I just love her pudginess! All morning long I had asked her if she needed to go potty, which of course she said 'no' to...and then I found a puddle!

 This is a shot of Zoey wanting a snack and as she says, "I want to get it all by my own!" There is a reason our snack food is on the 3rd shelf, but it doesn't deter her from trying!

Zoey wanted to eat lunch without her pants on- who knows why, but why not! Some things aren't worth the argument. I just can't understand why she'd want to sit on a cold wooden chair without pants on! I just sigh and say, that's Zoey!

But as difficult as the toddler years are cut-out to be, there are some priceless moments that I really enjoy. Even the frustrating ones.

Morning

As a new mother, I use to complain when my day starting at 6:45am. Now, I've just gotten use to the fact that my kids are early risers! No matter what time they go to bed, they wake up early! So I have had to adjust my schedule so that I can enjoy those early morning hours, rather than feeling like a hibernating bear getting out of bed each day.

Eli's day starts at 6am. I can't complain too much because he sleeps 12 hours through the night, but it's an early start. I take that time to kick on the fire to get the downstairs warmed up, read my scriptures and say my morning prayers, and spend time with just Eli. It's the only time of day that I have to be with just the two of us and I really enjoy it. 

By 8 am the rest of the house is waking up. Jackson ALWAYS begs to hold Eli before he goes back to bed for his morning nap. Jackson loves his brother so much. Then I get breakfast started and the kids dressed while Brian showers and gets ready. Zoey's favorite part is to help Brian shave, notice the shaving cream on  his nose! She'd put it all over his face if he let her!

By 9am Jackson heads off to school...and I feel like going back to bed! But the day has only begun. While he's gone, I clean house and get showered myself. Then it's time for lunch and afternoon naps. By 3 o'clock I'm wondering where the day went and wishing I could get a nap, hoping Brian will come home early (not likely), and pondering what to do about dinner.

Of all the daily routines, morning is my favorite.

 

Park Roke City

Brian had a business conference in Park City (which the kids call Park Roke City- maybe a mix of Park City and Salt Lake City, I don't know why they call it that). Anyway, since he was going to be working all week, but close enough to home, we decided to tag along. The kids had fun just being somewhere new. The hotel was a new and exciting experience, so getting them to sleep was a challenge, but we enjoyed our stay. Hotel Park City is VERY nice! It was like being in a condo with a full kitchen and two bathrooms and lots of living space. We watched movies, fed ducks, played in the snow, and had a visit from Aunt Christina and cousin Gavin! We were going to stay one extra day and night, but Jackson had decided the newness of being in a hotel was wearing off and begged to go home on Friday, so we packed up and left. It was like any vacation- good to get away, but good to get home! 

  

 Feeding the ducks

 Zoey eating the duck food...so typical!

having fun in the snow!

3 months!

Our handsome Eli! He is now a little more than 3 months old. At 14 pounds and 26 inches, he is in the 75th percentile in both weight and height (our smallest baby yet!). But he is also our HAPPIEST baby yet! We love him!