Family Pictures

My friend KC took our pictures this year. I told her the night before that I was so nervous and she asked me why, I told her it's because our pictures never turn out how I imagine them. Someone is always crying; I never like how our outfits turn out; someone will refuse to look at the camera; etc. Man...it was a lot easier taking pictures when it was just the two of us!

Well, about 30 minutes before we took our pictures and both of our boys were crying hysterically. Blaine refused to leave the house, Matthew only wanted to leave the house, and when we were finally able to leave...Blaine would not leave without his superheroes.

Our pictures turned out crazy but I really like them. I think that this is a good showcase of what our lives are like.

See? Crazy. I couldn't get them to stand with me without bribing them with other things.

I just love, love, love his sweet little smile

Look at that sweet little photo-bomber

He does this all the time when he talks now, and I think he sure is adorable

Year TWO

My sweet little boy turned 2 today.

Well, technically speaking he won't turn 2 until 10:58 pm. So I guess I still have a couple more hours of him being 1....right?

I can't believe how fast this has all happened. I still remember the morning when RJ and I found out that I was pregnant. We were SO excited. (And let's be real, we were kind of panicked.) I remember waking up the morning of April 2nd and realizing that I was in labor and that my baby was finally coming. I remember RJ yelling out in the delivery room that the baby was a boy, and I remember later that night when I finally got to hold my baby. Looking at my baby for the first time was both the most terrifying and exciting moment of my life. I knew that our little family of two had forever changed as we welcomed another person, and I was so scared that I wasn't going to be a good mom. That I would do something wrong. That I would mess up.

Now, two years later, I look at my beautiful curly-headed boy and I cannot believe that it is the same baby that I held in my arms such a short time ago. He has grown into such a sweet, kind, funny, and smart little boy. Although I haven't been the perfect parent, he has always loved me.

Blaine continues to amaze me on a daily basis. He absorbs everything like a sponge, and he has a memory like an elephant. He loves to talk and tell jokes, and I am often baffled at the amount of words he knows and how long his sentences are. He loves to sing and dance, read, run around the playground, cuddle, and watch ESPN with his dad. His constant laughter brings light to my soul. He also loves his baby brother more than I could have ever hoped for. The first thing he does in the morning is say hello to Matthew and then give him a hug. Blaine has a heart of gold.

I am so grateful for these past two years, and for how much RJ and I have grown both individually and together. Our sweet baby Blaine has brought so much joy into our lives, and I am thrilled to see what the next years bring us.

We love you, Blaine.

Our Year in Review

I can't believe that we're about to celebrate the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. This will be the 6th year that RJ and I have welcomed together. Mercy.

This was a big year in a lot of ways for us.

Blaine turned 1!

We had poor Baby Boy allergy tested.

RJ graduated and we left Rexburg.

 We packed our stuffed, moved, and changed our address 3 times. Yes, really.

Blaine went trick-or-treating for the first time and fell in love with M&Ms.

We welcomed our second son, Matthew, to our family.

And Blaine fell in love with Santa.

I am amazed at how fortunate and blessed we were in the year 2013, and I can only hope that our good fortune follows us into the new year.

Two Growing Boys

This cutie is 18 months old today. WOW. Where has the time gone? I can't believe that my sweet little baby boy is 1 1/2 years old today.

I remember snuggling with him as a newborn, and now he is a running, climbing, talking little man full of personality. His vocabulary is ever-growing, and he is getting better and better at simple tasks and following instructions.

One thing that I particularly love about him is that he is a bit reserved. At home he constantly laughs and talks to me. His face is almost always smiling, and he, like a shark, never stops moving. But when we are around other people he immediately calms down and observes his surroundings. He likes to check things out a bit, and he is very selective with who he shares his winning personality with.

It's a special thing if he talks to you; it really is.

I always chuckle a little when people tell me that he is quiet, though. I mean really. If you think he's quiet then I have some fun videos that I can show you to prove how loud he really is.

He is such a sweet little boy, too. He is constantly coming up to me and giving me a hug or a kiss. He also loves to hug on Lola, and of course there is no substitute for his daddy. My heart still melts when he comes up to me, calling my name, and gives me a big kiss.

And he is so nice to other kids. Despite his size, he often gets pushed around by other babies -even those who are smaller or younger than he is. He's always being sat on or pushed over, and toys are constantly being taken from him. He could really care less. He just moves on, like nothing really happened.

He gets that from his dad. They're both so mellow.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with love for him. And then I think to myself, "How am I going to ever handle loving a second one?"

Notice the cutie in the back reading a book and enjoying the fall breeze.

Then I remember that I am 8 months pregnant. Holy cow. How have I already gotten to this point?!

And, for that matter, how have I gotten to this point without taking a single picture of my ever-growing belly?

This pregnancy is SO different from my last pregnancy. I'm trying to stay positive, though, because I know that even though it has been rough that I am so lucky in comparison to so many other women who truly have difficult pregnancies.

This pregnancy is also different in the sense that we know the gender, and I think that we actually have a name picked out....despite the fact that I was previously against naming a baby before meeting him/her. I also find it funny that it is a name that I previously never particularly loved, but it just feels right.

But we're not calling the baby by the name until he is born and it either becomes his official name, or we choose something else. So I'm not telling any of you.

Neiner, neiner, neiner.

He'll have a real, legal name soon enough, though. Too soon. I can't even wrap my mind around juggling two babies under the age of 2. Wait. Let me say that again....

Two babies under the age of 2. What have I gotten myself into?

But as overwhelming as the thought of it might be, I can't wait to fall in love with another little baby. I can't wait for Blaine to be a big brother. I can't wait to welcome another member into our famiy. And, most of all, I can't wait to see my sweet husband holding this new baby. I don't know how other moms feel, but I've never found my husband to be more attractive than he is when he is with his baby.

So that is us in a nutshell right now. Despite all of the crazy that we have been dealing with over the past month, we are grateful for our two growing boys and for the joy that they bring into our lives.

Untitled

A picture is better than nothing at all, right?

Please ignore the mess behind him, and just focus on how absolutely adorable he is.

Boys

I often see pictures of my friend's children intently watching a movie, or I hear stories about how they will want to watch the same show every single day.

What? You mean it is possible for an [almost] 1 1/2 year old to sit still and watch a movie? Hogwash. I don't believe you.

The only time that Blaine comes even remotely close to sitting still is at night, right before bed, when I turn off all the lights and give him some milk to calm down. And even then he is constantly wiggling around on the couch.

He loves playing with sticks, mud puddles, and garden hoses. Whenever a door is opened he books it to make it outside. He is constantly digging through his toy box, kitchen drawers, or whatever purse that he can find laying around. He runs. He climbs. He is almost always guaranteed to have dirty feet, food on his shirt, and a smile on his face. He's exhausting, but so much fun.

I was never this type of child, at least according to my mom. I was clean. I sat still.

When Blaine was born I was nervous to have a boy because I had no idea how to change a little boy's diaper. Then as he started to get older I had to learn how to push cars around and pretend like it's fun. I've slowly become more and more relaxed about the whole dirty issue. However, I have NOT gotten used to bugs yet.

Blaine loves bugs. He is clearly all boy.

I like looking at most bugs because I do think that they are pretty interesting looking...as long as they are out of my house. But I especially don't like it when those suckers decide to fly away, taking me by surprise.

The other day RJ found this really huge leaf bug walking around on the sliding glass door. I was safely on the other side of the door, away from any surprises. It was fun to see such a fun bug so up close. BUT THEN RJ decided that, as the mother of [soon-to-be] two boys, I needed to learn how to hold said bug. Um, what? I went outside, deciding to be brave. Apparently Mr. Leaf Bug did not like me getting so close (and who can blame him, really) because he flew away getting all up in my face. I literally ran away screaming and waving my arms, leaving RJ behind me laughing hysterically.

So embarrassing.

I hear it only gets worse, too. My cousin found a dead frog in her coffee cup the other morning, and my old boss emptied her son's pockets on laundry day to find a live lizard.

This is why I married a boy scout. Blaine and all future boys will have plenty of bug catching, puddle splashing, outdoorsy type of fun with him and I can stay within safe, enjoyable distance.

*Side note: I do, actually, really enjoy pushing cars up and down the hallway with Blaine now.

Salt Lake

Well, we're still in Salt Lake and we're currently living in RJ's parent's basement. Free rent is nice, but I'm ready for all of our stuff to be out of storage.

When we first got here RJ pretty much immediately flew out to New York to help his best friend Will drive a U-Haul across the country. Sounds horrible, right? Not to RJ...he loves that type of stuff. They drove straight through and made the journey in like 2 1/2 days.

While he was gone my parents drove up to see us and keep us company.

 

Hogle Zoo

Game room at Cabella's

 RJ came back the night before they left and we all went to the park where Blaine decided to be a lot more adventurous and he started going down the slide for the first time all by himself. He hasn't liked me to hold on to him for a couple of months now, but now he can climb up there all by himself. He also likes to climb back up the slide. Crazy kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzM_ZDIZVQw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBM28rNExJo

In the video you can hear him say, "Three!" and then he slides down. He doesn't bother counting up to three, the last number is the only important one apparently. (Sorry that it's just a link. For some reason I couldn't get Blogger to attach my YouTube videos.)

Since my parents left, Blaine and I have been trying to get out and explore as much as possible. RJ has been applying for jobs and studying for the GRE.

Reading at the library

Blaine is trying to climb on everything now, and he has the battle wounds to prove it.

I tried to get a good picture, but he was too wiggly. He also scraped up his eye lid. Later that day, after his eye got all swollen, he hit his chin on the table and bruised that, scraped the whole side of his left leg, and bonked his head on a few things. It sounds like I should be watching him more, but really what I should do is wrap him in bubble wrap.

He loves chomping on his toothbrush, too.

The good thing about all of his play time is that he sleeps VERY well....