Our own Graduation

Well it is official. Lizzy has graduated from the helmet. She wore it for about 10 weeks and now her head is almost perfectly round and perfectly perfect peach fuzz hair. She was such a trooper through this whole ordeal. The heat rashes, the rubbing, the sweating. . .she didn't even seem to be bothered by it. Sleeping with it on and wearing it all day every day could not have been fun but she put on that cute helmet and wore it with grace. I am so grateful to the DOC band. Her ears are almost completely a lined and I am told they will be once her head finishes fusing together. There is no longer one flat side and her eyes are even. Now if we can just convince the insurance to pay for that dang thing we can move forward and enjoy having a healthy baby girl.

And she is standing, pulling up, and arming crawling. Growing up too fast. She is so beautiful, I had to put all these pictures up because I love watching her explore the world around her and growing into a gorgeous little girl.

The five S's

This week was filled with the five S's. Sleeping, Sickness, Sandboxes, Smoothies, and Shopping. Brandon's sisters are still in town for a few more days so we took advantage of the friendships and went shopping a few times this week. I didn't buy much (a pair of shoes for $12 and a pair of shorts) but still I love shopping, even if it isn't for me. Actually especially when it is not for me. Then on Thursday something came over me and I was really sick. REALLY SICK. I couldn't even get out of bed.

Thankfully Brandon's mom and sisters came over and took the kids for the day because there was no way I could have handled them myself. I slept for most of the day, sipped on water, watched a few movies, and slept some more. But the highlight of my day was when Brandon and the kids got home. I was on the coach, half coherent, when Jackson walks in, says "hi Mom" in his cute way and gives me a huge hug. I really missed them that day.Thankfully by Friday I was feeling much better. So we went back over to Brandon's parent's house to hang out and I needed to make a baby present for my friend Sara that is expecting a boy in June. A few months ago I realized that I know a lot of moms expecting this summer so I decided to create something personal for each of them. I bought this really cute pattern on sale from Joann's, some quilting fabric squares, a few packages of plain white onesies in different sizes, and went to work. So far I have made 4 sets but I have a whole lot more to make. Here is a picture of Jackson modeling one of the items I made.
On Saturday we went to the shower (or sprinkle I guess since it is her second child), and it was so fun. Intimate with about 10 or so moms, and just great to be around friends. Then we went to Buffalo where I sold back a pair of jeans that don't fit anymore, and got a new pair, what a great deal. The only good thing about being sick is you always lose weight. I actually lost about 3lbs and have kept them off as of this morning. I am still working on my goal and have only 5lbs left to lose.

Then on Saturday night we went out to dinner with everyone to celebrate Ashley's birthday and spend time with the family before they go back home. The kids are usually pretty good in restaurants but for some reason those terrible twos crept in and Jackson threw the olive oil on the table, knocking a dish on the floor, where it broke. AWESOME! Needless to say we took a time out and the rest of the dinner went smoothly.
The rest of the weekend we spent relaxing and enjoying our family. After church we played outside in the sandbox, drank smoothies (Lizzy loved it!), and Brandon tried to show Jackson how to play t-ball. He just wanted to smack the ball with his hand instead of the bat but he had fun fielding Brandon's balls that he hit. It was a really fun week and great to spend time with all our family.

Here is Jackson dumping sand out right after I told him to keep it in the sandbox.
YEAH, annoying.

Funny List

I was reading Parenting Magazine, (a gift that I received from my health insurance when I had Lizzy), and there was a funny List that I thought I would share.

5 ways babies are Like Celebrities

1. People are constantly pointing cameras at them.
2. Teenage girls love to talk about how cute they are.
3. Hitting the bottle is just how they roll.
4. Naked photos? Inevitable.
5. They've got chauffeurs, chefs, and personal stylists (of course, in your baby's case, that's just you).


Happy Baby loving everyone.

Busy Girl

Elizabeth is just going too fast. I can't believe how independent she has become. She holds her own bottle or cup, can feed herself finger foods like cherrios or veggie straws, she puts herself to sleep at night (after a bottle and some cuddle rocking the the chair), and she can get to just about anything she puts her mind to. She is spunky too. Jackson loves her so much but he can be a big brother that picks on her sometimes and she takes it and gives it back to him. She pulls his hair or squeezes his cheeks. Don't get me wrong I am not promoting this, but I am proud of my little baby girl and her defending herself makes Jackson think twice about teasing her. They actually get along great. It is my favorite time each day to watch them play and interact with each other. He is so concerned about Lizzy's well-being and Lizzy wants to be doing whatever Jackson is doing.

In other news Elizabeth gets her helmet off in less than 2 weeks. It has been amazing to see what the doc band has done for her and to watch her head change each week. I am grateful for the band but I am so excited for it to be off so I can cuddle with her and see her sweet eyes and face again. Plus it gets really sweaty under there and I can tell it is itchy. She has been a real trooper about this whole thing and I am proud of her for going with the flow. I am a little concerned about her adjusting to having the helmet off because she hits her head a lot and isn't phased by it right now. (Just to clarify she hits her head on the floor when she is sitting or attempting to crawl).

Here are some other updates that Lizzy is reaching:
-she is eating table food including anything on mom's plate
-she has the fastest hands quick to grab whatever is in my hand including food, spoons, or water bottles
-she isn't crawling yet but is getting really close
-she rolls every where and anywhere she wants to go
-she can turn pages of board books and loves reading with mom
-she loves talking, not saying any words yet, but she sure talks a lot
-she loves the water whether it is the bathtub or pool
-she still doesn't have any teeth
-she has move objects from one hand to the other
-she uses her pincher fingers to eat food
-she loves Grandma's chicken and potatoes recipe
-she grabs my face and pulls me in to give me kisses
-she loves other babies and her brother
-she loves being tickled
-she prefers standing over sitting and is really good at refusing to sit. She arches her back and stiffens her legs (it is so funny)
-when she gets excited she claps her hands and kicks her feet a lot
-she still loves playing peek-a-boo and LOVES music and dancing

She is a really sweet little girl. A handful but very sweet. I have a feeling I am in for a whirlwind of a child with this one. Jackson is pretty calm and shy and Lizzy is the opposite. It is going to be fun to see how she grows and how her personality comes out.

WOW, it's been a long time

Like I said, WOW it's been a long time. I have to admit we have been busy but I have also been lazy. We put the kids on an earlier schedule (8am-8pm) to give Brandon and I more time together at night. Unfortunately this extra husband time is great for our relationship, bad for my blogging. Instead of staying up late to check emails, facebook, and blog I have been hanging with Brandon. So here is the update on what else we have been doing.
First we celebrated Jackson's birthday with a few friends from our mother

's groups at our house. Now when I say a few friends I mean around 20 kids + mom's in our new house. IT WAS A BLAST. I haven't really had the opportunity to host in my own place and I realized that I love hosting. I love preparing, having everyone over, and the cleaning up isn't that bad either. Jackson had a great time. Usually he is by my side for most of our playdates but at his party I barely even saw him. He was too busy showing the kids the house and all his toys. It was a pirate theme complete with gold coins, a crocodile cake, and a treasure hunt. All the kids were so cute enjoying the treasure hunt while they found the pirate clues and then wearing their eye patches and pretending to be pirates after they found their party bags. Jackson even wore his pirate hat for most of the party and when I asked what a pirate says he would respond, "Arhh". He is such a funny kid.
I was so busy hosting that I forgot to take pictures. Thankfully my friend Adrianna was there taking pictures with her new camera. Thanks for capturing this special day Adrianna.

We also celebrated Brandon's sister's wedding this past weekend. She married a wonderful man Filipe that she met in Provo. He is from Brazil but he is fluent in English, as well as many other languages. His mom and dad came all the way from Brazil to attend the wedding and they do not speak English. However, Filipe, his sisters, and Caitlin's sister Brianna all speak Portuguese so we had plenty of interpreters around. They are such a wonderful family. So loving and sweet. Filipe is the nicest guy I have ever met. He always gives compliments to everyone and wants to be helpful. He adores Caitlin and I couldn't be happier that she found someone who will take care of her and treat her the way she deserves to be treated. We spent the whole week with our family that came for the wedding including sisters, brothers, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. It was really fun to see everyone and enjoy this blessed event.

They were married in the Mesa Temple and it was such a wonderful and spiritual ceremony. I brought back a flood of memories from my wedding which was 4 years ago next month. In the ceremony the sealer told Filipe and Caitlin that today would be the day that they would love each other the least in their lives and that brought tears to my eyes because I just thought to myself that is so true. I love Brandon so much more today than I did 4 years ago when we looked at each other and were married for time and all eternity. It is such a blessing to be sealed to Brandon, Jackson, and Lizzy and to know that they will be there with me in heaven.All the brides maids made their own dresses. I am really proud that mine turned out so well. I would have liked to have met my weight goal but unfortunately I didn't. However, sometimes I think that when you dress to fit your body it doesn't matter what your weight is, you can still feel confident, and I did. Caitlin looked so beautiful in her custom made dress. So happy and glowing.

We are enjoying our house, taking our time to make it our home. Brandon is almost finished putting hardware on the kitchen cabinets, we hung some curtains, almost all the furniture has arrived, and I am having a lot of fun decorating my own place. We still need to do a lot of work to the outside though. I just really want to get some grass. We are going to try to revive the grass that is buried under the weeds but if that doesn't work it is onto plan b. We are also trying to decide what kind of trees and other plants to put outside. I don't know much about landscaping so I am learning a lot. I have a bunch of pots that Brandon's mom gave me that I need to plant flowers in but I don't really know how to do that either. It is all a learning process. I think I need to get some gardening tips from my inspiration, Martha Stewart lol.

I am also trying to spend more time appreciating the kiddos. I feel like I don't do enough with them. We do stuff, like go to the store or playgroups, but when we are home I let them entertain themselves. I feel like I need to get things done like cleaning, laundry, school work, etc. We need a balance. So I am going to try to interact with them more every day. Color with them, read more often, puzzles, bubbles, walks, crafts. If anyone has good ideas like me know. I feel like Lizzy is growing up so fast and I am missing out on her babyhood. These are the times when my kids want to be with me and I need to take advantage of that time. Here are some random pictures of us hanging out having fun.