squishy, handsome & charming

Thank the heavens above for squishy babies. I know my life is about to get a lot harder because mobility is just around the corner for this little one. But thanks to an abundance of rolls... she won't be going anywhere fast just yet. I gave her a bath at my moms in the sink a few weeks ago and we we laughing so hard... I just love these pictures.

 Derek had a change in his work schedule that gave him three days off in a row just to be here with us... which we haven't had since he started working. It was so great and the best timing ever since I really needed moral support. He is just such a great husband and just the best man I know. And so handsome when he sweetly kisses his baby girl with his scruff...

And Miss Bekah.. now she's just charming. Truly. Thanks for letting me boss you around... and I am sure you pretty much gave up your entire weekend to makeover my blog. you are the best. thanks for always laughing at my lame jokes, helping me when I am in crisis, and letting me leech off you creatively. I miss living by you every. single. day.  

cold turkey.

my sweet little angel girl is now the proud owner of eight teeth. I feel like I am being tortured. I decided to go cold turkey on nursing and she and I were both miserable. but seriousely... look at these things:

{on a side note: how adorable is her schrunchy face???}

I know I am sad because she is growing so fast and I just want her to stay little. I am going to miss our bonding and the little bits of TV and reading I get in while I'm nursing. But I am no chew toy. she wouldn't stop biting me and I have just had enough. I was literally in tears. Am I the meanest mom ever for going cold turkey?

ok... now I digress. this little clip really made me feel better...been singin' this song all day. :) it really is worth 2 minutes...

Here is the link if the video doen't work propertly:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/199430/modern-family-lilys-biting-more-than-her-food

why he doesn't listen...

How do you teach the difference between hearing and listening?

Last May Easton had his first surgery. He failed a hearing screening at school and we knew there was a chance he had a rare ear growth called a cholesteotoma… but the surgery was mostly exploratory. Much to our disappointment, a cholesteotoma was found. His surgery was 2 weeks after Saige was born. He was mostly recovered in time for graduation trip to Oregon and our move back to Utah. Whew!

It was a lot to handle at once I confess. Having a baby in a new town, a simple surgery that turned grew into a big problem, a move, a graduation, so many doctors appointments...the unknown. But everything went fine and as I recall I only had one major breakdown along the way. I am so thankful for our families. While all of this was going on we were all over the map in between wards, and friends. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family.

Six months later we have successfully completed what will hopefully be his last surgery at the U of U. Scary place. So many sick people. It just didn’t seem right to see him in that place. The Doctor that performed his surgery removed a brain tumor from my sister Shelly over 20 years ago. He remembered her and I felt a small tender mercy placing my son in his hands. He was a good Doctor. Definitely the one you want to take off your child’s ear and then put it back on.

He has a really cool scar. I feel a pang of sadness in my heart when I look at it though. I am sad that his perfect body had to be scarred so deeply so early in his life. I am sad that he had had this on top of so many other challenges and changes this past year. But I am also really proud of him because although I know he gets frustrated that he can’t hear, he tries really hard to listen. He is such a good boy. He is growing so incredibly fast and maturing everyday. I see glimpses of the man he will become and I am so happy he is my son… people are going to think we are great parents, but trust me, he just came this way.

Oh Santa! I want to blog...

But since my Christmas present is still in it's box- unopened...

and my house literally looks like this:

(we may never travel for Christmas again...)

and my little boy is pouting due to too much sugar, time in the car,

and not enough sleep or discipline...

I might just save all my darling Christmas posts for another day when I can do them justice. today just ain't the day.

we did have a merry christmas though- indeed.

my shorty

This is Krystal. She is one of my dear sisters... she came into our family in a unique and unusual way. Here's how:

I was ten years old. I had a cousin who was in a bad relationship who had a little baby girl in California. She needed some time to sort out things in her life and because my aunt and uncle were leaving the country, my parents stepped in to take care of the baby. At the time my mom had a daycare out of our home and so this seemed like a good temporary solution for us to take her home.


When that baby came into our home, she was 6 months old. She had big blue eyes, a beautiful smile and blond curly hair to top it off. She captured our hearts from the second she arrived. We were so in love with our little baby.


Then after a few months with us it was time for her to leave. I remember well the day I came home from school and she was gone. No goodbye. I remember sobbing on the chest of my dad. It was the first time in my life that my heart was broken. My dad whispered, "Don't worry, she'll be back."


I didn't understand all the grown up things going on around me at the time. Even now I wonder how the Lord orchestrated it all. But she did come back just a few days later. She was furtunate enough to have a biological mother that loved her. She loved her enough that she gave her to us. That gift is almost unimaginable.

I remember the day we went to the courthouse and the adoption was finalized. I short while later we were sealed as a family in the temple. I will never forget that day. All of my family gathered in white as we were sealed together. There are moments that occured that day... feelings I had that even to this day keep my testimony intact.

These events didn't happen by chance, that I know. Our Heavenly Father is aware of each of us. Where he places us is where we are to be and if I ever doubt that just I look at my sister to remember.

This is me and Krystal when I was a Senior in High School. She and I are 10 years apart in age, but in spirit we are kindred. There are so many things we share in common and one time we even bought a pink corduroy jacket on the same exact day. Pink corduroy. Things like that happen all the time.

Last month my sister was crowned as the Homecoming Queen. The first thought I had when I saw her was a giggle at how short she is. She claims to be five feet tall, but its up for debate. What she lacks in height she makes up for in every other area. My dad summed it up perfectly when he told her that although he was proud to see her crowned as the Queen, it was not because she was beautiful or popular- but because it showed him that she was kind to others and that she was a good person. And she is all that and more.

And so time is a funny thing. I look at my baby, almost 6 months old and I remember the first day I saw Krystal. I look at the picture of us on the porch and it seems like just yesterday I was trying to help her control her unruly hair. And now I look at her as the Homecoming Queen and the decade between us seems like both and eternity and nothing. I am so proud of her, so grateful she is in my life. She's my shorty. She's my sister.