Announcing...

Baby #2 is on the way. I am 11 weeks pregnant!

Mary and her new sibling will be approximately 21 months apart...

My due date is October 25... which just so happens to be my 25th birthday.

Jon and I are pretty nervous and excited to be parents of 2 little ones!

Park Days

I've never had a real reason to go to the park every day during springtime. And I don't have a habit of jumping on the tramp. But this year, the spring weather means LOTS of it!

This is the park by Noah's house in St. George. Lucky for us, we have spent some time there lately, and the sun shone so nice and warm!

Mary made a friend...

And check out what is peeking out from under her dress, right there ^.

**** This past weekend I talked to my 3 older sisters who all live in warmer climates than I do. One just got sunburned at the beach (I feel SO bad for you Michelle)

One just spent the day at the outdoor pool and played soccer (did you get sunburned too Juls?)

And Becca spent the entire week outdoors with her kids, hiking and being adventurous.

Oh, and to top it off, Mom and Rachel get home tonight from a week in the Caribbean.

Just when I got excited about 50 degrees, I felt a stab of jealousy for sun-kissed skin and swimming. HOW many months until summer????****

wedding photos

Per request, if you want to see more pictures from Chris and Kimmy's wedding that I was bragging about... check them out HERE through their blog.

Aren't they somethin?

One Year Old... one month late

February 8, Mary turned 1.

Her party started without her. Apparently she was too exhausted from the wedding the day before, and took a very long nap. When she FINALLY woke up, after dinner and half-way through the Super bowl, this is how she felt...

Mary didn't want her dinner. She didn't want her presents. 10 adults gathered around her high chair and sang her happy birthday... which sent her into a fit of terrified tears. Her nose began to run, her head felt hot, and she just wanted me to hold her. Poor girl went to bed early, with no cake. She wouldn't have anything to do with it.

The next morning (which was her true birthday), the house was empty. Her new toys were waiting for her...

I felt hopeful that today would be a better day. And so did she.

The little girls across the street came and brought her balloons.

She discovered a left-over cupcake (but she didn't want to hold it and eat it herself)

And we finally got a smile. Happy Birthday Mary Mae!

***Mary's partying caught up with her... and the rest of us. Whatever it is that is going around, we got it. And poor Mary's turned into double ear infections. Happy to report, we bounced back to full health.***

Wedding Festivities...

Jon's brother Chris married his darling Kimmy this month. Kimmy and Chris planned a gorgeous wedding, down to the very last details. It was amazing. The happy couple made their wedding fun to be a part of, and we are glad to welcome Kimmy as part of the family.

Mary's favorite part of the day was her gold purse (well she only carried it because it was full of goldfish crackers), and doing her "cheesy face" for the camera where she scrunches up her nose and shows her 4 little gopher teeth.




It was fun to see family, especially those who travelled from California to be there. It was fun for us to have Uncle Kelley stay with us, and to see Jon's grandparents and cousins. We love them, and wish that we could see them more often. Couldn't Southern California be a little less of a drive? I think we would all benefit. Congratulations Chris and Kimmy!

Toddler

It's the truth. My baby is a now officially a toddler... she learned how to crawl properly, then walk all within the last 2 weeks. Mary walks! I cried. Not because I'm sad, but because I can't believe my baby is growing up... it all happens so fast. It seems like just yesterday, Mary was a tiny little newborn.

This past week I had the privilege of holding two precious new babies, my niece, Nellie, and my nephew, Nixon. I thought that once I had my own kids, I wouldn't love my nieces and nephews like I used to, but that is not true. Newborns are so precious, so fresh from God, and so pure. These little babies are miracles in and of themselves... Juli has been through so much to get them here, and they are blessings from God. Now the work isn't over, just because they are here. I saw firsthand how much care and time they require, and I think my sister is a saint. Through all of the craziness, there is a special feeling of love and peace in their home. Those little ones have definitely blessed my life, and they are less than a week old!

Expectations

Before I got to motherhood, I thought that it was weird when moms narrated their babies' thinking.

I thought that it was kind of sick when moms let their kids have messy faces all the time.

I thought that it was interesting how moms talked to their kids like adults, when they clearly didn't understand a word they were saying.

I vowed never to play that annoying Barney music with children chanting in my car.

I thought that I would do her laundry separately from mine, and that she would use her own bathroom.

Oh and I would not have crumbs and food smashed in every crevice of my car.

Confession... I've done all of these this week. And I am not even ashamed. I shouldn't claim that this is a confession. It's just a realization that I am being the mom that I thought I never would be.

I guess that's what this little laugh will do to a person...

And when she's on the move... she's all I'm thinking about. When when she's not on the move, she's all I'm thinking about. It's ALL about HER.

And being her mom is worth all of the raised eyebrows I get, (or give to myself) in the moments when I don't believe I'm actually carrying around a dirty diaper in my bag, without realizing it. (so nasty.)