Abigail's Blessing

We had Abigail's baby blessing last Sunday. It was such a sweet, special, BEAUtiful day! Jake gave her the most amazing blessing. He started crying before he even began the blessing. I love that he is so sensitive and not afraid to show his emotions. It made me so happy to see how much he loves our little girl!!



We couldn't have asked for a better day; the weather was beautiful, sunny but not too hot. I'm also so grateful to all of our family members that came to support us and Abbie. We're lucky to have our families live so close. Jake's mom made Abbie's dress, and it was modeled after my wedding dress! That made it so special to me. It's long, long LONG. We joked that she can wear it for her baptism. The top might be a LIttle tight by then!
Words cannot express how much I love this sweet, sweet girl. I love all her tiny features- her perfect little fingers that hold my hand or my chest while she nurses, beautiful long eyelashes over the prettiest blue eyes, teeny tiny nose, little rosebud mouth, her big round checks, and her skin! I LOVE her soft, soft skin. I just kiss her all day! I love to hold her while she's sleeping and marvel at her perfectness. She is a really good baby, hardly ever crying, and always smiling when we look at her. She loves her big brother Dallin! She can't take her eyes off him whenever he's in the room. I hope they'll be the best of friends. I am so lucky to be the mom of such wonderful children. I am awed that I have been so blessed, and I am grateful every day for my wonderful husband and the chance to be a mommy!

It's Nice to be Important

A few weeks ago I was reading a friend of a friend's blog (you know you do it, too!) and I read her mother's day post. One of the things she said she was grateful for was that her kids were constantly asking for her because it made her feel important. I thought, why don't I feel like that? Why don't I think I'm important when Dallin asks "mommy, can I do this?" "mommy, will you help me with this?" "mommy, can I have this?" and instead a lot of the time I think, "can't you leave me alone for just ONE minute?" And then I wondered, why can't I feel like that? Can't I change my way of thinking? I should feel important and loved that this special little person wants my attention and approval all of the time! He wants me to play with him because he LIKES me and he thinks I'm cool! I admit, thinking like this has not come naturally, and I don't automatically think, yes! he needs me again! But I know there will come a time, in just a few short years, when he WON'T want my attention, he WON'T want to spend time with me, and he WON'T care what I think! So I will try to enjoy a few of these dependent moments just a little bit more for now.

Congrats, Graduate!

My little bro, Chad, graduated from high school on Friday. Of course I forgot my camera in my rush to get there. But Chad's amazing: not only did he graduate, he acheived something the rest of his older siblings never could quite manage: the coveted title of Valedictorian! That means he had to speak at his graduation, ha ha! He did a great job. He also took 6 AP (Advanced Placement) classes, and enought concurrent enrollment to finish his Associates Degree before graduating! And he did all this while maintaining a 4.0 GPA! Wow!!! Way to go, Chad! He wasn't just about the studies, though. He also ran track and was on the swim team, competing in the State meets for both. On top of all that, he still had time for the ladies, even dating some of my little sister Veronica's friends! He's still single- anyone want to set him up? He's obviously quite a catch.

(Speaking of acheivements, Abbie pretty much sleeps through the night now! She goes to bed around 8 pm, doesn't wake up to eat until about 5:30, then goes back to bed till around 8:30 . YES!!!)

Great- Grandma

Abigail and Dallin are lucky enough to have 4 great-grandma's! Here's Abbie with 3 of them; Jake's grandma is serving a mission in New Jersey right now.



I should probably scrapbook these like I did with Dallin's first pictures with these grandma's. It's more permanent, but this way is so much easier!

Anybody need a Handyman?

He makes house calls!

Mother's Day

Better late than never, right?

I had a really nice Mother's Day. Jake spoiled me, as usual. He took Dallin shopping for presents the day before, and told Dallin to tell me they got me a "surprise" if I asked what the present was. Sunday morning I asked Dallin what they got me for Mother's Day, just to see what he'd say. He said, "a swing set!" What they actually got me was this:
Unfortunately, the box was torn and the fabric was ripped, and it was the last one in the store, so right now I have nothing!
Jake did all of the work I usually have to, and I didn't even have to tell him that what I really wanted for Mother's Day was a break! He made breakfast, bathed Dallin and got him ready for church, went home to get Abbie's binkie, fed Abbie a bottle and put her to sleep so I could nap, changed ALL the diapers all day, and did the dishes twice. We had my family over for dinner, and he helped cook and entertain them. It was really a nice break! I was glad to have my mom over for dinner, not only so I didn't have to drive to her house, but also to show how much I love and appreciate her! The longer I'm a mom, the more I realize and appreciate the sacrifices she made her whole life to raise 6 six kids and never complain! She is also the BEST grandma! She is creative and patient with all of her grandkids, and just LOVES them to pieces! She always compliments me in how I'm raising my kids, even if it's different than she would. My sister and sister-in-law and I took all of our kids to get their picture taken for grandma. I hope my mom really treasures this picture. It was such a bad experience that we will probably never attempt it again. I'll just say that the combination of 3 infants, 2 two-year-olds, an uncooperative 4 year-old, and a bad photographer was not a good mix. But the kids sure look cute!

Some ways that being a mom has changed my life:

• I understand unconditional love
• I sleep less
• I swear more
• I have no desire to wear a bikini
• I've been pooped on, peed on, and thrown up on
• I laugh at things my kids do that no one else would find funny
  
• I've experience "love at first sight" twice (ok, 3 times counting Jake!)
• I don't always do my hair
• I've lied to a 2 year old to get him to stop crying
  
• And I'm surprised that after all this, I LOVE IT!
  

SHE SMILES!

Abigail started smiling on Saturday! Dallin and Jake saw the first one, and she smiled for me later that afternoon. The big, toothless, sweet baby smile I love!

Learning

We're doing a lot of "learning" at our house right now.

Dallin is learning how to have a little sister. He's learning how to share his mommy's attention. He's learning to be the "big boy" which means having to be more independent and doing a lot of things on his own. He is struggling with the adjustment a little bit, but for the most part is a great kid and a good big brother.

Abbie is learning how to be alive! She's mastered eating and sleeping, and now is working on falling to sleep by herself and sleeping in her own bed. She's also learning how to move and control her body, and she is so cute and fun to watch!

I think I'm learning the most of all. I'm learning how to cope with having two kids. Not how to be the mom to two kids, or even a good mom, but simply how to survive. I'm learning that it's impossible not to ignore one of the kids for part of the day- hard as that is, I'm only one person!! I know Dallin feels ignored when I'm nursing. And most of what we do during the day is catered to Dallin- playdates, going to the park- and Abbie's just along for the ride!

I'm learning how to function on less sleep, interrupted sleep, and sometimes no sleep- fortunately not at night, but sometimes I don't get a nap :( I moved Abbie into her own room a few nights ago, and it was the best decision I've made since she was born! Now she only wakes me up twice a night to nurse her, then I go right back to sleep. No more waking up to every cough/ grunt/ wimper/ little noise!

I'm also learning to accept that my house can't be clean all the time! Dallin actively makes messes that can't be cleaned up immediately any more. I don't have the energy to clean constantly, and cleaning is difficult with a baby in one arm! I really struggled at first when the house wasn't perfect. But it's gotten easier to just let those unimportant chores go for a while. I've really taken to heart Elder Ballard's conference talk to young mothers. I've tried to enjoy my children and spending time with them more. He quotes author Anna Quindlen who said, "I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” So now when I have any time to spare, even if it's just 5 minutes, I'll ask Dallin, "can I play with you?" And he's never told me no!

And most of all, I'm learning how much LOVE children bring into our home! Instead of detracting from the relationships I have with Dallin and Jake, having another baby has enhanced them. Abbie is such a sweet spirit in our home, and even though I'm struggling in the newness of having two kids, I truly am finding joy in my role!