So true

"The world will teach our children if we do not."
(Rosemary M. Wixom) (

Simplify

When I first heard the general conference talk by President Uchtdorf about simplifying, I thought, "I don't have much in my life to simplify." We already stick to a pretty strict budget, eat simple meals, buy new clothes very rarely(birthdays and Christmas) and our kids aren't old enough to be involved in lessons or sports.

But it has had me thinking about simplifying in different ways. These are the things I'm going to do to "simplify" my life...

1)Stop worrying about the little things. When I stop nursing Maddie doesn't really make that big of a difference in the big scheme of things. When she was about 2 months and going through a growth spurt or something, we were having trouble nursing. And I said then, "You know, I just want to keep nursing her until 6 months." So it is ok. It is like I already knew even though I didn't know. :)

We are officially done nursing now. And it has been fine. Except the diapers are gross and formula is stinky and expensive. But she has never been happier. She is sleeping better at night, smiling even more(as if that were even possible!!) and less fussy. Me? I automatically lost a couple of pounds by not having any milk anymore(yay!) and I got to switch birth control. I was on the mini-pill which, I'll admit, made me a little bit crazy.

2)This was once of my New Year's resolutions, so I just needed to remember- baby steps! Just little projects every week will make my house(and me!) feel better. This week was my kitchen. I decorated, de-cluttered, organized and deep cleaned it. And I LOVE it! Next project: organize the armoire downstairs. Then the clutter in the bedrooms will have a home.

3)Stop making such long lists... So this list is done for the time being. I'll post more when I finish #2. :)

Made my day!

Last Saturday Jared watched the girls because I was gone for about 5 hours. I ran home for a few minutes after the first hour because I forgot some things I needed. I walked in the door and the house was SO clean, he made waffles for breakfast, the kids were happy and Jared was reading Emma a story! I was grateful, but couldn't help but wonder how he did all that in such a short time!

Then Monday was "one of those days" for me and I beat myself up about it even more because Jared is apparently superman. That night when he got home from work and asked how my day was, I said, "I know it doesn't look like it, but I really did a lot today!" He gave me a sympathetic look and said, "I believe it! Saturday I felt like I was getting so much done but by the time you got home the house was a wreck! It was frustrating!"

Sometimes I don't give my husband enough credit- he really does try to understand how I feel. I love him.

2nd Child Guilt

I am a positive blogger. I don't like to blog when I'm frustrated. But sometimes when I look back at my blogs I think, "Wow, I am a little obnoxiously happy." I am VERY happy, and somedays I feel overwhelmed and frustrated, but it is kind of scary to blog about those feelings. I don't know why. Maybe because it makes you vulnerable to put your feelings out there. But after feeling this way for a few days, I decided to journal it on my blog.


Everyone told me I would feel like I don't hold Madelyn as much as Emma.

They also said I would feel like neither child gets as much one on one attention as I want them to.

But they said these feelings are normal, and that I shouldn't feel guilty about it.

This week I realized I really do feel that guilt, more often than I should.
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Guilt #1)
Maddie had a check-up, and the Pediatrician gave me a referral to a physical therapist because she has Plagiocephally(flat head). Rationally, I know that it could happen anyway, but my mind chooses to feel guilty because I don't hold her as much as I held Emma(who never had a flat head).
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Guilt #2
I can't nurse Maddie anymore. Well, once a day, twice if we are lucky. Don't know why, maybe my body is done? I have been pregnant/nursing for almost 3 years straight. I had troubles nursing Emma at this age, but I was pregnant then(not the issue here!) and I nursed her another 6 months WHILE pregnant. I want that closeness with her that I got with Emma while nursing. And I feel bad that it isn't the same.
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Guilt #3
Maddie barely gained any weight since her last check-up. And while she has been teething and on a bit of a hunger strike from nursing and bottle when she is really hurting, I'm still not ok with that. The nurse made a snide comment or two about it, but the Dr. didn't seem as concerned, said this happens around this age right before you start them on solid foods. Her head and height were still where they were supposed to be.
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Guilt #4
I expect a lot from Emma. I'm pretty sure if she was still the only child, she wouldn't be quite so advanced in lots of things. And maybe it is fine, because apparently she is capable of it, so maybe we are just helping her. But I still look at this little 19.5 month old and think "She's still just a baby!"

Am I crazy? Any of you ever experience guilt like this?

Emma- 19 1/2 months!

I can't believe how old Emma is either! It is crazy! Emma has so much personality and energy it is hard to even put it into words.
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She is a little social bug. Nothing makes her happier than getting the attention of a stranger at church or the grocery store and making them smile.
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She is squealing/screaming. A lot. And it detracts from her cuteness. ;) I have tried everything I can think of to get her to stop. Any suggestions? Pepper, lemon juice and peppercorns are apparently all delicious treats to her. She just asks for more.
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She makes Jared and I laugh all day. She will do anything for a laugh.
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She loves to sing. At church and in the car she just joins in with the songs, and when she is playing at home she will randomly break into song. I don't know what she is singing, but I sure think it is cute.
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She is still dancing, even more than ever. Whether she is in the carseat, highchair, playing with her toys or throwing a ball outside, she will just bust a move. Hilarious. I got a quick video of some pretty mild dancing on the kitchen island at the cabin this weekend. Try not to have a heart attack when she almost backs up off the island.

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She likes to play with her doll now. She likes to give it a bottle and try to put one of Maddie's diapers on it, wrap it up in her blanket, and put it in all of Maddie's baby accessorries- bouncer, carseat, bumbo, swing, exersaucer, etc.
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She mothers Maddie. The other day Maddie was crying in the carseat on our way home from the store, and wouldn't take her pacifier. I finally gave up and decided she would just have to cry til we made it home. All of the sudden she calmed down and I thought she realized I wasn't going to do anything or something. I glanced back at the next light to see Emma's fingers in Maddie's mouth, helping keep her content. Emma held her fingers there for several miles until we got home, just to make her sister happy.
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Emma's kisses, hugs and "I love you's" make motherhood worthwhile. Her silly dances and songs remind how to just let go and have fun. I don't care anymore if the car next to us at the light sees us dancing. It's just too much fun to be silly and giggle with Emma. Her recognition of Jesus and the Temple and her desire to fold her arms for prayer and getting out the scriptures every night remind me of the simplicity of the gospel and how powerful the Spirit can be. Her little acts of kindness toward Maddie makes me grateful to have such an example in our home. I want to be more like her in so many ways.

Miss Madelyn- 5 1/2 months already!

I can't believe how much she has grown in the last couple of weeks alone!! When I took her for her 4 month check-up today, she was in the 50th percentile for weight and over the 105th percentile for height!
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She doesn't mind being on her tummy too much, partly because she can roll over to her back now to escape tummy time if she wants.
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She loves her bumbo and exersaucer, and being able to sit where she can see what is going on around her.
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She can sit up on her own for several seconds before tipping forward.
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She hates rice cereal. Period. Whether with water, milk or apple juice. Bleh.
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She is VERY ticklish. Anywhere on her body, any time of the day.
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She loves it when Emma plays with her. Her favorites right now are peek-a-boo and when Emma takes Maddie's hands and helps her play patty cake.
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She is at the age that I think is hardest. She wants to be independent but can't yet. I've had to do sleep training. That is hard for everyone involved, especially when she is sharing a room with her sister.
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She is teething. Her bottom right tooth has a big, sore bubble over the top of it and she is not happy about it.
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She is really picky about who we leave her with. We generally come home to either a baby-sitter crying or her screaming or both.
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She really loves faces. If you get close enough, she will reach out and feel all over your face. She is actually really gentle and it is very sweet.
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She loves bathtime, especially with her sister. She thinks it is fun to kick really hard until she splashes Emma and makes her squeal.
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She is scooting on her tummy now, the other night she moved forward a couple of feet.
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She loves being kissed, cuddled and held. She makes me feel a little closer to Heaven. She gives me those deep, soul-searching looks that make me realize I'm her world. Her big grins can brighten anyone's day. We all just love her!

Family Updates

I have been remiss, and haven't updated much about the girls or really about life in general other than our trips, so I'm going to try to do that in the next couple of days for journaling purposes... Prepare for information overload! :)

Yellowstone Park Animals 2010

We saw so many animals this year that I thought I'd throw all those pics in a separate post... We pretty much saw every animal we could have, with the exception of a wolf. The moose and her twin calves were less than 1/4 of the mile down the road from our cabin. We saw a bear but it was as the sun was going down so the pictures weren't very good. We saw three separate bull elk. Emma thought it was a fun game once she realized we were looking for animals out the window.

Island Park 2010

First off, I'm not really happy to be back HOME doing this blog. You know how lots of times you finish a trip and are a little relieved to be back home, sleeping in your own bed, etc.? Not this one! I think I could live there! But when this is where we were "camping".... can you blame me?





A family friend was generous enough to let us stay at his awesome cabin for free, including a hot tub and Rhino for us to use for almost an entire week. Since it was conference weekend, everyone in Jared's family(minus Bubba) came up for at least a day, too.
Maddie wasn't sure what to think of the Rhino at first.
I don't think Emma understood while we were waiting around on those benches, but when Old Faithful went off, she thought it was cool.
A little sandbar on Yellowstone Lake. We had to stop and play in the water. Jared was skipping rocks, so Emma had to try too.





The Lower Falls in Yellowstone Park. We thought it would be a little walk down to the brink. It was 3/8 of a mile, but it drops 600 feet in that 3/8 of a mile. Not fun to push the stroller down, but going up was seriously crazy. Good thing Jared has been working out. ;)
Paige and Emma the second day in the Park.
Then Paige took some pictures of all of us while we were waiting in construction.


Paige and Emma at the Artist Paintpots. The water behind them is a beautiful blue color.





A bridge over the creek that runs behind the cabin. Emma loved it.