What a difference little children can be

It is amazing how things can be so different between two people for the same person. 

When I look back at the delivery of our sweet boy, two and a half years ago, I didn't know what to expect. My water broke at 37 weeks and I was admitted to the hospital.. 12 hours later I was ready to push.. 2 hours later there had still been no progress. So I had a c-section. The whole process was so amazing and incredible. It was full of emotional roller coasters because I didn't know what to expect... ( and let's face it... I just had a baby). I definitely had my ups and downs that first week. 

Now that I have experienced my second labor, I am still amazed at the difference between the two, even though it was me, (the same person) carrying each one. 

With this girl, I waited and waited... Waited for her to come early... Waited for her to come on her own. Waited for any indication that I would be able to hold her in my arms! After so much waiting, it was decided that I would need to have a c-section. I was okay with that. I had come to terms with the fact that that is how it will be from now on with my little ones. 

But the anticipation..... The anxiety! It killed me. Having a due date and passing it only to wait more for the day of the operation. 

The day we came in for the c-section, I was nervous ( a good kind of nervous). I was admitted, I felt comfortable and was ready for her arrival. The procedure was explained to my husband and I and we were calm! I expected to not feel much... I felt more than I had anticipated, but it was worth it to hear the sweet cry of our little miss!

Now she is here and we couldn't be happier!!! I am amazed at the differences between the delivery of each of these sweet spirits and have realized just how important it is to be unique and have your own personality. 

I am so thankful for the blessing I have been given to have children! I am grateful for the personalities and the different things they will have to teach me as they grow older! I am filled with emotion to think about what a calling I have! To be a mother is the most miraculous thing! I hope that I can treasure the differences and uniqueness of my children so they can grow up knowing that life is wonderful and full of lessons and also know that they are loved!

It is April... Where did Three months go?

Hello all!! I have taken a long (too long) break. It's amazing how quickly time flies. 

I am now 38 weeks pregnant and still no sign of her arrival. I have a bit to do in preparation of her coming. I am getting anxious to meet her. These last few days I have over stressed myself with everything that hasn't been done yet. Why do we do that to ourselves?? Worry and wonder, plan and plan, but never quite getting things checked off our list? I imagine I do it because I have good intentions, but I lack the full energy to accomplish it. At any rate, I was talking with a dear friend about it and she shared some fantastic advice with me. 

She shared this quote with me: " the only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening" - Linda S. Reeves

This was a good reminder for me. Everything will work itself out! I just need to focus on my family right here and now. She also reminded me these are the last few days of my little guy being the only child. His world is about to change and I want him to know that I am here for him! 

It has and is supposed to be warm for the rest of the week. I am hoping we can make it outside and play together each day for a while. 

I'm so grateful for the small and simple reminders of my friends and family that all is well. Life is sweet and full of so many blessings. We just have to open our eyes and see what we have been given (not just temporal things, but look at all we have been blessed to have in our lives). 

Each of you take a step back today and look for the blessings you have been given. 

Early Morning Thoughts

This morning max thought it would be time to wake up at 5:20am! We told him it was still sleep time and he stayed in his bed for about 30 minutes. Then he got up. Still too early, we told him he could lay in bed with mom and dad. He did for another 40 or so minutes; quietly talking to himself. So I got up with him and told him he could play cars in the family room while I laid on the couch. I think I fell asleep about 7ish... Not really sure. 

It's now 8:30 and Max and I have eaten breakfast. There is much to be done today like cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, getting ready for the day and making bread... 

However, for now lying on the couch covered with a blanket while playing with Max is a much better option. 

Lately Max has grown up so much. His personality makes me laugh. Sometime last week I was sad about something so I was crying. (pregnancy emotions) Max was quick to give me a hug and kiss, but then he started to sing "popcorn popping". Which is the song he always requests when he is sad or scared. He is such a sweet boy! 

He has also started to hum different songs while he plays in his room. I am very happy that he loves music. Some of his favorite songs are the byu fight song, popcorn popping, and do as I'm doing. Sometimes Max will sing with Devin, but Devin likes to sing the wrong words or add funny syllables to the end of words. Max will tell him, "No, that's not how it goes." Then max will sing it the right way. 

I'm looking forward to this little girl getting  here. Max is going to be a great big brother. 

We Did It... Goodbye Binki

Today is the first day without a binki... Cold turkey. We talked with Max this morning and told him he was a big boy and it was time to start doing some more big boy things... Like getting rid of his binki. We asked him if he would like to trade out his binki for a toy of some sort. He was so excited!!! So we packed the binki's up in a plastic bag and set out for Target. We decided to stick to a stuffed animal so he could still sleep with something. He picked a cute dog and we named it Brownie. 

Here they are; so happy. 

When we got home I told him it was nap time. He went right to his bed, threw his other stuffed animals on the ground and laid on Brownie. Then he asked for his binki... I told him they were gone because we traded them for Brownie. (Insert big tears from Max.)

Here is the real challenge. Max now knows that the binki isn't coming back and he may struggle with it. He wimpered for a few minutes after I left him, but is fast asleep now. I'm curious how it's going to go tonight for bed time. 

I'm nervous, but glad that we are doing this at the same time. It is time. Here's to moving on to bigger and better things. 

Max is Two!

The other day I went to take out the garbage. I told Max I would be right back and I was. However as I walked up the stairs I heard Max crying. I tried to open the door as I asked him what was wrong.  The door was LOCKED! I panicked a little but still stayed calm. I tried to explain to Max how to unlock the door. He tried, but was unsuccessful. Every once and a while he would say, "Mom, I need help." 

Well I was starting to get a little more worried because I was supposed to watch one of my friends boys. I knew it was getting close to that time and I didn't have my phone to call anyone for help. Luckily, a lady was gracious enough to call the owner of the apartment. 

He wasn't picking up, so she went down the road to where his family worked to see if they could get a hold of them. 

Meanwhile my friend shows up and I still haven't gotten in my apartment. So she tried to help me pick the lock, but we were unsuccessful. She left her sweet cold boy with me as I tried to get Max to unlock the door. 

Just then a man came walking up the stairs. It was the owner's brother. He told me that Troy( the owner) was in the mountains and couldn't get away. So we decided calling the police would be the best option. 

After what seemed like hours, he showed up asking if we wanted to pay for a lock smith or if I wanted him to kick down the door. A lock smith was called and about 20 minutes later, he came. He was there for 2 minutes and I was able to get inside. Max was stuck inside and I was stuck outside for almost two hours.

The crazy thing is that both were locked (padlock and door handle). When I showed Max how to unlock the door, he couldn't do it. 

I learned a great lesson: Always make sure the spare key is accessible. Also I don't ever plan on leaving the house without my keys or my phone again. 

Growing Up

I'm shocked at how big my little guy is getting! He is really tall for his age, so I think most people who don't know him think he is older than he really is. But he really changes every day. 

We just got new carpet yesterday, (it's so WONDERFUL) but as my husband and I were taking things out of the rooms, he told me he didn't want to put the crib back up. So we needed to get Max a new bed; which meant a big part of our Christmas for Max would be given to him before Christmas. But Devin was right we needed to get him out of the crib. 

So last night we found Max a "big boy" bed. He slept just fine in it! I'm amazed at how easy the transition was. He has always been a good boy and had never tried to get out of his crib. So I guess it is no big surprise when he woke up saying, "Mom, come here." Instead of just getting out of bed by himself. I went in to tell him that he could get out of bed himself and showed him how to so it. (That may have been a mistake... We will see how it goes tonight) ;)

(Please ignore the binki) I feel like this is the last big transition we need to make for a little while. However, getting rid of this binki scares me. Lately, Max will wake up screaming for it. (He usually loses it in the middle of the night) which is the first red flag to get rid of it. I'm tired of hearing him scream and I'm tired. However, I'm not ready for the tears right before bed and nap time. I know I need to get rid of it cold turkey for it to work. I just some strength. 

I'm so amazed at what Max is capable of at such a young age. He is our little sponge and repeats everything we say! He makes us so happy and I can't wait for him to be a big brother in April. He is already wanting to play with his baby sister! On to new adventures and learning. 

Just Keep Going...

Life can be hard. It can be full of hardships and struggle. I have found it is harder when all I focus on is the bad, the ugly, the negative. But life is great even with the struggles.

So how do we get out of this rut? I think one thing we can do is to start looking at our blessings.  Though we may have some hard things in our lives, I think we can all find positive things in our lives too. Hopefully the positive can out weigh the negative. 

I always have an easier time accepting my hardships when I pray for help. We are all human and we are not perfect. I believe we were put on this earth to grow and become someone better. However, we cannot do it on our own. We need help from our Father in Heaven. I know (even though I have a hard time accepting at first) we can grow from our trials. 

Life is such a wonderful blessing and I hope that as I go throughout my life, that I can continue to improve on this simple statement: Life can be hard, but we can find happiness through the trials.