Saturday, December 27, 2014

What a day!

Today Cambria woke up and she was super lethargic, I was thinking that it might be because her schedule has been all out of wack (more on that later), or maybe because we got her up before she was ready to get up. But then it happened... she vomited.
Sometimes she has done just a little spit up, and then she's good. That's kind of what this seemed like. It wasn't much, and she seemed fine afterwards. Jonathan had to run to work to do a quick something in the lab, and while he was gone, she pooped and had a blow out. She has done that a few times in the last few days, but before that she hadn't done that in about a year. Then I sat her up after her diaper change (and a new change of clothes) and she vomited again. This time it was a lot, and it got on the carpet. I was at a loss for how to clean her up, so I threw her in the tub (she liked that) and let her play. Since I couldn't leave her alone in the tub, I had to ignore my screaming baby... poor kid. After I got her out of the tub, a new set of clothes on her, and the most recent vomit cleaned up; I decided that it was time to give Corbin some attention. As I was changing his bum, Cambria came up and vomited again! This time it was more! Again, it got on the carpet, but this time it was on our crazy long carpeted rug (for those of you who haven't seen it, the pile is about 3" at least). Poor girl, she started crying and I almost did too! I felt so bad!
Then daddy came home! Yay!! He got her started on some lunch, in hopes to help her get hydrated and new food in her belly before nap time. We had some pop left over so we tried to give her that. She didn't want it... she didn't really eat anything, then... she vomited again! Then to top it all off, Corbin spit up too!

But, here is the cool part. As I was getting Cambria ready to go down for a nap, I was anxious about putting her to bed and having her throw up all over the crib. So I asked Jonathan to give her a blessing. In the blessing he said that according to Cambria's faith, she would be healed. He also said that he blessed her to keep this remembrance in her heart so that she would remember that miracles happen and that Jesus loved her.
I felt much better after that. I put her to bed and when she woke up she was her regular, happy self! I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood. I'm grateful that all I need to do to get the blessings of heaven poured out upon our family is walk into the next room and ask my husband for a blessing.

Heavenly Father is so aware of us, and our needs. He has real power, and He is willing to bless us.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Look for the Good

I think I have mentioned that Jonathan and I often spend a good portion of the evening after Cambria goes to bed talking about how cute she is. I really feel like it's therapeutic, it reminds me that although she is in a tough stage right now, that she is cute most of the time, and helps me remember that I love her.

I was thinking about how good that is for my mental strength to see the good in her for such a long period of time each day. Then a thought came to mind: what if I did that with other people that are close to me; Jonathan, my siblings etc. When you live with someone it's really easy to see the things that bug you about them, or the nice things they do for you become routine. But, how much better would my relationship be if I actually spent an allotted amount of time just thinking of the good things that Jonathan does for me, or the things that I love about him?

Don't get me wrong, my relationship with him is great, but could it be greater? Always... no relationship is perfect.

AAAANNNDDDD.... How much greater would my relationship be with my Heavenly Father and the Savior if I did the same thing, or if I just took an allotted amount of time to thank them for the blessings I receive daily.

Food for thought.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Being a mom is hard

Being a mom is hard!

It's hard to get your toddler out of the house because she refuses to put on a coat and boots. It's hard to get that same toddler to sit still long enough to click her into her car seat. It's hard because you know that she would have fun at play group... the place you are trying to take her, but she wont listen long enough for you to explain where you are trying to take her. You know that (A)she will  have fun, (B) it will be good for her sanity to get out of the house, and (C) it's NECESSARY for your sanity to go to play group. All the while you have a baby that is screaming in his car seat.

It's hard when you are sitting in the middle of play group and hear about these awesome parenting-help books, but the idea of going to the library to check them out is daunting. It's hard because if you go to the library to get said books you know you are going to spend 99% of the time chasing a curious toddler all the while holding a bulky and kind of heavy baby carrier. Did I mention that you are going to be doing your best to help your toddler understand that she shouldn't be running, and you are trying to chase her down and do this while keeping your voice down because it's the library and you need to be quiet? Don't forget the looks that you will probably try to avoid noticing. Oh ya, and when are you going to read these amazing books that you have checked out of the library?

It's hard when you have a baby won't let you put him down. It's hard when he can't go longer than two hours max before he needs to eat again (although it seems like he needs to eat every 20 minutes). It's hard to want to feed him because you know that it's just going to make him spit up like crazy, cry inconsolably, and need you more than ever. It's hard to go through this even though you are doing what you think is best, and going off of milk in hopes to make his tummy feel better.

It's hard to feel calm and cherish the (supposed to be) sweet moment when you put your toddler down for a nap because you can hear your baby desperately crying. It's hard to help your toddler put her blanket in the exact spot she wants it because she can't communicate with you where that spot is. It's hard to keep calm and give her the time she needs.

It's hard to clean up your baby after he has a blow out, it's just hard. It's hard not to count down the hours till daddy comes home, even though it's not even 10:00 am yet. It's just hard to be a mom.

It's hard to not feel exhausted, and feel like there is still room in your soul to cherish the sweet smiles that your baby gives you. It's hard to stand with your sad baby and bounce him till he stops screaming. And yet, you feel your love grow for him right before your eyes. You have moments of true joy when your toddler genuinely makes you laugh.

And yet I feel like I shouldn't complain! I have an amazingly supportive husband who takes care of both kids the second he walks through the door. Sometimes he takes care of both kids, and makes dinner while I sit on the couch and look at facebook, because that's all I have energy to do. Did I mention he doesn't talk about how messy the house is, or that the cereal that was on the table when he left hasn't moved.

I know people have it a lot harder than I do, I don't have a baby that keeps me awake all night. I have a toddler who has a very happy disposition most of the time. And I have a mom that calls me on the days I really feel like I can't do this anymore.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Cambria, the cute

It just so happens that I'm writing this post on the day Cambria turned 21 months. Happy 21 months Cambee!

She is in such a fun (and trying) stage right now! I have been keeping a running list of some of the cute things she does/says. Sadie (my "twin", (my husband's twin's wife)) wrote a post of the words Arilyn (her 2 year old) says and the translations. I thought it was so cute, that I wanted to copy her :).

She has started replacing words with "uh-uh-uh" (un-opened mouth sound). It's a lot better than screaming, but when she does that when she wants a cracker (something she could say before "mommy") I'm a little... bugged. We have started saying "use your words" but she just responds with "please"... yes, that's a good word, but I don't know what you want, use different words... She'll get there.

Speaking of screaming, she is really good at it. I have been so done with hearing it, and really at a loss of how to help her get over this phase as quickly as possible. One thing that worked for about a week (but what a glorious week it was) was whenever she started to scream, I would ask her "do you want to scream?" to which she would reply "yes". Then I would tell her to go scream in her room, not in a mean, or punishing tone... but just matter-of-factly. She then would walk to her room, and then walk out. It would giver her enough time to forget about whatever it was that she was screaming about. Now when I ask her, she says she doesn't want to scream in her room, so she just continues to scream wherever I am. ... back to the drawing board with that one :)

Cambee has been into saying "wow" lately. It's the cutest thing! She will be exploring something new (for example, a black string she found on the floor) and just say "waaaaa-ooooh" over and over again! Adorable.

She also says "Applegate". We have yet to figure out what this word is, she says it when she is in her high chair and waiting for food, she says it when she is getting wiped down after she is done eating, she says it when she's looking for a certain book to read... I'm at a loss for what it could mean.

Some other fun words:
Cambria's word                                Translation
Ock                                                 on/off
Wees                                               Zip
Ah-gee-ya                                       Come get me
Pay                                                  Play
Bock                                                Box
Bock                                                Blocks
Bah                                                  Ball
Book                                               Book (all of the above 4 words are very hard to distinguish between...)

We love her!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Corbin, 2 Months

Dear Corbin

You are now two months old and we love you more and more with each passing day. You definitely have moved out of the newborn stage and you are totally in the infant stage. You don't look like a newborn, sound like a newborn or act like a newborn.

Developments this month include cooing, noticing lights, and focusing on things. You have started to coo, not so much that you are telling us stories yet, but your little sighs after you sneeze, or coo's of excitement are pretty adorable! You love looking at lights! You have for sure discovered them, and you love looking at them! You are much more able to focus on things. Yesterday at stake conference you were staring at a missionary behind us. Probably because he was wearing black, white, and red (the highest contrasting colors... babies love those colors) but I like to think it was because he was a missionary and you want to be one when you grow up! Or maybe it's because you could tell that he had a sacred mantle and you could feel that. Either way, it was really cute!

We can now put you on the floor and you can stay there happily kicking and cooing for a good few minutes!

With the hussle and bussle of your big sister around, I sometimes feel like I miss a lot of your cuteness. But the things I do catch I cherish!

You are growing quite nicely! You are now over 9 lbs!!! That surprised mommy when she put you on the scale at the doctors office! You are getting close to growing out of newborn size clothes and diapers. Mommy is kind of excited to put you in the next size up for clothes because you have A TON of clothes in 0-3 month size thanks to Aunt Shauna.

You are such a sweet boy. We love holding you, and snuggling you. You love it too. I can't wait to see who you become, so far we love the little glimpses of personality you are showing us.

Love,
Mom and Dad



Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Voice

I have been watching The Voice on Hulu this last week or so. It has got me thinking about my voice. I have been trained to sing in choirs, and to sing Broadway type stuff, but other than that I haven't really tried to sing anything else. In other words, I don't really have a style for my solos, should I want to sing solos.
I tried this week to play around with different styles and it's a lot harder than it seems to find a vocal style that I can feel comfortable doing all the time that I like. I know that I'm not a powerhouse, whenever I try to sing powerhouse songs I butcher them royally :) so now I'm trying not to sing through the natural breathy-ness of my voice. I'm trying to embrace my breathy-ness. So far it feels weird, but that's probably more from the foreign style that I haven't ever tried to sing.
If anyone has any recommendations on how to find a unique style that I can embrace, in all ears.

Sustained

**after writing this post, I realized that I wrote one almost exactly like it a little while ago... I say a few different things, so I decided to keep this one too.**

Ever since having Corbin I have felt really blessed. I have felt like I have been made into more than I am.
I have been blessed to have the emotional, physical and spiritual energy to take care of my kids. I know that I have been blessed with patience to be able to stay calm and not get stressed when both my kids need me.

I'm not writing this to say that I'm awesome and I'm super-mom. In writing this to show gratitude to my Heavenly Father. He had blessed me to be more than I am. He has magnified my efforts to make them enough. I truly feel like who the Lord calls, he qualifies, and that includes mother's. That is not to say that those women who long to be mothers are not qualified to be... The Lord has other purposes for you to fulfill right now.

Now this isn't saying I haven't had moments of being overwhelmed, or moments of being literally at my wits end. But it is saying that those moments are far less, should I be left to my own minuscule efforts.
I'm just grateful that I have been sustained through this new transition.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Corbin one month old (a few weeks late)

Dear Corbin,
We have fallen so in love with you this past month!

Aside from learning how to breath, eat, and see (all things you learned within moments of being born) you have learned that you love to be held. There are times that you will cry and cry, but the moment either me or daddy pick you up you are fine. You dive into a pretty intense cry pretty quickly, but almost as fast as it starts you are able to calm down; usually it's as soon as you feel yourself being lifted into loving arms.

By your month mark you were looking right into peoples faces. Mommy loves seeing you see her. I love looking into your pupils and seeing that you are looking at my face. I feel like it's the beginning of us connecting.

You have rolled over three times, we still aren't convinced they weren't flukes, but you have rolled none the less. You either love or hate tummy time. You either fall right to sleep (love) or cry and kick (hate) and your kicking is what got you to roll over those few times.

You started out tiny, but you are eating like a champ and gaining some good weight. Speaking of eating, mommy (and the nurses in the hospital) were very impressed with how efficiently you eat! While still in the hospital, you would actively eat for maybe 5-10 minutes and be done, but you would be getting a lot of food in that time. It's a rare occasion if you take longer than a half hour to eat, which I think is fast...

You have done a lot of sleeping in the first month of life, but that comes with the territory of being early. You have your moments of not sleeping well through the night, but more often then not you will only wake up 3 times a night. About once a week you will wake up a lot more often then that but we are grateful for the nights that you sleep well.

You are a noisy sleeper, you have already basically been kicked out of mommy and daddy's room because mommy can't sleep with all your grunts and other newborn noises. Maybe once you start sleeping a little more soundly, you will be aloud to sleep in our room again :)

You do boyish things already! You grunt and can belch with the best of them. Daddy already loves treating you like a boy. He will give you (very light) love taps while saying something like "hey man! What's up?". Yesterday when you were very hungry he touched your lips (to get you to open your mouth) and then said "let's see your game face"! He loves having a boy around!

Daddy loves to call you boyish nick-names too! Including, but not limited to, "Bro", "Man" "Dude" and then the basic baby boy names like "Buddy". Mommy likes to call you her "Corbin Boy" and "Bug-a-boo" which is often shortened to "Bug". I think it fits.

We love our little Bug! You are such a good baby and we are so glad to have you around!


Mommy would have loved to have put you in something more than a onsie for these pictures but the tiny little Gerber onesies are the only thing that fits right now!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Corbin's Newborn shots

We are so blessed to have family who sends us monetary gifts, and friends who are amazing photographers!
Thanks Grandma F., and Jessica J. We LOVE these pictures! I'm going to do my best to choose my favorite photos and not overload this post.




I love this half smile! He does this all the time. I think it's so cute, and for some reason it seems so boy-ish to me. So cute!






I love that he's also smiling! We have the same smile :)

Kissy faces!




Love this one!









I have a picture almost identical with Cambria like this... Apparently this is where I hold all my babies

Love!



Ya! I'm cool!







Love!!



Love!!


I hope you enjoyed! I certainly did :)

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Sustained

This transition to two kids has been so surprising! I was expecting a long, possibly hard transition period. Just like with my transition from 0 to 1 kid. Not so.
Almost from the moment I came home from the hospital, I really felt like I could do this! I have felt like I have been able to handle the demands that are asked of me.
That being said, I know that it's not all my doing... if any of it. I know that I am being blessed and sustained by my Heavenly Father. I have felt ability beyond my own, patience beyond my own, and the lack of sleep hasn't gotten to me yet.
I am so grateful for the people who have helped me, and especially for a Father in Heaven who I know is watching out for me and helping me through. Truly, when we act in faith, He comes through on His end of the bargain.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

What to do?

Today Cambria was playing SO WELL this morning. She was happy and very pleasant. Then we had some friends come over and all that changed.
This friend of hers likes to steal her toys, but she likes to steal his too. So whenever he would get close, she would scream, and intervention was needed.
This just so happened to be when Corbin felt the need for attention too. Needless to say it was a stressful time. ... This isn't just a one time thing either. This happens every. single. time. they get together.
I'm starting to think that it may just be better if we don't hang out. But i don't want to do that because i have gotten really close with this boy's mom.
So what do i do? If i stopped hanging out with everyone that Cambria didn't get along with, i wouldn't hang out with anyone! Which wouldn't be good for me or her. So what do i do?

Monday, September 29, 2014

This and that

I have so much on my mind that I am going to start with the mini blog posts that I have written in my head.

Corbin's got talent
So when we change Corbin's diaper, we find that it is beneficial to cover certain body parts to avoid being hit in the face, his or ours. Well the other night, Jonathan was changing his diaper and had him covered. He managed to go around or through the covering and spray himself in the face, and pee all over our sheets. That night he also spit up all over our sheets and pooped outside of the diaper (thankfully he didn't poop past the changing mat that he had down).

Gimme Gimme
I have a friend from Western (where I got my Associates) who played Millie in our production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. This week she posted a video of her performing the song "Gimme Gimme" from the show, a performance she did this week. Well... I have been singing it. all. week. long. I have been itching to perform for a long time. The itch has gotten stronger as time passes. Having a Broadway song stuck in my head 24/7 hasn't helped much.

Big girl potty

Cambria has started taking interest in what happens on the potty. We decided to get her a little seat that goes on our toilet. We got it right before she started pooping as soon as we put her in her crib. Literally! She would poop every day right before her nap consistently for a week. I was thinking she might be doing it on purpose so that she could delay nap time. So we have started putting her on the potty. She doesn't get the concept yet, but she likes sitting there.
I almost caught a poop the other day! I saw her pooping, so I ripped the poopy diaper off of her and sat her on the toilet. We sat there for a good few minutes. Nothin'. So I put a fresh diaper on her, and within minutes it was poopy... boo.
How do you know when a toddler is ready to be potty trained? I don't want to say "ok, this is the weekend I'm going to potty train her", I don't think that is very effective.

Social Butterfly
I know that I am a social butterfly, but after I have a new baby I think my need for social interaction dramatically increases. I'm doing great, emotions-wise, thankfully(!) but my day often needs to start with either sunshine or social interaction, preferably both.

Fall is on it's way!
I absolutely love Midwest Falls! They are amazing and they last FOREVER! Fall is officailly on it's way. I saw the first signs of changing leaves the day before Corbin was born, and I have been anticipating the changing leaves ever since! I can't wait. I also ate my first pumpkin product (pumpkin cookies. Thanks Elisabeth!), so that must mean that fall is here!
Jonathan sometimes gets Starbucks giftcards for free. This week he brought home two; I have been dreaming about a (milk based) pumpkin frappuccino ever since! mmmmm!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Cambria is sweet

Cambria is such a sweet heart! Two experiences from the past few days show this perfectly.

Yesterday, Corbin cried the hardest he had in his life, and Cambee just happened to be in the room. After I calmed him down a bit she came up to him and got close and said "hi" as if she was trying to make him smile.

Today, she got into my prenatal vitamins, and potentially ate a few (she is ok). After realizing the potential seriousness of the situation, I lost it.  As I was crying she was happy playing. When she saw that I was crying she stopped, and did the same thing; got close and said "hi".

I can't help but think that if that is what she is doing with her limited understanding and vocabulary, what is she going to do when she is older? I'm so grateful for her sweetness.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Pictures!

I need to be better at taking pictures, so maybe if I post the ones I have, I'll do better at taking more :)

 When my grandparents were in town we took a walk around campus. This was the first time Cambee experienced the fountains. She loved it!

 This is the last monthly growing picture I will probably take of Cambria. 18 months!


 Aren't they just so cute?
 Yes, this is me in labor... I know I'm only eating a Popsicle, but I wanted to post this to show how coherent I was. I even thought about taking pictures! I did get to eat real food too, and it was amazing!
 Excited to be in the tub! Too bad it didn't last too long...
 Our newest addition!
 Look at his ear. This is one of the first things we noticed, they were big and floppy. Apparently they were so floppy because he was so early. The cartilage in his ear hadn't fully developed yet. They are a lot less floppy now :)

 Us with Ann, my midwife, who was AMAZING!
 our alert boy!
 Our first family picture!
 She loves her brother! 

 look at those eyes! I don't know if you can tell but they are brown on the inside and blue on the outside! Beautiful!!

 my boys!
 I love that he grabs the edges of our collars. So cute!
 I forgot to get a "first moment" picture, so I got one before we left the hospital. You don't quite get the "moment" look, but that's ok. I'm still in the gown, and I'm still not ready for the day. Does that count?
 The reason why we had to stay for a few extra days. His biliruben levels were too high for comfort. I'll have to blog about that later.
So cute! She wanted to hold him!
 I just love this face!
 She was helping to feed him till the camera came out!
I don't know how to turn these pictures. They were right side up when I added them...
 love this one!

 Look at those eyes!!

 Our first outing, Target. She's so cute!!
 Sweet kisses!

LOVE this picture! If you look closely you can see who she is trying to kiss.
wha??? Why are these upside down?

Oh the joy of boxes!


just ceasing cute moments!

So sweet!
We are missing one... she was sleeping
First bath!
He was so alert and chill for so long after his first bath!
Family of 4!
My cute drowsy man!