Early 2016 Updates

We are happy it is finally warm here in Utah!  We escaped the winter by going on a Caribbean cruise in January out of Miami.  The girls loved being in tiny little beds, camp carnival games, eating fancy food, and staying up watching movies on the deck in the hot tub.  Lisa loved Jamaica, especially when we rode on horses in the ocean, rode around in a car without seatbelts, hiked some waterfalls, played on the beach, and hung out with super laid back, pot-smoking Jamaicans.  I also loved snorkeling in Grand Cayman and swimming with sting rays (where Steve Irwin died and Richard Branson got bit), but the girls were freaked out.  We also loved doing a road trip down the Florida Keys.

Easter was fun!

We also hit the Jazz/Clippers game and got to go underneath because one of the cameramen is in our ward. 

 Third Eye Blind (old band from the 90s) concert (notice all the empty seats behind us!)

Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

We travelled to Montana because Lisa’s Aunt Sharon passed away.  Lisa has been close to Uncle Glen and Aunt Sharon her whole life, and they often travelled up there to Kalispell every other year for Thanksgiving.  I got to spend a couple Thanksgivings with them before Sharon’s health deteriorated.  It was a nice funeral.  We had a good time with the girls staying in hotels, swimming, helping with the services, and visiting a ghost town.  

And of course we are excited about the baby boy on the way!

We feel really blessed to have a healthy pregnancy going and feel like it is an answer to many prayers.  Life just keeps getting better!

 We love you all and wish you the best!

Sleep

We borrowed a toddler bed from my sister weeks ago and finally got around to setting it up. Sophie couldn't wait to have a new bed and asked to have it every time she saw it in the garage. I didn't want to mess with a good thing, so I just contined to put it off. We finally gave in, and from the moment it was up, Sophie couldn't stop playing with it. Climbing in and out, putting her dollies to sleep, messing it up just so she could fix it, and on and on. It was cute, but I was skeptical of the night, especially since she was in a new room. To my amazement, this little girl sleeps as if she's always been in a bed. And my favorite part is watching her make it in the morning. She meticulously fixes the quilt so it hangs just right. (wonder where she gets that!) I'm still getting used to seeing her in her bed. Just another reminder that she's growing up.

Claire, on the other hand, prefers sleeping a bit more sporatically. She doesn't like the traditional 8 hour block of sleep, but rather 1-2 hour naps all through the night. I'm getting used to the dull, sleep-deprivation headaches in the morning. Still, I find myself wanting to eat her up in the daytime. She is obsessed with hands, not just her own anymore, and will play with and suck on my fingers while happily kicking her feet. Even now, I'm typing one-handed so she can do her thing. She's becoming a little person, and already seems a bit sassy, screaming sometimes just to hear her own voice. I'm discovering all the differences and similarities between her and Sophie already, and can't wait to see more.

This is how Claire can be found most of the day, not in the Bumbo so much, but eating her hands. I cannot get enough of it!

What's wrong with me?

My blog is dying. It's my fault. This is my attempt to resuscitate it. No apologies, I'm just going to pick up from here.

Claire is going to be 4 months old soon, and I honestly can't believe it. She's still a newborn, right? All I can say is we are completely enjoying her. She is smiling, even laughing at times, and is sweet as can be. Sophie has been incredibly adaptable to this new addition and tries to help. Sometimes she is legitimately helpful too. When Claire cries in the grocery store, Sophie rocks the carseat for me and tries to show her toys. Claire already loves her and I can see the seeds of sibling bonding being planted. They will be friends one day. I hope. Claire has discovered her hands and contentedly sucks on them all day long--even when they are covered in spit-up. Gross, I know, but I actually find it adorable. She still naps in her swing and I'm not about to change it because it works so well. We recently got Claire the Bumbo chair at Target and the jury is still out on whether she likes it or not. I hope she warms up to it, though, because I get a kick out of seeing her in it.

Sophie is definitely gaining her independence, but I feel I'm learning more about patience than she is about being independent. If I touch the door she is trying to open, she screams at me. If I try to help zip up her jammies, she screams at me. You get the idea. We just smile and take a couple deep breaths. She is quite adorable, though. Always the little mommy, she loves giving her "naked baby" (All her babies are identified by color) a bath, nursing her, or bouncing her on a ball to keep her quiet. I'm seeing her mimic my actions and totally loving it. Mothering two girls has me learning to multi-task and sometimes makes me a little crazy, but overall I honestly love it. I mean, just LOOK at them!

Okay, I LOVE this picture of Matt's mom. Doesn't she look like a celebrity incognito? She is fabulous. Also, I'm nursing Claire, which is a little strange for a picture and rather uncomfortable.

Sisters

Claire

I forgot how much I enjoy having a tiny newborn. She smells sweet, she sleeps all day, and I love her scrunched up little body. Definitely beats pregnancy. These days I can be found in pajamas, hair undone, no makeup, holding this precious little baby.

Her arrival was extremely untimely, coming on the same day we were scheduled to move, but somehow it all worked out. My mother-in-law ended up taking me to the hospital while Matt loaded the moving truck. Once there, I learned I was already dialated to an 8. An 8!! I suddenly got a panicky feeling that I might somehow miss my "window" for an epidural, or even worse, that Matt might miss the whole thing. I remember saying to the nurse, "I definitely don't want to go natural. Please tell me I can have an epidural." I probably reminded her about 14 times and I'm sure I was annoying, but I always hear those stories about other women missing their opportunity. I got the drugs, Matt made it to the hospital, and Claire was born at 11:43 am on Saturday, september 19th. At 6 lb, 8 oz, she is a lot smaller than Sophie (8lb, 14 oz) was.

We're mostly settled in the new house now, but there are still loads of boxes to go through. How did we accumulate so much stuff in only 7 years?! Luckily we have a basement, so anything we're not sure about just goes down there. I hate clutter, and I hate being unorganized, but I'm trying to work on one box at a time. For now, I'll keep holding my little Claire and ignore all the junk in the basement.

Finally!

Remember this? After 8 "short" months, we are finally moving in on September 19th. I'm also scheduled to have the baby about 5 days later, so it's all coming at once. We'll be busy over the next few weeks, to say the least, but we can't wait!

Happiest Place on Earth...

We recently spent a few days in Southern California. Newport Beach, to be exact. We had such a great time visiting our good friends, hanging at the beach and Disneyland. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Sophie LOVED the water! Sunday we walked along the beach and she probably could have stayed there all day.

Couple things about this picture:

1: Matt is wearing a wetsuit straight out of the 80's...can't say I wasn't a little embarassed. It actually says "Heat Zone" across the front.

2: Is it just me or do they both look like they are posing for some photo shoot? It was actually freezing that day, hence the wetsuit, so maybe that had something to do with it.

PS Matt spent about an hour surfing and looked pretty good while doing it...not so goofy anymore, huh?

THE BLAKES:

Our good looking, gracious hosts for the trip. It was so good to hang out with them and they were completely hospitable. They let us use their car, carseat, stroller, eat their food, stay in their home, and they took us to all the fun places to eat and hang out in Newport.

These two go way back...their families used to vacation together in Lake Powell, where many good times were had. Also spent those wild college days at BYU as roomates.

I tried to minimize any photos taken next to Julianne. She is way too pretty, and I felt way too pregnant. Don't let her good looks fool you, though. She is SO sweet!

DISNEYLAND, OF COURSE:

Favorite ride, hands down was the merry-go-round. This one happens to be located at the mall and cost about $1. Later realized we could have saved a lot of money by riding this one all day.

Yes, we are cheesy. We take all the predictable group shots and no creative spontaneous ones. I will probably always be this way.

BALBOA ISLAND:

We took a ferryboat ride to Balboa Island the day of Sophie's birthday. This was probably my favorite day of the trip. We walked along the pier, Matt and Sophie rode the ferris wheel, ate yummy pizza, and we even took pictures in a photo booth...something I haven't done since high school, but it was a fun way to remember the day.

Favorite moment of the trip: The look on Sophie's face when she realized the dessert with a candle in it was for her! She was so cute with the goofiest smile on her face through the entire "Happy Birthday" song. Priceless.

Wasting no time on that birthday dessert

Sophie and Davis enjoyed riding next to each other in the sit-n-stand stroller. An arranged marriage between these two is already in the works and these pictures will be great for the wedding video one day. :)

Again, I'm thinking of the future wedding video.

Just a cute picture of Sophie taken by Julianne.

So sad to say goodbye! We definitely were not ready to leave.

Sidenote: Sophie is also expecting a child! We got some pretty hilarious shots of her posing with her "belly" and I just had to include one!