Milestones: Evelyne is 1 Month Old!

 Some fun 1 month old pictures taken of our little miss!  

Baby girl is getting good at holding her head up!

She also makes some pretty adorable faces :).

Our little ray of sunshine!

I can't believe our baby girl is already a month old! The time is just zooming by and we are having so much fun with her! She is just as sweet as she can be. I tell everyone she is our little angel because she is the perfect baby. Up until the last few days she has been really sleepy and basically just laid there and slept all day. Now she is starting to be awake more and is more alert. This also means she is becoming more needy and I am quickly learning how difficult having two kids can be! But I wouldn't trade her for anything.

We get so much attention everywhere we go with this little beauty. She makes strangers stop in their tracks and everyone wants to hold her! Maybe it's all that jet black hair? Maybe it's those piercing black eyes? Or maybe it's the angelic sweetness radiating off of her? I'm thinking it's all of the above :).

Speaking of her eyes... when she looks at you, it feels like she is looking deep into your soul.... seeing past the exterior and speaking to your heart. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true! We have had many a late night conversation with our eyes at night while I am nursing her. She feels like an old soul and I truly believe she was sent to our family with a mighty purpose.

My favorite thing to do with Evelyne is play dress up! Every morning is exciting as I search through her dresser drawers for the next cute outfit and matching headband. Having a girl has been a dream come true! She is already a Mommas girl which makes it hard for Josh to hold her because soon she starts crying for me. I'm sure it is simply because I spend the most time with her because I remember Austin being the same way and now I'm pretty sure his Dad is his favorite.

This month has been one of the greatest of my life and I feel like our family is so much more complete now! Thank you Evelyne for gracing us with your beautiful presence and for being such a sweet, special little girl :).

Moments over the past month:

She is getting chubbier by the day! We love it!

Trying out tummy time for the first time! She is getting good at lifting her head while being held, but it was much harder to do on her tummy.

Taking a break.... tummy time is exhausting!

Those eyes... I get lost in them!

Hanging out with Daddy and brother.

This was an especially hard moment for me as I tried to get things done with a crying baby strapped to me and an awnry, whiny toddler clawing at me. But I am learning each day how to be a better Mother and a better person. Isn't that what Motherhood is all about?

Baby girl all passed out while her brother played at Town Square!

She was limp like a rag doll!

This little dress is by far my favorite outfit and I will be so sad when she grows out of it!

I've been just a little obsessed with taking pictures!

She loves to sleep and we aren't complaining.....

She's the same size as Austin's baby doll!

I wish she would stay this size forever!

All naked and ready for her first bath at almost 2 weeks old!

Austin had fun helping bathe her!

She was content until we started washing her.... then she didn't like it so much.

Having a little chat with Momma.

Taking a nap with Aunt Briana (Nana).

Grandpa Porter came by to help us fix the car and to visit with Austin and the new baby!

We have done a lot of cuddling around here!

I love how she was smiling while cuddling with Daddy! I have a similar picture of Austin....

Here it is! They both have the same sweet little smile!

All snuggled up in the baby wrap.

I sure do love this little papoose of mine!

This wrap has been a life saver!

First time hanging out at the pool with Mom, Grandma Porter, and Austin!

Lounging in the shade with Mom......

....while Austin and Grandma played in the water!

She is normally all balled up with her hands to her face but the heat made her totally relax!

Getting some loves from Daddy.

They look like twins to me!

Yet another adorable outfit :).

Cuddling with Mom while Austin was sleeping.

Little sleepy head :).

Austin has been doing pretty good with adjusting, but he doesn't like sharing attention from his Dad or his Grandma Porter....

Sleeping beauty.

Milestones: 22 Months Old

Our adorable 22 Month old!

In two months this kid will be two years old but I swear it feels like he is already there! He has quite the strong personality and is learning how to get what he wants with fun tantrums. But beside that stubborn, infuriating personality is the sweetest little boy you will ever meet! I love the picture above because it shows that adorable sweet side to Austin that we all know and love. I always feel terrible after losing my patience with him because he suddenly turns into the kid in this picture and I realize how sweet and innocent he still is, even if he isn't acting like it at the moment.

Austin has exceeded our expectations with his baby sister and is actually doing a fantastic job at being a big brother! He throws diapers in the trash for us, loves taking baths with her, gives her lots of kisses, and gets concerned when he hears her cry. He isn't always so wonderful, like yesterday when he threw a dinosaur squeeky toy at her face, but what more can you expect from an almost two year old?

Now that we have two kids, we have had to change up our bedtime routine a bit. After we said prayers, I used to rock Austin and sing songs to him while he drank a bottle and Josh would go downstairs and tidy up the house. Now I usually have a crying baby to care for so that old routine wasn't going to work any more. So now Josh gives Austin a bath while I bathe Eve, or just get her fed and in her jammies. Then we all go into Austin's room and sing songs together while Josh rocks Austin and I hold Eve. We say a prayer, do a round of kisses, and we say "I love you buddy" after which Austin mimicks us with the sweetest baby voice :). Austin calls this routine, "Rock you" and if we don't do it, he will start screaming "ROCK YOU! ROCK YOU!" until we do. It is the funniest thing!

Since Eve was born a month ago, Austin and Josh have found this deep rooted bond and they are now even closer than ever! I think it has to do with me being so busy with the baby which makes me feel bad, but at the same time, happy that they are getting this special time together. Austin is Josh's greatest fan! He mimicks everything Josh does and is always talking about his Dad. In every picture he points out, "Daddy!" and makes us laugh when we see him sitting on the love sac biting his nails while watching TV, exactly the way Josh does! Their favorite thing to do together is dance so Josh bought The Night at the Roxbury CD, as well as NSYNC's Greatest Hits and they had a little dance party! It was so stinking cute to watch! Josh was a total dork and Austin tried copying every move he made as if they were the coolest moves ever! I love that about Josh, he's not afraid to be silly with the kids :). 

Basically, the pictures below say everything about this past month with Austin. He is an energetic ball of fun and every day he makes us better people. Whether it is by teaching us patience, or by being the sweetest example of innocence and Christ-like love. Our lives wouldn't be the same without him.

Having fun in the ball pit with our friends at Fun Plus Run!

This kid was in heaven!

We Moms kept yelling, "Don't throw the balls!" but of course they didn't listen....

Oh Austin, how we love your silly face!

Every morning Austin runs to find the baby, gives her a kiss, and says "good morning!"

These two are going to be good friends.

We went to Town Square while Daddy had a week off work and played in their kids area! All that playing called for a smoothie break.

And some pretzel bites.... his whole mouth is stuffed with them! Austin got this balloon from the clowns that were putting on a show and had a great time with it!

We chased birds....

He also rode on the train! He loved it I promise..... he just wouldn't smile for the camera.

There were lots of fun toys to play with! I was surprised he didn't want to play in the water though.

The train was his favorite and he talked about it for days.

We loved having Dad around for a whole week!

Taking a wagon ride to the splash pad.

Playing in the water with Daddy!

Morning snuggles with Momma.

Hanging out on Mom and Dad's bed with Eve. Look at those long legs! He is growing so tall!

Play date with his best friend (twin) Emmett.

I was busy tidying up the house when I realized it was unusually silent. I started panicking and ran to see what was up. I found Austin lying on the floor next to Eve, playing with her :).

Totally melted my heart!

More splash pad fun!

When you live in the desert, all of your activities are centered around water.

Taking a break with a good book in the baby swing ;).

Such a silly goose!

This kid loves ice cream (like his Mom) so we did Family Home Evening at Dairy Queen! As you can see, he was very excited about it!

Hanging out at the pool with Mom and Grandma.

Grandma is Austin's favorite person!

....I think that's because she is so fun!!

Lounging in the shade with Mom and Evelyne and eating cookies :).

Passed out before bed time on the love sac! We wore him out that week!

Playing with Grandpa Porter. He loved this game but Grandpa's back didn't like it so much.....

Playing at the park with Mom, 2 weeks after baby sister was born!

Fixing his broken chair. This kid loves tools!

I have to constantly keep Austin busy or he turns naughty so we made cookies this day! Yummy!

Trying out our new double stroller. Every time we go to the park Austin has to bring the basketball!

Austin had fun picking what he thought were flowers in the grass at the park and running over to give them to Momma :). It was so cute!

Mother's Day 2015

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year and felt so much gratitude to be the Mother of TWO babies this time!

 My special day started when Josh came home from work on Friday with a dozen red roses and chocolate. He also told me I could get myself whatever I wanted for the rest of my gift, so I did a little online shopping for some new summer clothes! Love him! On Sunday morning Josh got up with Austin so I could "sleep in" which didn't really work out because the baby woke up anyway, but it was a nice thought! For breakfast Josh ran over to Starbucks and got me my favorite drink and then we hung out as a family for a while before church.

I know this sounds terrible, but what I wanted most for Mother's Day was to go to Relief Society and not have to deal with a crazy busy toddler so Josh agreed to stay home with Austin and I went to church alone! Well, not exactly alone.... I brought the baby along with me. But she is the perfect angel so it was like she wasn't even there! Plus, I really wanted to show her off to all my friends ;). It was such a nice, peaceful escape! The spirit was so strong and it felt like I was in heaven as I cuddled my sweet angel and listened to God's word. We got so much attention with all of our friends wanting to see the baby and there was a yummy treat waiting for me after church from the bishop and his counselors. SCORE!

I went home happy and spiritually uplifted to two handsome boys waiting to BBQ for my special lunch! Josh did a great job BBQ'ing salmon, corn, and sweet potatoes! And then there was key lime pie for dessert! Again, SCORE!

I also received all sorts of sweet text messages and phone calls from friends and loved ones. I really felt the love!

My sweet baby sister sent me this text which of course made me cry! It was so sweet of her!

......The second half of the text.

After Austin woke up from his nap, we all went for a walk to the park to throw the football around and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was the perfect end to a great day!

No, I take that back. The perfect end to my special day was singing songs with Josh and Austin before we put Austin down for bed and listening to my sweet little boy giggle and try tickling us as we tried to get through each verse of 5 little monkeys. Then, as we tucked him into bed and said goodnight, my sweet boy said, "I yuv you buddy," mimicking his Dad, and my heart melted. Then I went into our bedroom where my beautiful baby girl was waiting for her turn to be cuddled and tucked into bed. It was as I was stroking her beautiful black hair and admiring her sweet baby face, that I felt it had truly been the perfect Mother's Day :).

Giving sister kisses after Momma got hers...

BIG HUG!!

I love my babies!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!!

Oh and by the way, by the end of my day of semi-relaxation, Josh told me he could never be a stay at home Dad and going back to work would be a vacation after how hard his day was! I laughed (mostly because he didn't even do half of what I normally do throughout the day) and welcomed him to my world! Being a Mom is the hardest job I've ever had, and I've had a few doozies.... But it is also rewarding and makes my life whole. 

The Weekly 10

1) Josh got a new job! He will be starting a week from today so he quit his previous job on Friday and is taking the whole week off to spend with us! The new job is with Wells Fargo as a Loan Underwriter. Things were going south at his last job so we were pretty grateful this one came along before he joined the others on the list of layoffs!

2) Austin is either the sweetest kid in the world, or the worst. It has been a struggle lately and he seems to have most of these power struggles with me.

Josh says it's because you fight the most with the child who is most like you. That might be the case, or maybe it's just because I am the more strict parent and I spend more time with him....?

3) Because of our recent struggles, I decided to take Austin on a Mommy and me date on Friday. It was just the two of us and amazingly it helped things a lot! My sweet little boy came back to me! We went to his Messy Days class and made fun Mother's Day pictures out of glue and colored sand for me and Grandma Porter who was babysitting Evelyne. Then we hit up a farmers market close by, sampled yummy food, and bought Grandma P. some fresh bread and fruit spread. Next we went to Trader Joes because that is our thing. Austin gets so excited when I tell him we are going there to get cookies! We topped off our Mother's Day gift for Grandma by buying some sunflowers. By the end of all that fun, we were hungry and made a stop at McDonalds! Talk about a fun filled day! Once we got home, Austin was so adorable as he carefully carried the flowers to Grandma and said, "I yuv you."

4) I went to a seminar with my Mom Wednesday evening put on by this LDS Therapist who had some very interesting insight into happiness and not allowing negativity into your mind. I have been trying to put what I learned into action and I have to say, things have been good! I brought Evelyne along with me and left Josh to put Austin to bed. Of course that was the night when Evelyne decided to not sleep constantly but she was too adorable to get annoyed over it and she made sure she got all sorts of attention from all the women while we were there! They all claimed she is the most beautiful baby they have ever seen. Yes, I was proud.

5) Speaking of Evelyne, she is the perfect baby! She sleeps most of the day and wakes about every 3 hours at night, unless she has gas pains. Then she moans and grunts most of the night and keeps us up with all her noises. I bought gripe water and it seems to work but she hates the taste and gags whenever she drinks it.

6) I had my 2 week OB appointment and everything is healing nicely! I still can't exercise but the pain is getting better and the swelling is going down! I've lost 21lbs since her birth which sounds great but is actually kinda depressing since I had lost 33lbs at this point with Austin.... But I also gained about 10lbs more with the second pregnancy since I was put on bed rest and couldn't be as active. So I have to remind myself that I am doing good.

7) Austin had a play date with his friend Emmett and had a great time! Those two little boys are so funny together! We love watching them! It helped me out so much so I could get some things done!

8) We struggled the first few days of being on our own with two kids but we are adjusting well now and have a little routine down! I'm so grateful to have a partner to help me. I don't know how single moms do it! Basically Josh takes Austin and I take Evelyne and we make it work. Austin's new phrase is "Daddy's buddy" and it's so cute when he says it! Every day gets better, although I have to admit that poor Evelyne has to cry more often to get attention than Austin ever did. We just don't have enough hands sometimes!

9) Josh has been going to the gym daily and claims it helps a lot with the stress of life. Sure wish I had that luxury! As soon as I get permission from my doctor I will be joining him in the ranks!

10) Evelyne had a doctors appointment today (20 days old) and now weighs 8lbs 4oz and is 19.5 inches long. She is getting some chub on her and we have all been having fun squeezing her! Austin especially. Her cheeks are his favorite. The doctor says she is doing perfectly and won't need to come back until her 2 month vaccinations visit.