Happy Independence Day!

We had a fabulous 4th of July this year! It was the first year Eve could actually participate (last year she was not even 3 months old), it was the first year Austin could hold a sparkler unassisted, and it was the first year we actually stayed up for the fireworks! All these firsts were so fun and so memorable!

Sparkler fun!

We spent the holiday in Boulder City with Great Grandma Helm! We all love Grandma so much! A sweeter woman on this planet you will never find! We ate sloppy joes, potato salad, and orange jello salad for lunch, along with dirt cake for dessert! There's nothing more American than that! I have a sneaking suspicion Grandma made that cake just for Austin, and the gummy worms were much appreciated! ;)

After eating, we went outside to run through the sprinklers, throw Pop-Its, light sparklers, and lounge around enjoying each others company. It was so nice and relaxing! Austin had a great time throwing the Pop-Its around with Daddy and running around the yard holding sparklers with Mommy. Evie was very jealous that she couldn't do either. We tried to let her throw a Pop-It but took it back the second it went into her mouth.....

Sprinkler fun with Grandma!

Sprinklers were the one thing Evie WAS allowed to play with! It's so hard being little....

Jumping over the water with Mommy.

Pop-Its!

Giving a couple to Daddy to throw.

Grandma has had this swing for as long as I can remember. This is the first year there is a cover over it though because the wood underneath is splintering. I have so many memories swinging away on this thing!

Enjoying the sunshine! Austin took this pic! He is turning out to be such a good little photographer!

Just chillin' with Auntie Sadie!

Love my sister!

Oh my goodness, these two and their silly selfies!

Running around with sparklers

Giving Grandma some cuddles.

Once the sun began to set, we headed over to the golf course for fireworks!! While we waited, we lit more sparklers (until we got in trouble because apparently that's not allowed) and chased the kids around the grounds! Some people behind us had glow sticks and gave each of the kids one. They were a big hit! It was past bedtime and Eve's tiredness was beginning to show. She could not hold still! I was so grateful when the fireworks started because it kept her entertained for a whole 10 minutes until she was off running around again and I was off chasing her!

I wish I could engrave Austin's reaction to the fireworks in my memory forever. He sat there on the blanket, completely enthralled! He kept saying, "OOOHHH! LOOK!" and clapping for the really big ones! It was so perfect! I just wish I could have enjoyed that moment with him longer before I had to go chase the baby....

Being little rebels with our sparklers hahaha!

It was well worth getting in trouble to get these great shots!

Graduating to holding TWO SPARKLERS at the same time! He's a pro now!

Eve was so funny (due to tiredness)! She kept wanting to put her glow stick on Sadie's face!

What a great 4th of July! We are so grateful to live in this great nation, and to raise our babies in freedom with the promise of the American dream at their fingertips! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

As we said goodbye to everyone and drove home, we had fun watching all the fireworks shoot off over the Vegas valley! Austin made us laugh as he protested over and over, "I'm not tired! I don't want to go to bed, Austin's not tired!" He was yawning each time he said this.... ;) He was also very sad about leaving his Great Grandma and kept saying, "Where's Gramma? I want to go to HER house! Austin misses Gramma...." What a lucky boy to have such a special lady in his life :).

Nursing Moments....

 I had a really crazy nursing moment a little while back that still leaves me sad, and I can't quite explain the other feeling that comes along with it. Am I confused, disturbed, in awe?? There isn't really a word! When you work in the medical field and your days are spent trying to keep people from dying, you have a lot of bizarre spiritual experiences most people just don't get. For that I feel grateful. Some people study medicine, only to find themselves questioning whether there is a God and puffing themselves up, thinking they ARE a God (ahem, doctors....) But not me. No, I find that my work experiences only prove on a daily basis how beautiful and marvelous God is and how little we actually know about his power and love for his children!

It was 3am and I was driving to Pahrump to cover for their nurse who broke her arm recently and couldn't come in to work. I actually like that long drive because it gives me a chance to think. Our home life is so busy and crazy, that quiet reflection is a rarity. So as I was pondering, a weird sort of daydream came over me. At least that's what it felt like. The kind of daydream that you just kinda shake off once it's done and you move onto your other thoughts.

In the daydream I was assessing a favorite patient of mine in Pahrump when he suddenly got very sentimental on me and told me how happy he is to see me today. He told me that it makes his day when I walk through the door because he knows when Ashly is here, it's going to be a good day. He went into detail about how I always make everyone feel so comfortable and taken care of. Dialysis can be a scary and even dangerous experience, and it helps to have a nurse who is calm and takes charge, making everyone around her feel that everything is going to be okay.... even when the shi* just hit the fan (so to speak). He said he's been watching me and he loves how I don't take crap from anyone, even the doctors, and said he has laughed on more than one occasion while he watched me tell a doctor where he can shove his diploma! "Basically," he said, "We all know that when you are here, everything is going to be okay. Thank you for that."

As the daydream continued, I thanked him for his kind words, told him I do the best I can, and then he suddenly had a heart attack and died right there on the spot! It was traumatizing! But like I said, once the daydream was over, I just kinda shook it off and moved on with my thoughts.

Okay, now flash forward to me being at work and in walks this same patient. I didn't really think much of my previous daydream because, let's face it, it was 3am and the brain thinks up some really bizarre stuff when you're super tired!

Then, as I was assessing him before treatment, he suddenly started saying all the things he told me in my daydream!!!

No, I'm not joking.

Almost word for word, he expressed his gratitude to me for the care I've given him and for how safe I make him feel. The mood was getting kinda heavy so I laughed it off and joked around with him saying, "Okay, this sounds a lot like a bed side confession.... you better not die on me now!" He laughed too and assured me he wasn't going anywhere any time soon :). We laughed a little more, I thanked him for his kind words, and then I moved onto my other patients.

AND AN HOUR LATER HE DIED IN MY ARMS.....

It wasn't a daydream... It was a premonition.

I'm usually pretty good at keeping my emotions in check when bad stuff happens at work. You can't fall apart when so many people are looking up to you to keep telling them everything will be okay. But I just couldn't this time. I went into the bathroom and bawled my eyes out. Then, I cried all the way home, went straight to my husband, and cried some more.

In all my years of nursing I have never had something like this happen. Yes, there is that gut instinct we all feel that tells you to go do something because you just have this feeling something bad is going to happen. And there is always that horrible moment when you didn't follow your gut and you are met with regret and disappointment in yourself for knowing better. But this was different. For some reason God wanted me to be prepared for this one. Or maybe it was like the theories with De'ja Vu where you know you are exactly where you are supposed to be because you've already experienced it before? Who knows. But once again, thanks to my job, I find myself strengthened in my testimony of God and all his many mysteries.

Milestones: Evelyne 13/14 Months Old

I've fallen behind (as usual) in writing down Miss Eve's milestones because we have been so busy doing all sorts of fun stuff, and also dealing with the day to day not so fun stuff.... So here is the past two months with our beautiful Evelyne Grace!

 She is growing taller, but still remains just as squishable as ever! I am constantly squeezing her, or nibbling on her chubby cheeks! The best part is she loves it! So I get all the loves I want without complaint, which is something Austin never allowed ;). Eve is also great at GIVING loves and will hug and kiss anyone.... and I mean anyone. At our Toddlers in the Kitchen Cooking Class she is famous for going around the room at circle time and giving every single person a hug and a kiss. There's just something so undeniable about Eve. She has such a loving soul and a beautiful, sweet nature about her. People fall in love with her at first sight!

She says "bye bye" and waves, or "hi" and waves. She has also learned to tell me when she poops! She points to her diaper and says "Poo!" She calls Austin "Ju Ju" which sounds nothing like Austin, but we know what she's talking about because she says it in perfect context! Like if he is upstairs and she wants him to come play with her, she will shout "JU JU!" up the stairs at him. If she wants her bottle, she says "baba." She is also great at pointing to what she wants which is a HUGE help! I've never felt the need to teach my kids sign language because both of them have had great verbal skills, which can be good or bad depending on the situation.

I LOOOVVVEE coming home from work because as soon as I walk through the door she gets super excited and comes running to me, screaming and literally shaking with excitement! It is the sweetest, most amazing feeling ever to be so loved!

After her first birthday I started weaning her from breastfeeding but it didn't work out so well. She is NOT a fan of cows milk and I was really worried about her getting dehydrated. I talked to the doctor about it at her 12 month well baby check and she said some babies are just slower at transitioning to whole milk and to do it very slowly so she doesn't lose a bunch of weight. So that's what we've been doing! I'm actually not complaining because I'm not ready to give up our special moments at night as I rock her to sleep while she nurses. It's such a special bonding moment. Austin gave up nursing without warning and basically wanted nothing to do with me after that. So it has been nice to have a little one who still wants to cuddle and hang onto babyhood a little longer....

She worships Austin, but is constantly getting hurt because he is bigger, and a boy. And let's be honest, boys just don't think sometimes! He is constantly going to time out all throughout the day for hurting her! I feel soooo bad for her! All she wants is to be his friend and sometimes he just can't stand her tagging along any longer and suddenly does something about it... something naughty. But then there are the adorable moments that I wish I could catch on video because it is just so dang cute! But of course the moment is always over by the time I start filming. I'm talking about those moments when they are giggling uncontrollably at each other every time Austin makes a silly noise, or chasing each other around the room laughing. Or when he is playing nicely with her and gently teaching her in his cute little toddler voice how to do something. Or when he climbs into the crib with her in the morning and they both start jumping on the mattress, laughing hysterically. It's moments like that when I feel grateful we had them so close together!

She has been teething lately which makes her even more clingy to me than normal. It also makes her even more dramatic when she gets hurt or when Austin won't share with her... she's definitely a girl!

She may not be a big milk drinker, but this girl LOVES smoothies! She amazes us all with how much she can drink! She also inherited her Mama's love for chocolate and ice cream ;). She's actually a really good eater, and lately has been a huge fan of mashed potatoes and gravy! She has stopped wanting to eat baby food though, which really sucks because I have about $50 worth of it sitting in the cupboard.... :( 

Some Fun Moments Over the Past Two Months:

She loves dirt/sand! I caught her getting into my flower pot and rubbing the soil all over her body!

We had a huge rainstorm this past week and she was in heaven! This girl LOVES the rain! I was so shocked that the thunder and lightening didn't bother her at all!

 

She gives the most adorable open mouthed grins! I love those little teeth!

It has been an insanely hot summer this year so we have spent a lot of time out on the front porch in our kiddie pool!

Not sure what to think about the cold water!

Picking flowers with her brother and giving them to Mommy :).

Just a month ago we had the most beautiful flower/veggie garden growing on our patio but this heat wave killed everything instantly! Grrrr! The good news is, now Eve has more dirt to play in!

She puts up with so much from Austin! This is him covering her in stickers and thinking he is hilarious....

Baby's first pair of shoes! I decided to stay true to her Native American heritage and buy her some baby moccasins! So comfy, and easy to walk in without tripping!

Giving Austin and Daddy loves while Dad tried to read the lesson for our Family Home Evening :).

Messes, Messes, MESSES!! Trying to keep up with two kids so close in age is insane!

I was sick about a month ago, so my Mom and Nate came to take care of the kids so I could get some rest. They had a great time!

Having fun in the ball pit with Grandma!

 This is another one of my favorite Evie-girl faces! She wrinkles her nose and gives this closed mouth grin!

Wild woman attacking Mom!

Eve and Auntie Sadie are selfie taking pros!

Austin reading her "The Tale of Peter Rabbit." This is one of those sweet moments I was talking about :).

Being a drama queen. I love how she covers up her mouth when she is trying to fake cry more dramatically! hahaha

Feeding brother some breakfast ;).

My little shadow. She never strays far from her Mama!