Josh's First (official) Father's Day

We had a lot of fun celebrating Father's Day with the greatest father we know! Basically I told Josh that it was his day, and even though I wasn't feeling good (dang head cold), we would do whatever he wanted.

His first request that morning was to go to the gym and get his hair cut. Like I said, I wasn't feeling good so he got to go do that all by himself. He probably preferred it that way anyway. There's a lot less stress when you don't have the little man around. Before he left I made us all yummy green/fruit smoothies! This was my favorite part of the whole day because Austin was being so cute with Josh! Josh was holding Austin and they were taking turns drinking the smoothie. Then Austin decided to take the reigns by grabbing the straw and physically shoving it into his dad's mouth. Then, when he felt his dad had drank enough, he pulled it away from him and put it into his own mouth. We were laughing because he gave himself much longer sips before he felt it was time to share again :). When the smoothie started getting towards the bottom, it became harder to suck up out of the straw so Josh started stirring it. Being the little smarty pants that he is, Austin watched his dad do that and again took charge! This time he started stirring the smoothie with the straw before he gave it to his dad EVERY TIME! Then he would pull it away and stir it again before he took his own sip! Such a fun moment :).

"this is fun!"

Dad's turn

"Now it's my turn Dad!"

When Josh got back, we all got ready for the day and took some pictures to announce the new baby coming in February! We had debated on the right day to let the world know and concluded that Father's Day was the perfect day! We also took some of just Dad and Bubba being that it was Father's Day and all. Austin didn't cooperate very well and for some reason he kept wanting to do back-bends and look up at the ceiling. He's a crazy kid, that's all I have to say about that.

Such a good Daddy :).

Austin doing his back-bends

This was the only picture we got of Austin actually looking at the camera!

Then we headed off to the Fiesta Buffet per Dad's request for his Father's Day lunch! The food was really good and Austin was such a good boy the entire time. I think I learned the trick to keeping him happy. I filled up a little soup bowl with cucumbers and put ranch on them and then let him go to town. He loves munching on veggies dipped in ranch. Probably not the healthiest Mommy choice but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the kid happy and quiet.

Josh in his happy place. We ate a LOT of food!

Austin also in his happy place chewing on his cucumbers.

We came home feeling like we would never eat again and put Austin down for his afternoon nap. Then Josh and I kicked back for a while and watched Mad Men, our new favorite show on Netflix.
Austin didn't sleep as long as we had hoped so our relaxation time was cut short. He is sleeping throughout the night now so his naps are getting shorter. You win some and you lose some.

Being the amazing man that he is, Josh decided to spend the next part of his Father's Day cleaning all three of our bathrooms for me! He felt bad that I was sick and now that I'm pregnant I can't be around chemical cleaners anymore. So he took on the huge task with a smile and a surprisingly good attitude! I was so in love at that moment. I married a keeper!

We finished the day with a walk around the neighborhood and then talked about how good God has been to us while we put the baby to bed together. The perfect end to a wonderful day :).

Josh is the greatest Dad. From the second he walks in the door, he has eyes only for Austin, and Austin only for him. He is so attentive and careful. Sometimes it's a good thing because he has caught Austin right as he was diving off the couch more than once. Sometimes it's slightly annoying because it takes him forever to change a poopy diaper since he wants to make sure he "got it all" and is careful not to hurt the little guy. He is great at keeping me calm when I am feeling totally overwhelmed with parenthood. He is so helpful and is always doing sweet things for me (like cleaning the bathrooms) to make my life easier. I love watching him play with Austin, and it makes me smile when I can hear Austin in the other room giggling uncontrollably because his Dad is throwing him up in the air. I could go on and on about all the reasons why I would nominate Josh as the World's Greatest Dad but that would take all day.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY JOSH!!! I hope you know how much we love and appreciate you!

Announcing Baby #2

 

Dear baby,

We've only known for sure of your teeny tiny growing body for about two weeks now, but we have felt your presence for much longer than that. We didn't plan on  you, but we knew you were coming. How did we know?? Well, Mom just kept getting that feeling. I kept telling your Dad that I think I am pregnant even though there were no signs or symptoms. I just felt you. I don't know how to describe it any better than that. I found myself thinking up baby names while I was at the gym and thinking about whether we should give you and your brother your own rooms or make you share and keep the spare room as a guest room for our constant company. I even talked to my aesthetician about whether or not it is safe to continue with the laser skin treatments I have been doing (thanks to your brother) to clear up the scarring from my first pregnancy. Sadly, she said if I were pregnant I would have to stop.... it's just not worth the risk. As for your Dad, he knew you were coming because of the dreams he kept having. I'm not kidding, he had three dreams over the past month that had you in them! Needless to say, we were super excited to find out your little presence is on its way, but we weren't surprised. In fact, it was more of an, "I knew it!" moment.

Discovering this pregnancy wasn't as ceremonious as it was the first time. First off, I wasn't even at home! I was in Logandale spending time with my Mom and sisters. My Mom had just gotten home from Florida and we all got together to have some fun girl time. I was in the middle of cutting up veggies for a salad I was making for dinner on the first night we were there and suddenly I got really dizzy and had to sit down. It continued to happen throughout the night and my sisters were teasing me about being pregnant. Once I told them that I already thought I was, we all rushed down to the grocery store to get a pregnancy test. Now Logandale is a really small town and everyone knows everyone. Oh and they also keep all their pregnancy tests behind the pharmacy counter because apparently people kept stealing them.... and of course I knew the girl behind the counter. I was mortified. Don't ask me why, I just didn't want to have to ask someone from high school if I could have a pregnancy test. Yes, I'm a weirdo. Anyways, to avoid this awkward moment, I talked my Mom into buying it for me! Then I made everyone wait because those tests are the most accurate if you take them first thing in the morning.

6:00am rolled around and I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I was so excited and so nervous! I waited the appropriate amount of time, not allowing myself to look over even a minute sooner. There it was! The symbol affirming our suspicion. WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!

I couldn't wait, I had to tell someone! The only other person awake this early was my sister Briana who was up getting ready for school. I ran into her bathroom and showed her the pregnancy test. She just happened to be using the toilet at the moment but neither of us cared, we are close like that. Plus, this is exciting news and you don't wait for that kind of stuff!

Next, I called your Dad. I debated on whether I should tell him over the phone or not but I didn't feel like waiting until I went back home to Henderson. He was on his way into work when I called and broke the news. Like me, he wasn't surprised but he was excited! We talked for about 45 minutes until he had to go into work. Then he called on his lunch break and we talked some more! There's nothing like finding out you are going to have a baby to spark a sudden outburst of excited chatter. It's the best! He told me I had made his morning and he was going to have a great day at work now that he has something so exciting to think about and look forward to :).

I told everyone else as they all started to wake up. It was a wonderful morning :). As I was nursing your brother and telling him the exciting news, I couldn't help but cry. I know I have a huge job ahead of me and it's not going to be easy. But I can't help but feel like this is Heavenly Father's plan and that gives me comfort and a feeling of peace and gratitude that God has trusted me with another one of his precious spirits.

When we finally made it home from our vacation, we still couldn't celebrate with your Dad because the missionaries were coming over.... yes, I was a little irritated. I just wanted to jump into your Dad's arms and spend the rest of the night as a family, basking in our new found excitement. Instead I was stressing about making dinner, keeping your brother happy, cleaning the house, unpacking the car, and entertaining company. When your Dad walked in the house, we didn't even get a chance to hug hello let alone do the run and jump thing :(. But as soon as the missionaries left and dinner was all cleared up, we were able to celebrate properly. So as I said, it wasn't as ceremonious as the first time, but we were just as excited nonetheless.

Close friends and family have known for a couple weeks now, and we decided Father's Day (yesterday) was the perfect day to let the rest of the world know. We took pictures in the morning with a little onesie like we did with your brother to use as a visual for the announcement. Our little family tradition :).

Your brother has no idea what's coming but I think you two are going to be great friends. Hopefully.....

We kept trying to get Austin to look at us but he was too interested in the flashing light from the camera.

Milestones: 11 Months Old

Dear baby Austin, you are not such a baby anymore. This past month you have tried hard to show us how big you are. You have achieved so many milestones throughout the month and I don't know where to begin! However, even though you think you are so big and are proud of your new found independence, if Mom is in the room you turn into a totally different kid. You become whiny and clingy and require constant attention. It's so strange. If I am gone and Dad is watching you, you have a ball doing your own thing, getting into trouble, and rough housing with Dad. Then as soon as I walk in the door, you start whining and suddenly feel the need to be held, the whole independent act disappearing completely. This has made going to the gym difficult because you cry and cling onto my clothes for dear life when I drop you off at daycare. I feel awful and am thinking about you during my entire workout. Maybe that's the problem..... you have the power to manipulate me and you know it.

You are soooooo intelligent! This has been apparent from the beginning but we are still finding ourselves in awe of how much you understand and how determined and sneaky you can be when there is something you want but shouldn't have.

You hear the word "No" a lot and that has in turn become a part of your vocabulary! Not only do you say it, but you understand what it means! When I caught you in the cupboard this morning trying to climb up onto the top shelf, I told you no and you instantly backed down and crawled out of the cupboard. Whenever you find the remote to the TV and we catch you, you throw it down and say "no-no" and shake your head vigorously from side to side. When you are about to jump off the couch and break your neck, we yell "Austin NO!!" and you quickly sit down, shaking your head and repeating the word. It is so cute that we end up smiling or sometimes laughing. We try not to because we are trying to be strict with you but it is so stinking cute we can't help ourselves! An example of one of those moments was about a week ago when you bit me on the shoulder really hard. It scared me and before I knew it I was pointing my finger at your mouth and yelling NO! Then, as if it were a reflex of your own, you bent down and bit my finger! Yes..... I laughed hard. I couldn't help it.

Your vocabulary consists of: Mama, Dada, No, Sa-dee, and hi. The last one is my favorite. Every time you come around the corner, you look at us and say hi! Sometimes when we are on the floor, you will come up behind us, giving us a hug or a kiss and say hi! And then there's the adorable moments when you hide behind the couch and then pop your head up and say hi! You are just too cute :).

Your new trick is pulling the child-proof outlet covers from the power outlets. I couldn't figure out how you were doing it until I caught you in action one day. There is a little piece in the middle of the cover that you push in to pop the cover out (meant for adults). Well, your sneaky little ingenious mind learned to pull that little lever out (instead of pushing in) and used it to pull the cover off. Like I said, you are too smart.

You started walking this month! Crawling is still your main method of transportation but you are walking more and more every day. We started off by making a game out of it and  you would hold onto the couch and then take a few steps into our arms. Next, you started making rounds around the house by holding onto the walls and furniture. Now, you just get up and walk whenever you feel like it! You have really good balance and we find you just standing independently a lot of times. You stand and watch your show, or you stand and drink out of your sippy cup. I think crawling will be a thing of the past very soon. We are actually really excited about that because it opens up a lot more opportunities for us to go do fun things!

Now for the sad news.... you gave up nursing on your own about a week ago. It was so strange. You just stopped! It went from being something you couldn't live without to something you didn't want anything to do with. The weird part is you still want the milk, but you want it from a bottle. I thought it was just a fluke at first and kept trying to "trick you" into nursing but you got really frustrated with me and I knew that you were trying to tell me you were ready to be a big boy now. I vowed to breastfeed you until you were 12 months old because of the health benefits that nursing brings so you have now made my job much harder! Now I have to pump a bottle for you throughout the day. However, you have also made my nights easier! I refuse to pump in the middle of the night and give you a bottle. It's just too hard and takes too long. So we are now sleep training you! You had gotten to the point where you would only wake up once or twice at night and then I would nurse you back to sleep within minutes. But now that you aren't nursing, you are learning how to put yourself back to sleep! That means I have gone almost a whole week without having to get up with you at night! WAHOO!! My brain hasn't quite figured it out yet though so I am still waking up throughout the night and listening for you/wondering if you are okay. And then there's the times when you wake up talking and wanting to play and I lay there waiting for you to figure out that nobody's coming. It doesn't take you too long to go back to sleep. I have gotten a lot of well meaning advice from fellow mothers about sleep training and how I have done it all wrong by letting you take the lead in this area. But I don't think I would have done it any differently. You have been an awful sleeper since the day you were born, but you have also decided on  your own time frame how to put yourself to sleep. I have just been your partner in the journey and I feel proud of us both because I never had to sit there and listen to you scream while I "ignored you for your own good" and you found your own strength and ability to train yourself! High Five Buddy!!!

 

Some fun moments over the past month:

Taking our morning walk. You are perfectly content to sit there and drink your bottle.

From the minute Dad gets home, you are in his arms. If he tries to put you down you throw a fit and he falls for it every time so he picks you right back up again. Yesterday he didn't get to eat his dinner because he can't multitask like Mom can. So this is what you guys did instead while Mom got to relax and actually eat a hot meal! 

 



You love looking out the window!

Walking around the house with Dad.

You were pretty excited when Grandma P. came back from her trip to Florida!

Your first balloon! You went with me to the Sprouts grand opening and you kept jealously looking around at the other kids with their balloons. It made your day when the nice lady came and gave you one of your own! You are still playing with it and I keep cringing, waiting for it to pop in your face whenever you bite it.

Days later and you've still got your new friend.

Now that it is so hot outside, you and I share a green smoothie for breakfast every morning. You love it and it is a sweet memory for me :).

You sleep like a stink bug with your blanket underneath you. It's so cute!

We have all been sick this past week and even though you didn't feel well, you had so much energy! So we built a fort for you to play in to keep you busy :).

Trying out this vapor bubble bath to help you with your head cold. You loved it and it seemed to help. Dad keeps stealing it and using it himself because it works so well!

Helping Mom pick tomatoes from our "urban garden."

 

Giving kisses. You are such a Momma's boy!

Taking a ride in the shopping cart. I love your crazy hair! It makes me smile every time I look at you :).

One day I found you in a pile of movies holding onto this DVD. You were hugging and kissing it and every time you would go in for a kiss, you said Mama. I'm guessing you think I look like Kate Hudson?? I'll take it!

The huge mess you made when I gave you a nutria-grain bar. I didn't mind the mess because you were enjoying yourself so much!

You LOVE my keys. Whenever my purse is in sight, you dive right in for the keys.

Playing with my shoes.

I took you to the park because you were teething and so miserable. It was a beautiful day and all you wanted to do was play in my purse!
 

I was sitting on the floor, watching your movie with you because you were grumpy and miserable from teething and it seemed to be the only thing you wanted to do. Then you reached over and grabbed my hand and we sat there holding hands! It was so sweet, I tried hard not to cry :).

We finally put up a baby gate because you were so obsessed with the stairs. We caught you more than once trying to climb over it and a few times you almost made it!

You deserved your own water bottle after how sweet you were today. There was a little baby around your age crying at the gym daycare and you crawled over to him and started hugging and kissing him. After that, your refused to leave his side and when I came to pick you up you were both sitting on the sitter's lap because you wouldn't let her pick the other baby up without you being there too! Melt my heart :).

Swimming with Dad and wishing you were big enough to play with the "big kids."

Getting some swim lessons.

You are so clingy to me. If I don't feel you constantly tugging on my dress or pants then I know you must be doing something mischievous.

Peeking around the door to see if I am still there watching you before you go do something naughty.

Someone found the animal cookies!!

Learning to walk!

Reading your books.

Such a happy baby!

Hiding under the table.

Just chillin' out while you watch Baby Einstein.

You absolutely love Mama's hair. Your favorite is when I have it in a ponytail and I whip it back and forth in your face. Full out giggling ensues!

You are so happy when you wake up from your naps! When we hear you stirring, Dad and I race each other up the stairs to see who can be the first one into your room to see your face light up!

Oh Austin, you make our life complete :).

Celebrating Four Years of Marriage

We used to celebrate our anniversaries with lavish vacations and fancy dinners. This year was a little different. Now we are parents and don't have the free time or the money to do those things. So our anniversary was spent eating take-out from Raising Canes and playing with our little guy. It wasn't expensive, but it did have its charm.

 

That morning I got the sweetest text from Josh telling me he loved me.

 

 

 

 

Then I spent the rest of the day with the second love of my life

Crazy kid always climbing all over me

He's walking! Capturing it on camera is difficult though because he does it when you don't expect it and it's always blurry when he moves.

I remember being pregnant with him on our last anniversary. I can't believe he's almost 11 months old!

 

 

Austin and I decided to make chocolate covered strawberries to surprise Dad when he got home :).

So yummy!

Austin approved ;). He is so messy with food right now. He spends more time squishing it between his fingers than he does eating it.

 

 

When Josh came home, he came bearing gifts along with dinner!

Flowers and chocolate, quickest way to my heart!

 

It was a relaxing night. Raising Canes is the best if you are a down south chicken lover like us! After Austin went to bed, we cuddled in the love-sac and ate our strawberries while we watched TV and talked. I am so grateful for Josh. He can be a big pain in the butt sometimes but he has given me the greatest life! He gave me the most beautiful baby and has worked really hard so I can stay at home to take care of him. Most of all he loves me and shows me daily, although it's not always grand gestures like roses and chocolate. My favorite is in the middle of the night when he rolls over and puts his arm around me, holding me tight.

 

Happy Four Years Josh! I love you more than anything!

 

 

PS. My mom was going to come over today and babysit Austin while we went out on a late anniversary date to dinner and a movie but both Josh and Austin woke up sick today :(. Story of my life!