Goodbye 2015!

Enjoying our crazy New Years Eve party as just the three of us this year! It was so nice to be able to enjoy each others company without a huge group of people over at our house! And Austin was being such a character! He gets sillier the more tired he gets ;).

I have mixed feelings about saying goodbye to this year. Yes, we went through some incredibly hard trials that could have bulldozed us to the ground if we let them. But we also had some incredibly beautiful moments that seemed to make up for all the bad. Josh's Dad died, but Evelyne was born. My Dad was almost killed and will never be the same mentally or physically, but Sadie and I got to spend more quality time with him while he was stuck in the hospital than we have in the past ten years!! Josh and I have struggled with keeping our heads sane and our bodies functioning with the craziness of having two kids only 21 months apart, but we have also had major breakthroughs in our relationship and have learned to love and support each other even in the worst of times. I personally have struggled with so many things this year... body image after having my second child, trying to maintain a house of order and cleanliness while chasing a naked two year old through the house or wiping up poop and spit up from the carpet, while also maintaining a career and trying to salvage what little time to myself I can find. That seems to have been the hardest part of this year for me. I have found myself taking care of EVERYBODY else but me and it has been hard to say the least. Josh has been excelling at his job with Wells Fargo which has been a Godsend because we really needed him to find a job he actually likes and stick with it! However, he has struggled with the fact that he barely makes more money than he did when we lived in Utah as newlyweds, and if you  know Josh, that is a hard pill to swallow....

Although Art's death was incredibly difficult for all of us, it also opened up an amazing opportunity that neither of us had ever really thought of, or had the money to pursue. Art left us with enough money from his life insurance policy to pay off our townhouse and still have money left over in the bank! At first we were thinking we would use it to sell our home and purchase a bigger place, one with a back yard for Austin to run wild in. But then I was confronted at work by a friendly Nurse Practitioner who planted the seed in my mind to go back to school and get my Master's Degree! I gave her all of my excuses, and explained how I don't know if I could handle one more thing added to my plate. But somehow she talked me out of all my negativity and I found myself coming to Josh with the idea. For about two months we have talked, planned, prayed, fasted, and finally I came to the conclusion that I am going to do it! The amazing part is we actually have the money from the life insurance we recently received to make it happen! We both have felt like this was the one last gift from Art to help us out in life. He was always there to help pay for things when we were broke, or to just be there as a counselor when we needed advice. Now, even in death, he is helping his family. I tear up every time I think about it. So I have started the application process and should know in a couple months if I got in or not. I decided to do the part time online program which will take a year longer to complete, but it is very important to me that I am still able to be there for my family.

Josh has been told by his manager that he should be receiving a promotion sometime this year (fingers crossed) because he is doing such an amazing job! Let's hope so because my going back to school means more expenses and we already have more than enough of those!

As for the kids, they have grown beautifully over the past year. Eve has been such a blessing to our family and we all adore her. Because of her birth, Austin has been forced to grow and learn how to share attention which has been amazing to watch. Yes, we still have moments multiple times a day when they are both fighting for our love and affection and will literally be fighting and pushing each other to get to my lap. But behind the sibling rivalry there is so much love. Austin becomes genuinely concerned when he hears Eve cry and Eve starts crying the second she sees that her brother has become hurt (which happens a lot since he is a very active little boy). I have pondered a lot about whether we will have more kids, but for now, I think we are both happy to just enjoy these two. I don't know if our sanity could handle another crazy LaFeber added to the mix!

We celebrated New Years Eve at home and had a great time! We put the baby to bed and then stayed up with Austin for a while. He was in such a silly mood! He kept wanting to wrestle with me so I let him have it!

Wrestling the A-man down to the ground!

His giggles cracked me up!

Oh Austin, you make life exciting!

After we put the goofball to bed, we spent the rest of the night having our own little party! Austin kept coming out of his room and spying on us from the stairs. It reminded us both of when we used to spy on our parents. We had fun talking about everything that has happened in 2015 and playing board games. We laughed hard, ate Christmas candy, and had a really great time! It was so nice because Josh and I rarely get moments like that alone. It made us realize that we need to make more time for us to be silly together in 2016. We didn't quite make it to midnight but we did watch the countdown in New York City on the TV. It's funny how having kids makes you more exhausted than you have ever been in your life! 11:00pm feels like 3:00am!!

I hope and pray that 2016 will be good to us. There have been tons of scary events going on in the world, but I have faith that God will keep us safe. It also helps that we inherited a bunch of food storage from Papa Art :).

Milestones: Evelyne is 8 Months Old

Teething and chewing on everything!

At 8 months, Evelyne is:

- Clapping! It is so adorable! Whenever she gets excited or she hears us cheering Austin on for doing something good, she starts clapping with a big cheesy smile on her face. I think she learned it from one of the songs we sing during circle time at Austin's toddler cooking class. At least that's the first time I saw her do it. She loves that class by the way... she gets really happy during circle time and i can see her watching intently all the singing and hand actions the teacher is doing. She is so stinking smart, I just know it! 

- Easily going from a laying to a sitting up position, but still working on crawling. She gets on all fours and then just kinda flops over. It was shocking to me though to walk into her room the other morning and seeing her sitting up staring at me! I'm so used to her laying there until I come get her! On the baby monitor we also watch her sit up and play with her mobile at night.

(Speaking of nights, she hasn't been sleeping well lately. At first it was due to the head cold she has had for the past two weeks. But now it looks like she is getting her two bottom teeth!!! One has popped through but the other is still swollen. It must be painful because it seems to keep waking her up every hour of the night, which in turn has Mom up every hour of the night.)

- Loving baby food!! She is a pro at eating now (just pureed food so far) and likes everything but peas. I haven't tried giving her rice cereal again since that seems to be the reason why she struggled with eating in the beginning.

- Saying Dadada and Mummmm! It's so cute! Whenever she is babbling, you can be certain she is chanting dadadadada over and over again. It is especially adorable when she does it in a whisper like Austin used to do! And whenever she is upset and wanting to be held, you can be certain she is saying mummm! mummm! of course in a screaming, demanding tone also like Austin used to do.....

- SUCH A MOMMAS GIRL! Oh my goodness, that little girl follows me around with her eyes constantly! She never lets me out of her sight and gets very upset if I suddenly disappear! Her happy place is definitely in my arms. It reminds me of when she was born and the whole time we were in the hospital she would never let me put her down. She just wanted to snuggle on my chest and she knew instantly when she was suddenly not right by my side. This really bothered the nurses for some annoying reason. They thought I was going to fall asleep and smother her since she was in my arms 24/7 and they tried to take her away from me, telling me to get some sleep. However, that baby girl cried and cried until she found her way back into my arms again! No pacifier, swaddling, or stuffed animal was going to take the place of her Mama! It can be frustrating at times, but I love that about our relationship :). I always wanted a baby girl who was all mine!!!

- Growling!!! It is the funniest thing! I have had more than one cashier at the grocery store check out exclaim, "Did that baby just growl at me?!!" Both times I laughed and had to say, "Yes, yes she did." hahahahaha! She also loves to scream and do the Hulk action with her arms (another thing Austin used to do). Must be hereditary?! haha

She was getting fussy during our dinner at the restaurant so we gave her a rib bone to chew on and she went to town on that thing! It must have had good flavor because she freaked out when I tried to take it away from her!

Mmmmm..... ribs ;)

It's a love/hate relationship with these two. Eve adores everything about Austin, but on his end, he is either loving on her or sitting on her....

Out grocery shopping with Daddy!

Every Saturday morning this little girl finds her way into our bed, waking us up wayyyy earlier than we'd like.

That cheesy smile melts my heart!

She is so close to crawling. I'm sure that will be on next month's milestones list.

Sleeping like a perfect little angel. You'd never know she and Austin were both screaming their heads off 20 minutes prior :(.

Playing race cars with Austin. It was so cute watching her try to keep up with him!

And they're off!

Mommy Moments

We all have them... those blogger friends we love to read about but have never actually met, and yet it feels like we have been friends forever. Mine is Jaqui Saldana from Babyboybakery. Yup, she's my blogger mommy idol! If you haven't heard about her, go ahead and check her out because she is great! Her parenting style is so identical to mine and I love all her ideas for toddler friendly fun in the kitchen! Sadly, most of her ideas are memories of a happier time before she lost her baby boy in a tragic accident. She had me in tears each time I read her grief stricken posts and yet had me in awe at how well she handled losing him, somehow turning his death into a positive reminder for every Mom to hold her babies a little closer, and not to sweat the small stuff. Because you never know when they might be taken from you. There have been so many times when I have wanted to scream at Austin for making a huge scene in public over nothing, or for coloring all over his body with pen, or even for not wanting to get out of the bath tub when I said bath time was over! But then I would remember Jaqui and how she spoke about being willing to give up anything in the world just to have her son back, even on his worst days, and each time it brings me back to the reality that this little boy is not guaranteed to be mine forever. Yes, I gave him life, and yes, I feed, bathe, and clothe him. But his existence in my life is a gift. One that I should not take for granted.

That's why I make a big deal about him cooking almost every meal with me in the kitchen. That's why we enjoy juicing and making green smoothies, but we also go out for donuts for breakfast and share a bowl of ice cream whenever we feel like it. That's also why I make a point to take him along with me around town as I run errands. No, it's not always pleasant. And no, I don't always keep my cool. But each day as we go about our mundane tasks and chores, we are making memories. And honestly, I think those would be the memories I would miss the most if he were ever taken from me. Not because they were expensive, flashy, or well thought out. But because there are special moments embedded in the monotony of life that can't be recreated. It's on our drives to the store when we get some quality talk time. I ask him about his day and we talk about the tractors as we pass, and the school bus as it takes all the little kids off to school. It is in the grocery store where I am able to teach him the beauty of good karma by buying him a little bag of fruit snacks if he acts good while Mommy shops. It's at the gas station where we get a soda and a sucker (when he was really little he was happy just to get his own straw to play with) and if he is lucky we go through the car wash! Or how about the fun moments of singing the alphabet song over, and over, and over again while I bathe him and give him a little lesson on germs.

And then there was today.... I was super busy doing all our laundry and he suddenly tells me he wants to go pee pee in the big potty! I wanted so badly to tell him, "You've got a diaper on kid, so use it!" But once again, I thought about Jaqui, and put down the dirty clothes to rush him off to the toilet. There we sat. Him on the Mickey potty seat, and me on the step stool. I was kinda annoyed, thinking about all the time I was wasting while sitting there staring at a half naked kid who obviously didn't really need to go. But then he started telling me about playing baseball, and how he wanted a baseball bat and mitt so he could play baseball with Mickey Mouse. It was at this moment when I realized that, again, I was taking my son for granted. What if he were taken from me tomorrow? Would I care that I got my laundry done, and that my house was sparkling clean? Or would I feel an insane amount of guilt for not being there for my son when he wanted to do something big, even though it was at the worst possible time?

It is so hard to be a Mom in today's world.... trust me, nobody knows this better than me! We have to look hot for our husbands, stay trendy for our friends, keep up with religion, constantly be there for our kids, make money to make all of this possible, and somehow still find time for ourselves and maybe get a couple hours of sleep? Okay, maybe no sleep. But the point is, IT IS SOOOOO HARD trying to juggle it all! However, being a Mom is also the greatest gift God could have ever granted me and I wouldn't take back even the worst week. My goal as a mother in this crazy world is to not just raise kids, but to raise them with a sure knowledge that their Mommy loves them. Every night as I tuck Austin into bed "like a burrito" as he calls it, I kiss his nose and tell him, "Mommy loves you." And every night he grabs my cheeks in both hands and responds, "I yuv you Mommy." That my friends, is the reward. That's the gold medal. That is what makes this insanely tough job all worth it.    

LaFeber Life Lately

I Love Love Love my family!!! They are my whole world!

A little blurb about how we've been spending our days:

1) It has been getting chilly around here lately (30-50 degrees!) and we are quickly realizing what wimps we have become since we moved to Nevada! Josh actually got in his car and drove down to the mailbox because it was "too cold!" Wimp.....

2) Sleeping has been a nightmare, if it happens at all. I swear both kids know the days when we both have to work and get super clingy and cry all night! Especially Austin.... He's driving us crazy! I'm seriously being pushed to the point of taking a parenting class so I don't murder him in my crazy, sleep deprived state! Or maybe I'll murder Josh for telling me I can sleep on my days off..... I swear, men can be so idiotic! Either way, I need some serious help!

3) We have been trying hard to make time for Family  Home Evening every Monday night. It usually consists of reading an article out of the Ensign and singing silly primary songs. But this last week, we opened the new nativity set we bought and used it to teach Austin about the story of Jesus's birth. It was perfect! Not only did he have fun playing with the figurines, but he also learned something new and got a little dose of religion! Brownie points for Mom and Dad!

4) Austin got his hair cut (sheer dread added here) and he didn't even cry! What?!!!! That's right! I promised him I would give him 2 suckers if he let me cut his hair without crying and he did great! It was a miracle!

5) Austin loves looking at our family pictures on my phone and all the little home videos we take. It's so cute watching him! He gets so into it and laughs at himself and all the crazy shenanigans he sees himself doing! :)

6) I've been talking to one of our Nurse Practitioners at work and am getting the itching to go back to school and become a NP myself! It would only be 18 months of schooling if I did the full time program at UNLV but I have been worried about how that would affect my family with me gone all the time and totally stressed out when I am actually home. So I have decided to do the part time program. I think about it constantly since it is such a big decision and I feel strongly that this is something I need to do. Josh totally supports the situation, and my Mom does not. She told me I am crazy and did everything she could to crush my dream. But what's new? Luckily I have always thrived on people telling me I can't do something. It becomes a challenge.... and I have 100% faith in God that he will help me succeed! I want my kids to be a little older before I start so I am thinking I will apply next December for the following fall semester and by the time I graduate with my Master's Degree my kids will  be in school (well, almost. I think Eve will be in preschool). It's perfect!!

7) Every Wednesday I take Austin and the baby to a Toddlers in the Kitchen cooking class. We have so much fun! Austin is usually super shy and just does his own thing but yesterday I saw some serious progress! He was interacting during singing/circle time, he actually talked back to the teacher when she spoke to him instead of hiding behind my leg, and he sat there and explained his entire picture he drew to us as he was drawing it! We were all pretty impressed :).

8) Drum Roll PLEASE!!!! Yesterday I tried on a pair of size 4 jeans and THEY FIT!!! That's right! No sucking in, no squeezing myself in and trying to find a baggy shirt to cover the muffin top. They actually fit! This was sooooo exciting and was a moment I thought I would never have again! There is a God!

And here are a few little Austin'isms for your enjoyment:

1) When Austin hurt his baby sister and she started to cry, I got mad and told him to say sorry to her. He responded with, "No, I won't!" So I repeated myself, and then he told me, "No Mom, I'm not sorry!" Oh the joy of toddlers.......

2) At the dinner table the other day, Austin said the prayer over the food. This is always a hoot because he thanks God for everything in sight in his cute little voice and you can't help but smile. This time he said, "Thank you for Daddy, Evie, and Mommy's head...." Mommy's head?! hahahaha I guess the kid has a point! What would we do without Mommy's crazy overloaded head? ;)

Austin kept taking all the candy canes off the tree and dividing them up with Evie who then of course started shoving them in her mouth :).

Austin wanted to put the angel on top of the tree and when I told him he was too little a big tantrum ensued... so the little stinker got what he wanted after all. I'm actually glad though because it was a really sweet experience that I wouldn't have gotten with him otherwise.

We had a lot of fun watching Austin take the tree decorating task so seriously!

We love our Bubba man!

Josh and I both agree that Christmas time is soooo much more exciting with little ones around! They bring in the most amazing Christmas spirit!

At night these two like to hang out by the tree and look at all the "petty wights".

My life in one caption! I love it though :).

Big boy eating his much earned suckers and looking studly with his new hair cut!

I love how much these two love to swing!

That smile.... :)

Feeling supper excited about fitting into my size 4 jeans!!!

Doing my happy dance!

We had a lot of fun making our Christmas Countdown chain. I have been having lots of fun doing Christmas crafts with him now that he is old enough!

Austin did a great job with the stickers!

Showing Mommy what a good job he did!

Turkey Day!

On our way to Grandma's house!

We had a very fun, very loud Thanksgiving this year! My Mom hosted it at her house in Logandale and all of her siblings (minus the ones in Utah) showed up.... hence the loudness! It was so much fun though. We all brought something (I was in charge of the pies) and had quite the feast. Austin had fun sneaking rolls from the counter top and watching the big kids play. He was too scared to join their games since they are about 15 years older than him ;). Eve was passed around the family like a little doll that everyone HAD to hold and love on :). She didn't mind though.

MY AMAZING PIES!!!

Sadie found this cool old picture of us when we were younger and put it with the most recent pic. It was so neat seeing how similar we all still look!

The chefs.

Cousin Jessi giving baby girl some bunny ears ;).

Sisters forever. Oh yeah.... Sadie got some tattoos...

Briana brought her boyfriend Trevor over and we had a lot of fun! We all really like that guy.

Evie loved playing out on the deck with the dogs.

Uncle Brian loving on our sweet baby girl! He couldn't get enough cuddles!

She loves her Daddy!

Before all the company showed up, and while we ladies were hard at work in the kitchen, Nate took Josh and Austin for an off roading trip in his big jeep! This is something he has wanted to do with Austin for a long time but Austin was always too scared to get into his big noisy jeep. This time, however, he was all about it! He said "Bye Mom!" and off they went! We started getting worried about them as the time came to start dinner and they still hadn't come home yet. Partially worried for their safety, and partially worried about Nathan's turkey sitting in the deep pit, ready to eat and without anyone to dig it out! By the way, Nate makes the most AMAZING deep pit turkey! It cooks for 24 hours in the ground over hot coals and it literally falls off the bone with juicy yumminess! Luckily, they came home just in time and told us they were so late because Austin didn't want to come home! They drove up over the mesa and to the other side by the river and Austin was having a blast throwing rocks off the cliff. The thought of my baby standing on a cliff was enough to give me a heart attack so I didn't ask any more questions after that.

Loading up in the jeep!

Austin was so excited!

Cooking away.

Time to eat!

The men in deep conversation...

Little thief stealing rolls :).

We stayed up playing board games that night, and then slept over. When we woke the next morning, nobody wanted to cook breakfast so we went out to Sugar's! Sadly, Austin was a little terror and made it a very unenjoyable experience. I had to keep taking him out to the car for time out and didn't get to eat any of my food. Josh ate his with no problems though. That's all that matters right? Grrrrr.... When we got home, I did some Black Friday online shopping for Christmas stuff and then we packed up and headed home. We spent the rest of the holiday weekend eating leftovers and watching movies. It was so nice!!

Trouble with a Capitol T!

Austin thinking he could hide from Mom's wrath...

Bugging his sister until she cried. It's no fun being a little terror when you are the only one, right? :(

We took some family pictures out in the desert in hopes of capturing a good one for our family Christmas card! I haven't sent out Christmas cards since Austin was born so I figured we would give it a try this year. This is the best we got with Nate being the photographer and Austin not cooperating (as usual).

The scenery was beautiful :).