Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Thank goodness for grandma!

So it has been 9 days since we’ve added a new member to our family and I have been feeling pretty great! I have lots of energy, baby’s sleeping and eating well, Lily’s not having meltdowns (yet), and nothing too hectic has happened…until today.

I was about to take a much needed shower and while deciding what to wear for the day I heard Lily shouting from the bathroom. She had gone potty (luckily on the toilet) and was half naked saying she NEEDED to take a bath too because she was stinky. While trying to convince Lily to put her clothes back on grandma rounded the corner with Miles, who was pretty much wet from the waste down due to a diaper that clearly could hold no more. It was time for his first bath! Of course I needed to get pictures of this and wanted to keep him as comfortable as possible but needed to also get a cranky Lily situated in the tub before being able to do so. Luckily I wasn’t alone and together we eventually got everyone bathed and happy again!

I guess that’s what I get for thinking that transitioning to 2 kids was easier than I expected ;)

 

Little mister was not very happy getting a bath…

IMG_6569 copy

Not as easy as it looks….

So I have been seriously spoiled the past few years.  My good friend Ariel was sweet enough to take some of the most precious pictures of our family, including Lily’s newborn pictures. I have always known how talented she is but today I was seriously missing her while I attempted my own newborn photo shoot of little Miles. I managed to squeak out a few pictures that I am happy with but I definitely have a long way to go to get my photography skills where I want them. But I guess practice makes perfect…

IMG_6552 copy

IMG_6603 copy

IMG_6606 copy

IMG_6614 copy

IMG_6615 copy

IMG_6624 copy

IMG_6633 copy

IMG_6610 copy

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Miles Jamison

This past Monday, November 19, we welcomed our second little one into the family. It was quite the experience and we are so happy to have our new little Miles here with us. During my pregnancy we chose not to find out the sex of the baby and Lily was really hoping for a little sister, but she has fallen in love with her baby brother. Lil is so sweet with him and is anxious to teach him all she knows. I think my favorite thing so far is when she tells Miles “Stay calm. It’s ok, I’m here.” Here are some of the few pictures I managed to take while in the hospital. Anyone interested in hearing more about his entrance into the world and his first few days can check out his personal journal/blog. The link should be over on the left side of the page.

IMG_6367

 

IMG_6394 copy

 

IMG_6398 copy

 

IMG_6455 copy

 

IMG_6400 copy

IMG_6419

IMG_6436

 

IMG_6499 copy

 

IMG_6503 copy

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Feelings of Peace

 

I have probably sounded pretty ungrateful lately. As excited as I am to be having another baby I have been letting the stress of life make me very anxious about his or her arrival. With the troubles we had getting or staying pregnant you would imagine that I wouldn’t even think about complaining. But as the time draws near I have been struggling with understanding why we had to wait until what is turning out to be one of the most stressful times of this year for us.

I finally asked Clark to give me a blessing to be able to calm down and to have the strength to handle dealing with a newborn and toddler along with everything else we’ll have to do very soon after the arrival of the little one. That definitely helped but I was also determined to get out to the temple one last time before baby. I was thrilled that our ward temple night happened to be one week before my due date and we made the trek out there with some friends. Unfortunately I didn’t pay much attention and was informed that my recommend had expired last month. I was understandably upset and wondered why I hadn’t thought to check that or why my good intentions were not working out. In any case I felt that Clark didn’t need to wait outside with me and waste an opportunity to serve so I sat out on the beautiful grounds by myself and took the opportunity to pour out my soul to my Heavenly Father.

At one point I stopped to pay attention to the hymns that were playing on the speakers and one song struck me in particular. All I could remember from the song was one phrase so I pulled out my phone and looked it up to see what the rest of the lyrics were. It just so happened to be “How Gentle God’s Commands” and as I looked at the words I was overcome with peace and knew that hearing this song was an answer to my prayer.

How gentle God’s commands,
How kind His precepts are!
Come, cast your burdens on the Lord,
And trust His constant care.

Beneath His watchful eye
His saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guide His children well.

Why should this anxious load
Press down your weary mind?
Haste to your heav’nly Father’s throne,
And sweet refreshment find.

His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day;
I’ll drop my burden at His feet,
And bear a song away.

 

Even though I wasn’t able to go into the temple I received the peace I had hoped for by going to the temple that night. Luckily I was able to renew my recommend this past weekend and some friends went with me on a Tuesday afternoon so I could squeeze in one last session before the baby comes.

I am grateful for answers to prayer. I am grateful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder who can bless our family when ever we need him to. I am grateful that I am never alone and that I can turn to my Savior and my Heavenly Father whenever I need comfort or a little (or a lot of) extra strength to get through hard things I may face.

 

How do you occupy a toddler when mom just wants to take a nap? Again…

 

As my pregnancy draws to a close I have been less and less motivated to do much other than sit on the couch or take a nap. Poor Lil has quite a bit of cabin fever and I have tried to do my best to come up with fun ways to entertain her.

 

She finally got to use her rain boots in something other than warm sunny weather and she just about died getting to jump around in all of the puddles.

IMG_6301 copy

 

IMG_6296 copy

 

We had so much fun painting her little pumpkin that we have pulled out the paints many times since. Lil clearly has a little trouble keeping the paint on the paper…

 

IMG_6346 copy

 

 

IMG_6351 copy

 

Lil has been LOVING her weekly dance class and I promise one of these days I’ll get some good shots of her in her little dance outfit. Every time I have tried thus far they just turn out to be a blur because she won’t stop spinning.

IMG_20121024_150956

 

 

IMG_5985 copy

(Lil’s) Best Day Ever!!!

 

So, as is probably the case with most parents, I have developed a weakness for doing things that make Lil’s heart jump for joy. I just can’t help myself. I see things I can get or things we can do that I know she’ll love and I have a hard time resisting. That’s not to say that I never say “no.” If Lily could articulate her feelings she’d probably tell you that I ‘m quite unfair in the toy section or candy aisle at the store and that I could manage to let her do what she wants to way more than I do…But anyway, back to the purpose of this post.

A month or so ago I saw that “Disney on Ice” was coming to town and I knew that Lil would just DIE if I took her. I bought the tickets and one day about a week before the show I made the mistake of pointing out the commercial to her after Sesame Street. ALL Lily could talk about that next week was how we were going to take the train to see Mickey Mouse. Every morning she would run into our room at about 6:00 am and the first thing she’d say to me was “I’m gonna go see Mickey Mouuuuuuuse!” As much as I didn’t need the early wake up calls I was happy that she was so excited.

The morning finally came and unfortunately for me I got some bad news via e-mail as we were walking out the door. Trying to not worry about it we headed over to the train station and Lily was just about shaking with excitement to be able to finally ride on the train! Mom here had a little trouble with the train schedule and we ended up missing our train and I had another little melt down of my own. Luckily, Lily’s sweet excitement for her best day ever helped me realize that it would be ok if we ended up being 20 minutes late to the show. She would never know the difference.

We ended up having a GREAT time and Lily was so happy to see all of her favorite Disney characters. I probably ended up watching Lil more than the actual show because her little face was just so stinking cute and filled with amazement. I even broke down and we got a ridiculously expensive snow cone in a Cinderella cup to complete the experience.

Here are a few (phone) pics from our day for your viewing pleasure :)

 

IMG_20121026_095732IMG_20121026_100052

 

IMG_20121026_112954

 

IMG_20121026_121631

 

Later that evening we went to our Halloween party. I knew that, barring impeccable timing in the future, this would probably be the only time I would be extremely pregnant at Halloween so I should take advantage of it. I came up with a fabulous family costume which I was so excited to wear and Clark could not resist either. We had a fun time at the party and Lil got lots of candy for mom and dad to “help” her eat.

Once again, in the spirit of being “in” the pictures of LIl’s childhood, please excuse my puffy pregnant self as I ignore my self conscious instincts and show a picture from the party… :)

IMG_6321 copy