Smiley Pants & Smarty Pants

Today was just one of those days that I love being mom. Our boys gave me so many reasons to giggle and smile today and I have to jot the memory down before I forget it.

First Ethan aka Mr. Smiley Pants
I am completely and totally obsessed with making him smile. Eli was such a happy and content baby but did not smile until almost 4 months of age. Ethan started smiling this last week (6 wks old) and today we were able to get him to do it continuously. The key to his smiles you ask? Well it is all about those "to die for" chubby cheeks. Just kiss them or tickle them and he will grin. I even got a little coo out of him once. He is such a good baby. Eats well (eats tons!!), sleeps well, very content (as long as he is sitting up so he can look around). We love this little guy around here!

Playing with his cheeks!

Sporting the Faux Hawk

Second is Eli aka Mr. Smarty Pants
This kid amazed me all day today with his accomplishments. My mom put it this way "isn't it amazing what they learn when you are not around" and how true it is. I have to honestly admit that I am really good with counting things with him but I forget to do the alphabet. Noah however has been faithfully repeating the alphabet with him nightly unknowingly to me. We were all sitting around and Eli on Noah's lap started to repeat the ENTIRE alphabet all by himself. I was practically laughing and tearing up at the same time. I had no idea he could do that. He also during this same time frame counted by himself all the way to 15. Again I didn't know he knew how to do the numbers 11-15. I was so proud!!!!
He has such a good "cheeser" face!

October's Collections

Wow the month of October flew by me in a total blur. I guess having a new born at home will do that to you. Here are some of our the highlights from the month.

For the first half of the month we had my mom here...I still cry every time she leaves. It just makes me so homesick to realize how much I miss spending time with her and family. Poor Noah just wonders how long it will take for me to stop crying when my mom leaves. Awwww how to explain? We both love being with family and as we grow our own family we find ourselves missing the west more and more. Maybe someday our ventures will bring us back there. Thanks for all that you did why you were here mom!!! We love you!

On the 25th we celebrated Ethan's one month birthday: He is growing like a weed I tell ya! he was 22" and weighed 12.1lbs His weight is above the 95% and his total combined scores put him at the 90% on the growth charts. I like to call him my tanker. These are some shots I took of him on the 25th.



Next item we celebrated was Noah and I's 6th year anniversary also on the 25th. For some reason when I say 6 years it sounds like a really long time. Yet it doesn't seem like it was really that long ago. I am aging without even realizing I am and that is kind of scary. Noah and I both felt very accomplished on this anniversary, both in that we made it this far and know that there are many many more anniversaries to come and that we have grown our family to 4. We also feel very comfortable with where we are so far in our family goals and we both love our little family live we have created. I love Noah with all my heart and I am so grateful for the wonderful husband and especially father he has become. We were not supposed to do anything this year present or date wise because we were using it for a bigger Christmas instead but my cute hubby couldn't stand it. So he treated me to a couples massage and lunch, and he even had flowers sent to the massage place for me. It was very nice and relaxing and thanks to my good friend we were able to go with out any children for a couple hours. I think poor Noah got the earful though, I just couldn't seem to stop talking to him....relaxing huh! Hey I mean come on I spend my days with a toddler and a newborn, adult conversations are rare. Thanks babe!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! Here are some silly pictures we took on the massage date.


And then last of course was Halloween. Eli had his first little friends Halloween Party, he didn't really want to wear his costume though. I think he is still kind of little for the whole thing but hey I had fun being with other moms!

Then on Halloween I planned a party with my friend Dawn at her house. We had homemade bread bowls and 3 different kinds of soups. I was so upset though and learned the hard way that you should probably never use whole wheat flour instead of white flour while making cheese broccoli soup. It didn't taste or look or feel right. ;) I can laugh now about it but I couldn't then. We also had wassail and doughnuts and cookies and of course candy. Eli ate WAY TOO MUCH candy, I was planning to limit it but the kids just kept sharing theirs with him so by the end of the night he was racing around the house in circles. It was the second time I have ever seen him with a total sugar rush like that. The first being after cake on his first birthday. Needless the say the next day was awful!!! It took him an entire day to come off the sugar high. Trick or treating was pretty fun though, he actually understood it all and went by himself a few times to the door. Noah really enjoyed taking him and I liked following with the camera. Ethan just slept snuggled in his stroller with lots of blankets since it was FREEZING! Good thing his little skeleton costume was super thick. (thanks for letting us borrow it Julie!) Eli went as Mickey mouse in wizard dress. I had to hunt down the fantasia clip on U-Tube in order to get him to understand that it was mickey and be willing to wear it. He is obsessed with two things right now, Mickey and Semi Trucks. I chose the easier of the two ideas.Noah's costume was the best though, he came up with the idea to go dressed as our friend Brett, the party host. We coordinated with his wife and got Brett's favorite PJ's and then I blew up a picture of him and created a mask out of it. It was such a hit!!!! Everyone was just laughing. My costume was supposed to be a riddle but I really didn't have time to get it all done right, basically I wore running clothes and then I was supposed to have little papers with the word No stuck all over my body, hence a "Running Nose" It is really funny if done right. I will have to try it again another year. So here are the Halloween pictures.

Ethan's first professional photos

With the help of my mom I managed to get a family photoshoot in before Ethan passed 2 weeks of age. It was an accomplishment...and there were lots of shots I wanted but didn't get because Eli was well beyond nap time when we started shooting. I think the hardest photoshoots I try to do are my own family. Why is that? is it because they are not as good at listening because it is just mom? Or is it because I am really picky and a perfectionist about the shoot? Maybe it is just a little of both.

I am really happy with the pictures we did get though. I wanted a high contrast black and white look to them. I cannot wait to print and hang them on my walls! Thanks again mom for taking some of the shots for me. Enjoy!

Ethan Has Arrived!

I know this could be considered old news but it has been a whirl wind the last couple weeks. This will be a super long post but worth it because the end will have all the pictures.

Ethan was born September 25th via c-section. Everything was so smooth! I couldn't believe I literally had just given birth to a baby. I guess the 3rd time truly is the charmer. He was 9 lbs and 19 1/2" long. He was quite a bit shorter than Eli was and 3 ounces lighter, but of course that was a week early. I was up and walking by the second day and just kept thinking I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing. I have healed amazingly, no pain what so ever which is very abnormal for my previous delivery records.

Ethan is doing remarkable as well, he figured out how to nurse in (not kidding you) 30 seconds tops. He has been stuck there ever since. He is very attached to me and uses me as food and pacifier. Luckily he also takes a binkie periodically but he is very finicky about it. He was back to birth weight in less than a week and I am dying to know what he is know because I think he has doubled in size around the belly and thighs. I hope he becomes a butterball! I just love chubby baby boys. If I had to complain about one thing it would be that after 3 weeks he is still on a backwards schedule. He stays wide awake from about 8:30-9pm until about 1-2am. Then he feeds every three hours until about 6 or 7am and then stays awake for another hour. By about 10-11am he crashes for the day and there is absolutely nothing you can do to wake him. He will eat in his sleep during the day. Eli promptly gets me up around 8:30am every morning. So I am seriously missing my sleep these days.

Eli just loves the new baby and is very gentle. He loves to nuzzle him with his nose and cheek. I think it is so adorable! He also LOVES to hold him, and he even has to make sure he has a blanket in order to hold him. Eli definitely has gone through the phases however of bringing in a new baby. One day I am his best friend and the next he hates me. He went back a little to the getting out of bed a few times and coming downstairs before finally falling asleep and still does it after 3 weeks about every other night. It makes me wish I didn't have stairs!

This week is the first week I have been on my own. The blues have set in but not too bad. It depends on the hour. I miss my mom like crazy! More just for having her company than anything. My mom and mother in law were angels and such big helps to have around the last few weeks. The only complaint I have in having them around is that it made me more homesick then I have ever felt in my life. I would give anything right now to live close to them.

Noah is doing wonderful adjusting to too and has been my little sunshine on the dark days. He has made a huge effort to leave work at a moments notice to come home and help me if he feels I need it. (perks of being the boss!!!) He has really stepped up to help out especially with Eli. I also have to notate that he started his second to last class before graduating with his bachelors!!! Could he get any better???? nope...I think not!!!!

I love our growing family in good moments and bad. I love my boys and how freaking cute they are! I love snuggling on the couch with the 3 of them (been doing a lot of that lately, kind of fun to have a baby in the beginning of the TV season, lots to watch!!) Lots of love and thank yous to friends and family who have been there for us and showered us with gifts, dinners, and lots of support!

And now for the pictures of our darling little Ethan and family from the first few weeks.

Holding Ethan for the first time.


Second day of life

Hanging out at the hospital. We spendt 4 days there.
What Eli does when he is bored at a hospital...kind of cute huh!
Cute Grandma!
How could you resist not photographing this....seriously!
The boys!
Coming home day!
First shot of the brothers together at home.
Outfit courtsey of Grandma Seaman
Eli giving loves
And again...(this was his first time holding the baby)
Another shot of the boys!
Holding his brother
Grandpa and his grandbabies
love that he fell alseep like this
how cute is that!!
Uncle Davis and Eli playing with trucks!
Uncle Davis and his new nephew!
Grandma cuddling baby ethan! Too Cute!
Grandpa just loving the baby
This is after his first bath, his hair seriously stands straight up on end and it is to die for!
ps I did a family photoshoot I still have to edit but be watching for it soon!

Texas Style Party

We had a going away party for a couple in our ward who are moving to Texas. It was pretty fun because it gave me an excuse to wear this hat I have had for years and never felt comfortable wearing. I struggled with a shirt though...so I took one of Noah's dress shirts and tied it off above my HUGE belly! I actually got a ton of compliments even though I felt so silly! I did have fun buying some cheapo cowboy boots for Eli and throwing a cute plaid shirt on him too. He was enjoying the boots. All in all it was pretty fun and yummy!

This is Eli saying cheese....not much of a smile though guess we should learn a new word haha!