It's Been Crazy!

LONG POST... Well A LOT of Pictures! 

Life got a little crazy the begining of this month. On the 7th Tyler's mission president's wife called me to tell me that Tyler had broken his foot! They told us not to worry.

On the 9th I got a call from Tyler to discuss what was going on with his foot and to talk through some options. I was so surprised to hear his voice when I answered my phone. But after that call a lot went down! Not even an hour later I got a call from his mission president telling me he would be flying home, not like in a week like Saturday (this was Thursday). So I was in charge of contacting family and getting things ready for him to come home to live with Tay, Olivia and I in Cedar. 

So here has been what's been going on at our house. 

Saturday, February 11th at the St. George airport waiting for Tyler's airplane to come in.

Riley eating his airport treats!

Tayce always making funny faces!

Mom and Olivia waiting for the plane! 

HERE HE COMES!

Wouldn't take the wheelchair. Told them he wanted to walk in. Here he is crutching home!

First time meeting Olivia!

Riley caught up while he was gone! He is for sure be the tallest!

Family picture with no Tayce, who knows where he hid during pictures! WELCOME HOME TYLER!

Tired Tyler and Olivia!

First time holding his niece! So CUTE.
Keith and Chelsea were there as well as Kimmy. We only had a short amount of time to get things ready, but we got signs and balloons and went to dinner and had a good chat. When we got back to our apartment Shayla and Bryan had put up more balloons for him. It's weird having him back, but it's good. He has changed a lot in a good way and I am proud of how hard he worked!

Olivia is into holding onto things and Sunday the 12th she decided Daddy's lip was good to hold onto.

Just hanging on.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Hanging out with Uncle Tyler!

Doing her poses for the camera! She is the best Valentines I could ever ask for!

Well on Valentines I took Tyler to get some things at Walmart and it was CRAZY. We are not frequent Walmart goers, but for clothes that are affordable it works. Well lets just say the card isle was super funny full of grown men surrounding the Valentines cards! When we were leaving the parking lot was a little insane and we were waiting to turn to leave and a big truck backed up into my beautiful car. It was a little scary, but no one got hurt. It is now all fixed and pretty, thank goodness for insurance!

Taking a nap with Dad.

Tyler got a cast on which made life a bit easier and safer for his foot. He will be in it for 4 weeks then they will re x-ray it and evaluate. If all is healed up he will go in a walking cast for another 4 weeks and then he should be back to normal. :)

Reading scriptures!

Had to show you that chubby! Got to hang out with a new good friend and she and her husband got to meet Olivia and they took some pictures for us! So good to see you guys!

SPIDERMAN!
Someone is getting SO big!

Is loving to hold on and pull things to her mouth. She loves licking and chewing and sucking on anything!

Love that face.

Watching basketball with Uncle Tyler. She loves sitting with Tyler and hanging out.

There they are watching the Heat or something like that.

This baby girl is a happy girl, especially in the morning! She loves to talk to you and smile and even laugh a little. She truly is my sunshine!

She loves her play mat. Aunt Brenda and her girls gave her this and she loves it. Thank you so much family!

Sorry about the red eyes. But look at that cute smile. Jeni and Shayla came over and she loves these girls. They can always get her to smile!

Went on a walk today. It was a good walk. We love going on walks whenever we can. It is nice to get out of the house, but to be away from the hacking sick people that hang out everywhere! 

Well folks life is good. It is a bit crazy and crowded, but it is good. Tyler is doing well. He is getting ready to make some school decisions and things. Olivia is doing great. Needing her oxygen less and less and becoming more and more active. She has some big appointments coming up to check her development and her heart and things to make sure all is well and then we just wait and watch our miracle! Thanks for your love and support! Have a great weekend!

The Life of Sweet Olivia

Sorry for the delay in a post folks. This last week has been a bit crazy and my next post will explain more, but you'll all have to wait for it.
Here is what we have been up to the last little while. 

This is Olivia's Phineas outfit! Brenda gave us that cute onsie when we were pregnant with our sweet Alice and we figured we should use it, so we found a blue skirt instead of shorts and it's her Phineas outfit. Her dad really likes Phineas & Ferb, if you haven't watched it take a look. It is a good cartoon!

We got a new crib! Thanks to Grandma Nae and the wonderful Dennett family (who delivered it for us). So far it's a hit. Olivia loves to play in her crib and she falls asleep and takes little naps. She still doesn't sleep in there at night, but maybe someday I will let her. :)

Favorite nap spot.

Our friend Reese trying out the swing! She thought it was pretty fun, for a little bit.

Oh how sweet! Sister Jensen got Olivia these cute Valentine pajamas and they look so darling. Thank you Sister Jensen.

So alert and happy! Love this sweet baby!

There pictures are for Aunt Joan. The hat that she made Olivia finally fits! And these poses were so cute we had to let you all see.

Glamor shot for sure!

Hanging out with Daddy is one of Olivia's favorite things to do. Today we had to show off her sweet heart bum and if you look close at her feet she has little shoes that finally fit.

Loving her crib and that beautiful blanket was my blessing blanket and she loves to snuggle with it.

Did a little photo shoot in this darling sweater that Daddy got her when we were in St. George and we didn't know what she would wear with it, but Grandma Nae got her some Valentine pants and they matched!

Olivia loves sitting up now and looking around, she is always trying to pull her body up, but she's not quite strong enough to do a sit up.

We had a little girls day and these darling girls were playing on the electronics. If you can believe it these girls are 3 and 4 years old and they are using a IPad and a Kindle Fire like it's nothing. It amazes me how generations and times change. The big blue and green thing was our improvise, it's Riley's old Leap Frog.

There's the mom's!

And we can't forget Reese! She is crawling like a pro and we sure do love when her and her family come and hang out!

Had a little movie party on my bed. Thought it was the cutest picture ever. I LOVE having these darling kids over. It made my whole day and then some to finally have some people over. Some of you might not know this, but I love children and really my house is the cool house to come too.

Olivia meeting Blake and wondering when she'll have hair like that. :)

The Carlings! We love you and your pregnant self Brenda and you to Caleb. :)

Olivia fell asleep hanging out on the rug.

Getting all dressed up for Sunday! This skirt was given to Olivia by Aunt Lindy and her family. We didn't think it would fit, but it does! It was so cute.

Going to her doctors appointment! At that appointment she weighed in at 10 POUNDS 2 OUNCES! Holy moly and she's 22 INCHES long! She's getting so big.

Been working on her room. Those darling curtains are from Kristen! Thank you my friend.

Changing station!

Reading nook and closet!

Loved this pose so I took a picture. Must have been a long day.

Look at those eyes. This girl can get anything she wants already, we're in trouble. Oh, and that is her Alice In Wonderland onsie, we wore because we missed Alice that day. :)

Playing with her rattle socks. Aunt Amy gave these to her and she is starting to like them.

Mom and Olivia! What a beautiful baby girl. I am so happy to be a mom!
Thanks for all you do friends and family. Love you all and hope you enjoyed the pictures and the update. :)

My NEW BLOG

Hello fellow followers!
I have started another blog. It does not replace this one at all. This new blog is my blog that I post gospel related topics, studies and experiences. I have been thinking about it a lot and I have finally done it and I am so excited! I would like to share it with you.
www.findingmyway2012.blogspot.com

Someday I will make a button or something for this blog to link you to my new one, but I need some assistance with this whole blog thing. So, it is under construction and will have some changes, but there is the FIRST post!
Love you all and picture update of Miss Olivia will come by Sunday!

MUST SHARE

 My dear friend posted this on her blog the other day and I had to share it. With her permission I have put her post on here to share with you all. She expressed herself in a way that I didn't know how to do, but I totally cried when I read this and I just knew where she was coming from.
Lately I have said things like Olivia is growing to fast, and after so many praying for her to grow and then I say things like that I felt ungrateful, but after reading this I knew I wasn't the only one who felt this way.
Just read it and you'll know what I mean.

To Anyone With Parents
We went to a wedding last night. Ethan got a little bit fussy during the father/daughter/mother/son dance, so I took him out to change him. I'm not even that big of a "Butterfly Kisses" fan, but maybe it was because I'd had a hard day (not as a mom, just as a person...and I'm allowed that here and there, even though I don't often give myself mercy enough to have a bad day). Maybe it was because right before that song, they'd played "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri for the bride and groom dance, and I'd never heard that song before, and while the bride sobbed, I got to hold and look at and kiss my sweet baby as I heard the beautiful words of that song.

Maybe it was a combination of those things, but as I walked down the hallway and into a dark, empty classroom at the church where the reception was being held, I couldn't hold back the tears and I ducked into the classroom and wept as I went about changing my baby's diaper as usual.

Being a mom hurts. And people who don't have children, or who haven't had a new child in twenty plus years, don't seem to understand this. They tell me I should be grateful for every moment, that I should revel in the joy that each new stage brings about, that I shouldn't be sad about the changes.

I have taken to heart the advice I was given when I was pregnant and that I receive daily as a new mom. I have cherished every moment. I have loved every second, even the harder ones, because I know it will go fast, just like everyone told me. I've never regretted becoming a mother, or wished I'd waited a little longer, or wondered if I should have done this. I've opened my heart to my son and let the love I feel for him wash over me constantly.

And yet, despite all my efforts to cherish and love every moment, it still goes by too fast. And it still hurts. Because you fall in love with someone, only to watch them change into someone else every day. Development at this age goes by so quickly. Think about your spouse. We are all constantly evolving, but relatively speaking, your spouse is the same person they were six months ago. They probably look about the same and sound the same and do the same things. My son is six months old. He is a completely different person today than he was six months ago, when I first held him in my arms. His hair is a different color, his eyes are a different color, he's six and a half inches taller and weighs more than double what he did then. He couldn't even smile six months ago and now he gasps and scream-laughs like a little adult when I walk in the room and make a face at him.

So yes, each stage is new and exciting and wonderful and there is so much joy in all of it, but there is also the heartache that accompanies losing the person they were last week as you fall in love with the person they are today. My heart feels the physical ache of this paradox. Growing pains.

I miss velvety newborn skin and dark, nearly black hair and navy blue eyes. I miss wondering if he'll ever grow eyebrows or eyelashes. I miss that first week, when he'd cry and someone would place him in my arms and he'd instantly stop crying once he locked eyes with mine, and we'd stare at each other, developing an understanding. I miss when he didn't have the ability to express his excitement the way he does now, and how he'd hear my voice and his eyes would widen as much as they could and he'd kick his feet because he just couldn't do anything else with himself to show how excited he was to see me. I miss watching him look curiously at his hands, then put forth is arm and gently bat at something nearby as he learned his hands had useful qualities that were, up until that point, undiscovered.

Something about the words of the song they were playing while the bride and groom danced with their parents. "I'm only gonna kiss you on the cheek tonight." It pulled my heartstrings because now I know a little something about how a parent must feel on their child's wedding day. It sounds silly because Ethan is only six months old, but those six months have flown at the speed of light and I can't help but wonder if the next twenty years will fly by equally fast. If I'll be dancing with my son at his wedding, wondering how this could be happening when I only brought him home from the hospital weeks ago. It was only weeks ago, right?

This is such a sweet and special time because he has no idea how imperfect, how flawed I am. The only thing he knows right now is that I am his mother, that I love and adore him, and that he feels the same way in return. He won't always feel that way about me. I told my husband the other day that right now, it's easy to feel like a good mom. I strive so hard every day to make sure that he is safe, that he is loved, that he is healthy, that he's properly fed, that I work with him on his development and encourage his education. We don't have to work on behavior yet. Right now he's this wonderful, pleasant, blessedly easy baby that I get to adore. It's when he gets a little older that things get confusing, that all the books and methods get conflicting. It's when we get to the behavior stages that I could really mess things up.

I read once in a book called The Five People You Meet In Heaven that all parents damage their children. Youth is like glass, and some parents leave little scratches or cracks in the glass, while others shatter it completely, beyond repair. Okay, so in some way, despite all my best efforts, I will damage my child, at least a little bit. I need to accept that. Okay.

We all pick apart our parents. We analyze what they did right and wrong in raising us. It's a part of the process of self-actualization. It's necessary and we all do it. And someday, my children will do the same with me.

But when that day comes, whether it be when he's ten years old and embarrassed and annoyed because I want to hug him, or when he's a surly teenager who is mad at me because I've wronged him in some way, or when he's a grown man starting his own family; he's not going to be thinking about all the hours I spent lying next to him while he took his naps, staring at his face and thinking how perfect it is, memorizing every feature because I know tomorrow he won't look the same. He won't be thinking about how he was the subject of so many of my earnest prayers. How I prayed and tried every day to be a better woman so I could be the mother he deserves. He won't think about how I could hold him or look at him for hours, thinking how I'd never loved like this, wondering how I was worthy to become his mother, how I could be so blessed just to hold him close and bask in his presence. He won't think about how his smiles and the simple act of resting his head on my shoulder could make my whole day. That I looked at him and thought how I would love him forever, and that I had loved him a thousand years before he was even born. How I felt that way because I couldn't remember a time I didn't love him, when I didn't live for him.

To anyone with parents, go hug your mom. Let her smell your hair. I know a little something about how she feels about you. She likely laid next to you for hours, watching you sleep and wondering how there ever existed a world that didn't include you in it. She probably looked at you and felt her heart grow and thought she was the only person in the world who'd ever felt that way. I know, because it wasn't that long ago for me, how she felt the first time she held you. If you call her and she nags you or worries too much about you, I know how she feels, and please, don't react with so much impatience and annoyance. Just let her love you.

"I have died every day waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more."
By: Lola

Lola thank you for your beautiful word and for letting me share them.