the Graham Cracker House

Time has flow.
Oh how I love having this little one in my life.

Aidric is our chubby one.  Meaning, he is just rounder and squishier than Gabriel ever was, but he still is not SUPER chubby.   I think he reached his high point around 2 months, and is actually starting to "thin out" more already.  He doesn't have two chins anymore, but still has multiple folds in his highs and armpits and neck.  They are so fun to cuddle and love and kiss and wash.

Aidric loves his baths.   I remember Gabe enjoying bath time, or at least not hating it too much. But Aidric truly loves bath time.  We  soap him down on big soft towel on the counter, then stick him in the sink to rinse off. He often puts his hand up over the side and looks like he just chillin' in a hot tub.   He would sit there for a half hour if we let him.  As soon as we take his diaper (whether for a change or for a bath) he is all smiles.

He does have some very dry and sensitive skin on his scalp. I am always trying new remedies to try to help it, and every now and then just give up and put a hat on him for a few days instead.  Thinking I need to find some more cute hats (they are probably in the box of baby clothes in the shed).

Aidric does not enjoy tummy time and mommy is not good at making him do it.  He can lift his head up well, but doesn't like to lift up anything else.  He is not keen on rolling over yet.  Which is fine with me.

He talks and coos and has lots to say as he smiles and follows me with his eyes. I always think he is a good baby but if I leave for a couple hours he reportedly fusses more, then lights up when I come back home. That is always a wonderful feeling for me.    He is chattering away in his rock N play right now (while brother plays a game on my phone... don't judge. It's the only way I can blog!)

He almost always falls asleep in his car seat. Which is great, considering how much time we spend on-the-go.... in the car and stroller. He is a trooper. Especially as I  "train" for a 5K to get myself back into pre-baby shape.  He only complains when food is absolutely necessary.

Gabriel was sick last week and Aidric seems to have caught it this week.  A baby with a cough, sneeze, runny nose, and basically yucky cold breaks my heart, especially when it is my own baby.  And especially when it is keeping me up all night (he was just starting to sleep 7-8 hours before he got sick!!)

I started back to work after my maternity leave last week. It's pretty crazy.  We are all still adjusting and will see how things work out.

Looking forward to many more adventures with you baby A!

I was chatting with a friend about this and that....(mostly about parenthood and her fear of having children) when she stopped to clarify "like you- you love being a mom.  I can tell you enjoy  being a mom".  That got me thinking about a couple things.

1) Do I really enjoy being a mom?  YES!  Yes I do!  I have waited a long time for this day and I can truly say that I love it!  I could go on and on listing all the pros and cons and everything I love and enjoy and have learned.  All the situations and emotions I expected, and didn't expect. But that is a post for another day. For now I will just say that despite the craziness and poop and lack of sleep, I love being a mom.

2) Secondly, can other tell that I love being a mom?  This friend, at least, could tell by something I was doing or saying, that  I do enjoy parenthood.  What was it exactly?  Something I said?  How I tell stories about my kids? How I react  to them?

3) I want the world to know that I love being a mom.  I will watch my words and actions and social media posts a little more closely so that they accurately reflect my true feelings. I love being a mom.

Gabriel says some of the funniest things lately! I am trying to record as many my prego brain can muster right now:

* Try again:  anytime something doesn't go right he says this. I love his optimism!  Sometimes it's "trying again mommy" when I can't find a parking spot, or "try again Gabriel" when he is throwing a ball across the room.

* Play Hide Seek:  whenevever I am looking for something and ask Gabe where it is he immediately responds "playhideseek".  Obviously the toy/tool/hair accessory/person is playing a game with me.

*Sounds Good:  He just started saying this to me. I think I must say it a lot.  He'll tell a story or sentence or listen to me say something and end with "soundgood"

*Dada fix it: In Gabe's mind Dada can fix ANYTHING.  When toys break, tools break, grocery bags break, fabric gets a rip or hole in it, he tells me dada fix it. And usually adds "when dada home from work"

*Mommy play with babies:  Bjorn taught Gabe that all I do at work is play with babies.  When am I at work he tells Bjorn "mommy play babies".    When I am putting on my scrubs for a night shift and he sees me he gets upset and says  "No Mommy play babies!" It makes it so hard to leave!

* fish crackers:  We really are good (in my opinion) about not watching much TV in our house. Bjorn and I don't even really watch TV.  So this is Gabe's only quote from a TV show.  He is fascinated and in love with Curious George.  There is a minor character on the show who every once in a while is given fish crackers and says "Fish Crackers!  Oooh  Ooooh Ooooh!".  One day I was I was talking about goldfish crackers and Gabriel piped up "oooooh  oooh ooooh".  Too funny. Now we say "fish crackers"  just to get him to say the rest.

* make mess: When he is by himself in another room and I ask him what he is doing he almost always quickly responds with:  "make mess".  At least he's honest.   Not sure if he understands exactly what it all means. But he knows he does it a lot.

*right behind you. When he is following me somewhere, or he wants me to follow him, this is his phrase.

* kiss all better.   Every bump or owie needs to be kissed by mom, right in the same spot it got hurt.

*take nap:  when he is sad about something  (toy taken, can't have ice cream, etc.) we ask him what is wrong and he says "take nap".  sometimes he will even put a pillow and blanket on the couch. He seems to know that naps make everything feel better!

As may or may not have been proclaimed from the mountain tops: I turned thirty this month!  Kind of a big deal.  I kept thinking of awesome ways to celebrate, but as it turns out, being 30 weeks pregnant and just being at home with my big and little boy were enough to make it grand.   We just packed the Saturday full of small treats like:

* Breakfast in Bed (small) from my favorite boys

*Kneaders french toast for Brunch

*taking Gabriel to library storytime as a family so he could meet Curious George. (when I found out about this Curious George one I knew he would love it.  When I realized it was on my birthday  I thought "What better way to make me happy then to see my 2 year old in happy heaven!). He did love seeing George and was only a wee squirmy

*pedicure with a good friend. We talked the whole time. It went by way too fast!

*pumpkin patch with my family

* home made dinner (my husband is amazing) with my favorite mashed potatoes.

*Redbox and Ben and Jerry's to finish up the night.   Nothing too spectacular.

I had planned to see a play at the Hale Center Theater for my birthday, but tickets were sold out for that night.  So my birthday present to myself was 2 tickets to Catch Me If You Can for October 25th.  We loved it!  Bjorn enjoys musicals so much when he is there.  I love sharing that with him.

What I really want to record here is some of the things I have accomplished in my 30 years on this year, and list some things I HOPE to accomplish in the next 30 years.

THINGS I HAVE DONE:

graduated college
got married
have 2 kids
worked as an RN at an amazing pediatric hospital.  I have done well and learned a lot here!  I am a clinical coach (meaning I precept and orient nursing students and new hires) and I am the "surgical clinical expanded role" (meaning I go to meetings and plan and present stuff to our staff and make sure everyone's up to date and help teach and do audits on everyones charting.... answer emails,  etc)
bought a house
bought a car (a few now)
Alaska Cruise
Disney Bahamas Cruise
attended all 4 Walt Disney World Parks in one day
several small road trips with my family of 3
brought my family to a professional conference at a fancy shmancy hotel (they played while I worked)
spent over 20 hours (total) on an airplane, with a toddler, while pregnant
learned to make homemade bread
received a professional pedicure, manicure, and a massage
mountain biked the pipeline trail in Millcreek
been to New York, LA, DC, Houston, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, Indianapolis, Las Vegas
been to 35 states and 8 countries
visited 5 different zoos in America

THINGS I WANT TO DO:

become certified to teach yoga or Zumba
go on a mission to Arkansas and teach the restored gospel to the Dugger family :)
tour Italy
participate in ski to sea race 
attend a non-classical music concert (believe it or not I have NEVER been to a real concert)
make homemade cinnamon rolls
plan family reunions for MY future  generations/grandkids
live in a beach house
go to Mexico
give birth unmedicated (**ACCOMPLISHED with the birth of baby boy #2!)
prepare my sons for missions

As the summer sun slowly sets behind us and we welcome with open hearts a wonderful fall, I'd like to take a moment to share some of the accomplishments and lessons learned in our little family during the summer of 2014 ('cause I'm not making a blog post for each event!)

Learned to whip egg whites.  To those of you amazing chefs and homemakers and avid cooks out there this may not be a big deal. But it was a first for me. I whipped those egg whites (with a little help from Gabe, and some you tube tutorial) to go in a delectable homemade cheesecake for Bjorn's birthday.  I would even do it again.

Bjorn has met every single one of my 44 cousins. I think we're at 44.  Counting both sides of the family, but not spouses.  The big "wahoo" about this (besides the fact that there are 44ish of them) is that they live in many different states scattered across the US, and that he is the ONLY in-law to have ever accomplished this task.  The culminating figure was Brandon (#2), who happened to swing by from Minnesota for the wedding of cousin #12 (ish)  this summer.    (I am #4 BTW)

We survived the longest road trip our family has ever taken. Driving from Anacortes, WA, all the way home to West Valley City, UT.  14.5 hours.  (Gabe and I had flown up the Washington a lot earlier than Bjorn could get time off work for).  I wasn't too worried about it. Gabriel always does great in the car. And I don't mind waking up at 5 am to get the drive done in one day.  I did, however, forget to factor in the fact that I would be 26 weeks pregnant. This meant I was NOT able to get comfortable enough to SLEEP in the car. At all.  After my 4 hours stint of driving through Seattle, I spent the rest of the road trip entertaining Gabriel and wishing I was sleeping.  I even made Bjorn pull over at a rest stop in middle of no where Idaho just so I could lay out a blanket and lie down for 10 minutes.  I'm sure future road trips will be fine. I'll just remember not to go more than 10 hours when I am over 25 weeks prego.  New rule.

All three of us made good use of our 7-peaks pass of all passes. Meaning, we got them in time to get a good deal, redeemed them in time, and went enough times to 7-peaks (and hollywood connections and Tracy Aviary) to make it totally worth it.  Even though 7 peaks SLC is pretty lame.  For our last trip there we splurged and rented a tube.  Gabe fell asleep in my lap (after much finagling to get everyone comfortable) as we rocked with the waves in the tidal pool.  good times.

...And Gabriel has taken six airplane trips, all completely free.  On his last flight the crew and entire plane of passengers even sang him happy birthday and commented that he will never fly again- free.  This I know all too well. And with two kids.... it might be a while before I make a frequent habit of flying again.

I am also proud that Bjorn's family has started a family newsletter- with a little tiny nudging and encouragement and explanation on my part.  It is running strong for 3 months now. I take some credit for that.

And I guess the fact that Baby #2 is alive and well and moving around tons and probably happy and healthy should count for something as well.

What a summer!

Alpine slide in Park City! Wahoo!!  Mamu was available to baby-sit so we took advantage of the time and checked out Park City Mountain Resort in the Summer.  These yellow sleds had brakes so you could go slow (i.e. if you are pregnant) or fast (i.e. if you are an adrenaline junkie).  A great way for everyone to  have a good time.