Monday, September 28, 2009

A Few Awesome Things...

Can you even believe the nerve! Life continued to move on while I was hunkered down in my burrow trying to adjust to my little baby. Too bad I didn't have my camera poised to capture all the greatness...but I did get a few pictures of some pretty momentous occasions:

Carson turned 3
Hey, I said I got some pictures...I never promised spaghetti-sauce-free faces.

I swear my little boy grew 2 years older when I brought Miles home from the hospital. How did his head get so big?

Opening presents. I LOVE Brian's face in this one! He's a little anxious about Kenzie using the knife.

Beach-cake. Pretty nasty tasting...especially after the graham cracker crumbs got all soggy...but it looked cool!

BYU played their opening game on ESPN
Blue fingernail paint for Kenzie, face paint, blue shirts, lots of food, and loud, unharnessed "GO BYU"s from the kids.

Baby Miles's Blessing
I'm sad I missed the focus on this one...but when they smile, you just have to shoot! And, I think it's a cute picture anyway...I could be biased.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Lovin' the Boy

Miles is turning into the sweetest, happiest baby! The first two months were challenging because he wanted to be held pretty much constantly (but even then, it was wonderful to have an excuse to sit and cuddle him all day long!). But, it seems as if his little 'love tank' is full, and he's realizing that it's okay to hang out happily by himself. To steal a line from Kenzie, "Ooooooooh, he's just SO CUTE. I can't even stop kissing those little cheeks!"










Love ya, little buddy!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Meet my Mother-in-Law

There's a special place in my heart for one other family member who came to visit over the last three months. I haven't mentioned her yet partially because I haven't had time to really sit and think about what I want to say, and partially because I haven't been able to find how to say it. All I knew was that my heart was bursting with love and appreciation and gratitude for the selfless service she so readily offers to me and my children.

My dear mother-in-law, Jean, was my right hand after Miles was born. Her plane was landing as I carried Miles into our home for the first time, and she stayed for two full weeks as our family adjusted to the new little life. I leaned on her like a crutch during those two weeks. As I wrestled with nursing and hormones and healing, she took my older kids under her wing and kept them entertained and happy to the point where I couldn't have worried about them if I'd tried. She listened to McKenzie read story after story, played game after game of Uno (after game, after game, after game, after game...), broke up fights and helped herself to the fingerpaints. She fed them, cleaned up after them, and loved them. She listened to me cry out my hormones and talk out my frustrations. And she did it all with a wide smile on her face that made me believe she actually wanted to do it all. I generally stress when someone tries to help me because I'm worried about how they're feeling - - - not with Jean. I've told my friends countless times, "Jean has a way of making me feel like she actually wants to change the poopy diaper!" And, if that's not talent, I don't know what is!


So, thanks, Jean. Thanks for your personality, your example, your energy and, of course, your wonderfully willing help.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Meet My Brother

This is Brian. (Yeah, what are the chances that I'd marry someone with the same name as my ONLY brother?!?)

I could hardly believe that it had been 2.5 years since I'd seen my brother last. It was too easy to fall back into conversation with him - - - ever since we were little, we've had a strong connection with each other. We have similar senses of humor, and could therefore laugh with each other like we couldn't laugh with anyone else. A favorite joke came from a sitcom that was playing in the background one day of our childhood, "He was snoring so loudly, it was actually vibrating my bed across the floor." Oh, how we laughed! I'm still smiling about it. :)

Want to know what we did while he was here? He read to the kids,


he bought us ice cream,


we went to see a talented man play the bells in the top of Duke Tower - really cool!

we went to TK's Jungle


and trained him in the art of 'ball bouncing'.
I loved going back to the beginning of college with his stories. And, I've found it's quite a lot more fun to counsel about the woes of dating than to actually go through them yourself. :)

I love you, Brian!

Meet My Brother-in-Law

This is Dave. Brian's little brother.

As lucky as I am to have been born into an awesome family, I feel even more lucky to have married into another awesome family. Those 'in-law' jokes just never seem to apply in my case! Dave came out on the same weekend my sisters were here.

He came to the beach,
built a fort to watch movies in with the kids,
came to the water park,

and somehow got every single kid to fall absolutely in love with him. Even baby Miles was all smiles when he was around!
Dave is SUCH a fun guest to have! Always up for anything, happy and helpful. Thanks for coming, Dave!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Meet My Sisters










Just a couple weeks after my parents headed back home, my sisters flew out. I had SO MUCH FUN with them! I seriously have the best sisters in the world. :)

We played Cooties with the kids,


















Went to a Cold Play concert,









Played in the mud,

Went to the beach,

Played at a water park,

And snapped a few great photos.

Seriously, can't you guys come back and live with me?!?