Three Months

I remember when I was pregnant with my second child I worried if I would ever be able to love another child as much as I loved Kaitlyn. I was awestruck by our instant bond, and she had completely stolen my heart. The minute I held Brynn in my arms I knew for sure what my mom always says—that love multiplies—was absolutely true. I never needed to have worried.  Here I had another tiny little person to hold, and instantly my love for her was every bit as great. With each of my children I’ve felt the same amazing, abundant love.

I wonder how a mother could ever deny the existence of a Supreme Being. A sweet, innocent newborn screams of a divine power. You need only to look in their eyes and know there is a God whose love is immeasurable.

Nathan is now three months old. When he looks at me he knows I am his mother. There is an unmistakable twinkle in his eye when he looks my way. I adore it!

I think Nathan has my expressive eyebrows!

The kids love giving Nathan "tummy time" and delight in his increasing strength.  I love when everyone is united rallying around Nate.

Now... I looked in our old pictures and found this next one of Jared when he was three months old.

Hmm...do you see a difference between the two?!  Isn't it fun to see how every child even within the same family is different and unique.  I'm pretty sure Jared weighed more in this picture than Ellie does now!  I remember when Jared was a baby and Scott was in the Bishopric there was a nice lady in the ward whose kids were all grown.  She used to sit with us to help me with the kids.  She loved to hold Jared, but even before Sacrament Meeting was over she was exhausted.  Not only was Jared big, but he was very active.  He never stopped moving and wiggling around!  He was so fun, and continues to be one active boy.

I am a lucky mother to have such wonderful children!  I feel very blessed.

It Makes Me Smile

A few things from the last few weeks that still make me smile when I think of them...

I was a bit leery of setting up the baby swing—mostly worried for the safety of Nathan. From previous experience I know that two-year olds are enamored by what seems to be a swing-set in their house and can very easily get overzealous in the force of their pushing. The next thing you know your poor baby is being catapulted in the air across the room! Gratefully, Ellie innately understood the need to be gentle while pushing baby Nate. I watched perplexed as she pushed Nathan and then crawled on the floor under the swing over and over. When I asked her what she was doing she replied, “I give Nathan an underdog!”

Binkies are like socks…they seem to mysteriously disappear never to be found again. After what seemed like hours searching for just one of Nathan’s four pacifiers I was losing my mind—apparently Kaitlyn, who was helping me, had enough herself. Exasperated she screamed, “Those binkies need homing devices!” I totally agree. We need more than just the binky clip to their outfit. We need a pacifier that beeps when you clap for it!

Ellie kept kicking me while I was putting her diaper on for bedtime (Ellie has gratefully been potty-trained since this summer, but she is still not consistently dry at night). When I asked her why she was kicking me she said, “I Nate!” Yes, Nathan does kick his little legs during a diaper change. I started playing along, “Hello Nathan!” I said. Right on cue Ellie gave me a wide open-mouthed smile just like Nathan does. Isn’t it amazing how observant little kids are…makes you realize how careful you need to be about the things you do and say!

Jared is such a sweet boy. At night when he says his prayers he makes a point to remind us to be very quiet during his prayer. For some time he worried that if someone talked while he was in the middle of his prayer then it would not be answered. Of course Jared’s adamant warning of silence to us only eggs on Ellie. The minute he mentions silence she starts loudly jabbering anything she can think of for the sole purpose of causing trouble and annoying Jared. Isn’t it amazing that this trait can manifest itself so young? Jared has now taken up to “saying his prayers in his head” a few nights a week so Ellie can’t bug him.

Brynn prepared Family Home Evening one night all by herself. Since Valentine’s Day was coming up she chose to talk about love. She had us choose a picture in the Gospel Picture Book that had something to do with love and asked us to tell why we chose that picture. Then she had us all draw a family members name out of a bowl and gave us little cards to decorate. We were supposed to do something the following week to show the person whose name we drew love and leave them the card we colored. It was a fabulous lesson! Kaitlyn and Brynn want to prepare FHE every week and are bummed when I tell them Scott and I have to give the lesson sometimes too.

Daddy Cuisine

Arepas!

A new family favorite inspired by Scott's mission to Venezuela. 

Lately Scott has been making arepas for us.  They are made from corn masa you find in the Mexican food section at the store...just add water!  He forms them into balls and pushes them flat and then cooks them on our griddle.  They open just like pita bread when they're cooked.  We like ham and cheese in them the best...once Scott put fried tuna and onions inside too (Scott tends to be very creative when he cooks).  We all love them, and I especially love that Scott makes them.

Juice and Journals

Inspired by my brother-in-law's idea, our family came up with our 2010 journaling goal..."Juice and Journals!"  Our church starts at 11:00am this year, so to utilize our morning hours we meet together every Sunday from 8:00am-8:30am (Scott has to leave at 8:45am for early meetings).  And the best part...unlimited drinks of juice!  I don't buy juice very often so this is a special treat the kids look forward to.  It is a bit precarious...I worry about a spill every time!  This is actually something everyone likes and has been really fun.