Whatever Floats your Boat

Here's the latest in Orion's swimming lessons. Today was his first day jumping into the water fully dressed. His teacher had him do this just to feel what it would be like to be weighed down by all his heavy clothes. This is done just in case he were to fall into a pool one day in normal attire. We didn't think he would do this well. He was a little scared but overall, maintained great floating technique. Dad treated him to a Wendy's sandwich afterwards. We are so proud of our silly little boy. He's improved so much so quickly. If anyone wants info about his teacher, I'd be glad to give it. Her name is Pam and she does private lessons at an indoor pool in Orem. She's completely worth it.

Family Photo Shoot

Here is our first family photo with our newest member Chrysalis. Outside the womb that is.

Look at the baby.

Look at the birdie.

This is what true love looks like.

Lookin' at the baby again.

A vain shot of myself. I had to get a good shot of my hair before it starts falling out. It's my best feature. After Orion was born I had a receding hairline. It was so attractive. :oP

Smiles for mama.

Auntie Gio with the babies.

Besitos.

She loves being an aunt.

I think this shot is endearing.

This one is pretty too.

So I want to take a moment to write a little something about how I'm feeling. I don't ever want to forget how happy I am because surely there are hard and difficult times ahead of us and if I don't write down the happy moments, I know that I easily forget to count my blessings.

I am grateful that the Lord has once again granted me the opportunity to be a mother for the second time. Sometimes I feel so unworthy of such a demanding call. I am grateful to have this little piece of heaven in our home; this little soul that so recently was in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Her aura of innocense and purity reminds me of the kind of person I want to be when I return to our Father above. She has been nothing but an angel. Her calmness astounds me. At her age my little boy was never quite as calm as she is now. I wonder how long it will last. I hear so much about how little girls are always more dramatic, but so far she has been far from it. She literally only cries when she's hungry. I wonder how long it will last. For now, I will take joy in the drama-free queen that she is.

As a newborn, I remember Orion was always so colicky and had excema along with jaundice. It was always so sad feeling there was little we could do to help him feel better. Now that he doesn't have illnesses much anymore, he still is a "boy." Quite active and always keeping me on my toes. I am reminded of a time when I attended a BYU devotional where our dear prophet Thomas S. Monson was the speaker. This was before he became a prophet. But he said something I really enjoyed. He said not to stress so much about the sound of those little ones that cry and make so much noise throughout our church meetings. He said to always remember that it's only because they have such great souls and that their little bodies are just too small to contain such great souls. This is why they fidget so much and cry out with such gusto. These are the souls that will one day bring about many charitable works and good deeds if we will but nurture them with all the tender loving care that we possess.

I know I have a huge responsibility with the upbringing of my children and sometimes it's overwhelmingly scary to think that these little innocent souls are looking up to me, watching my example and learning from it; waiting for me to lead and to guide them. They mimic and they don't judge but one day they will. I only hope that when that day comes, that they will find themselves pleased with my attempts to follow in the Lord's footsteps.

I am grateful for my sweet husband, who worthily holds on to his priesthood and strives to hearken unto our Father. His support and faith in me leaves little room for doubt in my ability to do my job as a mother and to do it well. I used to think that having a good job and holding positions of power are what made women strong. While I respect women who work outside the home, I now know what empowering effects a woman who devotes her time to her family at home can have. I've held some decent jobs in my life. I can now say I've earned a college degree. But all these wonderful things I've accomplished in my short lifespan are miniscule when compared to what I've done most recently; being pregnant, giving birth, feeding my two year old with one hand and nursing my newborn with the other. No accomplishment in my life has been as fulfilling as bringing these sweet spirits into this world and watching them grow. They have important missions in this life to fulfill themselves, and I am just grateful that I (along with my good husband) can be a part of that too.

Orion and Chrys

Brother and sister.

He loves to hold her.

Kisses for baby sister. He loves her so much.

Chrysalis - One Month Old

Funny expression. Gotta love her shirt.

Smiley face.

Little future dancer feet. I love feet.

My brown-eyed girl.

Sleeping away all bundled up.

Pilates Ball Pops

So here's something fun that happened a couple days ago. I love my Pilates ball. I use it for everything. I use it for exercise, as a chair, to birth on, to rock the baby on, you name it. A while back it was snagged on a wire that was protruding from the sofa and cut a gash into it. I should have thrown out the ball but I decided to keep it still. It seemed like such a waste. I had it coming I suppose. So there I was on the ball with the new baby in my arms when the ball just pops and the next second I find myself on the floor. The ball didn't deflate nice and slow the way it would if it had a small hole in it. It just ripped along the snagged gash. It's always great to fall on your bum when you're still healing postpartum down there. Baby was fine. Just startled a bit. Mom's tailbone is another story.

Shootin' Hoops

Orion shootin' hoops with Dad. Notice how he doesn't even care about the tickets. Alex gives them to him and he just sets them aside. I found this rather funny.

Someone Has Turned TWO!!!

So this year, due to having a newborn around, we've celebrated our little boy's second birthday in stages. We started off by taking him to Chuck E. Cheese the day of his actual birthday. He liked it last year and enjoyed it a lot more this year. We went with some friends and their three kids. Here Orion is shooting hoops with his friend Jacob.

We couldn't get him away from the hoops.

He especially loved shooting with the help of Dad when he could actually make the hoops.

Even Chrysalis went to Chuck E. Cheese. She just slept the time away.

Another day, he opened his birthday present. He got a box set of cars because he loves them so much and began lining them up right away for a race.

So organized, my little boy is.

After a few days that followed, I finally got around to making him some fun birthday cupcakes with confetti sprinkles. He loved blowing out the candles. He did it much better this year than he did the last.

My boys gettin' all messy with their cupcakes.

Yummy.

Mommy's turn to get in the photo.

He wanted me to lick the mess up.