General Conference

Me: Levi, what would you like to say about our week?
Levi: Maybe Katie and Daddy? Maybe go to the park with Daddy and Katie and Baby and Mommy? That our plan?
Me: What would you like to say about what we did last week? What's been happening?
Levi: Umm..  *then turns to Katie* You play with me?
Obviously, Levi is not super into journaling yet haha.

Fall has officially arrived now with chilly, rainy weather and gradually changing leaves. I've gotten both kids' Halloween costumes already and Levi's was free so I'm extra super excited about them. Also, Emery is going to be THE CUTEST little pineapple ever!

After going through a really rough week or so of 4 month sleep regression and waking up every 2 hours at night (ack!) Emery is now doing better with her sleep again the last couple days. Two nights ago she actually slept through the night! She was down by 8:40ish and slept till 5am! It was amazing! I am so proud of her for learning how to connect her sleep cycles and self-soothe. I'm sure it will still be up and down with some bad nights along the way but I feel like she's got good potential to be a great sleeper! Along the way to her being a good sleeper though, I have gotten pretty sleep deprived which makes me say some pretty crazy things. For example, Eric wrote down these conversations we apparently had recently while I was falling asleep. I love that he plays along!

Eric: you prayin'?
Me: ... eating bread.
Eric: Then you better put some peanut butter on it.
Me: Noooo.
Eric: Ok well honey is good too.
Me: *yelling* Nooo!....Only on toast.

Me: It takes two to drive the truck, not one.
Eric: What about three?
Me: No.
Eric: What's in the truck?
Me: *semi-angrily* I don't know!
Eric: Well you're the one that brought it up.
Me: ... oranges.
Eric: Are they tasty oranges?
Me: *semi-angrily* How should I know?! I haven't eaten any yet!
Eric: When will you eat them?
Me: I don't know.
Eric: What about tomorrow?
Me: *excitedly* Yes!

Anyway, this has been a busy weekend! Friday night Eric and I went on a double date with Ashley and Michael and did an escape room. Unfortunately, we did not escape, but it was still really fun and we were super close! I love that kind of thing. I am a big fan of puzzles and logic games and it was fun to spend some time with Ashley and Michael without our kiddos even though we ended up talking about them a lot anyway haha.

Then yesterday and today have been busy with General Conference. Last night was the first night of general women's meeting being part of general conference. General women's meeting was definitely my favorite session of Conference, probably because I actually got to pay attention to it and be still and listen uninterrupted by children. That was the only meeting I really feel like I was able to get personal inspiration. Anyway, during that meeting, President Nelson invited us to do four things: read The Book of Mormon before the end of the year, participate more fully in RS, do a 10-day social media fast, and establish a pattern of regular temple attendance. I want to be obedient and put these challenges to the test and see how my life will benefit from them. I feel like it is a great opportunity to grow my testimony and put the word of God to the test. I've been feeling even more lately that it is so important that I know The Book of Mormon is true and that the Gospel is real and true because this is what I'm teaching my children! I need to be firm in my convictions if I am going to be able to teach them well and feel confident in the things that I am teaching them. But at the same time, I feel like these challenges are so daunting- particularly to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. The prophet promised that it is possible if I start with full purpose of heart and I'm trying to have faith in that but when I think that I have to read at least 7 pages a day I just don't know how that's going to happen, particularly when usually I can only get in a few verses tops! It's obvious that I am going to have to change the way I use my time pretty significantly if I am going to do this. I'm worried that I will get overwhelmed and that it will make me feel anxious or stressed. I'm worried I will resent the time I spend and wish I was doing something else. It's intimidating but I am also hopeful. I just hope that it will be worth the sacrifices I will have to make. I hope that my faith will grow. I hope that I will get that confidence in this Gospel that I feel I need in order to teach my children and know that what I am teaching them is the truth. I feel like I'm stepping out on a limb a little bit with this. I don't really want to, I would rather stick by the trunk and continue doing what I've been doing, but I want to be obedient and I want to see if the promises given by the prophet will come true. I want to grow in faith and I want to get the blessings that I've been told I will get. It's scary because what if I don't see the blessings? What then? But also, how will I know if I don't try it? It's almost like starting a new exercise routine. I want to be fit and healthy and look nice but it's hard to make the sacrifices of my time to make that happen. In the past, I've stuck to what I'm comfortable with. I push myself a little bit, I've been able to get into a routine of exercising about 3 times a week consistently. But I've never really thrown myself into it. I've never been strict about setting and following a routine that will involve significant changes. This is a bigger challenge and I just pray it will be worth it. I want it to be, I hope it will be. Heaven knows I need as much help as possible to fill my role as a good mother to my children. Especially to Levi who always seems to be able to push me over the edge and frustrate me like crazy! I love him so much and he is soo cute and smart and I love so many things about him but also, I forget sometimes that he is only 2 and my expectations become unreasonable and then he and I both get frustrated. Thank goodness children are quick to forgive and also hilarious! Here are some real things that I said to Levi just this week:
* We don't put bell peppers in our ears!
* I'm sorry son, the fireman costume doesn't come with a firetruck.
* I can't move the sun dear.
* No, you can't have those. Those pink Elmo underwear are for girls.

This morning we had the missionaries and an investigator (Meredith) and her son over to watch the morning session. I made blackberry sweet rolls for us with the last of the berries that we picked and froze back in July and they turned out delicious. Levi and Meredith's son Elijah hit it off right away and had a great time playing together and being crazy the whole session which was awesome but also incredibly distracting. I don't know how much spiritual benefit Meredith got out of the meeting because I didn't feel like I was able to concentrate and get much myself but hopefully she still felt the Spirit even if she didn't get to pay that much attention to what exactly was said. And we exchanged numbers so that the boys can do play dates together in the future because they really did get along great.

Anyway, that's what's been going on. I feel like time is speeding right along. Baby girl is getting closer and closer to rolling over and is growing bigger by the minute and I feel like the holidays will be here before we know it. Time is a funny thing. The days are long and some minutes feel like hours (like when I'm putting a struggling Emery down for a nap too late and she's overtired and fighting it or when I'm sitting with Levi while he tries to use the potty) but the weeks and months fly by! I know that this is a unique and special time in my life and I'm glad that Eric has helped me to have this time every other week to journal these things to have to look back on.

Kind of a random picture but I feel like it captures a typical Sunday afternoon well. Emery just chilling on the floor watching her brother and Levi in half church clothes half play clothes playing with his trucks and diggers. 

Her outfit was so cute I had to take a picture! 

Ashely and I took our kids to the pumpkin festival at Lee Farms two weeks ago and Levi had fun driving the big tractors. 

We moved baby girl into her crib last weekend! It was hard for me to do because she's my little baby and I just worry about her and want her close to me, but it was time. Eric especially was feeling the need to have our room and personal space back and now that we've moved her and she's doing well with it I have to admit that it is really nice to be able to hang out together in our room in the evenings again and get ready for bed not tiptoeing around in the dark! 

Levi and Liam being two little monkeys swinging in a tree at the park

Katie is the best auntie ever. We went to Salt & Straw with her last Saturday.

Eric and I love to read books to the kids while Emery does tummy time. She really likes to look at the books too. They're very engaging to her. 

Levi with his new friend Elijah. Notice my poor sad plant in the background? I am pretty much the worst plant mom ever haha. 

Welcome back to school! Here's a cold.

Well I feel like it's been forever since I've written a blog post. I guess what with me going back to work and the kids starting daycare, we've dived head-first into the daily grind and I just haven't had time. The kids got sick (naturally). They both came down with colds and pink eye and I got a super nasty cold that bordered on a sinus infection but thankfully never fully committed to that route and eventually got better on its own after a long stuffy, headachy 17 days. Baby girl didn't sleep well when she was all congested and even since her cold has cleared up our lovely nights of her sleeping 6-7 hours at a stretch are few and far between. Last night she was up 6 times between when we put her down at 8 and when I woke her up for church at 8:30! But that's unusual, she's not usually that bad of a sleeper. I'm thinking she may have some of that four month sleep regression going on and I'm hoping that as soon as we get past that, she'll be a great sleeper again. I know she has it in her to sleep well, she's just got a lot going on right now what with being sick, starting daycare and just learning and growing. She rolls over from tummy to back now sometimes and she has rolled the other direction once. After a hard first week at daycare she will now drink her bottles ok. She doesn't drink all I send for her but she does drink at least a little bit from all the bottles they offer and she will usually down at least one or two of them fully. Also, she is recently obsessed with grabbing her toes and rolling to her side. She's still a super good-natured little girly and usually content to just lay on the floor and smile and talk to us. She loves to watch brother and she HATES riding in the car. She will scream for any trip longer than about 5 minutes. It's stressful but I don't think there's much of anything I can do about that.

Levi is talking more and more like an adult and I regularly have to remind myself to cut him some slack because he's only 2 years old! Here's a conversation I had with him recently while I was in the bathroom.
Levi: "You going pooping mommy?"
Me: "No I just have to pee."
Levi: "Ok you go pooping. Take your time, mommy." *closes door*

Speaking of "going pooping," Levi has gone number two on the potty several times now. I still haven't started really potty training him (I'm scared to haha). But when I see that he looks like he's going to go, I ask him if he wants to sit on the potty and often he will say yes. I know I need to take the leap and potty train him for real but I've been avoiding it. I feel like it will just make things harder. I mean, diapers are a little annoying I guess but not nearly as annoying as having to stop everything and immediately find the closest bathroom in the middle of a grocery shopping trip!

Work was really stressful the first couple of weeks trying to get all the staff trained and the equipment delivered for all my kiddos before school started or as close to the start of school as possible. But thankfully things have calmed down a little bit now and I'm actually feeling pretty good about how things are starting out this year. I feel like I've developed a pretty good relationship with my teams over the past year and this year they are trusting me with their problems and together we've come up with some good solutions. I had a great success story with my new kindergartener with spina bifida. I did a presentation with her class talking about rules about her wheelchair and then we had a little group discussion where we brainstormed ideas of things the kids could play with her at recess and ways to include her in the class better. I was so impressed with some of the things her classmates came up with and it was a great discussion. And her teacher and her aide have both told me that ever since we did that, the kids have been playing with her and including her so much more! So that made me feel really good to see that work out so well. And I'm excited because we are lowering a sink for her at the school so that she can reach one. It just took me reaching out to different team members and spearheading it and now it's happening! I love that. Also, there's a new PE teacher at Joan Austin and she is super open to feedback. I feel like she and I are working together really well to make accommodations for the kids at that school who need them which is awesome. So yeah, I would say work is going well even though it is still stressful trying to do all the things. Mondays and Tuesdays are so busy now trying to get all the menu planning and grocery shopping and laundry done before I go back to work. But I try to make sure we always do something fun on Fridays for Levi. Two Fridays ago we had a playdate with Liam and Macey and last Friday we went up to the Children's Museum. It was international peace day so they had a reggae musician there who played live music which Levi LOVED. He has recently taken to playing air guitar and dancing around our house which is adorable. It will be so fun when he's old enough to actually learn how to play the guitar. I am also really excited for when he's old enough to play soccer! We went for a walk to a park yesterday as a family and there were little kid soccer games going on and Levi was pretty interested in it. He is already able to kick a ball well and run and kick without stopping so I think he's going to pick it up quickly. I hope there's a league in Texas that has a little under 6's team that he could maybe start next year! That would be so fun!

Anyway so yeah, that's been life lately. Eric and I got to go on a childfree date last night after the kids were in bed. I got all dressed up and curled my hair and we went to a fancy restaurant in Portland for some delicious dessert. It was so nice to get to talk with Eric when neither of us were either distracted by the kids or exhausted. Haha. I am so lucky I have such a sweet, handsome husband to share this crazy, whirlwind journey of life with!

Here are some pictures of life lately!

My mom came to visit again Labor Day weekend. We always love having her come. Levi especially adores her. The Saturday of Labor Day weekend we went down to Champoeg State Park and went on a little hike and had a picnic. The weather was perfect and it was so beautiful. Then we went and found a little old style icecream place. So yummy and so relaxing! 

Levi was really into his icecream cone! 

Little miss is super into grabbing her knees and toes now. It's so cute! 

I love this picture. It makes me think that Emery is like a little princess and Levi is her knight kissing her hand haha. 

Girly got really drooly with her cold so I busted out the bandana bibs. I have to say, she rocks it. 

Levi has started doing this thing where sometimes instead of coming upstairs he just stops and sits on the third or fourth step up. Sometimes he tells me, "I waiting for Daddy. I gonna watch for him." Even if Eric isn't coming home for several hours! Also, yes Levi is wearing a raincoat in this picture. The rain and cool weather have officially returned to Portland. After a blazing hot summer, it's been a welcome relief. And I'm excited that fall is here with its colorful leaves and the excuse to make pumpkin bread! 

Levi still gets into a lot of mischief. I came out from changing baby girl and he was putting these ring toys into the air conditioner! Thankfully I was able to use some tweezers to retrieve them all. 

When we go to the park, baby girl likes to chill on my lap and watch the other kids while Levi runs around and plays. 

My little sleeping beauty.

Cute girl has graduated to wearing some six month clothes now! I can't believe she's getting so big! 

Family Pictures

Last Saturday we went to a park and snapped a few quick family pictures with some more help from our favorite babysitter Emma. I wanted to have pictures of my babies to take to work and I wanted a family picture to send with Levi for his first day of school. So here they are! Love my cute kiddos, especially Emery's stand straight up hair. Oh! Also, I cut Levi's hair on my own right before this. I just watched a few YouTube videos and went for it. The sides are a bit of a disaster but oh well. I figure it will grow out fast and I will get better with practice (I hope!) Haha.

Then on Monday Emery turned 3 months old! And it was so cute, Levi asked me to take pictures of him playing toys and he was a total model! He would pose and then when he heard the shutter click he would run over and want to see it! He's a natural.

And of course, Levi insisted on wearing a sticker too and we didn't have any so he stole one of Emery's to wear. At least the "2" part is correct. 

Also, so that I don't forget, I've started making a list of words that Levi pronounces funny. Here are my favorites:
 "cupboards"- covers
"chicken" - kitchen
"Guana"- Moana
"mice"- mine
"groan-ah"- granola

I basically have the greatest kids!