Elli's 1 month

Elli turned one month old three days ago.  She has been a sweet addition to our little family.  For the most part she has slept a lot, ate a lot, and been held a lot.  She also loves her binki.  While she is still little, she has done a few things this month

• She has started holding her head up.  She's not great at it yet but getting much better
• She can hold her binki in her mouth with her hand
• Found her hands
• Started staying awake for 1-2 hours at a time, sometimes 3-4 if Michael is in the room screaming and keeping her awake

I have enjoyed the last month, much more than I enjoyed being pregnant, but I do have to say that hitting this milestone made me think hey, we survived!  We survived another newborn.  We survived nights with little sleep.  We survived two kids in diapers.  We survived two kids that need constant attention.  We made it!!  And no one got hurt in the process!  So forgive me for the smug look on my face and let me pat myself on the back.  This is a major accomplishment!

Now, here's what you really came here to see, cute pictures!

Do they look alike?

Michael at one month with the same number

Thank you to all of the family that has been here to help us through the last month.  A big thanks to my mom who took time off work to help me on rough days and helped me get both of them to the doctors office!

Michael's here to say....

Can you guess??

No!  We are not sending him away.  And no, we're not trying to say that he showed up in a box on the doorstep.  We are moving....again.

We found a place in North Salt Lake and we are moving in two weeks.

We've moved a lot in the short 2 1/2 years we've been married.  This will be our fifth move (sixth if you count when Josh moved into my parents house with me our first month of marriage before we headed up to Logan).  As you can imagine I've got packing down to a science.  I know exactly what to put in each box, how to fit all of our clothes into the back seat of one car, and the best way to move our electronics.  Here are a few things I've learned:

• Tv's do best in the back seat of a car.  Throw a bunch of clothes underneath it and it will ride great.
• Dvd players, Wii's, etc. do great packed in luggage.  Luggage is padded more than boxes.  Plus, you don't have to check that the electronics box wasn't swiped by someone.
• Pack underwear in a duffle bag....just do it.  It's embarrassing if you don't
• Empty all drawers into boxes, you don't want to lose anything
• Use all towels and blankets between furniture
• Save newspaper for 2-4 weeks before your move and stuff glasses, wrap plates, and cover all things fragile with it.  Make sure you re-wash all dishes when you unpack because you will taste something funky if you don't.
• Think about what is in the fridge.  You can plan to eat up what's in the fridge prior to moving, but remember all of the condiments sitting in there.  It might be a good time to throw away the year old bottle of ranch dressing, but it can also be a waste if you don't make cooler space for it. 
• Pack toilet paper last.  And maybe some soap.  You never know if you or someone moving you will need to hit the bathroom as soon as you get to your new place.  
• Order the thank you pizza before you start unpacking.  If it's early it will give people more incentive to move everything in faster.  

Most of these are probably common knowledge, but maybe there is some hidden gem among them.  

We are excited to move again.  We will really miss this ward.  It took a while for them to warm up to us (having cute babies helps in every ward) but it has been fun to meet some of these people.  When we moved we thought this would be a more permanent place, but there is a lot of pressure on us to move.  So we are packing up and shipping out!

The Family Bath

Bath time has become a little crazier now that there are two babies to bathe.  Two babies that won't let me bathe just one of them at a time.  If I'm bathing them alone I usually put Michael in the tub and let him play while I bathe and redress Elli.  Then I let her cry while I bathe Michael as fast as humanly possible.

That makes nights like tonight so nice!  Josh was here to bathe one of them.  He chose the little one who wouldn't splash him to the point where he needs to change his clothes after the bath, so I got Michael.

The bathroom gets a little crowded at night!

Exactly The Same

We were watching a show together last night....okay Josh was watching the show and I was reading a blog I just found.  After the show this is how our conversation went:

Josh: You were really into that blog weren't you?
Me:  Ya it was funny.  They have a cute little boy that gets into everything.  She also writes down a lot of their conversations that are funny, but her husband is kind of a butthead
Josh:  That sounds like us.  Michael is cute and getting into everything, and you're a butthead...
(I just stare at him)
Josh:  We're exactly the same!

So I guess we are the same.  This is like a blog post she would write.  With a husband saying something very, very similar.  I have a twin out there!

Why I HATE Valentines

I can easily admit that this is my least favorite holiday.  It has been for years, but the last few it has become even worse.  This year I told Josh we weren't celebrating Valentines at all.  Of course he was fine with that.  I just can't get over this holiday, so I'm venting a little.

I understand it's nice to get presents.  I understand wanting to talk about them.  But I hate how every woman posts pictures online with notes about how they have the best husband/boyfriend ever.  I hate these posts because two days ago these same people were complaining about how horrible their husbands/boyfriends are.  I hate that it seems to be a competition.  I hate that love seems to be associated with the amount of money spent on presents.

I also hate the holiday because most men seem to think they can buy you flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and dress up for dinner one night and be set for the year.  What I love is walking into the kitchen on a random day and finding flowers because Josh knew I had a hard day, or he just wanted me to know he loves me.  There's no way he is getting off the hook just because he bought me chocolate some freezing cold day in February. 

While this reason doesn't affect me yet, it will in about 3 years.  Schools put such a big emphasis on it, meaning I will end up doing extra work for it.  I'll be buying stupid valentines for our kids to pass out.  I'll be making a box that will be thrown out as soon as it comes through the door, but it has to be somewhat cool so I can't just give them an empty tissue box.  Lastly I'll end up dealing with my kids pumped up with sugar on a holiday that isn't Halloween. 

Overall I'm done with this holiday.  I enjoyed not celebrating it this year, and I don't think we will again.  If you like this holiday please laugh at my reasons for hating it.

Baby...

Can you tell she loves the bouncer?

15 Months

Michael has grown so much over the last 3 months it's really hard for me to believe!  He is roughly 21lbs and has chunked up a little (for the first time in his life).  He seems taller, but that could be me comparing him to Elli.

Here are some of the cute things Michael has been doing:

• He took his first steps!  He still isn't walking but it's because he doesn't want to.  He crawls so fast that he doesn't want to slowly toddle around
• He talks!  I wrote a post not too long ago about some of the words he has been saying.  He also has conversations with me, but he doesn't make any sense.  I will call his name and he will start talking for a minute, when I say something back he will keep talking.  I'm excited to figure out what he's saying!
• He's so independent now.  I don't know if this is because of age or having Elli around, but he's been doing great.
• He's getting his first molar!
• He eats.  And eats.  And eats!  A few days ago he ate two large bananas and cheerios for breakfast.  A month ago he ate two pieces of bread and a full container of puffs at one meal...plus dessert.  He still can't eat every food we eat, but in the next 3 months he should be there
• He's still a happy little kid.  Kid, not baby anymore. 
• He's loud.  Very loud.  So loud everyone turns and looks when he talks. 

Mom I smiled now pick me up!

First Week

I didn't know what to expect this week.  Michael spent most of his first week in the NICU which was completely exhausting!!  To say I wasn't scared of that happening again is an understatement.  I hoped for the best, and I think I got it.

I had a really easy delivery and the after pains haven't been bad.  From the beginning she has been eating and sleeping great.  This week has actually been pleasant.  The last two nights I've gotten more than 8 hours of sleep because she sleeps 4-5 hours at a time.

My mom came over Monday and watched Michael.  Tuesday Josh dropped him off at my sisters for most of the day while he went to class.  After that I was okay to be on my own.  Honestly I was really bored on Tuesday, so it was nice to have someone to chase around.

I had this fear that Michael would regress a little when we brought her home (every time we've moved he has regressed a little) but so far he's doing great!  He has started talking like crazy!!  For a while he has only said mama, dada, and ya.  He has now added:

• sister (sis-ta)
• tiger (ti-ga)
• bottle/bye-bye (bah-bah)
• uh-oh
• stick (sh-tick)
• choo-choo

Here are a few cute pictures from this week

My mom pulled him around in this wagon for a good half hour and as you can tell he loved it 

This was too cute not to post

She's already doing great with tummy time, she would stay this way all day if it didn't give her hiccups