Thoughts on Motherhood...

As Mother's Day approaches I've been doing some reflecting on mother's...my mother, my mother in law, being a mother and what that means to me, and lots of other mother's around me who are inspiring in so many different ways!

My mother is such a strong, independent woman. She always makes the best of any situation and is just a happy, positive person no matter what happens in her life. The more I get into raising my 2 kids, I keep wondering more and more how she did this!?! She had all 5 of us by the time she was my age...actually a year younger than I am now! WOW! She was always doing great mommy things like baking homemade bread and cookies, canning peaches or making fresh raspberry jam. She also managed to hold down some type of job all throughout raising kids to contribute to the family. She has taught me so many wonderful lessons and most importantly, raised me in the gospel and showed me how to find true happiness and joy. I love my mother so much and am so grateful that she gets to come play with me and my kids often now that she works for the airlines! I love that mothers get to become friends with their daughters after they grow up because my mother truly is one of my best friends. Rarely does a day go by that we don't talk on the phone or see each other and when it does, it feels like something is missing from my day! I love you mom!

My mother in law is also such a strong and inspiring woman! She also had 5 young kids by her late 20's and even though I didn't know her then, I know she was an incredible mother because she somehow put up with her cute son that she raised into such a great man so I could marry him :) She has been through SO much in this life and has come out so much stronger and with such great faith in our Heavenly Father. She has welcomed me into her family and has always made me feel so loved and supported. She is a wonderful example to me and is such a fun grandma to my kids! I love you Pat!

I feel so blessed to be a mother. To be entrusted with these two sweet little souls. I love them each so much, more than I ever knew was possible to love another person!

I remember being pregnant with Levi and wondering how I was going to be able to love him as much as I loved Camryn because she was my baby girl. She was my first and I thought I would be biased because of that :) Little did I know our capacity to love is just increased and our hearts grow to love more.

There is something so special to me about being awake with my sweet boy in the early morning hours (as much as I'd LOVE to be sleeping!) to nurse him. The house is peaceful and quiet and it's just us for a few minutes. As much as I do look forward to sleeping all night long, I know I'll miss that time we get together, so I'm trying to just enjoy it while it lasts!

Being a mother to a toddler is SO fun and SO hard!!! I've never had my patience tested so many times in one day every single day of every week.....

This sweet girl of mine keeps me on my toes! I feel like it's a totally different experience than being a mother to a newborn baby who just completely relies on you for everything. She can go from perfectly happy to bawling her eyes out in 3 seconds, and does so multiple times a day. Everything is a battle (getting dressed, brushing teeth, doing hair, what to eat, getting in the carseat, getting out of the carseat, walking across the street holding hands, the little grocery carts, etc.) and it's exhausting! But on the flip side, she can smile and give me a big hug and just melt my heart, making all those tantrums and crazy emotions totally worth it. She is so much fun to be around and makes all of us laugh so much! She is learning so much so fast, I just hope I can soak it all up and enjoy every day because every day is such an adventure!

I pray every single day that I'll have the patience I need to be a good mother to her and not lose it! But how could I not just love this cute girl no matter what she does?!

I know being a mother at this stage in my life is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm grateful that I'm able to full time. I know there will be seasons in my life for other things, but right now I'm grateful I get to put all of my focus and energy into my kids/husband and being the mother/wife that they need and deserve. Some days it's hard and I just want a day off, but I know it's good for us to do hard things and really push ourselves to our limits. That's when we grow and become more Christlike so I'm grateful for those opportunities....usually a few days later :)

I hope this Mother's Day we all remember how special our mother's are, and how special we are as mothers! Motherhood is a divine calling of God, and I know he's counting on us and has confidence in us to raise and nurture these special souls. I love being a mother and I love my kids with all my heart!

6 months already?

How do they go from this.....

....to this so quickly?!

I cannot believe my little Levi is already 6 months old! It's so true that it goes even faster second time around! This baby is my little angel...I am so in love with him! He has such a happy laid back personality and just goes with the flow. He giggles so easily and gives everyone that he sees the biggest cutest grin! (See above)

He tried rice cereal for the first time a few days ago and didn't super love it, but I think he'll get used to it and love it soon. Levi is rolling both ways now and really gets around pretty good. He absolutely loves his little jumper and likes to spend time in there bouncing away and laughing! He loves Camryn, she can get him to smile and laugh so good! He discovered his feet this month so he's always grabbing them when he's on his back...but can't quite get his feet in his mouth because of his CHUBBY legs! He is still such a chunkster weighing in at 17.75 lbs, which is surprisingly only the 55th %! He's 27 inches which puts him around 75th for height. He's already in 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers (and has been for quite some time!)

He was a pretty good sleeper up until about a month ago. He was going from around 9 to 4 or 5, then eating and going back to sleep for a few hours, but lately he's waking up at 2 and 6...ugh! I thought we were past that! I don't know if he's hungrier or got out of the habit when we were out of town, but I need to get him back on a good schedule so if you have any good baby sleep tips or books, please let me know!

We love this boy so much! He has brought so much happiness into our little family, and we're so grateful he's a part of it.

Unbroken

My cute husband got me a book for Christmas that my mom already had, so I decided to take it back and browse Barnes and Noble for a good book for my trip to St. George. I saw this book and remembered that my brother in law Jed recommended it...and he only recommends GOOD books :) So I got it, read it, and LOVED it!!! If you're in need of a good book to read, go get this one! It's a true story about a WWII veteran who was an olympic runner before he was drafted. It truly is a story of survival, resilience, and redemption. AWESOME.

Thanks to Santa and Dora....

Camryn's finally potty trained!!! I've been bribing her with going to school because she really wanted to go to school after seeing her cousins in Washington go. But that wasn't quite enough motivation...at least not only that! I finally got one of these Dora potty chairs and Santa sent Camryn this cute video for Christmas (saying she was supposed to try really hard to get to the toilet this year!), and she's been dry, nights now too, pretty much since New Years! Whenever she didn't want to go potty I would say "Oh, Dora's going to be so sad if you don't go visit her on

the toilet!" and she would go right in and go! Luckily, she hates to make people (or things or her food) sad. This was a long process because she was mostly trained before Levi came, but the day he was born, she stopped going in the toilet. It's been a battle ever since! Now that she's trained she's asking to go to school again, so I guess I better get her signed up. Luckily Challenger will take them at 2 years 9 months, which is only a couple months away :)

4 months old!

Levi is 4 months old today! This little guy is such a good baby! He's almost always happy and smiley and is just so much fun to be around. He has the biggest grin that he gives anyone and everyone, especially those who change his diaper :) He rolled over for the first time 6 days ago, and is starting to do that a little more now. He's sleeping through most nights, but has had a little cold the last couple weeks that has been waking him up more often than he usually does. Levi is a sensitive little guy...if he gets scared or hears someone yell he just cries and cries and is hard to calm him down. His appointment isn't until the 19th, but I think he weighs around 16 lbs. He's very chubby and is just a fat happy little guy. We love him so so much and feel so blessed to have such a sweet boy in our family!

What's your vote?!

Do you think Camryn and Levi look alike or not so much? I hear both all the time, what's your vote?

Levi 3 1/2 months

Camryn 5 months

A few more pics of Levi...1 month old

Just a few more pics that Tiffany took of Levi while we were up in Washington a few weeks ago! He wasn't really wanting to go to sleep, but she still got a few goodies! Thanks Tiff...you're the BEST!!

Levi & Levi!

This is my cousin Angie's little boy who is also named Levi! Angie and I were due the exact same day, 9/21/10 and were both planning on naming our boys Levi, how crazy is that? This Levi was born just 5 days after my Levi and look how much smaller he is! Love these little angel babies!

Cutest Quilt Ever!

My amazing sister in law Tiffany made this ADORABLE quilt for Levi!!! I am in LOVE with it!! She worked so hard on it...it's a labor of love! Thank you so much Tiff...it's going to look so cute in his room! Love ya!

Levi's Newborn Pictures!

Favorite picture ever!! He must be dreaming about the angels :)



Camryn "sleeping" next to Levi! Love this picture.
She loves her little Levi so much!


Levi and Grandma Parrish!

Levi Aaron

**WARNING** This is Levi's entire birth story...it's long! And includes all the details!

Last Friday I was having my yearly JAMM (girls weekend with all my college roommates!) and wanted nothing more than to get through that and Matt's neighborhood concert he was playing at Saturday night and then go into labor! Saturday morning my girlfriends and I went to the farmers market downtown and they had raspberries that looked so good, so I decided to get a huge flat of them to make jam. I went home that afternoon and debated making it that day, or waiting until Monday, which would be the last day I could make it because I was scheduled to get induced on Tuesday morning! I decided to go ahead and get it done Saturday and spent all day making 3 big batches of freezer jam. Matt left to go practice for his concert around 5:30 and I literally finished the jam right as Camryn and I were walking out the door to go watch the concert! We got there around 6:30 and ate dinner, then everyone started playing around 7, which is when my contractions started! They were super far apart and didn't hurt at all, so I thought nothing of it. People kept asking me all night, "when's this baby coming?" and I would jokingly say, "maybe tonight, I'm having contractions right now!" But I really was joking and didn't think it would happen that night. We went home around 9 and they were still coming so I told Matt we should probably time them and just see how far apart they are. They were between 8-9 minutes and my book said 2nd time mom's should go in when they're 5-6 minutes apart. My Dr. had told me not to wait too long to come in once I was having contractions because I tested positive for strep b and we had to do the iv antibiotic, which takes 4 hours but I have fast labors! So, we decided to just go in and get checked to be on the safe side. We called Matt's mom to meet us at the hospital and got our bags packed! The contractions were getting a little bit stronger at this point where I would kind of have to grab the dresser as I was packing and breathe through it, but still not super strong or painful. We walked into the hospital around 10:30 and they asked us if something was happening, but I definitely did not look like I was in labor so I just said "I'm not really sure, I've been having contractions for a few hours, but my Dr. told us not to wait because of the strep b thing." She took us back and checked me out and said "uh, yeah you're at a 5, let's go get you hooked up to your iv!" I was so excited that it was really happening and that Levi decided to come on his own! I was scheduled to get induced on Tuesday morning, but I was planning on a natural birth and knew being induced would make it so much harder, maybe impossible to do! We got into our room and started going through the list of questions the nurse has to ask, and I would just close my eyes, relax and breathe through the contractions as they would come. When the nurse was finished getting my IV in I got in the tub with my lavender oil and finally got my hypnobabies cd on and just got super relaxed. It felt so good to be in the warm water and just prepare to meet my little boy! Matt was starving by this point because he didn't get to eat dinner at the concert since he was playing so he went to the cafeteria and got some food! The nurse would come in every 20 minutes or so and listen to the heartbeat. After I'd been in the tub for awhile she said she wanted to monitor it a little closer and I was getting kind of hot so I got back into bed and was at an 8 by this point! Levi was turned sideways so she suggested to turn from side to side to see if we could get him to turn. I tried that for awhile, then my Dr. came in to check on us (who just so happened to be on call that night!!) He checked me and said I was at a 9 and asked if I wanted him to break my water at that point so I might start feeling ready to push. We were past midnight by then so I knew we weren't having a 9/11 baby, so I said why not? Let's get this baby out! We were just hanging out in the room, I had one headphone in so I could still listen to my hypnobabies during contractions, but still chat in between. After my water had been broken 10 or 15 minutes I started feeling the urge to push. He was still turned so my Dr. said he was going to reach up and turn him with the next contraction...OUCH!!! Everything had been pretty much completely pain free up to that point, but that hurt like hell! He had to do that a few times to get him turned, and that was the most uncomfortable, painful part of the whole thing. Matt was so sweet, rubbing my shoulders and telling me how good of a job I was doing, telling me he could see Levi's head! That is so motivating when you feel like you're going to have to push forever! Luckily that stage didn't last long :) Dr. told me to give a good long push, I did, and his head came out! A couple more good long pushes, shoulders and baby came out and he was here!! They put him in my arms and Matt got to cut the cord. He was officially born at 1:15 am, not even 3 hours after we got to the hospital, and he weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches long. (That was 10 days early, I'm sure he would have been another 9 pounder like Camryn if he'd gone full term :)) Everything went so well, I didn't tear, and Levi started breastfeeding right away. It was such a good experience overall and I'm so happy to have our sweet baby here healthy and well! I felt like I was able to get into and stay in my hypnosis a little bit better this time around, maybe just knowing what to expect second time around. I'm so glad I have fast labors!

I'm absolutely in love with this baby boy, he is the sweetest thing and loves to cuddle! He's sleeping pretty good at night, and has just been a good baby. We're definitely going through the adjustment phase with Camryn getting used to all this, but she loves Levi and always wants to kiss him and hold him and love on him. She is so cute with him!

2 Year Pics....

......by my amazing sis-in-law photographer Tiffany! We tried to shoot a few when I was up in Washington a few weeks ago, but Camryn was not really in much of a picture takin' mood...kind of like last time! But she still got some goodies! I can't believe my little angel is already 2 and now baby number 2 is only 5 days away! WOW how time flies, but life is good and I'm so blessed to have this sweet girl in my life.