We've been up to...

Playing at parks, feeding "gucks," and just having fun! Apparently we've been enjoying a little too much sunshine because the first comment everyone makes when they see my kids is "Wow, they are tan." I need to use more sunscreen, but I don't think it will make a difference since we spend all day outside anyway. But what are we supposed to do, sit inside when it's gorgeous out? It's supposed to snow the rest of this week though, so I guess we'll have a chance to whiten up a little. And go out to build another snow fort.


I am so in love with my boys lately. Easton is the most darling little thing ever. I think he hit the terrible twos at about 18 months and then got over it when he turned two, I just can't believe how good he is! There have been a lot of times lately when kids will take away his toys or hit him and he does nothing back. It makes me happy since I won't have to worry about him being a bully. He is a joy and I LOVE being his mom.

Easton is also growing up a lot lately and it makes me kind of sad. He's losing some of his baby words. Now he says "double" instead of "bow bow" for W, "kitty" instead of "meow" and he also is starting to say Grandma and Grandpa instead of "poppa" and "da hun"(which is what he calls my mom since my dad calls her "hun") and "maama Kate"(Jonathan's mom). At least he still says "hud" for hug. That one makes me smile.

Caden is a little copycat. He has to be doing EVERYTHING that Easton does and be right next to his big brother. It is so cute though to watch them together. They love to laugh at each other and will just sit and make each other laugh for half an hour straight. Caden just turned 8 months and is about 19 lbs. He isn't crawling, but my neighbor had twin girls 2 weeks earlier than Caden and she said they didn't crawl till 12 months, so we might have a while still. It's okay though, he is such a tubby little joy that I can wait a little longer for him to be mobile and lose his baby fat, I'm just not sure HE can wait that long. He still isn't sleeping well and we've tried a few different methods and nothing has worked, so he and I are not eating dairy and wheat for a few weeks to see if that makes a difference. We already know that he is allergic to squash so we're wondering if he could be being bothered by other foods as well. I was sensitive to dairy as a child and so I was a horrible sleeper so maybe he has the same problem. I don't know how I'm going to handle giving up chocolate completely, but it's worth it if we can start sleeping again.




I love my 3 boys so much and love being a mom. The other night Jonathan and I were talking about where we would be if we didn't have kids yet, and we both decided that all the other things we want to do like travel, have a house, go on dates whenever we want without getting a babysitter, sleep through the night... none of those are worth the joy these little guys bring us.

Sweet Find

DI + $2= Awesome

6 months and chuuuuuuuuubby!

I know, my blogs have 5 million pictures, but I'm just so madly in love with these boys I think every picture is too cute to not share! So one major thing I've learned from this second little man is that every kid is different, and I'm not sure Caden and Easton could be any MORE different! Here's a few fun things about Caden at this age and a little comparison of the two of them. Not that one is better than the other, they are just very different. Enjoy!
-I think we have a budding Chocoholic! Caden LOVES things to be sweet! He hates formula because it's not as sweet as milk and won't eat rice cereal unless it has bananas or applesauce or something else sweet in it. Easton, on the other hand, ate whatever I gave him. We fed him marinated artichoke hearts at 11 months and he downed them! Seriously he'll eat almost anything, but he doesn't really have a sweet tooth. I took him to Krispy Kreme this morning and he only ate half his donut and then gave it back to me. Little Cado Potato Head is a different story, though. I just really hope that doesn't mean he's going to be picky!
-Not sleepin' so good yet :( Unfortunately he still gets up 2-3 times a night to nurse, which is very different from Easton who slept through the night at 6 weeks! On the other hand, he goes to sleep on his own! Since we brought him home, I've made sure to just put him in his bed when he's tired instead of nursing or rocking him to sleep and it's so nice because he usually just goes to sleep by himself and I just put him down, say goodnight, then check on him a little while later to make sure he went down okay! Such a difference from Easton who had to be fed till he was 100% asleep! I definitely recommend every new mom do this!
-He is the happiest little thing ever! Seriously he is ALWAYS smiling! He loves loves loves to be talked to and all you have to do sometimes is look at him and he'll just bust up giggling. It's so much fun! Easton was pretty mellow and chill, happy but just content, while I think Caden is going to be a little bundle of giggly energy!
-Much more emotional On that topic, he is also more emotional when he is upset. Easton didn't cry at all till he was about 2 months old. Seriously. I came home one day and he was crying and me and Jonathan were shocked. He was just so chill. Caden, on the other hand, has opinions about everything and wants to share! So I think he is going to be a bit more opinionated and emotional than Easton.
-Wants to be a big boy Caden wants to be big. If Easton has a cup and is within reach, Caden will try to snatch it from him and drink out of it. And I started feeding him cereal a week ago and he already grabs the spoon from me and tries to feed himself. Oh, and I've heard of babies who don't like nursing but I couldn't believe it was true since Easton LOVED it so much. Well, Caden has never liked it and will only nurse if he's starving or tired. When he gets shots they tell me I can nurse him after to calm him but that's the last thing he wants when he's upset. Oh boy, I'm nervous that as he starts eating more food he will quit nursing completely!
-No pain tolerance at all Self-explanatory. Any tiny scratch, bump, or anything gets a scream fest. When he gets his RSV shots once a month they have me wait ten minutes in the room to make sure he doesn't have a reaction to them, and he screams the entire ten minutes and won't calm down for anything! Very different from Easton, who had massive pain tolerance.
-He is FAT! Okay, this little preemie who was born at 30 weeks just got moved from the preemie growth charts to the full-term charts because he was in the 97% for height and the 75% for weight! So compared with normal 6-month olds he is in the 50% for weight and the 75% for height! He's 16 pounds! What a little chunk! He gains about a pound a month. This is totally totally different from Easton who was in the 10% forever and then started moving up but has never gone above 40%! I find this really ironic, especially because Caden hates bottles and nursing so up until now we've basically had to force feed him. I have no idea how he got so big, but I LOVE it! Chubby little rolls and so fun!
Two boys is soo much fun! So much that I am even thinking that I want another boy next so they can be three little friends together!(don't worry, this is not a pregnancy announcement! Just thoughts for when we have another one.) Here are some cute little pics from our little man's life thus far:




I love Easton's face when we first put Caden in the car to take him home from the hospital! You can just see the confusion.

Check out these chubby cheeks. He was barely over 5 lbs in this picture, and I think half of it was in his cheeks! The rest of his body was tiny!


These pictures are mostly in order from earliest to most current.








From so tiny (barely over 3 lbs in the last pics) to SOOOOO CUTE!!! I might be slightly partial, but I think he's GORGEOUS!









We love him more than words can express and are sooooooooo excited to have him in our family! It's so funny, but now I can't imagine what I did with all my spare time when I only had one! Funny, since I didn't really feel like I had a lot then. Our life is definitely more full now and I am constantly amazed at the love a mother is able to feel!

Dinner Time

Don't you wish it was this much fun at your house?

2009

Late, yes, oh well. We...
celebrated Easton's 1st birthday
started walking
found out I was pregnant at 2 months along
spent tons of time with family
had some girl time
went to the temple a lot
celebrated two wonderful years of marriage
Jonathan graduated and is now getting ready for law school in the fall
got my first church calling since getting married... then moved a month later
lived in 4 different apartments
visited tons of places in Virginia
fed a camel
went to a waterpark and a few farms
went to the dc zoo 3 times
rode the metro everywhere
danced in the rain
had some fun game nights
went swimming
played ultimate frisbee... and lost Jonathan's wedding ring
played with Taylee almost every day this summer
went to Nielsen's Frozen Custard & Georgetown Cupcake
had my 5-year reunion, but couldn't go
played at the park almost every day
made so many new friends
had a little surprise
and barely made it with only 10 minutes to spare for an emergency c-section
met a 3 lb. miracle...
and fell in love
spent 6 weeks "visiting" and falling more in love
received endless prayers and support
my mom came out and stayed with us for 3 weeks
got to experience natural labor... and didn't think it was too bad till the very end
finally got to come home
drove across the country with an almost 2 year old and a preemie just out of the NICU who was on a monitor and still wasn't even due for 3 more weeks!
the boys met the Kansas Pecks
Jonathan got pulled over twice... and got off both times
then he dropped his wallet at a pit stop and we realized it 10 miles down the road
but it was still there just sitting in the middle of the parking lot
our battery died at a gas station
and at this point we thought we'd had an eventful trip
then had the scariest 57 minutes of our lives, but everything turned out okay
got to go on life-flight for the first time in any of our lives
spent more time in the hospital than in all of our lives combined... 7 weeks!
got off oxygen after 2 1/2 more months on it at home
loved the little brown curly hair and dark blue eyes and super curly lashes
gave so many kisses both boys cheeks are rashy
got chubby (me and Caden that is)
saw so much strength in my husband and fell more in love than ever before
survived 2 months of colic and reflux
smiled
cooed
gurgled
laughed
and now rolled over(at 5 months!!! Meaning he's basically caught up already!)
can't even remember he was ever that small

I'm sure 2010 has many more adventures and I know that through our strength as a family and through the knowledge of the gospel we will be prepared for anything! I can't believe life could be so wonderful and I've learned so much and it seems to just keep getting better. I'm so grateful for all of our blessings and can't wait to continue life with my three boys!
Oh, and I know the pictures aren't in order, but I'm too lazy to change them all :)