Cereal is ... MESSY.

It's funny the things that you forget about babies when you have a toddler. 
For example: We started feeding Leilah rice cereal this week. I seriously forgot how messy that stuff is! 
It ends up on the bib, all over her face, all over her hands, all over the burp cloth, and even all over the clothes UNDER the bib!
We started off slowly, only giving her a little bit, and when she starts to get fussy, just waiting until the next day to try again. We've worked our way up from up a couple baby spoonfuls, to almost two teaspoonfuls today!

She's doing really well! We're going to wait until after her 4 month appointment to try any fruits or veggies! 




Other exciting things Leilah is doing now that I want to write about later:

• Teething! OH MY! 
• Starting to like tummy time (at least some of the time).
• Reaching/batting at hanging toys!

California, 3 months, and Quotes from 2 year olds...

The last week and a half since I last posted has been pretty hectic and exciting for us!
First of all, we took an impromptu trip to California to visit family for a week. It had already been 2 and 1/2 months since Noni and Papa had seen Leilah and Devin, and the rest of my family, as well as Jr's family hadn't even seen Leilah yet! So packed up our things and hit the road! Devin and Leilah both did really well on the 10 hour drive down there, and although it was a crazy, hectic week... It was so fun to see our family. I hadn't realized it had been 9 months since we had been to visit!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

Papa and Leilah 

Me and my boy

Devin and his cousin Kash

Leilah and her cousin Christian

Auntie Maddie holding Leilah

Aunt Karen and Devin

Great Grandma and Leilah

Leilah loves her Noni

Devin and Uncle Austin

Devin and his cousin Meadow

Devin and Nicole 

It's so great to recharge and see family, even though I didn't get a chance to see everyone I wanted to see. We'll definitely be heading out there again soon. 

While we were in California, Leilah bug turned 3 months old! Ah! I really can't believe how big she is getting. She now stays awake for longer periods, recognizes Mommy, Daddy, and brother, smiles and laughs all the time, and just the other day she started to bat at the toys hanging from her car seat. The time is flying so fast! I don't remember it going so fast with Devin. 

I've been looking for a Bumbo for her for awhile; I always wanted to get one with Devin, but never got around to it. I was so excited to find one for her on Craigslist today. And guess what? She L-O-V-E-S it!! 

I can't believe how much she likes it! She sat in there looking around for almost 45 minutes! I was amazed. Clearly, it was the right choice to get it...

And to end this post, I wanted to share with you some funny quotes from 2 year olds that made me laugh...

Devin: "Grandma shoes go?"

Me: "I don't know, where did her shoes go?"

Devin: "Daddy take it."

Me: "Why would Daddy take Grandma's shoes?"

Devin: "Daddy take it!!"

Me: "Alright..."

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(As I'm sitting on the couch doing my makeup..)

Devin: (points to me) "Mommy pretty... Daddy golf.."

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(Driving home from picking Kailynn up. We pull up next to a big truck with a guy in it.)

Kailynn: "Oooooh. Hot guy!"

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(After getting Devin's hair cut)

Daddy: "Devin, what happened to your hair?"

Devin: "Gone!"

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(Today while getting dressed... Devin pulled a shirt out of his drawer and put in it his dirty clothes hamper)

Grandma: "Why did you put it in the hamper? It's not dirty!"

Devin: (Pulls shirt out of hamper and points to the picture on the front) "BAD GUY!" (Puts shirt back in hamper)

The Invisible Mom

I saw this on a friend's blog, and I wanted to share it...


"It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' 


Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?? 

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' 
Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?' 

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone! 

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' 

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. 

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.' 

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. 

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. 

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. 

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' 

That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there...' 

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers."

This really touched me. Sometimes I feel as if I'm lost. But now I can see that I'm making my children into people. It's up to me to help them become the people I hope they will be. Every word, every hug, every smile, and even every timeout or every tear helps to mold them. When I get lost and frustrated in the day to day chaos, I need to stop and be reminded that I have the most important job in the world. And although I don't hear it every day... I am appreciated.

It can't be taught...

Nobody is perfect, everyone has their flaws. And Junior is one of those people. It drives me crazy that most things have to be HIS way, he snores, he could sleep all day if you let him, and sometimes he argues with me over the stupidest things.

But he is also very loving, extremely funny, a great cook... and the thing I'm most proud of : an amazing father.

When we first started dating, he told me that one thing that he had always wanted was to be a father. Since he had become one, I've seen Jr become a whole different person as well. He used to be impatient, easily annoyed and irritated, and hell bent on having a good time. Now he's become more patient, loving, and easy going. He's realized how important his children and I am... His family. 

I've seen him give baths, pick out clothes, make bottles, feed baby food, and play on the floor for hours... all for his kids. 

Every time I see him with our children, my heart warms. Being an amazing dad, it just can't be taught. I fall more in love with him every day because of it. 

Inspiration..

For as long as I can remember, I have had an ongoing battle with my weight. I have always thought I was fat, even when I was just average size. I have always been self conscious about what other people have thought about me.

Well that ends NOW- with this post.

A few days ago, I started a plan to lose the baby weight with a group of moms I met online. We all found each other through a website because we were all due in December. It's funny how I can be so close to a group of women I have never even met. They make me laugh, answer my questions, calm my fears about my children, and listen to me vent about everything else. We all decided to lose the baby weight together. We took Before pictures, posted our weight (even though it was embarrassing), share meal ideas, and are pretty much keeping each other in check.
I'm very excited about this... I feel that with this much support, I can do it. I can get healthy. I have a good chunk of weight to lose, but I think what is going to help me is to set mini goals. That way, I don't get overwhelmed.

My first mini goal is to lose 10 lbs by the end of April.
I will post more goals as I go along...

I found a quote yesterday that really made me think. I'm going to use it as my inspiration to lose the weight, and for anything else I want to change.

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."


This really got to me. I've always said "I want to look like that." or "I want to be more like that person"... But reading this made me really think. Do I really want to be and look like someone else?
The answer is NO.
I want to be me. There is always room for improvement, but I want to be the best possible person that I can be.
I will never be a size 1, 5'10, and look like a model. That's just not the way I am built. But I can change my eating and exercise habits so that I can be the healthiest and most fit that I can be. I want to be comfortable in my own skin.
I want to be the best mother and fiancée I can be. I'm going to work on being more patient, understanding, and not hold onto the small stuff.

This quote is now the background on my phone to remind me every time I see it that all I can do is try to be the best person I can be. I will never be perfect. But I'll always be me.

The past 10 weeks...

On Friday, my baby girl turned 10 weeks old! I can't believe how fast the time goes when you have a baby AND a toddler. 

In the past 10 weeks so much has happened! There is no way I'm going to be able to write it all down, but here are the highlights:

• Kailynn turned 2! (Dec. 9th.. which is technically a little over 11 weeks ago.. but shhhhh! It's still important!)
• Leilah was born!
• My parents and little sisters came to visit and meet Leilah.
• Devin got his first REAL haircut.
• Devin turned 2 and started talking up a storm!
• Leilah started smiling and laughing.

Three of those things, I am super excited about.

First of all, Devin getting his hair cut! I had been bugging Jr for weeks to let me get it cut. It has been an ongoing battle between the two of us since Devin was born. Jr always wanted to let it grow out, and then when it got long enough, we could cut it all off and donate it. Well the problem with that is that it needs to be 10 inches long to donate it, and it was so long and always getting in his eyes. He was constantly pushing his hair out of his face... It drove me nuts!

Finally, Jr agreed to take him to get it cut. And surprisingly, Jr loves his hair like this. It's crazy how just a haircut could turn Devin from my little baby, into my little boy!

Second, I don't know what happened, but Devin turned 2, and all of a sudden he won't stop talking! Kailynn started talking early, and A LOT. So, when Devin was 15 and 18 months, I was so worried, because he didn't seem interested at all in talking. His pediatrician reassured me over and over that he was doing just fine and that he would start talking when HE was ready. I continued to read to him every night, and I talk to him constantly, and all of a sudden, he just started talking like crazy! He went from saying maybe 10-15 words, to now saying between 75-100 AND putting 2 and 3 word sentences! It makes me so happy when my little boy tells me, "Ove oooo" (Love you)... or "Mommy pleaseee?"

Third... Leilah started laughing and smiling!!! I know I'm a bit biased, but she is the most beautiful girl in the world to me. When you have a toddler, you get so used to them playing and talking. Then you have a baby again, and they are so little and helpless. You become amazed all over again by the simplest things that you take for granted with your older children. Something as simple as a smile can brighten your whole day.

My children amaze and amuse me everyday... They make me a better person and mother. I can't wait to see what the next 10 weeks bring.

Backgrounds and Introductions

I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to start a blog, but I never got around to it. When I read about little Madison yesterday, I decided that I wanted to start one now... I want to remember each little detail- the good and the bad- and share that with all of our family and friends. 

Now for some background info...

Let's start with Jr and I...

We met in 2006, and knew right away that we would be together. By the end of the summer, we were inseparable. While I finished my senior year of high school, Jr moved from California to Colorado to work in the oil field. As soon as I graduated, I followed.

After a really rough year, of moving back and forth to California, and many ups and downs, we realized that we wanted to be with each other forever, and I moved to Colorado for good. 

Two months later, we found out that we were expecting! 

Seven months later, we welcomed Jr's daughter, Kaiylnn Emerie, to our family. (That is a story for another post).

Another two months later... and we welcomed our son, Devin Daniel, to our little family.

We were so happy. I never knew how much I could love someone, until I met my little boy. Fast forward a year and a half, through diapers and teething, court battles and child support...We're expecting again! We were ecstatic! We were both hoping that this child would be a girl... I had no complications with my pregnancy, but had almost every symptom in the book, which made those 9 months the longest of my life. At the end, I was counting down the days until I would meet my precious child.

On December 17th, 2010 at 1:34am...

Leilah Elizabeth was born... 6lbs 5 oz and 18 3/4 inches long. And our family was complete... At least for now!!

I know that this is a bit of a long post, but that really is the short version of our lives together! I'll fill more in as more back stories become important!