My 24th Birthday

I had a great birthday (December 20). Chris's parents made a delicious dinner and baked apples and then later that night we had cake and ice cream with my parents. Both our families were very generous in giving me gifts and Chris gave me snow boots which I was very excited about!

William had fun helping me blow out the candles. Ever since his birthday he really got the hang of the birthday thing and I often hear him singing the happy birthday song.

I really love these people. They make my life so happy! I wouldn't want to have any birthdays without them that's for sure.
(I love that William is mesmerized by the presents and Isaac is mesmerized by the candles)

Something's Fishy...

On Thursday Chris took William ice fishing and they had a lot of fun! William absolutely loves fish and everything about them. He even really likes eating fish and asks for it all the time. Silly kid!

Here's a little video of William catching a fish.



William has to be right next to Chris while he clean, guts and fillets the fish. He sure is Daddy's little helper (with a butter knife)!


Like father like son!

Isaac

He's a heartbreaker!

It's apparent you're a parent when...

This comic only gets funnier every time you read it:

Let me tell you about...

This Cool Kid!

This is my little brother Tim. He now wears a suit and tie and speaks Spanish as he teaches the people of Mexico the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is awesome and I love him! I wouldn't be at all disappointed if my sons grow up to be just like him!

However, I didn't always feel this way. Tim is 4 years younger than me, the next below me in age, and when we were younger he was the bane of my existence!! Every single thing he did got on my nerves! I couldn't stand him being around, and I even got in a fist fight with him once. Sometimes when I am irritated with William it brings back strong memories about how I used to feel about Tim all the time!

I kept thinking I needed to change my attitude about him (I felt many pangs of guilt about it), but nothing seemed to make much difference. Then it happened. I started my senior year of high school, and Tim started his freshman year. And my friends LIKED him!! In fact, EVERYONE liked him! I couldn't understand it. My guy friends would come over to hang out with Tim, and would always invite him to go with us when we were going places. I kept wondering why they didn't see what an annoying little pest he was, but I also didn't want to seem immature and catty, so I went along with it. And you know, what? I eventually found out that my little brother was cool! And we became good friends.

It got even better when I moved away to college the next year because then we didn't have to live in the same house together.

Here are several reasons why I think my brother is so cool!

-He is incredibly talented. He taught himself to play the guitar and he writes amazing music! His lyrics are always witty and his music has depth to it, and it just seems to flow out of him somehow.

-He is HILARIOUS!!! Seriously, this kid can make me laugh harder than anyone else. And when you get him together with Chris you better watch out! Your stomach will be sore for weeks.

-He isn't afraid to be the person that he wants to be. He always seems to be self confident and he has strong convictions, yet he retains a sense of humility and doesn't come across as thinking he is better than anyone else.

-He sees the good in other people.

-He is able to set goals for himself and accomplish those goals.


-He is interested in many things and takes his learning into his own hands. This makes him a very interesting conversationalist. We used to stay up at night and talk for hours about wide varieties of things when I would come home from college, and he always seemed to teach me something.

-He and Chris are "brothers from another mother". I really like that he thinks I married someone awesome.

I am so excited to see who he is when he comes home from his mission in a little less than a year. I am so thankful for the example that he continually sets for me. Gee -- forget about my sons growing up to be like him; I hope that I grow up to be like him!

Things I'm Thankful for Today

A Husband who Loves Me

"Hi Mommy" and Kisses from William

Adorable Grins from Isaac

Brahms

Going From Three to Four

This is a re-do of the post I tried to do on Thursday. The beginning was the only part that wasn't eaten.

Okay, so this isn't the "what we did on Sunday" post, but it'll have to do for now :).

Since Isaac had his two month checkup today, I thought I'd use the opportunity to share a little about our sweet little boy, and how things have been in our family since he came to be a part of it.

Isaac Stephen Cutler- 2 months and 8 days old
Weight: 13 pounds
Height: 23 inches

We love our little Isaac-Man so much! It's weird to say that he is only two months old because we just can't imagine life without him. Seems like he's been with us much longer. Isaac LOVES being held, talked to, sung to, bath-time, Mommy wearing him, and sitting on my lap while I play the piano. He is such a smiler! Sometimes it seems like he cries just so you will look at him, and then he'll pop out a huge grin. It melts my heart! He is a fairly content baby, although he has a fussy couple of days (shots?). He is usually only really sad if he is hungry or tired.

He has never taken to a pacifier like William did. Lots of times he just spits it out or gags on it, although he has been liking it a little more lately. I don't really try it very much because he is usually such a good baby. Lately, though he has started sucking his thumb, and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen! Hopefully I will get a good picture soon. Right now I just have one on my cell phone. His sucking is SO loud! It makes me laugh, and sometimes keeps me awake at night :).

Isaac sleeps usually around 5-7 hours at night before he wakes up hungry, and then will sleep another couple, although it's a little more sketchy after he wakes up that first time. He certainly likes to snuggle with Mommy in the early morning hours better than sleeping in his bassinet! He will take lots of 1-3 hour naps during the day (without being held) and all-in-all is a much better sleeper than William was, so there are no complaints here. :)

William is an AMAZING big brother! This is something I was really worried about because William demands so much attention and is such a momma's boy. However, he has taken to Isaac like it's no big deal. Sure, we've had a couple times where Isaac has started crying and William has run to me and said "Hold ME Mommy, Hold ME!!!", or where he has told me to "Put Isaac down on the couch", but really, those are fairly rare.

I really think that the fact that I had Isaac at home was a huge blessing in this area. I think it was very helpful that Chris and I never had to leave him to go to the hospital, and that he was able to see me and Isaac right after the birth. I actually think he understands quite a bit about what happened when Isaac was born. When I was pregnant, we took the Bradley Method birth classes that my parents teach, and in the process William saw lots of birth videos. So when he came upstairs (I was still in the living room) and we tried to explain to him about his brother being born, he went over to the TV and said something about babies being born on the movie. I thought it was interesting at the time, but then didn't think much more about it.

Several weeks later, while my parents were teaching their class, I was trying to get him to bed, and he was using every excuse in the book to not go. A classic on-needing to go potty-had me taking him up the stairs right when my dad said something about them showing a movie. William immediately started begging to "Watch a movie! Watch a movie! Watch an ISAAC movie!!!" It really caught me off guard and I realized that he did associate what he had seen on the movies with Isaac being born. Then, the next morning he was (again) asking for a movie and he asked to "Watch an ISAAC BORN movie!" So you can think I'm psycho for letting my toddler watch birth movies, but really, I think it helped a lot!

William is always very free with his kisses to Isaac, will step around him on the floor and say "Sorry Brother!", often brings him blankets or stands by him when he is sad, and always makes sure that we are going to take Isaac with us when we go places. For some reason, he seems concerned that we will leave him behind. The other day while he was sleeping in the morning, William kept asking me "Isaac wake-up?" "Isaac still sleeping?" and then wanting to wake him up.

The transition from one to two children hasn't been as hard for me as I anticipated, although for some reason I seem to have emotional breakdowns when Chris is home. Poor Man! However, I have started to figure out how to get things accomplished around the house, and have even made several meals! Something I have come to look forward to is taking a bath with Isaac at night after William is in bed. It is nice because it gives me a chance to relax a little after a long day, and also to spend some one-on-one time just playing with Isaac, as William seems to monopolize my attention throughout the rest of the day. It also helps Isaac relax and wind down before bed, and he seems to sleep better because of it. Here's a picture of the two of us!

Chris is still working a lot of hours, so we are grateful for the nights when he gets home early enough to spend some time with us before bed. Every morning, the first thing William says is "Daddy Home?" and I LOVE the days (2-usually) when I am able to tell him that Daddy IS home. I am so grateful for the hard work he does because he loves his family and wants to provide for us, even though there are many things about his job that he does not love. And I am grateful that he HAS a job, since lots of people don't these days. And we are really looking forward to doing something new soon! (Grad school next fall hopefully).

All in all, life is good and we love having Isaac with us.

Bugger

I just wrote a really long post and was just about done, when somehow my computer ate it. Bugger!!!

Hmmm

Today William called the bathroom sink a "water hole."

Any guesses as to what his favorite movie might be? The movie he asked for at least 3 times a day for a week while he was sick, and sometimes still wakes up and asks for at 2:00 in the morning?

Need a hint? Refer to previous post as to what he was for Halloween.

Can anyone say Overdose?!!!!

Halloween Fun

Friday:

Pumpkin carving (can you tell who did it?)

Costume making: (sorry, no pictures available of the actual sewing process, but I do have one of the aftermath!)


BOO At The ZOO!!


--Getting attacked by a tree- Very Halloweenish!

And the best part: William completely refusing to let go of his candy bag even long enough to go to the bathroom! Look at the grip he's got on this thing!
A very fun family day!!

Saturday:

Dressed up to go show off to the Taows and Grandma and Grandpa Cutler

Trick-or-Treating at the Cutlers: Every time kids would come to the door William would go over and try to get some more candy too!
And just because my kids are cute:
Now I'm off to find a new hiding place for William's candy. He found the last place I tried!

Stay tuned for What We Did on Sunday

A Good Day

Made Chris Lunch this Morning
Showered, Dressed, Bed Made before William Awoke
Errands Run, Laundry Done, Dinner Cooking

Scriptures Read
Both Kids Napping

The First of its Kind

Tis the Season

Last night as I was lying in bed waiting to fall asleep, I started thinking about Christmas coming up and what I was going to do for people. I have always really enjoyed giving gifts for Christmas, and I always want to do things that are meaningful, but I tend to lack forsight and creativity and usually end up spending more money than I want and having to get things last minute (i.e. December 24th at 5:00pm). I would really like to avoid that this year, but also realize that Christmas is only 1 1/2 months away, so obviously I'm probably not going to be able to do anything TOO time consuming. I had a couple of rough ideas of what to do for Chris, and also for our parents, and I'm hoping something will round itself out, but while I'm waiting for a stroke of genius, I figured I'd ask the world...

What have you done for loved ones at Christmas time that has been meaningful, memorable, and hasn't broken the bank?

What suggestions do you have for someone who is creatively challenged, perfectionist, and doesn't have a whole year?

What do you do that helps keep stress levels low and family unity high during the holidays?

Zoo Dance Baby!!!!

Check out this awesome dancing sweetness! We've copyrighted the dance moves... just in case you were interested.

Pictures!!!

When Isaac was about three weeks old we had some pictures taken by our friends the Rognons (check them out-they're great!). They were kind enough to do newborn pictures of Isaac and a few family shots as well. I was afraid none of the family shots would turn out because William did NOT want to sit still, but the Rognons are awesome and managed to get some good ones. Here are some favorites!

Introducing....

Isaac Stephen Cutler
Born Unexpectedly at Home
Friday August 28, 2009
7 lbs 1 oz
19 1/2 inches long

The Story: Sorry this is so long and detailed. I want it that way for my own records.

I woke up Friday morning a little after 5 am with some contractions that were real contractions, but not very strong and not lasting very long. I lay in bed for a while trying to decided if they were anything I should keep Chris home from work about, and decided they weren't so I went ahead and got up and got Chris a lunch and told him to let me know where he was going to work that day because I was feeling a little funny and had had some light contractions that were a little more than braxton hicks.

My family was getting up by that time, but I decided not to say anything because I knew that it was just early labor that could peter out at anytime. I went ahead and took a shower, and got dressed and ready for the day, William woke up, I got him breakfast and dressed, and all through this I continued to have contractions that were between 5 and 10 minutes apart. I still didn't think anything of them however because they never lasted more than 20 seconds (sometimes less) and I could easily hide the fact that I was even having them. I decided that since I was obviously going to have a long early labor that I might as well do everything I had planned for the day. Somewhere in there Chris let me know he was going to Driggs first, then Teton, then Rigby. I was a little skeptical about him going all the way to Driggs, but figured if worst came to worst he could meet me at the hospital in Rexburg.

I had told our manager that I was going to come to Rexburg to check out of our apartment around 10, so I took William, and left about 9:45 to go to Rexburg. On the way I called Chris, and just let him know that I was still having light contractions, but nothing major. I got us all checked out of our apartment, went and talked to Elizabeth next door for a minute. I told her that I might be back to have a baby that night or the next morning and we laughed about going running to get my contractions going. Then I took William to the swings and the playground to play for a little while and talked to a bunch of girls from the ward who were out there. I didn't mention to any of them that I was having contractions and ironically we were talking about when to know it was time to go to the hospital :).

I left to go back to Idaho Falls around 11:20 because I had some friends from high school I was meeting at 12 to go out to lunch with. I got back just before they came over, and we sat and talked with my mom for a little while, then got in the car (I drove, and brought William) and went out to lunch. While trying to decided where to go, someone suggested Mexican, but I had the thought that I didn't really want to eat Mexican food before having a baby, so I suggested Chinese instead. We went to lunch, I was still having contractions, but could eat fine. However, toward the end of lunch William had to go to the bathroom over and over and over, and was being a little ornery about it. While I was in the bathroom with him I started to get pretty tired, and since I had to squat down to help him the contractions weren't quite as easy to deal with. Still nothing to worry about though :).

I told my friends I needed to put William down for a nap, but that they could come over and hang out for a while if they wanted. I also mentioned that I had been having some contractions and that I might have a baby that night or the next morning. On the way home I had a contraction, but I didn't have a whole lot of trouble hiding it. I don't think they even noticed. As we were sitting in the living room talking, however I started to feel worse, and very tired, and wanted to take a nap. So I waited until the conversation was over, and then told them they should probably go so I could take a nap. They left just around 2:00. I then called my mom in and asked her if she could put William down, and told her that I was having contractions and would probably have a baby that night. About a minute or two after she went downstairs I suddenly had a horrible contraction that made me flip off the couch onto my knees with my arms and head on the couch. I screamed for my mom, but she didn't hear me. I think I had another one, and when my mom came back upstairs a couple minutes later she went "oh no--honey, have you called Chris?"

I made a phone call to Chris and left a message at 2:11 telling him he needed to come home right away. He called me back a minute later and said he was on his way. He was in Teton, just North of Sugar City. He tried to talk to me during my contraction, but I just couldn't handle being on the phone, so I told him I had to go. As soon as I was done my mom told me that she didn't think we could wait for him to get there, but that we should just meet him at the hospital. I said that was fine, and she went to get my sparsely packed hospital bag and to call him to tell him to meet us in Rexburg. She also called my dad home from work to be with William. When she came back I was already feeling like I needed to push and it was apparent that there was no way we were making it to Rexburg. She called Chris and told him to come home after all, and offered to take me to the hospital in Idaho Falls. I didn't even want to think about moving at that point, and the thought of going to a strange hospital with a strange doctor was completely unappealing to me. I told her that she better just call Kathy or Michelle (the midwives she works with), and that I wasn't going to go anywhere. She called Michelle, who lives in Ririe, and she said she was on her way. My mom helped me take my clothes off, and said that she could see the babies head.
I had wondered if I was crazy for thinking I needed to push already, but at that point I knew I wasn't. I had a really strong contraction and pushed hard, and thought the babies head had come out, but it turned out to be the bag of waters, completely intact, and filled with water, so it felt like the head. It was what my mom thought was the head, and even though it was a huge relief to push it out, I was very disappointed that I still had to push the real head out. Somewhere in all of this, my mom had been throwing sheets underneath me, my dad had come home, and I had had the thought that if I pushed, Chris was not going to make it home in time. It was about a one second struggle, but I decided that I didn't care. The baby had to be out NOW!!

The bag of waters burst, and with the next contraction little Isaac's head came out, and on the next his whole body was born. It was 2:42 pm, only 42 minutes after I asked my friends to leave. Less than an hour of active labor and pushing. He breathed right away, and pinked up, so I knelt on the floor and my mom helped me hold little Issac. Michelle got there about 10 minutes later and they made a bed for me on the floor of the living room, and I lay down to wait for the placenta.

Chris got home 15-20 minutes after the birth, to a wife and baby lying on the living room floor. He said that as he was driving 85 miles an hour down the highway and praying really hard that everything would be okay, he had a strong feeling that the baby had been born and that he had missed it. We think that feeling came right as little Isaac came into the world. I love the fact that even though Chris wasn't with us physically, he was very connected to us spiritually.

It was such a blessing that everything went so well, William slept through everything, my Mom was there and knows what she is doing, that Michelle was able to come, and that I was able to get comfortable in bed at home and have them take care of everything (stitching, newborn exam etc.) instead of having to get in the car to go to the hospital. And it really was a miracle that nobody got pulled over on the way, since Chris, Michelle and my Dad all drove very fast to get to me :).

Next time I definitely won't let Chris go to work, even if my contractions are only light. I would much prefer to have him with me. We might however, seriously consider a PLANNED home birth.

What Chris came home to

weighing the baby

Blah!

Stomach flu + 8 1/2 months pregnant = Not fun




Special thanks to the Cutlers for taking my William and loving him.

Something Funny...At least to us :)

The past little while we have been trying to teach William to ask for things he wants in complete sentences instead of just whining or saying please please please please please......over and over. For instance, if he wants a cracker we prompt him to say, "Daddy, can I please have a cracker?". It's really funny because often while he is playing by himself I will hear him saying "please...can...I...have...a........" and then he'll insert some random gibberish, laugh and say "FUNNY!!!"

Well, the other day he wanted Chris to pick him up and was standing at his feet saying "hold you, hold you," but Chris didn't respond right away because he was in the middle of something. Then all of a sudden William stopped and said, "Please can I have.....A DADDY!!!!!" It was really cute and extremely funny. Of course, Chris couldn't resist something like that and William got his wish right away.

Another time made me laugh, when William wanted something and was saying, "Please can I have..." and then stopped, got a look on his face and yelled "POTTY" and ran for the bathroom. Too funny! That kid sure can keep us laughing!

On a different note: It's hard for me to want to post because our computer has been dead for quite a while now, and even though we are using my mom's old laptop for right now we don't want to load our pictures on it. And I always want to be able to put pictures with our posts. Sorry! We will probably get a new computer soon though. Chris has been drooling over the 24 inch imac for a while now, so I'm sure it won't be too long. :)

Thoughts

I've been thinking this evening about how in two short months (or less) my time with William as my only child will come to a close forever. And that thought made me kind of sad, and also made me reflect on how I choose to spend my time these last weeks. Lately it has seemed like my energy level has dropped and William's has skyrocketed making it hard for me to keep him occupied, and also making me less and less patient with him. But in thinking about it, I think that most of my impatience and irritation has come because I am focusing on myself and my own desires, instead of on my son. And that's not the kind of mom I want to be.

So for these last 2 months, I am going to try to make William my true priority. I want to spend my time making wonderful memories with him, letting him know how special and loved and precious he is to me. I want him to know that his Momma always has time and attention to give him, even when I'm in the middle of doing the dishes or working on a project.

I know that this will mean making some sacrifice of my personal comfort and a reajusting of my way of thinking, but I know it will be worth it if I can look back on this one on one time we have together and see that our relationship has been strengthened and nurished. And hopefully we will form habits and traditions that will help us to continue to grow even after Isaac joins us. And he will just be a wonderful addition to the time we spend together.

Word on the Street is...

We are still alive! Except for the small post the other night, I haven't posted in a while for various reasons-the main one being that we had a months worth of computer troubles. We actually thought we had lost everything on our hard drive, but luckily Chris did have everything backed up until last October, and some of the more memorable things since then. What a blessing! I think I might have died if we had lost all of our pictures from the last three years! So anyway, I kind of got out of the habit of having a functioning computer and haven't really gotten back into it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I thought that I would start trying to blog again, and what better to start with than a fun trip to Yellowstone last weekend?!!

Chris's family has a time share and were able to book a penthouse condo for pretty cheap since it was last minute. It was super luxurious! It was really fun and relaxing to spend the weekend in West Yellowstone and all day Saturday driving through Yellowstone Park.
Chris and William getting ready to go down the big slide

Williams adorable cousins Trey and Jain

In Yellowstone Park: Two baby deer that we saw. It's funny that they are sitting in the exact same position. It looks like the picture is copied, but it's not. There was also an elk really close, but I can only add so many pictures.

Jain and William enjoying the outdoors

A herd of buffalo that came right past us on the road. It was fun to get to see the baby buffalo.

The three of us in front of Old Faithful. Too bad William's head is kind of blocked by the stroller! If only he would grow!

Everytime we were near water William would beg to go fishing, and since we have to take his fishing pole everywhere with us, we decided we would let him have his chance. Of course, he isn't actually fishing, but he sure thinks he is! And he LOVES it!!

This is at the fish hatchery on the way home. If you look closely you can see a fish jumping. William loved watching them and didn't want to leave.

In other updatish kinds of news:
Chris: Just started a new job working for StarWest Satellites. He installs satellites and does service calls all over South Eastern Idaho. Currently he is still training so he has been going out with another guy to learn how to do things, but after next week he will probably be on his own, which is scary and stressful, yet nice. He thinks he will really enjoy it once he really figures out what he is doing.
As for long term plans, he is looking into going into Physical Therapy and has done some job shadowing at a physical therapy place here in Rexburg. As soon as his job schedule normalizes he will start doing some volunteer work there because that will help him decide if it's for sure what he likes, and because you have to have at least 100 volunteer hours before you can apply to a PT program. If he decides he does really want to do it, then he will have a couple more semesters here at BYUI for prerequisites, and volunteer time, and then we will be applying to PT schools. He is also still the Elder's Quorum president in our ward, so that sure keeps him busy. And, of course, he fishes whenever he gets the chance!

Bita: Well, I am definitely getting bigger! It's hard to believe that in a little over two months we will have a baby. Crazy!! In the meantime I am keeping myself pretty busy with the normal household duties, chasing around a toddler who doesn't stop moving, teaching piano lessons etc. I am also currently preparing to do a recital on July 1st with my friend Halsey who plays the violin. We decided that we needed to have a reason to practice since it's hard to do once you are out of school and have other things going on. We are playing some really fun music including a Beethoven Sonata and the Flight of the Bumblebee (which, for the record, goes ridiculously fast). I am really excited about it (and stressed and nervous since it's hard to get a chance to practice without William) and it has been really fun for me to be playing some more challenging music again. Anyone who would like to come is more than welcome! July 1, 6:00 pm at the Piano Gallery in Idaho Falls.
I also just got called to be the 1st counselor in the Relief Society presidency, so I am trying to figure out what the heck I am doing there. I guess Heavenly Father decided I was just way to comfortable being a ward organist, so he decided to throw me WAY out of my comfort zone. It sure will stretch me, but stretching is good I guess :).

William: William continues to grow up at an amazing rate (well actually, in physical size he grows really slow-but you know what I mean!). He says new words daily and I am constantly amazed at the things he understands and the connections that he can make. His latest two words that he picked up entirely on his own are Circle (yes, he understands what it is too), and Violin (which he says Vio). He is completely obsessed with fishing (it must run in his blood) and I am convinced that he thinks anytime Chris leaves that he is going fishing. He likes to tell me all about how daddy goes bye bye in the car with the poles and the flies and the net to the water (wa wa) and the fishies. It's quite adorable. I have tried explaining that daddy goes to work and to meetings, and other places but I don't think he's convinced.
William also loves reading books and loves being sung to. He will tell you when he wants you to sing by saying "Oh-E-Oh-E-Oh-E-Oh." It's so cute and pretty much irresistible. For some reason his favorite song is currently "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean." I sang this to him once when he kept asking for more songs and I was running out of ones off the top of my head, and for some reason he loves it. It's so cute when he says "oh-e-oh-e-oh bonnie!" although it can get a little old.

Baby Cutler #2: Well, this isn't really like me, but I am going to go ahead and say that we are pretty positive this baby's name is Isaac Stephen Cutler. Both Chris and I really feel like we have a little Isaac in my belly and we call him that all the time. It wasn't that way at all with William. We knew we liked the name, but we weren't sure that he WAS William, even until a little while after he was born. This one we just know is Isaac. So unless we have a different baby than we think we are having, that's who he is. He moves CONSTANTLY!!!! Seriously, I was in the temple yesterday and one of the ordinance workers commented on how "the little one was sure making his presence known." She could SEE him wiggling all around. I feel like he is continually changing his position completely in my stomach, or trying to just push through to the outside. It makes me somewhat apprehensive to consider that it looks like I am going to have two very active little boys. AHHHHHH!!! What am I getting myself into?

Whew!! That was really really long. I guess that's one way to get myself back into blogging. If anyone read this far you deserve a cookie!

What a Man!

Chris started a new job this week and worked 53 hours in 4 days. Sick, I know! Today (well actually yesterday since it's now Friday) he worked from 6:30am to 12:30 am. Yes, that's an 18 hour day. Seriously!! That's ridiculous! And then he still had to drive home from Idaho Falls. I sure am grateful to be married to a man who is willing to work so hard for his family! And I sure am happy that he doesn't have to work the rest of the week! Yippee!!

Little Things that make a Difference

-Showering, getting dressed and (if I'm lucky) doing my hair and makeup before my son wakes up

-Making my bed

-Doing the dishes after every meal

-Baking bread

-Having an interesting book to read

-Prenatal Yoga

-Having a reason to make time to practice the piano

WILLIAM HAS SOMETHING TO SAY...

That's right! We are pleased to announce

Unmaker 2: The Sequel*

And we are so excited! I kept telling myself that it was possible for us to have a little girl next, but deep down I really think I knew that this was a boy, and Chris actually felt the same way although he didn't admit it until after we found out. I honestly would have been fairly shocked if it was a girl. And although the idea of dresses and bows is VERY appealing, I could not be more thrilled to have two little tow headed boys who want to go fishing with their daddy.

*William is officially The Unmaker i.e. one who takes things apart, creates chaos, and generally un-makes

BEBE!!!

Lately every time William sees a baby in the store, or a picture of a baby (when I'm looking at blogs etc.) he gets this cute grin on his face and says really sweetly Bebe!! (baby). We had some friends over for dinner on Sunday who have a little girl who is 2 or 3 months old and he was really sweet and gentle with her. We brought out our boppy for them to lay her on and now when he sees the boppy he gets excited and says Bebe! again. It's really cute.

He also has taken to wanting to give me kisses on my stomach. I absolutely love it! I'm just hoping that this fascination and excitement for babies will last when he finds he has one permanently installed in his house, taking up his mothers time, attention and energy and crying all the time. Keep your fingers crossed!!

*Some exciting news to come this week!!*

Yipee!

Congratulations to Chris! It's kinda weird, but as of Friday, our time at college for undergraduate work came to a close. Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and we are happy and excited to see what comes next in our lives. Here are a couple of pictures. It was kind of bright, so it was hard to get William to smile. Oh well!

(William was trying to give Daddy a kiss too, but the tassle kept getting in the way)
Chris with his parents-Isn't my husband handsome?!!! Even in a funny hat!
Us with my parents. William was off chasing dogs by this point, not to be contained for pictures!

After the ceremony we all went out to lunch, then our parents left and we went home, all had a nap, and then Chris went out fly fishing and caught a whole passle of fish. All in all a good day!!

I love you honey!! I'm so proud of you!