Two Years

After two years...

And two kids...

He still loves me!

(I avoid taking pictures when I'm pregnant like it's the plague, so this was the best one I could find)

Dallas called me this morning at 6:45 a.m. to wish me a very happy anniversary! Gotta say, I still feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

Being the smart man he is, Dallas surprised me with an anniversary present a few days before he left.  I love the WillowTree figurines and Dallas had given me several on special occasions (Valentine's Day, birthdays, etc.) but this one was especially meaningful to me.

I couldn't ask for a better husband or father to my girls, happy anniversary to us. :)

The song playing on our page is one of "our songs".  Dallas loved to listen to this when we were dating because I was only 18. :)

Below is "Our Love Story" that a family friend made for us when we got married.  I don't know if it's interesting to anyone else, but I sure love to watch it!

(Youtube disabled the music because it's apparently copywrited.)

Happy Birthday Oaklie!

Our sweet little baby girl, Oaklie, was born happy and healthy last Friday.  She was born the day before Dallas was supposed to leave for Boise for training, so her coming early was definately a tender mercy for us, because once they established that I was in labor, she was born three hours later, not exactly enough time to drive home from Boise!  The labor and delivery was AMAZING, it couldn't have gone better.  My epidural actually worked this time and it was fabulous--I dialated from a 6 to a 10 while I was taking a cat nap!

The previous evening, my mother-in-law talked me into taking castor oil (and I'm very glad she did).  Turned out you only need to take 2 oz to induce labor, I took 8 oz (only swallowed about 6) while I was pregnant with Amaya and I'd already take 4 oz twice with Oaklie--and none of them actually put me into labor.  So, I was skeptical that it actually would work this time, but I guess the fourth time's a charm.  We went to Tyson and Meagan's that night and got home and went to bed about 1:00 a.m.  At 2:30 a.m. I woke up having contractions, so Dallas and I ate toast, timed my contractions, and watched "Home Improvement" until 5:00 a.m., when we dropped Amaya off at Aunt Shacie's and headed to the hospital.  4 cm, only 1 more that I was on Monday, and after two hours, still no change.  However, Dr. Leavitt, being the wonderful man he is, decided to keep me at the hospital until I showed some sort of change, and at 12:30 p.m. we had success so they broke my water and I got my epidural and shortly after that she was born.  I was so grateful that Dallas had been able to be there--Dr. Leavitt let Dallas deliver Oaklie like he did Amaya and it was so special.  It's pretty amazing that she was able to go directly from God's hands to his.  When she was born I just cried and cried because I was so thankful she had come and was so healthy, and that Dallas had been able to be by my side for the whole thing!

At 6 pounds 12 ounces, she's quite a bit smaller than Amaya was! (Amaya was 7 lbs 9 oz).  Holding Oaklie is like holding a little china doll, so small, so perfect, and so sweet!

Brand New

Proud Daddy

Tired Mommy

Dallas is a pro at giving baby baths, he actually taught me how to bathe Amaya when we got home from the hospital with her.

Doesn't he do great work?

Our First Family Picture

Amaya was really happy to see us, but not very happy when Dad wanted her to hold the baby.  She had a rough couple of days, but she's really starting to warm up to Oaklie; this morning she helped me burp her and actually got a pretty good one out of her! Thankfully, I have two wonderful sisters that have been keeping Amaya happy and well taken care of while I'm recovering, and she's had lots of cousins to play with, but I'm looking forward to her coming home for good tonight (hopefully!), because I've missed my little redhead like crazy!

Dallas had to leave for Boise just a couple of hours after we checked out of the hospital, which was hard, but we were able to spend a little bit of time together as a family and take some pictures before he had to leave.  He'll be home for a few days in September before he leaves for good (on to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, then Iraq), so we're really looking forward to having some time together as a little family then.  Thankfully, my mom has been here to take awesome care of me while I recover, and I'm so glad to live close to her and to have such a great mom!

Oaklie is such a sweet little baby.  She hardly ever cries, loves to cuddle, is a great sleeper, and miraculously, she's been a good nurser so far! I'm so grateful to be able to be the mom to another one of Heavenly Father's daughters and we're so happy and proud to be able to say that we are the parents of TWO happy, healthy little girls.

Welcome to the family Oaklie! We love you!

My BIG Girl!

Amaya is getting SO big! I realized this morning that she's really not a baby anymore--she's a toddler! Amaya finally decided to get off her lazy little bottom and start walking, which is such a relief since this baby is coming soon! She's been crawling FOREVER (6 months) and she was so content that she had no interest in walking until the other day.  Above is a 5 second video clip of her taking off. 

Tomorrow I'm officially 37 weeks (YAY!) so we decided it was time to kick Amaya out of the crib since we're going to be using it soon, so we moved her to her "Big Girl Bed" aka a toddler bed.  I think it's so cute, it looks like the beds the elves would sleep in at Santa's workshop :)

Amaya loves climbing up and down of her bed.  We've definately had some sleepless nights and napless days trying to get her acclimated, but I think it's starting to pay off because she's been sleeping much better lately.

And for good measure, here's a picture of Oaklie's bed

 

Yes, the bedding was free.  Gotta love hand-me-downs! :)

Tomorrow Dallas, Amaya, and I are heading down to Utah to see Dallas' mission president and his parents.  No, technically I'm not supposed to be traveling, but since I was induced with Amaya at 39 weeks, I think the chances of me going into labor on an overnight trip are pretty slim.

More pictures of our Utah trip to come! and hopefully some of our townhouse, if I can get it all ready in time for our baby to arrive.

Mini Picasso

Amaya LOVES to color with crayons, but look what I caught her doing earlier today!

She had eaten the tips off of four crayons! Get ready for some colorful diapers!

The Joys of Life

A couple of weeks ago Amaya and I went to Bear Lake for the Abrams Family Reunion.

(Dallas was in Boise again)

I didn't take a ton of pictures but in the one above you can see the lake behind the house we stayed in.

Amaya passed out after a swim in the lake.

On Friday, Amaya turned

ONE!

How did this happen?!?!

I still can't believe my little girl went from this:

to this:

in what seemed like the blink of an eye! Doesn't she look so old in this picture? She was so proud that she could sit up on there all by herself!

Amaya and I drove to Boise so we could see Dallas for her birthday party!

Amaya gave Dallas a book she made all by herself that can been read if you click HERE!

(click on it, you know you want to read it)

Amaya took her present opening very seriously.  No diapers or clothes--all toys! Can you think of a better birthday than that?

Her very favorite present we saved for last--her first baby doll!

Amaya didn't waste any time giving her hugs and kisses and patting her back.  She's going to be such a good big sister!

I went into Amaya's room to check on her the other night and this is what I found:

Sound asleep, holding her doll's hand up to her mouth to kiss.  I love having a little girl, it is so fun!

We love you Amaya!

Amaya's birthday was a little bittersweet because we found out that a family we know, the Sullenger's, little girl past away that day.  (http://www.patrickandashley.blogspot.com/) A tragedy like this effects not only their family, but every family, because we all have a little girl that we love. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.  Preslee's death reminded me of the day we brought Amaya home from the hospital.  We were about to load her into the car in front of EIRMC and a lady came up to us and asked if she could see our baby. She told us that her uncle had passed away at the hospital the day before Amaya was born, and seeing our little baby was a reminder to her of life and the goodness of God.  We are so thankful we have had the opportunity to raise this beautiful child for the last year, and we are very grateful that she is part of our forever family and that our little family is continuing to grow. Life is not without challenges, but our blessings more than make up for them.

 

12 things we love about our 12 month old:

1. Her curly red hair.

2. The joy and excitement she always has for everything in life.

3. Her contagious smile and adorable laugh.

4. Watching her learn and grow every day.

5. Her love of bananas, hotdogs, candy, and juice.

6. Amaya's hugs and kisses.

7. The fact that she is kind and friendly to every person she meets.

8. Her babbling baby talk (BA! Jubajuba mamama!)

9. The closeness we feel to Heavenly Father when she is around.

10. Her adventurous attitude.

11. Amaya's unconditional love for everyone.

12. Her beauty, inside and out.

Also, guess who's turning 25 tomorrow?