THE CELEBRATION

We celebrated Naomi's birthday by first running into her room all at once to sing to her. Thanks to that she knew something was different. I blew up balloons to put under her highchair which she loved and we started the morning off right with a candle and a stack of Swedish pancakes. She couldn't stop giggling and scrunching that button nose of hers. She had a hard time waiting for us to be done singing to her too. Daron had to hold her off while we sang because she was impatiently swatting at the pancakes. 

^When your parents put pancakes in front of you with no fork! ;)

Later that afternoon, her Aunt Ellery and cousins, Ellie and Lorenzo, came over to celebrate. I cooked everyone pasta and then we had VG's cupcakes for dessert. Naomi loved all the cousins surrounding her while she devoured her cupcake. 

It was sort of amazing to watch her eat it. She slowly took it apart and stuffed her face one bite at a time with those two adorable fingers of her's. And, in typical Naomi fashion, I barely had to wipe her face at the end because she licks every last morsel she can find. She was impressively ladylike about the whole thing. This happened to be completely opposite from her older brother's first birthday. (I'll never forget this day!)

I can't believe she is one. Fastest year of my life. 

ONE

A few of my favorite photos of Naomi during her first year from my iPhone. How much they change in one short year!? I forgot so many things about her... like those delicious cheeks she had and her mohawk that had a mind of its own! I often say Naomi is the sweetest baby that ever lived. At one, she can wave, give the best kisses, say hi, bye, and mama. She is much more social than her older brother was as a baby waving to anyone she can. Often, I will be in a store and not realize she is waving and saying "hi" to the person behind us in line. She loves food more than life and will eat just about anything you put in front of her. She will not sleep if there is a party going on and gets very upset if I try to put her down. She will sit in my lap for minutes at a time (also very different from her brother) and has a calm, peaceful disposition. The only time she gets grumpy is if I don't feed her fast enough. She has the cutest nose scrunch you ever saw and makes our family so incredibly happy. 

We love you more than life itself, Naomi. Happy Birthday!!!!!

THE DAY THEY MET

Naomi's first birthday a few weeks ago has had me incredibly nostalgic about the past year of our lives as a family of four.  A certain moment I keep replaying over and over in my mind because it was so, so good was the moment my two babies met for first time.

I remember the day like yesterday. Carter was bursting with excitement to meet Naomi. A friend had stopped by and while Daron was showing off Naomi to her, Carter ran inside the house straight to her room. When she wasn't there, he lost it. His 2 1/2 year-old self couldn't stop asking through big alligator tears, "Where's my baby sister!?"

Once we brought Naomi inside the house, my mom took Carter's shoes off and he jumped on the couch. He couldn't contain his excitement. Daron placed her on his lap and he gently cuddled her, stroking her head and hair and then half way through, he started touching her nose and saying, "Look at her tiny nose!" while giggling like crazy. It was the sweetest thing and not surprisingly, I was so emotional. You never know how the oldest child is going to react to a new little one around and so I had no idea what to expect. I don't have much to compare to obviously but Carter and Naomi's first meeting I think was as dreamy as it gets. He loved on her like crazy and, for the most part ;), hasn't stopped since!

Also, a little video of their first meeting... sort of the best moment of my life!

EASTER!

A few of my favorite snapshots from Easter weekend. Big news around these parts... the Easter Bunny finally found us this year! ;) We enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt at my parent's house and spent the rest of the weekend up there. I died all weekend from Naomi in her bunny ears. Carter was in heaven, as usual, with his cousins and this year, WE hid the eggs instead of my mom who hides them in ridiculously hard places and so it takes forever to find them. Truly, it gets to the point where it isn't fun anymore, ha! She does the same thing with our Christmas pajamas. 

These two little cousins are going to be future heartbreakers for sure... Their bond is so sweet to watch but beware, if you take your eyes off them you will pay for it! 

Our best attempt at a group picture of the cousins present.

Carter & Lorenzo loving on the newest addition to the family, Gabriel!

Easter Sunday...

And one more of Naomi because she's a little ball of sunshine that I can't get enough of! I love experiencing all the "firsts" that come with a baby's first year of life.

We never got around to dyeing Easter Eggs this year but we did make a big effort to focus on the true meaning of the holiday and it brought an incredibly sweet spirit into our home. We are so grateful for our Savior and know He lives! 

Also, last year's Easter (without out Miss Naomi!) and a few years before that, here. I'm not as consistent as I would like to be with this blog but I love seeing how much life changes over the quickly passing years! 

XOXO

PRAYERS BY CARTER

Carter's prayers go a little something like this...

Dear Heavenly Father, 

We're grateful for this day.
We're grateful for mommy and daddy.
We pray that we will be safe and kind and happy. 
We pray that Jesus and our sicknesses will be happy...
and that...
and that...
and that...
and that...
we will be safe.
And that Naomi will eat.
We are grateful for (lists the current friends he has played with that week).
We pray for a good night's sleep 
and we say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I don't want to forget what this kid's prayers once sounded like. It takes everything in me and Daron not to burst out laughing sometimes. One thing about it though, hearing Carter pray in that sweet voice of his is pretty much the best. 

And a word to our sweet boy... never stop praying, Carter!

A ROADTRIP TO UTAH TO MEET GENEVIEVE

We packed up and took a road trip to Utah to meet my best friend's baby, Genevieve. It felt a little crazy packing up the kids for such a quick trip but it ended up being worth every second. The kids surprised me how well they traveled. Lindsay Ham tagged along which made all the difference. I'm still a little nervous to tackle this drive alone with the kids. I think once Naomi is done nursing, we'll be game. 

We started out the drive at 9:00 in the AM and didn't pull into my sister's driveway in Alpine, UT until after midnight. It was a long day. But lucky for us, we had Carter to entertain us... that kid!

At one point, we caught him putting dried fruit in between his toes. Lindsay told me to look at Carter but not to laugh! (Because he was being naughty of course). But the moment I saw his sly smile with a dried pear between his toes, I died! I think it was funnier in the moment, but I cried I laughed so hard. 

We pulled in Thursday night. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were filled with sitting on a couch and taking in this sweet new baby. It was so nice to not be rushed for any events or have to split time which is usually the case when we are in Utah. We had one purpose: love on Genevieve. That's all we did and it was amazing!

^^ because, those baby blues!

At one point, we did get off the couch to go take a walk around the neighborhood. The fresh air felt nice and I discovered the back carry in the ergo! Naomi was one happy camper and I couldn't get enough of her sleeping on me like that. That's a rare event these days so I'll take it any way I can get!

These two, Naomi and Genevieve, are so darling together. I've dreamed about the day my children get to be best friends with my best friend's kids. It's surreal the day is finally here! I'm already excited for the day we can show these two pictures of us when we were little, what a day!

Saying goodbye wasn't fun.  It never is. There's so much love for this little girl and we all can't wait to watch her grow. Welcome to the world, Genevieve!

10 MONTHS

Our sweet girl turned 10 months old the Sunday before last. Naomi is really starting to come into her own. A few fun facts about her:

She has no teeth but that's not a problem because she inhales her food instead.
She could really use a hairnet when she eats. She loves to rub any and all food in her hair.
She puts one foot up in her high chair just like her brother.
When she wants more food, she makes an intense grunting sound.
She loves avocado toast topped with some havarti cheese.
Much of her life revolves around food.

She's beyond attached to me. She flirts with other people, draws them in and once they pick her up they almost drop her because she leaps back into my arms. Stinker.
She does the cutest wave you ever saw and accompanies it with a soft spoken, "Hi."
She's light as a feather but her cheeks pack a powerful punch.
She has a fixed gaze on her brother at all times.
Her favorite thing to do is knock over whatever castle he is making with his magna tiles.

She finally graduated from her snake-like army crawl to a normal one. 
The easiest way to make her laugh is to tickle her under her chin.
She has ocean blue eyes and the sweetest rosy cheeks.
She's getting braver and braver with standing.
Her smiles and giggles make me the happiest mom in the world.
And last but not least, no one believed me for a longest time that her doppleganger is Chris Farley but it's true!
(I'll never understand how someone can look so perfectly adorable and cute but also resemble him... a true mystery!)

Happy 10 months, Naomi!