RIVIERA

A few snippets from one glorious beach night at Riviera in San Clemente. The beach is a blast with Carter & Naomi right now. Naomi steals my beach chair and doesn't really leave my side but I don't mind because trying to keep track of Carter (and his accomplice Lorenzo) is busy enough! 

We were all very proud of Carter and Lorenzo. They played so well with the sticks they found. They didn't hit each other once! They ran around together all night with Ellie and hardly stopped to take a breath. Daron also got to join us which was a real treat. Our Saturdays have been so busy we haven't yet made it to the beach in the day as a family. I've been dying for him to be able to see Naomi play in the waves. She can't get enough and it's the cutest!

^^Cousins in those bumps right there! Me and Ellery have always wanted to pregnant together. The time has finally come! Third times a charm :)

Slow down summer!!!! You're going by way, way too fast!

LIFE WITH THESE TWO...

A few throwbacks from my camera roll of life with Carter & Naomi. Life with Naomi has been so much better than I imagined. Two kids, in my opinion, has been much more fun than one. Daron always tries to make me explain this to him but I don't know how. One of my go-to phrases in life has always been the more the merrier! so maybe I like more going on? Maybe I appreciate the increase in chaos, I don't really know. 

^^ Carter helping bathe his baby sister for the first time

Going through old photos I realized how much time we spent hangin' around the house. I thought we got out a lot at the beginning but maybe we didn't!? I love each photo of Carter loving on his baby sister. He has been more protective than I anticipated. When Naomi was younger, strangers had a habit of grabbing her out of my arms to hold her. Carter's little face would turn to sheer panic each time and he would start yelling, "That's my baby sister!" I remember the time at Nordstrom and Costco very vividly. It was so embarrassing but his protective nature was also incredibly endearing and inside, I really liked it because who are these people swooping Naomi out of my arms!? ha! I still don't quite understand why people do that. 

My favorite moments though are when he lays a good one on her. A big fat smooch on her nose or forehead. 

^^ haha!

Of course, there has been tons of this...

^^He probably just got through throwing that car at her head... 

and the pesting... oh, it may kill me! Carter can't not touch or tackle or hug/suffocate Naomi 1,389 times a day. And if she's sleeping, it's a constant, "Mom. Mom. Mom. Is Naomi up?" and then when we finally hear her cry, very high pitched squeals come out of his mouth while he sprints to her room. 

All the pesting and bugging of each other totally escapes my mind when I see this though...

Oh, and it should be documented how Naomi has spent more than half her life...

^^She's a good sport.

Oh, how I love these two with my whole heart. They're so lucky to have each other but I'm luckier to have them...

OH, BABY!

Baby #3 is well on it's way, ready or not! The news was a bit of a shock for me at first. (Yes, I know how babies are made). But we can't wait to meet this baby in January. This third time around is sort of blowing my mind. I wake up feeling like my current 13 weeks. After lunch, I feel (and look) like I'm 25 weeks and my after-dinner-bump looks well into it's 3rd trimester, all in a day's work! It's kind of alarming but also laughable.

It's been really fun to have Carter be old enough to understand what is going on. (Although, I'm still a little tongue-tied every time he asks how the baby is going to come out of me. I'll never forget when he asked, "Mom, does the baby just pop out?" ha! Luckily, with that one I was able to say, "Actually yes, Carter!" and I wasn't lying). The night we told him, he kept saying, "Oh, I can't wait to have lots of baby sisters because I love them so much." He hasn't caught on to the fact that this baby could be a baby brother yet!

Naomi's pregnancy was quite the doozy for me. Friends and family can attest to that! I've promised myself that this go around, no matter how I feel, I'm going to try and have a positive attitude. So far, it's made a huge difference. At the end of Naomi's pregnancy, it felt as if I had been pregnant for a decade. It took my mind and body I think 6 months after she came out to realize I wasn't pregnant anymore. This one has been the complete opposite. It's already flown by and with it being summer and then the holidays right around the corner, I'm feeling like this baby will be here tomorrow! 

See you soon, baby!!

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!