"I LOVE YOU BIG AS A..."

There's a little game that Carter loves to play that I am pretty sure he learned from his grandpa & grandma. 

He says, "Mom, I love you big as a giraffe."
And I say, "Really? I love you Carter big as an elephant!"

And we go back and forth naming the biggest animals we can think of. Sometimes we play the game with the biggest cars and tractors or the biggest things we can think of in nature. I'll never forget when I told him for the first time that "I loved him as big as the sky." His eyes were so big and he said, "Mom! The sky is huge!" haha 

It's a quick, simple part of our day but one of those moments that makes me feel so grateful for the opportunity to be a Mom.

Carter, you may forget that we ever played this game on a daily basis but I'll never let you forget how much I love you! 

A MINI DATE WITH CARTER

Two weekends ago, I took Carter on our first little date together. I'm calling it a "mini date" because we just went to Golden Spoon for our favorite froyo. I hurried and showered after our day at the beach while Daron got Carter ready. After Carter got out of the shower, he told Daron, "Dad I need underwear! I can't go on my date naked!" haha Life lessons from Carter are good ones!

The whole "date" thing totally fascinated Carter. He double checked with me about a thousand times that Naomi really wasn't coming and sang the entire car ride over, "We're goin' on a date!" I was so surprised because Carter generally never stops talking. Truly. But on our date, he was unusually quiet. He just wanted to sit and eat his ice cream and then occasionally he would ask me a question or be silly for me. 

I took a picture of my cone because for the first time in I think two decades, I changed up my order! I never get a cone but this one hit the spot. Carter got his usual... vanilla with gummy bears. (Sometimes he will switch up gummy bears for m&ms). 

Then of course I had to take a few pictures of him...

It made me a little sad how wierd it felt to be out with only one of my children. I've definitely made a mental note to set aside alone time with this kid outside the house! I don't think it will be hard either since Carter has asked almost every day since when our next date is... 3-year-olds, they have no problem holding you accountable! 

Can't wait for our next outing, Carter!

WORTHWHILE

My two favorite little people in their Sunday best...

Exciting things around here... Carter is finally learning to grab/hug his sister without choke holding her. This is a very welcomed skill! As these two interact more, life definitely gets more fun (crazier but fun!). They are already conspiring against me though which I am not ready for.  Carter's latest stunt is locking the bathroom door on me so Naomi can have a free for all with the toilet. I can hear Carter giggling while she goes to town... stinkers!

Being a mom has been harder than I ever anticipated. I think I hesitate to write this because sometimes I feel this point is exaggerated and as hard as the job is it's equally as rewarding. But in the end, it's definitely what I have thought and therefore part of my story, so I'm writing it down. When I look back, I remember little things people said that should have given me a clue but I really had no idea. I had Carter and was like, "Woah! What the heck!?" I honestly was disturbed that my mom had 5 children! haha! I was so, so blown away. (Postpartum depression had a part in this). But still, I was in awe of women/mothers everywhere for so many reasons. With how hard the job can be at times, I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have that every effort, every sacrifice I make to do the best job I can is worth it! In a recent general conference, I remember very clearly Elder Russell M. Nelson saying, "No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting!" He said it so emphatically. It really struck me. Sometimes, I worry about how I am doing or the challenges I will go through raising my kids as they grow up but I find so much comfort in the fact that this work is not only important but incredibly worthwhile. 

And I already can't wait for next Sunday when we get to go to church and I get to hangout with Carter and Naomi in their church attire. Seeing Carter in suspenders and a tie never gets old and dressing a girl, well that has been so much better!!!

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.