In honor of the royal wedding . . .

I made a fascinator for the baby! It was so fun to create. Marc's response was, "It actually turned out a lot cuter than I thought." I can't wait to see her model it. And just to clarify, only the pink part is what she'll wear.

David knows his letter sounds

I didn't even realize he knew all of his letter sounds until one day Lucy was singing this song to him and he knew all of them! Such a smart little boy. David 23 months.

We said, "Lucy, give your brother a hug . . . "

and this was the picture we got.

Happy Easter 2011

Lucy in her Easter dress. Such a doll.

Notice the matching ties? I could have stared at these two all day.

Checking out the loot in the baskets

Lucy had to open each egg right then and see exactly what she got.

Neighborhood hunt the day before Easter. Brigham and David chilling after the hunt.

Lucy & Eliza hanging out too. It was great to have the cousins there.

All the cousins

Lucy & Eliza examining their goods.

Lucy loved finding her eggs. (Note me and the belly in the background)

What a lovely time to celebrate with family.

Decorating Easter Eggs

This girl thought this was just about one of the best things we've ever done for Family Home Evening.

It was so fun to watch her be so gentle and deliberate with each egg.

David on the other hand, would slam dunk each egg that was handed to him. It was pretty comical.

Of course Lucy loved the pink/red eggs the most.

Does this look like a face of contentment or what? I think she was very pleased with her efforts.

David had this very perplexed look on his face through most of the process. It cracked us up. The next day when I let them choose an egg for their breakfast (the kids usually eat hard boiled eggs really well). David just stared at his and wouldn't eat it at all.

Lucy with all of her creations.

The boy's creation.

We ended the activity with a book about Easter. I am pleased to report that Lucy could tell us that we celebrate Easter because "It was the day Jesus was resurrected" (her words) before she even knew what the Easter Bunny was. 

After we were all done, Lucy said she wanted to show Grandma Sampson her eggs. I told her she could show them to her tomorrow when Grandma would be at our house. Then I told her how when I was a little girl I used to decorate eggs with Grandma Sampson. She then said, "And when I was a little girl I used to decorate eggs with Grandpa Sampson!" Umm, ok?!?

Easter Preview

"Quick" trip to Vegas

My nieces were so cute with David and Lucy.

Lucy was in awe watching them all go to school. She has asked me several time since then when is it her turn to go to school too.

We got in late Friday night (due to our new car breaking down in St. George . . . long story short-the car didn't get fixed until Tuesday and Marc and I both missed presentations we were supposed to do for work . . . at least we got 2 more vacation days out of it all). First thing Saturday morning Lucy was playing dress up with her cousins. We also played with Marc's side of the family, but I forgot to take pictures while we were there. The kids did really well with one another though.

The kids did great on the drive. What did we ever do without ipads and rear entertainment systems?

Oh, maybe we read books, sang songs and talked with another. They actually did this for well over half of the drive. Such cute kids!

And the happy couple soaking up all the time they have to be together. I swear there is never enough time to just be together as a family.

Sometimes we know too much . . .

The most stressful part of when Lucy was a baby was that she was so tiny. We were constantly taking her in to be weighed, the pediatrician would give me all kinds new things to try with nursing, and it seemed no matter how hard we would work at it, that little munchkin just loved hanging out around the 8th percentile of weight for other babies her age.

I remember being at a friend's house and telling her Mother-in-law about my woes. I explained the percentiles, the growth charts, how long she would nurse, etc. This sweet Grandmother from Germany looked right at me and said, "You know, when I raised babies we just took them home and loved them. That's all that was asked of us. Nowadays you all know too much and you're too caught up in numbers. You would do better if you just relaxed." I remember thinking, she just doesn't understand. It is such a blessing to know all of this. "They" really know and it's my job to stress over these things.

I see this trend with other Mothers my age. We have really been set up in an environment of numbers and research. We have been taught to look for what may be "wrong" with our children from Autism to ADD. We are panicked at times all in the name of what may be "normal" for our children to be. I see this frequently when friends and family ask me for my opinion if I think their child may have some type of disorder.

I have thought about this a lot lately. Sure I am a HUGE believer in early intervention and I completely value the need to not be in denial as a parent when it comes to the needs of our children. But do you ever think that sometimes we know too much? That at times we are really good at over-reacting? Do you ever think that maybe that cute thing your child does when he flaps his arms may just be a fun little thing he does that you can recall with laughter later? That maybe when your child does only 1 of about 20 things required to diagnose them as having Autism, that maybe you could just embrace it and not stress over it.

I feel like there are some very precious moments and "quirks" about my children that have been robbed from me by these so-called experts who have me so anxious about what they may really mean or if something might be "wrong" with my child.

How naive I was when I first heard the advice of the sweet German Grandmother. I have been trying lately to embrace her advice. To love and enjoy my children and stop stressing over every little thing. I will not allow another expert take away my love and joy for my children. I want to embrace their silly idiosyncrasies and awkward tantrums. I just want to love them for the 2 year-old and 3 1/2 year-old that they are. I don't want to compare them to a bunch of norms and percentiles from so-called experts. Yes, I will still value the advice of doctors and experts, but I will also value the motherly instincts I have been blessed with. And I will hold as my highest priority as a Mother that I just need to take my babies home and love them.

Valentine's Day Get-Away

These photos are a bit late b/c they were on Marc's phone. We had a lovely over-nighter without the children right around Valentine's Day. We went to Midway (one of our favorite areas-it is where we went for our honeymoon). We stayed at The Zermatt Resort where we went swimming, lounged around and made breakfast at the condo we stayed in. Then we were off to go snowshoeing.

I forgot the water bottle, but we had a sippy cup in the car so Marc filled it with snow for us to drink later-just in case. He is so resourceful ;)

As we were exploring Marc noticed something. We had stumbled across the cottage we stayed in for our honeymoon. It was so sweet and I loved that he realized it first.

We went back and cleaned up a bit and then we went to see this ice castle this man had created through sprinklers and freezing water. It was really amazing.

You could walk right through all of these different passage ways.

It was such a unique experience (and I love Marc in black).

I love the adventures I have with my love. And the kids had a great time while we were away thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Sampson!

Dear Lucy,

Oh my dear sweet little baby girl. I have this same picture on my dresser and you often grab it and say, "Oh Mom, remember this is me when I was a baby?" I always say, "Yes, I do remember. You were so sweet." You were my first baby. The first I felt move within me. The first I lovingly nursed.  The first time I touched you, something in my heart told me you were mine. Then I started to talk to you and Grandma Sampson pointed out that you looked right towards me . . . I knew at that moment I was finally the Mom I had been waiting to become.  Sweet Lucy, I am so grateful I can learn how to be a Mommy with you. I am not perfect, but you make me try so hard every day to give you my very best. You have taught me just how precious each moment is with my children and each day I treasure Motherhood more and more because of you. Thank you for helping me to understand just how valuable time really is.

And now you are growing into such a lovely lady (I love your dainty hands in this picture). You are so excited for your baby sister to come. You told me from the very beginning it would be a sister. I have no doubt you knew. I know from having my sister, that there is a very special bond that comes when Heavenly Father sends sisters to a family. You tell me often how you will take good care of "the baby in your tummy". And you talk about how you will read her books and sing her songs. I know you will be the best big sister ever.  You are anxious for her to get here and I know the love you have for her now will only multiply as you and her become dear friends. My Mom would always tell me, "Your sister is the one friend you will ALWAYS have in your life. She is a gift from Heavenly Father and  you need to be so grateful for her and treat her that way." I am so excited to see the gift of sisterhood grow in my own little family. I love you Lucy-goose. You will always be my Lucy-goosey-girl!

How David says his name

It took some time to get this recorded, but I'm so glad we did. This is how David says his name and it makes me smile every time!

Our newest addition

Last night we welcomed a 2006 Subaru Tribeca with 64,000 miles to our home.

The search for a family car has been going on for about a year now, but with #3 coming soon, we were really feeling motivated! (middle seat).

3rd row (it seats 7 total). These aren't the best pictures as it is just what we snapped real quick with the iphone-but you get the idea.

Welcome to the family! (Did you think our baby had arrived when you read the title? Then HAPPY APRIL FOOLS! ;)