Lucy in 2013 (so far)

Not to be forgotten, Lucy is growing like crazy!  She's going to be six months old on Tuesday, and I can hardly believe it.  In many ways, I feel like Lucy and I are finally starting to hit a good groove together.  I'm meeting her needs, and she's starting to sleep on a consistent schedule... (that's all I ask!  Sleeping on a consistent schedule!)

It's so interesting to me to look at the differences between Clara and Lucy.  For instance, Clara has always been a bit slower to pick up on talking and language.  She didn't babble much as a young baby, and has remained a quiet toddler.  Lucy.  Oh my goodness, Lucy is a talker.  She's just crazy social.  While Clara was content to play by herself quietly, Lucy wants to be engaged.  It's great that she's a second kid, because Clara is great at engaging with her and getting her to play (making the demands on mom easier... yay!).

On the other hand, Clara made up for her lack of interest in talking by moving.  That girl was an early sitter, an early (and vigorous) crawler, and was running at 11 months.  Lucy doesn't seem as interested.  She's about six months old, and although we practice daily, she doesn't sit up on her own yet.  I'm not worried, but I find the contrast between my two girls (one a mover and quiet, the other a talker and content to be still) fascinating.

Oh, and I cannot tell you how excited I am that they really seem to like each other!  It's amazing!  I'm sure things are going to get more contentious as Lucy gets a bit more willful, but for now, it's so perfect.  Clara loves having an audience, and Lucy loves being an audience.  Lucy doesn't care if Clara takes her toy, and Clara loves to take her toys (sigh....).

I adore Lucy's dark hair and long, dark eyelashes.  I'm sure this is mostly my mother's bias, but I can't get over what a pretty baby she is.  I mean, it's ridiculous.  That skin, those cheeks, that DIMPLE, those big eyes with beautiful dark eyelashes.  Ridiculous.

While Lucy is turning 6 months old this week, we're still just barely venturing into solid foods.  Honestly, I'm lazy.  Even after goign to a baby food making party (and now I have TONS of homemade baby food!  Yay!) I'm still slow about actually pulling out the food and heating it up and spooning it in for Lucy.  And she hasn't taken too kindly to anything I've given her.  She's interested, definitely.  She's always grabbing at my food when I'm eating, and she's fasinated to watch us eat at dinner, but if I try to spoon anything for her, she makes the funniest faces, and then refuses to open her mouth.  I'm sorta waiting until she can sit up on her own, and then I think I'm just going to give her basic finger foods, I don't think she likes the spoon to mouth thing.

She is such a happy baby who loves to interact and play, and we sure do love her.

Clara in 2013 (so far)

Clara has really hit that hilarious toddler phase.  As cliche as it sounds, she really does make us laugh every day.  More than that, she amazes me every day.  Here are some fun things she's been doing and saying:

1. She loves her princesses.  Like, wow.  LOVES her princesses.  Her love of princesses came out of nowhere.  We don't own a princess movie.  We don't read princess books.  But somehow, she saw the figurines and knew exactly what they were, and she plays with them every.single.day.  And I love it.  I love that she's found something she loves.

2. She loves wearing "princess dresses."  She asks to wear a princess dress every day.  She gets so excited on Sunday, because it means she can wear her prettiest dresses.

3. Clara loves nursery, and every morning she asks if she can go.  The reason we survive Sacrament Meeting is that we can say, "In a few minutes you can go to Nursery!  So be quiet so you can go!"  Works like a charm.

4. She has seriously surprised me with how quickly she picks up music.  I know some people are surprised saying, "But you're a musician!  Of course your kid is musical!"  But I really didn't  feel that way, because I'm not a naturally talented musician (meaning I don't pick up songs and melodies by ear easily).  Clara, on the other hand, picks up melodies quickly and remembers them for days.  And she learns so many songs through nursery that I have never, ever sung for her.  It's so amazing.  But my favorite thing is when I sing her a song, and she cuddles in and says, "I like that song, Mommy." *melt*

5. Clara adores Lucy.  She loves to make Lucy smile and laugh.  When they have been playing together, and Lucy gets a bit overwhelmed and needs me to pick her up, Clara get's upset and says, "Lucy lay down!" and pats the place where she was, right next to her.

6. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is her favorite show.  She asks for Daniel Tiger every morning.  She named her stuffed bear "Tiggy" after Daniel Tiger's stuffed tiger, Tiggy.  Cute, right?

7. She is so so so sneaky.  If I'm not careful with her pacifier, my phone, or any delicious food, she can get her stool and get it on almost any surface.  It's my life very complicated.

busy season has hit...

.... and honestly, I'm not sure if I'm ready!  Things get crazy for Jordan at work every year between March and the first few weeks of June.  He often works 10 hours a day, and there will be many days where he works 14-16.  It's not my idea of a good time.  Frankly, it's not Jordan's idea of a good time, either.  We just have to push through, and know the majority of the year, he works a relatively easy schedule.

To ease this time for both of us, I decided to go to Alaska for the entire month of May and into the first  week of June.  That way Jordan can work 14 hour days and not feel guilty, and I am not stuck at the house by myself with kids for days on end.  Also, my family hasn't met Lucy yet (except Robin!), and I know they are just dying to see her.  And finally, if I'm going to get on a plane with my 2 little kids, the trip better be totally worth my time!  The great news is that on my way there, my sister Robin and my beloved aunt Renee (with her new baby) will be with me for my flight up.  All I have to do is survive my trip back alone with two kids.  I can pretend that's never going to happen, right?

We've started to add some really great things to our house to make it a home.  The biggest thing is our new, amazing, beautiful piano.  I love it.  Oh, how I have missed having a piano.  It makes me feel connected to the world I used t be apart of.  It makes me excited to teach my kids music, and to play the primary songs so they know every single one.

I've started to teach a couple of voice lessons.  My first student is this great gal I managed to recruit off of craigslist, and she's pretty much a perfect voice student.  Practices, doesn't want to sound like Kesha, comes to me with perfect questions that lead into great voice lessons... really, amazing.  Really, the only drawback is that she's really nervous and won't sing in front of me!  We finally discovered a system that I think works for us: she records herself singing at home and sends it to me.  It's been fun to be problem solving and thinking about singing again.

Jordan's in mourning that BYU football is over.  BYU Basketball doesn't really cover it, especially on this down year.  He's also disappointed the Jimmer is way under-utilized for the Sacramento Kings.  Free Jimmer!

The weeks are going by so quickly.  Soon, busy season will be over and we can function as a normal family unit again.  Yay!

2012 in Review

Remembering 2012, here we go!

January: We were finishing up the process of buying our house!  I found out I was pregnant with Lucy halfway through the month, and the morning sickness started a couple of weeks later.

January fun

February: We got the keys to our house, but we had the whole month to move in.  I hate moving, so it was stressful, but Jordan did a good job of working lots of hours and doing all the packing.

This is how I remember feeling in February...

March: We officially live at our new house, and started going to our new ward.  Back in January before I found out I was pregnant, I had decided to go visit Kelly (Jordan's sister) in Connecticut.  The flight were horrible!  Clara was incredibly difficult, and my morning sickness is made much worse by planes and motion sickness.  But I had a BLAST in Connecticut   Jordan went to LA for the Healthcare Conference for his work while I was away and learned how to play golf!

Clara and Caroline in Hartford

April: Ok, I can't remember April much.  Getting hotter, getting more pregnant, Clara talking more.  The usual.  :)

One of the few pictures we took in April...

May: AMY AND HYRUM CAME TO VISIT AND IT WAS AWESOME!  Seriously, though, we had so much fun and I can't wait to do it again at some point in the future.  We played, went to the Musical Instrument Museum, made ice cream, and generally had a great time.  We also found out that we were having another little girl in May!  I was so so excited to have have two little girls.

Clara and Hyrum eating homemade ice cream

June: Tons of business.  First, my cousin Melissa and her husband Thomas stayed at our house for a couple of days.  We played games and talked a bunch, it was so fun!  After that, we headed to Utah for Jordan's family reunion (happening at the same time as the extended family Hull Reunion and the Thompson Reunion).  It was so fun, but WAY too short.  I had gotten used to spending weeks with Jordan's family, and I hated that this was over in 6 days (I couldn't stop crying at the end because I didn't want to say goodbye and I was pregnant).  After we got home, three days later I had to get on a plane with Clara and go spend 6 1/2 weeks in Alaska.  The day I was supposed to leave, I got very sick and I wasn't sure if I could make it, but I got on that dumb plane anyway and we made it to Fairbanks in one whole, very tired piece.  The next day was my dear friend Katelin's wedding, which I was both a bridesmaid and singing in the wedding, so that was lots of craziness.

Taking pictures for Daddy with Mom all dressed up for Katelin's wedding

July: I spent the WHOLE MONTH in Fairbanks!  We played with cousins and aunts and uncles and Grandmas and Grandpas and overall had a grand time.  I loved the cool weather while I was in my third trimester.  I managed to get the flu AGAIN while I was in Alaska, and I had to spend an afternoon in the hospital getting IV fluids and having some extremely painful contractions.

Dressed up as book charaters at a Library party at Alaskaland

August: I had so much fun in Alaska, I didn't want to leave.  I almost asked Jordan if I could extend my already lengthy trip (poor guy), but after I got home, I had to turn around AGAIN and fly to Utah for Kaitlyn and Eddie's wedding!  Alright, I won't lie, that trip was so hard.  It was hot, I was 33 weeks pregnant, I had to walk all over temple square and I was having contractions like crazy.  But the wedding was beautiful!  After we got home, that was it, no more traveling until the baby was born.

Clara and cousin Hannah helping Grandma Hull Cook

September: Lucy was born on the 19th!!!!  YAY!  I'm so glad she's here and apart of our family.  She's so beautiful and so sweet.

Brand new little Lucy!

October: Robin came to stay with us to help with the baby for a week, and then my MIL came for another weeks and she completely redid my house!  LOVE IT!  Clara was a very cute little owl for Halloween, and Lucy was a football.

Cute girls!

November: Pinetop and Eagar for Thanksgiving!  It was so nice getting out of Phoenix for a bit.

Hanging out in Pinetop with Mom

December: Christmas with just our little family, and it was so nice.  Really, we have been so blessed, and it's been wonderful to remember that this time of year.

Happy Sisters!

And here's to a new year with fun adventures and plenty of time with family!

Christmastime in the face of tragedy

This Christmas has been one of my most difficult years.  I have missed my family.  I have missed the snow.  I have have missed my husband, who has needed to put in long hours of work.  I have felt overwhelmed with trying to establish Christmas for my 2 year old when I have a newborn who requires so much attention, and who kinda binds me to the house.  I have missed sleep.  Really, I have missed sleep a lot.  The truth is, it hasn't felt much like Christmas at all.  Sure, I have a tree, but I have really struggled to grab that Christmas feeling.

Last night I was feeling particularly sorry for myself.  There was a relief society Christmas Progressive dinner I really wanted to attend, but Jordan had to work late again.  He worked really hard to come home in time so that I could at least go to the dessert (where I had signed up to bring a dish).  I almost didn't go, thinking it wasn't worth it.  But Jordan pushed me out the door with my brownies, and I showed up just in time at the last house.  I was lucky, the majority of the program was at this particular house, so I got to attend the most important part (yay!).  There was a wonderful speaker who talked about doing three things to make this a Christ centered holiday:

1. Look at yourself in the mirror and see yourself the way the Savior sees you.
2. Compliment someone everyday.
3. Find something magical in the season everyday.

I was touched by this list.  These were exactly what I was struggling with, and I went home a little teary, remembering the tender mercies of the Lord, that He knows me.  I was all geared up for the next day, ready to feel Christmasy armed with my little to-do list that was surely going to make everything better.

Then, today, the horrible news about the shootings in Connecticut   I think everyone is horrified.  How can I feel the Christmas spirit when there's such evil?  When there is so much pain?  I think of the terror those sweet babies must have felt.  The horror their parents feel.  Can't we just cancel Christmas this year?

And then for the first time, I feel like I've been able to feel what Christmas is about.  The strains of "Peace on Earth" that we hear over and over in the hymns.  I think we often hope that the world will be saved by someone who will totally eradicate evil, will make these events a thing of the past.  And I do believe that day will come, and I, along with the rest of the world, hope and pray for that day.  But the peace that Christmas brings, that the Savior brings, is the peace of the Atonement.  It's not peace in the outside world, but peace in our own hearts, it's the peace that we choose.  I know that there was a child, a Savior, born of Mary, who went on to live a life of kindness, of goodness and of compassion.  He suffered in Gethsemane  where He felt all the pain in this world, so he could more fully understand our suffering, and perfectly know how to heal us.  I know that through Him all the wrongs in this world can be made right.  I also know that there is life after death, that this is not the end.

That little baby whose birth we celebrate a Christmastime, He brought all of this goodness into the world.  And the peace I feel know is my knowledge that He is perfect, and all will be made right through Him.  And so, as I think of this tragedy today, I mourn with those that mourn, and I feel grief, but I also feel peace.  I will look to the Savior this Christmas, and teach my children of His Goodness, and pray that all will feel of His Peace.

"And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem... she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.  And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.  And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.  Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people..."

Book of Mormon, Alma 7:10-13

Clara

I haven't written a post about Clara lately, because writing about Clara is too complex for me.  She's just turning into this amazing, funny little person, and I can never quite capture it when writing.  But I'm going to try to write some stuff, if nothing else so I remember.

She LOVES being a big sister, and has been an absolute dream.  We were warned over and over again about jealousy and that she would have such a hard time with the baby.  I am so grateful that neither of these things were true for Clara.  She wakes up every morning saying, "Baby?  Baby?" and runs to find her.  She gives Lucy unsolicited kisses, and understands that she needs to be very gentle.  She's always been very sensitive when Lucy cries, and gets concerned, offering her binkie and saying, "Momma!  Baby crying!"  When Lucy cries in the car, she very gently but firmly says, "Lucy, stop.  Lucy, stop."  Never yells at her or gets mad, more like she's enforcing a rule.  With that, just the last few days Lucy has shown a lot more interest in Clara.  When Clara passes, Lucy looks at her and smiles.  I think we're getting into big-sister-will-make-little-sister-laugh territory.  I know it's too soon to tell, but I'm so hopeful that they'll like each other and want to play together.  Jordan and I were discussing this the other day, and we realized that Clara is ALWAYS going to love Lucy and want to play with her, that's just her personality.  Really, it's whether or not Lucy is going to get annoyed with Clara...

Clara's talking is really taking off!  She was a little later than some kids, but I wasn't too worried.  It fits her personality that she waited to talk until she was a bit more confident.  Our biggest issue now is that her binkie is really in the way, and I haven't been disciplined enough to take away the binkie during the day.  Sometimes, even without the binkie, she'll talk like she has it in her mouth.  Other than that, she says new and funny things every day!  And I'm surprised at how much she really understands me.

When you have a second baby, teaching the concept of "patience" is an absolute necessity.  And I'm very lucky to have Clara, who has always been naturally patient.  Sometimes I simply can't do things right away for her because of Lucy or we're in the car or something, and I can say, "Clara, you're going to have to wait.  Can you wait a little bit for me?  I promise I will do this/get that/play with you as soon as I'm done."  She always says yes.  Now, how long "wait" means varies depending on how tired she is, but overall I think her abilities are very impressive for a 2 year old.  I try to ALWAYS follow through to re-enforce the idea that if you wait, you can get what you asked for, but really, it isn't me.  Clara just has a really sweet, patient temperament, and for that I am so very, very grateful.

She loves loves loves Jordan.  Those two are like peas in a pod.  When he's home, they play and play and play, and Clara wants to copy everything he does.  When she's hurt, she cries for Daddy.  She will do things for him that she'll NEVER do for me (like eat dinner!).  I love watching them, and I"m so glad they're so close.

Clara's imagination is really blooming.  She loves her stuffed animals and they are her "babies."  She likes to name them them after her friends.  She puts them to bed, feeds them food and chews them out ("Stop it.  Now!").  She also loves her blocks.  She likes to build things and then show me and Jordan.

I could go on and on all day, and you'd  only see a fraction of her sweet personality.  I am so grateful she is mine.  She makes me smile every day.

Adventures in newborn sleep...

... well, "adventures" could actually translate quite well to "tears" for all involved (except Jordan, I suppose).  I'm not good with the whole sleep deprivation thing.  Sometimes I just cry, and then I feel like a horrible mother.  Why am I crying?  I'm such a wimp.

Anyway, Lucy keeps me guessing.  There's actually some really good things happening with her sleep.  1- She's got her days and nights going right, and her bedtime has moved up to between 5:30-6, which is where it's supposed to be (at least according to Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child, my favorite sleep book).  When she goes down at night, she sleeps all night (meaning when she eats, she doesn't expect to play, she just goes back to sleep).  She did this all naturally, and I'm very grateful.  2- We have gotten into a great routine of Eat, Play, Sleep.  She doesn't want to be nursed to sleep, which is both a blessing and a curse (more on this later).  Her awake times are about 1 hour, and then she naps for 45 min-2 hours and then she eats.  It's a good schedule.  Sometimes I can even get her to go to sleep on her own when I put her down drowsy.  Maybe about 25% of the time.  Not bad.

Now, for the bad.  She sleeps for 8 hours at night.  Yay!  Those hours are 6pm-2am.  BOO.  I have tried to move it.  Feed her when I go to sleep, etc.  No luck.  She feels the need to wake up and eat between 2-4, no matter what I do.  It's so lame.  I think I just have to wait for her to out-grow it.

If she's awake for much longer than an hour, she becomes extremely overtired and is incredibly difficult to put to sleep.  She just gets herself so worked up nothing can calm her down.  While I love I don't have an eat-sleep association, it would be so helpful if she would eat and calm down when she was so worked up and exhausted.  Alas, she refuses to nurse when she's really angry.  This is a total turn around from Clara, who LOVED nursing.  Feeding her could solve any problem, and I loved how I always had the ability to calm her down.  With Lucy, I feel so powerless sometimes.  When she got her vaccinations, I was already to take her and feed her and get her soothed before we left.  She would.not.latch.  It was upsetting for me, I felt like I had failed her as her mother.  :(

The biggest issue is that Lucy is so routine bound that when we mess it up, she won't sleep.  She struggles to sleep in car seats, and I have tried every carrier and she kinda hates all of them.  Church is bad, but the evening after church is an absolute nightmare.  She doesn't sleep at church (remember how she won't sleep in car seats?), so when it comes time to go to bed she's so overtired that it's nearly impossible to get her to stay asleep.  This has caused me to be quite home bound.  It's just not worth it to leave in almost all cases.  I'm looking forward to the day I can leave the house and know I won't pay for it later...

Anyway, that was a whole bunch of whining on my part, I know.  I remind myself it does get better, and eventually she will sleep.  Frankly, with some of the good habits she has so far, she should sleep through the night sooner than Clara did (11 months).  Until then, I'll dream of 5 hours of consecutive sleep...