A Happy Day Indeed

 A new mama bird took over my planter shortly after Lilly was born. She now has two babies :)

 Lilly's cord stump finally fell off the day before Mother's Day, so she got to have her first real bath! She was pretty much terrified and screamed through most of it. Maybe she won't be a fish like her brother?

 Being Mother's Day, I wanted to attend church with my family. This was Lilly and I's first time going. We showed up late to sacrament and left early, but I was really happy to be there.

 My sister and her family came up for a night to meet Lilly. They came to church and brought dinner; it was wonderful to see them and made it extra fun to spend Mother's Day together. Addie loved helping me pick out Lilly's outfits and accessories.

 Kolby was surprisingly the most fond of her. He held her more than anyone else. Who knew the nearly 13 year old had such a soft spot for baby girls? It was pretty sweet.

Evan was SUPER excited that Mommy and Lilly were going to finally come to church :) And they were adorably matched, not even on purpose.

 This was the best picture of me and my kids we could get. Someone is way too wiggly and makes pictures blurry.I'll give you a hint...

 She is not the wiggly one. She slept through church and I enjoyed the wonderful talks on Mother's while Evan was entertained by his cousins. I was grateful to be able to attend and feel the spirit while reflecting on the amazing women in my life.

My impressively thoughtful husband gave me some gorgeous earrings that have both kids birthstones in them. Evan's blue topaz surrounded by Lilly's diamonds. (She was born with expensive taste!) I was so shocked and love love love having some mother's jewelry. Perhaps that was his way of buttering me up since he left to go on travel the next day for a week. Somehow he has managed to leave me both times before the babies are even one month old. How do I not have any veto power?!

And here are just a few reasons that make being a mother extra awesome for me these days:

 When the first alert smiles start to come.

When your son insists on having a badge so he can go to work with Dad, then "works" all day long.

 When this happens in the same room as you and two other adults, and no one knows how.

When they're sleeping, and decked out in purple, too.

For records purposes-Lilly had her one month check-up and in doc's words, "She is growing beautifully". She is 9lbs 4.5oz (@birth: 8lbs 10.8oz, left hospital @8lbs 2oz) and 22 1/4 inches(@birth:21 inches). Dr says although she looks quite lean, it's just because she is tall, so we shouldn't worry. Uh yeah, have you seen her brother?? It's been a really busy month, and we are all still adjusting. It seems physically impossible to be up and out of the house before 11am, and only this week have I started getting dressed each day AND making dinner. And that's only happening because my sister is here helping out. Here's to figuring life out before month 2!

Little Girl Baby Milk Breath Sister Squishy Lady

 That's just a few of the most popular things we call our Lilly Lu around here.

 My sweet little friend Mer-Mer, who wouldn't give Lilly back to her Mom :)

 My sweet little pea pod

 These kids seriously love each other. You would think I pose them for these kind of adorable pics. Nope, Evan truly cannot get enough of her, and is next to her every chance he can get. And Lilly is just as enthralled with him. Love, love, love.

 If you can catch Lilly asleep on her back, she sleeps just like Evan did, with both hands straight above her head.

 Oh wait, I mean how Evan DOES sleep :)

 My favorite thing ever is when Evan comes home from church and runs in to tell me all about nursery. He loves to show me the pictures he made, the stories he learned, and his treat he gets from the Bishop. He is the cutest.

 Early morning snuggles. Seriously, he cannot get enough of her.

There is so much Evan in Lilly. We were laughing so hard the other night when she was pulling this face, looking up at me with her strong neck and giant eyes. This was Evan's signature move!

 Spring has sprung in the desert, which is beautiful, but hot (we're talking high 90's for weeks) and very windy. The oleanders are my favorite when they bloom.

 Of course, Evan's favorite flowers he sees are dandelions. Luckily, our front yard is made of rocks and he doesn't find them very often, because he always wants to pick them for me, and make me put them in my hair.

 Apparently I need to invest in a double stroller. Evan was thrilled to go for a walk, but it must have been too hot or something that day, because this is how more than half of our walk went.

 She is the cutest darn little flower I ever did see.

 Trying to prove to my sister that my baby has some chub...

 Evan and Lilly LOVE getting ready for naps together. We sing songs and Evan always has to try to make her smile before we go to sleep.

 He is the absolute sweetest. After we have gone through our routine, he likes to just sit and snuggle with her for a bit :)

 This kid works so hard being mommy's helper and a good brother all day, he exhausts himself. He just passed out at snack time!

 We just needed to document Nate's dinner from last night. This burrito had to come in a pizza box because that's the only thing it could fit in. Don't worry, he didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting. I should have laid Lilly next to it, so you could understand just how ridiculously huge this thing was. I'm pretty sure the burrito would win in length and weight against Lilly.

 She is quite the little fuzzball after her bath. I just love her electricity shocked hair! :)

Things we've learned in the last 3 weeks about this little lady:

She gets the hiccups probably twice a day. It's hilarious to me, because she got hiccups all of the time in the womb. I never felt hiccups with Evan, so I think it's pretty funny that they have carried over with her.

She is a night owl, like her parents. Or maybe she has just figured out that the only time of day she'll get attention from her parents is when her brother is in bed. She really sleeps a vast majority of the day, but is wide awake starting about 730pm, which is when we are getting Evan ready for bed. She stays awake for hours after that :)

She hates having her diaper changed. I'm glad she came modest. That should save me lots of stress later in life.

She's got her daddy wrapped around her teeny tiny pinky. She can do no wrong in his eyes. It's kind of adorable.

Livin' the Life

 Lilly is two weeks old today, and I must say, life is pretty darn good.

We still aren't in the all clear zone for her jaundice yet, but we are doing our best to bake it out of her.

 Early morning tanning sessions in the car

 

  I was shocked one day to look back at her in her car seat, and she was so tiny!!

 I see her all day every day, but sometimes it still catches me off guard how very itty bitty she is. And she's a good 8 and half pounds! I can't imagine babies being any smaller.

 

She had her first bath, and didn't seem to mind it at all. This pic looks EXACTLY the same as Evan's first bath pic, except for the pink towel, and she has chub in her cheeks, unlike skinny little Evan.

 I am obsessed with all of her hair.

 Even if it has come in quite sparatically

 Last weekend, while baking Lilly outside, Nate decided he needed to plant a fruit tree in our backyard. Evan was ecstatic to work outside with Daddy, and was an awesome helper.

 They made sure to take lots of water breaks :)

Poor little desert child...

This is Lilly's seat when we are having dinner. She's a champ sleeper and just goes with the flow.

 She spends a whole lot of time in the boppy. It's a safe place :)

With Evan, I always feared he would get spoiled because we held him too much. With Lilly, I'm worried she is not being held enough! It seems that as soon as I'm done feeding and burping, I need to put her down somewhere and give Evan some attention. This was a rare moment of hanging out with mom. I think Evan was at a friend's house during this time :)

 She is definitely a side sleeper, if she's given the freedom to move during her sleep.

 What do you know? So is he. Everybody in this house tries to catch some extra zzz's whenever possible.

Evan still loves Lilly, which I am kind of surprised by! He has not asked to have her sent back yet. He always has to know where she is, and anytime he can catch her with her eyes open, he loves to be right next to her, snuggling and telling her all about what's going on around them.

 I was folding laundry on the bed, and Evan was keeping himself entertained by sharing his cars with Lilly. He is truly the sweetest. It brings me utter joy to watch him interact with her.

 Now that I am starting to feel a little more like myself these days, and not so hit-by-a-semi-truck, bring on the bows!

 Too bad we don't ever go anywhere to show off her cuteness. And she even spits up so much, and goes through several outfits a day, that means more bow matching! 

 Nate's best friend from high school, Kylie, sent this fabulousness in the mail today.

 An Aggie bow!!!!! Any guesses how crazy happy this made me?! Thank you, thank you, Kylie!! You rock!

My thoughts as of week 2:

It feels kind of surreal to think that I have 2 kids. That makes me feel way old when I say that out loud. At the same time, everything feels very complete right now. I love my little family. And it really feels like a family. I love so very much when Nate is home with us at night, because everything just feels right. Before Lilly, when Nate would get home, I thought of it as a break for me. Now, when he gets home, I just feel so good, because all of us are together. Life is good. I feel very fortunate to be where we are in life right now. The timing has all been right with our kids and our marriage and everything. Even physically, where we are right now, is a tremendous blessing. Our ward has gone above and beyond to take care of us and help us out; it's humbled me to have been so served. I've been touched. Have I mentioned life is good?