This little 'chik...is 3 months old already!

I can honestly not believe that Aspen will be 3 months old this week! It seems like time flies even faster with the second baby! I think maybe if I blink twice she'll be headed off to school or something...yikes!

First, a little story.

See that onesie that she's wearing in the photo? With the little chick? Well, those of you who know me, know that I love kids. I have always loved kids. I dreamed about and wished for my own since I was one myself. Well, there were a few years there towards the end of my 20s when I wasn't sure if I was going to be blessed with the opportunity to have my own. I seriously considered, if I didn't get married soon, adopting some. Well, as fate would have it - or a few great dates, a couple of break-ups, a few even better dates, a proposal, some planning, a ring, and a wedding later - I found myself married to a most wonderful man, not to mention my best friend. We got married 2 weeks before my 30th birthday. Much to his *delight* I started buying cute baby clothes before I ever got pregnant. The Speesees onesie above is one of them. Jacob told me I could not put a onesie that said "'chik" on our baby boy, once he arrived, so I put it back in the box...for later. Well, now our dear Aspen gets to wear it. She is such a cute little 'chik! Dreams really do come true! (*gush*gush*)

Okay...now back to the task at hand. Here's a bit about our girl lately...

Aspen at 3 Months

-She sleeps peacefully through the night, most nights (a big switch from our all night parties the first 8 or 9 weeks!) She "dream feeds" once or twice during the night, and is enjoying the comfort of our shared bed. We are enjoying the comfort of not having to really wake up or get out of bed for feedings, for our family it is just such a natural thing to share sleep with our babies. I admit I adore this time when we cuddle up and sleep together...Aspen scoots her little body right up next to mine, turns on her side, and her little hands and arms wrap around mine as we sleep. It is especially nice to have this special connection time since she has an older brother she shares us with during the day.
-She rolls over (tummy to back). This happened first at 10 weeks. (We still need to get some video added...)
-She laughs. Her first real, intentional laugh (she often giggles in her sleep) was last week when one of Sawyer's lego "towers" came tumbling down a few feet in front of her. She was on her tummy. I'm not sure if it kinda startled her into a laugh or for some reason it tickled her funny bone and she burst out laughing. Today she started laughing when we were reading "The Little Engine That Could" and it got to the top of the mountain and all were shouting "hooray, hooray!" She thought it was funny. It was so dang cute to hear her burst out laughing!
-She loves to watch her big brother. Do anything. And everything. Her eyes follow him around the room, and even when he doesn't notice (though I try to call his attention to it) she smiles with glee at the things he does.
-Her big brother loves her. It is so sweet to see Sawyer interact with his baby sister. He tries desperately to share with her and we often find his little cars and trains beside her in the bouncy seat or swing. He "shows" her all of his animals and toys, and recently we all lay on our backs on the floor for story time and enjoy reading all together. We have been lucky in that all he has shown her is love. Perhaps any jealousy will show up later?
-She likes tummy time and really likes the "Jungle Gym". Sawyer likes doing these activities with her, briefly, before he moves on to more exciting things. It is cute to see the two, side by side, in the Jungle Gym. She is starting to get more control of her hands and tries to bat at the little animals dangling before her.
-She likes to suck on things. Lately, it is her hands/fingers. It makes me laugh to think I forbade the "binky" for Sawyer. He never cared. But she had her first suck on one in the hospital during her hearing exam, and she's been an addict ever since. She's such a Binky Baby. Although I think "binky" is such a weird name for a pacifier. So I call it her "bink-a". Probably just as bad, but oh well! It's more fun to say! I think we'll see if she'll trade in the binka for her fingers in the next few weeks...
-She enjoys the outdoors. And that's good because she will be seeing a lot more as the weather gets even warmer and more predictable.
-She "talks". Yes, she talks a lot, and is getting quite loud. She coos and sings and is having a great time experimenting with her voice. It's a lot of fun to have a "conversation" with her. And Sawyer thinks it's just too funny. When she starts making noises, he starts laughing and says "talking, talking!" Well, she is. We just don't quite know exactly what she's talking all about...yet.
-She is a very happy and "easy" baby. She's just not fussy. Well, if any baby gets too hungry they get a little fussy, but besides the normal "communication" cries - ie. wet diaper, hungry, give me some attention...she is easy as pie. It is our joke that she does 3 things: Sleeps, Smiles, and
-She Spits Up. Yes, she is still the Spit Up Queen! But it's gettin' better ;)

That's what she's up to lately. Even all those words can't sum up her sweetness, though. We love her madly!

Our Evening Stroll on UW Campus

On Sunday evenings we have renewed our tradition of going for an evening walk (it was pretty much impossible to do this when Jacob was serving in the Bishopric of our Church, as he would usually get home when it was dark outside). This evening, we decided to go spend some time at the beautiful University of Washington campus (go Huskies!).

We spent most of our time lounging on the lawn at the Quad. Actually, we took turns lounging on the lawn while one of us followed Sawyer on his Grand Explorations...we saw a lot of the back of his head, as he was running at full-speed and enjoying the wide, open spaces to run around.

He climbed mountains and mountains of stairs.

Jacob and Sawyer were trying to find out if there were any good shows coming to town...(oh how we miss going to shows! it is kind of pathetic that we now go to bed at the time we used to just be getting ready to go out!)

The bike safety things (you know, where you lock your bike...do they have a special name for them?) were a huge hit. "Tunnels!" Really...who needs a playground when you can explore UW?

Aspen had a grand time herself. She got to lay on the lawn and watch people toss balls for their dogs, and stare up at the sky and all of the squirrels in the trees.

On our way out, we of course had to stop by the fountain and see if any ducks were out. Not only did we spot a duck and he swam right by quacking hello...it was such a clear and beautiful day that Mt. Rainier was also visible from campus. Breathtaking, I tell you!

It was one of the best Sundays of my life.

Ode to Earth Day

I am not much a fan of hunting (for animals, that is)...but come Spring I LOVE hunting (for flowers, that is). On Sunday, on our family walk, I found there is a lilac bush around the corner from our home. Oh how I love the sweet smell of lilacs!

Today, for our walk, we hunted for flowers of every color from the Rainbow...Sawyer had a wonderful time on the hunt, and, as you can see below, our neighborhood is just brim full of blossoms of all colors...

Of course, being a little boy, he also had fun finding rocks wherever we went.

I have a confession to make. I stole a lilac. I was looking for one that had fallen to the ground, but there weren't any. I hope no one minds...I just love the smell of the little lilac I stole, and I also wanted to...

put a flower in my girl's hair. She is even more sweet than all those flowers we hunted down today!

*to keep it real I would like to add the more *ugly* and *real life* part to this post as well. Often, I think we see all the best, which is lovely, but guess what? At the end of our hunt, Sawyer was hungry and had something hanging from his nose...I had to carry him because he either wanted to push the stroller solo (which meant off-roading) or he wanted to ride in it himself, which wasn't an option because I didn't bring the double stroller and I couldn't find the Moby wrap to wear Aspen...and Aspen was also hungry and tired of being in the stroller...so we had to book it home, wipe the nose, nurse the babe, and feed the child. All in time to read a book and get at least one of them down for a nap. Oh, and remember to feed myself (sometimes I literally forget to eat). Oh yes, Aspen also projectile spit-up on the table 3 times as I was attempting to snap these photos. Now those wouldn't make for quite as nice pictures, would they? But that was also part of our adventure today :)

Irresistible Aspen Jane

Aspen and I were hanging out while Jacob was working (from home) on Saturday and Sawyer was napping. There were a million things I could've done. Like clean the bathroom. Or go get groceries. Or take a nap. But instead, this happened (see below). You see, me, my cute, cute, girl, and our camera all within arms reach can be a dangerous thing. A waste of time? I don't think so...this little not-so-newborn was just begging for a photoshoot! I just can't decide which one ended up being my favorite, so I am posting them all. Are my kids going to have a complex from being photographed so much? I hope not!

Okay, mom. Why don't you just get me naked? On the couch? And trust that I won't have an "accident"...(luckily, she didn't)...

Or, let me show off my head control. (Guess what? Saturday night she rolled over - 4 times! We got it on video...I just need Jacob to help me and we'll get it on here sometime this week!)

Only half-naked now. That might get a smile...

And the finale...more naked shots. We've got to show off all those creases and rolls!

The end.
(sorry for the picture overload!)

Aspen's Blessing

Aspen looked beautiful in her white dress. I always get a little teary during baby blessings, but especially when it's my own. As I held my precious little baby I couldn't help but think about the other two times in her life that she'll be beautifully dressed all in white: the day she is baptized, and the day she will be married. She is so pure and so innocent. And so smiley and happy. I hope she is all of those things during her life. The blessing Jacob gave to her expressed something similar, and what a beautiful blessing it was. The sun even came out to shine on Aspen's special blessing day.

We were also happy to have family in town. My parents and my youngest sister and her boyfriend were able to come spend some time with us and be there for the blessing. My parents arrived first, flying in from Chicago where they'd been busy visiting with their "East Coast" grandkids. They now have 13 grandchildren with two more on the way!

We walked to the park by our house. I just love that I caught my mom on the swings. She just turned 60 - can you believe it? (mom, don't cringe! beauty and wisdom truly come with age!) And my dad even got dizzy on the merry-go-round with Sawyer. Speaking of Sawyer, he was in HEAVEN with his grandparents here playing with him.

In a be-lated effort to celebrate my mom's birthday, we had fondue night. All I can say is YUMMY. MMM. MMM. GOOD.

My sister, Jamie, brought her new little puppy, Peanut. You can imagine that Sawyer was also in HEAVEN with a little puppy running around him. It was pretty entertaining, I must say. I know one day Sawyer is going to beg us for a dog. I am looking forward to that day! (And hoping we live in a more suitable place for bigger dogs so we can grant that wish at that time!)

You've got to admit this dog is C-U-T-E!

We sure had a wonderful weekend. Whenever we spend time with family we always wish we were a little bit closer, ya know? But we take what we can get and cherish the memories we make! I feel like now that Aspen is officially blessed and sleeping through the night, she's just growing up too fast! Well, she is growing up fast, just like her brother. All the more reason to just SOAK IT UP.

I am so in love with my babies.
(And my main man, too!)
My heart is overflowing!

Shoe Crazy!

The night before Aspen was born, I stayed up until midnight conducting an experiment. You see, I had seen these astoundingly adorable shoes on an Etsy site (Gracious Mae - totally go check them out and buy some if you don't want to spend all the time experimenting like me!). I loved them all so much but couldn't decide which ones to get and couldn't afford to buy multiple pairs. So...I decided to try and make some myself. I found a free pattern online for baby booties which gave me a basic idea of how to compose a shoe. Then, I totally tweaked it and played around until I found something that seemed to work and that I liked. That night, though, I used scraps and only had enough for one shoe. Maybe it was then that Aspen thought "I better get on out into the world because my Momma is going CRAZY with all these crafts - I mean, who makes their own shoes?" So exactly 12 hours from the time I turned off the sewing machine and admired my work, she was born!

Obviously, I had to finish making a pair of shoes after she was born, since I only made one beforehand. For the first 7-8 weeks she was an all-night party animal. "The Nocturnal One." So, I made shoes (that's why I was excited about the late shift!)

And more shoes. I just finished these up last night. Don't worry - many of them are going to be shipped off as gifts. I know girls tend to have a fetish for shoes - but come on - no one needs this many! I'll have to admit the vintage black polka dots are my fave!! Now, I just have to find clothes to match her shoes :)

This is just funny. Sawyer kept admiring the shoes and kept stealing them off the table, where I was working, to try them on. He was utterly disappointed that they were too small. I only wish I had the camera on me when he was trying to squeeze his chubby toddler feet into these tiny dainty little shoes. So, to lift his spirits, I said "why don't we get out your flip flops?" He got them for Christmas and it's been too chilly to wear them (although I wear flip flops year round. I actually wore flip flops to the hospital when we went to have Aspen). I told him I didn't know how to make "boy shoes" or else I would make him some. I told him that boy shoes are more "cool" anyway. So he put these cute little flip flops on his cute little feet and walked around saying "cool." Um hmm!

Since Aspen will have her baby blessing at church this coming Sunday, I made her some blessing shoes. They will match the hand-me-down white cotton dress I fixed up with my own touch, and the matching headband that I made. It's not lacy and frilly or anything. Simple. Beautiful. That's more my style anyway. I can hardly wait to see how she looks all dressed up!

Okay, my random post is done. And I mean DONE. I am DONE with craft projects for a while. Probably most of the summer. I'd much rather be at the beach, anyway! Plus, I am going to start back at "work" next week, so all my free time will be for editing photos and ordering prints from my shoots. When the cool Autumn air hits again and we need to spend more time indoors - then I'll break out the sewing machine again and work on some holiday gifts. But until then - this is it!

PS: to my sisters, Rachel & Kaitlin, and my SIL, Erin -- expect some shoes and headbands in the mail next week sometime! Happy Un-birthday to Madison, Alyssa and Baby A, and Autumn!

PSS: I will probably still buy a pair from Gracious Mae. Probably a bigger size for next year. Really, for the time it takes to hand-make shoes, her price is a great deal! Buy some!!!