Family Pictures - Summer 2013

Hello everyone! I thought post our latest family pictures. We took them out at Antelope Island last week, and while it was SO HOT, we still had a great time. Enjoy!

 

Love you all!

~Gender Reveal & First Birthday Party~

Let me just say, Lily's birthday party was a blast! We appreciated all of the wonderful people who came and made the day special for Lily (and me...because we all know I got more out of it than her!)

It was a whoppin' 100 degrees while we were setting up for her party. YIKES. We were running late, Lily was getting too hot, Todd wasn't back with the balloons yet - the perfect recipe to make Jewely stressed. But fortunately it cooled down a little and a nice breeze picked up by the time the party started. More and more people came, the presents started piling up, and I realized just how many people love and adore our little girl. All in all, we had 51 people at the party. WOW! And all but 6 were family  members! Talk about a big family.

 

So, first came the gender reveal. This was Todd's big project, and he did an amazing job. I was so impressed with the amount of time and creativity he put into it! On the birthday invitation we asked everyone to dress in PINK or BLUE to guess the gender. As I looked around at all of our guests, I saw a LOT of pink, but I stuck with my original intuition and wore blue.

We had our doctor appointment the day of the party, and instead of telling us both the gender, he just told Todd out in the hallway. I wanted to be suprised and Todd totally indulged me. I'm not sure how he did it, but he never ONCE hinted what the gender was! We just avoided talking about it because we knew it would slip out somehow. Well, he found a little poem and stuck it in a BLUE balloon (his first trick...) and hid it amond the myriad of other blue and pink balloons. He had all of the children stand in a circle with plastic forks, and let them go to town popping balloons (I know, not the safest activity, but it was so fun!).

I saw a little note fall out of a blue balloon, so I immediately assumed it was a boy. My mind went racing, trying to put all of the pieces together. Over the last few weeks I realized just how much I wanted another girl, and wasn't sure how I'd handle the news if it was a boy. Well, in my mind I'm thinking "ok....it's a boy.... now what?"

My nephew, Ollie, brought me the piece of paper, and when I opened it I found this poem:

In mommy's belly I will grow.
Tiny fingers and tiny toes.
Some don't know what my gender will be.
Although you might already see.
Guess if I'm a girl or boy.
I'm sure either way, you'll jump for joy.
Read this poem with great care.
Look really close, but please don't share!!

Solve this poem and you will know the gender. Keep it a secret though, some of the family still doesn't know.

Well - I interpreted the poem to mean that since I was wearing blue, I already knew what the gender was. So when everyone asked what it was, I yelled, "IT'S A BOY!"

While everyone was reacting to the news, Todd interrupts and says "Nope!... It's a GIRL!"

(My doubtful face, lol)

WHAT?! I was stunned, and really, really confused. The little sneak totally set me up! I'm actually really glad we didn't get that moment on video, because I felt quite dumb. My sister came over and explained that if you look at the first letter of each sentance of the poem, it spells ITSAGIRL.

(Explaining the note)

(The news sinks in)

 

Oh!...duh. But really, I was in no frame of mind to analyze a poem in the first place, so I would have never gotten it by myself. But either way - I was over the moon! Besides the fact that my husband totally set me up (which, I admit, was hilarious), I was elated to find out that it was another girl!

IT'S A GIRL!!

After the gender reveal, Lily then opened her MANY presents. We were so touched by everyone's generosity. She received the most amazing gifts and the cutest clothes! We are very excited for this summer - she is going to have a blast with all of these new toys.

 

(Elmo's photo-bombing from under the table...)

 

Then came the cake smash! She immediately started digging in, but as soon as she realized there was food all over her hands, it came to a quick stop. But it was fun while it lasted! (To be honest, I'm kind glad she didn't make more of a mess.)

 

 

We finished off the night with cake, ice cream, glow sticks, and sparklers. All in all, I'd say the party was a success! I had such a good time, and I hope everyone else did, too. I know Lily had a BLAST! But thank goodness she only turns 1 once...

 

Love you all!

Lily's 11 month update and photos!

Lily turns 11 months old next week! I know if I don't make this post right now, I'll never do it. So you're getting it a week early :)

Lily is now crawling, pulling to standing, and cruising like a pro. She has 2 bottom teeth, and the best cheesy-grin. She's not sleeping very well again. I think she's going through another crazy growth spurt and teething at the same time, yuck. But let me tell you, this girl never stops! We love her so much, and she wears us out every single day :) We couldn't ask for a more wonderful daughter.

Amanda Gibbs did another photo shoot for us at 10 months old. We absolutely loved how they turned out, and hope you do too!

 

We're so excited for Lily to be a big sister. The older she gets, the more we realize how much she needs siblings! Todd and I just aren't entertaining enough ;) That, and she is our social butterfly and absolutely loves other kids.

 

Having a newborn with an 18 month old will definitely have its challenges, but we'll make it through and love our two babies even more!

~Baby Parris #2~

Yep, it's true. Lily's going to be a big sister! SUPRISE! Ok, here's the story.

As April's General Conference approached, Todd and I felt that we should have some questions in mind. We do this before conference begins, then listen for and feel the answers during the talks, music, prayers, etc. Well, one of our questions was, "When are we supposed to have another baby?"

As we listened to conference and talked about the logistics of having another child (finishing school, saving up enough money, where to live, how old Lily will be, etc), we decided that it would be best to wait until next year to start trying for another baby. We were happy with our decision, and went on with our lives.

Well, two weeks later, I start feeling kind of off. I get super tired, I feel queasy once in a while, and broke out worse than usual. I just thought, "Oh, Lily's not nursing as much any more, so my body's just adjusting hormone levels and going back to pre-baby mode." I shrugged off the symptoms and tried to keep my mind off of my stomach.

Well, more and more things start happening. So, on April 22, I decided to just take a test. I had one at home anyways (my body had played "pregnancy" tricks on me before), and figured, why not just take it? It would be negative anyways, right? Wrong. I knew it was positive even before I looked at the result.

There's me, alone in the bathroom, in complete shock. My initial reaction was, well, just that - shock! Once that died down a little, I felt excited, anxious, nervous, happy, and frazzled all at the same time. Todd got home from work and all I could say was, "Todd, come sit on the bed with me...I need to talk to you." I tood the pregnancy test out of my hoody pocket and handed it to him. He got this huge suprised grin on his face and could hardly talk. He was so suprised, but so excited! We decided, since we live with my mom and little sister, that it would be best to tell them that night as well. Once the initial "hit by a brick wall" wore off, they've expressed nothing but support and excitement for us.

So, now what? When's my due date? Will I be able to finish school before baby is born? How am I going to take care of my very active Lily while pregnant, let alone after the baby comes? etc. etc. etc.

Well, I had my first appointment on May 16th and I'm due...

Christmas Day!

Lily and Baby #2 will be 18 months apart, and I'm working hard to get school done by December. We feel so blessed to have another baby on the way, and are enjoying this new journey! I'm feeling SO much better, have more energy, and am only queasy once in a while. Woohoo!

All in all, life is good.

Lily found her belly laugh :)

Thanks to Aunt Bugen, Lily's laugh reached a whole new level! Enjoy :)

I've watched this over and over, I love it! This little darling brings so much joy into my life. I mean, really, how can you resist that laugh?

Playing catch-up: 7 AND 8 month update :)

**LONG-ish POST ALERT** But full of fun updates, so totally worth the read ;)
------------
I never understood why moms would do "bulk" blog posts (posting 4 or 5 at a time, waiting a month, then doing it again). Well, I understand now. With how busy I have been with school, I completely forgot to do Lily's 7 month update. I figured I better do a combined 7 and 8 month update now before I forget to again :) So I apologize in advance, because I think I may be turning into a bulk blogger myself...

7 Months

She's rolling around like a pro now and is already getting stuck under things.

Getting better with solids. She loves her oatmeal and will eat it mixed with any kind of fruit. I don't blame her for not liking it plain - yuck!

She's eating up to 1 cup of food each day.

Finally started sleeping better. Went from being up 5 - 10 times each night, to maybe waking up once. My only birthday wish was to get some sleep. She gave me my present a week late, but I got my first straight 8 hours of sleep since she was born. It was beautiful.

She is able to play with her toys while siting unsupported. So fun to watch.

She is officially sleeping un-swaddled and without being wrapped in a blanket. It was a big adjustment for both of us, but she does just fine now. She's turned into a side/tummy sleeper!

The hardest thing this month was taking down her bassinet. It made me realize that our little girl is growing so fast, and that we'll never have our tiny baby again. But we're excited and happy to see her grow and change - she gets more fun (and more animated) every day.

7 months old - wouldn't smile for the camera...

Doesn't get much cuter than this.

My little girl loves her soft. (aka- piece of soft material made especially for cuddling)

Our wonderful Moby Wrap - Lily's favorite mode of transporation.

Just chillin'.

8 Months
Lily has had some fun milestones this month!

• She waved for the first time. First at our family pictures, then at Todd. He was thrilled!
• She rolled herself into a sitting position. We still can't figure out how she did it, and I guess she can't either because it only happened the one time.
• She started the pre-crawl rock. She is great at getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth, and even gets up on her toes now.
• She's such a good eater! She's still nursing 4 times a day, and eats anywhere from 1 - 1.5 cups of food each day. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with this girl... lol.
• She's getting the hang of finger foods now. She had her first arrowroot cookie today and LOVED it.
• Still no teeth... *sigh*. We're hoping they'll pop up soon, but who knows. Poor thing has been actively teething for over 2 months now.
• She is SO tall. She fits into most 12 month clothes length wise, but they're to big around her little tummy and bum. I'm afraid she has been cursed with my "no bum syndrome" ... Sorry Lily!
• Slept AMAZING for the first half of the month. She would go to sleep on time and sleep 11 - 12 hours. She's back to waking up once or twice a night, but it's still better than it was a couple of months ago.
• Her personality exploded this month. I can't believe it, she's becoming a child! Where did my tiny baby go? She plays and interracts with us all the time, and is so happy and FUN.
• She's becoming a very direct communicator. You KNOW when she wants or needs something! I keep reminding myself that when she starts throwing a mini-fit that she is simply communicating. I try to take a step back, figure out what she needs, and get it taken care of. I don't always remember to do that (sometimes it's easier to just say she's cranky) but I'm practicing!
• Miss Lily LOOOOVES bath time. As soon as she hears the water running she gets super excited.

8 months old

 

Bathtime fun!

So happy when she wakes up.

Cheeky little grin.

Her facial expressions crack me up.

Trying to crawl! And yes, I was letting her play with the dog toys... :/

 

PHEW - you made it to the end.  Hope you enjoyed it :)