Four Months

There have been a lot of changes since hitting your 4 month mark. You can recognize me from clear across the room now, and every time you do, your chubby cheeks form a huge grin and your eyes get all Asian. It is adorable!

You watch your sister Annabelle like a hawk, you adore her so. 

I really look forward to when you two can run around together :) I hope you two grow to be best friends!

She is your mini-mommy too. Most days she rushes to your aid before I can even get up. She knows you like your binki, and your teething giraffe. And she will huddle around you every few minutes, just to tell you how cute you are. I think she adores you, too ;)

Speaking of teething, you have two teeth!! And my heart aches a little every time I think about it. I want you to stay my baby forever, and teeth just make you seem so much more grown up! They popped through this week, and I cried. Haha. I know it sounds silly, but teeth already? I'm slowly getting used to it...

You like to hold my fingers when I rest my hand on your chest. And your floppy ears make me all sorts of crazy for you.

I am so deeply in love with you! You are just such a sweet sweet boy. And you have this really sweet high pitched coo when you're telling us stories. And sometimes your chit chat sounds a little more like you're yelling. You usually use the latter form of communication when you want my attention. And it works :)

Your lips have always been so adorable to me. That upper lip of yours was the first thing I noticed when you were born, and it's one of my favorite features of yours. Sometimes you smile so big, your whole body goes into a little spasm. It's like you just cannot contain your happiness, and I adore that about you.

I keep telling myself you'll stay a baby forever and time will slow down. It's gonna be a real shocker next month when you're rolling over or something. I have a feeling time won't slow down, but I so wish I had a pause button. You are so much fun right now, and just so sweet. I can tell you adore all of us, and we definitely reciprocate the feeling. You have made this family complete, and we are so happy to call you ours!

Three Months

I can't believe I missed his 3 month post.
And now he's 4 months and 2 days. What?!
Before I know it he's gonna turn one, and I want to start crying right now. Time with this second baby is on fast forward or something, cause I feel like I just had him! And now he smiles, and coos, and is just so loveable. 
He is mesmerized by Annabelle. I told her to go entertain him the other day, and I look over and she's given him her feet to play with. And he was beyond happy. He. Adores. Her.
He's such a mellow little guy, too. He's super content to just lay on the floor and watch us girls go about our day. He's happy as can be, if he can watch me make dinner in the kitchen.
And he's a big boy. At 3 months, he's 15 lbs!
I've never been so in love with chunky baby thighs.
And this boy's thighs are to die for!
He hasn't quite figured out how to laugh yet, but he sure does try. His back and feet are ticklish, and he just grunts with a big smile on his face when we tickle him. 
These past 3 months have been such a blessing.
And he makes me want 10 more boys just like him.

Easter Sunday

This year's Easter celebration was my favorite. I think the more kids I have and as they get older, the more special the holidays will become. And this year's was definitely special!

During Sacrament meeting a sweet mother bore her testimony of how grateful she was for the Atonement, and every word she spoke felt like it was coming straight from my heart.

Because of the Atonement, my sweet babies will be resurrected. And because of the Atonement my sweet babies can live forever with God. This Easter holiday really put into perspective just how important it is that I raise my family in righteousness so we can be together forever. And there is absolutely nothing in this world that I want more, than to be with my family forever.

As soon as we got home from church, the search was on! Annabelle pretty much looked all over the house for her Easter basket, and in the meantime kept walking right past it. She eventually stumbled upon Henry's and was so thrilled to show him everything he got. She's like his mini-mommy, and he l-o-v-e-s it! (He has a major crush on her!) 

With a little help from daddy she finally found hers, and was just beside herself! Watching her face light up was all I needed for the rest of the day. I am loving the age she is at!

These kids make my life so beautiful! And though it's hard at times, I wouldn't change being their mom for anything. I want to kiss them all day long. I just adore them!

Later that afternoon we had a huge Easter egg hunt with all the Van Wagoner cousins. And when I say huge, I mean massive. She got more candy on Easter, than she did on Halloween. Hello!!

Annabelle couldn't wait to bust through that gate and gather up all the eggs she could find. As soon as she found one, she'd sit down, open it up, and eat everything inside. She soon learned she needed to be quicker than that, if she wanted to find more than one egg though :) 

And she definitely found more than one egg. 
No complaints here -- chocolate is a best friend in our home :)

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter this year.

And having these sweet babies made it all the more special!

"On a mission!"

We dropped off our first missionary package to Elder Allred tonight. I have a feeling he's gonna get pretty spoiled, being the first missionary in the family. 

Especially with 4 sisters that adore him & a mom that misses him like crazy. 

Annabelle and I had so much fun baking him heart-shaped brownies with powdered sugar on top. 

(Happy Valentine's Day, Elder!) 

And I just know he's gonna appreciate all the girliness we smothered into that package. Like the glitzy fairy stickers all over the card Annabelle made him. At least she gave it a masculine touch and scribbled with the black crayon. :)

I'm making it a goal to write him every Sunday. He may not get weekly brownies, but he will get a letter from us (finger's crossed!!) And with coloring being Annabelle's all-time favorite pass time, he'll have a nice collection of 2 year old artwork too!

If you ask Annabelle where Uncle Christian is she responds: "On a mission!" 

And it amazes me every time.

I guess all the pre-MTC festivities really sunk in.

He is on a mission, and we are so proud of him!!

Something About Mama's Bed

The other day my mom mentioned to me that she got a new bed and my first thoughts were: 

Why?! Your old bed was so comfy!

As a kid I always loved to crawl into my parents bed and pass out on the spot. It cured every nightmare and made an empty house suddenly feel safe. To her it was just an old bed, but to me it was like sleeping on a cloud. There was just something so comforting about it.

And I get the feeling that's how my kids feel about my bed too. Especially this Henry boy.

Every morning at around 10am I swaddle him, and lay him on my bed. Within seconds his binki pops out and he starts to purr like a baby lion. 

Today I couldn't help but snap 50 billion photos of him while taking his morning nap. He seemed to be having such peaceful dreams. And that face is everything perfect to me.

After a couple clicks his eyes popped open and he was instantly wide awake. 

It's almost like he was faking it...

Those dark blue eyes make my heart swell.

And I hope he'll always love crawling into mama's bed.

Two Months

He's almost as big as Annabelle.

He has his Grandpa Tracy's hands.

He smiles a lot!

His coos make my heart stop.

He likes to kick.

He loves his big sister.

He likes to follow me around the room with his dreamy Van Wagoner eyes.

(And I love it!)

His cheeks are the most kissable things ever.

I adore his pointy chin.

He startles easily and his "scared cry" is just so cute.

I kiss those lips between every other word I say to him. I just can't help myself.

He raises his eyebrows when he smiles, and I die every time.

And he still sneezes. A lot.

:) 

Grandma Lisa

It's crazy how quickly 8 days can fly by. I feel like I just picked her up yesterday, and I already have to give her back tomorrow.

Every day I try to be a little bit more like her, and every day I'm calmed by the fact that regardless of my efforts, she's my babies' grandma. So they will at least have one perfect example in their lives. 

We did so much in those 8 days, like bless my sweet Henry boy and drop Elder Allred off at the MTC. We didn't let 24 hours go by between each Target visit, and we ate lots of yummy food. She made us the best banana bread and gourmet pancakes. But what I love most of all is the time she got to spend with my babies.

From singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes to reading Annabelle the same books she used to read to me, this past week has been so wonderful.

We love our Grandma Lisa.

And can't wait for our next visit.