this is us fall 2011

last weekend we jumped at the chance to take
family pictures while the leaves where still beautiful.
my friend nikki is amazing!
go visit her at sweet lilac photography.
she has an unbeatable fall special going on.

i love how our fall pictures turned out.
little perry did so good and steele did too...for the most part.
aren't perry's eyes so blue?! she is such a precious baby.
and look at the smile in the first pic...seriously she is adorable.

steele would not smile in the beginning so we kept bribing him by
saying do you want a REALLY big sucker?
then he would do this weird under-bite smile. haha.
something seemed to click by the end of the shoot.

risky business wearing red lips but i like how it looks in a picture.
brett doesn't like any kind of lipstick. at. all. so it was very brave of me to do so.
i even got a comment from my brother in law saying, "wow, you look like a hooker."
i've been asked were i get my kids outfits, so here is run down of what we're wearing.

steele... vest: thrifted; sweater: jcrew; shirt: target; pants: gap; shoes: children's place
perry... cardigan: gap (from karly); romper: gap thrifted; boots: robeez (from michelle); bow: handmade

brett... sweater: banana republic; jeans: banana republic; shoes: lacoste
emily... scarf: f21.com (this tutorial); shirt: downeast; belt: thrifted; jeans: no boudries; shoes: f21; earings and ring: banana

i can't wait for halloween.
steele's costume has stains all over it already
because he is so obsessed with it!
in fact he is wearing it now.
more to come.

heart ache

my sweet little perry has had the stomach flu the past 24 hrs.
there is nothing that breaks my heart more.
her body is so little and it just made her lethargic and lifeless.
she would muster a half smile for me in between. which just made me more sad.

i took her to the dr yesterday morning after her throwing up every 30 minutes all night
and immediately throwing up every time i nursed her.
we were worried about dehydration..

after rotating half oz bottles of watered down gaterade and breast milk every 15 minutes,
she's worked her way up to two oz bottles every hour.
she slept almost all day yesterday.
she would suck her thumb to sooth herself, which she's never done.
it was honestly the hardest thing i've gone through as a parent.
brett and i both felt so helpless which is the worst feeling.

this morning she seems to be doing much better.
it is going around big time right now so just a warning to all of  you mothers with new babies.
braxton had it on saturday night and esther and perry had it the same night.
steele also threw up twice last night.
we braced ourselves for as horrible of a night as the previous.
i went to wal-mart at 4am to get 7up, crackers and popsicles.
but now he seems to be himself and just fine. weird.

brett and i are bracing ourselves, praying we don't get it.
my sweet pear pear is almost herself again....
but by this picture i took this morning you would think nothing ever happened.

perry, month by month {4}

this month perry came alive with personality. 

she is always so talkative and will have a conversation with you.

her favorite sound to make is "ngee ngee". 

.................

she starting cuddling more, which i can't get enough of.

she is still sleeping through the night. 9:30-8:30. best thing ever.

i started swaddling her in "the straight jacket". it velcros her arms in so she can't get out. 

.................

she loves her exersaucer even though her legs don't touch the ground.

she also loves the bumbo. she just loves looking around. 

.................

we finally broke her of her two finger sucking. i was persistent with this child.

.................

she met grandma brady for the first time and was all smiles for her.

.................

perry's four month check up is this week so i will update with her stats. 

from baggy to skinny

on a rainy gloomy day, what do we do?
anything that will keep mom sane.
the harsh weather change has got me feeling really cooped up.

so we headed over to grandmas house
and i brought along a little project.
i've always wanted to try this tutorial that i have in my project basket on pintrest.

i figured steele's calvin klein black cords would be a good first attempt at making over pants.
my mom has a surger which i wanted to use to make the inside seams more finished.
the tutorial that i used said you don't need to but i did anyway.
it really was very simple and took me only maybe 30 min total and i'm no seamstress.

i am pleased with how they turned out.
they are not too skinny, because well....steele is a boy and brett would disapprove.
as you can see they still have a slouchy feel because they are still long on him
but in a few months they will be perfect.
   

an indian summer

it is now october and you would never know it.
this past week we spent four days at the pool.
two days at grandmas white's and two days at our clubhouse pool.

steele has become quite the little fish.
he can dive for pennies with his eyes open under water.
i love every second at the pool, and if it is warm you can find us there.

as for my pictures, i have been having fun taking different shots lately.
i also have had a lot of fun editing the pictures.
steele has learned to be my little model.

{at our clubhouse}

 {at grandmas white's}

perry is learning to really love the water too. 

especially at grandma's because the water is so warm. 

it is a saltwater pool so i don't have to worry about the chlorine. 

tea also loves being in the sunshine. 

she was worried we were going to put her in like we usually do,

so she decided to take cover by grandma. 

she figured she'd be safe there. 

 {daddy-daughter love}

come back soon summer.
we'll be longing for your warmth come march....
but for now we'll welcome fall and the beauty that comes with the change.

a shout out to my brothers

this picture made me tear up when i saw it. 

doesn't my brother look so happy! {no question mark because i know he is.}

and a very hansom missionary if i say so myself;)

yesterday he happened to go to the same ward as my aunt joann!

my aunt and uncle live in nyc but have a home in orlando.

she was traveling with my cousin and happen to go to that ward!

this picture was sent to my dad who then sent it to us, quickly making all of our day.

they got to shoot a few text messages to him. i know my mom was just thrilled.

love my brother.soooo.much.

then there is my other brother. 

to clarify he is really brett's brother, 

but he is my brother too. 

i love him like he is my own brother. 

zach is in mexico. i pray for zach a lot. 

the thought of him in mexico kind of scares me
{i should have never watched the history channel's drug cartel documentary...} 

 but i know he is in the Lords hands. 

he is such a sincere missionary. 

he has a glow about him in each picture he sends.

i know the people he teaches can see that he genuinely cares.

i also know the little kids love him. 

he plays soccer with them and says they all kick his butt.

i love you zach!

 i'm so proud of you and the work you are doing for your brothers and sisters.

 keep up the hard work! 

today

look at that hair. 

the static gets his hair standing up 

the second he starts jumping. 

{below left}i'm trying to put a stop to these two fingers. 

over the last two days she is has started to really find them. 

steele found his thumb at 4 months after taking a binki.

how does this keep happening to me?!

{below middle} best little buds. they wanted to play in the sprinklers together.

{below right} my dad in his softball uniform, ready for his game.

tonight steele went through a mid toddler crisis.

i guess he wanted to be a baby again.

he got in and said "buckle me!"

then he wanted to be carried outside 

but we said the living room would have to do.

and last....

steele and perry's first bath together.

what a good big brother.

and a very cute brother if i say so myself.

look at that face. he is just adorable.

on a sunday afternoon

sunday has become a much appreciated day for me.  

i've learned to really enjoy sunday's. 

when i was younger it was always a day that i had to go to church,

  couldn't play with my friends, go swimming or watch tv.

now i'm grateful for the spiritual enlightenment & mellow leisure sunday brings. 

anyone would swoon over our 75 degree stress free september day.

 spending time with family & enjoying the sabath is a blessing. 

now as for my own home things have changed a bit. 

i know many would disagree but i think a little football on sunday isn't too shabby.

as long as your together as a family, right?

football season is in full swing.

it's just one more thing ushering fall in.  

brett is weeks into his flag football on monday's. 

sunday's are also filled with NFL games 

{we're more pro than college fans but always love a good close game. 

...which last night's cougar vs ute game was not. lame.} 

we enjoy watching a good game together & steele is starting to get into it too.

so the boys decided to play a little 500 out front tonight.

good ol' rivalry here. 

the kids watched.....

& steele obviously was really bummed he wasn't included in the action.

this was the best shot of the game.

it's over erics head, 

brandon can't get his hands on it in time,

& and then there is brett....

oh he is ready for that ball! haha. 

this makes everyone look completely uncoordinated.

love a good sunday

a little S&P

steele was eating this watermelon today and i thought it looked like pure summer.
a shirtless little boy devouring ripe watermelon, quintessential july.
i wish we were in the heart of summer, but in reality fall is sneaking up on us day by day.

as i've posted before steele is becoming very spirited.
he really is just as sweet as he's always been but has an added amount of energy theses days.
his latest is jumping off everything. and i mean everything. couches, stairs, chairs, laundry baskets....
i believe the cause for this is his crazy obsession with the movie "rio".
as he jumps he shouts "fly like a bird!" and flaps his arms.

he'll be two and half in only a few weeks.
i love having my boy. and is he all boy!
any chance he gets he is outside, preferably on the "jumpoline".
he loves dirt but doesn't like his hands messy.
he is a great eater. he especially loves breakfast.
he loves vegetables especially asparagus, green beans and zucchini.

because the summer has been so busy i haven't been able to
read with steele as regularly as i'd like to. at night we always sing
so in the day i've tried to read more the past few weeks.
a few days ago he said that he wanted to read one of the books.
we hadn't read this one in a while so i was curious as to what he'd say.
he took the book and turned the pages one by one.
the majority of the story was almost perfectly recited. it was adorable!
he doesn't get his memory from his mom, that is for sure.

.........................................

and then there is this little ray of sunshine.
she has slept through the night 3 nights in a row now!!
fingers crossed but i think this might be it! it has been amazing.

she is now 3 months old and i just can't wrap my brain around how this happened.

all of you mother's know that there are certain things that only a mother knows.
{why some women choose not to have children is beyond me and simply sad}
something i know very well is the feeling that i get when my little perry looks up at me with
her sparkling eyes and smiles as if she's saying "i love you". i always reply with "i love you too".
when ever i get this heart swelling feeling the words "joy and rejoicing in your posterity" comes to my mind.
there is so much joy in motherhood. i truly am privileged to be a mother to my children.

i try to write the positive things about being a mom.
some people find this obnoxious but i have to stay positive.
obviously there are many MANY times that i feel
discouraged, drained, anxious, doubtful and inpatient as a mother.
i try not to focus on these things or compare myself with other mom's.
although it is hard, i try to focus my thoughts on what i am doing right.
one thing i know i do well is love my kids with all i have.

little perry is growing so quickly. each stage gets better and better.
life is busy with two kids but i love it and couldn't imagine not being able to have my baby girl.
she loves to sit on the couch with steele. he'll put his arm around her every once and while.
smiles are her specialty. that and eating. and sleeping.  ok so she is a triple major student.

she doesn't mind tummy time but doesn't love it either.
she has a very strong neck and back.
perry and i enjoy bath time together. i did this with steele too.
it is so much easier to bathe with her since our tub is so deep.
whenever she has a tummy ache i get in the bath with her and she calms right down.
she still loves to have her hair washed and closes her eyes with pure satisfaction.

all around i have been very lucky with both my babies.
i don't know what i ever did to deserve it.
i guess you get what you pay for.....haha.