Sisters!

5 months later and I can finally say I'm more accustomed to having 2 kids. At least to the point where I can say I don't really remember what it was like to only have one! It's been fun watching Brooklyn love her little sister (usually a little too much). Here are some of the fun things they have enjoyed doing together.Sharing toys! Brooklyn has absolutely loved that she gets to play with all "her" baby toys! She is at the stage where everything needs to be hers and no matter what Eliza has, she wants it! This is going to be fun in a few months when Eliza actually starts caring about toys too.

Dressing alike! I would love twins for the simple fact that I could dress them the same. Other than that, I don't think I would survive.

Someone to feed! Finally Brooklyn gets the opportunity to feed someone else!

Swinging together! Brooklyn loves to swing outside. Eliza...not so much yet. She does love her baby swing inside though.

And Bathing together! Brooklyn loved bathing with her friends occasionally, but now she has a sister to bath with every day! Eliza isn't quite ready to sit up by herself completely, but is too big for the baby bath so she doesn't stay in the bath as long as Brooklyn would like.

Aren't siblings great?

Pedicure

A few months back, my friend Camille posted on her blog about having a pedicure. Since then I have thought about how nice that would be to have done before sandal weather hit so last Saturday some of my friends went and got pedicures. This was a new experience for me. Yes, I'm 29 and never had a pedicure before. My other friend, Jessie, took her 3 and 4 year old daughters to get pedicures the other day so I felt pretty old after I heard that. We won't go into how much the nail place charged her for a pedicure on little girls feet, but at least they have had the experience! :)

All and all it was a fun experience, but I also was a little disappointed. I guess I went in expecting to walk out with brand new feet or something. :) I still have rough feet, but my nails are pretty. I had a little 'buyers remorse' from the whole experience because I can paint my own nails, but again it was the experience for me. Plus, an excuse to have some girl only fun.

I'm thinking maybe I should start my own pedicure business. They make bank for what they do! But then again, I don't think I want to touch people's feet all day either. :)

For your viewing pleasure, here is what my feet currently look like. I paid extra for the flower, but now know how to do one myself.

It's a little strange to post a picture of my feet. I think feet are funny looking. I remember being a teenager and just staring at my feet and feeling so animal-like. They look like animal paws. I am grateful I have feet though, no matter how funny they are!

Sleep

Is anyone's kids waking up earlier and earlier each day? Brooklyn used to sleep until at least 8am. About a month or so ago it moved to 7:30 than 7 than 6:45 and today 6 am!!! Why is this happening? I've moved her room around trying to hide her from the sun and the sounds. I've tried a sound spa to keep her asleep and nothing is working. Anyone having this problem with their kids? Any suggestions to help make my kid sleep longer? I'm exhausted!!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone enjoyed there Easter celebrations! I'm a bit slow on this post because I needed to download pictures off my camera. I managed to fill my memory card for the first time because it's been too long since I've downloaded pictures.

Here's just a glimpse of what we did as a family to celebrate!
Easter egg hunt with the masses in Bountiful on Saturday. Brooklyn walked away with about 6 eggs, but she was happy!

Eliza's view of the Easter egg hunt. It was a bit chilly that morning! She, of course, did not get any eggs.

Coloring Easter eggs with Grandma. This was Brooklyn's first time doing this and she had a blast!

Here's all the colors they made!

Easter morning Brooklyn found eggs throughout our house and then found her Easter basket. This year some of her gifts were too big for her basket. Her favorite gift was the scooter! She told her dad later that day, 'this is the best Easter scooter I've ever had!'

Eliza enjoyed her Easter basket too! I just filled it with things I would have bought her anyway.

Here they are right before church. We needed to be leaving for church so it's not the best picture ever, but it shows their matching dresses!

We enjoyed our Easter weekend! Brooklyn didn't know anything about the Easter bunny until she went to Nursery and someone asked her about him. I'm not against the tradition, I just hadn't taught her anything about it. We taught her more about the resurrection and the real reason we celebrate Easter. However, to give Nursery some credit, Brooklyn did come home knowing about the empty tomb, that the angels took Jesus' body, and that he visited with Mary. She actually listened!! :)

I'm grateful for this time of year to remember our Savior and for his example. I'm grateful that he died so that we can all be resurrected and return to live with him and our families one day. I'm grateful that Easter brings Spring and the remembrance of new life!

Hope it was a great day for everyone as well!

Guilt

For the past month or so I've felt a large amount of Guilt! Guilt because my child has watched far too much TV, Guilt because my house isn't very clean, Guilt because meals haven't been well planned or prepared, Guilt because I haven't been a very good wife, friend, daughter or sister, the list could go on and on! I feel like if I had anyone to blame, I would blame winter and all the illnesses it has given our family this year. However, the truth is I would probably still feel guilty (just maybe not as much). As women, we have incredible pressure to do so many things and fulfill so many roles. When you sit down and really think about it, it becomes overwhelming. Luckily we are so busy that there isn't much time to think about it!
I've had more time to sit and think lately (thus the guilt listed above) and I wondered what life would be like without guilt. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't have it any other way! Guilt drives me to be a better person and to do things that I need to do! If I feel guilty for not reading my scriptures, than I probably need to read them. If I feel guilty about losing touch with a friend, then I probably need to reach out to that friend. Again, the list could go on!
The hardest part is balancing everything. When I was telling a friend I haven't been a very good mom lately because I've been taking it easy trying to feel better, she told me that I was being a good mom because I was taking care of myself. Sometimes I forget to take care of my needs so it was nice to hear! Plus, it took a small portion of that guilt I felt away. It's always good to hear you are doing something right!
So in conclusion, I probably won't be nominated as 'woman of the year' anytime soon, but my kids, husband, family, and friends still love me and hopefully tomorrow I can do better!

The 'Bumbo'

Chair that is! I've always laughed at the name of this chair, but it is what it is! :)

My good friend, Kelly, let me borrow hers, which has been fun for Eliza. Eliza has enjoyed a different view on life! She holds her head fine so she can sit in this now. Actually, she's about ready to sit up by herself anyway, but it's nice that she won't fall over while sitting in this.
Big Sister, Brooklyn, found this chair pretty fun too! She was so excited that she could fit in it. She grabbed her puzzle book and sat in it for a good hour or so. She even had to tell Kelly the next time she saw her that she could sit in the chair too!

I guess it will just have to be another toy that they'll have to share!