My little sassafrass

Yesterday I was holding Heidi and sitting on the bed. Alex usually likes to jump on the bed whenever I am nursing Heidi, holding Heidi, trying to nap with Heidi etc. While I was sitting there Alex looked at me and demanded "Mommy, get off. Mommy, get off NOW." I asked her why and then she did something that I didn't expect at all. She gave me THE LOOK. An exact copy of the face I give her when I mean business. Head tilted down, eyes looking straight into your soul, and a mouth that says "I'm serious buddy." As if that wasn't enough she then said "ONE...." I just about died from laughter, which of course broke her concentration. Phew! Good thing she didn't get to 3!

Tyler likes to tease Alex and pretend he is eating her. This usually begins with him crawling around a corner and tauntingly saying "I'm going to get you....." Alex giggles and runs off and he chases her and it's just adorable. I was sitting, relaxing with Heidi, while Alex was playing quietly. The next thing I know she is creeping toward me and saying "I'm going to get you...." In a super high falsetto. She then attacked and I sacrificed myself for Heidi, while Alex tickled my neck madly with her little fingers, hot breaths and devouring lips.

I asked Alex what she wanted for lunch and she said "ummmmm, rice, and soup, and beans" Which means Hawaiian Haystacks. So we looked in the cupboard and Alex saw a can of special spagetti-o's with princess shapes. She got really excited and said "those beans, ones with the girls on it" So I pulled down the can for her to look at. The only Disney movies she has ever seen are Cinderella II, Lady and the tramp II, the little mermaid and toy story, so she may be one of the only little girls in the world who doesn't know what a princess is. Therefore she described the can (which had 4 princesses and a castle on it) as having Ariel with other girls in pretty dresses by the temple.

About 2 months before Heidi arrived I was very keen on the idea of potty training. I bought "the last" pack of diapers and a few pairs of little mermaid panties and did my best to try and teach Alex how to use the potty chair for a few days. Then I gave up, she just wasn't ready. Here we are 4 months later. I've grown accustomed to changing 15 diapers a day, and we don't even bother with the diaper genie anymore, instead we have a cardboard box sitting in our hallway that fills up and gets dumped everyday. I'd been playing with the idea of starting again, and Alex had used the potty chair a few times, so when my Mom came to visit for a few days we bought some M&M's and decided to give it another try. Well it worked! Alex was ready, sat on that chair and pooped for an M&M on the first go! What we didn't realize was how NOT ready for this I was. I can change the nastiest diaper, no problem. But for some reason, wiping the poop out of the little chair, into the big toilet, almost had me hurling on the spot. So after sharing the limited floorspace in our little bathroom with that bulky pottychair for 5 months, I have decided it has to go. Alex has no choice but to be trained right to the toilet, because her Mommy is a pansy.

As for Heidi, she eats, she sleeps, she sucks on her fists, smiles a little bit and cries.

A Baby Blessing

It's been a crazy week. Tyler left for Missouri on Monday morning for a whole week of vacation/writing papers for finals/ taking tests for skillsUSA/ missing us. We actually did pretty well without him, although there was definitely a huge hole in our lives.

That same week was youth conference, and as members of the activities committee we were put in charge of planning the meals, buying the food and setting up the meals. Unfortunately I was the only member of the activities committee in town so it all sort of landed in my lap. I couldn't have done it without all the help I got, especially from Ben and Kate. Ben did his job with the young men, plus Tyler's job to help me out and then went above and beyond everything and ended up doing half of my job as well. Your my hero Ben, thank you.

My mom and David came down to help with the Kids on Wednesday ( I also couldn't have done it without you watching my children, Thank you Mom.) and stayed until Monday to play and hangout. The whole week ended with a gathering of wonderful family and friends for Heidi's baby blessing......

Here we have Archie being a sweetheart with Heidi, holding and hugging her.

Finally a family portrait of the 4 of us where I'm NOT in a hospital gown! Tyler is actually not a giant, it's just the angle of the picture, he is much closer to the camera than me, hence him looking twice my size.

Not all, but a majority of my favorite people in the world.

I didn't realize how many freckles I have until I saw this picture.

This is who stole the day. This is the beautiful blessing dress that her Grandma Brady crocheted for her, complete with booties! She looked so adorable in it, thanks so much for all the hard work Susan, you have made a beautiful little heirloom for Heidi to pass on to her daughter!

Heidi was perfect the whole day (until she pooped through her slip getting nice yellow stains on it, and her great Aunts lap!) Here she is relaxing in the shade after a long day.

Mom decided to contribute a melon basket to the luncheon. We decided to fancy it up a little bit and make a watermelon baby carriage. It was a lot of fun, and not that hard at all.

This was the best part of Alex's day. My dear Aunt Susie gave us their old sandbox which we converted into a swimming pool for the day! Alex LOVED it, Archie may have loved it more, if that is possible. The summer was looking pretty promising for fun, but now, we are guaranteed a fantastic time. THANKS SUSIE and JIM!!!!

The whole day ended back at our house with some family. Alex adores her cousin Jaden (who is actually my cousin), and plopped on the couch with her apple, scooted over as close as she could get to him, hunched down like him, and then ate her apple in between giving him huge smiles and giggles. Jayden also donated a bunch of his old toys to Alex, I don't know who has had more fun with them, Tyler or Alex!

Looking back it was a great week. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people who love, and look after me. And if I was stranded at home for a week, there is no one I would rather be with than me darling little girls!

Fathers Day

Happy Father's Day Tyler!

300 pictures taken, and not a single one with Alex smiling, looking at the camera and holding the sign correctly.

Sometimes sisters can be fun...

Sometimes it's fun having a sister to play with.

Someone to give hugs and kisses to, and share your toys with.

We Brady girls have lots of fun together.

Usually.....

But not every day.

Because sometimes, one sister gets more attention than the other.

And that's when meltdowns happen.

But in the end everything calms down.

Any everyone is happy again.

I just had to post this picture, because Alex looks so grown up!

Alex's great example

Last Monday for FHE Tyler and I were sitting on the couch writing. Alex said she wanted to hold Heidi, so we sat her in between us with a pillow on her lap and Heidi on top of that. She played with Heidi's fingers and giggled at her tiny ears for a few minutes, and then when I was barely listening I heard her tell Heidi that they needed to pray. She folded Heidi's arms and then said "Heavenly Father, thank thee Daddy go to church, thank thee Heidi go to church, thank thee Alex go to church. Name of Jesus Christ, Amen". It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. She proceeded to do the same thing over and over and over, each time forcing Heidi's arms together so they could pray.

It's the moments like these that make all those frustrating ones worth it, and give you hope that something is getting through. I hope she continues to be such a great teacher, and example to Heidi as they grow.

OBEY ME!!

The last week has been fairly crazy. Poor Tyler is going through probably the most stressful time of his whole life. His classes this summer are killer, with lots of homework, and on top of that he is worrying about missing classes to travel and test for fire departments so he can get a job, and cramming for the skills USA competition. Then there is the added stress of a crying newborn, a sassy two year old, and his overheated wife. We've been trying to find "joy in the journey" but I really can't wait until this phase of life is over, and hopefully that will be as soon as the semester is over.

Alex was not on her best behavior this week, and I swear we tried 100 different ways to get her to obey and nothing we did would work. This morning she was having another meltdown while I was trying to talk to my Mom on the phone. I handed her the special music box she only gets to play with on special occasions, hoping it would calm her down. I'm not sure what she was trying to do, but after a few minutes she started yelling at the box "OBEY ME, OBEY ME!!!" My reaction was a mixture of sadness that she was so frustrated, and relief that even though you wouldn't guess from her behavior sometimes, apparently she does know what the word obey means. I'll admit there was a bit of humor as well, watching her tell off the music box.

I think the sudden heat wave and our lack of air conditioning has gotten us all sitting on the edge these days. I can't wait for my 6 week checkup and the doctor to give me the OK to really start exercising. I've got to lose this baby weight so I can fit into my shorts again!

Memorial Day

Our memorial day started out with Alex waking up miserable with a cough and runny nose. She watched The Little Mermaid while getting pampered on the couch, and soon felt well enough to go to the family picnic. We figured if she was going to be jumping on the couch and running around the living room, she might as well get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine while doing it.

What started out as this. Soon turned into this.....

No, this is not just a really bad picture of Alex. That is actually what her face looked like for the rest of the day. Super red puffy eyes almost swollen shut. Apparently our little dear has developed allergies. This is a huge surprise seeing as she spent last summer running around a farm, chasing sheep and rolling in the grass everyday.

This was how she finished the activities, passed out exhausted while Tyler bought some benadryl.

But the cotton tree's snowing on us didn't stop her, and everyone else from having a lot of fun.

Grandma and Archie playing in the yard

Kate taking on all the boys at soccer

Kara in her usual roll as Alex's second Mom/big sister.

Archie protecting the hotdogs from Ashes.

Alex mowing the lawn with Daddy.

I'm not sure who they were playing hide and seek with, but these two kept ducking behind a big tree, and it was adorable. Archie here, and Devin in his usual roll as energetic/awesome uncle.

Archie just loving life.

Alex and Archie playing peek-a-boo.

Kara bonding with her second favorite niece.

Sunday Morning

A few months ago I decided to try a new approach to Sunday Morning. It seems like no matter what time we start getting ready, we are always running out the door frazzled and late, ruining the spirit we might have felt in Sacrament.

So Alex and I decided to start leaving for church an hour early so she could enjoy the walk and perhaps get some energy out before it came time to sit for an hour. (This was when Tyler was at the firehouse most Sundays). Well, It worked GREAT! I'm excited to start our walks again, although things will probably be a bit different now we have Heidi.

This last Sunday we had a little fun before we church started.

Alex played with all her favorite toys.

Heidi got dressed up. (The bow didn't stay in for more than 2 minutes, and the blanket wasn't as girly as I had first thought, so we got a few "Is it a boy or a girl" comments at church, but mostly everyone assumed Heidi was a boy. I blame myself for putting her in white (we don't have a lot of clothes that fit her at this point), although I don't see the point in dressing Heidi up all fancy, when she is just going to be wrapped up in a blanket anyway. plus, practically nothing but her white onesis fit her right now anyway)

And Alex and I got dressed up. (I think this picture is hilarious)

Alex decided to help me pick out a few things from my jewelry box for church, and we had a grand time. I can't wait for when the day's of dress-up truly begin!!