Normal and New

After all of our trips and having our little girl we are still keeping busy, but most of all having fun now that I am 100% of a stay at home mommy, while daddy is full time in school. Doing what, you ask?

Getting back to normal .......

Going to church (our new ward) after not attending for a few weeks(new baby- so many people). Going for walks (with Rachel in a sling and James in the stroller) to so many different parks, including the new Spanish Fork one with the splash pad. A big hit! Having friends over, BBQ's and hanging out. Holding and kissing Rachel over and over again. (Big brother gives her kisses everyday without me telling him to and he asks to hold her at least once a day). Creating entertainment in so many different ways with music, dancing and art.

Learning new songs, like head and shoulders knees and toes. Supporting BYU football and hanging with the cousins. Visiting Temple Square (Jesus' house) while daddy's at a Doterra convention Taking in the last month of swimming at Seven Peaks. (Rachel went for her first and last time this year. I just really wanted to put this stinking cute swimsuit on her before she grew out of it). Snuggling. (One night I got home a little later after being with my mom and went to check on James like I do every night. I loved what I saw. No greater vision than daddy and big guy snuggling and totally sleeping together. Josh crawled into the crib and fell asleep with him. At night James always prefers daddy over me and wants his daddy right next to him holding his hand. It is so dear how much James just loves his Dada.) James' Superman and Batman cape has been a major hit. He prefers superman most of the time, besides when he is riding his bat dog or wearing his batman belt. He's loves pretending to sward fight and is still learning that he can't just hit someone and call it good.One of James' favorite things to do is to ride his bat dog while shooting his gun and running around. I play dead with him all the time and he thinks it's a total blast. He also knows what BYU looks like. Whenever he sees someone wearing a BYU shirt or if one is on the ground he always points and slurs BYU in his own language and he gets so excited when I dress him in BYU. One of the things we have done quite a bit this summer as a family, since we moved is going on walks and stopping to get our favorite summer treat- snow cones. We all share the Big Kahuna(which is probably the size of James' head), our favorite is tigers blood. Then we stroll over to the park for slides and climbing. James seems to always make a friend there. He is quite social with other kids. We have loved ever second spent with Rachel, she has struggled a bit this last week with gas and digestion. I hear her rumbles in her tummy and I can just tell it hurts a ton. She is sure to tell us how she feels with her cries. It makes me sad that I can't really do anything for her. (Check out her cute onesie that has a superman symbol and reads "My daddy is superman and my brother is the Hulk". Love it, one of my old students made it for her. James is so curious and loves learning anything new. He learned about shadows and footprints this week and I just love how engaged he is. We spent time playing in the rain and making footprints one afternoon. He thought it was pretty cool. He kept on wanting to do it over and over again and couldn't understand why they would disappear. James is still being the incredible big brother to his sister. I am praying it lasts forever. He loves to cuddle and give hugs for SHORT times and always kisses her or helps when she is sad. He is such a great help getting wet wipes and diapers for me and he even knows which ones are his and hers. He always loves putting garbage away for me. Sometimes I don't even have to ask him and he will just pick it up and put it away. He is super helpful at putting things away for me and bringing things to me. It is most helpful when I am nursing. We had a great weekend with the Nielson's in Henderson, Nevada. James made it to his twin cousins birthday and ate yummies and played. We always love visiting them because we always have so much fun and feel so loved. James has always loved trains and shows so much interest in Thomas the Train. While we were at the mall shopping, he was so excited about the train that we had to take a ride. We had a blast riding the train around the mall, but most of all, I just had fun watching his reaction. Rachel is so alert and even gets to be sung by her big brother. I am one proud mother to have 2 adorable little ones and life couldn't be better. I mean I love changing more than half a dozen diapers a day, wake every 3 hours in the middle of the night to nurse, am always tired, sometimes don't even get ready for the day, clean up continually and LOVE THESE LITTLE ONES NO MATTER WHAT! Really, I have the best job and it's the little moments that make it all worth it. I am so glad that I am fully recovered and feel normal. We are now back to being normal and I really like the new me, as a stay at home mom. This is now normal and my 2 sweeties are learning tons of new things. How exciting that I can witness every step along the way.