Meridian After Christmas

Meridian after Christmas is always a good idea. ;) We loaded the Rav to the heaping brim and made our merry way to spend last weekend with my family. We had a belated "Christmas Eve" with my mom, exchanging gifts and giggling as Liam tossed aside new items of clothing for a mini kitchen mixer and set of magnatiles (thanks mom for Liam's new snow clothes ... IIII really appreciate them!). Lyla girl was spoiled with new clothes because those yummy leg rolls are only getting bigger, Nic with a new set of kitchen chairs that we desperately needed after one collapsed underneath him a couple weeks ago (thankfully he didn't get hurt!), and I got the sweetest set of rings with Liam & Lyla's names engraved on them! Oh and a Fawn Design diaper bag that I am obsessed with!!

That same evening, Liam found my brother's old Guitar Hero game in my mom's hall closet so we busted that out and set it all up for him. Blast from the past!!

Friday morning we finally got to see the Meridian Temple for the first time. Pictures don't even do it justice!!

We walked around the grounds and found this beautiful scene right after Christmas ...

In the afternoon we met this crew for some family bowling fun at Meridian Lanes! While it was madness in there trying to keep track of all of them, it's the BEST getting cousins together to play.

It was Liam's first time bowling! He loved it for the first two frames and then was over it and cared more about his sucker from grams after that.

A candy cane too!! Much sugar was consumed!

We definitely got off of the sleep training routine during this trip (paying for it a bit since we got home) but this little darling slept the entire way to and from Meridian and everywhere we went in the car. Also isn't that the cutest baby coat you've ever seen?! 

Loving spending time with Sita. Liam loves it too. In fact, as we were packing up to head home on Sunday he said to her, "Sita, I want you to come with us!" Isn't that the sweetest! Hopefully someday we'll all live in the same town.

See what I mean, leg rolls for days!! Cutest ever!

On our last day there, we made a couple returns at the Village of things that didn't fit and after putting the kids to bed, tried out my new face mask I got for Christmas from Nic! Until next time, Merville!

a look back at 2017

H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R !!!

The kids and I didn't quite make it to midnight last night ... they were both overly tired (and cranky) from a fun-filled weekend away in Boise so the best we did with our last night of 2017 was take down Christmas decorations, break out the fondue pot for dinner, and tuck both kids in bed by 7:30! Technically we rang in the new year at 6 A.M. this morning with two very early risers! haha Luckily Nic had one final day off with us and we soaked in every single second left of our time together before officially saying goodbye to the holidays tomorrow morning, jumping back into routines, and parenting two kids solo amidst a very messy house! Cheers! haha

Before jumping in to the new year, I wanted to take one last look back at 2017. A year that held a lot excitement and special moments for our family ...

January ... The month filled with more snow than we've seen in our yard in several years! Liam built his first snow(wo)man named Betsy. He also started speech therapy with the Infant Toddler Program and began calling animals and various things by their sound names. It was also back when he was calling Nic and I, "D". After many months of trying, our prayers were answered and we found out we were expecting again! We weren't quite sharing the news yet but were secretly over the moon!! Shortly after, we took the first step in preparing Liam to become a big brother by transitioning him from his crib to a big boy bed and surprised him with a new room!

February ... I was in my first trimester and nauseous 24/7 from pregnancy. Liam and I spent many days cuddled up on the couch watching Trolls and Moana over and over again. I did manage to pull my act together enough to celebrate Valentine's Day with my two favorite Valentine's.  

March ... After weeks of worrying and battling nausea, we finally hit the 12 week mark and felt confident to share our news, Liam was going to be a big brother!!

April ... We celebrated Easter in Meridian with my side of the family and loved every second of watching Liam really get in to the egg hunt this year! We went with Papa to see the Union Pacific Steam Engine that came through Pocatello and our train loving 2 year old loved every single second of it!

May ... After waiting on pins and needles together in a quiet little ultrasound room, Nic and I were elated to find out we were having a daughter! I can't even put into words what that moment was like for the two of us but it was one of the best moments of 2017!! I'll never forget it. We took Liam to the Wellness Complex to fly his kite that the Easter bunny brought for him and he spent the rest of the summer mowing the lawn 2 steps behind daddy with his very own lawn mower. Cutest thing I've ever seen! Mother's Day weekend was special for me this year because it was the first time I'd celebrated it in person with my own mom for several years. Nic and I celebrated 6 years of marriage!

June ... Nic turned THIRTY and I threw a surprise party for him with friends and family to celebrate! They opened a splash pad near our house where we spent many evenings at for the rest of the summer. We toured the newly renovated Idaho Falls Temple before it was rededicated and all Liam will remember from that trip is that it was his first time riding a bus. haha We celebrated our favorite guy a second time this month on Father's Day, we couldn't live without him! Our final trip before Lyla was born was a weekend spent in Bear Lake where Liam rode his first jet ski. He's been talking about it ever since! I turned 27 at the end of this month.

July ... Being 32 weeks pregnant, it was the hottest 4th of July I've ever experienced! It still didn't keep us from experiencing the parade and fireworks but I'm not sure I'll ever eat another hot dog again after getting the flu the very next day. 15 fun memories from our summer in this post! We potty trained Liam which definitely wasn't our favorite milestone but SO happy to only have one kid in diapers. It was also the month I started experiencing pain with one of my baby teeth and finally had to have it removed and the beginning steps of an implant. My mom came to town and threw baby girl and I the most beautiful backyard baby shower! 

August ... Hugely pregnant and so hot this month but we made the most out of every single moment we had left with just Liam. My boys humored me and we took some maternity/family pictures to remember this time as a family of 3. We watched the Solar Eclipse with friends which turned out to be nothing too spectacular because we weren't in an area of totality. I made it to 38 weeks and felt so grateful not to have another early baby. Liam had his first day of preschool, ran in and never looked back! And the best part of our year ... our Lyla girl was born!!! 8 pounds, 3 ounces of the sweetest most perfect little baby! 

September ... Amidst the newborn fog, Liam proved what an incredible big brother he is, Lyla had her first bath, and I tried to capture every little detail of her sweet newborn-ness. 

October ... The holiday season began which meant an annual trip to the pumpkin patch,  carving pumpkins together, and celebrating Lyla's first holiday (Halloween)! The cutest little pilot and jewelry box ballerina you ever did see! I shared a little bit about life with two kids and Lyla's nursery tour which has become my favorite room in our house! Lyla turned one month old and Liam turned THREE! He got to "drive" a real life fire truck to celebrate with his friends! Liam graduated from the Infant Toddler Program.

November ... Lyla turned two months old and was given the most beautiful baby blessing at church by her daddy. We celebrated Thanksgiving in an unexpected way, a canceled trip to Meridian that day when Liam woke up with pink eye but we still found so much to be grateful for!

December ... Lyla turned three months old! Liam had a night and day different experience with Santa compared to last year and licked his beard because he was so comfortable and silly with him! haha Still can't get over that one, hilarious! We had our first snow and Nic and Liam built the first snowman of the winter season. After a couple months of preschool, Liam's vocabulary started taking off and he finally started mimicking words! He can now count to almost 20, say all of his colors, and speak in several words sentences! And last but not least ... Christmas! It was the most magical one we've had as a family yet! 

Cheers to 2018 and many more memories ahead to be made! Xo