Mother's Day 2019

I'm back! With another update from May ... in July! haha Mother's Day!

Next to being a wife, there is nothing I cherish more than being a mom. I'm always telling Nic, this stage of life we are in together right now has always been the one that I looked forward to the most in my life. Having babies as always been my dream! It's also the hardest stage too. I give them all of me every day ... my time, my energy, everything I can think of to teach them, my adventurous side exploring new places, the side of me that slowly dwindles with patience, the saying I'm sorry and asking for forgiveness side, and more than anything else, loving them with all that I am!

Mother's Day was the perfect celebration of all of that. It is both amazing and challenging that it is celebrated on a Sunday every year. Church with kids can be an absolute whirlwind and test in survival mode. It is also the best day to rest too and it was a good mix of that. We had my mom over for dinner to celebrate her too otherwise we spent the rest of the day just spending time together.

 While I had a date night with Liam the night before, Lyla walked through the park to the store with daddy and she picked out the prettiest pink roses for me for Mother's Day! It was adorable hearing the story of her looking at all the "fowers" and wanting to smell them over and over again. 

Liam made me the most adorable soap container with his picture inside at preschool along with my favorite part of the gift ...

Haha I love those and his answers were priceless!! To my credit, I don't ALWAYS forget to buckle him in his seat. ;) Luckily, he has learned how to do it himself now so he can stay protected under my watch! I also love to paint with him and he always make me feel so beautiful with his sweet compliments when I wear a dress. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Without knowing he was doing one with his teacher, the little survey of questions was what I told Nic I wanted him to do with Liam to hear what he would say so he recorded some videos. I thought I would share his answers to those here too ...

What is something mom always says to you? ... "We're going to the library." haha

What makes mom happy? ... "Giving her hugs!"

If mom were a character in a movie, which character would she be? ... "Wonder Woman!"

What is mommy really good at? ... "Painting mirrors"

What is mommy not good at? ... "Ummm, she's good at everything." (no, he was not prompted to say that. haha)

What makes you proud of mommy? ... "By making bugs dead." 

What do you and mommy both love to eat? ... "Strawberries"

Hahaha BEST GIFT EVER!!! I love their little personalities so much and am so grateful they picked me to be their mom!

8 years

You guys, summer is so wonderfully crazy, fun, and busy! I have so much catching up to do!
Let's start with one of my favorite days of the year ...

Nic and I celebrated 8 years of marriage in May!!

I made him this video (linked here) and it brings me to tears every time I watch it. So many unforgettable moments and a beautiful life we've made together! We watched it laying in bed that morning and I think he loves it just as much as I do.

In the morning we visited the Boise Temple grounds where we were married. It was our first time taking our kids there and it was like being in this crazy time warp seeing how much our lives have grown and changed since that beautiful day!

Liam's first time ever taking our picture! haha

And the second ... there are our heads! haha

I love that our love created these two beautiful humans!

In the afternoon Liam had a play date and Lyla took a nap while my sweet step mom stayed with her so we could have a date together! We haven't been in Boise on any of our anniversaries so far so Nic planned the most special walk down memory lane starting with the Idaho Botanical Gardens where he proposed 9 years ago. He reenacted the moment in the very same gazebo and got down on one knee and gave me a set of silicone rings to wear when I exercise/do yard work/hike/etc. It was so cute and thoughtful! In the moment I remember saying, "what are you doing?!" haha because I was so thrown off by it and it was the best surprise!

The gardens were covered in the most beautiful pink peonies and we were so entertained by the ginormous coy fish and lizards running around on the rocks.

After the gardens we stopped by The Bishop's House ... a beautiful old Victorian house where we had our wedding reception! There was a big sign in the front yard telling people to stay off the property and that there was some event soon so we quickly popped out of the car long enough to snap a picture and drive away.

I can not imagine my life without this handsome guy in it. We've been through so much together ... school, buying and selling houses, babies, new jobs, a big move and through all of it, there is no one else I'd rather have by my side. I'm so grateful for our marriage and excited to see what the next 50 years will bring! Love you so much Nic Williamson, Happy Anniversary!! XO

Sent from Above Baby Shower

In May I hosted a baby shower with a couple of ladies for my sister-in-law Nicole. She is having twin boys at the end of July and it was so fun to celebrate her and my new little nephews! She sent me a picture of an invitation she loved that said, "Twice the blessings, twice the love, two babies sent from above" and my creative side took over and ran with it and it became this ...

We had a brunch with mini muffins, yogurt parfaits, sausage bites, and a couple different kinds of quiches. So yummy!

My sweet husband helped me make all of the clouds and cloud garlands until our fingers bled (haha!) ... 250 balloons later! One of our party favors were these adorable airplanes made out of chapstick, a stick of gum, 2 lifesaver mints, and a clear hair elastic! They turned out so cute!

Nicole's best friend Claire was in charge of the games ... a fun guess how many gum balls are in the baby bottle and guess the nursery rhyme! We also had the guest of honor choose the winner for the diaper raffle for a $60 gift card to the Village!

My grandma came into town for the shower weekend and it was so fun to see her!

After food and games Nicole opened her gifts. So many teeny newborn things! You forget how small they are ...

We also had all of the guests sign 2 baby versions of the Dr. Suess book, "Oh the Places You'll Go", with a note to each baby inside  ...

Claire had these cute hot air balloon cookies made for party favors too!

Look who showed up at the end the of shower ... the cutest guest of all! ;)

The beautiful soon-to-be mom to twins and her nieces!

With her best friend, Claire!

With her mom and mother-in-law!

With Grandma Sue!

 It was a special day to celebrate our beautiful sister-in-law! We can't wait to meet our new nephews in a little over a month!!

dates with Liam

Up until Lyla was born it was just Liam and I during the day. We'd go to the library together, play outside, build Lego's ... we were each other's whole world. Shortly after Lyla was born, I began to notice how attached to Nic Liam became and our bond began to change. Rightfully so because a lot of my attention had to be focused on nursing/taking care of newborn Lyla but it wasn't long before I learned how important one-on-one time is and we started going on dates together. It is something we both look forward to and it gives Nic and Lyla a chance to bond too! 

Liam's love language is quality time and when he acts out it is often because I've had to say "no" one too many times. One particular day everything on our to-do list took a little bit longer than expected and it didn't leave enough time left to do the last thing on the list, go to the library. Liam started getting really upset in the backseat of the car until I proposed that we go on a date later that night, just him and I, so we didn't have to miss the library that day just postpone it a few hours. He lit up and counted down the hours!

After dinner we drove to the library and I turned off the music. I asked him if he wanted to play the "Get to Know You" question game. He was equally excited to answer questions I asked him about what he likes as well as learn about me in return. It was such a fun way to spend our time bonding in the car together rather than driving without talking and just listening to the radio!

At the library we picked out super hero books together and Scooby Doo movies. We did the daily scavenger hunt for a stamp and even had an opportunity to give some service by cleaning the toy room that kids had used that day and hadn't cleaned up. 

After our library date we had some time left and I told him he could pick one other place to visit, anywhere he wanted and you want to know where he chose ... TARGET! Boy after his momma's heart! We wandered all the toy aisles, picked a treat, and got some fun sidewalk chalk spray paint to try! Love this sweet boy SO much!

Our sidewalk chalk spray paint creation ... Liam <3 mom="" p="">

The week before Mother's Day an event popped up on my Facebook page for a mother-son super hero night at Chick-fil-A. I couldn't think of a more perfect date for my favorite super hero! Poor guy fell asleep on the car ride there from all of the excitement haha ...

The level of detail they put into the event was seriously amazing! Half the restaurant was dedicated to it. The tables were covered in nice table cloths and candles, the moms got a carnation, and they had super heroes coming around to take our order! Liam was cracking me up all night with his cute blaster poses ...

I'll never forget when Liam saw "the real Captain America" for the first time! He was so star struck, his mouth was hanging open, his head was down with his eyes lifted from nerves, and he had a permanent closed mouth smile on his face! He was so shy at first but then finally agreed to get his picture taken with him!

They had a photo booth with props so I got to borrow Dad's super hero character for the night and be the Hulk!

We went to the event with Liam best friend Everett and his mom Amber!

Then we got to ride in this stretch hummer limo! It was probably my least favorite part because of my serious claustrophobia ... the ceilings were SO LOW in there! But it was definitely Liam's favorite part!!!

While riding in the limo around the Village parking lot Everett's mom asked him if he could ride with anyone in the whole world in the limo who would it be, he said "LIAM!" My heart completely melted. It was so sweet!

After the limo ride they got to choose a dessert and play in the play place for a while! They sent us home with a future free kids meal and a ring pop representing the "affinity stone". It was the most fun date we've ever had together and I can't wait to do it again next year! So grateful for these moments of quality time with my favorite Iron Man! 

my danger prone child

If I could wrap this sweet little angel up in a bubble wrapped ball and protect her from herself and the rest of the world I would! She had a rough couple of weeks in April and by rough I mean REALLY rough ... traumatic! It started with a double ear infection diagnosis after taking her in for her 18 month well baby visit. She had cold like symptoms but wasn't overly fussy, no fever, and hadn't been rubbing her ears or anything so I had no idea. I felt terrible.

Two nights later on a Saturday I had laid her down in her crib like I always do for bed time ... she doesn't always fall asleep right away and sometimes moves around in there but I knew something was wrong when I heard her cry out in pain. When I got in there I found her laying face down but no limbs were stuck in bars or anything. I carefully picked her up and she continued to cry. She was acting so rigid and we couldn't figure out if she had hurt her neck or back or something else entirely? After several minutes it was clear we needed to take her in and by the time we got down to the car she had loosened up in the back but had her right arm just clinging to her chest. We loosened the straps on her car seat as far as they would go to try and get it around her and I sat back there while Nic drove us to an urgent care.

At this point she wasn't in pain unless someone tried to move her arm so it quickly turned into a fun night out for her past her bed time with mom and dad. haha They had on cartoons, brought out bubbles, and gave her a green stuffed kitty to play with! Seriously the most calming, kid friendly, and incredible urgent care experience we've ever had!

 When the doctor came in she started her assessment with gently touching each of Lyla's arms while talking to her about the bubbles floating around the room. Then I noticed her grab her right arm pretty firmly and my eyes locked on to Lyla's face. I was consumed with her reaction and trying to console her while Nic watched the doctor completely twist her arm in two. She cried in the moment but I'm not kidding you, seconds later she was completely fine!!! Pain free and moving her right arm that was once clinging like a wounded bird wing to her chest! The doctor told us she had something called "Nursemaids elbow" and that it was extremely common in kids her age. Moments after the doctor re-set her dislocated elbow, she was handed a bubble wand to see if she would move it and it was like night and day difference. I can't even tell you how relieved Nic and I felt knowing our intuition to bring her in was the right thing to do and that it was the quickest fix we could have hoped for!

I was in shock taking this picture of her reaching her arm out to grab that bubble just minutes later ...

Unfortunately that wasn't the end ... three nights later she did it again. We had watched her on her baby monitor like a hawk for 48 hours making sure she wasn't wandering her crib and going to sleep soon after laying her down for bed. On the third night I stepped away from the monitor for 30 seconds to grab the load of laundry to be folded while I waited for her to fall asleep and I heard that awful piercing cry again ... sure enough, I went in there and this time, found her laying on her arm with it stuffed into the back of her diaper. Rushed her back to the urgent care and she had dislocated it again. The sweetest nurse came in between her vital check and the doctor seeing us and told me that she had a son this happened to constantly between the ages of 18 months to about 4 years old. She said that it happened randomly and anywhere so she had to always be prepared and that it could be the same for me too. She showed me how to re-locate it myself in a much less intimidating fashion than the doctor does it so that I would be prepared if it ever happened again. Thankfully it hasn't ... yet.

Another 2 days go by and now I'm just a neurotic wreck, completely stalking her every move. Lyla spotted a bird in our yard and was so focused on pointing to it and showing me, that as she stood up she lost her balance and fell flat on her face on the cement. Huge goose egg and bruised cheek. 

She has no fear and it is terrifying as a parent at times! Nope, scratch that, ALL THE TIME! With stairs, playground equipment, chairs, climbing, sailing down the driveway on the wiggle car, you name it, she has probably tried it. I love her so much and I just pray I can help her survive to adulthood! haha

Checking In | April

Well, it's been a while ... but my headache came back.

I should have known that was a possibility but honestly after hurting for so long, I got really hopeful when it finally disappeared! I also got super lazy about putting on the essential oils I had been using because I figured there was no need for treating something that wasn't there anymore. I'm pretty certain at this point it is hormone related (comes 2 weeks out of the month for my cycle) and increased with certain foods ... still not sure what exactly to do with that information other than recognize it is inevitable to hit around the time of the month and I need to cut back on my peanut butter, chocolate, (and maybe gluten?) around that time too. So.much.fun.

It explains once again why I haven't been on here much. Avoiding too much screen time with a headache and all but I'm getting close to my good week so I wanted to try and catch up! Starting with happenings from the month of April ...

Liam was watching a little kids cooking show on his Nick JR app during quiet time one day and they taught him how to make these race cars. ANYTIME he is willing to try a combination of something new I jump at the chance so we made them together one afternoon and they not only turned out so cute but so yummy too!

Lyla is rounding the corner on TWO YEARS OLD (someone hold me!!!) and I hadn't done a single thing in her baby book. #secondchildproblems So that became my project in April. I got a bunch of her monthly pictures printed and forgot how much I adore scrapbooking memories! It turned out so cute and was fun to go back and visit all of her firsts!

My mom also got a new couch and gave me all of her old couch pillows to recover and I made this big fluffy pink one with some of it! Liam loves it as much as I do. ;)

I know some day I'll look back on Thursday lunch dates with daddy as some of my very favorite memories. We all look forward to visiting him and nothing beats watching the kids squeal when they see him and run into his arms!! Rain or shine we go, along with our little Mary Poppins ...

I couldn't get him to wear these pajamas for more than 2 minutes on Halloween (he was freaked out that they glow in the dark?! I thought that would be the selling point) but now that it is 80 degrees and he has 5 other pair of super hero short sleeve pajamas he chose this pair to wear to pajama day at preschool! With rain boots! Oh my little jumping skeleton!

They are both obsessed with dress up and I LOVE what they come up with ...

From a play date with new friends trying edible Easter egg dying in whipped cream. It was messy but so fun!

After I took the Easter decorations down I felt the Spring cleaning bug to keep things minimal and to also bring in all the beach vibes!

Lyla got her daddy's eyes and can not see in the sun to save her life! haha She'll be winking all summer long. ;) How adorable are these two?!

Lyla has a new found love for reading! She'll climb up in her rocking chair even when I'm not sitting with her and lift the flaps on all of her books and point to the pictures.

My favorite kind of Sunday's with my favorite people ...

Lyla is obsessed with rocks! We find little piles of them everywhere ... in the stroller, on the garage steps, in the grass, sometimes they make it inside in her pockets.

She also adores her bunny (I think it's because she watches Liam love his) and that calculator is her favorite "mone" (phone)!

And she's sooooo mischievous! So much more than Liam ever was! She just learned that if she swings her leg over the top of the couch she can bail over the back (thankfully it hasn't happened) ...

But wait until you hear about her crazy antics I'm sharing with you tomorrow ...
Do I have any grey hairs yet?! haha Because if not, they're coming!