Easters

This year we dedicated our entire weekend to Easter festivities. On friday we colored eggs at our house with my cousins, sisters-in-law and all of our kids. It was a very fun, very busy afternoon. The boys of course got bored and went into the other room and watched Tangled. Needless to say as soon as it got quiet or we heard a noise we weren't quite familiar with all the moms woud run in to see what was going on... most of the time it was a false alarm. It was entertaining for sure!

upfront is supposed to be  'chick egg' and a "dino egg"... not my best :)

After the party, we headed to the Easter pageant at the Mormon Temple. It was amazing. I have never seen so many people in my life! I had never even heard of it before I moved here, but it is obviously a pretty big deal! On saturday we went to my in-laws for a basket search and BBQ. Tanman's brother hid our basket and said it was the hardest. Of course my witty mind found it in a jiffy. So Tanman and I decided to hide his in our spot and pretend like we never found ours. It sure was fun watching him search all over! At one point I started eating some candy from our basket and he caught me! I told him I snuck it out of our nephew's basket! He believed me. It was a little like stealing candy from a baby... (ok bad joke, but I had to)

The Easter bunny was pretty sneaky at our house. On sunday, it took Tanman half an hour to find his basket! The eggs were no walk in the park either. That shifty bunny color coordinated the eggs to all the hiding spots! These were my two favorite spots:

This is just a small part of the "looking" Tanman did. All this mess and it still took almost an hour to find everything in just two rooms!

Baby G loved all the fun so much that he took a four hour nap just to recoup! When he woke up he was ready to play and show off his cute easter outfit.

He is quite handsome if I do say so myself!

For dinner, we headed to my family's house. We had dinner outside on blankets watching the kids play and then we went inside and had an Easter program. It was so nice to end the crazy weekend reflecting on what it all really is about.

Blessed

How I love this boy! He is my heart!

We had the opportunity to bless our dear son yesterday among our families and friends. It was a perfect day.

April Showers

Well, we headed back to California AGAIN! This time Tanman drove me over and left me for the week and then I drove back with my sisters for the weekend's festivities (next post). It was so fun but baby G and I missed him. I am, however, a little jealous of the sleep he got when he went back home and we weren't there. This trip was so that I could finally make it to my California baby showers! We had them planned before I went into premature labor and had to postpone them until I was able to travel. Oh what fun it was! We had a super cute Sprinkle party with the girls and then a Shower hosted by all the ladies from the ward I grew up in. Thanks girls!! G is definitely a spoiled little boy!

This is the only way he would fall asleep on the drive home.

Ode to El Cholo

We went to California to visit my fam for the week! It was quite fun for us! We spent the first few days at my parents then a few days at Tanman's family beach house and then back to my parents. Grammy and Grampy got to hang with their boys... Can you believe our family is tied now?! Who would have ever thought we would have an even number of girls to boys?!

Baby G loved the beach... or at least he will one day!

One of the highlights of our trip with the hour drive to my family's favorite restaurant. It is Legend.... dary! This is one of those places that is passed down from generation to generation. We grew up on this place! It smells like home. And yes, I am aware that there is one not even a mile from my parent's but the one in LA is better. It just is.

So we decided to celebrate that fact that my mom and all her sisters were together and the last time Tanman and I had it was right before we got married so we were in need of a visit with our dear friend El Cholo. My stomach is satisfied.

Flying Time

Wow! I can't believe how fast the past month and a half have flown! Life has been so fun and busy around here. The days melt into night and the nights seem to go on forever... :) Baby G is a real cutie and we are so happy that he picked us to be his parents!

Here are a few things we've learned about our little man so far:

He prefers to fall asleep like this:

Or like this:

...which makes it very hard to type a blog post.

He weighs less than his cousin who is five weeks younger than him.

He is so strong and a fan of tummy time

but not so much a fan of getting his foot chewed on!

There is nothing he loves more than being "milk-drunk"

or straight "chillin".

He loves the beach...

...and his cousins.

(He really looks up to them)

He lets mom dress him up to match her...

...and loves to relax with dad.

He is definitely an advocate of pacifiers...

...but not so much of being naked.

He likes to show off for dad and hold his own bottle...

and he is growing up way too fast!!!

I just love this little boy!

How sweet it is to be loved by you

He is here!
Welcome to the world Gunnar Wade!

Well last sunday morning I woke up for a usual middle of the night bathroom run only to be surprised by my water breaking instead! Let me tell you that is a weird feeling! That was definitely not what I was expecting and I really didn't feel any contractions that would have made me think I was in labor. We didn't exactly know what to do so we called my mom who miraculously was awake to answer the phone. She told us to grab our bags and head to hospital. (sidenote: our bags had been packed since the last time I went into labor. After that week, I knew nothing could prepare me for having a baby but I was at least going to be prepared by having a packed bag) When we checked into the hospital I was dialated to a 4 and the nurse told me I was going home with a baby. They brought us to labor and delivery and hooked me up with a sweet epidural... highly recommended. Tanman and I even got to sleep for a few hours. The next time they checked me I was a 9 and about tweny minutes later we were ready to push. A few minutes later our son was laying on my stomach looking back up at me and sucking his thumb.

What an amazing experience

Tanman was a perfect coach and a total support. I love my boys so much!

Because he was born so preemie (measuring in at about 35 weeks) at 5 pounds 5 ounces the doctors had a close eye on him making sure that he was developed and healthy enough to go home with us. The pediatritian gave us a 20% chance that we would go home with him which absolutely broke my heart. I think our little guy heard him because he ate so well that day and passed all of his tests which totally surprised us all (plus a little prayer always helps) and they gave him the go ahead to come home with us.

Life has been a crazy whirlwind ever since but I couldn't be more happy.

We have been visited by so many family and friends and super lucky to have my family staying with us for two weeks to help. (I'll do another post with pictures of our family) I might be comatose all day long but he makes it worth it and I couldn't do it without their help. A big thank you to everyone who has helped us get through the days and the nights! We are asbolutely in love with our new arrival and so grateful that everyone is doing well and staying healthy.

There is definitely a sudden bond and love that overcomes you when you first get to meet your child. I still get emotional when I look at all these pictures. I am so grateful for my husband and my son. They are the loves of my life.