A fundraiser party for a good cause...Lula Roe!

Hey Ladies!

I'm really excited to be hosting a Lula Roe party! My good friend Mary Mulroney just started selling these awesome clothes. If you have never heard of this brand of clothing they offer comfortable, stylish, & flattering clothes for women and girls. The items include maxi skirts (my favorite), pencil skirts, a-line skirts, dresses and new as of this week LEGGINGS! Once you try one on you will want to live in them! Seriously they might just become your go to items in your wardrobe. You should check out their website to see just how cute they are and like their facebook page while your at it:
https://www.facebook.com/LularoeSouthernCalifornia
http://lularoe.com/#shop-lularoe

My favorite part of this party is that I'm teaming up with Karen from A Peak at Karen's World for my upcoming skirt party to help raise funds for her upcoming trip to El Porvenir, Honduras during Christmas. She has signed up to volunteer with an awesome organization called the Honduras Child Alliance. To read more about this cause read this. Along with looking for help with the cost of airfare, she would love to take a suitcase full of items from their wishlist to hand out to the children. Proceeds from each skirt sale will go to this great cause and Lula Roe will be matching those proceeds! Let's help Karen get to Honduras and take things to help the children (mostly books and school supply).
The party will be at my place and will be open house style (so you can just run in and run out if you have to) on Saturday October 26th from 10:00am-12:30pm. Not only will you be able to see the clothes in person and try them on but I will have yummy snacks, door prizes, and a raffle for a movie night gift basket ($30+ value). With each item that you purchase you will get an entry into the raffle!

So come stop and bring a friend if you would like! You won't be disappointed!

Worried that you can't make it on that day or time? Just let me know and I'll find a way for you to check them out! Are you out of state? Don't worry! We can help you find something that you'll love too!

Help make this a success!

Michael is 5 months

Happy 5 months old Mikey! You are turning into one little wiggly bean pole. This past month has been fun because you are really starting to move around a lot and grab for things. Your daddy said "oh ya, I remember this phase. Its so hard to hold them!" And it's true. You are always trying to stand up or wiggle or reach for something so carrying you is a little bit tricky. However, sometimes, when you are getting sleepy, you will burrow your face into me and just want to snuggle.

   Here are your stats:
28'' long 95+%
15 lbs 11.5 oz  48%
head  16.5" 25%
Your length to weight right now is below the charts...hence the bean pole nickname you have gained.

Your hair is lighting up and coming in thicker now and your eyes are still dark. Your big bright eyes still make everyone smile especially your family. It's still hard to tell what color they will stay. You are long and thin and you are already wearing 9 month clothes. I feel like we skipped right over the 6 month clothes. Most people say you look exactly like me. I still see mostly you daddy but with maybe my eyes.

You now roll both directions easily and get around pretty well like that. You push up to strait arms while on your tummy and like to kick your feet. Soon you will be crawling little one, and I'm so excited for you.

You smile and laugh ALL THE TIME. It is adorable and your joy brightens up our home . You love to watch Dane run around and dance and you just laugh and laugh. I can tell you two are really starting to be friends now. He will run up to you and jump and you will laugh. This happens over and over again. Sometimes Dane will be a little too rough and he will make you cry but you don't cry long and accept his apology kisses.

Speaking of kisses, you are starting to lean in for them when we go to kiss you. This might be because you have all three of us wanting to kiss you all the time. You get A LOT of practice.

My love for you doubles and triples with each month that passes. I think about it durring our middle of the night feedings. When it is dark and quiet and everyone else is asleep but you and I my heart swells with love for you. You have such a sweet and fun spirit. I will miss these times when you are older and sleeping through the night.

You are a great nurser still and are ready to try real food. When we are eating together at the dinner table you always reach for our food and you look like you can't wait to be able to eat like us. However, we will wait till next month to get started with that.

As of this month you have started going to bed at the same times as your brother for nap time and bed time. You have stopped doing your 9pm crying time (thank goodness) and will go down quietly at about 7:30-8pm. When you sleep you want to be on your left side, with a Binky, and your face burrowed into a blanket. You want your first feeding at 11ish and then again at 3:30am and 5:30am. You usually end up in bed with me for the 5:30am feeding and you will stay there snuggling till it's time to wake up for the day. Sometimes I don't even remember bringing you to bed and just wake up with you there.  You ALWAYS wake up at 7:30 with gas. It's kind of funny.

 

You and your daddy are really starting to bond. When daddy is getting dressed in the morning you will lye in bed and watch him. Sometimes you will even reach out for him. Daddy loves to give you kisses and throw you up in the air. Just wait till you can run around with Daddy and Dane! Daddy has also started watching you and your brother on Thursday nights while I go to choir practice and you have been such a good boy for him. Thanks sweetie.

Okay little monkey, till next month! I love you!

My recovery:
As of right now I am 6lbs away from pre baby weight. I can fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes -even though they look completely different now. I'm in good spirits and starting to feel like my self again. Work and 2 kids can be overwhelming most some days (especially when we have a rough night) but I'm just trying to concentrate on my blessings and move forward. Note to self: It takes me 4 months to feel somewhat normal after child birth. Not any sooner so try to be gentle and patient with your self .

Michael is 4 months!

Hey there little Mikey! Happy 4 months!

Your stats are:

27" long 95+%

16 lbs 75%

You are growing, growing, growing! You continue to be such a happy baby boy. In fact, that is usually the first thing people notice about you. And then they move quickly to how big you are. 

You love to giggle and your brother and you love to giggle back and forth. I have to say that one of my favorite parts of watching you grow is seeing your relationship with your brother develop. Most of time you boys like to giggle at each other while you are in the car. You two love each other and have the best time playing. I can tell you can't wait till you can get up and run around with him.

You are defiantly teething and you always have your hands in your mouth. No teeth yet but I'm sure they are coming soon.You also have found your feet and love to chew on those too.

 

This month you have started fussing at night. It starts at 9pm to be exact and I'm not kidding about that. I don't even need to look at a clock to know it is 9pm anymore. You will even wake up from a peaceful sleep to cry at 9pm. It's kind of crazy. It lasts about 2 hrs and then you will fall asleep for the night (well, at least for about 3 hrs). Since our pool is heated and it has been very warm out I will take you swimming during that time and you quiet right down. You love going in the pool.

You are getting to be very wiggly. In fact, it was pretty hard to take your 4 month picture. You always want to be standing and moving around. You have such strong legs!

You like to stick your tongue out and do it a lot.  Especially when you smile. I just think it is the cutest thing ever.

 

Your eyes seem to be staying dark and your hair is coming in a dark blond.  Lots of people are saying you look a lot like me now. I spend a lot of time day dreaming about what you will look when you are all grown up. But no matter what or who you look like I just pray that you grow up to be a man that knows how to work hard, have integrity, and have a strong testimony of your heavenly Father and the gospel. Your dad and I talk all the time about what we can do to help you grow up and be happy. We love you so much little monkey.

We took a  mini day vacation to Arrowhead on Labor day. This was your first time up to the mountains and we loved showing you and your brother around. You mostly just stayed snuggled up with me while Daddy and brother went exploring. Going to the mountains is my favorite thing to do. I find peace there and re-charge for going back to every day life.

While up there you got to meet your 2nd cousin Jack Ward. You two are very close in age and it was fun seeing you two meet each other.

 I can't wait to see what this next month will bring! Love you little Mikey.

 

Mikey is 3 months!

Three months went by pretty fast, little monkey. I'm learning that the first three months are just hard. Hard for mommies and daddies, and hard for babies. There is a lot of adjusting, growing, crying, and experimenting going on in those first three months. So remember that when you are all grown up and becoming a father. Just go into survival mode for those months because once the babies hit 3 months life gets better. That being said, you have been such an easy baby so far. You will fuss and cry every once in a while but you are usually just a happy little boy.  You cry more when I eat dairy and you get a rash around your mouth so I'm reeealy trying hard not to eat any. Its hard because I love ice cream :-)

 

 Your Stats are:

26.25'' 95+%

14lbs 3.5oz 60%

16" 50%

You have had some nights where you just want to cry and whine between the hours of 9-11pm. I'm not sure why babies always want to cry around that time. But after that you will fall asleep around 11:30pm and sleep for a good 4-5 hrs. Then you will wake up again two hours after that and then again two hours after that. At that point Dane is also awake so we all get dressed and ready for the day and play for a little while. Then you go down for a nap for about an hour. You take several short naps though out the day and usually take one long one. Some times you will even take your long nap when our brother Dane does!

You love to smile and you pretty much always have your mouth open.

 You insist on standing up! It is sooo funny. We keep trying to lay you down but you just want to be up. You have started sitting in the bumbo chair and you seem to like it enough. Your head control is coming along really well. You are a lot less wobbly. You are doing really well with tummy time and don't seem to mind it too much. You now roll over from your tummy to your back regularly and you will roll from your back to your side almost every time I lay you down. You seem to hate laying on your back.

Mikey 3 months Dane 18 months

Speaking about laying on your back you just will not sleep on your back. You have to be on your side with your face snuggled into something soft like a blanket, the couch, or me.

How you felt about tummy time at first

How you feel now

You are outgoing, little Mikey. You love to smile and "talk" with people. I think it is so fun to see your distinct personality already shinning through. And shinning is the only way to describe it, everyone can see it. You know that song "Every Star is Different" I think of you when it says "some are bright and happy". I hope you always shine brightly little one.

Snuggles with our dog Luke

This month was a really special one because you were blessed on July 7th by your daddy in the Anaheim 4th ward. Lots of family and friends were there to celebrate you. Something extra special was that your Mimi (my mama) and Papa (Michael) came all the way from South Carolina to be there for your special day! They really do love you and had so much fun snuggling you and trying to spoil you. After the blessing everyone came back to our home and had lunch. You were perfect that day and looked perfect in your little white outfit. Your blessing was really special.

Nana, Grampa, Great Aunt Janice, Kristy, Darrel,Debi,Brett,Mama,Daddy,Auntie Sandra,Uncle Paul,Papa Michael, Mimi,Piper,Catherine,Soni,Dane,Katie,Jake.

Mama's side of the Family

Everyone that was in your circle (minus bishop Mulroney). Brett Danley, Grampa, Daddy,Cody Walk,Darrel,Devin Weir.

The Christensens and Walks

Our little family

 

You are a drool monster! You drench everything that you wear, I wear, and daddy wears. It's because you are teething and I expect to see some teeth push through soon. I let you chew on my wrist, knuckle, and cheek bone all day long.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Your hair is still mostly dark and your eyes seem to be going to the hazel/light brown side. Your skin is starting to lighten up too. Looks like you have more of my coloring.

Mimi, Papa, and Dane building your crib.

You have been spending time with your Aunt Sandra Manneck lately and she just adores you. You guys like to just sit and cuddle. You are lucky to have so much family that loves you.

Dane likes to get real close to you and stomp his feet. It makes me a little nervous but you love it.

Truth.

We are so grateful that we (mama and daddy) were sealed in the temple so that our family can be together for time and all eternity. Knowing this brings us so much peace and joy. There are so many wonderful blessing that you get  when you go to the Temple. Daddy and I know this to be true.

Love you my little Mikey



 

Dane is 18 months!

Life is so exciting with you my little Dane. You are 18 months old now and you are changing and growing and learning at such a fast rate it is hard to keep up. I find my self watching you and thinking to my self "I don't ever want to forget how you look/sound/smell/feel at this very moment". I know that is probably not possible so I'm doing my best to right as much down as I can remember. I wish I could be taking pictures of you all day long doing all the silly, exciting, naughty things that you do but I also don't want to be messing with a camera. (not that I don't take a ton of pictures of you:-). Your dad and I are cherishing our time with you and love every second of it.

Daddy and Dane at 18 months

 Your stats are:
34.5" long 95+%
28.4 lbs 75%
19" head circumference 50% 

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! You are officially fluent in English however a lot of words are still in your baby accent so only Daddy and I can understand it. Our favorite thing is when you say things just a little wrong. For a while you would say "Tuh-raatt" for truck. We loved how you turned it into a three syllable word. That only lasted for about a week though and you started saying it correctly. Now it is one of your favorite words to say. At bedtime one night Daddy and I were singing you a song and you started to sing along but since you didn't know the words to the song you just said "truck, truck,trrrruck, truuuuuck". We thought it was the cutest thing ever. Daddy started laughing so hard that he fell over and then you cried. You don't like it when we pretend to fall over. Some of your other favorite words right now are; buss, daddy, anana (banana), peese (please), no (I hear this one a lot. Even when you mean 'yes'), Yes, dar (for car. I'm loving this one right now but you already started to figure out that it is pronounced car), rice, baby, book, shoes, up (another one of my favorites. especially when said because you want me to hold you), more, bicycle, moon, clock (you struggle with the 'L' in this one...it makes us giggle), mimi (this is what you call your blanket made by your mimi), Lala (for Auntie Laura), its trash, apple, water and bottle (both of these words are said without the 't' sound...super cute) sip, sit, stick, Jesus. One of your favorite sentences is "What is this" and you mostly say that about food. There are so many that I'm sure I am forgetting some. It seems like everyday you are saying a new word.

You just love hanging with your daddy. And he loooooves hanging with you!

Physically you are still growing like a weed. And you are so strong! Your hair is the color of golden wheat and your eyes are a clear blue green. You only have one freckle and its on your right hand and your dimples on your cheeks are just so kissable (for some reason I feel like in 16 years some girl is going to be saying the same thing;-). You are a master of the stairs going up and down and you really enjoy climbing on things now. We took you to a trampoline park once and ever since then you try to jump all the time. You try jumping down the stairs, over things, off of things, on baby brothers, on rocks, on beds and couches. Really you are just bending your knees and straitening them fast and haven't figured out how to get into the air but you are so proud of yourself when you do it and we love watching you try so hard. I hope you always find such joy and pride in trying hard to do something. It will pay off. You are also experimenting with new speeds in running. This is causing you to fall a lot more but your little legs are sure getting fast! Especially when you are running away from me (that is another story.) You love walking up and down hills and across rocks. You love to flop around on our bed when you come in in the morning. You think it is hilarious. You have figured out how to trow a ball up in the air and catch it. You don't hit as much as you used to and you will show us "soft hands" when we ask you too. You love to take your truck outside and push it around the courtyard. You do this for a long time. While at the playground once you slipped off of a ledge and caught your self with one hand on a bar. You held your entire weight one handed dangling for a good 5 seconds (one one thousand, two one thousand...) until I was able to get to you. You kept saying "oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!" a little frantically while hanging there. You are just a hunk of muscles.

  

You still love everything that has to do with a ball. You throw left handed exclusively (except when you are throwing with both hands).

You are definitely an internal processor (I am too). Your nursery leader (Samantha Smoot) told me that you are getting better and better and socializing and playing with the other kids in class. You have always been good at saying hi and going up to people but now you are learning how to really play with other kids. She also said that you are paying attention during lesson time and even participating! Your dad and I like to "check" on you and peek in the window while you are in nursery. Not because you really need to be checked on but just because we love seeing you having so much fun. You are sensitive and don't like play hurting. You are getting silly! You like to make all kinds of silly sounds and faces at your brother to make him smile. You like to be independent. Sometimes I will watch and see how far you will go before looking back for me and I've decided that you just keep going. I think it shows how secure you feel and you should because your family will always be here for you. When you get nervous you twiddle your fingers and when you get excited you stretch out your arms and shake. You tend to be a little on the nervous side so we are working to show you how to work through it.

 

 You love finding sticks and pushing them on the ground or hitting/poking thing with it. You will find one and say "Its a stick"

You are very affectionate.  You love grabbing my and your daddy's head and giving group hugs/kisses. You love snuggling your brother and giving him kisses and hugs. And you love giving Chloe hugs. You will also go up to other babies (even if you don't know them) and giving them kisses. Maybe you'll run for office when you grow up:-)

 

First time climbing a tree

 Your best friends right now are Chloe and Preslie Walk. When ever they see you they shout "Hi Daneeee!" and you get really excited and run to them. You three are adorable playing together. You love them so much. Especially Chloe. We catch you trying to give her hugs and kisses a lot now. I think you like how gentle, patient, kind and soft spoken she is. Being the child of the property manager has some perks and one of them is that you are loved by a lot of residents. You like to go up and say hi to them when they pass by. They all look out for you and I think it is adorable. Your best friend is still your daddy. You guys are best buddies.

Here you are helping Mimi build Mikey's crib.

Dane 10 months and Mikey 3 month.

You have started to experiment with your will and saying 'no'. You mostly do this at home and with me. I think of it as great learning opportunities for each of us. Some times I will get frustrated but then when we go out and I see you say please and thank you and put things back after you use them I know we are making progress. Our big challenge right now is getting you to come when you are called. When I ask you if you are poopy you will now say yes or no and you are 95% of the time right. Uh oh, is potty training time coming already?!

First time playing volleyball. You loved watching daddy and mama play.

Dane our love for you is so great that I know I can't express it in writing. But even more importantly I want you to know that your Heavenly Father loves you even more. You are his child and he will always be there for you. You just need to turn to him in prayer. Your father and I know that to be true.

Love you little Munch!