I did something right in Heaven...

I got blessed with two great newborns! Chayse was great as a newborn, minus the NICU experience..and Alexa is just the same! Chayse started sleeping through the night at 2 months, and last night Alexa slept from 8.5 hours! She has been consistently sleeping 6.5-7 hrs a night...which is so great, but last night was SO nice! (Though I did keep waking up towards the end to make sure she was okay because she was sleeping so long!) I am so excited to start sleeping more! :) She has hit a few milestones the last few weeks, such as smiling, holding her head up better, pushing up off my chest with her hands, starting to make some cooing noises and she has started to bat at her toys on her bouncy seat! I think she weighs around 11 lbs..(I weighed myself alone, then holding her.) I guess we will see for sure at her appt on the 7th! She is also wearing 3-6 month clothes already!!! I just love her to death and am so thankful for all the joy she has brought into our home these past 7 weeks. Here are 7 things I love about my baby girl!

7. The sound of her cooing.

6. How she curls up in a ball while she sleeps on my chest.

5. Dressing her in all her CUTE clothes.

4. Doing her hair everyday. ( She never goes out w/o it a bow or a headband!)

3. How she grasps my finger so tight when she is eating.

2. The way she smells like lavender after her bath!

#1. I love it when she looks up at me, scrunches her nose and smiles so big!

A Chef In the Making..

Chayse has shown an interest in helping out in the kitchen. He is constantly asking and sometimes its hard to have a 2.5 year old in the little kitchen area and tripping over him while trying to make dinner. SO I decided when I was at the grocery store this week, that I was going to pick out a totally easy meal for him to help out with. I decided on little mini pizzas on English Muffins. Last night we made them and Chayse had so much fun helping and putting the toppings on. (Except the sauce..ya I wasn't about to go there!) Here are a few pictures of our little Chef in the making.

Here is Chayse putting on the toppings

He was so proud of himself.

He had to keep checking on them. He was getting impatient and kept telling me it was time to take them out so he could eat them.

Here is the finished product! If you look closely..the bottom one looks like a guy with sunglasses a nose and a go-t. Haha!

He pretty excited, so it looks like we may make this a weekly thing where he picks out and cooks dinner. Well helps to cook dinner anyway! Haha!

Just Cuz Im Bored!

What's in a Name?
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) King Vue

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Rocky Road Chocolate Chip

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)

N-Lea

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Baby Blue Puppy

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) - Marie Boise

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) LeaNi

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Pink Diet Coke

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) John John...haha

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) Be Delicious Butterfinger (now THATS a stripper name! haha)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Lynn David

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Brown Boston

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Spring Daisy

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) strawberry pantsy

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) cereal bamboo

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Photography Light Breeze Tour

Baby Smiles

Today I was finally able to catch Alexa smiling on camera! She smiled for the first time on March 10, but they have since been short, quick and hard to catch! She was so happy after her bottle today! She obviously takes after her brother for her love to eat! Its the greatest thing to see them smile up at you, and you can see that whatever you are doing..is right because its making them happy!

She is just too precious! I love her smiles!

While I was taking pictures of Alexa, Chayse wanted his picture taken. He has his baby that he takes care of while I take care of Alexa, and he wanted me to get a picture of him reading a book to his baby Taylor. Its actually my doll from when I was little..and he got a hold of it and loves to carry him around. Let's just not tell Brandon his son carries around a baby doll. ;)

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend! We spent Saturday at The Leavitts, and the kids dyed eggs, decorated bags and did an Easter Egg hunt! Then on Sunday we went to church and Chayse had his first time in Nursery! He absolutely loved it and is excited to go back next week! We then went over to the Leavitts again for Easter Dinner and just hung around and talked! It was a fun and relaxing weekend! Hope you all had a great one too!

Im in Love....

...with my new baby monitor! My mom sent me this awesome baby monitor and I couldnt be more excited! I first heard about these from my sister, whose friend uses it. My mom asked if there was something "big" i needed for when Alexa was born, and I told her I needed a monitor. I heard about this one and checked it out and it was $200! A little out of a reasonable price range..so I looked on ebay and found it for $119! Needless to say I was so excited! My mom ordered it for me and it was dropped off this morning and so now its on the counter, charging so its all ready to go for afternoon naptime It will be so nice to be able to put her upstairs away from Chayse while she naps, so that he cant get her bouncy seat and try and bounce her out of it!

P.S. Alexa slept from a little after 11:00 pm straight through til 6:30 am this morning! Yay for Alexa! Yay for Mommy getting sleep! Haha!

THANKS MOM!

You can check out the monitor by clicking here .

Wal-Mart Vent Part 2

K Seriously..Wal-Mart...SERIOUSLY... is all I have to say....

*

Who are we kidding..its me writing..of course Im going to say more! I am an idiot and bought the wrong formula for lil Miss Alexa..and so I had to go back today. Well I was browsing down the shoe aisle for some cute spring shoes..(thinking that if I bought them..it would somehow send out the message that it really is time for spring to come.) ANYWAY... I was interupted by a Wal-Mart employee behind me saying, "Im not trying to touch you in a bad way or anything..I just need to get this off for you" and proceeds to brush my butt up and down. WHAT THE CRAP! Luckily it was a woman..but still! I guess I had brushed up against something and had dust on my butt...and I guess it was nice of her to care..but SERIOUSLY! I dont know..maybe I am rude..but if I saw someone I didnt know with dust on their butt...sorry pal..you're on your own with that. I would not proceed to brush someone's butt..with my hand no less. 2 Strikes...1 more and you're out Wal-Mart.*

*Except for my formula..its the best deal there!

Wal-Mart Vent

I just had to say something really quick..that really irks me. I was at WalMart on Saturday in Logan..picking up a FEW things. Usually the WalMart in Logan makes me mad..but this time..it just plained ticked me off. They usually dont have enough checkers working..so the lines are long. Well I go into the 20 ITEMS or LESS line..thankful its not too long..and we can get out of there in a timely manner. So I unload my cart and check out..all the while..this lady behind me is seeming to get a little impatient waiting for me to finish. Obviously the checker could tell..because I hear this after I leave:



Checker: "Wow she really pushed the '20 items or less' didnt she?"

Lady: "Haha yes she did."



WHAT THE CRAP! I had 14 items. That is 6 away from 20..pushing it would be 20 items ok? Seriously..dont have the dang sign that says 20 items or less..if you are going to complain about me having 14 items, and its not my fault the lady only had one item, and stood behind me! It was her own perogative!



GRRR WalMart makes me mad!



But I will still go there, because lets be honest....some prices you just cant beat.

My Boise Trip! (Beware..Long Post)

Last Saturday, my little family headed off to Boise for a week of fun at my Grandpa and Grandma Fahnestock's house! My husband had to go on a business trip from Sunday to Wednesday to Vegas, so he drove us to Boise and flew out from there! It was my first experience handling both kids by myself for 4 days, but luckily I have pretty great kids and we had a blast! My grandma was a HUGE help though, and Chayse couldn't get enough of his "gramma ca-cock" (Fahnestock). He was attached to her hip the entire week, and she of course loved it! So here are a few pics..ok a lot of pics recapping our week in B-town!

Here are the kids dressed for church. Don't they look adorable?

This was Alexa's first time..and she seemed quite uninterested in listening, as she slept peacefully the entire time!

Chayse sure does love his little sister! He loves to pose in pictures with her!

Our little angel, sleeping peacefully after her she ate!

Here is Brandon with the kids right before I took him to the airport! As I said before he had a business trip in Vegas..and he ended up having a pretty decent time. He worked during the day and played at night. I was worried he would come home and inform me we had to sell all our belongings to pay off his gambling debt..but luckily he only lost a couple dollars. (Oh and he won a quarter...we are rollin in the big bucks now!) I was really sad to see him go, because we haven't ever been apart that long and though it wasn't horrible, Im not ready for him to leave me again any time soon. Thats a good thing right? :) haha.

~*~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

My dear sweet Grandma turned 79 this past Monday, and we had an open house celebration throughout the day to honor her. I just want to take a minute and say how blessed I feel to have her in my life. She is such an inspiration and a great example to everyone she comes in contact with. She takes such great care of my Grandpa, who's health isnt the best right now. She adores him to this day and I love seeing the love and devotion they have for eachother playout in their everyday lives. She is also the first one to get down on the ground and play with the great grandkids or take them to the park to feed the ducks, or to blow bubbles in the backyard! The whole week, she played with Chayse..reading him story after story, letting him help her clean, building castles out of blocks and didnt mind helping him make a mess, only to insist on cleaning it up later. She loved playing with Alexa and always jumped at the chance to hold her, burp her, feed her or just plain stare at her, soaking in the circle of life, in which newborns remind us of. Thank you grandma for the special place you hold in our hearts and family. We love you!


Grandma and Chayse blowing bubbles in the backyard.


Chayse chasing the bubbles!


~*~


On Tuesday, I had a photo shoot with the kids. Audrey Lewis is a phenomenal photographer and the pictures she got made my heart melt. She put up with us for three hours, was so patient with my not so patient 2 yr old, and really went above and beyond for us. Her prices are unbelievably reasonable. She is so great and I really recommend all of you in Boise to check her out. You can visit her website here:

Audrey Lewis Photography

I just have a little sneak peek here of a couple pictures of my kids..but her website has a few more!

~*~

Chayse LOVES going to the park and playing. He gets pretty timid of new parks at first..but then once he gets warmed up..he loves playing on all the toys. He feels so accomplished when he makes it downt he slides without falling on his bum at the end. He usually gets nervous about climbing up onto things..but he definitely overcame a little of his fears and was climbing around, having a blast!

Here he is..being a "brave boy"..a foot off the ground..haha! :)

He loves to ride on these little things. I have no idea what they are called..so things they are.

*
This trip to the park was very special to me because Chayse was able to meet Luke for the first time. Though neither of them knew the significance of this meeting, Im sure they will be thankful for the pictures later. Thank you Heather for the fun time at the park, and the wonderful opportunity!

After the park we headed to the airport to pick up Brandon and we were so so excited to see him! Chayse definitely missed his Dad. Chayse had just gotten to the point that he really didnt feel the need to listen to what I said anymore..but he shaped back up when his Dad got home haha. We went out to dinner at one of my favorite restraunts in Boise..Cafe Ole and Chayse was just cracking us up with his silly antics.

I told him to smile..and this is what he pulls.

He tried a lemon..and this is his lemon face! :)

~*~

Little Alexa did so great the whole trip. She was an angel and everyone commented on how calm, and peaceful she was. She got a lot of compliments on how "tan" she is..cuz you know...I take her tanning and all. Haha..JUST KIDDING! No one report me! No, most of it is from her being jaundiced, but that is slowly fading now. She did get her dad's coloring which is a little more olive. She didnt get my "porcelain doll" complexion..(as my friend Mandi would always say). Really I think its a nice way of saying I'm pale..haha! :)

Here she is just hanging out..being patient while I take the millionth picture of the day!

She is so much more alert now! She is awake more and more aware of her surroundings. On Monday..she smiled her first real genuine smile at me. It made me melt. She has really started to fill out more. While I was in Boise, I decided to stop nursing because I just wasnt able to give her what she needed. She would nurse for 45 minutes and still need to be supplemented with a bottle. I still am not comfy with nursing outside my home..and so it was hard being out and about at other people's houses and what not..and have to nurse...and worry about what Chayse was doing..or always make sure someone could watch him while I nursed. I just decided for her sake of getting what she needed and my sanity..Bottle feeding it is. She is doing awesome with it and putting on more weight and its working out great for us!

~*~

BABY SHOWER

So this is picture is right before we left for the shower..and its the ONLY one I have. After the fact, I realized we hadnt taken any..and that is so unlike me! Sorry Alexa, we dont have anything to prove you really did have a shower in your honor..but I promise we did! :)

My sister and Nicole (Cleverley) Lee threw me a great shower at Nicole's beautiful house! Thanks to all the girls and family that showed up. I really enjoyed spending time with all of them and am so thankful for the sweet gifts! Alexa will be the best dressed in town..with a great Bumbo to sit in.and an awesome Excersaucer to keep her entertained. You have to check this thing out! My Grandma got it for her and its pretty intense! You can look at it here ! Thanks to Kimber and Nicole for the great time! Too bad we didnt get any pictures!

~*~

Saturday we headed home to Logan. We had so much fun and are so thankful for the hospitality of my grandparents! We were definitely excited to get home and back into our element and everyday routines. We hit snow on the way home, from Burley on..and had a couple of close calls with skidding and fish tailing..making me really mad that I have to deal with this still..but Spring is almost here! So..there you have it..my trip to Boise! Thanks again to all my friends and family who hung out and made our trip a blast..specially the days my husband was gone. We will be back in May..see ya then!

Here It Is...

THE NEW "DO"

Chopped short with blonde and marroon partial weave!

Thanks Clev! I love it!

Happy Birthday L.H.!

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to a very special little guy! You will always have a special place in my heart! <3

One Month Old

So Im a little behind in this post, seeing as she is almost 5 wks old..but here are a couple pics of my baby girl when she was turned one month! I seriously cannot believe how fast time has flown! She is such a beautiful little girl, so sweet and an amazing blessing in our home! She is a lot more alert now, and its a great feeling when she looks up at me and I know we "connect", as opposed to when they are brand new and they just kinda look around not really focusing on one thing. She is filling out a little more now, and we are guessing she weighs around 8 lbs. Her skin is still the beautiful tan..and its so funny because that is the first thing people say...it looks like she has been tanning haha. It made my heart melt because she surprised me with her first genuine smile as she was looking up at me yesterday while I was changing her! If that doesnt make being a mom all worth it, then I dont know what does. Chayse still loves her to death and cant get enough of her...k well sometimes when I am helping her hold him...he says "k im done" and tries to push her off. Its so cute though becuase when she starts to cry he will say, " I got her mom" and go give her, her binky and rub her forehead and say " shhh sister dont cry..dont cry." I just love being a mom!

The ABCs of Me

The ABC's of Me

A-Attached or single? Very attached..in a married sort of way! :)
B-Best friend? Tegs
C-Cake or pie? Party Cake for sure!
D-Day of choice? Saturdays!
E-Essential item? cell phone and diet coke
F-Favorite color? Oh it just depends on where the color is!
G-Gummy bears or worms? Bears.
H-Hometown? Boise Idaho!
I-Favorite indulgence? Rocky Road or Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream
J-January or July? July most definitely..its warm..4th of July and fireworks!
K-Kids? Two beautiful one! Chayse (2 1/2) and Alexa ( 1 month)
L-Life isn't complete without? My family and friends
M-Marriage date? November 6th, 2004
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother and 1 sister
O-Oranges or apples? Oranges.
P-Phobia and fears? Driving on freeways where there is only two lanes and cement blocks on either side and a semi right next to me...ya everytime we go to salt lake..it happens!
Q- Quote? "Guys are like parking spots...all the good ones are taken and the ones left are handicapped." Haha..luckily i got one of the good ones! :)
R-Reason to smile? My two beautiful children make me smile daily!
S-Season of choice? Spring! Its the sign of new birth..fresh starts and beautiful flowers!
T-Tag three people: Tegan, Jen, Jenn, Ashlee, Jeneka, Stephanie, Amanda, Holly..Nicole..pretty much everyone on on my list..ya its more than three..deal with it.
U-Unknown fact about me? well if i told you..it wouldnt be unknown..but really...i cant think of anything.
V-Vegetable? I love carrots, peas, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes
W-Worst habit? picking my split ends
X-X-ray or ultrasound? Im going to go with ultrasound..because my ultrasounds have been to see babies and that is always fun!
Y-Your favorite food? olive garden food, bagels, cereal, oatmeal, PB&J's, chicken and rice casserole, stek quesadillas from Cafe Rio..to name a few
Z-Zodiac sign? Virgo

Now all of you must do it!

Too cute I must say!

Daddy's Girl!Isn't she a doll? Almost 4 wks old!

My little model boy!

Little burrito baby!

We went on tour!

We finally decided that it was time to get out of Logan for the weekend, and visit family that hadn't seen Alexa, or hadn't seen her since she was born..and though it was tiring for all of us..we definitely had a great time!

~*~

First we went to Layton to have lunch with Justin and Jenny and their two cute kids! We went to Olive Garden, my favorite place! Then after that went over to their house and hung out for a bit! We love going over there because Chayse has such a great time with Taylor and Kai, and of course I love spending time with my sister in law. Justin and Brandon played upstairs with the boys and us girls hung out downstairs and had our girl talk! Hopefully we can all get together again soon! We had lots of fun!

~*~

Then we headed off to South Jordan to visit Brandon's grandparents! They were so excited to finally get to meet little Alexa! She is Great Grandchild #36!!! We love going to visit them. They are the sweetest people and have such loving hearts! They are such a great example of marriage to us! Grandpa always tells us how important it is to not argue in your marriage, and that he and Grandma to this day have never had an argument. He tells us that every night when they go to bed, they hold hands. How cute is that? I am great for their example and only hope we can try and emulate what they teach!

Alexa with Great Grandma DeMill

Alexa hangin out with Great Grandpa DeMill

~*~

After that, we headed to my dad's house in Sandy. We had only planned on visiting for a few hours then heading home, but it had started snowing while we were at Brandon's grandparents house, so we decided to stay the night. Me being the worry wart that I am, was sure we were going to slide off the roads and die..so I wasnt going to risk it, though we probably would have been fine. ( I tend to have really bad anxiety when it comes to traveling, and it has gotten worse since having Chayse, and even worse when we had Alexa.) So anway, Brandon had luckily packed extra diapers and I had my emergency outfit for Alexa..so at least she was prepared to stay the night! :) It was lots of fun! We had yummy Chinese food, watched Surfs Up and Chayse had so much fun playing with his Grandpa! In the morning we got up, ate waffles and got ready to go. While we were getting ready, my dad was in charge of entertaining Chayse..and he totally fulfilled his job! My dad has a waterbed and wont get rid of the old thing because he LOVES it! Well Chayse had so much fun playing on it..that my dad decided to make Chayse a mini version. He took a zip lock and filled it with water, then put a paper towel over it and then they tucked Woody and Buzz Lightyear in with a kleenex..and let me just say..Chayse LOVED his little waterbed! He always has so much fun with my dad, he hates to leave when it comes time!

Just hangin out on the counter...drawing!

Grandpa sure loves his little granddaughter!

~*~

Then we came home to Logan, and were so glad to be home back in our element! We just hung out and relaxed for a couple hours and then headed over for Sunday dinner at Brandon's parent's house! It was fun because after dinner, Brandon's cousin and her husband and baby, Bryant came to visit! We haven't seen them for almost a year! So it was fun to see how much their little one has grown and see what they have been up to!

So all in all we got to see lots of family and had a great weekend! Our next adventure... We are headed to Boise in a couple weeks so our friends and family there can meet lil Alexa!