Spread the word...

So, there's this blog I read... I don't actually know the girl (although she is the sister in law, to the sister of my sister in law, Tessa, if that makes sense!) but I came across it over a year ago right as she found out she was chosen by a birth mother to adopt her son, and I got hooked. She is such a great advocate for adoption, and I have learned so much from reading her blog. Today she put up a new post about an "adoption yard sale" that they are going to be having to raise money for their adoption (they just got chosen by a second birth mother to adopt their second son!!). They are looking for donations for things to sell at the yard sale, so I just thought I would help spread the word. Check out her blog here, and don't forget to pass along the information!!

Santa Cruz

Last Monday, the 19th, after spending a ridiculous amount of money getting the a/c in our car fixed, we hit the road to California. My family has a tradition of camping in Santa Cruz over Memorial Day weekend, and it is seriously one of my favorite things! Nate is always asking me what the big deal is, and why I always insist on going, as his allergies are the worst there, so he gets pretty miserable. But I have been camping at New Brighton Beach since I was like 5 years old. I can even remember the very first campsite we stayed in. So many of our friends go too, so it has always been a time to visit and catch up, play, go to the beach, eat, laugh, and eat a lot more!!! Seriously, I think I gained 5 lbs this last week... so bad!!

Don't mind my bedhead!

It is a little more challenging to camp with 2 little kids, but it was still worth it. Asher was in heaven, being outside all day, every day, getting dirtier than I thought possible. Sayer was actually really good as well, and both kids slept pretty well. I really can't complain! The hardest part was keeping Asher from driving his truck into the street, but my whole family was so helpful, especially after Nate had to go home for some gigs, so that was nice to have lots of eyes watching him, and hands to retrieve him!

A little recap of our trip...

We got into Sacramento early Tuesday morning, and both boys woke up. Asher was so happy, jumping on the bed, but when we put him in his bed, he just laid right down and went back to sleep. When we woke up again, Asher discovered the trampoline and just loved it. He is such a funny kid, and I seriously love seeing him so happy and having so much fun, and experiencing new things.

We left for the campground Tuesday night, and in true Busath fashion, set up camp in the dark. At least it was only 9pm, and not midnight like it normally is! The next day was beautiful and warm. Asher and Sayer needed to go down for naps at the same time, so Nate stayed up at the campsite while I went down to the beach by myself for a couple of hours. It was bliss. Whit and Lexi were down there too for a while, but then the boys needed naps, so I just stayed and relaxed, and even napped a little. I love the beach! On Thursday, we decided to go do something, especially since Nate's allergies were bad, so we thought it would be good to get away from whatever it was that was causing them. We drove up the 1 for about 45 minutes to Carmel. It was so beautiful. We went down to white sands beach, but it was so windy, and Sayer was not a fan, so we headed up to the shops and walked around for a long time. I loved all the little shops, they were so cute. Here is an example of all the cute little buildings and houses that we saw:

We had a delicious lunch at a little cafe, then headed out to walk around some more. They also had a ton of cool art galleries, so that was definitely fun to look around in those.

In front of White Sands Beach

When it was finally too cold and windy, we got back in the car and went on a 2 mile scenic drive along the coast. We saw some of the most amazing houses, which I am sure, were very reasonably priced! Then we went on the 17 mile drive, which is just more scenery and cool houses, and coast. My dad was fascinated by the waves crashing up against the rocks. It was actually really cool to see the ocean so wild and restless.

Nate and Asher strolling the streets of Carmel

On Friday, Nate and my dad woke at 4:00 am, so Nate could catch his 6:30 am flight. Later, we all left to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The little boys all loved it, especially Joelie and Kadin, as they have pretty much every type of fish memorized, so they were pointing out lots of cool stuff for us! Asher mostly liked to climb all over stuff, but he also like to watch the fish swim around in the big tanks, saying "fishy". Sayer slept in the bjorn for the second day in a row, and loved it, even though my back didn't really love it so much.

The boys watching the fishies

Asher lounging by the Tuna tank

Playing with Aunt Lexi

Saturday my old roommate Maren came down from Mountain View to visit. It was fun chatting and catching up, and watching Leah laugh like a hyena and bathe herself in dirt! It was pretty cold and cloudy, so we didn't head down to the beach as planned, but just stayed around the campfire for hours. After Maren left, we decided we should just go down to the beach so that the boys could play, as Asher hadn't been down yet. He of course loved it. He helped Grandpa dig big holes, and then got inside the holes. He also spent a lot of time stealing shovels from other kids and mooching food from some family friends, but for the most part, he just played in the sand.

Yummy spaghetti!

Joelie and Kadin

Joelie, Kadin and Asher

Sunday we went to church, and I decided that I was going to pack up and head to Sac, so that my drive wouldn't be so long on Monday. It looked like rain, so the rest of the fam decided to pack up too. I got to my parents house, bathed the boys, fed Sayer and got their pjs on, and then decided to keep going as far as I could so that the boys would sleep for part of the drive, and so that they wouldn't have to be in the car for 10 hours straight. I tied Asher's binky to his pjs so that he couldn't throw it somewhere and then cry for it. I was by myself, so there was no way I was going to stop a bunch of times just to find Asher's binky. It worked like a charm! Both boys didn't make a peep until we pulled into Winnemucca. Nate went online and found the cheapest hotel, which was the Scottish Inn that was run by an Indian couple... hmmm, interesting name choice I'd say! I actually got super tired after Reno, and was just waiting for a rest area so that I could stop for an hour or so, but was really nervous, so I called Nate to talk and keep me awake. By the time I got to the next rest stop, we were deep in conversation, and I was feeling good, so I decided to just keep going another hour to Winnemucca. Nate talked to me until I got there at 1:00 am my time, 2:00 am his time, which was very sweet of him. We got back on the road at 9:30 am, and the boys were actually really good. Asher would have his moments, but I found that it was very easy to distract him by pointing out random things along the way, like road signs, cars, mountains, houses, etc. We stopped for lunch at McDonalds in Wendover, and an hour later (things just take so much longer when your by yourself!) we were back on the road. About 45 minutes from home, Sayer decided to wake up and cried the whole way home. It was sad, but what was I supposed to do? I was actually really grateful that the drive went as well as it did. But we are home now, and it is nice to be back in our own beds. Now I just need to tackle the laundry.

Sorry for the long play by play!

Happy Birthday Nate... and Andy!!

Wow, so being away from the computer for a week is great, but as a result, I had hundreds (literally) of posts to read when I got home. I have just barely finished catching up, and I didn't even read all of them. I decided that all my fun mom blogs would just have to be put on the back burner!!

Last Sunday, the 18th, we had a joint birthday party for Nate and his older brother Andy. Their birthdays are one week apart, and Nate's is first, so they are the same age for one week! It has been so great to have Andy and Kacey living in Sandy, we have been having so many family get togethers, and it is so fun. We will definitely be sad to leave everyone at the end of the summer.

For dinner we had scallops and chicken and asparagus in white wine sauce (delish!!) over pasta, with garlic cheese bread, and fruit, followed by a delicious german chocolate cake that Kacey made, which is Andy's favorite cake. It was so fun to visit and relax and eat!

Tidbits...

Ok, so this is the last one, I promise!

This morning I ran my first 5k. Of course I have run 5k before, just never in a race setting. I did the Running With Angels 5k, and it was my first post-baby race, so I wasn't expecting greatness, and definitely didn't achieve greatness, but it was a lot of fun. I ran with my friend Natalie, from one of my old wards, and I totally forgot how great it is to run with someone. It makes it so much better! Natalie and I just chatted our way along the beautiful Thanksgiving Pointe Gardens, and before we knew it, we were done. I was actually a little worried about the race today, as all this week, I have been getting major cramps during my runs, and yesterday, my cramp lasted all day, even through Big River! But all was well today, so that was a relief! Sorry, no pictures, but rest assured, I looked ravishing!

This summer I am hoping to work on my speed a little, and I wanted a race to base my improvements off of (and there is definitely room for improvement!;), as I hope to do a 5k every month this summer. So I'll let you know how all that goes.

Thanks, Natalie, for a great run!

Nate had to leave for St. George this morning for another gig, so Jillian babysat (thanks Jill). When I got home, she was telling me how Asher was going through her purse, and pulled out a piece of paper and said: "Asher, no no" (which actually probably sounded more like-Asha, no no). I thought that was hilarious, what a little stinker. I was pretty positive he's known when he was doing stuff he wasn't supposed to, but now I know for sure! I just wish I could have heard him say it. Oh well, I'm sure there will be other times! 

One last little tidbit...

(warning, ranting follows)

2 weeks ago from this last Thursday, I ordered this awesome diaper bag off of ebay, for a great price. The listing said "free USPS priority mail (2-3 bus. days) shipping". Great, fantastic! So anyway, I win this bag, pay for it and wait. I never hear from the chick who sold it to me, then finally, after 5 business days, I email her asking about the tracking number, etc. Nothing. So a couple days later, I email her again, clearly bugged. She finally emails me back, and it's now one week from the day I bought the bag, and this is the first time I have heard anything from her. She says, "oh, sorry, I just had a baby, I'm behind on my emails...". Ok, whatever, I just had a baby, and it's not that hard to check your email. Plus, if your so busy having a baby, then why are you still doing your online business if you can't run it up to par (yes, she has an ebay store). I know, I'm such a brat, but it gets worse. She says the bag is a pre-order (which I didn't know in the first place) so she hasn't received it but should get it the next day, Friday, and then will ship it to me immediately. Great! No harm done. Another week goes by, nothing. I email her again... nothing. Finally, today (over 2 weeks later) I get an email from her telling me that she got it yesterday and just shipped it to me today and included a tracking number. She then has the nerve to say: "please don't leave negative/neutral feedback on me". Ok, so I had already decided that I wasn't going to be that type of person, even though she totally deserves it. The thing that really gets me, is not that it's taken so long (which is annoying, but it happens), it's that she was not communicating with me. She could have at least emailed and told me she still hadn't received the bag, or at least gotten back to me sooner. Am I being unreasonable here? All I'm saying, is that I paid a pretty penny for the diaper bag of my dreams, and have been so excited to get it and take it on vacay with me this coming Monday (which I now won't be able to do even though I ordered it over 2 weeks ago), and the least she could do was be a little more informative. When I sold my Amby bed on ebay, I let the people who bought it, know every thing that was going on, every step of the way, just like I would want any seller to do for me. Again, am I asking too much? I know the shipping was free, and I did get a pretty good deal on the bag, so maybe I shouldn't complain, but does customer service need to be sacrificed in order to get a good deal? I think not!!

Big River

For the past few weeks, I have been on my own most nights, as Nate has been playing in the musical Big River up in Salt Lake. Last night was his last show, so I got to go see it. We left the kids with Andy and Kacey, (thanks again guys!), and I got to sit all by myself and not worry about anything, except enjoying the show.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the production. A lot of the community theater productions that I have been to are almost painful to watch, the acting is so bad. These people were actually great actors, and even better singers. I seriously loved it. Just picture me sitting there with a big huge smile on my face. I'm telling you, musicals just make me happy. Good thing that we can get Broadway tickets at a student price. Another bonus of going to Columbia, is that Alumni get 50% off Broadway tickets. That's right people, we will be set for life! Nate could probably care less, but I couldn't be more thrilled!! Don't worry, I will share the wealth! :)

So anyway, I love Big River, and you should all definitely see it someday, or at least listen to the soundtrack, because it's amazing!  Oh, and of course, Nate did a fantastic job, as always.  He really is so talented!  During intermission, he came and found me and asked: "so when you hear the fiddle are you like, 'oh yeah, tha'ts my husband!!'?" haha!  I'm sure those who know Nate can totally picture him saying that.  I personally think he is hilarious, which is a good thing!

Asher's spots

Last summer we planted grass in our backyard, so this summer we will actually have a lawn for Asher to play on. It makes it very nice for me, as our yard is now also fenced in, so I can just send him outside and check on him every once in a while, and not worry about him so much. He loves it out there, and will seriously be outside for hours at a time. Usually when I go to check on him, I will find him in this spot:

I don't know why he always goes over there, but he loves it. He sits down there and plays with the dirt and looks into the neighbors yard. I think he looks so cute sitting there, looking so tiny, sitting in this little corner of our huge yard, especially since the grass is so tall in these pictures. Today I went outside to check on him and couldn't find him in any of his normal places. The neighbors on the other side said: "your son is over here", and pointed to the tiny space in-between our shed and their fence. He was watching them set their garden up. He looked so cute sitting there in the tiny little space. I think he likes "Asher sized" things and places.

This is Asher watching dad mow the lawn yesterday. He was fascinated!

Oh, and in case you wanted to know, that blue garbage can (which is a kitchen sized one) that you see part of in the picture... that is where we put all of our dirty diapers. Yeah, it fills up way faster that you would like to think!! It's gross.

Why nursing pads are individually wrapped...

The other night Asher was taking a bath, and I was out of the bathroom for a second, (I know, I'm not supposed to do that), and when I came back, it looked like Asher had been having a little too much fun. He has recently discovered the fun of cups in the bathtub, much to my dismay, and this was the result:

You can't really tell from the pictures, but the entire floor was a puddle of water. It went all the way to the carpet line in the doorway, which was damp until last night, and all the way behind the toilet and out the other side, everything was completely soaked. I was not pleased. But Asher sure was...

When I started to clean it up, Asher started singing "mock-eh, mock-eh", which stands for "clean up , clean up" (you know, the nursery song), which we usually sing when we are cleaning up toys, but I usually prompt him. Don't ask me where he came up with those words, but it is so cute. He even sings the right tune and everything. So that put me in a good mood, especially since he started singing it all by himself. Crazy little kid! :)

**The title to this post is in reference to the nursing pads I had on the floor behind the toilet. Of course the box was completely soaked, as the nursing pads would have been were they not individually wrapped. It is a little funny to me, because last week I was so annoyed at having to take off all of the wrapping and wondering why on earth they would individually wrap nursing pads and what a waste it was. I guess they showed me!

The "Happy Birthday Nate" tag

Nate and his BFF, Josh, in Central Park last weekend

Ok, so Julianne tagged me quite awhile ago for this, and I just remembered after visiting her blog to read this amazing tip on how to get crayon out of the dryer as well as clothes. You should all check it out!

So since I talk about myself plenty, I decided to do this one about Nate, since many of you may not know him all that well, and also, it was his birthday yesterday, (33 folks, 33!), so I should talk about him, cuz I love him!! 

1. He is the second oldest of 8 kids, the oldest will be 34 this month, and the youngest is 24. That's right people, 8 kids in 10 years... CRAZY!!

2. One day the Olson family TV broke. Instead of fixing it, Chris and Heidi (Nate's parents) decided to start a family band. Nate started playing the violin suzuki (sp) method when he was 5 years old. When he was in HS, he had always been in Orchestra, but wanted to be in the band. He dreamed of playing the trumpet. Instead, they assigned him to play the bassoon. haha!! Nate actually has his Masters degree in Music Performance... not on the fiddle, but on the bassoon! I have never heard him play the bassoon, except on a cd.

3. Nate LOVES food. This is not a surprise to anyone who knows him. Some of his favorite foods are hummus (it has to be GOOD hummus though, he is VERY picky!), crab legs (with butter), popcorn (with butter), greek food (more specifically chicken gyros, NOT lamb, he hates lamb), and more recently, salmon tacos (YUM!) He is not, however, a big dessert guy. Which means that I eat all the desserts in our house... BAD!

4. Nate LOVES to teach, especially the Gospel, and he really is an amazing teacher. I am not just saying this because I am his wife, but he really is the best. He puts so much time and effort into each of his lessons, and wants nothing more than to have everyone come away wanting to be better in some specific way. A fun fact about him teaching... when he was in Michigan getting his Masters, he taught institute, and he would purposely dress ugly so that it wouldn't be distracting to the ladies. haha!! I thought that was cute. He wanted it to only be about the gospel, and if he looked good, the girls wouldn't have been able to concentrate on the spirit! Ok, so I am mocking a little, but it is only out of love. Love you honey!!!

5. Nate was born cross-eyed. Yes, that means that we could definitely have a cross-eyed child someday. So far, so good! But he had to have this surgery, but they didn't do it until he was a year, so now he doesn't have depth perception. One of his eyes is near sighted and one is far sighted, they don't work together. Which means he can't tell how far or near objects are from him. This can be very troublesome when driving, especially at night. He does have his own ways of working around that though, like hugging the line, as that helps him to at least gauge where in the lane he is. It often looks like we are veering or heading into oncoming traffic, but we're not. It's weird! Some of you may also have noticed that one of his eyes looks like a lazy eye when he is talking to you. That is because he doesn't need that particular eye at that time, so it has trained itself to not focus. Again... it's weird, although I don't notice it anymore. I don't even know which eye is which anymore. 

6. Nate is very involved in specifics with our children. He was, and is, very passionate about me breast-feeding. It was really important to him that our kids were breast-fed for as long as possible. He stayed up all night with me the first night home with Asher, as I couldn't get him to latch on. If it weren't for Nate, I would have given him a bottle after about 5 minutes! Nate's dad says "no tv AT ALL for the first 2 years of a baby's life", and Nate is very strict about that. We both are. He is always very concerned about our kids getting sick, and is also pretty strict about them not having sugar and eating healthy. Don't worry that pretty much all of these things are up to me, so of course it's easy for him to lay his demands down! :) No, really, it has been so great for me, because knowing that they are important to Nate, makes them important for me, and we really did decide all of this together. But, like I said, most of it was his idea. So yeah, he's a good daddy. He loves his boys!

7. Nate doesn't really get mad. I can think of maybe 2 times in the entire 4 1/2 years we've been married, that he has gotten mad at me and, not yelled, but was clearly VERY upset. It made me feel so bad, as I knew he must have been pretty mad to let it show like that. The first time, and the one I remember the most, was over our Folk Dance culture class, believe it or not (that's the class we took to learn about the countries we were to be visiting on tour). It was really stupid, but it was apparently, a very big deal at the time. 

I could go on and on forever... maybe I should just keep going and do the "100 things" post that I did back in the day.  Don't worry, I won't.  But I will leave you with one final tidbit...

8.  Nate has been engaged 3 times (including me).  That's right folks, 3 different fiances.  He broke one of them off 2 weeks before the wedding... yikes (yeah, I don't think that ex-fiance is a big fan of Nate anymore!)  Needless to say, my Grandma was very worried that he wouldn't go through with it.  On the way to CA to get married, we were just coming out of Reno, and Nate asks:  "why are we getting married again?"  WHAT?!  It actually ended up being a great conversation, as I think engagement is hard, and sometimes you just have to get through it, and often lose sight of why you are doing this in the first place.  So, of course we ended up getting married without any problems.  He finally just realized that I was the girl of his dreams. duh! ;) 

Bubble bath

On Friday night, Asher had his first bubble bath. I know, I'm such a lame mom. He didn't really know what to think at first, but he warmed up to it after a while. I still don't think he was too crazy about it. Fine with me... it just makes more of a mess, and it's hard to get all the bubbles off. Again, I know... I'm so lame!

Whistle while you work...

Yesterday morning I was sweeping (which I do like twice a day, by the way... it's pretty much the only thing I do these days!), and Asher couldn't wait until I was finished so he could have his turn. I should get him his own little broom set, so maybe in a few months, he will be good enough to do it for me! HA ;)

Drinking like a big kid

Asher will still drink out of his sippy cup, but he has been wanting more and more, to drink from our glass cups. I think it makes him feel like such a big boy. He always gets a big smile on his face and looks at the glass after he drinks from it, like he has just accomplished something major. The other day, Nate made himself a honeydew melon smoothie (gross), and he left some of it on the table, which of course, Asher found. He guzzled it and kept wanting more and more. I would fill it up a little at a time, then he would drink it and look at the glass afterward. It made me think of that part in Anne of Green Gables, where Anne has Diane over for tea and gives her what she thinks is raspberry cordial, and when Diane drinks it, she hold it like a little kid and sips it, and then looks at it and smiles. Those who have seen the movie know what I mean! Anyway, it was cute!

Such a sweet big brother

Asher does have his moments, but for the most part, he is very sweet to Sayer. It is the sweetest thing, when Sayer is crying, Asher will pick up the blue binky (which he knows is Sayer's) and will proceed to shove it in his (Sayer's) mouth, which inevitably produces more crying, but hey, it's the thought that counts right? He'll also try to pick him up when he's crying and I can't get to him right away. It's so cute that he picks up on what your supposed to do when the baby starts to cry. Lately he has been wanting to hold him more often, and likes to give him loves and kisses. What a good big brother he is! ( for now anyway! ;)

Asher, shoving Sayer's binky into his mouth (this was when he took a soothie, now he has the same kind as Asher)

Asher is showing Sayer that he has a "honky nose"

So sweet to give his baby brother loves!

If you look closely, you can see Asher's lips are puckered, ready to give him a kiss

He likes what he likes!

Saturday morning, I was getting ready for the day, and Asher was having a hay day in the bathroom. He emptied all the drawers and became fascinated with the feminine products that he found in there. He then proceeded to grab a handful and carry them around the house, while repeating: "mine, mine, mine", over and over again. At one point, he had so many in his hand, that he kept dropping them, and was trying to pick them up, but would just keep dropping more in the process. He was relentless though. It was so cute, mostly because he is so cute and he has the most precious little voice when he talks. I love it!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet mom!!

Mom and all her beautiful daughters!! :)  

I love my mom!  She is such a great example to me of sacrifice, everything she does is for her kids and family. I am always amazed at how much she has on her plate and how well she handles it all. It's always been like that, but I don't think I really appreciated it until I went away to college. She has always done so much for me, and supported me in everything I've done, or wanted to do. She is so talented, with anything from crafts, to scrapbooking, to cooking and baking, to presentation, to her job (she really is VERY smart, and VERY good at her job!). I like to think that I got a little bit of her homemaking gene, not necessarily because I'm great at it, but because I love many of the same things as my mom, and strive to be like her in many ways. I feel like my mom is truly one of my best friends. I love to call and her chat for hours. We are both talkers, so sometimes we both get so excited about something that we talk over each other, but there is never a dull moment. I definitely connect with my mom on so many levels, and I am so grateful that the Gospel is one of those. I am grateful for her strong testimony and the example it is to me. I love you mom and hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Mother's Day, you deserve it! 

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet Mother In Law, Heidi!

Heidi and Nate... how cute is she?!  (I made that blanket by the way! :)

I have to say that I totally lucked out in the in-law department.  I have THE BEST mother in law a girl could ask for.  She is such a great example to me of a mother.  She sacrificed so much for her children, and continues today, to be so self-less and ever mindful of her children and their families.  Heidi is one of the strongest women I know.  She is always thinking and asking thought provoking questions, and constantly seeking growth.  From day one of mine and Nate's courtship, he has never said a negative word about her.  He loves and respects her so much, and to me, that is the greatest gift that any mother could receive from her children.  I only hope that my boys will talk so sweetly, and lovingly about me some day.  We love you Heidi, Happy Mother's Day!

I am so blessed to be the mom of these two sweet little boys!

**My own Mother's Day is actually going wonderfully, especially considering that Nate has been out of town for the past 3 days, so it's just been me holding down the fort. Last night, Sayer only woke up once, at 4:30 am, so I got an ok nights sleep. Asher woke up a little while before his brother, so I was able to have some cuddle time with the little dude before Sayer woke up and needed to be fed. Sayer was an angel baby this morning, and fell asleep in 2 seconds after I wrapped him up. Both of my kids are already bathed and dressed and ready to go to church at 12:30. And to top it all off, both of them have been asleep for almost 2 hours, so I was able to shower and get ready and eat breakfast, and write this post in peace. Maybe later today, I'll even get a nap!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  You are all such great examples to me!

We are so blessed!

Isn't this SUCH a cool picture of Central Park?

Yesterday Nate left for NYC to attend an orientation (with his BFF, Josh Probert) for incoming students this fall. He had an interview with the Program Coordinator of the Music School (the same lady he met with when we went to NYC last November to look at the school) this morning. He called me afterward to inform me that we are receiving a very generous financial aide package, which includes his tuition and a stipend that will pay for our housing, which will be renewable every year. I wanted to cry when he told me. This is a direct answer to our prayers, and we couldn't feel more blessed and loved by our Heavenly Father.  We are so grateful that we won't have to go into a tremendous amount of debt to do this.  To top things off, we also found out that the lady he met with, the Program Coordinator, has asked Nate to be her assistant. wow!!  I honestly could not believe it. I guess she is really excited about the direction that Nate wants to go with his music and teaching, and wants to work with him on it. She does early child hood development music, and Nate told her we have two little boys, and she is so excited to work with Asher. It all just sounds too good to be true, and I really don't think that we could have asked for anything more.  It is all very humbling.  It is clear that this is where Heavenly Father wants us to go... it's almost like he is shoving us to NY!

So, needless to say, we are now 100% positive that we will be moving to NYC at the end of the summer. crazy!! But we already have a couple of LDS contacts back there that have answered a lot of questions, and have been so helpful, and will continue to be. They have also helped me get way more excited, and feel a little bit more comfortable at the thought of raising kids in NY. If we don't get into student housing, I feel like we will have the help that we need to find "affordable" housing in a good area, so the whole thing is a lot less overwhelming.

Just wanted to share our exciting news!

2 months

2 months already?! I can't believe how fast the
time has gone by. The other day I went to visit my friend Ashley, who just had her baby last week, and Sayer looked like a monster compared to her little peanut, and it made me kind of sad. Her baby was little like Sayer, plus she's a girl, and I think girls just look daintier, so she looked especially tiny. Anyway, I digress...

Sayer has been doing so much better. He still has his days, but for the most part, there has been much less crying, and more happiness and smiling. Yes, that's right, smiling! It is the best when your baby finally starts smiling. Sunday he was melting my heart all day with his sweet smiles and coos. I love him! But yeah, I am so grateful that his little body is starting to figure things out. He is much less fidgety, and seems like he is starting to be more comfortable in his own skin. He has also been sleeping pretty well. Last week he did so awesome, sleeping 4 and 5 hours, and only waking up once in the middle of the night. Then he had 2 amazing nights in a row, where he slept for 6 hours. He unfortunately got out of that rhythm, but I am hopeful we will get back there in no time! So yeah, much better!

Some of his favorite things these days include: sitting in his swing (not swinging, just sitting there) looking at the mirror above him and listening to the music it plays, sitting in his bouncer with calming vibrations, laying on his back and kicking his arms and legs while smiling and talking, snuggling and falling asleep on my shoulder (he is such a cuddler, Asher was not), spitting up, sitting in his bumbo chair (thanks Aunt Lizza) sleeping and eating! (I know Chris, there needs to be more tummy time in there. I'll get right on it!)

Today we went to the Dr, and Sayer is 10 lb 12 oz and in the 23% . He is getting so big and chubby. I love his little thighs, they totally have rolls on them. Asher's never really did. He was just small and solid. But Sayer is chubby and squishy, and I could just squeeze him all day long. Sayer is also a sensitive little guy, which is probably why his tummy pains bother him so much. He will get the little frowny and quiver lips and cry at any little thing... like his brother driving his Thomas the tank engine over his face. I mean, come on, suck it up Sayer! ;) He is such a sweetheart!

I love these pictures because in the left one you can see one of his dimples, and on the right, you can see his other one.

























I think he looks so cute in this onesie. It's a newborn size, so now it looks like a muscle tee on him. Thanks Jackie, and thanks Grandma Lenie for the cute matching baseball socks!

Asher was 24 lb 10 oz today, which puts him in the 20%.
Such a silly little kid!

Also...

I just have to say thank you to all of my amazing and thoughtful friends out there, who have showered me with empathy, words of encouragement, and offers to take Mr Asher-pants off my hands for a while. I seriously have the best friends, (even the ones I've never met! ;). This is why I love the blogging world. It has been so nice to know that I am not alone out there, and that everyone goes through the challenges I am going through, and that I am NOT a horrible mother. Thanks for listening to my rantings, and for all of your support. Love you all!