Cute, Cute Baby!

How about some new photos of my sweet baby!

This is a photo of Cael's "patch."  He's had this patch of longer hair on the right side of his head since he was born!  What a cutie!

Enjoying bathtime!

My sweet boys!

Look at this smiley boy!

Feeling Sad and a Little Thoughtful

Last night I was watching TV and fast-forwarding through the commercials the way I always do when I saw something that caught my eye for some reason.  I stopped and rewinded the DVR to watch this commercial four or five times.  I'm not sure why it had such an affect on me, because I see things like this all the time, but for some reason I kept thinking about it as I laid in bed last night and it's reappeared in my thoughts over and over again today.  The commercial started out with a mom (dressed in a waitress uniform) and her young daughter.  The mom started looking in the fridge and through the cupboards for dinner, but they were bare.  The daughter said something to her doll about "no dinner tonight" like it was no big thing.  Then the mom says to her little girl, "You're such a good girl."  And they head off to bed.  The last shot is of the little girl asleep, sucking her thumb in bed with her doll tucked in next to her.  

It just about broke my heart.  Like I said, I don't know why it effected me so much, but I can't stop thinking about it; and thinking about it inevitably causes me to tear up.  It's just so sad that little kids have to deal with such big problems.  And it shouldn't be that way--no one should ever go hungry when there are so many with so much.  I've been thinking since then that I have a lot to be grateful for, and while I have my troubles, I have plenty of food in my pantry.  I should be more generous with my charitable contributions.  I want to DO more.  I want to be a better person and be less selfish.  So that's my new goal--to do more for others and spend less time doing for myself.  

I've also been reading the Conference Ensign from last November a lot lately (yes, I'm a procrastinator for those of you in my ward who may be reading this, but I'll have it done in time).  I love it!  I'm so grateful for the thoughts that come to me and the things I learn and, most of all, the way I feel when I read it.  It helps me to feel motivated to be a better person and want to do more and be more.  I love the Hymn "More Holiness Give Me."  Sometimes I don't want to do more and be a better person--but I always wish I wanted to do more andbe better.  Reading the Ensign makes me get past the wishing and feel like I can do more and be better.  How is it that I sometimes forget all of this?  So, another goal--to remember.  I will do more to remember what things motivate me to want to be a better person and to remember the things that make me feel like I can--and then I'll do them.

A Lifesaver

I never thought it would be so difficult to help my sweet baby learn to sleep.  I mean, duh, "sleep like a baby?"  However, I'm learning that sleeping, like so many other things we think come naturally, is a skill.  I think maybe some of us are born with a propensity to be able to fall asleep easily--I am not that person.  I think it's gotten easier for me to fall asleep again in the last year or so, but I remember after starting law school having a bear of a time falling asleep at night.  I think I probably drove Shaun completely crazy for a little while there.  I'd ask him to tell me about things from his anatomy class in hopes that I'd get so bored I'd drift off into dreamland while listening to him (to be perfectly clear, Shaun isn't boring but anatomy most certainly is).

Anyway, after I had such a hard time getting Cael to sleep at night, I decided I'd be willing to try just about anything.  We bought a mobile and a "soother" (it plays music and has soft lights that are supposed to be soothing to a baby) and I tried just about every trick under the sun.  Finally, I bought this book--"Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child."  It's AMAZING!  Although Cael still has some rough nights (and days), he has improved tremendously.  This may not be helpful to any of you, or perhaps you already know about this book, but I think it was a lifesaver!

Cael's Baby Blessing

We blessed Cael last week.  He was such a sweetie and looked so cute!  Shaun did a great job (even though he was rather nervous).  Afterwards we had everyone over to our house.  I get so intimidated inviting a lot of people over.  I worry about having enough food and whether people will like it.  Thanks to my mom and sister Chelsea, the lunch seemed to be quite a success.  At least I enjoyed it.  Anyway, thanks to everyone who joined us for the day and participated in Cael's blessing.  We love you all!

Feeling a little nostalgic . . .

So tonight as I pack my computer bag in preparation of going back to work tomorrow, I'm feeling a little nostalgic.  These last three months have been both wonderful and have pushed me to discover things about myself that I don't think I would have ever learned otherwise.  Cael has changed me.  He's such a sweet little guy and it's crazy (and sometimes more than a little scary) to realize how completely dependent he is on Shaun and I.  I just love it when he smiles at me and coos/talks the way he does when he's super excited to see me.  I'll be feeling so frustrated with him because he's refusing to go to sleep and then he'll get all happy and excited and smile and I can't help but smile back.  I've never had such an easy time letting go of negative or frustrated feelings as I have with Cael (granted, he never intentionally upsets me but that hasn't stopped me from getting and staying rather angry with other people in my life).  I've learned more about my Heavenly Father and about my parents.  I've learned to rely on my Heavenly Father more because I've repeatedly faced situations when I had no idea what to do or when there was nothing I could do.  I've been fighting back tears several times this last week as I've thought about all of the time I'll miss spending with Cael--but thankfully, he's in the best of hands (at least three days a week--thank you Chelsea!).  So here's to my sweet baby boy and three of the greatest months of my life!

Anyway, I'm sure I could go on and on, but someone needs to eat (surprise, surprise) and I need to get some sleep before I head back to the grindstone tomorrow morning.  Wish me luck!

Hooray for Prevacid!

As of Tuesday, Cael is officially two months old (can you believe it?!?). I consequently took him in for his two month appointment yesterday. He wasn't such a fan of his immunizations, but we did learn that he likes tart flavors when he gulped down the Rotavirus vaccine (or perhaps that just meant he was starving half to death). The best part of the visit, however, was the Prevacid prescription that we walked out with. Cael has grown increasingly fussy in the last several weeks and finally this week I started looking into what could be causing his fussiness. After doing some research, I realized that he was demonstrating a lot of the symptoms of acid reflux. I mentioned it to the doctor yesterday and after asking a few questions she thought it would be worth trying medication to treat acid reflux. Glory, glory hallelujah! I feel like I have a whole new child. I think Cael wanted to be happy and easy going before, but he just felt too crummy to smile and contentedly hang out. Since I gave him the Prevacid this morning, however, he has been smiling and laughing and just chill! I love it. Coincidentally, I've been in a great mood all day because I no longer feel like the worst mother in the history of the earth. God bless the makers of Prevacid!

Draper Temple

On Sunday, my family had the opportunity to visit the open house for the new Draper Temple. It was beautiful and so much fun to tour the new temple with my family--even Cael came along.  It will be great to have a new temple in the valley and I hope you all get a chance to visit the open house in the upcoming months.