Tulip Festival

I have been wanting to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point for several years now.  Shaun and I took Cael and it was beautiful--the weather, the flowers, everything! We went before a lot of the flowers were in bloom, but it was a nice Saturday and you're never sure when you'll get one of those during April in Utah.  We had lots of fun and thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine!  Thank heaven for SPRING!

P.S.  The funniest thing happened when we came across the bagpiper wandering the grounds--Cael started wailing.  Cael is not such a fan of loud noises.  From that point on we chose our route based on the bagpiper's current location.  Too funny!

Hoppy Easter!

We had a great Easter weekend!  We went to Las Vegas to visit my brother and his adorable family.  It was a weekend filled with lots of fun, great food, and my very favorite people in the whole wide world.  Cael was a trooper and hung in there in spite of never getting a decent nap.  Anyway, here are some pics of our fun weekend.

Because I Can't Help Myself

He's just such a cutie and I love him to pieces, so here are some more pictures of my sweet boy!

Here he is in his bearsuit.

Shaun put this burpcloth on Cael's head and Cael just left it there.

Doesn't he look surprised?  I love this face!

This one's just too sweet.

Cael with his sweet Aunt Lessie!

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!