"Camping" Trip, Day 2

On the second day of our "camping" trip, we spent the entire day on the beach side of the lake. The water felt so good in the blazing heat. Sophie spent most of the time enjoying the sand.

Sophie also spent some time holding Atticus.

Braylin also held Atticus at the beach, and kept saying. "He's so toot (cute)!"

When nap time came, Netty wouldn't lay down and sleep until HoneyGram got down with her.

Braylin eventually curled up on the blanket and fell asleep. When Netty woke up she didn't want to leave Braylin alone.

Braylin woke up pretty crabby, but with so many happy people around him...

... he perked right up.

Atticus slept pretty much the whole day.

Netty started feeding chips to Papa...

...and it became a game.

And she started feeding chips to Stephie too.

Netty loved having all of the room to run around and play, and she spent a lot of time in the water with HoneyGram as well.

Netty warmed up a lot quicker to Sierra on the second day.

After spending all day at the beach, everyone followed us back to Rexburg, and we had a KFC picnic at Porter Park. The kids were all getting crabby at this point, and wanted to play on the toys instead of eat.

I am glad that my children have such loving cousins, and I hope that as they grow they will be great friends.

"Camping" Trip, Day 1

At the beginning of August my sister's family made their annual summer vacation trip to visit my parents in Utah. I have always made a point to be in Utah during at least part of their visit, but with a new baby and still no job, a second summer trip to Utah was out of the question. So instead, they came to us, staying two nights at the campground at Rigby Lake. We didn't stay with them, but both days we went to spend some time with them.

Sophie was so excited to hold baby Atticus for the first time, and asked to hold him several more times in those two days. 

Braylin was also excited to hold "Bibi Ah-tiss"

Netty was a little wary of Sierra at first, until she realized that Sierra could help her collect rocks. 

Netty was mostly excited to see her HoneyGram. We see them fairly often, but each reunion is super sweet.

The campsite was right on the lake, so HoneyGram took Netty down to the water to play before dinner.

It had been years since I sat around a real fire pit in a campground. 

We roasted hot dogs for dinner. Steph was a little less than excited to be camping. That nice trailer in the back...yeah, that belonged to the people in the next site over. My family camped in tents. And Steph is not a huge fan of camping. 

Sierra enjoyed the hot dogs, despite the grit that the wind blew into them. 

Jon was much happier than Steph to be there, but then he knew he was going to get to sleep in his own bed that night.

Netty's favorite part of dinner was the chips. 

And the water. This little girl loves water. 

HoneyGram couldn't wait to hold Atticus after a three-week absence. 

We made s'mores and sang campfire songs. 

Netty was mostly interested in the dirt and rocks, and spent most of the evening running around and collecting "treasures." 

And sometimes eating them. 

By the end of the night Netty liked Sierra enough to sit on her lap. 

 Even though she's still HoneyGram's girl.

Hair

Netty has hair now! Who knew? She's almost 17 months, and she FINALLY has enough to see!

One day I was putting gel in my own hair when Netty came in and wanted some as well.

 Front view of the gel 'do. Please ignore the two-stained-T-shirt look.

Netty was helping me organize the cupboard in the bathroom when she found a baby clip. I don't now where it came from or why we have it, but I put it in Netty's hair, and it actually stayed!

Netty woke up with wild hair one morning, so I decided to do something about it....

...We went to Walmart and bought some little rubber bands for a ponytail!

We often still put "Karo syrup bows" on her head, though, because her hair is still so light and short. One day Netty took it off, and I said, "No, Netty, put your bow back on your head." So that obedient little child did exactly what she was told. She put it back on her head. Right on top of her head.

Lazy Days

Quite possibly the most difficult aspect of being a mother is not being able to sleep whenever I want. I have always wanted to sleep longer than the average person, and have been known to sleep for twelve to fourteen hours at a time when given the chance. Of course with little ones, I can't just say, "I'm not going to change your poopy diaper or feed you because I'm just too tired." While I was pregnant with Atticus, there were days when I was so wiped out that I would put a Baby Einstein DVD on the "repeat" setting, put a huge pile of Cheerios and a sippy cup of water on the coffee table, close off the bedroom and bathroom doors, block the garbage can, and sleep on the couch while Netty played, watched her show, and ate her snack.

In some ways I'm not as tired since having Atticus as I was when he was in the womb. And this is a very good thing, since I can no longer afford to sleep on the couch and let TWO babies fend for themselves. What it means, though, is that we have busy days and we have lazy days, and when I feel like I need a lazy day, I have one. We prolong the morning routine, and it gently breaks me in to the day.

 Sometimes I pull Netty in bed with me for a little "cuddle time." Usually, it turns into Netty climbing all over me and kicking me in the face and stepping on my stomach and pulling my hair. But while she's feeling snuggley, it's wonderful.

 She still drinks a bottle some mornings, and she lounges while she does it. 

 After finding several bottles all over the house, we made a rule that she has to stay on the couch to drink her milk. This works well, since the two babies wake up at about the same time. I heat up Netty's milk and give it to her while I feed Atticus.

 Even lazy days are busy and make me want to scream. One thing that I love about being a stay-at-home mom, though, is that I have moments like this to breathe.

Some days I just feel like this:

Adoring Sister

I wanted Netty to love Atticus, but when she didn't want to have anything to do with him for almost a month, I was a little discouraged. In the last few weeks, though, she has come to adore him. She hasn't tried to pick him up (so grateful for that!), but she will hold him with help, she won't go to bed until she's "given him loves," she worries when he cries, and she wants to involve him in everything we do--including dinner, when she tried to stick a chicken finger in his mouth.

A frequent sight at our house--Netty trying to play with Atticus while he's trying to sleep in his bed.

We had just gotten home from a shopping trip, and while Jon and I unloaded bags, Netty played with Atticus.

Every night before bed Netty kisses Atticus. Sometimes she doesn't want to kiss me, but she always kisses Atticus.

While making breakfast one morning I lay Atticus on the floor. Netty found my old phone, which is now one of her favorite toys, and had been walking around with it up to her ear. When she saw Atticus on the floor, she decided he needed to play too.

Hands Full

Remember those days when you could just run to the store "real quick," and it really was quick? Yeah, I don't either. Every shopping trip is a production.

Before making a nice anniversary dinner for Jon, I went shopping to get the last few things we needed for the dinner and to find a present for him. Jon kept the sleeping baby (for which I was very grateful). While at the store I decided to get a dress for the occasion. This was a picture that I took in the dressing room because, like many girls, I can't decide if I want to buy clothes unless I get a second or sometimes third opinion. And notice Netty in the background. This is what you have to do when you need to try something on with a toddler in tow.

I have only braved shopping on my own with the kids a couple times. My first experience was a grocery shopping trip. I parked right next to the cart return.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful baby who loves the Snugli and sleeps whenever he is in it. So at least in the store, Atticus was perfectly content.

I'm no dummy. Before we left I grabbed some graham crackers so that Netty would be happy. And then I stopped by the tortilla stand inside and grabbed several fresh tortilla samples for her to munch on once the graham crackers were gone. It was a smoother trip than I could have imagined. And every three or four minutes, another shopper would stop me and said, "You sure have your hands full!" (That's all I hear when I go out in public anymore.)

For the first time in my life, I accepted help from the bagger, but technically, he didn't even ask. He just grabbed the cart and said, "I'll help you out." By the time I had Atticus out of the Snugli and buckled in his car seat, the bagger had loaded the groceries into the back of my car and was keeping Netty busy until I could pull her out.

So then we got home. I pulled out Atticus's seat and set it on the sidewalk and then got Netty out. I walked the kids into the apartment, put Atticus in his swing, and told Netty to play with her baby stroller until I got back. She through a fit, and ran to the door before I could close it. Netty came with me back to the car, I grabbed as many groceries as I could, corralling my toddler as I went, and dropped the bags right inside the door. By this time, Atticus was screaming in his swing, and I still had several more bags in the car. I apologized to my screaming baby and ran outside to Netty, who was already halfway back to down the sidewalk to the car. I gathered the rest of my groceries, closed the trunk, and then ran after Netty (while carrying seven grocery bags), who had taken off toward the street. By the time we got back in the apartment and I dropped the rest of my bags, Atticus was hoarse, red, and sweaty. So I held Atticus while carrying the groceries to the kitchen putting away the food.

And then Netty and I had donuts for lunch.

Apparently I have my hands full.

Going Private

I have been debating this issue for a while now. I don't want to be one of those over-protective parents who has their children in total lock-down. However, I also want my children to be safe. I also occasionally post some rather personal thoughts that I don't necessarily want to be seen by everyone in the world. So Jon and I have decided (or rather I decided and Jon said, "Yes, dear") to make our blog private. This will go into effect tomorrow.

All of our family and friends are still welcome to visit our blog. I get excited to know that people are reading our blog and that you take interest in our lives. So please continue to join us. Just send me an email at jonandlindseyphelps@gmail.com ,leave a message for me on Facebook, or send me a text, and I will happily authorize you.

Storm Before the Calm

We have all heard that phrase "calm before the storm," and it always stirs up one of two thoughts: either "I can do this, I can do this," or "Oh crap." But over the last three months I have realized that there is a constant cycle of calms and storms. And lucky for us, this means that sometimes we're in the storm before the calm. I have had to keep this in mind many times over the last four months.

Some know and some don't, so here is our official announcement. Jon decided to quit school in June. It was anything but a hasty decision--we'd been talking about it and weighing our options for about a year, and we finally decided it was time. With his learning problems, a growing family, and our deepening student debt, we decided to set aside college, at least for a while. This misery caused by school was not worth possibility of "maybe someday" having a degree. We decided to stay in Rexburg and find a temporary job until our apartment lease was up (the end of October) and we decided where to go and what to do next. For two months Jon searched Rexburg for a job. He had a few interviews, but nothing ever came of them. Finally, just a few weeks ago, a position opened up at Deseret Industries. The work is boring, but Jon is grateful for the work, and we both think the training program will be good for him.

We are still far from the calm, though, because once his six months at D.I. are up, we are without a job again. Jon has applied for a custodial position in the Tacoma School District, and he is planning to apply in other Washington school districts as well. Once he has secured a job we will be moving to Washington to stay with my grandma for a few months. Her health is not great, so until we find an apartment of our own, we will be living with her to take care of her and, above all, give her some companionship.

We are excited to move forward with life, but a little nervous about what exactly that means. I've lived in Rexburg for eight years, and I'm a little sad to think about leaving. I have grown to love this community, especially our current ward. However, we are excited to live closer to family (two of my siblings and many of my relatives will be in close proximity), and we are looking forward to feeling a little more stability and permanence. All of our married life has been filled with temporary housing, classes, jobs, etc., and thinking about anything that will last more than a year seems too good to be true.

I know that life will always be busy and a little chaotic, but lately the calms last for only a few moments, and the storms last for days, weeks, and months. Hopefully we have longer calms headed our way, and I can't help but feel that those calms will come once we are more settled. I can't wait to start building a more permanent home with my husband and children.