March

Has it come to this?  The titles of my posts have been whittled down to merely the current month.  I'll let it be, for now.  Hopefully I'll find the time to put another post up this month and I'll be sure to have a super-creative title! You don't care. I know.

We've had some wonderful news this month.  Jon has been hired by a company here in Orem.  We're thrilled to be employed and be moving forward again.  It's been a very difficult 18 months and I haven't said much about it because it was easier not to go there at all.  All I can say is that it's terrible to watch your loved one suffer after every rejection during the job search.  But after many prayers and much fasting I have come to terms with the fact that Heavenly Father's plan is not always what we envision for ourselves--a lesson I've learned a time or two and have often been reminded.  I know there's a master plan and our trials are the only way to progress to where we need to be to accomplish what He has in store for us.  So I'm grateful for our learning experiences.

Meanwhile, the little Bushes have been growing and changing and I love to witness it all.  In a way, Jon's unemployment has been a blessing (See!! Look how positive I can be!!) because he's been able to be with me while Eloise and Pearl have grown their first year.  We've experienced all the fun things together whereas if he were working full-time, I'd only be recounting the day's events to him instead of him being there.

Here are some milestones:

• Pearl cute her first tooth a few weeks ago and a week later, Eloise cut her first 2 teeth.  This means Mommy gets nervous during nursing sessions. (Ouch!!)
• Both girls and learning new sounds and mouth tricks, sticking out tongues, "Dada", "Babababa", etc.
• The other day they both got up on all fours for the first time (in the same minute, if you can believe it. I'm always astonished at their synchronization!)
• Pearl's favorite toy is the butt cream because she knows how to open the lid (prompting a consultation with the poison control website...don't worry! It's not bad.)  She was seriously offended when I took it from her today before her nap time.  I love seeing their personalities develop!
• Eloise's favorite toy is a wipe. She likes to chew on them...something I don't condone but don't make to big a deal.
• Summary: I'm not sure why I invest in real baby toys since all they want are NON baby toys.
• The girls LOVE eating their food and I have fallen in love with the new squeezable baby food.  The flavors are awesome and they're so very convenient.  I've invested in the spoons that attach directly to the pouches and I must say it's the best invention since sliced bread.

  Jonah and Sophie are the best big brother and sister.  They love feeding their babies snacks and making sure they're happy. They fight over who gets to talk to which baby in the car.  Eloise and Pearl love their big brother and sister except for a few moments of panic when the affection becomes more painful than comforting.  Sophie still can't help herself and often "loves too hard".

Eloise and her tongue

We're on the move!

Pearl is always "stunned"

What a beauty!

Happy Eloise!

So precious.

I love this picture. They eyes are always wide open.  It's a Green Family trait, I suppose.  All 4 of my kids have been like this. 

Bumbos at dinner time. 

Watching Dora in the morning. Eloise and Soph.

My beautiful Sophie Girl.

 

7 Months and Oh-So-Sweet

My angels turned 7 months yesterday.  This year is going by entirely too fast and I'm finding myself scrambling to enjoy every little moment!  It's so bittersweet seeing my babies grow.  The new things are so exciting and fun but I desperately miss the days when they'd sleep constantly, balled up in the fetal position on my chest.

I realize just how lucky I am and just how spoiled I am and I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father has blessed me with the most wonderfully mild-mannered babies.  It's probably all a plot to keep me having more.

Their little personalities are starting to emerge and I love picking out little differences.  For the most part, they're very similar and take turns being the fussier or calmer one.  I think Pearl is starting to be the sassier of the two.  She has more extreme moods--serene and serious one moment and feisty and hyper the next.  Eloise is pretty even-keeled.  She is always happy and quick to give the biggest smiles.  Pearl loves sticking out her tongue and blowing raspberries.  She also learned to click her tongue recently and loves to copy me when I do it.  Eloise is slightly plumper and just recently passed Pearl up in height.

When things get overwhelming, I amaze myself by multitasking like a madwoman.  Our potential rises with our responsibility.  All we have to do is commit.

Pearl, Eloise.

From the Phone

I've loved having a new phone that can actually take decent pictures when I don't want to miss the shot by running to get my Nikon.  These are from January.

Miss Eloise

Eloise and Pearl

My sweet Olive.  She loves Auntie Sarah.

Sophie the comedian.

Eloise, after a long day of shopping.

How did that food end up on her foot? #experimenting with solids

Happy Eloise.

Trying on Momma's shoes. (Ignore the danger of cord entanglement)

Watching Tangled on Daddy's phone.

Bedtime!

Good morning!

Talking to Momma. (Eloise)

What?! (Pearly)

The "Big Kids".  They're best friends and sometimes worst enemies.

Bath time!

Again with the comedic!

Posing for Daddy who was hundreds of miles away at a job interview. (Hopefully more on that later!!!)

Creepy Flash Eyes

Our family walk last Saturday.  It was good to get some fresh air!

These are about as good as my posts are going to get these days.  Life is happily busy!

I turned 29...

but let's all forget about that small detail and focus on more exciting things!

Pearl and Eloise turned 6 months old this month!  And to celebrate, we all contracted a nasty case of RSV (I assume from Jonah's preschool) and spent weeks cleaning up throw-up, boogers, fixing ear infections, sucking out more boogers, building lasting relationships with doctors, etc.  It sucked! was very stressful.  The babies fared well considering the illness and all they underwent to get better--my doctor calls it a true testimony of breastfeeding.  I'm glad I could at least give them that.

We're all healthy for the time being and it's very nice.  We truly take the healthy days for granted; something we don't realize until we're cleaning up puddles of vomit from braided rugs at 3 o' clock in the morning.

I acknowledge that my performance as family recorder has taken a turn for the worse and I have only one excuse.  We're BUSY!  I'm not complaining.  Not one bit.  I love being a mom and when times are particularly crazy, Jon will look at me and sigh and I'll say, "This is what we chose, Hon."  And indeed it is.  I wouldn't have chosen anything else.  So Pearl and Eloise get the short end of the stick with the stats and pictures constantly being posted.  I take plenty, just can't edit and get them up here for all to see.  Luckily, I got a new phone with a better camera/video camera and now I can actually take decent pictures of them quickly without having to break out the big guns.

Another fun thing this month is that Sophie is now in Primary at church.  She made the transition seamlessly and I think has been ready to move one for a while now.  I can't believe I don't have any kids in nursery. 

Christmas in Montana

Christmas was wonderful this year and the family gathering was ideal.  We gathered in Montana at Josh and Lindsey's beautiful house.  The first few days were bitter cold with frozen trees and white everywhere.  It was the perfect setting for a wintery Christmas vacation!  There was plenty of time to relax and eat, and eat some more.  And best of all, no one barfed all week!  (Not until we got in the car to go home, anyway!)

Grandpa with Eloise and Mimi with Pearl

Playing with cousins made for exhausted kids!

Telling secrets.

Santa came on Christmas Eve to deliver pajamas for all the kids.  I can't say it enough; Christmas is so much more fun with kids!  I soaked it all in!

She was so concerned and excited at the same time!  I LOVE her expression here.

Classic Jonah, he was excited but tried to pretend it was no big deal!

Mimi with Santa...curious.

Playing with Legos.

Magic

I knew Jonah would catch on.  He's a smart boy and very observant.  He will not be fooled. 

We went to the Riverwoods outdoor mall to see Santa and all the beautiful lights they've hung.  Its almost like Temple Square, except without the temple.  I hoped there would be "a good Santa", comparable to the one they've got at the University Mall nearby and we were NOT disappointed!  He was the real deal and their decor was so perfect.  It was outdoors so they had a little house with fake windows (no glass), a real fireplace and fire next to Santa's chair and beautiful decorations making it look just like Christmas.  The big bonus was that they let you take your own pictures! No forced photo package!  The kids were so excited that they completely blanked on all the toys they'd been putting on their lists and Sophie's response when asked what she wanted was "a candy cane".  Wow, if only I'd known what would appease her childish Christmas desires before I'd stayed up til the wee hours of the morning on Cyber Monday trying to take advantage of deals.  Needless to say, the kids had a wonderful time.  And so did we.

This morning was our ward Christmas party at church.  We prepared bags of diapers, blankets, and books for newborns and the kids visited with Santa again.  This is when Jonah looked at me with a knowing look and said, "OH! Why is Santa just always different!"  This was your typical fake Santa with the too bright, plastic-y beard and wig that slides ever-so-slowly down his forehead, prompting the slight tugs and pulls at his hat between seeing children.  Nevertheless, Jonah played along and didn't seem too bothered by it all.

After all, don't we all turn a bit of a blind eye to reality during the holidays?  That's what makes it magical.

I'm going to stay 3 now!

Sophie woke up on Monday after we had celebrated her birthday on Sunday with family and the first thing she said in her scratchy, sleepy voice was, "I'm going to stay 3 now.  I'm not 2 anymore!"  I told her she was right (we pick our battles with three year-olds) and that we'd celebrate her real birthday on Friday.  In my mind, it would be perfectly decorated with home-made doodads from my "Kidlets" board on Pinterest, the cake would be nearly professional looking, and Sophie would get to celebrate with an exhaustingly girly tea-party thrown by her perfectly fashioned and made-up mother.  Well, we settled for a few shoddily made paper lanterns (mimicking Tangled), a few balloons, and a cake that resembled more of a weathered garden gnome than Rapunzel's tower.  But guess who couldn't have cared less!  Yep, Sophie was thrilled with her day (and I appreciated the low-key version of my fantastical visions). 

We ate doughnuts for breakfast (pink with sprinkles, of course), stayed in our pajamas nearly all day, opened presents, ate dinner at her favorite restaurant, Wendy's, had cake, and snuggled up in our pajamas together to watch How To Train Your Dragon.  It was so much fun!

Here are my thoughts of Sophie at this age:

• Loves fruit more than any other food
• Loves her chocolate milk
• Loves pink
• Loves to tell stories and whisper to herself as she plays with her toys
• Talks like a 30 year-old
• Is very animated
• Loves to do things all by herself
• Isn't afraid to let us know (often loudly) what she wants
• Favorite toys are Strawberry Shortcake and friends, Ariel, Hello Kitty paraphernalia, Smurfs, Barbies, My Little Ponies
• Loves watching Veggie Tales, Tangled, Ariel (Little Mermaid), and Strawberry Shortcake
• Her favorite article of clothing is her pink flower dress (more about this later)
• She loves her baby sisters
• She loves to play with Jonah as long as he doesn't get too bossy ;)
• She's very affectionate and likes to comfort people when they're sad
• Loves painting toe nails 
• Loves to dress up and be fancy

Playing dress-up: A little bit of Ariel mixed with a little bit of Rapunzel

Halloween 2011

Our Halloween adventures were sandwiched by bouts of strep throat (Jon and I) but that didn't keep us from celebrating to the fullest!  We trick-or-treated at Uncle Johnny's work with Mimi and Lala (and Olive and Max) and then came home to put the little pumpkins in bed so we could take Jonah and Sophie around our neighborhood. We had lots of fun and have enjoyed snacking on our kids' unappreciated chocolate treats!

Eloise and Pearl

Big Sister had to be in a picture!  Sophie with Pearl.

Our very own Sonic and Strawberry Shortcake

Our pumpkins were so radical this year.  My Hello Kitty got a crappy candle but don't let that fool you.  It was perfect.  Mario, Bowser, and Ariel.