I LOVE FALL

Baby, Blessing, Canyons, Cabins, and a Big change

A few noteworthy things: We finally took the step and took Greyson's binky away. Only one meltdown for one nap other than that no problem. We also moved him into a big boy bed and he isn't sure life gets much better. This is a long post - just catching up.

Thank goodness we took some professional pictures in her dress because by the time of her blessing brunch she was ornery and needed to go down for a nap so we only got one picture of her in her dress. Oh well. We had so much family there; we felt so loved.

A Sunday afternoon at Payson Cabin. Greyson fell asleep while Ben was swinging him.

A lazy day up Little Cottonwood Canyon. I about killed Ben for getting this picture - who puts a toddler in the middle of a fast flowing river and steps back to take a picture? But I loved how it turned out.

Mother and baby got caught trying to nap.

Our new house! Big entertaining living room - Cute front porch to sit on in summer evenings.



Back of house

Stairway (duh), Loft, Kitchen, and front.

I packed three boxes of books and felt overwhelmed. Not sure this was the wisest choice with a newborn. Also I'm very horomonal so one day I'm very excited and one day unsure. I think I'm driving Ben nuts. Good thing he loves me.

Count your blessings

Some days I just feel overwhelmed at how lucky I am. Today was one of those days when I felt all of the blessing the Lord has given me and I walked around with a smile. I wanted to list a few.

• I am thankful for Ben's job
• I am thankful that he loves his job and wants to be there until retirement
• I love Greyson. He can try me but he can also make me smile and melt in seconds.
• I love Addilyn. She smiles so much. It was all I needed to just adore her.
• I love Ben, I am so blessed to have a husband that is more than I ever dreamed. He is my best friend and my soul mate. He takes me for who I am and even seems to love me despite all my flaws :)
• I am grateful for my health. I hate how chubby I am but I can still run three miles a day and keep up with the best of them. I don't have chronic pain and I rarely feel sick (now that I'm not pregnant)
• I am blessed with the most amazing friends. There are still so many of you in Oregon that I miss and adore and thanks to Brenda here in Utah who has helped me so much with watching Greyson and being there for me to keep me calm.

The list could go on and on but sometimes I think when you have these days it's important to write down your thoughts. Life is great. I often miss working but I can also feel very content with the blessings I've been given.

How did that happen?

http://amberdphotos.blogspot.com/

We had someone come and take pictures of baby Addi last week. It just so happened to be a day when she was upset all day. She screamed the whole time we took pictures and I was sure none of them would turn out. However take a look at the link, the sweet newborn is mine and the pictures are beautiful! So much Fun!

Settling In

Bubble Fun - Being a good brother (he loves to show her his toys)

She looks so much older than two weeks in this picture.

Happy Birthday Ben! This is me only 4 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight! Yes 26 lbs lost in two weeks. Yahoo! Now just 45 more to go.

Greyson entertaining himself. His room was spotless two hours earlier.

Addi is almost three weeks old and we are starting to figure things out. A great blessing has been some drops that the doctor prescribed us to help with collic. She said that they work in about 50% of babies and the other 50% don't notice any change. They just help stop the spasms in their intestines and give them relief. So far it only takes about 15 minutes after the dose and she calms right down. (Yeah! I was sure we'd be in the "doesn't work" group) The Zantac is doing wonders and we can feed without screaming. So all in all even though she has fussy times we are figuring it out and enjoying her tender spirit. She is so beautiful if I do say so myself. I have still managed to have us ready by 10 on most days and I've even managed to do laundry, clean the house, work in the yard, and go for a long walk each day. I have learned that putting her in the stroller and Greyson on a bike and getting out of the house does wonders for us all.

Thanks for all of your comments. It's so nice to feel support from everyone.

Addilyn Kristine Covington

Born April 18th 6lbs 9 oz 19 inches long

Addi was so much fun the first week and a half. I loved being a mom and I felt great about being able to handle it all. I had the house cleaned every day. I was fine with both kids while Ben was at work. I even had us all bathed and ready by 10 a.m. every morning. I felt so connected to her and was so grateful it seemed so different from Greyson's first few months.

However. . . a few days ago she started with the acid reflux and collic. Here we go again. It felt like postpartum hit within a day. I got her into the doctors and we got her some medication for the reflux and now we are pulling out all our old tricks to deal with collic. Needless to say with the reflux she wouldn't let me set her down and I started to feel so trapped. After an emotional day and night I feel a little more normal; after all I know this passes. We just know it will be a few long months ahead.

At the doctors appt Addi was already at 7lbs 14oz at two weeks old she's gained almost a pound and a 1/2 over her birth weight. What a girl. At least she is a much better eater then Greyson was.

She is beautiful and we are grateful to have her bless our home.

The power of a book. . .

I remember seeing the Bruno's kids beds and laughing at the mounds of books spread across them. My child is no different. If I clean out his crib he doesn't sleep well. He gets excited to go to bed because he gets to look through his books for as long as he wants without interuption. We've started having to go down at 10:30 or 11:00 at night and turn off his lamp and shut the door with only a little hall light on so that he will finally just lay down and sleep. He never fusses you can just hear him on the monitor reading his version of the book.

I went to a Jazz game the other night and when I got home Greyson's door was wide open so I went in to say goodnight. This was what I found, so ADORABLE!

We all need time in Nature

We went to the family cabins in Payson this weekend. It

was so relaxing.

A dirt covered face, the best sign your child is having fun outdoors!

You would think we need to be taught child labor laws but Greyson just wanted to "putter" with Daddy. Ben raked up leaves and Greyson was so excited to help. He picked up piles and helped haul them off the decks, he also had a broom and helped sweep. It was so cute. We tried to get him to play with a ball or sticks but he wanted to make sure all the leaves were taken care of first.

Me finally reading a book on hypno-birthing. It's about time since I'm due in 20 something days.

Ben and Greyson swinging

We spent almost an hour throwing rocks into water. There is something so soothing about it and Greyson loved it.

One Tuckered Child

I really shouldn't be allowed to go out at this size!

**For those that want an update I went to the doctors this week and blood pressure and everything was fine. I even lost a few lbs! So apparently I'm still good for another few weeks. It relieved a lot of pressure to know I might be saved from bed rest. Life is good.

I can't believe I'm actually posting this but here I am about to pop!

You know you feel big but when you see it in a picture it's a little scary.

This is the hardware ranch in Logan, UT

You ride sleighs out in the middle of a herd of Elk

They had about 450 there today. This one was catching

up on some rest. Greyson was terrified of the horses but

seemed unaffected by the elk.

What are you looking at?

As if you don't feel big enough when you're this pregnant. . .

check out the sign above the girls bathroom.

We drug Collin and Michon along with us. They are so photogenic it's not fair but we love them anyway.

Last week Greyson and I also went with Brenda and Reagan to the Aquarium. It's one of my favorite places to go because it's small and we can be in and out in an hour. It's also cheap and only 10 minutes from the house, you can't beat that for entertainment.

Brenda and I talked a couple of weeks ago and realized that both of us are really lonely and don't feel like we have many friends. I think sometimes you get in these ruts and don't realize that other people feel the same. Anyway I'm going to drag her with me this summer as I find ways to get out of the house she may wish she'd never told me that.