love, SWEET love

* 2 years *

Two years ago (from Monday)

Adam and I were married here:

It was a glorious day.

We were sealed together, forever.

We made promises that we'd love & serve each other, and that we'd strive to put Christ at the center of our marriage & family.

We've worked hard at keeping our marriage strong, united, passionate, forgiving, happy...and the outcome has been better than I ever imagined.

Adam & I have grown closer together...truly becoming one.

We are different in many ways, but we compliment each other :)

Concerning the important things:

we are oh-so similar.

The last two years have been the best of our lives...so far. And you know what? We're going to make the next two even better!!

I love you Adam...and thank you for loving me back.

You make me completely happy!

And happily complete :)

For shots & giggles...

Brooks had his 2 month appointment on Friday.

[with the best pediatrician in the world!

We heart Dr Witt]

And he got 3 shots.

Boo.

I'm sure it was worse for me than for him...at least I hope so...I was a blubbering mess.

He was a brave little soldier...and he got these cool camo-band-aids,

quite fitting :)

And after a little nursing session he was all smiles!

And...drum roll please...

Brooks laughed for the 1st time on Saturday!!!

I was SO happy my camera was close by to capture it...

...our baby is becoming a boy.

One-handed

One of the many skills I've learned

(and am still working on)

now that I'm a mom is being able to do things one-handed.

So far, I have:

swept the floor

(harder than it seems people)

*

made scrambled eggs

*

touched-up my makeup

*

cleaned the kitchen

*

made my bed

*

typed

(whether it's a paper for school or writing on this little blog)

*

squeezed my husband's tooshy

(sometimes I like to use both hands;)

*

pushed laundry through

(still working on the folding part)

*

put away groceries

*

made & eaten my breakfast, lunch, and dinner

...all w/ just one hand, because I get to hold this little guy in the other.

Some may call it spoiling...but I call it loving your baby, and soaking up the time you have with him/her, especially while there's just one to look after ;)

Cheers to multi-tasking!

(and technically getting an arm work-out while snuggling)

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

During one of the first times I was changing Brooks' diaper at home, I caught myself trying to soothe his little cries with some words of comfort:

"Oh sweetheart, you're okay...I'm just so glad your body's working...Mommy loves you! Your body's working, yeah Brooks!" My Mom and I (she was staying with us for the week) looked at each other and laughed (we did lot of that while she was here)! We talked about how she would say that same thing to me and my younger sisters when we were just babes...and how, when I was young, I thought it was pretty weird. I mean, poop wasn't a thing to celebrate, c'mon now ;) But let me tell you, just about every time I change a dirty diaper, or feel a little rumble down under, I can't help but say, "Yea buddy! Your body's working! Feel better now sweet boy?"

Goodness, I am my mother :)

And while many people may rue the day they realize they have become their parents, I actually love it when I have those moments, most of the time ;) My mom is an amazing example to me...I'm trying my best to follow in her footsteps. So far, I've gotten her love for music, her taste for hardy salads, her smile, her desire to start a movie at any hour of the night, her weak tear ducts, and wanting to capture every sweet moment in life on film.

But I'm really working toward having her heart's capacity to love people that really have no one, her willingness to serve the Lord and His children, her ability to be positive about everything (and I mean everything...), her determination and dedication to serving in the temple, her piano and organ skills, her zest for life & the way she seizes every moment, her fine-tuned sense of feeling the Spirit, her drive to be a member missionary, her passion for reading, and her genuine, selfless love for her family (immediate and distant alike).

I love my Mom...and now, being a mom to my sweet Brooks, I only love and appreciate her more. She deserved the best this Mother's Day!!! (and i know she got it...my Dad & sisters made [and cleaned up] a delicious salmon & asparagus dinner for her, while she went out to take sweets and flowers to a few ladies in the ward...she's an angel). Wish I could have been with her...but we were together in spirit. I love you Mom. Can't wait to see you in June!

* Brooks loving his time in Grandma's arms *

Aloha!

While the title of this post may have made you think we had pictures of a trip to Hawaii to show ya...that is going to be in the future (the far future. yep:)

For now, we have a video of our little guy doin' the Hula with his Daddy-o after coming from from the gym!! It takes a minute for him to get going...but then he sways those little hips like he were a native ;)

And this video is of a chit-chat we had this morning...goodness I love him!

We love Brooks...

and here's why...

Daddy's list:

1. He is MY little boy!

2. He is half of my better half, Haley, and half me!
3. Without saying a word, he has taught so much of how much my parents love me and more importantly how much our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me!
4. Just by safely arriving in this life, he has been the catalyst for my love to know new bounds and depths that enable me to love others more.
5. He is a perfect example of being perfectly content with the necessities in life (LOVE, loving parents, diaper, warm house, onesies, milk, and plenty of nap times), and anything else we are blessed with is icing on the cake.
6. He SMELLS so heavenly! They need to make a candle called 'Infant Innocence'.
7. He never tells me to go away or that he doesn't want to be with me.
8. He loves me for who I am and is patient with me while I am trying to learn how to be a dad.
9. His perfect little body (ie...his mini finger and toe nails) testify to me more and more each day the existence and reality of our Father in Heaven who created all of this with his Son.
10. He made it (the pregnancy and birth) easy enough on Haley that we are excited to have many more kids!

Mommy's list:

- What a sweet boy you are...in every sense of the word

- The way you look up at me when you're nursing

- How you arch your back & squinch your face when you stretch

- How the # of diapers you go through in a day has gone down...woohoo!

- Your sounds & faces you make while dreaming

- You're good w/ nursing, the binkie, & the bottle...thanks for being so flexible ;)

- How your smile makes me melt

- You like when i sing to you...which is so off-key, i apologize :)

- The way you "talk" to & smile at your daddy

- How you can stand strong, while holding our hands

- Your pouty lips when you start to cry...which isn't very often

- How you've strengthened the knowledge of the love of God for His children

and those are just a few...

Brooks in action...

...well, as much action as a 1 1/2 month old can be in :)

We sure love our little guy!

PS - More pictures and stories of the past month soon to come...I've been a bit busy;)

PPS - Please disregard the baby talk (from me)...thank you kindly.