park saturday!

we kind of bummed around a lot last saturday. the girls and i hung out and went on a walk and by late afternoon, we had to get out of the house again. so we picked up dinner and went to the park as a family. we tried a new park, and hazel played, cora slept, and john and i threw the frisbee around and ate cheese fries. pics:

cora smiles on camera at 4.5 weeks from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

you only remember the good stuff

You only remember the good stuff

I'm sitting here, nursing cora, staring at her cute little Michelin arms, and remembering how much I loved that milk-drunk hazel and her Michelin arms. 

But even as I'm sitting here nursing this delicious, getting-fat, sweet, innocent baby, I'm thinking about how crappy of a night we had last night. 

And that's when I realized- you only remember the good stuff.

Right now, the good is mixed in with the not-so-good, the late night nursing and rocking a wakeful baby, is mixed in with the delicious baby smell and little smiles. But years from now, I'm only gonna remember the delicious baby smell and the smiles you work so hard for, just like I only remember the good stuff with hazel.

So, for now, I'm reveling in each precious moment, the good and the bad with both my girls and their respective stages. because I know it won't last forever. 

easter festivities.

on friday, the village had an easter egg hunt & carnival for the littles. henry and briana came. hazel had a blast in the bounce house, it took me forever to get her out of it- and i introduced her to cotton candy. before we left she got her face painted like a cat. and let me tell you- i think it made her year! 

on saturday and sunday we had the opportunity to watch general conference and hear from our church leaders. i was feeling overwhelmed with my added responsibilities as a mother, and i felt the spirit so strongly and know that Heavenly Father appreciates my sacrifice and loves me. i am just so grateful and feel so blessed that He has trusted john and i with these precious spirits. we love our girls so much! 

hazel ate lots and lots of candy, of course.

and little cora turned a month old! happy birthday, cora! 

Easter basket turned hat from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

i had a tremendous meltdown yesterday. i think the combination of sleep deprivation, not enough chocolate in the house, recovering from a cold and a uti, and a toddler who is constantly testing the limits- was just too much for me. and i may have even sent a pathetic text to john in my weak state. 

I also called my mom and pretended I was okay, even though i wasn't. 

and then, a tender mercy came in the form of my sister's email. she said a lot of things that i needed to hear, but one thing in particular i thought i would share: i think i need to tell you just how grateful i am for you and your example.  you are wonderful and i know that God is so so grateful for you raising two beautiful daughters.

and there it was. a confirmation that my sacrifice meant more than sleepless nights and tantrums. 

and then cora gave me a five-hour stretch last night. i feel like a new woman. 

sponge baths!

i just had to share these two pictures.  even at 2am, baby baths are awesome.

the first couple weeks.

time is so precious. isn't it? each moment is so fleetingly beautiful when you have a newborn in your arms and a toddler at your feet. these first two weeks have been challenging, with hazel whipping out the big guns with a new level of tantrums, wanting to be held, and refusing play dates outright (which i force her to go to anyway, poor moms of her friends have to deal with a couple minutes of crying in the car until she gets over it....). it's also been challenging because hazel often needs me when i am feeding cora, and i'm sure it's not easy for her to wait. and to top it all off, i am exhausted.

but, challenges aside, this has been a treasured, remarkable thing for our family. hazel has gone from completely ignoring her baby sister to acknowledging her throughout the day, "baby co!", to kissing her forehead and pointing at her tiny feet, fingers, etc. things have actually gone better than i could have hoped on that front. 

i am so tremendously grateful to mimi, grandpa, and honey who all came out and took care of us while i was recovering.  we neglected to get a picture of grandpa with cora while he was here, but we will make up for it when they come visiting in the next couple days!

here is honey with grandbaby #2!