sunbeam

Anna is now if primary can anyone believe that because i cant. Her first day of primary was spent (according to her) learning songs, meeting her new teachers and learning that she is "a child of god"

here is a picture of her special day

so excited she just cant hide it

Mommy advice

Well after having 2 babies i now know what is a necessity for a baby and what is a want. I have also learned several techniques to help with the household. so here is what i have learned things i cant live with out as a mom

A boppy greatest thing every even if you don't nurse

I don't nurse but i use my boppy like crazy

tummy time, just to lay him down,

stuffy and runny noses

plus its very easy to travel with 

bumbo

i love love love the bumbo 

helps with sitting and head shape

we are working on head shape because

with a second child they don't get to be 

carried as much so head shape is harder to obtain 

but bumbo keeps them off there head.

and very easy to play with baby in bumbo

and if he is gassy the sitting properly helps push the

 gas through we have found

bouncer

we love the bouncer because it is so easy to travel with

when going to grandmas for dinner just take the bouncer

and its very easy to put him in the bouncer and eat or play a game

also bouncer must have vibration to help calm baby and toys to distract

Our baby if he didn't get burped very well the vibration really helps get it out

and he loves to play boxer with the toys

Swing 

now my baby loves his swing all i have to do is put him

in his swing with a cozy blanket set it on 2 and turn the classical music

(that is on the swing) on and he instantly knocks out and can sleep forever in there

changing table organizer

I have to keep things very organized and by having this organizer (found at sears)

makes life so much easier. Also we love a wipe warmer especially for winter babies

white board

we love our white board

it is so nice for baby sitters just write down what needs to be done,

and make grocery lists, things you need to remember or notes to dad.

I highly recommend one of these

bottle dryer

since we bottle feed this is so handy 

it makes it so your dish drainer is always full of bottles

and its very compact.

stain remover

I did this with Anna (because she had reflux and spit up everywhere) 

but keep in babies room and whenever they spit up and you 

change there outfit just spray a little of this on the spot and throw in laundry.

bath bouncer

we love this instead of buying a big bath tub for him 

we just use this and it works great especially with swaddle baths

these bags are amazing we use them all the time

they are scented bags and keep the smell in i have these

in our diaper bag and anywhere we change diapers

we only use them for poopy diapers

you can buy them at the dollar store which makes them even better

and it makes it so you can buy a regular trash can 

instead of an expensive baby one 

diapers and wipes

being a 2nd time mom i learned how many diapers and wipes i need

so i make sure i always have a stock

Also things I have learned to help with the house. Now im still perfecting these but they seem to be working
Laundry:
Everyone gets there own day
Monday: Me
Tuesday:Riley
Wednesday: Anna
Thursday: Bradley
Friday: towels
Saturday: our Sheets
it works out great and usually keeps everyones stuff to one or 2 loads we also do the kids bedding on there day and i just try to work it so that it is all down by the time nap is so during nap i can fold everything.
It works great so far and has helped a ton.

Dishes:
"make sure your sink shines before you go to bed"
now this sounds pretty harsh but works a ton we just make sure our dishes are put in the dishwasher or put away before we go to bed every night. It makes sleeping a little easier because you wake up realizing your dishes are done.

Toys:
The best we have learned is to make Child #1 pick up her toys and put them away several times a day. And it seems to be the best and teaches her very well.

Well that is my mommy advice and I hope it helps some of you out!!

Baby Boys Room

Ok now I know he is already 4 months old but he didn't use his room very much and during the holidays we used his room for storage (who knows what we are going to do next year). So once the tree was put away and all the glitter cleaned up we were able to clean his room up and make it his so here are some pictures of his room.

With his room i wanted to do a very clean modern feel and since he is a boy i got to do my blue and orange! Also we went a different way with his room, with Annas room we bought everything and it ended up costing us so much money (like $300 for just bedding that we barely used) so I made all of bradleys bedding (so much cheaper like $50 total including rocking chair) and I recovered his rocking chair and painted it. I am very proud of myself and the way his room turned out.

super cute blanket great grandma anne made

his bedding that i made with the help of Karen pearson
who did the sheet.

recovered and painted the rocking chair
we took it from brown wood to white and
brown fabric to gray polka dot

cute monster that Aunt liv made

mobile that i made

canvas pictures that Anna made

cute lamp shade that Tani made

gray and orange curtains

his cute dresser and changing table

cute blanket that Aunt Kathy made

she embroidered his info on the corners

our toy, clothes and diaper stock

pictures and chevron wall art

monster blanket grandma val made

New years

New years was so fun this year we all went over to the Morgan House (baileys parents) and had big party with a bunch of friends (tani & max, keeley & stephen, shaleigh & todd, bailey & andy and a bunch of Chases friends)
We had tons of food and played tons of games and Andy and stephen had a firework show. I have loved getting together with all of our friends and hope to continue to hang out with all of them.

Also this year Riley and I are going to be having a lot of things change. Riley will be starting school in January and then starting his major in August so we will not be seeing him very much for the next 2 years. We have decided to do resolutions

our resolutions are:
lose weight
   we told each other that when we lose the weight we want we will book a cruise
   Riley wants to lose 30 lbs and me 10-15lbs (pre baby weight)
eat healthier
   cut out the soda (well not buy any more for the home but if we are out eating we can have some)
   cut out all the sweets.
make more food at home
   no more taco bell
get into a routine with the kids
enjoy friends and family more
    try to always say yes when people want to hang out
    and build better relationships with the friends we have
And start saving so we can buy a house after he graduates
 
Me: more crafting and spending time with anna
Riley: good grades in school


hopefully we will be able to fulfill all of these.

pictures of December

Bradley has been smiling a ton.

seeing santa at the ward party with her BFF Kayson

riding front runner

long hair taken to...

short hair

santa party at the mall

sleepover in the living room while daddy was gone

cuddle session

since we didn't make it to temple square

we went to riverwoods instead

sad face

he loves his bumbo

bath hair

The month of december was so fun

Bradley had his 4 month appointment and he is 12 lbs 1 oz and 23 1/2 inches long he is so smiley and laughs all the time now and can roll from his tummy to his back..