five months already?

Today marks 5 months since baby James came into this world. I can't believe how fast the last five months have gone. Today I took a big load of baby clothes to the garage that James has grown out of and I wanted to cry. My baby can't be getting this big this fast. He is such an angel. He is the smiliest, happiest baby. Yes, he has a talent for crying/screaming (today when I picked him up from the daycare, Marge told me his face started to turn purple he was so upset), but he is also so easy to please and content most of the time. He loves his brother Thatcher. He is so interested in the world around him. He loves to put everything in his mouth and will suck vigorously on anything that gets close to him. He loves to move around and today he started not just grabbing at the toys on his baby gym, but kicking at them. He has the greatest little laugh and is super ticklish. He is the best snuggler and the sweetest little boy.
Happy 5-month birthday sweet baby James.

a day of projects

I finished the dresser experiment yesterday which resulted in a day of organizing today. I am such a nerd, but love the feeling I get when I make my home a better place. Here is the finished product. It was super easy, Ty is extremely happy with it, and I am happy enough!

Oh...and my angelic Thatcher made it possible to reorganize his closet, reorganize my closet, do a little redecorating, organize and clean the garage, work on some sewing projects, iron 4 shirts, cook dinner, and make cookies. Am I a neglectful mom if he seems just as happy playing with himself as he is when we play together? I usually don't even attempt to get that much done in one day, but I was on a roll, and Thatcher was a sweetheart. We also got to play with Lexi and Michelle so that helped me to feel a little less guilty.

gratitude

...for my home (that we keep nice and clean and comfortable)
...for my boys (Thatcher who played with himself for hours today and James who makes me happy even though he needs a lot of attention on some days)
...for the Gospel (I love hearing Thatcher pray, I love visiting teaching, I love Conference talks)
...for family (I can't wait to see Ryan and Mel this weekend)
...for my husband (who ran errands with me, rode bikes with Thatcher, deveined a ton of shrimp, did the dishes, and fed James a bottle--all after a long day of work)
...for my fairly successful dresser project
...for folded laundry
...for a really great dinner (coconut shrimp to die for!)

LOST

We watched the series finale last night. We didn't get to bed till almost midnight. That means we went to bed almost three hours later than most nights. I am glad LOST is over. I am tired of having freaky dreams every Wednesday night. I still don't understand half of what happened throughout the series and I really don't understand the ending. I am trying really hard not to think too much about it, because it just confuses me. It was a good show, a great show even, but I am happy to say goodbye. I can't wait for 'So You Think You Can Dance' to start on Thursday. That is my true love.

he rolls!

- Last week James was able to somehow move across the room through his wiggling.
- A few days ago James started to arch his back in his bumbo so dramatically that it freaked me out.
- Two days ago I put James in his bouncer seat on the floor and a few minutes later looked over to find him on the floor. He was just laying there happy as can be.
- Yesterday he was lying on a lounge chair at the Ridings and Kristi got nervous because he was throwing his body all around. I assured her that he wasn't rolling yet, but agreed that he was moving a lot and picked him up.
- This morning James rolled from back to front (he has been rolling from front to back since he was 3 weeks old). He isn't even five months old and he is rolling both ways (Thatcher was six months before he was doing that)! Looks like I have a little prodigy.
- The rest of today James has been rolling, wiggling, and moving like never before. It is crazy how fast things can change.... this means a lot for us: time to get Thatcher sleeping in the toddler bed (something we have tried a few times and is not going so well); time to help James sleep well enough through the night that he can go into Thatcher's room; and time to get both boys to go down and wake up together (even for naps). This is going to be tricky!

my new project

A guy just dropped it off. It is pretty ugly, has a bad bright blue paint job, is cracked, needs new knobs...but I am kind of excited. I have wanted a dresser for a long time and I hope it works out.

tired

I was talking to my dad on the phone today and he said I sounded tired. I never talk to my dad and I don't feel like he knows me very well at all...but he was right. I don't know how people do it. I fully acknowledge that I don't have that much going on and yet I feel tired a lot more than I think I should. I exercise, I eat pretty well, I get enough hours of sleep (James is doing a good job of sleeping through the night these days), I have nice kids (I don't feel exhausted caring for them)...and yet I am tired. I don't know how people do it when they have 6 six kids who are older all with different schedules. I always wanted to have a lot of kids, but I have two babies with no schedule and I sometimes feel overwhelmed. I don't want to spend the next 20 plus years feeling that way. I am excited that we get to go to Phoenix tomorrow and hopefully get a little relaxation time in. Maybe I will feel rejuvenated after some swimming and sunshine!