Dear Elijah

Elijah Reed, this first year has been tough, real tough. At this point you're pretty strong willed and I am too. 

I know you are our first and we're learning to be parents. There are days we are better at it than others. But we try everyday. Son, we should go ahead and make a deal, I'll be patient with you and you be patient with me. 

I will promise you a few things right now that you can hold me to for eternity. I will always love your daddy and we will always love you. We will take care of you and help you reach your fullest potential. We will provide you with all your needs. I will hold you when you are sad, kiss every booboo that you deem needs it, I will kiss you everyday (until you tell me I must stop, then I'll still do it), I will take care of you! And on those days that life is hard I'll help you remember how blessed we are to be an eternal family. 

Your father and I both feel incredibly blessed that you were sent to our family. We love holding you tight, kissing you excessively and knowing heavenly Father let us have you. 

I know I've said this before and I'll say it again, you made me a mother and I'll always always always love you. And dont forget, you're my favorite first born......dont tell the others, they'll get jealous. 

Elijah is one

Oh my, this year has flown by and my little Elijah Reed is turning one. And I will say what every other mother before me has said, the time flew by.
Elijah Reed has brought so much joy into our lives. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think we are the luckiest parents in the entire world.
-At one Elijah weighs 28 pounds 6 ounces and is a little over 31 inches tall.
-He has been walking for 6 weeks. Since he started walking he tries to hard to keep up with his cousins.
-There still isn't a food that he hates. He is a very good eater.
-He has completely given up his bottle and only uses a sippy cup.
-His favorite sippy cup is any cup that someone else has. His poor cousins have to guard their cups.
-He is currently obsessed with with a piggy bank toy. He loves putting the fake coins in the slot. He also loves opening and closing the side of the piggy bank and get the money out.-Going along with the above, he loves putting things in other things and opening and closing. He loves doors.
-He is starting to like carrying cars around with him. It's pretty cute.
-He makes sitting through sacrament meeting next to impossible. He wants to walk up to the stand.
-I've read at this age you need to "redirect" his attention. If I try this method he is more hellbent on his original idea. He is a very determined boy.
-He favorite book is The Five Little Pumpkins.
-He won't watch tv. We claim he watches wheel of fortune with us and he kinda does.
-He loves to go with you to the bathroom. He's insistent on helping you. He will stand there with his hand on your leg and stare at you.
-He is becoming a momma's boy. He loves to be held.
-He's learning a little bit about stranger danger and will act shy.
-He is obsessed with phones, IPods, computers, etc. I don't care for this obsession.
-He has 6 teeth!
-He generally sleeps through the night. He wakes up but puts himself back to sleep within minutes so I don't have to get out of bed.
-He goes to bed around 7 and wakes up between 6 or 7.

I can hardly believe how my life has changed in the last year. It's been an amazing experience watching him grow and watching him learn. Not every day is perfect, most days aren't. But they have all been worth it. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a mom and I'm so glad we were lucky enough to get Elijah. He is my baby, my boogie bear, my little man, my boy, the boy and everything else to me.
Here is to celebrating a lifetime of birthdays to the little guy who made this lady a mom.

Anniversary Time

So after 2 years we have pretty much fallen into an everyday routine. Our entire lives revolve around our sweet little man, Elijah Reed and we are anxiously anticipating the arrival of our next task, I mean joy, Madelynn. With that being said, LIFE IS GOOD!
Today we have big plans to make dinner in and watch a movie. Last year we ordered dinner in, we missed our reservation ;), and watched shows. Brent is 100% correct, I am hard to be traditionally romantic for. I'd rather the floor be vacuumed over flowers any day. And Brent does help out so I can't complain to much. He works hard and then comes home and works hard here too. I'm really lucky and I know it.
Brent is pretty ridiculous and does make me laugh everyday. Most of the time he makes me feel like a giddy because of the crazy compliments he gives. I'm lucky he is my eternal companion. Together forever sounds great to me.

For My Beautiful Wife Sandra

In case anyone is actually wondering, yes, it is actually Brent writing this post. Today, November 24, 2012 is Sandra and mine's anniversary. Two years ago today, I made the greatest decision of my life, my eternity, and I married the greatest woman in the world! I could not be any happier than I am now to be married to Sandra. She makes me laugh everyday and I try to do the same for her, cause her smile makes my day brighter. I'm being extra cheesy, I know, but I don't care. I LOVE MY WOMAN! It is because of her I get up everyday to do my best at school/work cause I want to take care of her. It's because of her I want to be a better father and set a good example to Elijah and all of our future children. And it's because of her I want to be the best man that I can so I can spend eternity with her because anything less than that just won't do. I have found my perfect woman in Sandra Adamson!

In case Sandra is reading this now, I know I am not the most romantic person, and, Sandra, you must admit, you are kinda hard to be "traditionally" romantic with, as in flowers and gifts you consider nice, but that just doesn't do it for you. I have been planning to write this post for you for a little bit now and had planned to write it late last night, or early morning but you foiled that plan by wanting to stay up with me and be with me. Gosh! How terrible it is that you want to spend time with me! =-)

I love you, Sandra with all of my heart and soul and will love you for all eternity!

From,
Your loving and truly grateful husband

Thanksgiving

I haven't participated in the daily Thanksgiving fest on Facebook. I saw no point in it. Why share with people I rarely ever talk to anything about my life. I obviously have a love hate relationship with Facebook. I like to be able to see other people's life's but I don't think people should over share, see previous post.

I do feel comfortable sharing my life and what I am thankful for on my blog. And I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I have been truly blessed!

1) I am thankful for my dear sweet kind husband. He is truly an amazing man. I tell him (in person) everyday how grateful I am for him. The past two years have been an amazing adventure. I look forward to eternity with him.
2) I am thankful for Elijah Reed. That kid has brought this momma more joy than she could ever have imagined. Motherhood is hard......a lot harder than I ever expected but he is worth it. I love him and love being his momma. I'm grateful for all his sweet cuddles and kisses. Everyday I wake up (entirely too early because of him) and wonder how did I get so lucky.
3) I am thankful for parents that raised me in the gospel. They taught me the importance of an eternal family and that is the most important thing. Life wasn't always easy, I didn't always appreciate them, but I do know how amazing they are.
4) I am thankful for in laws that taught my husband the same gospel principles and instilled in him the importance of forever families. They are amazing people who have welcomed me into their family with out too much hesitation. I am a little different than they are but they love me and I love them.
5) I am thankful for my brothers and brothers-in-law. I have two of the most amazing brothers ever. They are excellent examples of the priesthood and of fatherhood. I also have brother in laws that I love as my brothers. My sisters have chosen great spouses for them and I love my brother in law Bryant, he's a pretty funny guy and a great uncle.
6) I am thankful for my sisters and my sisters-in-law. I have been blessed with women who I consider my best friends that I get to be sealed to for eternity. I don't see it as me only having 3 sisters, I see it as me having 7 sisters. They are all amazing and so talented. This is one of the things I'm most thankful for.
7) I am thankful that I have had a healthy pregnancy so far. I hate being pregnant and still feel sick but I am grateful I can have children. I'm in no rush for Madelynn to get here but I do look forward to meeting her. I know she will be the perfect addition to my family.
8) I am thankful for modern technology. I have a love hate relationship with most of it. I think the internet is amazing. I love the fact that we can live across the country from our family and still talk to them and see them every week.
9) I am thankful that I get to teach online classes. We don't make a lot doing it but it's just enough to help us out. And the work isn't too hard. I hope to continue to do this for as long as I can. If only I can figure out a way to let Elijah know that I don't need his help while grading papers.
10) I am thankful that Brent is in his last year of school. I am so excited for him to be done and get a paycheck. I know that our living won't change a ton but at least we'll have an income. And hopefully we'll be able to buy a house. I am so looking forward to having our own place!

I have lots to be grateful for. Family obviously being the most important thing to me.

PDA

I'll be honest, I love PDA......especially when I'm involved. But even when I'm not I am fine with it. What I don't like is facebook PDA. Do you not live with the person? Can you not tell them that you love them in person? Are they not next to you every night? Show them, tell them, but do it in person. That is all.

Bliss

There are times when I'm so sleepy during the day all I can think about is crawling in to my bed and staying there forever. And all I can think is, as soon as Brent walks in the door I'm going to bed immediately. Then he gets home and we talk, we both play with the boy, we eat dinner, Brent gives the boy a bath, we put him to bed. At this time, it's only 7pm. I think to myself. I should really go to bed, I'm exhausted. What if the boy has a rough night, what if I can't sleep, I better just go ahead and go. Then 4 hours later, I usually go to bed. The point is, I love after the boy is in bed. I love those few hours I have with Brent and/or just to myself. How we can snuggle on the couch or in bed and watch a show. How we dream big. Some nights we watch videos we have of Elijah and laugh and coo over our little boy.
I try to be completely real about my emotions and about motherhood. I don't believe in saying it's always great and always blissful. There are days I would trade it, there are days that I am determined to call and set Brent up for a vasectomy, days were I swear we aren't having more kids. But in all honesty, I love being a mother to my very own little head strong boy. I love when he smiles at me, when he snuggles in to me, when I know that out of all the people in the world he still prefers me. Me, his imperfect, not always patient, woman who cries with him, sometimes disastrous mom. Because I am just that, his mom. And I love that boy.
I know that life will change again when Madelynn gets here. My world will be rocked for a 3rd time. There will be more days that I feel like I might go crazy. Days where Brent is one step closer to the urologist office but for the most part, I think we will survive. I can wait for her to get here. I'm not in a huge rush. But I look forward to snuggling her too. But for now, when I'm having a bad day, I'll look at that cute boy and be grateful. Then I'll remember after I put him to bed, I get me time.

My baby is a walker

Elijah started walking at 10.5 months. He kinda just surprised us with it. He is so advanced......says a very proud momma. He is my very own little hurricane. He is into everything and in everywhere. 

So, I've been a bad blogger

Melissa go married in August and we are so happy for her. I should have blogged this long ago but between my crazy little guy and this crazy little girl growing in me, I didn't. So here are a few pictures from her wedding. We always love going to visit our family in Ca. We only wish they weren't so far away. We also are glad our next visit won't have any weddings in sight. It makes things a lot less stressful. And I just realized I can't find any pictures of Melissa with her husband. But I do have these cute pictures of my baby. :)

 4 generations of Adamson men.

 My baby and my baby's daddy.

 The bride with the most handsome man there.

 Mom and Dad. They clean up so well :)

 Aunt Julie was the best date ever. He loves her so much.

 Grammy put on her dancing shoes and scored a dance with this little guy.

Glad he's not embarrassed of his mommy's awesome dancing skills. He thinks I'm pretty funny.

Halloween

The cutest shark boy/baby ever.

 My favorite 2 boys ever. Seriously, aren't they cute

 Mommy and her baby! 

Oh boy

I guess we should put our things in better places. I walked in our room and this kid had gotten into our "drawer". It was actually pretty funny. I made sure I took lots of pictures so we'll be able to hold it against him in the future. Oh boy, this kid is a mess.

Picture Perfect

I read this article a few days ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Because I have become the mom that would rather stay behind the camera. I keep thinking that I don't want my "mom" body ever captured on camera. I hate the thought of my butt, hips, arms being immortalized in a picture. Pictures last forever.
But then I read this article and starting to think about the pictures I have with my mom when I was young. Not once have I looked at those pictures and judged her looks (maybe her hair or clothes but hey, it was the 80's). To me I look at the picture and remember the moment/memory it captured. How lucky I was that she let me do this or that  she did that.
So it's a new goal of mine. I am going to refuse to hide behind the camera. I will be in pictures with my children. I will even try not to look at them and squirm with discomfort. I will remember that I am a big part of their lives and that they will love me unconditionally. I will make memories and document them with the camera. I will try to stop criticizing myself and become a better friend to me.
I don't know if it is this pregnancy or what but I have been having lots of body image issues. I don't like my outer self very much right now. It's a hard struggle. I always thought that once I got married I wouldn't care as much. I could enjoy the ice cream without all the guilt. I think that is less true than ever before. I know Brent really isn't bothered by it. But I really have been. I keep thinking I should have gotten the 1st pregnancy weight off before getting pregnant with number 2. I wish I wouldn't have gained so much during my pregnancy. Or whatever it is. I put on clothes only to take them immediately off. I'm not sure why as women we are so hard on ourselves. I listen to Amy, Charity, Kara saying they need to lose weight. And then here I am, really needing to lose weight. Anyways, just wanted to share what has been on my mind lately.

It's a GIRL

Wow, we are having a little girl! I am so very excited. Our 20 week ultrasound was yesterday and we were able to find out the gender. This entire pregnancy I thought it was a girl but I tried thinking it could be a boy. And I would be okay if she had turned out to be a he. But yesterday right before we left for the ultrasound I told Brent, I will be okay if it's a boy and I won't say it out loud but I will be a little disappointed. Well no need to be disappointed because she is a she indeed. Brent did become nervous after I told him that. He's too nice and he hates when I'm sad or disappointed. He's wanted a girl this time too.
Ultrasounds make me super anxious and nervous. Not to find out the gender but what if something was wrong etc. So when we went in I was already in a tizzy. While the tech was looking around she asked if we wanted to know the gender. I saw on the screen the 3 lines and I knew before she even said it that it was a girl. When she said it I looked over at Brent and saw the biggest smile. It was pure contentment for both of us. I think Brent was just relieved that I might wait to get pregnant with number 3. If this would have been a boy I kept saying next summer we would try again!
We went home so we could share the big news with Elijah. We know he is a baby and doesn't really understand but he is such an important part of our family that we wanted him to know before anyone else. This caused a few sisters to get really anxious but we were glad to get to tell him first. Plus we wanted to let him share the big news with all his family.
We decided to go shopping and get baby girl an outfit. Mom E came with us. She bought her 2 of the cutest dresses ever and a sweet cardigan. We bought her 2 outfits and a sleep sack. I didn't want to get the sleep sack because I think even though she is a girl she can use Elijah's "at home" clothes and this includes jammie's/sleepsacks but Brent insisted she need one pink one. And it just so happened to say Daddy loves Me. He is already talking about her being a daddy's girl and how he will have to scare the boys away and teach Elijah to protect her.
We feel so blessed to have had Elijah in our lives for the last 10.5 months and look forward to his sister joining him as part of our eternal family. I love being married to Brent. I'm grateful he is the person I get to share this parenting journey with. It hasn't been easy. Elijah has been a hard kid, but we wouldn't trade him ever. Heavenly Father continues to bless our little family. We feel His love abundantly daily! We may not have it all together but together we do have it all!

Judge me

I say judge me if you must for what I'm about to say. But it's the truth and I'm grateful for it. I finally enjoy being Elijah's mom. It took me 9 months but I enjoy this kid. I've always loved him and was happy he is ours but I hated days. He cried, I cried, it was madness. But now my sweet boy is just that, sweet. He is such a cute kid. He melts me and makes me smile. He's gotten to the point where he thinks he doesn't need naps, but he does. So that is a daily battle. But it's not so bad. I can finally say, honestly, that I like being a mommy.

A Quick Life Update

I figure it's been a while, a long while since I blogged. I've had lots to blog about. We went to the beach, we've been to California twice, we have moved, etc. So I thought I'd write a few highlights.
* Elijah is now 9 months old! Can you believe it? I am having a hard time remembering life without him. He won't eat any baby foods. He only has 2 teeth but he loves his meat! He has gotten really good at crawling and at standing on anything. He's become quite destructive! He makes me smile daily......and cry a lot of days too. He hasn't been an easy baby but I wouldn't trade him. He is so dang cute. A lady at the airport stopped us the other day and was saying what a beautiful baby he was. Then told us we should try for a girl because she would be gorgeous. We get told a lot how cute he is. And I agree. I think he is the cutest kid ever and his smile can melt anyone.
*Brent started his extern sight with Dr. Duncan this week. So far he is really enjoying it and really likes Dr. Duncan. He doesn't have to be there until 8:30 so he gets to sleep just a little later. He has to leave by 8 but that is later than what he's use to. They get to wear scrubs which is really nice. The only not nice part of that is they are expensive. He only bought 2 pair so far and they were $100. Oh my, school is expensive. It's funny how much we spend on him working for free and making other people money, not to mention the tuition. Brent also thinks he is picking up on a southern accent. I'm not so sure about that because mine isn't even that strong.
*As a family we've been pretty busy. We just recently moved to Jackson and live in my parents old place. It took a lot of work for us to fix it up but we are happy to have a home. We still have a lot of unpacking to do. And I am slowly getting it done. It's hard to unpack with Elijah and it's hard to unpack when you don't feel the top of your game. We won't have internet until next week so I'm going a little crazy. Not to mention I've teaching online classes so the internet is kind of essential. My parents live about 1 minute away so I'm able to go there.
*Oh, by the way, I know all my friends now already but I should put it in writing, WE'RE PREGNANT! Adamson baby number 2 is due March 5th but has to come by 39 weeks. We are excited and tired. I tease that I use to teach sex education and would tell the students it only takes one time. I guess I should have remembered that when I said, don't worry about a condom this one time. Oops! I'm sure it'll be hard for a while, it's hard right now, but I am close in age to my sisters and brothers and love it. I'm hoping this is a girl. I want to take a baby making break and would feel better about it if I had one of each. A boy would be great too since I have all boy stuff and they would grow up being best friends. So I guess either way would be great.
*Candice got married last month and I was able to help throw her a bridal shower. I think it turned out really nice, I need to post pictures. She was a beautiful bride and I am so happy for her and Darren. Marriage is so fun. While a group of us girls were hanging out the night before her wedding some of the ladies were saying the 1st year of marriage is hard. I feel truly blessed that we didn't have a hard 1st year. And the 2nd year hasn't been hard either. Mom A said they didn't really have "hard" years either and we are a lot like them.
*Melissa got married last month too. The reception was really nice and it was nice seeing everyone in CA again. It made me laugh on several occasions when people said, they look so happy together. I was like, they better look happy on their wedding day! I'm not impressed by how happy people look on that day, I'm impressed years later when they still have that look in their eyes toward each other. It was a fantastic trip. I'm way emotional this pregnancy and was able to not cry in front of anyone, other than Brent. Maybe not impressive to some of you, but a big deal to me.
*While in California we were able to attend Grandma and Grandpa Adamson's 60th wedding anniversary party. And I must say, they still have that look in their eyes after 60 years. I'm so glad we were able to go.
*We also went to Yosemite! I would say it was lovely but I was super nauseous that day! Note to self, you get car sick while pregnant and winding roads make it bad. Speaking of being sick, we were suppose to fly back to Tn on Sunday. We woke up super early to get to the airport on time. Also a bad idea for me while pregnant. Waking up early leads to nausea and vomitting. On the way to the airport I threw up down my clothes before I got a bag to finish throwing up in. Talk about gross, I changed as soon as we got to the airport. Good thing it was mostly liquid so it did't look super gross.
Anyways, there is tons I want to write but I have too much to do. I'll add pictures soon.......maybe.

At some point

I've come to the conclusion tonight that sometimes you just have to give up. It's not a bad thing, it's just life. You'll always care more than some people and you can't make them want what you want. That is all.
I better get to bed. Brent and I went to the drive in and now I'm exhausted.

Home

Last night Brent said something about us not living here anymore after august and it turned on the emotions for me. I cried and then I cried some more. This apartment has been our home. We spent our wedding night here, had our first dinner party here, brought Elijah home to here, we became parents here. So many of our first happened here. I'm sad to leave this chapter of our lives. I'm sad to move on. This apartment wasn't just a place to live but it's been our first home. Brent was a little surprised I got so sentimental about it; I was a bit surprised as well. I know we still have a few months but I'll miss it here.

Father's Day 2012

Yes I made them match on Father's day

Getting ready for church on Brent's first father's day.

I'm not sure if I say it enough but I am so grateful for Brent! Not only is he the kindest, sweetest, etc, etc husband, he is the best father a kid could ask for! Elijah is so lucky to have this guy as his dad. Brent is so dang cute with him. I love the days where we all 3 lay on the floor together and play.
Elijah thinks Brent is hillarious and gets truly excited when Brent gets home from clinic. It never fails that he gets a big smile on his face.
Brent even takes turns getting up with the boy on occasion.
Elijah pretty much agrees with his mommy and thinks that his daddy is the bees knees. Thanks Brent for being a great husband and a fantastic husband. I think we will keep you around.....forever!
Also, need to send a shout out to my father. He has taught me so many things in my life. He is a kind, fair, and wise man. I love when he calls and talks to me, though Elijah makes it a little difficult at times. Then there is my father in law. He is true example of kindness and compassion. I know where Brent gets it from. I love these men in my life. They are true examples of fatherhood and I'm glad Elijah has great examples in his life.

Father's day night

Elijah at 6 months

Elijah at 6 months:
He can sit up and does so very well
He is trying to crawl but can only go backwards. This generally makes him pretty upset because he is getting farther away from where he wants to be instead of closer.
He loves veggies more than fruit and eats 3 meals a day plus his bottles.
His favorite foods are peas, sweet potatoes, and some of the combination baby food.
He loves to have his mommy hold him while his daddy entertains him.
While he was sleeping through the night he recently changed his mind.
He cries if you walk out of the room.
He loves playing with his cousins and gets excited when they come over or if we go to their houses.
His favorite toys are his baby einstein ipod, his taggy, and his caterpillar.
If given the choice he would choose his mommy or daddy's cell phone over anything.
He makes his mommy and daddy smile everyday! He is the greatest gift that we have received and we thank Heavenly Father everyday for entrusting us with this spirit.

Motherhood

This is the first year I officially get to celebrate Mother's day. I've celebrated for years now. Sister Sherri Dew gave a talk in 2001 titles "Are we not all mothers" and since then I've taken the role of motherhood seriously. I have 11 nieces and nephews and I can truly say I have felt like s mother to them all. I know they all have awesome mommy's but their mommies were always kind enough to share their children with me. I told Brent several times during my pregnancy that I couldn't imagine loving our baby any more than I do my nieces and nephews. Even after he wad born I talked to Brent about it. This shows how serious I was about motherhood before Elijah.
But this year not only did I have those 11 nieces and nephews, the youth I've taught, the primary kids that I nurtured but I had Elijah. A baby that I carried for 9 full months. A child that I don't give back at the end of the day. I'm completely overwhelmed at the love I feel for this boy. I love being his mommy so much. I love him to the moon and back times infinity. Motherhood is the hardest most rewarding job I've ever had.
I'm lucky that I've had so many great women in my life that have been true examples of mothers. There are my friend's moms, Carrie Knox and Stephanie Freeman who I love dearly and learned so much from. Church leaders Vicci Mendez and Gina Waddoups. There are my actual friends, Lindsay, Candice, Laura, Arianne, and Brenna that have helped me become better. Then there are my sisters and sister in laws who have all set such great examples to me. I'm still getting to know Brent's sisters but I know they have so much to teach me and my children. His sister Julie, is an audiologist. She impresses me so much. She is smart, talented and from what I can tell genuinely happy. A great example for my kids, and me. I could say something about all of my sisters and sister in laws; truly they have been great examples.
Of course I can't talk about motherhood without saying what an awesome mother Brent's mom is. She raised a son that is patient, and heaven knows he needs patience married to me. She taught him how to love, kindness and so many other things. She is an awesome example of how I should be as a mother. I'm happy to have her as another mother I'm my life.
And of course my own mother. The woman who carried me in her, birthed me and raised me to be the woman I am today. We don't always see eye to eye but she has taught me so many lessons. She is compassionate, caring and loving. Thank you to all the women in my life.
And now thank you to Brent. Who married me, made me a mother and supports me every day. I love being a mom. I love snuggling my boy, talking to him, feeding him. I love that we are an eternal family! Here is to celebrating many more Mother's days, with many more kids. I hope that I'm not only a mother to my children but to so many more. I've been blessed!

The Great Smokey Mountains

Brent finished his 3^rd year of Optometry school this past week and he had a week off in between semesters. We decided to make the most of it and go spend a few days in the great Smokey Mountains. Mom E decided she wanted to join us and we were just fine with that. At first we thought about trying to save money and staying somewhere cheap then we thought, what the heck, let’s stay at a nice hotel. We stayed at the Inn at Christmas Place which is ranked #6 by Travelocity in the United States. I’ve stayed here once before and the experience is so worth it. We definitely plan to go back and stay again.

We drove in Friday and after checking in to our hotel we decided to go to the Lumbarjack show. I’ve been to one lumbarjack show before while in Alaska and it was awesome we thought we’d check it out. I thought it was “okay” but Brent really liked it. I’m sure if I had nothing to compare it to I would have loved it too. The next day was spent hiking and shopping. Mom stayed at the hotel with Elijah so Brent and I could go hiking. They were welcome to come but mom declined. The hike was only a little over a mile and a half up but it was all up mountain. It was like climbing 60 flights of stairs, going down was much easier. The waterfall was really pretty and we were able to enjoy a little time alone before other hikers joined us.

The next day we drove up the mountain with mom and Elijah. There are some really pretty places along the path. We walked around Gatlinburg and even went in to a Ripley’s world of Illusions. And we ended our day and our trip by going to the Dixie Stampede.

It was such an enjoyable trip! I would say it was our first family vacation but technically we went to California when Elijah was 3 weeks old. Oh how we love our boy! Being his mom is almost as fun as being Brent’s wife! I doubt there is a day that goes by that I don’t think, dang, I am one lucky girl.

Brent's letter to Elijah

I've been asking Brent to write a letter to Elijah for his baby book. He did this on April but I'm just now posting it. He is the best daddy. Elijah is truly a lucky boy! Here is the letter.
Dear Elijah,​​​​​​​​ ​ April 7, 2012
​I honestly thought I would have more to say, but you will find out that I am a man of few words. First off, I wanted to tell you how happy I was when you were born. I had a feeling you would be coming soon, especially after mom had to be admitted to the hospital for observation after a routine doctor’s check-up. When that happened, I knew you were on your way. I was excited and scared (mostly excited though to meet you) all at once, a feeling that’s hard to describe, but one day when you have kids of your own, you’ll understand. I love to say that I got to see you first, well, between me and your mom and anyone else in the family. I was so proud of your mom and so proud to call myself your dad. I got to tell mom how handsome you were/are (she may not admit this, but she was real scared about having ugly kids. I knew we wouldn’t and I was right!). I was scared to hold you at first because I have never been around little newborns, being that I am the youngest in my family and that you are the first grandchild on the Adamson side. But while I may have been scared to hold you (due to fears of dropping you or something), I loved holding you. You are the greatest thing I have been a part of.
​Now, I can’t really say how I will be as a parent, other than probably too over-protective and a worrier. I may be somewhat strict. Just know that, if I am strict, it is because I love you with all my heart and I want you to be the best young man you can be. I am/will try to teach you to be a better man than I was/am, and help you avoid the mistakes I made/make. I am not perfect and will never be so in this life, but I hope that I will help direct you to the man who IS perfect, our Heavenly Father. I want you to know that I have a belief in God, that He is there, that He did create us, and that He does love us and wants us to return to live with Him again after we have learned to be like Him in this life.
​I promise to you that I will not try to live my life through you; that I will try to help you discover your own identity. I will not try to make you become a sports star because I never was, although I hope that you do pick up sports, for a variety of reasons. It is good exercise, it does teach sportsmanship, competition, and teamwork and I will enjoy playing with you and teaching you what little I know. But if sports aren’t your thing, I will support you in whatever you decide on. I will try my best to give you opportunities for you to develop talents that hopefully you can share with others and your own children one day.
​Lastly, I just want to let you know that I will always love you, no matter what! Seriously! You can always come to me and your mom for support and comfort no matter what the situation, no matter what you’ve done. I may not like it, but I will always, ALWAYS be there for you. I promise!
Love,
Your Dad

Elijah at 5 months

Has it really already been 5 months? It's crazy to think about how fast time does fly. It's also crazy to think that I can't even remember what life was like before this little guy joined our family.

At 5 months old Elijah:
can roll from his tummy to his back, left and right.
can roll from his back to his tummy, though it only has happened once and may have been an accident.
has started making the dadadadada sound. We know he isn't saying dada but it's still dang cute.
has figured out he has multiple voice volumes. His favorite one to use is super loud....especially at church.

weighs 20 pounds and is 27 inches long.

has the biggest sweetest smile.
is the drooliest kid ever.

loves playing with his cousins. He laughs and smiles at them constantly.

sleeps in his own bed but not through the night.
eats anything you will feed him. At this point he only gets veggies. I'm assuming at some point we will find something he doesn't like.
melts his mommy and daddy's heart daily.
We feel truly blessed to have this little guy in out lives. We wouldn't trade him for anything......though a good nights sleep is mighty tempting.

Easter 2012

I'm pretty upset because I had everything Elijah received for Easter typed in and ready to post before the dreaded delete came. I'll try to write it down what I can remember.
We were able to spend Easter in Utah with Mike and Amy's family and Melissa. We also got to spend time with our Mendez family. There house is one of my happy places and it became one of Elijah's as well. We loved visiting our Utah family.
For Easter Elijah got:
From grammy and grandpa: a basketful of treats including jelly belly's, Easter eggs filled with dollars and candy, a book about California, a dragon spinner (both daddy and Elijah loves it), an adorable pair of pajamas, and I know there was more but I can't even remember yesterday. Sorry.
From nana and papa: a pair of pajamas and 2 books.
From mommy and daddy: BYU hat, BYU basketball, BYU sock monkey, BYU t-shirt and candy.
Aunt Melissa bought gifts too. They weren't for Easter but here is what she bought. 2 pair of shorts, 3 shirts, a pair of jammies and an outfit.
Grandma Vicci and Aunt Emilee bought him toys, clothes and shoes.
We feel incredibly blessed that so many people love our little guy.

You've had a birthday, shout hooray.

You'd had a birthday shout hooray!
Today is Brent's 29th birthday. And as I was laying in bed this morning I was so grateful to have him next to me, grateful he's the person next to me at night. The thought came to me, I do want to celebrate Brent today and I am so grateful for his birth and his mother for giving him birth.
My husband is here because of his parents. Jana, his mother, chose to carry him for those 9 long months. Then had to go through the delivery. Then the hard part she had to raise him. I'll forever be grateful to her for birthing my husband, raising him right, and teaching him the gospel.
We don't have lots of birthday plans today. I'm cooking ribs, squash, zucchini, asparagus, rolls, and baked potatoes. I'm getting him an ice-cream cake. I bought streamers to decorate with and balloons. Elijah bought his daddy the game, guess who. And we plan to go to the temple this evening. A simple day, nothing exciting but we get to spend it together.
Thank you mom and dad A for having such an awesome son. I'm grateful to you both this day. Without y'all, there would be no Brent. And that just wouldn't be acceptable. .

Park time

Brent and I love going for walks and we usually go to Shelby farms. I want our kids to love being active. Today was kinda cold so we couldn't stay too long but the 2 miles we did do was nice. I love my boys.

Life as I know it

I, like every other woman I know, have recently read an article called Your Children Want You. I loved it. I know I don’t have children, only a child, and I also know he isn’t old enough to care about any of my imperfections yet but I still appreciated this article very much. I unfortunately compare myself to others far too often. I think things like, wow so and so has 3 kids and her house is always perfect or so and so always looks so amazing and I barely managed a ponytail. There are days when I don’t get dressed, I know my hair is a mess, I don’t accomplish one thing besides caring for Elijah and by the end of the day I’m spent. There is more than likely a load of laundry in the wash and one in the dryer, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded, the floor could use a good vacuuming, the dust is building up and I accomplished nothing. I think to myself. Why did I do nothing all day? How do all the other women do so much? Why can’t I be a “SUPERMOM” too.

And here is the big secret, I shouldn’t admit it but I am going to anyways. I judged other women before I became a mother. Oh my goodness, so and so is feeding her kids ice cream before dinner and so and so kids always have a dirty face. Luckily I never judged how the mother looked. And in all honesty I still catch myself judging others but I’m trying hard not to. Before I had kids, I knew I was going to be an awesome mom. Hello, I’ve had tons of practice with all the kids I have babysat and all of my nieces and nephews. I read a lot of parenting books, I know/knew what the experts had said, dangit, I was ready. Then Elijah came! He was unlike any baby I had taken care of. He was inconsolable. He was a hard baby……but craziest of all, he was mine. He was given to me and Brent to take care of. Holy Hannah, we had a kid. And when he was screaming and inconsolable, he was ours to take care of. There was no handing him back to another set of parents. Sheesh, it was hard business and he was a hard baby.

Lucky for us now, he was become a lot more delightful. He still has a very strong will but we can handle it. I’ll probably never be a supermom, but what I will be is the best mother I know how to be for my son and all other future little Adamson babies. I will love them with all my being. I will play with them, teach them, and even keep their little faces clean J. And hopefully between all of this I will be able to keep on top of the laundry, we’ll at least have enough clean dishes to eat off of, the car will at least have enough space to sit in and maybe just maybe the floors will get vacuumed. I’m glad I’m coming to the realization that my baby wants me not my supermom neighbor. He doesn’t care if I have lots of extra fluff, he only cares that I am healthy and can play with him.

And on that note, I don’t care if I’m extra fluffy either. Because as long as I’m healthy enough to play with Elijah that is all that matters. I’m next to positive that Heavenly Father won’t have me step on a scale before letting me enter the Celestial Kingdom. And that is my goal, because I can’t stand the thought of not spending eternity with Brent and Elijah. I’d be too sad without them. So I’m going to be me. The best version I know how to be.

And if I find the time to do some supermom stuff, I will. But if not, you’ll find me on the floor with my sweet son soaking in all the smiles and laughs I can, because as I’ve been told a million times, they don’t stay small forever. And if people come over I won’t apologize because I didn’t have time to dust or whatever, I’ll welcome them in and hope they aren’t judging me or comparing me. But if they are, I hope it makes them feel good about what kind of parent they are.

I’ve been blessed! I know that I have. I’m grateful for it every day. Motherhood is the hardest role I’ve taken on yet. Being responsible for another person is an amazing calling. It causes a lot of extra stress. I’m way more tired which leads to grumpiness which leads to tears. I have a husband that loves me even when by the time he gets home for the day, I haven’t gotten dressed, I’ve accomplished nothing, dinner is burnt, the baby is crying, I am crying, and the apartment is less than presentable. How could I ask for more.

Realization

Well first of all, I still can't get on blogger from my computer. This is the reason there aren't many blog post and no updated pictures.
Now to the real blog. While I was driving to the gym last night I was thinking about being a mom and my last blog post and feeling bad about the weight. Then it hit me, a few years ago I'm pretty sure I would have given anything, I mean anything, to have the opportunity to be a mother. So no more complaining about it. If I only had to "give" 50 pounds then it'll be all good.
Brent was glad for this realization because I was just about convinced we were done having kids and he could just go ahead and get a vasectomy. Gotta love a man that loved you no matter what. And I do love love love that man.
I wish I knew what was wrong with blogger so I could do a picture update. He's grown so much.

The honest truth

I'm a relatively happy person. I have a truly blessed life. But here recently I've been having a hard time. I was on the phone with Nae and she said something about coming to love on my fat baby and I about lost it. I never want anyone to call any of my babies fat. After we hung up I realized I know my baby is chunky but I wasn't crying because of that but because I'm fat.
I gained 80 pounds while being pregnant with Elijah. And know while I say this I wouldn't change having Elijah. He truly is a blessing in my life. I gained 20 before getting pregnant so I put on a total of 100 pounds. I've gotten 45 off but leaves me with 55 pounds to go! That's a lot of weight. I work out 6 days a week for at least 45 minutes. I count calories and never go over. This post pregnancy thing has taken a major hit on my self esteem.
I have no clothes that fit and I refuse to even try clothes on because I'm afraid of what the size will be. But at some point I will need clothes to wear. I'm embarrassed for people to see me.
And something else that kind of ticks me off is when family tells other people who have just had a baby how great they look when they never once have said it to you. I know this all sounds like a whoa unto me blog but it's not. I'm really happy with the other aspects of my life. I am happily married. I love having Elijah as my son. Some day in the near future we'll have a job and will be able to buy a home. I have a blessed life. I'm just struggling. Brent has never been mean about it. He swears he can't tell, men!?!?!, but I feel so much less attractive. So, I have this constant battle with myself about more children. I want more babies, lots of babies, but I also don't want to destroy my body over and over and over.
Anyways, just having one of those days.....or one of those months/years.

Priesthood Power

I am truly grateful to have the priesthood in our home. Elijah has been a pretty sick baby (who would have thought since big babies are suppose to be healthy babies). Last night when I got home from the gym Brent was standing in the kitchen holding him. I looked at them and asked what is he doing awake. It was 9pm. Brent said he, Elijah, had been having shallow rapid breathes and wheezing. He was breathing about 80 per minute. I told Brent we could take him in but first we needed a Priesthood blessing. Brent didn't have any consecrated oil so we called James and he headed over.
Elijah received a blessing and I have no doubt it helped. His breathing almost instantly slowed. We debated on whether we should even take him in since the only place to go was the emergency room. We decided to take him, better safe than sorry. He was so good the entire time. He is usually very cranky if awake over 2 hours. He was awake a total of 6 hours and was pleasant the entire time. He didn't like it when they took his blood pressure. But he quickly calmed. He especially didn't like it when they stuck about 6 inches of tube in his nose to suction it out. That was heartbreaking but other than that he stayed completely calm. They thought he'd scream when they took his temp rectally, I thought he'd scream when they put the mask on. Or when they ripped the tape off. But he didn't. He was even smiling a lot. The priesthood is amazing. I hope our little guy gets to feeling better soon. It is so sad to see him feel so bad. With double ear infections, RSV, and an inguinal hernia, he's had a rough few weeks.

*on another note, blogger won't work from my computer only my iPod. It stinks and makes me not want to blog. But I have a lot to catch up on. One being our Adamson family visit.

A Name and a Blassing

Our Father in Heaven, by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood which we hold, we lay this infant in our arms to give him a name and a blessing. And the name which he will be known in this life and upon the records of the church is Elijah Reed Adamson. At this time Elijah we wish to give you a blessing. You have been blessed to be born into this gospel and into this church. And I bless you with the desire to learn of the gospel truths and to gain a testimony for yourself. And that as you gain a testimony that you will live that testimony and be an example to others. And I bless you that you will have the desire to share your testimony with others and to serve a full time mission. I bless you that you will have a desire to go to the temple, to perform the sacred ordinances therein. And that one day you will find a girl and that you will be married for time and all eternity. Elijah I bless you that you may have a close relationship with our Heavenly Father and that you will go before Him in prayer often. And that you also listen to His answers, for he will answer your prayers. And that He will guide and direct your life through His Holy Spirit. Elijah I bless you that you will always remember that you are a child of God. And that you will live your life according to that knowledge. I bless you with these things and any other blessings that the Lord sees fit, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Best Surprise Ever

When I got home today, I went to Aubree's Black History day program and FYI she was adorable in it, I checked the mail. Elijah had gotten a Valentine from his Grammy and Grandpa Adamson. Inside they wrote they had him a gift and that they would bring it when they come. They also sent Brent and I a card. Ours did not have the same message on the inside. Last year for holidays we got $5 bucks each in our cards so we started teasing that now that we have the kid we no longer get presents. We tease a lot about Elijah always getting all the attention these days. As we were saying all this we hear someone walk up our stairs but no one rings the doorbell. Brent waited a second then opened the door and there on our steps sat a box addressed to us. Pretty ironic, right? Anyways, inside was the best present ever. It is technically for Elijah but I love love love it. It is a picture of Elijah, Brent, dad Adamson, and Grandpa Adamson. But the gift got even better. On the back side for each picture has their stats up to this time in their lives. Mom A, this was perfect! We love love love it. I love things like this. Elijah is a very lucky boy with a great heritage. Sorry the flash was on.
The back

Elijah Reed

Brent LeGrand

Marion Reed

Walter Marion

In Honor of Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. Even when I've been single, I've loved it. I remember a few years that Rebekah and I exchanged Valentine gifts and those were fun times. To me it doesn't have to be a day just for romantic love but any love! So in honor of this day, I'll list things that I love:
1) I love being married to Brent LeGrand Adamson! He is truly my best friend and I couldn't be happier! He makes me smile everyday. My favorite place to be is with him. I thought a baby would change marriage and how I feel about Brent, and it did. It made me love him more, in a way I can't describe, and appreciate him more too. He is the best daddy and husband in the world.
2) I love being Elijah's mommy. I must admit there was a time not long ago if you would have asked me if I love being a mom, I would have said no. But now, I do love it! I love him so very much. His smiles melt me. We found something that makes him less fussy so we get to enjoy our time together a bit more. He loves to talk and smile and complain. He is the cutest kid ever. He is worth all 50lbs that refuse to leave me.
3) I love being a part of our church. I'm grateful daily to have the gospel in our lives. We aren't perfect at it but I love that because of it I have the knowledge that I get to be with Brent, Elijah and our future kids for forever. And even better the Eaton's and the Adamson's too.
4) I love my parents and my siblings. My parent's have always worked hard and I appreciate them for this. My siblings and now their spouses have become my best friends. And my nieces and nephews are my most favorite people. Sheesh, the are cute!
5) I love my "other" family, the Adamson's. They are really great people who I feel completely comfortable with now. It's been really easy being part of their family. And I'm sure eventually I'll talk the siblings in to being some of my best friends too.
6)I love having friends near and far. Most of my best friends live far away but I love catching up with them. I love hearing about their exciting lives (that would Candice) and seeing their cute kids (that would be Lindsay).
7) I love the Internet! It's true, I think it's amazing. Pinterest is awesome, Facebook is awesome.
8) I love to read. I don't do it so much right now but I still love it. Elijah doesn't like when I try to read when I'm holding him. And he likes to be held a lot so reading isn't happening now.
9) I love love love a clean home. I'm a bit of a freak about it. I know this but a clean home makes me happy. I realized I might be a little obsessed when my soap dispenser in my bathroom was filled with the wrong soap. It was filled with orange dial soap and I always fill it with clear soap because it is see through. It lasted 2 days before I made a dash to the store to buy more clear soap.
10) I love modern technology, especially my cell phone. It's crazy to think about when I was in high school and even college not everyone had a cell phone. I was maybe 24ish before I got a cell phone. And I resisted it at first. Same with GPS, I remember when I use to have to mapquest everything. Oh, how times have changed.

I could go on about things that I love. But I won't. I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day! I know I will. We have no plans tonight, we celebrated on Sunday but just being home with my boys and Elle and Jack sounds perfect to me.

Ducky

We knew we wanted to get our little guy a lovey. We wanted something small, that was easy to carry and have. Well Elle and Becky went to the store one night before Christmas and Becky bought a Christmas present for Elijah from Elle. So Elle chose Elijah's lovey and it's a ducky. We weren't in love with it at first, Brent thought it might be a little to feminine. But Elijah loves it. And it is so cute when he holds it. I've went and looked to buy a back up one and they didn't have one at the store. But I might be able to order it online. It's so sweet when he cuddles up with it. Such a sweet boy. I'm in love with being his mommy!

Shots and mommy love

Elijah got his shots this past Friday. And he was such a good boy. He is 9 weeks old in these pictures. He weighed 15 pounds 6.5 ounces and was 24 inches long. For weight he was in the 97th percentile, for height he was in the 90th percentile and his head was also in the 90th percentile. He is becoming a joy to have around. He is still fussy some but I am learning to love motherhood and he is getting way more smiley. I'm so in love with this little guy. As you can see from the photo above, he wasn't all smiles but he wasn't crying.

Sheesh I love this kid! He is too dang cute.

The picture was below was by far one of our favorite. It's before his shots and I was explaining to him what was about to happen. Brent's thinks it looks like he is saying, "they are gonna do WHAT to me".

Roles

We all play lots of roles in our lives. I've been thinking about all these roles lately. I'm a daughter, sister, wife, mother, teacher, young women's leader, visiting teacher, aunt, among others. I love all the roles I mentioned but one of my favorite is being an aunt. I love my nieces and nephews so much. And they are great with my baby. They all adore him.

2 month

Well it happened, he is now 2 months old. I can hardly believe he's been here this long. It's been the hardest, longest, most exhausting, joyous, gratifying 2 months of my life. While he has brought many tears he has brought even more smiles. My life will never be the same again and I don't want it to be. I love this little man a lot. He has gotten so big! I wish he'd smile more for the camera. As soon as I get it out he stops. He gets his serious face. It's crazy how much he has changed since he was born. His 2 month check up is Feb 3, so I'll put all his stats up then. I'm sure the dr will tell us how big he is. That is the sentence we hear most, "he's so big".