The Boys

Ezra just loves his brother. He is always getting in his face saying, "hi baby!" over and over again. He also calls him "so cute" and "schweet" all the time. He gets excited when I ask him if he wants to hold him. He's still trying to play with him, so I never ever leave the two of them alone in the same room- any more. Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way. So far Makai has been sat on, stepped on, driven on, and folded into our travel swing-DANGER DANGER! I have cried with him almost every time and then repented for scolding Ezra for something he didn't realize was bad. He just wants to play with him.

Makai looks a lot like my dad in this picture. So far he isn't sleeping more than 3-4 hours at night, but he's been a lot better about falling back asleep after he eats instead of staying awake for awhile, so I'm not complaining near as much as I was :)

He has started smiling, but I have yet to catch a picture of it. He's so sweet. He is still a high maintenance baby, but not nearly as fussy as he was. I am starting to get the hang of being a new mommy again and things are getting a lot smoother. Thankfully my wonderful husband still wakes up with Ezra every morning and lets me sleep in. He says I'm a lot happier when he does that and I keep telling him I'll be even happier if he vows to change all the poopy diapers from now on...

 We got a new fridge! It was exciting until it came and we realized I ordered the wrong size. Oops. James had to borrow a sander and jigsaw from our friends so he could cut the cabinets to make it fit. It actually turned out great. James is quite proud of his "professional-looking" job and I am too. Then we had to change the hinges on the doors to open the other way. We were told it was "super easy". Maybe we should've mentioned we are not handy people... It became quite the little task, so Ezra swooped in to help and we got it all sorted out. Now we have a bigger and better fridge and I love it!

We've been getting out of the house every day now and Ezra seems a lot happier. Now we are working on planning Ezra's Halloween party and I am trying to decide what we should all be for Halloween. Any ideas? I'd love to coordinate our costumes. However, I have a feeling that we won't end up dressing up at all :(

A Good Wife

We have been married for 3 years as of August 31st. Being a good wife has become more of a challenge the longer we're married. I believe the reason is that now I have more and more responsibility with two kids and the fact that I am now a stay-at-home mom and don't have the excuse of homework and school for my messy house and lack of dinner on the table. I often complain to James about how hard it is to be a mom and a wife. Even though I love love love my "job" I still think it is just too much for one woman to have to handle all on her own. How do single moms do it? How did my mother-in-law do it? Well, I beg for the help of my husband often and when I'm not begging, I find myself in tears wondering why he isn't just stepping up to help me. He sometimes says, "Well, I've been at work all day and I just need to unwind..." Well, the other day I complained about how he is able to escape from the stress at home when he goes to work. He turned to me and said, "You act as if I am at the spa all day."

Through my husband's wit I learned a very important lesson. Yes, my husband should be helping me around the house and with the kids. Yes, it is hard work and I believe a woman should be praised by her husband often for what she does in the home. However, husbands have a hard job too. Who knew? I want so badly to be a good wife that I find myself stressing about all the things I think a good wife should be doing and that turns me into a nasty, selfish sort of wife. So, later that night I actually felt sympathy for my husband when he complained about his feet being sore from walking ALL day every day. I gave him a foot massage and instantly felt the love and desire he had to help me with what I needed from him. Funny, isn't that what we have been taught in this gospel all along?

We all probably have different definitions of what "a good wife" is and does, but one thing that I have learned is that my desire should not be to be "a good wife". My desire should be to love and serve my husband. If that makes me a good wife then I'll take the title, if it doesn't, then I'll still have a happy husband. I'm going to try. Ask me how well I do when I've spent all day listening to both kids scream... Well, it's worth the effort.

I just wondered how many other husbands and wives go through the same sort of "my job is harder than yours" debate... forget about it and just kiss each other. The End.

A Quick Update

Ezra went on his first real "amusement park" ride when the fair came to town. It was a lot faster than those quarter machine rides go, so he was a little scared, but as soon as his eyes were able to spot the blur he calls mommy and daddy, he was happy again.

Makai is getting so big. This was actually taken when he was only a week old and look how huge he looks! He's already in size 1 diapers (and has been since he was a week old) and he is now wearing 3 month clothes. Ezra was in newborn clothes for almost 3 months. Where did the newborn stage go? I would never wish this time away. The only thing I can't wait to be over is the broken sleep. I just wish he would start sleeping more than 2 hours at a time. But, I love him no matter how sleep drunk he makes me.

James was a little embarrassed that his tough little boy chose the pink and purple horse.

Ezra asks me to take him to the park just about every day. Before Makai came we were going to the park every day, but obviously having a baby makes that more difficult. Poor little Ezra is getting cooped up all day long and I think it is making him slightly crazy now too. He has resorted to jumping on the couch, his bed and mommy, using the back of the tub as a slide and swinging from daddy's pull up bar. He loves when his friends come to play. His new buddy Kaden has helped keep him busy and happy a couple times since Makai came and we all appreciate it! (Thanks Jennie!)

Here is Ezra all dressed up for church. There have been several times in the past couple of weeks when Ezra has brought me his shoes and told me he was going to church. I am so glad he loves church so much. He finally loves nursery and cries almost every time I come get him to go home.

We're all doing great here. James is working all the time and I am still trying to get the hang of two kids, but we're managing. Hope everyone is doing well.

(P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! WE LOVE YOU!!)