a date with husband.

there is barely any time for a date with your husband when you have a new baby. that's where grandma's come in. my momma is the sweetest. every week she comes over to watch maxie while i run errands and have me time. and when they can, joe and mom come to watch max at night so isaac and i can go on dates. so when they offered...isaac and i went to do one of our favorite things! antiquing!...

euro treasures isn't even in the category of antique "store". it is a massive warehouse of amazing furniture, paintings, china, books, and everything else you can imagine from europe. what more can a girl ask for? its kind of like the louvre museum, it would take 3 days to see everything it has.

then we went to our favorite place. the pub. you know you don't get out much when you spend half your dinner date taking pictures of each other.

mmm...french onion soup and potato chips. isaac gets embarassed when i do this with my soup and chips. i kind of make a mess.

and then of course we ended the date with top it frozen yogurt.

when we got home, this is where we found my sweet parents. sitting in the same chair, cuddling max. i couldn't ask for a better date. thanks husband, for being my favorite friend. and thanks parents, for always wanting to take care of our sweet max. we love you.

yuck.

i woke up to this. boo!

but on the bright side, i also woke up to this.

yum!

some people think disneyland is the happiest place on earth. but that was sooooo six months ago. now there is a magical place named top it where delicious frozen yogurt is made. when you step inside this delightful wonderland happiness fills your heart, and yogurt fills your tummy. ike and i frequently support our local frozen yogurt shop by going at least twice a week. who wouldn't?

we took adam and erin there last night, and they whole heartedly agree. good job top it, you win!

babywise love

have i ever told you how much i love babywise? this whole week, my sweet little nugget has slept 8 hours, straight! and last night, i put him to bed at 8pm, fed him at 11pm (which he was completely asleep the whole time) then we woke up at 7:30am this morning. i know, i know. it sounds dumb. but this is something a momma bear like me dreams of! and i owe it all to babywise. this whole schedule thing has been hard, but really, it has made my life so much easier. and little nugget's life, too. i'm pretty sure i have the happiest, sweetest baby on the block (but what momma doesn't believe that?) you can love babywise, or hate it. but i'm officially a believer.

almost summer

i love summer. i feel like i haven't seen a night like this since i was in italy. i was so sick when i was pregnant last summer, it passed by me. not this summer. after a snowy weekend, the thought of summer and this beautiful night couldn't be passed up. i had to swing. so i did. (ignore our unmowed, patchy grass, we are having mower problems).

this was max's first time in this little get up, and his last now that summer is here. i remember tiana crying at the thought of georgia turning one. i didn't understand why. now i can't imagine another day going by, because every day he gets older. smarter. funnier. i love it but it makes me sad. tonight i cried when isaac and i were putting him to bed, singing primary songs and saying family prayers. i hope tomorrow is just as great as today was with him. because today was so fun.

boobs, yes, boobs.

as a new breastfeeding mother, i've begun to realize a few things...
1. most people are uncomfortable with breastfeeding. why is this? whether or not you chose to feed your baby formula, breastfeed, or pump (all are great options) breastfeeding is a natural, beautiful gift God has given to women. in my opinion, our society has completely become focused on sex, and have oversexualized breasts. which makes my job more difficult. constantly worrying whether my boobs are showing, if i forget to snap my nursing bra shut, going out of the room for 45 minutes (max is a fussy, stubborn eater. it takes him a while) to feed him when others are present. and when you are feeding every 3 hours, you spend a lot of alone time! i have a hard time covering myself, and trying to get max to eat at the same time, its nearly impossible. so, most of my days are spent sequestered.
2. breastfeeding is stressful! you never know how much your baby is getting. is he eating enough? is he gaining sufficient weight? am i producing enough milk? should i pump to see if he'll drink more? what if he only eats for 5 minutes? how long should he eat for? am i eating the right foods? drinking enough water? when you are responsible for keeping a little baby healthy, and its your job to do so, and you produce the little man's food...its a lot to think about!
3. the third thing i've realized is, yea it is hard. but i am doing all i can do, and i am doing what i think is best for my max. whether or not my milk dries up, or i can continue to breastfeed i have done all i can do to make it work.

after all this worrying, and i have time to do a lot of it, here are a few things i'm grateful for.
1. my three boys, my little family, my whole life: isaac, max, and bob.
2. my health and my family's health.
3. i really am grateful for my boobs, not only do they help keep my little boy healthy, but my husband like them, too.

Blessing Day!

After a drama filled week, blessing day finally arrived! Kade and Max had such a special blessing day together. We are so grateful to all of our family and friends that came and supported us. As you can imagine, lots and lots of pictures were taken. Here are a few, for those of you that couldn't come (and we missed you!).

Our weekend, filled with a few surprises.

Tiana, Georgia, and Gunner didn't tell anyone they were coming to visit this weekend. We've been begging Tiana to come since Max has been born. So, you can imagine how excited we were that she was finally here. They came over to our house to meet Max for the first time. But Georgia wasn't too happy about seeing Isaac. She started crying when she first saw him, and everytime he talked to her, she would hide her head in her hands. By the end of the trip though, she did manage to give Uncle Ikie a hug goodbye. It was a big step for her.

Amidst all the excitement, Bob and Gunner had an intimate moment. As you can see, Bob made Gunner feel right at home all over again.

We had such a fun weekend with T and Georgia. We did our favorite Liljenquist activites while they were here, we had Grandma Cel's famous Sunday dinner, then had a mini Jazz party the next night. (Go Jazz!!) The only thing we didn't do was go to Wingers. Maybe next time.

Unfortunately, the other weekend surprise was Bob's doing. Bob made a poor decision by indulging in his infinite appetite and ate a whole loaf of banana nut bread (wrapping and all), which landed him at the Vet. Luckily we know a good one. Actually he's the best, and a pretty great grandpa, too. He's currently nursing the infamous B.O.B. back to health at the Animal Medical Clinic.

Thanks Grandpa Joe, for taking good care of our brother Bob.

I spy...

...a special boy needing some extra attention.

My biggest worry being pregnant was this guy right here. I think I cried my hormonal brains out twice a week worried he would feel replaced after Max was born. Even though he seems to be adjusting well, some days he just needs a little more love.

Happy Late Easter!

We went to St. George for the Easter/conference/Soph's birthday weekend. Isaac has been going stir crazy in our house since Max has been born, because I've become an over protective, paranoid mother who is afraid Max will get sick by someone else's germ ridden child. So we rarely take Max out into the world. Adam (Isaac's brother, or AKA the brother I never wanted but dearly love) insists that Max has become the Bubble Boy, and I must agree. So we ventured out on little Max's first vacation! We had so much fun, and stayed with Grandpapa Joe and Grandma Cel. Of course, Grandma Cel is obsessed and kept Max up till all hours of the evening, protesting against a mother's cries to let her baby sleep. The rest of the Buie clan was in St. George also, so it was pretty much a family filled weekend. As much fun as it was, we are happy to be home and catch up on some sleep. But, we missed our East coast families dearly, and were wishing we were with them all weekend!