Proud mommy moment

If I have taught Eliza nothing else in her two years of life, at least I can proudly say I have instilled in her the need for...pretty, painted nails! From the time she was 6 months old I have been painting her toe nails, and I was always pleasantly surprised that she would actually LET me. Then in the past month, I have also started painting her finger nails. She loves it!! I like to have my nails painted, but they often go a little neglected and scraggly looking for too long before I take the time to redo them. Which is the case right now. So this morning while Eliza and I were sitting on the kitchen floor, looking at all of her "bah-bies" (barbies), she noticed the sad state of my nails, and with a gasp, and "uh-oh", she shook her head and pointed at what was left of my nail polish. With a very concerned look she then said "paint, uh-gone", after which she pointed to her nails, which happen to have a fresh coat of sparkles and said "spah-koos (sparkles)....paint" pointing once again to my nails. Ok, so maybe that's not so much a proud moment...more like just plain hilarious!! We have a little diva on our hands!! Smart, sweet, and lovable....but a Diva non-the-less!!!

But later when she came up behind me while I was doing dishes, exclaiming "yeh-wow, yey-wow!" showing me the yellow magnet in her hand...THAT, I definitely feel good about!!

My two little princesses :)

That is a "crah" (crown) on presleys head

Eliza is wasting no time in turning Presley in to her little protege!!

Part 2

Two weeks has never gone by so fast, I don't think!! Even right after having a baby!! *logged under "things I never thought I would say"* But its the honest truth! It was good that we were so busy because it kept us distracted from thinking about how we were in another state, right before Christmas, without all of our family and everything we knew. But when I say us, I think really it was just...me. While I know David misses our families and stuff, it doesn't effect him the way it does me, but I guess, duh. Christmas time is not really an ideal time to move across the country, especially when you are leaving all of your close family. So thankfully we have family here!! My aunt and uncle, and two of my cousins. I am so grateful for this opportunity to get to know them better, since I have never lived close to them. Their oldest daughter Dilya always came to visit yearly when I was growing up, so I was pretty close to her. It is great to live near her now, and to get to know her kids. And like I said my Aunt and Uncle are great!! They are so sweet, and have really gone above and beyond to help us out!!. My cousin Tracy and her husband Charlie have 4 beautiful little girls, between the ages of 9 and 18months, so between Dilya's daughter (age 9) and son (age 7) and Tracy's girls, Eliza and Presley have tons of cousins (second cousins twice removed?? we will just go with cousins) to play with!!

It was great that Christmas was on Sunday! I remember, unfortunately, when I was younger not liking it to be on Sunday because that meant that we had to interrupt Playing with our presents to go to church. But now I love it, because what better way to celebrate our Saviors birth than to partake of the sacrament, and sing hymns of praise. And never have I appreciated it more than this year. It was so comforting to be in a "familiar" place in essence, when everything else was so new and different. After church, we went to Tracy and Charlies for dinner. We had a great meal and enjoyed the evening together. Can I say again how great it is to have family here?! Eliza had a blast playing with their girls in their amazing play room!

Since David wasn't in school or working the past couple of weeks, we took advantage of our last few weeks as a family before the craziness begins, to explore our new home. We met up with a couple of Davids mission companions and their wives several times which was a lot of fun!! We spent new years eve with one of his companions and his family, and had a great time!! It snowed for the FIRST TIME since we've been here on Saturday!! We have been shocked with how great the weather has been!! I think I had this idea that from the time we got here until may it would be one snow storm after the other. ha kind of like when my family moved to Texas and I seriously thought everyone was going to be a cowboy! I am grateful it has gone easy on us so we could spend time out and about! Seeing Temple Square with all of the lights was so incredible!! It was Davids first time to see the Temple so that was extra special.

David started classes last week, and everything seems to be great! I am so excited for him!! I know it will be a lot of work for him, and our whole family to make the adjustments for our new life here, but Heavenly Father is definitely looking out for us, and blessing us in such incredible ways!!

I have a lot to post about our babies...actually our baby and almost TWO year old! So stay tuned~~

New year, New place....New adventures awaiting!! (part 1)

We made it to Utah!!!

I decided (against my better judgement) to do our update in at least 2 posts, and even then they will probably be way long!! I am really just hoping I will get back to finish before another couple of months fly by....hence the reason my better judgement was saying "just do one ginormous post!".

I will start with getting to Utah, and see how far we get!

David had his last final at school on Wednesday the 14th of December.  Fortunately we didn't have to do too much packing since we hadn't unpacked that much when we moved in with Davids parents, but of course it is ALWAYS more work than you anticipate. So we spent that week packing our clothes, the girls things and the other miscellaneous things we had to pack, and then Thursday morning David went and got the u-haul and we loaded it up. We decided to do the smaller trailer because we really didn't have that much stuff, although again, we underestimated a little bit. But David pulled out his expert packing-it-in skills and fit it all into the u-haul and the bed of his dads truck. We were supposed to have great weather all the way, and we were really hoping the forecast was right since we didn't think a tarp covering our stuff in the bed of the truck would completely protect it. we fit it all but our beautiful couches! I was a little devastated bummed that we had to leave them behind, I think I had an unnatural attachment to them. ha But we really didn't want to have to worry about storing them once we got here because we were unsure of our living situation in the next few months, aside from staying with my Aunt and uncle. Davids dad and David were the only ones who really got a decent amount of sleep since they were the main drivers, and then Davids brother Glenn who came with us, Mom Philipbar and myself made it to bed somewhere in between midnight and 4 when we were supposed to head out. I fell asleep on the couch at 2 and woke up to get ready to leave at 3, but I knew I could sleep once we got on the road. Poor mom, I don't actually think she slept. It was the weirdest feeling, knowing that we were leaving their house for the last time, for who knows how long. When we pulled out of the driveway and I shut the gate behind us, the gate that David and I loathed, I wanted to cry. I knew I would miss having to open that gate, even in the pouring rain, or 107 degree weather. So I may or may not have given it a little "pat" before I walked away. And guess what, as I write this I am realizing that I do miss that old gate, because it means I am thousands of miles away from "home"...Texas. But Utah is starting to feel more like home for sure. But anyways, back to our trip. So with a family prayer and two vehicles filled to the max we were off. By the time we fueled up and were on the highway it was 5, which was right on schedule pretty much. Eliza was awake from all the commotion, but we put barbie on the dvd player we borrowed from my parents and she was back to sleep pretty quickly. And so was I. Our Trek to Utah had begun!! And for all my worries of screaming babies the whole way, I must say they did AMAZING! Of course Eliza had a few melt downs, as she was sick and tired of being trapped in the car, and I can't say I blame her, but I was so relieved that she really did so well! Of course having her movies and toys and TONS of Junk food healthy snacks helped:) We stopped every few hours to use the bathroom, stretch, eat, etc...which was perfect for Presley's eating schedule. Speaking of Presley, She looked like this....

For almost the entire trip! She gets the traveler of the century award!! Traveling with a 6 week old is the way to go!!

We stopped at the halfway point for the night, which was Albuquerque, NM where Davids family lives! That was so perfect! We got to his grandmas house at about 6, and of course she had a big meal of homemade enchiladas, rice and beans with red chile all ready for us! Heaven!! It was so great to see his family again, and for them to meet Presley. Eliza just made herself right at home, and enjoyed being out of the car for a while. We had a blast laughing and joking and hearing stories, and then Eliza and I crashed at about 10:30. We got up at 3 again and headed out by about 4. That day we traveled through New Mexico, Colorado, and finally made it to Utah!! We were greeted with some snow on the sides of the road, but had clears sunny skies, the whole way!! What a blessing!! We made it to my aunt and uncles in Spanish Fork, Utah that evening by 5:30! We unloaded, and then David and his dad and brother, and my uncle took some stuff to my cousins to store until we have our own place. Then we had to say goodbye. That was really rough. Saying goodbye to my family on Wednesday night was hard enough, but now we had to say goodbye to the last of our family from Texas!! It was like the  trip had drawn out the sad inevitable, and that made it worse. Of course Davids mom and I were emotional. It felt like we would never see them again. Which I know is not true, since they are already planning a visit, as are my parents and siblings, for this spring!! So I am holding on to that for dear life!!

We have had lots of fun since we have been here! My aunt and Uncle are so great!! And we are forever grateful to them for opening their home to us!! We could not have done this so easily without their help!! We met up with a couple of Davids mission companions and their wives, which was so fun! I have been hearing about these guys for the past 3 years and it was great to finally meet them!! David spent a good amount of time looking for a job, and was offered a job with a security company the first week! It was nice to have him around for the past two weeks and spend time together as a family in our new home...Utah! But as I finish this post he is starting his first class at BYU!!! AGHGH I am so excited for him!! I know I sound like a proud mom on their kids first day of school or something, which will probably embarrass him, but I know how hard he has worked to get here, and I just love that man so much!!! Eliza is adjusting pretty well. I think she is ready for the "vacation" to be over and to get back home...so she has been acting out a little more than usual, and has not been sleeping through the night very well this past week. It breaks my heart, and I pray that we can help her to make this adjustment and feel at peace soon. She does love having a big playroom full of toys, as well as my cousins kids to play with!! Presley of course is doing great!! She has been a pretty gassy baby, and it seemed to get a little worse for a bit once we got here, but she seems to be doing so so much better lately! I will fill in on the details by the end of this week hopefully, but here are some pics of our trip and a few from the our first weeks in Utah:

Coloring is a good distraction....for a while

Of course we had to have a posed "driving" pic

By Amarillo we were looking a little rough, *and we needed a new battery in our car* so we picked up some more healthy snacks in the form of hershey's kisses, which she did not devour by herself, as this picture might lead you to believe :)

Just crossed the border from Colorado into Utah!!

Exploring the snow with Memaw!

She thought it was so fun!!

Eliza, David and Glenn

:)

We are in Utah!!

The first week we were here, One of Davids companions and his wife took us to see the Salt Lake Temple!! 

Not a very clear picture (our camera wasn't doing so well), but it was so beautiful with all of the lights!!

Eliza has made friends with my Aunt and Uncles chickens :)

Presley is just getting cuter, sweeter, and chunkier each day!!

We have been so blessed!!!

"Precious Presley"

That is what one of the nurses at the hospital called her, and we couldn't agree more!!

Presley Elaine Philipbar
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 at 8:02am
6lbs 6oz
18 3/4 inches

Me and my big girl...about to become a big sister!!

Me and my TWO girls



 Eliza was so excited about her "Beebee"

 Staring at daddy

 Presley and Tickie-tie

 Presley and Auntie M and Auntie A

 Meeting Grandpa

 Grandma and Presley

Eliza spends more time in this swing than Presley

Well our sweet little addition is almost 3 weeks old!! I've had this post started since she was a week, but ya know how that goes...and in all reality, with two babies now blogging just sort of falls to the very bottom of the priority list for me. What a whirlwind 3 weeks it has been! Thursday the 3rd, David and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 AM for my scheduled repeat c-section to begin at 7:30, and then my family and Davids parents, along with Eliza arrived at 6:30. By 7:35 I was in the operating room being prepped and getting my spinal. The operating room is really the wierdest room I have ever been in. It really looks like what you see in the movies: big stark white room with tons of intimidating equipment, and on top of that FREEZING. I was not scared or really that nervous at all with Eliza, but for some reason I was a little nervous this time around. But everything went super smoothly and at 8:02am Presley Elaine was finally here!! What an absolutely breathtaking moment when you hear your brand new baby girl, that you have felt moving inside of you for months, cry for the first time! And then to see her sweet face and to get to kiss her...it is a memory that brings tears to my eyes everytime...and I am not just being dramatic, there is nothing quite as special!! It is so over whelming, emotional, spiritual even. After I was stitched up, I was taken to recovery where they brought her in to me and I was able to hold her for the first time. I was able to breastfeed, which she took to really well, and gave me a glimmer of hope that THIS time it would work. David and I spent about an hour just talking and getting to know our little girl. When they moved me to the post partum room they took Presley to wash her and stuff and didn't bring her in to meet the rest of the anxious family members until almost another hour and a half later, so unfortunately Davids parents took Eliza home because she had already been in the hospital for WAAAY longer than any 20 month old should ever be (although she did so well) and she was in desperate need of a nap :( But my family was able to stay and meet her:) Eliza came back with David's mom on Friday morning and my sweet friend Elisse was there to capture the moment on video thankfully since we had acccidently sent our camera home with Davids parents somehow. But I will have to post the video, it was an unforgettable moment, Eliza meeting her new little sister. I started bawling as soon as she walked into the room. It didn't help that she was excitedly shouting "mamma, BEE-BEE"! As soon as she saw us!! It was just the reaction I was hoping for!! We are so blessed to have two sweet, healthy, amazing little girls!!

We were able to come home saturday, which I was really nervous about. With Eliza, I had all the time in the world that was devoted 100% to her, and my recovery, but this time I have a toddler as well. I am just so grateful for David and his mom who have been so incredible!! Especially the first few days when I was pretty much useless for anything except feeding Presley and loving on my girls, they just did everything!! And my wonderful mother in law continues to be such a blessing in helping with Eliza while I am busy with Presley, I am just so grateful! I know that has helped make this transition so much better and easier for Eliza. One thing's for sure....without a doubt these two girls are like night and day!! for starters, they look completely different!! Also I had to wake Eliza up to eat every 3 hours, and with Presley I still did for a few days, but basically since this past week she is on her own crazy schedule now which is pretty much...not a schedule. She will eat 3 oz and then, not even kidding eat 1-2 more an hour later. It is really hard for me because I really like having a dependable schedule, and i got really spoiled with Eliza because she was like clockwork. But I got over it, and am just getting a wake-up call about the reality of motherhood again. Every baby is just so different!! But we will eventually work out a schedule that works for us as she gets a little bigger.

I love watching Eliza with Presley!! She is so in love with her little sister!! David and I were talking about how we wonder if she kind of senses that this is someone special to her, not just any baby, but someone that she was with not that long ago before she came to earth...someone that she knew and loved. I think she must, because from the first moment she saw Presley, she has had such a different response. Such an excitement and love for her that she doesn't get around other babies, although she has always been fascinated by them. I do have to watch her pretty closely, because like for instance this morning when I was feeding Presely, one minute Eliza is softly touching her head saying "Shhh,shhh,shh" and the next she is whacking her in the face, or chunking the baby monitor at her....tough love I guess :} But then Everytime she see's her and squeals "BEE-BEE", or gets upset and worried when she hears her cry (and even more upset if I don't fix it right away!) it just proves that she really does love her:)

I could go on for days about the joys, and new stresses, and the funny stories that come with having a new baby, and having TWO under TWO, but I won't. Basically I am just feeling so blessed to have been given the opportunity to be a mommy to these sweet little girls!! And I am equally as grateful for the wonderful families we have who love us and who have been so helpful!!! I love this phase in my life, and am anxious to see how the next phase unfolds in the next couple of months!!

More pics and updates to come...hopefully :}

It's real!!!

Good 'ol "nesting" has made its debut!!

For some it begins months before the due date

but for me...about 3 weeks before.

Don't get me wrong, I do little things here and there

all throughout the pregnancy,

but for some reason...

the major "nesting" phenomenon doesn't hit me until the last minute!

I think that something about having a scheduled c-section

has something to do with it.

Normally, when you don't know exactly when the baby

will come, you want to be prepared way in

advance because the baby

could come at any minute!

And for some reason,

having a set date has made me feel like I still have time,

like that is the for sure day she will come

when really she could come at any time too!!

Eliza didn't wait til her "date"!! She came

5 days earlier.

A scheduled c-section means nothing,

they have plans of their own:)

So finally this past week, that thought dawned on me

and I began to panic mildly.

I made my to-do list and

have been checking it off one by one.

I will give myself credit, since I went through the

HUGE bags of baby clothes we had and

got them all sorted by size...pulling out

the newborn/zero-3mo. sizes a couple

weeks ago.

So now all of the clothes, blankets,

and carseat are clean and 

The clothes and blankets are

organized and ready to go, and

Bottles and pacifiers are cleaned/sterilized.

Plus my sweet friends Kendra and Ashleigh

put together a really nice baby shower

for me this weekend, so I got some

more good stuff

(including the angelcare monitor I wanted!!).

My parents also got us a double stroller,

which is a BIG thing off the list!!

The great thing about the second baby

especially when it's the same gender,

is that we already have pretty

much everything we need!!

The few things we needed we

got at my shower, or

from family.

Such a blessing!!

I feel so relieved that I am pretty much prepared!!

Atleast as far as the physical needs goes.

Emotionally, I am a little bit of a mess.

I am so so excited,

I can't even express it in words!!

But I am also a lot litle nervous

about becoming the mommy to

TWO

babies!! I know I will have enough

love, that is not even a question.

I just worry that my high-strungness over

silly things will get the

best of me.

I don't want to miss out on the precious, sweet

moments because I am worried about

things, schedules, etc. that

are not all that important, really.

I also worry about my lil Eliza.

There is so much change going on

in the next couple of months

and I just pray that I will

be able to keep a

clear head so that I can make

sure and give her all of the love and help she needs during all of

these transitions.

ALSO...

we have a name!!!

****

Presley Elaine

I absolutely love it!! And I love being able to talk about/to

her by her name!!!

So we are ready!!

Aside from having our bags packed.

November 3rd cannot come soon enough,

but at the same time is steam-rolling

towards us at a ridiculous pace!!

36 weeks!!

This belly is getting huge!!

And sadly, this is my outfit of choice, unless I leave the house....

Eliza is in heaven having so much space to play outside at Memaw and Tickie-ties!! She loves the kitties

(who are the sweetest, most tolerant kitties I have ever seen!),

Maggie the dog,

and the Horsies!!

All ready for church last Sunday:)

She finally got to wear her

cute boots, since it was RAINING!!

And she knew she was looking so adorable and sassy!!

8 Months!!

Well we are on the home stretch!! I am 8 months along today!! So technichally I have 8 weeks left, but because I am having a scheduled c-section it will be 7 weeks!! Yikes!! Today at my check-up we officially set the date: November 3rd. I love that we have a date!! 7 weeks is nothing!! There is so much going on right now that I know it will fly right by...and the thing I am most nervous about....the NAME!!!

That's right,

Our baby girl is

still.

nameless!!

We don't even really have any serious contenders, so yeah, I am stressing that a bit!! But Other than that, just so excited!! I can't wait to meet our little girl!!

But like I said, we will have a busy couple of months until she gets here...and then it doesn't slow down after that either!!

David was accepted into BYU-Provo for the winter semester starting in January. I am so proud of him!! So even though we had absoulutely no idea how we were going to make it work, we just knew we couldn't pass this opportunity up! So with a lot of prayer, and faith...off we go!! It is so amazing to us how the Lord has blessed us through this process!! We absolutely know this is what we need to be doing right now. Even as heart-breaking as it will be to leave our family's behind...with a 6 week old baby none-the-less. But I cannot dwell on that, because I truly am so excited for this new adventure and chapter in our lives, and I know if I start thinking too much about that, I will start bawling and I wont stop ever!! The great news is, I have family really close to Provo that are wonderful and I am so excited to get to know them better!!

We were able to get out of our lease a little early, since our lease is not technically up until mid-December. That would have actually been perfect timing, but we decided to see if there was a way to get out of it any sooner so that we can save that money for the move up to Utah. And our Apt. manager was so awesome and was able to work something out for us!! So we are moving out the end of this month and my incredible Aunt Deanna and Uncle Tim are going to let us stay with them for the 2 1/2 months until the BIG move! It is going to be a little crazy, and again, I am not dwelling on that, because I know that it will all work out just the way it should!

My Uncle Greg and Aunt Jeana who live in Spanish Fork, Utah, only about 15 mins from Provo are going to let us stay with them for a bit until we are able to find something, so that is another HUGE blessing!! We are so grateful for all of the support we recieve from our families!! We know we could not do all that we have done/are tyring to do, without their help and support, and love!!

The last biggie left to peg down is a job for David, but we feel like once it gets closer to us actually moving there, it will be easier for an employer to even consider him, because most people that are hiring are looking for someone ASAP!! But there is one guy that he has already been in contact with who said to contact him closer to Dec., so hopefully that will come through!!

We are just so over-whelmed right now with how much our Heavenly Father has blessed us!

"You're gunna miss this"

I feel like I have several posts like this, and I'm sure there will be many more...but lately it seems like it is far too easy to forget the sweet little moments in life with this new stage that is "18 months old". Cue ridiculous fits, over-the-top drama and the attitude of "I rule the roost". We knew it would come, and honestly there are way, way more fun things about this age than there are not-so-fun things....like all of the new words she can say, and the fact that she is understanding so so much more!! But There is nothing that can truly prepare one for the tantrums and fits. We thought we would have it totally under control and know what to do, if (ha) and when it happened, but alas....we are just not that good. But I dont want to dwell on that, because like I said, this is also such an amazing and fun age!! And despite the major sass and 'tude we are dealing with, Eliza is still just the sweetest little girl!

For instance: The other day while cooking dinner, she was sitting in her high chair eating a popsicle and I heard her sweet little voice say "Hi"...so I turned towards her and said "Hi baby girl, I love you!", like I do a bazillion times an hour day....and she leaned forward with her little sticky lips puckered waiting for a kiss!! I had to drop everything and just scoop her up and attack her with kisses!! Melted my heart completely!!! And the past couple of days when I have gone to lay her down for her nap/bedtime she has snuggled into my shoulder with her arms around my neck, and she will pat my back while I turn on her music and get the fan going. Moments like those just make you totally forget the horrible nightmare of a shopping trip we had endured just an hour earlier, or the fact that she threw all of her lunch on the kitchen floor. I love that sweet little, crazy-haired, raspy-voiced baby girl asleep in the next room more than anything!!! I love the song by Trace Adkins "Youre gunna miss this", it makes me cry everytime because it is soooo true!!!

Here are a few cute pics from the last week...."the sweet things":

                                     

 Not sure what happened to her diaper, poor thing

but it gave me a good laugh to turn around and see a little plumbers crack

 Her new fav. dance move is hands in the air while twirling...

and she brought me my shirt from the laundry

and insisted on wearing it...

 She also loves to walk around wearing my shoes....

Popsicle time on the back porch...this was just moments

before she got stung by a bee...my poor baby...

right on her chubby lil thumb :(