Addie is 18 months and Joey is 4 months....wow! Where does the time go?

Our babies are growing up so fast. It's so fun to see their progress but it also makes me sad too. Adaline is getting pretty emotional....in a not so fun way at times. She can be laughing and giggling but as soon as she wants to throw a tantrum, screams and tears erupt in seconds. It seems like she has been having these bursts since she turned 16 months old and they just keep getting worse. They very well might be the beginnings of the terrible twos....heaven help us! But she behaves well with others, especially strangers at church or relatives. I am glad for that. Don't get me wrong, we love our emotional time bomb, and will always look back at this time with jokes and reminiscing. We adore our baby girl and think she is pretty special.

Weight: 25 lbs 2 oz
Height : 33  in.

She is learning more words every day it seems like. And she likes to show off her running, coordination skills. Backwards, sideways, circles, you name it, she can do it. We moved in with my parents the 29th of June and so it's been fun for them to get to know our kiddos better. I think it's been very good for our babies. They love the extra attention.

Joseph is so sweet and happy, what a cutie! Once again I love this stage with both of my babies. They seem so happy and easy going. Just as long as they get fed, changed, naps and stretching time they are happy. He has the biggest smiles that erupt into some pretty high pitched squeals, he has found his voice and likes to exercise it everyday. He is doing better with tummy time it seems. Or maybe now I just have the extra help to get it done. We are so grateful to my parents and Kevin's family for their help. Especially when Joe is gone to Utah for 7 days of work, I get so lonely so it helps. I miss him so much on those days. It's hard not to see him every night,  even if it's just for a couple of hours. And I think the kiddos miss him too.

Both cutie pies are doing so well and we couldn't be happier with them. We think they are the cutest babies ever and we keep saying how did we get blessed with such beautiful happy babies? They get exhausting at times and we are going to wait a few years before considering any more, but we know they love each other so much already and hope they will be best of friends in life. Addie tries to comfort Joey and gives him hugs, Melts our hearts. And Joey only has eyes for her whenever she is near! And he smiles so big for her.

So quick update, long sad frustrating story short, our buying a house turned upside down on us. And we ended up losing our apartment because we had already given our notice. So we were suppose to close multiple times but the last time was set for June 18th at 6 pm. We had been in touch with the loan officer and agent making sure everything was being done and at 4 just before we were going to drop the kids off at my visiting teachers so we could drive to the bank we get the dreaded phone call. So at least the bank fessed up that it was their fault and covered all fees except for our inspection. But we had to move and try to find another place before the 29th. What an emotional nightmare that I wish no one has to go through. Wow! But we have a place to stay and we are going to try to find a place closer to Joe's work. When we initially moved to UT, Joe was suppose to work nights so we weren't worried about the commute. But his boss messed up and he has always worked days, which is good, but makes  long commute with rush hour traffic. Scares me he is going to get in an accident.

So we were able to get huge help from Stephanie's and Kevin's family. We are so lucky to have so many strong willing help. We don't know what we would do without them. We hate always having to rely on them so much. Believe me, we HATE moving beyond anything else and have tried to make this our last move into our house....only to have to put it into storage to move within the month, hopefully....

I can't help but post some sleeping shots of Joey in my arms. I love these moments.

Again, of him being so good while we were in and out of cars....

Grandma Hebdon with our kiddos. They love living with Grandma and Grandpa. There are so many to love and give so much attention. And Kevin's family comes over all of the time and Addie loves that too.

Our little guy doing better and better practicing tummy time. He is getting so strong.

Addie getting ready to go to church. It is so hard to get her to hold still long enough for a photo. But I had to show my attempts of putting her hair in piggy tails. The back of her hair is long enough, but she doesn't like it. But, how cute! I hope she will learn to like getting her hair done and wearing bows and clips. 

I was packing and could hear some giggling. I looked over to see the curtain covering our food storage moving....I found our baby squirrel hiding her nuts! She loves finding hiding places.

Our family photo shoot

We finally were able to coordinate our schedules and get a family photo session. I also wanted to get some pictures of Addie. I have a goal to get my kids pictures once a year....well, I will do my best to keep to that. I did get some cute pictures of Addie when she was 10 months on my phone that I am absolutely love. But I still want to do better and try to get actual photo shots of my babies growing up. My mom did pretty well at this, and I like looking at our pictures when we were kids.

 I knew it would be hard to get them both cooperate at the same time, but it was worth trying. I scheduled it at 9 in the morning because generally speaking they are both the happiest first thing in the morning. They would both be awake by 8, we would feed them both, get them dressed and head out the door. We did just that....but Joey didn't eat very well, and Addie woke up not so happy....

So we didn't get very many good shots as a family. Joey was cranky and so I got him to fall asleep in the middle of the session. Addie was wanting to wonder around and do everything BUT what we needed her to do. LOL, we tried to keep her happy and were getting so frustrated!! We just knew we had bombed the session and had wasted money that we really couldn't afford to spend on another session....

So when we got these from the photographer 2 hrs later, we were so excited and pleased!! We were surprised to get some of Addie smiling =0)

Joey still has a hard time sitting up....good grief he is still so young! But the photographer wanted him sitting up on the bench.  LOL, he is still so cute, even if he isn't smiling!!

This is the only shot we have of them together. We had a hard time getting them to stay together for a minute. I will treasure this forever!!

This is probably my favorite family picture....at least we are all looking at the camera.

Our attempts to keep her from her tantrums. I asked the photographer to please take these pics. She just sat there and watched without taking pictures!! I was so frustrated. The only way to really capture Addie (and I think any toddler) is let them just be. Don't try to pose and force them to do anything. Just let them play...

Again, I had to ask the photographer to get Addie running around....

I grabbed some bubbles from my bag and kept blowing until Addie got bored. I am so glad to get these candid shots. This is what I always want, just to remember my family as they are being them.

Addie is 17 months and Joey is 3 months old!!

I made this goal that I would write about my kids each month until they were 24 months old. But it has proved to be a little hard, so I will combine their posts once in awhile just to make it easier.

This month has been a little bit crazy!! And these kiddos have been pretty good troopers. We have spent a lot of time in the car....first of all let me explain!

We have been looking for homes to buy since we moved here, but we were planning on staying at our apartment for 2 years and save up some money. But April we decided that if we were going to buy, we needed to do it now, because prices were just going up and up. Since we left 4 years ago, prices are just getting out of control. SO we took it more seriously and looked throughout Utah and Salt Lake counties for at least 3 bedrooms, 2 bath home, and hoping for at least 1800 sq ft. Needless to say that was out of our price range in these areas. So we extended our search to Tooele, a town 45 mins South west of Salt Lake, on the other side of the Oquirrh Mountains. And after looking for a couple of days there, we put on offer on a house on April 29th!! Wahoo!! We are suppose to close May 29th....we will see how that goes.

And I had was offered a PRN (as needed) job at American Fork Hospital as an Ultrasound Tech where I worked before. My start date was May 5th and I needed to do a three full days in a row to orient. Unfortunately this was also the time that they readjusted Joe's schedule so we decided to take the kids to Mom and Dad's, and Kevin's in Arimo to have them look after them. This was our first time away from Joey overnight. It was easier to let them go because of our experience with Addie in day care.  We knew they were in loving hands. It was so weird to be in meetings all day, and then to go home with no one home. I didn't know what to do without my babies!! But they did so well!! We are so grateful to Kevin and Mom for helping us out so much. What would we do without family?!

Addie on our road trip (sorry about the blurry quality). She was eating a Nutri Grain bar....and she wanted to stick some between her nose and binky.

This is the aftermath...messy!! Wow, does she like to make messes....in the worst places too.

Milestones:

• A few words that she knows are: Momma, Daddy, Addie, Joey, Shoe, Hi, No, Yes. She likes to chatter a lot and is eager to tell us what is going on. She has such a cute voice and is so expressive. 
• She has started to help put away some of her toys in their bins....only to pull them out again. I am however grateful for the attempts. 
• Some of her favorite things are her books. She likes to hold them and open the pages. She will hand them to us to read to her, but that lasts for only a few seconds. Then she wants to take over.
• She is running around, twirling, climbing on furniture, flipping light switches. She almost refuses to climb down the stairs like a baby. She likes to hold onto our iron railings and walk up and down the stairs. And she is pretty darn fast. It's hard to beat her if I need to get something really quick without her following me into the bathroom or our bedroom. And why don't I like her to follow me? Because she is like a tornado! Everything in her path is thrown around.

Once again, what a trooper!! He doesn't like being in the car very much though.

Joey with Grandpa Hebdon, they did really well together.

Joey was getting some smiles and cooing in. 

Milestones:

• He can almost roll all the way to one side while he is on his back. It will only be a matter of time before he rolls over. He really likes to stretch and stretch. And he likes to have his time on his back without being held. If we pick him up before he is ready, he lets us have it!!
• He is drinking 6-7 oz now of formula. He transitioned well and we are so grateful!! He still likes to be swaddled when he sleeps. He likes fluffly blankets up close by his face. If his hands are free, he pulls the blankets over his face. 
• He is really jabbering right now. There are times that I think he is crying, but he is just happy and talking to his Angel friends.
• He loves to smile and has started to giggle. It's a 2 syllable giggle and makes me so happy. My favorite times with my babies are 3-9 months. They are so much fun but still like to be held. Their personality really blossoms during these months.

This was on May 17th, a Sunday. Addie wanted to hold Joey. She kept trying to pick him up off the floor. So I had her sit in the chair and I picked up Joey and placed him in her arms. She immediately wrapped her arms around him like a pro! It was so stinking cute!! LOL I know that he is almost as big as she was, but she was so happy. She loves her baby brother and he loves her. We sometimes think that his biggest smiles are for her.

Joey is 2 months old

Joey has really seemed to change a lot these last few weeks. He had a lot of gas and seemed like digestive issues. When he wasn't asleep or eating, he was crying. Poor little guy wasn't very happy. But now that his tummy has matured he is a lot of fun. He is starting to smile. It starts our as a crooked smile, his left side going up first. We love it!! He looks around with so much curiosity, his big blue eyes trying to make sense of his surroundings. 

We sent to Lagoon, and he was so good!! For the most part he slept through it all, and was watched him while his daddy and big sister tried on the rollercoasters. He made the whole experience so pleasant. We didn't know if it would be a disaster or not. Thank you Joey for being so easy going!!

This is our little guy sleeping in his car seat while at Lagoon:

I attempted to capture one of his smiles. My camera is to darn slow though!! He has one of the sweetest smiles that makes me laugh. I love to see his personality blossom! We can tell he is going to have a sweet spirit about him. And he is a cuddler and is the happiest being held. That's when his smile is the biggest! Sometimes, especially during his night time feeding I look down and he is looking up at me with a huge smile and his eyes full of brightness. We think he is going to have a big heart!

When he does cry, his lips turn upside down, chin starts to quiver, and then the tears and cries come out. Just like his daddy and big sister. They have the same crying face, which tends to melt my heart and make me want to fix whatever is making them sad. Cute little Johnsons!!

Milestones:

• He can lift himself up to 90 degrees for a minute or two. He still doesn't like his tummy time. The first few weeks we didn't really push it, but now that he is better at being put down we will work harder. I know it's important for development and also for helping to prevent SIDS.
• He is smiling. I have talked about that a lot, but we just love his smiles!!
• He is starting to sleep better too. He sometimes only gets up once during the night. Most of the time he is up twice.
• He is eating 4-5 oz. We are feeding him both breastmilk and formula. He now seems to prefer breastmilk, but its a little late to show preferences!! I dried up when he was 1 month, so hopefully he will do ok on the formula. 
• He likes to put weight on his legs and try to stand. He has really strong legs!! And also his arms, it's hard to keep him from pushing the bottle or binky away. His hands are his biggest enemy at times

His Stats:

• Weight: 13 lbs 1 oz
• Height: 22 in
• Head: 99th percentile. He does have a bigger head, but the doctor isn't worried about it and says he will grow into it. You wouldn't notice that it's bigger, it has such a nice shape to it. 

Adaline is 16 months old

I feel like this month flashed by. I am slowly but surely adjusting to having two kiddos. Addie has been teething her left top and bottom molar FOREVER. Poor girl. I have heard the incisors are worse. I am not looking forward to those. Hopefully we will be done with them soon.

She loves loves loves going to the playground.  When it's not completely cold and rainy we try to go there. She likes going down the slide and trying to climb back up. She likes going up and down the stairs even more. She also enjoys the swing.

She climbs on top of everything and anything. How she survives is a miracle. I try to monitor, but trying to take care of Joey too makes it super hard. I am glad she is pretty tough.

Addie LOVES her baby brother and wants to look at him often. She has starting to say a version of Joe for her baby brother. She can say shoe and loves to wear them. She tries to say balloon that sounds the baabaa. Though my favorite thing she says is hi and loves to put anything to her ear and pretend it's a phone. She says it with 3 different notes in it, Melts my heart every time.

She is becoming more and more snugly, I love it. She also likes to snuggle up while I tickle and run her back. She has moved to wearing 3T now! Such a big girl. She also likes looking at books and interacting with the flaps or textures.

She is so much fun and keeps us on our toes. We have gone to Lagoon for a Saturday.  She loved loved loved it. I was so surprised! She did quite a few rides with daddy while I choose to watch with Joey on the sidelines. Both kiddos did so well! So proud of them. Joe said a few times Addie would say "Ooo!" When they would go backwards or up and down. We always knew she would be our Rollercoaster girl.

Joe forgot that he was oncall at the hospital for xray this weekend. So he got called in for some emergency surgeries at 4 pm. He was only suppose to be 2 hrs. So I took the kids to Temple Square to look at the pictures, statues, and play around on the grounds.

Addie really loved running around on the yard that they have the Nativity set up for Christmas time. There was a group of Asian tourists that came to see this blonde curly haired girl. They kept touching her hair and tried to talk with her. At first there were just the two of them....and then before I knew it we were swarmed. I tried to talk with them and let them see Joey. Then before I knew it a lady had picked Addie up and was holding her. My heart sank and the momma bear wanted to come out. I started to wonder what I would do if they kidnapped her....I know that seems irrational, but it could easily have happened. Thank goodness Addie started to act nervous and the lady put her down. Addie came running to me. I was so relieved when they left a few minutes later. I love that people enjoy my babies and think they are so cute. Hey, I do too!! But at the same time, don't push it! There are limits to what I can handle.

She got a little sun-burnt, but she had the time of her life. Unfortunately I got a phone call from Joe after 2 hrs that it was going to be another 2 hrs. By now it was 6:00 and Addie's confidence was growing and she started to want to get further and further from me. So luckily my friend who lives in Bountiful texted me back and said we could come visit. Which was a huge relief!! It's so much easier having walls to contain this energetic girl that is doesn't quit. She never just sits there, even when she is eating. She always wants to be running around and doing things. She is a handful, but a lot of fun too. 

Joey's photo shoot

We were able to schedule a photo shoot of our sweet baby boy when he was 6 weeks. He was so good!! We couldn't have asked for him to be better. The photographers even commented how well he did for a 6 wk old. We were so happy with how they turned out. We will get Addie in the family pictures soon. We wanted some pictures just of Joey, like we did for Addie. We are trying to decide when to do full family shoot and get some of Addie growing up.

These are my favorites:

Joseph Evert has been a wonderful addition to our family. For quite awhile he seemed to have tummy pains and gas. We tried probiotic and used the Dr. Brown bottles which seemed to make a dramatic difference for him. It has been so much better for us too. I can put him down for a few minutes at a time to play while I take care of Addie and play with her. He is still a big cuddler and prefers to be held. However it seems that his next favorite is his swing. That is actually where he sleeps too. It has been a life saver for daddy and me so that we can sleep too.

We love you Joey!! We can see your personality start to shine and you get more and more handsome over time, if that is possible because you were a beautiful newborn. Your big sister loves you too and likes to try to hold you. Sometimes she rests her head on you, it's her way of giving a hug. You two are pretty special, and already have a special bond.