Whats Up

We were hoping Sean would get a raise big enough to make sure we could afford to have me stay home with the kids. Turns out his work wasn't in on our plan. Lame day. The raise they gave him wasn't enough and we are about $200 short of what we need to be making for me to stay home after my maternity leave is up. We are trying to figure out what we can do to off set that. I am a Licensed Massage Therapist. I can do massages to make the money we need but I need it to be a steady income. I thought of an awesome idea! I will do a discount for clients that are on a schedule. So if they get massaged every week it will be $25 for an hour massage, Bi weekly will be $30 and no schedule will be the usual price of $40. If they skip a massage in there schedule the next massage will be the regular price and then one after that will be there schedule price again. I told it to Sean and my family and they all think its a good idea. Now I just need to get at least 4 clients on a schedule to be making enough. Easier said than done but Prayers that it works out!

In other news Scott, Sean's moms boyfriend, went through the temple to receive his endowments. Sean was unable to go due to work but I was able to make it. Thanks to my parents for watching my babies :) It was a great night and I'm happy I was able to attend. I love going to the temple. Noah and Rebekah are getting cuter and cuter every day! Noah likes to check up on Bekah while she sleeps and he has asked to hold her a couple times now. Rebekah is such a sweet baby. She makes little girly grunts and smiles. She has been staying awake more during the day the last few days now. Its quite nice to be able to play with her more and see her beautiful eyes looking at us while we talk to her. Noah tells us she is cute and he loves her. He also has been telling other family members that he loves them. Its so sweet! Being a parent is the best!

This morning Sean had work off, he worked the evening shift, so we went swimming with the kids. It was such a fun morning. Noah has a floatie so he is much more confidant in the pool. He actually learned how to move his body and move in the pool. Its not quite swimming yet but he gets from one point to the other. Granted those points are pretty close together haha. Bekah even enjoyed being in the water too! She just laid in our arms and looked content. We were out for about an hour and of course as always I burned, Noah and Sean tanned and Bekah just stayed the same pretty brown/tan complexion she has. Lucky kids got there daddys side of the genes for skin. 

I've lost some more weight. I have 4 pounds to go! I get to start to work out now too. Its only been about 4 weeks since I had Bekah but I think if I start out slow I can be ok working out now. I just plan on doing the treadmill for now and waiting a couple more weeks to do any ab work outs. I just want my tummy toned and my arms. I know I'm just going to get pregnant again in a year but I want to be healthy so its worth it to get skinny again just for a year haha. 

Sean should find out soon if his work counts as experience in social work for his application for his Masters Program. We really hope it does! Then he would have 8 years to put on his application. That would be wonderful. Fingers crossed! He is doing pretty good. He is loving having a little girl and seeing how cute Noah is. We are such blessed parents. He hasn't been going to the gym much since Bekah was born though and he really misses it. He just started going again last night. I hope he keeps it up. He loves working out and he is happiest when he is. I think its a good release for him. Also it makes him feel good about him self and makes him more aware of what he is eating and drinking during the day. He forgets to eat and drink water when he isn't working out unless I remind him and I don't always remember to remind him. Silly guy. But I love him! 

Bekah was having issues with sleeping during the night. We know she is a newborn so she wont be sleeping through the night til she is 3 months old (knock on wood). Even then it will only be 6 hours. Right now she eats every 3 or 4 hours. She was doing good at sleeping at night and then she got confused. She was waking up at 1 or 3am and then not wanting to go back to sleep. She just wanted to play. We however dont want to play at that time. Last night my dad suggested we keep her warmer at night and that she would sleep more. He was right! I put the thermostat at 80 and she only woke up to eat and went right back to sleep. Me and the babies were so happy with it but Sean was dying of heat. I sleep with a sheet at 80 and a blanket at anything below. Sean however likes it at 74. I dont know why I didn't think to just put her in warmer clothes haha. Previously we had been putting her to bed in a onesie and a blanket but she would kick the blanket off. Tonight I have her in a sleeping dress with long sleeves and she seems to be quite comfortable and sleeping perfectly. I am hoping and praying she continues this all night. 

My sister Robyn got an app on her Kindle so now she can text me! She doesnt have a cell phone so I have missed talking with her since she moved forever ago. Its nice being able to have conversations all day now like I do with the rest of my family. I just love them :) 

hmm lets see what else is going on. . . oh ya. Sad news. My great Uncle Neal is now living in a rest home. He is my grandma Nellies brother. She is the one whose husband died the day my Bekah was born. Its been a tough month for her and my mom and Neal. He fell a couple days ago and hit his head. He had to go to the hospital and get 10 staples in his head. He has dementia and it got worse during his hospital stay. He was living with my grandma but is now like I said in the home. Its sad but also a good thing because now he will get the care he needs. My grandma is unable to give him the attention and care that is require due to his dementia. Also he doesn't eat right if at all and he has heart issues. I'm happy he will be well taken care of. Its so sad that his health is so bad. Now my grandma is so stressed that her husband is gone and her brother has moved out. My parents are thinking of moving her in with them. She has a house but they are talking about renting it to Sean and I. We will see if that ends up happening or not. Our lease is up in November and it would take that time anyway for them to move things around my parents house to make room for her to move in. Also they will need to clean and sell a lot of my grandmas stuff out of her house. She is a pack rat and has a lot of things she doesn't need. She wants Andrea and I to help her sell it on Craigslist. In any case we are moving in November to some where. I cant handle living on a 3rd story with two kids. Its so hard to pack them down everytime I want to leave. I always fear I am going to drop Bekah or not hold Noah tight enough as he walks down and he will trip and fall. He is still getting the hang of walking down them. Its a tough feat for a small child. I love our apartment and the complex other than the stair issue. But its a big enough issue that I want to move. So does Sean. I can't wait! 

Well thats it for now. Its late and I should go to sleep while the kids are sleeping or I will be a zombie tomorrow. 

Multitasking Mom Award

So I've decided that there should be a multitasking mom award and I should be the winner! haha This afternoon I successfully breastfed Bekah (holding her with one arm) while filling Noah's sippy cup, cooking him chicken nuggets, getting hi in his high chair and cleaning off the table. All with just the other hand that wasn't holding Bekah. And she was able to eat really well and didn't mind at all me moving all around the apartment.

I'm sure there are tons of mom that do this kind of thing everyday but it just felt like a big accomplishment to me. This mom of two thing is pretty difficult sometimes but also pretty easy when you get a good groove going. Can't wait to see what I can accomplish by the time I'm a mom of eight!

Happy 4th of July

It was a lovely day! We woke up about 8am and played with the kids. Rebekah is a morning baby. Then our friends Ben and Melissa and their adorable daughter Belle came over to go swimming. Sean stayed in the apartment with Bekah while we all went swimming. Noah had a floatie and was much more confident in the water. He stayed close but wasn't holding onto me the whole time. Melissa was hoping swimming might help out her in labor. Sadly it didn't. Her due date is 10 days after what mine was. Me having Bekah so early has definitely made her pregnancy seem much longer to both of us. Poor girl. I hope she has her Gracelyn soon!

Anywho, after swimming and donuts we all went to Amanda and Corey's house for food and fun. Andrea is visiting Robyn and Carlos in Wyoming this week. So it was mom,dad, grandma, uncle Neal, Justin, Amanda Corey Cortney, me and Sean and the kids and Ben and Melissa and belle. We ate way more food than anyone needs to eat haha. And then just hung out and watched the kids be silly. Ben and Melissa left after a couple hours to her parents house. Around 9pm we set off some fireworks. It was Noah's first time and he loved it. Last year he slept through them and the New Years ones. He had fun this time. He kept saying "fire" he and Cortney didn't like the loud ones though. Joshua loved the loud ones. He had such a happy surprised look the whole time haha. Rebekah stayed inside for the most part since I thought it would be too loud for her little baby ears. But she was awake for some of it. 

Overall it was a pretty chill holiday with just hanging out. I'm glad to have such a great family and friends to spend the day with. 

Instagram blogging

Don't judge me but this is another Instagram picture blog post. Haha. I'm busy loving on my babies and taking care of my apartment and lovin on my honey husband. 

It's pretty great being home with my kids all day. Monday was my first day without Sean. He went back to work. It was so lovely having him home with us and having his help with the two kids. Yesterday was a hard first day. Rebekah didn't sleep the night before at all! She woke up at 1am and didn't go back to sleep til 6am. Conveniently the time Noah decided to wake up. I still managed to get all the laundry and dishes done that morning and play with Noah while she slept. Then about 11am we went to my parents house. Noah played with Cortney and Rebekah slept. I was so tired when Sean got off work I broke down crying. It was just a hard day with how tired I was and I felt like I should have accomplished more. Sean reassured me that I did great and that our babies were happy and well taken care of. The rest of the night we kept waking Rebekah up and made her play with us. It was a good thing because that night she slept perfectly! She only woke up to eat and get a diaper change then went right back to sleep. Today was a wonderful day. We woke up at 8am and Noah and I had  pb&j sandwiches for breakfast. Rebekah was awake and Noah "read" her and I a book. He even asked to hold her. He said "oh Bekah in lap". He didn't touch her but hovered his arms around her haha. It was adorable. He then kissed her feet. He loves her piggies. He is such a big helper. He cleans up his toys with me and brings me wipes to change Bekah. Oh last night he sang his first song! He sang "clean up clean up every every every where. Everyone" haha. It's supposed to be the primary song clean up every body everywhere. After Sean got off work today he came to my parents house and watched the four kids so my mom and I could go to Walmart for groceries. I love spending time with my mom. I think we will come see her and Amanda's two kiddos at least 2 days a week. It's good for Noah to see his awesome cousins. And Bekah too as she gets older and can interact with them. I wish they got to see their other cousins from Robyn and Carlos and Jason and Melissa. Thy are fun kids. 

Anywho. I forgot to say last week that we went to the movies with Amanda Andrea and Cortney. We watched "monsters university" Sean ended up taking Noah to Corey's house after 20min into the movie cuz Noah wanted to play. He was able to get a refund on his ticket though and when the kids napped later that day Sean and Corey went to see "world war z". Rebekah slept the whole movie in my sling except in the middle she woke up and ate. It was dark so I didn't even need to worry too much about covering up. Haha. I just threw a blanket over her head. 

Rebekah had a bath today and for the first time liked it! Well til I washed her hair. Noah isn't a fan of hair washing either. Silly kids. 

That's what's up with us Howells lately. Also I love my Sean. He is so sweet and helpful.

Instagram morning

Birth is hard on a baby

Sean took Rebekah to her 2 week appointment this morning while i stayed home with Noah. Dr Auxier said that she broke her collar bone coming out ! She has a bump on her right side that will always be there. You can't see it but you can feel it.  Apparently it's a common thing. He said they don't usually notice until the 2 week appointment. He said she is totally fine but that when Sean tells me I'll probably cry and to tell me it's nothing I did and that it's just the way she came out. He so knows moms , cuz I did cry and think it was something I did in labor. But it was just the way her arms were up by here face when she came out that broke her collar home. Poor girl! She didn't cry or anything these last two weeks that would have suggested she was in pain. She cries occasionally but just when she's hungry or in need of a diaper change. She really is such an easy going baby. We are lucky parents! So far two easy kids :) anyway back to her bone. She is fine but the dr said she will probably favor the right side for awhile until we train her to use the other side too. She totally does already. We didn't notice until he said that but thinking back she always has her head facing the right. Also I've been having trouble getting her to nurse on my right side since she was born but she nurses perfectly fine on the left side. Makes sense because she has to turn her head to the left when she feeds on the right and I'm sure the first week it was painful or uncomfortable. I can get her to eat on that side now I just have to slowly move her head and she latches on.

It's so crazy that she broke a bone coming out of the birth canal! Turns out labor is hard on the baby too! I knew the baby had a lot of work to so to be born as well but I never knew they could actually break something. Poor girly. I'm glad she is fine though and not in pain. I just love her. 

Oh in other news Noah likes to kiss her goodnight now and he tries to hold her hand. He still holds too tightly and we have to remind him to be soft but it's adorable that he is interested in her now. Oh and he tried to sit on her last night. The things parents say to their children haha "Noah you can't sit on your sister" and the. He cries. It will get better... I hope haha. 

Big things tonight

Rebekah turned over to her side! Just happened moments ago. Such a strong girl. :)

In other news about miss Bekah. She is so sweet and cuddly. She loves to be held close and on our chest. She rarely cries and even when she does it's so girly and cute. It kind of sounds like a baby triceratops. She mostly sleeps during the day but when she is awake she stares and smiles. Sean loves her dark eyes. She has such loving eyes. 

The big news for Noah is that he went to sleep tonight with no binky! He has grown quite attached to it so it was a tough endeavor. Yesterday morning he asked for it and Sean said no and Noah says in such a dramatic voice "I neeeed it!" Haha we laughed and said silly no you don't. He got distracted and forgot about it. 

Tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Mostly because  I wasn't home for the worst part. I have a hard time not caving when Noah cries. Sean is stronger than I am. We were in need of groceries so Sean let me go shopping while he dealt with bug. We gave him kisses and Sean read him a story. I went shopping and Sean stayed home with the kids. Rebekah slept the whole time and woke up a little after I got home to eat. Sean texted me while I was in the check out line saying that Noah had been crying for the last 40 minutes and that maybe he should give him he bink. I said I'm not there so it's up to him but I think if we give it to him he will think he can just cry and get it every time. I got home and Noah wasn't asleep but he also wasn't crying. He was kind of whining a little but mostly just talking. Sean told me that after he texted me he went in there and calmly talked to him. He told Noah he was too big for  binky and that he won't get them anymore. He said "you're a big boy now so you don't need them to sleep". Noah understood because he stopped crying and said "no binky" Sean let him know that mommy would come in and give him loves when she got home. I went in there and have him kisses and a hug. He said to me "binky? Ya no binky. All gone " and I said ya you're a big boy so they are all gone now but you are ok. Here put your baby roo (a stuffed kangaroo) to sleep. Help him go to sleep. It was adorable.  He put his roo on a blanket and cuddled up to it. A few minutes later he was asleep. 

I think we did a good job working together to get him passed the binky stage. I know it will take a couple more nights of him crying but I'm excited to have him done with it. Hopefully with him having it explained to him he will do better tomorrow and not cry or at least cry less. 

I'm so proud of my sweet children. They are so beautiful. :)