Caleb's first snowman

Last night as I was up feeding Angie, I noticed it was snowing outside. Well, this morning Parker had a job interview, so I got to shovel the driveway with Caleb. We put on his snowpants he got for Christmas (thanks grandma!) and his mittens, and we went out into the snow. Now, to be completely honest, this is the first time we've gotten Caleb out in the snow in his full-gear. The only other time was when we went to cut down a Christmas tree in the mountains....and he was SOOO cold that he cried the entire time. Needless to say, he didn't play.


The snowman was mostly my work. Although he did try to push the big snowballs a couple times. But it was big and awkward, so he didn't try for long. He spent most of the time throwing snowballs at me while I made the snowman. Then towards the end, he was lying on his stomach in the snow, playing with the water coming out of the rain gutter. Needless to say he was completely SOAKED. But that's what playing in the snow is all about.

He kept calling the snowman "frosty" of course, and he kept asking me, "is he gonna come alive?" Or when the wind blew the mittens on those flimsy stick-arms he said, "He's moving! Is he gonna talk to us?" But he actually was nervous to stand by the snowman when I wanted a picture. Silly boy.

Angie's first smile- 5 1/2 weeks old

Today after I fed Angie, she was trying SOOO hard to smile and talk to me. I tried to get a picture. This first one is kinda blurry, cuz she was wiggling so much, but it kinda captured her little smile. I think her smile is primarily in her eyes, because I can always tell when she's excited to see me.....it just comes out in her eyes. The best thing to do is watch the video at the bottom of this post. She's SOOO CUTE! You have to realize, this is the first time she's done more than burp and poop, so we're pretty excited to see the light in her eyes.

I like this next picture, because little miss skin-and-bones is starting to get a little baby fat.

Now this picture is NOT of Angie, but I had to post it because Parker and Caleb have been such good buddies lately. When Parker goes to work in the garage, or outside Caleb just HAS to tag along. I know Parker probably gets a little annoyed because everything takes longer when Caleb is right there in your face....but it makes him so happy!! You'll see in the picture, Caleb is wearing his daddy's hat. He loves to do things, "just like daddy."


And Angie sporting her yellow bow and jacket in the arms of her daddy. He is so sweet when he talks to her. And I just have to add (because I'm thinking about it). Angie always holds on to her last burp when I'm feeding her. But all I have to do is pass her to daddy, and he gets it out every time. I can sit there and try to burp her for 20 minutes, and nothing. But hand her to daddy, and she just lets it out.


This video is kinda long but WAY cute. If you don't wanna watch the whole thing, make sure you see the second half, cuz that's when she talks and smiles the most.

Pinching Pennies....

Well, it's flown by so fast! My maternity leave is almost over. At present, full-time work is essential for me. When Angie was born, I told them I'd be gone for six to eight weeks. That's the typical amount of time for maternity leave, and it's almost DOUBLE the amount of time I had with Caleb (because Dental Hygiene school started when he was 4 weeks old). But I can't believe it's already been five weeks. Next week I go back part-time, and then the week after that it'll be 4 days a week again. She's still so small, and I'm still so sleepy, I'm really not sure how I EVER did it with Caleb. She wakes up every 4 hours on average. There are some times when she'll sleep for five, and even six once. But we're still not sleeping through the night. And I have such a hard time getting out of bed before ten....sometimes later. A big change is coming, and I'm NOT looking forward to it. How I wish I could continue to stay home with my kids. Parker is currently not working, so he can be home with the kids for the time being. But he's currently interviewing for jobs since he graduated, and I know it's only a matter of time before he goes back to work too. And according to his report of his last job interview (which was today)....that could be very soon.

Being away from work for six weeks not only means more time with the kiddos, but also a lack of income. We did some saving during my pregnancy.....but things have been TIGHT this month. And I must say, even though Parker and I have been "starving students" since we got married (five and a half years ago), we really haven't had to seriously pinch the pennies till now. We've learned a lot about budgeting and meal-planning these past few weeks. And kudos to us for NOT EATING OUT for the past six weeks. And I've stuck to my meal-plan, and therefore our grocery budget for the first time ever. And I just want to say, to all you other "can never stay within the food-budgeters" out there IT CAN BE DONE! Okay maybe we're the only ones who struggled with that.....but somehow I doubt it. Either way, not anymore......cuz I've mastered meal-planning, grocery-list making, and family budgeting. Okay, not mastered by any means. But as tight as things have been this past month, it's kinda a good feeling to know that you've accomplished your goal.

I'm so sad I have to go back to work. All I can do is pray that Heavenly Father will give me strength, and watch over my kids (because I won't be able to). On a brighter note, we're excited to see that the days are getting longer, and that hopefully Winter will get the HECK OUT OF OUR LIVES! We're so ready for Spring...or even better Summer. We're excited to work on our stupid swamp of a yard and hopefully a garden.

Grandma's mad-skills and MORE pictures!

One thing that amazes me about my mother is her crazy ability to sew. when we were kids, she used yo make our clothes. Now as a grandma, she has been kind enough to make a blessing dress for each of her granddaughters. She also lets mommy pick the design of the dress and then she creates it WITHOUT A PATTERN! For my baby's dress, I decided I wanted TULE on her dress. Last weekend grandma finished Angie's dress, and here's a picture.
Caleb calls it her "princess dress." The next pictures aare of the embroidery that she did on the front of the dress and on the sleeves. I LOVE IT!! Thank you so much mom!
















The next set of pictures is the sad story of Caleb's blanket. Another thing my mom has always done is hand-quilt a blanket for her grandbabies. Caleb's was a winnie the pooh blanket, and at about one year, he became EXTREMELY attached to the thing. He carries it everywhere we'll let him and of course he sleeps with it at night. ONLY THE BLANKET. He refuses to sleep under his covers, he just wants his blankie and nothing else.

Well he's not even four yet, and thee blanket's days are numbered. All four corners have tears in them, some of which go completely through. And all the prarie points are freighed. The blanket is also quite faded. When my mom saw the blanket she'd made for him, she decided maybe she'd better make another one. A double, so that when we retire the blanket, Caleb will have another one just like it.





So the picture is of the two blankets. The old, faded one on the left, and the new (stiff and not-so-soft, and therefore not at all desireable to Caleb) on the right. We've been discussing the old blanket every day though. "Caleb, yoy're gonna have to say goodbye to your old blankie soon.....it's getting ruined."
"it's gonna go in the garbage?"
"yeah, it's ripping too much."
"I just hold it right now"

He understands its days are numbered, but I'm sure he's not quite ready to say goodbye yet.

The next pictures are of my baby girl. She's one month old now and her clothes are finally starting to fit her. It is so much fun to dress up a girl!! I just wanna take a picture every time I change her clothes!! And apparently I do!!

The New Lyons Pride

Welcome to the new Lyons pride! Everything is pretty much the same. Like I said, all the old posts are here. Just remember to add this blog if you're a follower.

We'll be having some new posts soon. And hopefully some new family pictures once Angie can keep her eyes open! :) Also don't forget to add me to your own blog lists! I'm sorry for the trouble. Hopefully all my readers will follow me here! Thanks everyone for your comments!

"She's a princess!!"

On Sunday we put a little dress on Angie for church. I honestly didn't think it was gonna fit her, because none of her clothes have been fitting her yet....she's just so tiny. But the dress fit perfectly....and now I'm glad we DID put it on her, cuz I know in a couple weeks it won't fit her at all cuz she'll be too big.

Anyway, once we got the dress on her, Caleb walked into the room and saw his sister all dressed up. He took a look at her and said, "She's a princess!!" And even now as I'm posting these pictures he's sitting next to me at the computer pointing to the pictures. "That's baby Angie! She's a princess!" So I thought you all might like to see a few pictures of my little princess. Enjoy.

Caleb dressed in pink.....

It seems that I always hear how much my little Angie looks like her brother. And I'm not gonna lie....she does. Parker and I always joke that she's just a little Caleb dressed in pink. When Parker's brother, Garrett, held her for the first time he said, "There is NO way that baby is a girl!" (cuz he's been so used to seeing that little face being on Caleb). But she does have a little more femanine look, I think. And her cry isn't as harsh as Caleb's was. I'd say her cry is a little more sweet-sounding. I decided to put up two pictures that particularly make these two kids look alike. The first picture is Angie....I PROMISE. The second is Caleb. I'd say the biggest difference is their chins. Caleb's chin was kinda retrognathic (meaning his chin kinda "tucked" itself below his bottom lip) when he was a baby. Angie has a more crisp profile (which enhances her "girlyness"). Their eyes are almost exactly the same.....daddy's.