Frog Prince

Today Carson and I played outside almost all day! We played with bubbles, finger paints, cars, and his frog pool. I'm so glad Brooklyn slept most of the day so Carson could have some mommy time. :)

He loves me, he loves me not.....

Carson has a love-hate relationship with Brooklyn. I understand where he is coming from, since he won't even be 2 until next week, and his whole life he has had Mommy all to himself. For the most part he wants to hug, hold, and kiss the baby.....but then he will randomly bite her, hit her, throw things at her.... Poor girl doesn't know what to think! The last few days have been a little bit better and I'm going to take him to the store this weekend to pick out some special toys that he only gets to play with when I'm nursing. Hopefully that will help. 

I love it when she makes this face!! It's so cute/funny!

He was so proud that he was able to get the boat to stay on top of the lotion. :)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

My sister found this baby picture of me and we all think Brooklyn looks a lot like me when I was a baby. Its harder to tell from the picture, but we really do look a lot alike.

Family Reunion

Over Father's Day weekend we had a family reunion at Raette's cabin in Heber, Utah. I really wanted to go to spend time with my family, but was a little nervous about going with a 2 week old baby. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Carson had SO MUCH FUN and wanted to be outside the entire time. He would grab everyone's hand and say "Run, Run, Run!" and want them to run with him and go throw rocks in the creek. It was pretty cute to watch. He also got to spend some time with my dad, "Papa", who he loves. They went for lots of walks and he always wanted to be where Papa was.

I got to spend some time with my Grandma who I miss so much! She is such a funny lady and I love her to death. We got to talk to her about her childhood and about my grandpa and we recorded everything so that Ashley can make a book. I hope that I grow up to be just like her. A woman of faith and with a family to be proud of.

Raette and Dave had jeeps, 4-wheelers, and the Rhino for us to ride while we were there. Jason and I took Carson on the 4-wheeler and he fell in love. He liked to go really fast! Raette had one of Grandpa's old tractors that she took all of the kids for a ride on and Carson got to help her drive. He thought it was pretty cool.
Throughout the weekend we had a ladder-ball tournament and Jason and I were the champions! We got a gold belt from the dollar store as our prize and Jason wore it around for the rest of the day. It was hideous looking.

On Friday night, Carson was running toward me and fell in the gravel face first. The poor little boy really hurt his nose. When Jason and I got to him he was covered in blood from his nose, had gravel in his face and in his mouth, and already had bruises on his forehead. You can see all the blood on his shirt, which pretty much matched the blood on Jason and I. He looked pretty beat up! That didn't stop him, though! As soon as we got him cleaned up he was ready to go play some more. 

On the last night we were there, Zach was leaning up agains the pole outside the cabin and all of a sudden Carson walked up and put his foot up just like Uncle Zach. It was pretty cute. :)

If I could slow down time...

Our sweet little girl has been here for over a week already! 10 days, to be exact, and we already can't remember what life was like before her. Just like when we had Carson, Jason and I have been filled with the most overflowing love for our sweet children. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for allowing me the opportunity to be a mother to such precious and special spirits. I only hope that I can be deserving of them and can live up to the tremendous responsibility I have to teach them everything they need to know.

Brooklyn is such a good baby. She was born tongue-tied and it presented challenges with nursing. Jason and I took her to the doctor on Tuesday to have her tongue clipped. Even though we knew it was the right thing to do, it is awful to watch your children experience pain of any sort. She did fantastic through the entire procedure and has been a different baby since! She nurses so much better now and she gained 4 ounces in 1 day, which is really good! She is the sweetest little baby and she loves to snuggle. She isn't a fan of her basinet yet, or anything that isn't someone's arms, but we are working on it.

Carson went from being a toddler to a little boy almost overnight. I am constantly amazed at how much he knows and how quickly he learns things. He knows all of his shapes, most of his colors, how to count to ten, all of his animals and the sounds they make, and he can string full sentences together like he has been doing it forever. This week he told me to "come here" and then proceeded to count until I got to him. I couldn't help but laugh. He is such a great big brother to his little sister and loves to hug her and give her kisses. I know that having his Nana here helps a ton because he is still getting the attention he needs right now. I'm a little bit nervous for when she leaves. 

Helping Brooklyn with her carseat
Other than that we are just trying to learn how to juggle two kiddos and still get dressed for the day. Its a little bit hard to do when all you want to do is love on your little ones......

Brooklyn's Newborn Pictures

Love at first sight....

Because Brooklyn was born at night, Carson didn't get to meet her until the next morning. I knew he would be excited, but nothing could prepare me for the reaction we got. He was beyond excited and he loved his little sister instantly. It was the absolute cutest thing I have ever seen. As a mom, it brought me to tears. We were incredibly lucky to have Chelsey there at the right time and she was able to capture the entire event. The pictures tell the story themselves....

Brooklyn Kate Messano

Arrived May 31, 2012 at 8:48pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 14oz and was 20 inches long. Here is a quick look at our sweet baby girl!