4 Years

4 years ago, I was preparing for one of the most monumental moments of my life. I was in the hospital, hooked up to a fetal monitor, blood pressure cuff, IV, and an epidural. And I was trying to push a baby out. Emma Rose joined our family at 12:59 AM on her due date. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 20" long.

4 years ago, I was officially inducted into motherhood. I had a sweet, cuddly little baby girl. A little girl to love, nourish, teach, and be responsible for.

That tiny 6 lbs 11 oz baby is now 4 years old.

I think I'm going to cry. Has it really been 4 years?

I have a 4 year old. I have a 4 year old. I have a 4 year old!

And she's still tiny...for her age, at least. Most 4 year olds can't fit into 2T clothing...mine can. Granted, they're a bit short on her, but she can technically fit into them.

But she's 4! We've had 4 wonderful years, full of hugs, kisses, and cuddles. 4 years of hilarious Emma-isms, occasional tantrums, and girliness. We've seen her become a big sister twice; watching her love her little brothers is one of my absolute favorite things in the world. She is so sweet with them and such a great helper.

She loves all things girly: princesses, dolls, babies, fairies, clothing, jewelry, make up, bows, nail polish, and more. Her favorites include Tangled, Hello Kitty, and Tinker Bell. She loves every single Disney princess movie.

But she's pretty well-rounded; she likes the "boy" movies and toys as well. She also loves to color, paint, and draw. She's very artistic and creative.

She continually amazes us by how smart she is. We constantly hear her using big words we didn't realize she knew! She can also read a few words (her name, her brothers' names, and a few easy words like cat) and is learning some basic addition and other math skills. I'm sure she knows more than I realize she does.

She makes so many connections and she has an amazing memory. She remembers things that happened over a year ago - even things John and I don't remember in full detail.

She says some of the funniest things! She cracks us up all the time. She's absolutely hilarious. She can be such a goofball.

She loves to sing. She knows the words to sooo many songs: Primary, VeggieTales, Disney, and more.

She's grown and changed so much over these 4 years. And yet, she's still that sweet baby girl I gave birth to 4 years ago:


Now:


And a cute video of Emma blowing out her candles at her Tangled birthday party:

For the record, see that shirt? She wore it for her birthday last year. It's a 2T. Seriously.

She is such an incredible little girl. I am so grateful to have her in my life. It's an honor to be her mother. Happy 4th birthday, Emma Rose!

New Name and Comparisons

I've wanted a new name for my blog for ages. Like, at least a year and a half. I'm still into digital scrapbooking, but my blog has evolved to include so much more. But I could never come up with something that really fit. I didn't want anything with our last name or our location, which simply added to the challenge of finding just the right name.

I think I have finally found the right name for my blog! Eclectic Mom. The URL is still the same, but the overall name has changed. I like it. I think it fits me well. Whenever someone asks me to describe myself in one word, eclectic is always my answer. I am a very eclectic person; I have so many different roles, talents, and hobbies that one adjective alone isn't sufficient. I'm LDS, a mom, a wife, a writer, a musician, a digital scrapbooker, a cook, a baker, and an amateur photographer. I have an English degree. I love to plan and organize fun activities for our family, as well as my tasks throughout each week. How else could I capture all that but with the word eclectic? And so, my blog now has a new name! Finally!

In a previous post, I mentioned that Nathan looks a lot like his big brother Hyrum. So much so that we frequently catch ourselves calling Nathan by his brother's name! Just for fun, I put together a couple of comparison pics.





I swear they are 2 separate babies! Really! But they really do look a lot alike, don't they? Case in point: Emma saw the 2nd set of these pictures up on my computer and said, "that's Nathan and that's Nathan." And she sees both her brothers all day, everyday. No wonder we keep calling our baby Hyrum!

Emma frequently says, "he's so handsome, just like his brother." ♥

I love that they "just happen" to be in the same outfits. Ok ok, so I kind of did that on purpose...but still. They could totally pass for each other! Thank goodness for technology that keeps track of the dates for me. Although Nathan's red hair helps as well ;) It's fun to have an idea of what Nathan will look like in a couple of years. We love our adorable kids!!

Newborn and Family Photos

My awesome friend Vicki took newborn and family pics for us. We went up to the campus apple orchard. Emma and Hyrum loved playing with the apples and the cute props Vicki brought.

I love how they turned out! If you like her work, check out her Facebook page here.

And on to the pics! These are my favorites:




I love his red hair!!










Family pic! I wish I was skinnier in this pic and that I'd had time to straighten my hair. But I had just given birth 2 weeks prior, so I should give myself some slack ;)




I ♥ this!!















I seriously ♥ them all. I didn't comment on most because my comments would all be about how much I love each one! Thanks Vicki!! You're the best ♥

Fall and Halloween Fun 2011

We've had a lot of fun this fall! Now that it's pretty much winter here, it's time to share our fun. Seriously, we've had snow on the ground for days already. Bleh. We'll likely see white out our windows until just before we move in April.

As always, I have lots of pics. I really try to limit them, but it's soooo hard. Especially since I have the cutest kids ever. I can't resist the cuteness!

I didn't edit most of these; the more pics I have to share, the less inclined I am to go through and edit them! I did remove red-eye on the ones that played nice with the auto red-eye remover :)

I already posted a straw maze pic, which was a total blast. We got seriously lost. They had an awesome tunnel towards the end! I'd have enjoyed that part more had I not been carrying a crying, hungry newborn while trying to keep track of Emma. But all in all, it was lots of fun.

We went to the pumpkin patch. So fun! We rode the kiddy train, went through a kid-size straw maze (which was MUCH easier to navigate), climbed the pumpkin pyramid, and, of course, picked out our own pumpkins to take home.


Riding the train :)








He kept picking up straw, tossing it, and saying, "staw, staw!" So cute.


John's being translated!!


He loved picking up the pumpkins. He made this little pile.




Super Dad!!




Look, his hair matches the pumpkins!





Then we carved our big pumpkin for FHE.


Our pumpkins before the pumpkin massacre.












After the carving, on our front porch.

We went to our ward Halloween party. We dressed up as cats and dogs. Emma decided months ago that she was going to be a black cat for Halloween. Then she said the girls in our family should be cats and the boys should be dogs. Since I didn't have anything else planned at the time and it was cheap and easy, why not? So that's what we did! Most of the pics I took were pre-party getting ready pics since I spent a good chunk of the party feeding my baby.








Isn't he the cutest little puppy ever?!


And the cutest kitty and big puppy ever!




All made up and ready to go!








One of our friends wore gigantic glasses as part of her grandma costume and Emma got to try them on. This picture cracks me up!

And then, of course, the real Halloween! We went to a kids' party at our friends' house. We brought mini donuts to share, fished for candy, played with friends, and made haunted houses.


Homemade mini donuts! These were a huge hit!










I built our haunted house and Emma decorated it all by herself. What an artist!



What a fun Halloween! It's been a great fall. I have some fabulous family/newborn pics to share in the nearish future, so come back soon!