St. Patrick's Day

Dublin did not disappoint and St. Patrick's Day was a party. Of course, we weren't too involved in the party but we did do a little bit of celebrating. We decided not to go to the huge city center parade...Rob had to work (unlike most people here) and I didn't feel like rounding up the boys and taking them to the packed parade and I really didn't like the idea of trying to feed Owen one the side of the road on the parade route. So we went to the 'smaller' parade in Bray, a bit south of us. It was still pretty crazy. I still nursed Owen on the parade route but it was less daunting. A few pictures:

Pre-parade with buddy Wyatt


Me and the leprechauns.


I like to call this St. Patrick Day pride. Pretty much we celebrated SPD for about a week cause that's how long the tattoo stayed on Easton's cheek.


Crazy hats were most definitely involved.




This hardly does the madness justice but...

Thanks to Lizzy for Easton's SPD attire. So there you have it...I think next year we'll all go and experience the real city parade and festivities.

Oh, and my sister and I have started a little blog dedicated to baking. It is mostly just to share recipes with each other but if you have a hankering for some sugar you can always check it out to see what we're making: katieandamybake.blogspot.com

Joy in the Journey

So I think it was President Monson's LDS conference talk about finding joy in your life whatever the circumstances or season. He talked about enjoying being newlyweds and then enjoying your children when they are young because they grow so quickly instead of always wishing you were at the next point in life. I have to admit that I tend to have a problem finding joy in the journey sometimes. Yesterday at the grocery store we were shopping for this new recipe I was excited to make only to find that here in Ireland they didn't have a few of the key ingredients. I was bummed and really kind of annoyed. Rob, the ever wise husband, reminded me that it wasn't the end of the world and that I should have fun modifying the recipe instead of being grouchy about it.
And of course it can be tough to find joy in Easton taking off his diaper and peeing on the coffee table while I am nursing Owen(oh yes he did) but at the end of the day President Monson is right. Life goes by way too fast not to enjoy (or at least appreciate) every minute.
So that is my goal...to find joy in the journey and to really think about how I can find joy in the daily activities that make up my life. Maybe I should start a gratitude journal or something? Wish me luck. Here are some new pictures of the kiddo's for the most part:

Rob and Easton at Johnnie Fox's Pub. It is a classic Irish pub out in the countryside. Pretty cool.


Easton and his buddy Ivy feeding ducks, or better said, themselves M&M's






These are a couple of shots of Easton exercising. We got a few work out DVD's and if Rob and I are doing them Easton MUST do it as well. He gets really into it and tries to do all of the moves and even changes into his exercise shorts and ditches the shirt and NEEDS gum in order to work out to his full potential.



Owen. Easton has started calling him Little Buddy. It's pretty cute. Owen is getting to be more of a baby and less of a newborn.

Notice Rob's sweet mustache. He and the guys at work had a mustache contest...who could grow the best mustache in a month. Unfortunately, Rob's beard was more impressive than his mustache and he lost. I was pretty happy when that month was over and the mustache disappeared.

Grandma, Snow, and Crib Jumping

Yep, my mom is here. It is fantastic. She got here last week and since then I think I have showered every day and even been able to start exercising again! Easton is thrilled to have her here also...a small part of that excitement might be the fact that Grandma gives him a present every single day (and sometimes 2 presents). I'm sure that once she leaves he won't quite understand why he doesn't get presents anymore!
Owen is doing great. He is a good little sleeper and good eater and at this age that's about all you can hope for. We have been getting out a bit too. Last week I went with my friend Emily to Imaginosity, the children's museum here...it's a lot like the kids museum at the Gateway in SLC. Also, it snowed here in Dublin 2 weeks ago which is a pretty rare occurance. I got Easton bundled up and I think he got to play in the snow for 5 days in a row...not bad for living on a rainy island.
In more somber news, Easton has finally learned and mastered climbing out of his crib. Boo. It is giving us quite a few headaches especially since not only is he climbing out but he's doing it at 5am. He comes into our room saying "I no like this bed." Looks like a toddler bed and perhaps a locked door are in our future.
Here are a few pics of the last 2 weeks:



The boys


Rob and I with Owen after our V-day dinner


Owen in the sling


Easton playing in and eating the snow (yeah, what you see is pretty much the extent of the snow we got and that shut down the entire Dublin airport for an entire day.)

Easton in his new stroller blanket thingy...it is awesome

Easton and Grandma feeding the ducks

Easton got this bubble blower for V-day from his Grandpa and Grandma Nancy...loves it.

Owen and Grandma

Easton shopping at the children's museum

I have had posting on my 'to-do' list now for about 2 weeks but it somehow keeps getting pushed to the next day! By the time the boys are in bed all I want to do is go to bed myself! Our friends Melissa and Ian have 2 sets of twins under 3 years old and they are probably reading this thinking "Gees guys, buck up!" but having two kiddos is busy! We are loving it though. It has been especially fun to see Easton take on his role of 'big brother' and he does it really well. He helps me change diapers, burp and hold Owen and while sometimes it's not so much of a help I appreciate his willing heart and the love he has for 'baby Owie'. We have really appreciated church members and other friends here who have acted like family in taking care of us the last couple of weeks. My mom gets here this week and we are counting down the days!
In other news, Easton has started (albeit sporatically) going potty on the potty...we'll see when that becomes a permanent thing. Also, we discovered that we get American Idol here. Yes, call us lame but we love it. Well, at least I love it. Rob mostly tolerates it, frequently commenting on how awkward it all is, but I'm a glutton for awkward reality t.v. so Idol is right up my alley. And last week I successfully made my own thank you cards, envelope and all. Not a seemingly difficult feat, I know, but I was proud of myself and my craftiness. If you soon find one of those little gems in your mailbox know it was made with love even if it's not that pretty. Anyway, here are some more pics of Owen and Easton...mostly just laying around. Maybe next post we'll be doing something more exciting...no promises!

Owen is Here!!!!

We just wanted to let everyone know that Owen is here!!! He was born this morning at 11:56 AM in Dublin. He was 7lbs and 9.5ounces. They haven't done the rest of his measurements yet as those are done on day 2 around these parts. It was another short labor for Katie and we are all grateful for that. Everyone is doing fine. Below are some pictures of Owen's first day here with us. We are so glad to have him in our family. We will post more very soon. Enjoy!!

Christmas and all that jazz...

I finally am posting about our wonderful Christmas. We had a great holiday here in Dublin. I got maybe the best Christmas present I've ever received from Rob...he totally surprised me and flew my sister in the day before Christmas Eve. She stayed with us for a whole week...it was great! I was completely surprised. Having her here was seriously awesome. We baked for like 4 days strait! Really though, we did a lot of baking and cooking in general. I feel like it was the first Christmas where I actually had to be the responsible one (not mine or Rob's parents). Like if there was no more wrapping paper I had to take care of it where as usually my mom has rolls and rolls waiting to be used! And we had Christmas dinner for 9! My sister and Rob helped a ton...we had 4 of the missionaries from Church, Aaron, one of Rob's co-workers and the 4 of us. Easton loved Christmas and opened presents all day long. He would open a few and then be done for an hour and then want to open a few more. I have hidden probably half of all of his gifts to be strategically re-gifted to him later in the year...he was spoiled rotten...I guess it's the perfect time for him to be getting a baby brother! Here are some pics of our Christmas day:

Before the madness began Christmas jammies and all


Easton's new train from Mom and Dad


Easton and Amy


I am as big as a house (and this was 2 weeks ago!)



While Amy was here we also got to do a little bit of Dublin sight seeing. We went to Howth and she and I did a lot of shopping. Downtown was all a glow with lights so it was fun even if it was pretty darn cold! I will post some more pics later...technical difficulties!
Now that the holidays are over we've realized how not so on the ball we've been about getting things ready for baby! We still don't have a changing table or rocker (although both have been ordered). I guess since this is our second I wasn't in the frame of mind to be buying all of that business but since our previous nursery stuff is either in an L.A. storage unit or in an L.A. landfill we kind of need some items. Hopefully we'll be set by the time the baby is here. My due date is 2 weeks from today...I went 3 days over with Easton and I have been feeling like I'll go a bit early with this one but who knows. We'll be sure to post some pics when the little guy arrives!

Holiday Cheer

I would like to apologize for not getting Christmas cards out this year. I slacked and in reality there was no picture that I felt good about sending our 50 closest friends and family. We will try and get out a family card when the baby is born next month. Just because I dropped the ball on cards doesn't mean we haven't been having some holiday fun around here! Since we are far from home this year I have tried to start a few little traditions or at least do fun things with Easton and as a family. We kind of went crazy with the advent calendars...we have a chocolate one, a cloth nativity one and one with little doors on it:


Obviously we let Easton put the little cloth figures where ever he pleases...hence the star in the manger and several other out of place items. But he loves hearing about the Christmas story and asks for "Mommy talk Jesus" a lot.


I got this advent calendar box last year at an after Christmas sale. I struggled to find something to put into the boxes/doors but finally found these plaster ornaments.



I decided I would have Easton paint an ornament each day before Christmas. It has been a fun activity that he looks forward to each day.


Our tree is now full of colorful plaster ornaments!



We also went out for a little Christmas night downtown. We decided to take a horse and buggy ride around the city center. Despite the fact that Easton's sippy cup fell in a huge pile of horse poop, the ride was great. Easton loved it and even got to sit on the horse after the ride was over.





We also enjoyed a visit from Rob's dad. We went to the Christmas market on the Dublin docks where we browsed the shopping stalls and Easton got to ride on the carosel.




We are really grateful this Christmas for all of our many blessings. We have a beautiful and healthy son, one on the way (who, by the way, my doc thinks already weighs about 6 and a half pounds!!) and many friends and family members who love us and support us. We are also mindful of the Savior and happy to celebrate His birth and reflect on how much He means to us. We hope that you all know how much we appreciate you! And we wish you all a meaningful and Merry Christmas!