Suit Up!!

We suited up today- we meaning just Sam and Josh- for the special reason of having Joshua blessed today. As church went through the ward business I would hold my breath waiting for them to announce "and next we will be blessing the baby of..." and as the first speaker went through his talk I felt pretty sure that this was not going to be happening, and I got a litte teary eyed...no...I actually more like burst into tears. I don't know why exactly, but as I looked at my sweet little boy all dressed in the miniest white suit it broke my heart that he was overlooked...even though I knew it was an accident, and Josh didn't mind I just had been looking so forward to the blessing it struck me so sad to post pone it.

But, the wheels were set in motion by a friend who thought he might have missed it, and then in the corner of my eye I see sweet little Chrislyn, Terri's little girl, go hand her dad a note, and before I knew it Sam was carrying Josh up towards the stand.

Sam asked my opinion this morning who should be in the prayer circle, yes it was weird that I would not see the faces of my dad, brother, brother in laws, and Sam's dad there, but as I sat watching as friends we had chosen gather around little Josh I truly saw them all as Uncles to Josh, genuine in their care and concern for him, and I was so thankful again for the friendships we have made here.

Sam, of course, did a wonderful job. even though he whispered to me many times the first half of the meeting "I'm sweating bullets" ha.. it was pretty warm though. I am so thankful for Sam for the priesthood that he holds. So thankful to be a mom to these two very special boys.

A friend of mine made a comment the other night after I was saying that Josh is just very sweet, he's so smiley, and very sweet, and she said quite matter a factly "well that's is something that neither of your boys have ever lacked."

So very much to be thankful for!

2 months vs 2 years

 We made it to 2 months for Josh, and 2 years for Kaj, officially! "Officially" in this case meaning: "going in to the doctor for your 2 month check up, and 2 year check up. "

Josh is a whopping 11lbs 1 oz now! And he is 23 inches haha a heavy hitter, indeed.

learning the new skill of drinking his milk..with..no hands...yep no hands people

Kaj is now at 22lbs and 14oz and almost 34 inches.

Josh is doing a lot more smiling

The closest Kaj would get to posing for a picture together

tuckered out

 The double doctor's appointment was quite the experience coordinating exams, crying, changing, and shots. Kaj would watch Josh get measured and then examined, he seemed curious and intrigued, but the moment it was his turn he fought like he was going into battle, and was planned on winning. At one point I was walking back to the room with two naked boys. Josh was wrapped up nicely, and Kaj was not.

Our doctor is great, and answered all questions, all concerns and as Josh cried and Kaj was fighting during his exam I helped to hold Kaj's arms down, and apologized for the brilliant of doing both boys on the same day, she insisted on not apologizing there was no need.

A very happy mom of two healthy boys who are just as sweet as ever!

Happy Birthday to Kaj!

Delving into his presents! Don't even ask what my face is doing...I have no explaination

The perfect Kaj size piano

Sword fighting - which Kaj and I enjoyed for a good part of the day

Enjoying his bear cake

Happy Birthday to my sweet 2 year old! It is crazy how much a year has changed this kid. Very exciting, but definitely a reminder to enjoy all the moments I have with my boys, because they will fly by. We did a very low key birthday this year, simply because, Kaj doesn't care at this age so I might as well keep it low key before the many years that he will care. We started official celebrating when Sam got home from school, and as you can see...quite the partay. It really was very enjoyable. We are extremely grateful for Kaj, he brings a lot of laughter and smiles into our home. He is stepping up to be quite a nice older brother. We love you, Kaj!!

The Awesome Adventures of Kaj and Mr. Bunny

There has been mention of Mr. Bunny before, but not a lot of documentation. The truth is that guy (yes, the bunny) goes an awful lot of places with us. What started out as a simple comfort for Kaj to have to fall asleep has turned into a friend.

To tell you a little of Mr. Bunny himself is that he's...nice. He lost the ear very early on actually making him appear much older than he is. He lost the ear long before Kaj could walk, so long before entering the battle scene. Kaj would tell you that one ear is all he needs, and perhaps if he had both he wouldn't be the great listener he is.

Mr. Bunny is always a participant in tickle fights, sometimes going as far as instigating it. He tells some pretty hillarious jokes, and has found he has a talent for base jumping. In a very hillarious turn of events after welcoming Josh into our home, and often hanging out with Kaj and bunny while I feed him, I turned around to find Kaj lifting up his own shirt to offer Mr. Bunny a whole lot of nothing, he declined. Kaj tried once more...haha!! So funny! The two of them were a little awkward that day. Haha!

Despite the fact I really don't want Mr. Bunny to come with us all the time, I really don't mind. It is fun to see Kaj have a favorite toy, and create some fun memories. There will be more to come on the Exciting Adventures of Kaj and Mr. Bunny!

Joshua Mats Christensen

YAY!! After what seemed like a long time of waiting, and reading into every "going into labor" sign twice we welcomed Josh into our family! He was born at 9:55 am on March 18th a whopping 6lbs 15oz! ha! A heavy hitter indeed! haha

We went into the hospital Saturday night, and after about an hour they told us to walk around the hospital for a couple hours. Great! Why wouldn't we want to walk around the hospital for a couple hours?! So instead we walked around the hospital for a half hour, and then went into Sam's classroom to kill time watching some funnies, and trying to get some sleep. He slept. I did not. Sam did make the comment "what's with you having the babies in the middle of the night, it'd be nice to have a baby at like 10 in the morning." Ha! He was pretty spot on, but probably didn't mean to be in the hospital all night and on to the next morning.

 It was a very different experience than with Kaj, and I hope I learned my lesson with comparing my pregnancies and my labors...His whole face was a bruise when he was born, and both Sam and I were a little "...yikes.."

So far he is a very sweet, quiet baby. He is not very fussy, and of course he is getting a lot of shut eye. Kaj is very indifferent towards him, but that is better than being too jealous. We're happy to be home. We were happy to have help so soon.

Dear Kaj

This may be on a bit of a sappier note today, after a great Sunday at church, and then with the fam, I began thinking of my little boy. I feel that the time is very near that will soon welcome the newest member of our family. I hope that I am somewhat prepared for the change, but really the only consolation I even have is that I have done this before... it doesn't help too much, because I also know how different it can be. The only thing that Kaj seems to understand is where the baby currently resides, not that his whole life is going to change, and that with the change he will be a brother.

My sweet Kaj Bears...what a sweet, sweet boy, a little moody at times, but mostly just a great kid. Kaj loves to dance, loves music, the outside. Kaj loves to run, and to laugh, go down the slides, and swing on the swings. He also loves his Mr. Bunny who is now sitting right beside him at meal time, even gets to sample some food, gets to wear chapstick, and even gets the tickle bug. Kaj loves his trains "chooch" and can now say: "stars" "beps" aka steps, "ball", "bear", "mom" (which luckily is interchangeable for me or Sam.) and "tickle tickle" Kaj, I love you so so much, and even though you may never remember the time that you were our only, I could not ask for better company.

Baby steps to a Big Kid

 As we close in on the final weeks that we have one kid in the house we have had to add to the items that turn Kaj into a much bigger kid...though he still seems a little too punky to me.. ( At this point the sleep test run has not been had) But much joy has come from jumping on the bed, and that test run has gone quite smoothly. 

We have the big kid carseat, the toddler bed, the room rearranged, and a bassinett all in place, and still Kaj has no idea how his life is about to change. I thought about this the other day, that even though Kaj doesn't realize anything, he'll probably always remember having a brother. Strange.

The family is doing really good. We had a bout of illness go around the whole family, and while Sam is currently in the thick of it, Kaj and I are on the way out. Sam just handles it better, while I am telling him how "I really don't think I'm getting better" he is still is making jokes in the morning.

We're very happy, and busy, and still really loving it in New York.