President Muffin

A few days ago Ethan was saying our family prayer. Daddy was prompting him what to say. Daddy said, "Bless President Monson" and Ethan repeated, "Bless President Muffin". It was all we could do to keep from busting out laughing in the middle of the prayer. ;-)

Can a girl have too many shoes?

Never! Here is Eva's shoe collection.....a girl after my own heart. Mind you, these shoes are all size 0-2 (there are many more stored in the garage for later). :-)

Haircuts for all!

We had to fix the "haircut" that Brenna gave Ethan after she gave herself a haircut. I've cut Ethan's hair several times with scissors but this is my first attempt at cutting his hair with the clippers. I hope I'm better at it than Brenna. ;-)

The original haircut (done by Brenna)


The 2nd haircut (done by yours truly). He was not happy about all the hair getting in his mouth. Sorry, Ethan! Mommy's still learning (and you're the guinea pig).


Here's Ethan's new "spiky" haircut:


Brenna's photo shoot of her new hairstyle:


Since everyone else was getting drastic hairstyles, I figured I might as well jump on the bandwagon. Here's my new "darker" hair. After Brandon called me a "vixen", I obliged him and posed for the camera.

My Little Pixie Girl

Here's my little hairstylist with her new pixie haircut. We are getting used to it being short and it actually looks pretty cute. I would have never cut it this way on purpose but it's really not that bad.

Two Haircuts

I NEVER thought this day would come but.....Brenna decided to try her hand as a hairstylist and CUT HER HAIR!!!!!!!!! I can't believe she did it! We had just finished watching the Disney movie, "Bridge to Terabithia" (for the 3rd time) and I had a feeling that she was going to ask to have her hair like the girl in the movie (short, flipped out hair). Well, I was feeding Eva and as I was changing her diaper I had a feeling to go upstairs and check on the kids. I found them hiding in the closet and as Brenna stepped out, I saw her masterpiece. She had chopped the front and sides and some of the back of her hair to 2 inches long. Brenna looked at me and asked, "Do I look like the girl in the movie?" I screamed, fell to my knees, and sobbed uncontrollably (yes, I was hyperventilating). Her beautiful curly hair was gone! :-( Then I looked at Ethan and he was missing a chunk of hair in the front too.

I've since calmed down, thanks to my level-headed husband who reminded me that it's just hair and it will grow back. We're just glad she didn't get hurt.

She was pretty upset when I told her we'd have to cut off the rest of her hair. With a sad look on her face she said, "I'll look dumb". I was fighting to hold back the tears. Of course I told her she's beautiful no matter what her hair looks like. A nice salon kept their doors open late so we could take her to a professional to fix her mishap. When we got home, Ethan ran out to meet us and said to Brenna, "You're beautiful!" Daddy quickly hugged her and told her she looked like a princess. He then sat with her at the computer and showed her pictures of celebrities and beautiful ladies with short hair. Our daddy is the best!

When she was getting ready for bed she asked, "Will my hair grow back tomorrow?" I reassured her that it will grow back soon and she needs to drink lots of milk to help it grow. Immediately she ran downstairs and drank a glass of milk.

One day I'll look back on this and laugh....but today is not that day. :-(

First there were tears.




Here we have the mullet.


Here is just some of the hair she cut off. I found tons more hair in my bathroom.


We dashed to the salon (notice, again, the mullet).


Brenna's not very happy that we're chopping off her hair. :-(


Short and sweet


The back


This is the hairdo she was going for. This is the girl from the movie, "Bridge to Terabithia". It's a cute style, I have to admit, but she didn't quite get it right.

Momivore

This is the story of my life right now. :-)

The veil is thin

Whenever I am sitting on the couch to feed Eva, she'll stop eating (no matter how hungry she is) and stare, smile, or talk at this picture of the Savior we have hanging on the wall. Her face lights up because she knows Him. The veil is very thin.

I love to smile!

It's me again! I'm two months old now! Time flies when you're having fun! I've learned so much this past month. My favorite things to do (besides eat) are smile, talk, and take baths! I have the cutest smile and if you listen long enough, I'll talk your ear off with coos and gurgles. Mommy loves to hear my "stories" and we have long conversations about my future and the latest gossip. ;-) Did I mention that I like to eat? I've gained some weight lately but mommy tells me that's good. I weigh 10 lbs. 13 oz. and I'm 20.5" long. I'm in the 70% for weight and 7% for height. Haha! Short and sweet. Chubby babies are perfectly delicious! Mommy and daddy are always kissing my chubby cheeks. I also love to take baths with my big sister and brother. I love to watch them play and splash. I could stay in the bath for hours (but what woman wouldn't). I still sleep through the night (6-9 hours) and that makes mommy happy! The only bad thing is that I throw up a lot because I have acid reflux. :( It doesn't really bother me and I'm not fussy but usually mommy keeps a cup or bowl nearby to catch it. Otherwise she and I are soaked and have to change our clothes 3 times a day. TMI, I know. All in all, I could really get used to this baby business.....cuddle, sleep, eat, bathe, and be showered with kisses. Yay for me!
Love, Eva

Moving is rough....

...especially when you can't find your stuff! :-(

My heart is breaking

Well, it's official. We packed up everything we own, left our beautiful home in St. George, and moved our family to Vegas. I will miss St. George terribly. My heart broke as we drove away from our home of four years. We waved goodbye as tears streamed down my face. Our first home. The home where we brought home two babies from the hospital. The only home our kids have known. The home we loved...surrounded by wonderful friends and neighbors. I'll miss everyone and everything good about St. George. We have loved living in Utah (much to my surprise). There's no place like Utah in all the world. We are so grateful to have been inspired to accept the job transfer and move there. The people there are awesome. Our friends, neighbors, and ward have been simply amazing. Amidst the craziness of our move, someone told me that life is like a train ride. You travel to different places then stop awhile and enjoy each location. Then it's time to journey to a new place where you will have new experiences. This is part of life. This is the journey. And, although I'm very sad to leave my previous destination, I'm excited for new experiences and memories in my new destination.

As we drove away from our home in St. George, I asked Brenna, "Are you a little sad that we're leaving our house?" She said, "I'm a lot of sad". My heart broke again.

We're so grateful to all our friends, neighbors, and family who helped us move. We couldn't have done it without you.

It's a weird feeling living in Vegas now. It will take time to feel like home but I'm so happy to be reunited as a family. No longer will we be separated while Brandon is gone all week at work. My mom and dad bought me a cute wall hanging that says,

No matter what
No matter where
It's always home
If love is there.

I love this saying because I told Brandon the exact same thing when we decided to move to Vegas. I told him that I would live in a dumpster as long as we're together as a family. Okay, maybe not a dumpster but I'd go anywhere he goes. It doesn't matter where we live as long as we are together. I know that Vegas is the right place for our family right now. We were inspired to move here. Four years ago we were apprehensive to move to St. George because we weren't sure we'd like it. We LOVED it!!! I know we will love Vegas.


Goodbye St. George! We will never forget you! :-(


Moving Day!

Don't hate me.....

....because I'm beautiful! ;-) Hello, everyone! I'm one month old now! My mommy can't believe that it's been a month since I was born. I'm such a good baby for my mom! I eat like a champ and I sleep 6-8 hours at night. Her prayers were answered! Sleep and eat (and poop ocassionally). Ahhhh.....this is the life! I just love my big sister and brother. They love to hold me and play with me. I smile at them to show how much I love them. When I cry, my big sister sings to me to make me happy. I love my family!
Love, Eva

Here I am at one month old.

Aren't I a cutie pie?

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated the 4th of July with a bang (literally)! Brandon bought some fireworks (yes, they're legal here in Utah) and we set them off in the street in front of our house. We had a grand ole time!

One week old

Here is our little princess at one week old!

Baby Eva Mae

There are no words to describe the intense feelings you feel when your brand-new baby is placed in your arms for the first time. It is an overwhelming and immense feeling of love for this beautiful new being and gratitude to Heavenly Father for entrusting you with one of His children. And so without further adieu ......... presenting .......... Eva Mae Bluhm.

(ISN'T SHE JUST THE SWEETEST?)

I am just so in love with my new little angel! She is beautiful! She arrived on Friday, June 25th at 8:22p.m. She weighed 7lbs. 14oz. and was 19" long. I was scheduled to be induced on the 26th (my due date) but she decided that she wanted to be born on our 6th wedding anniversary. What a special day for her to born--the anniversary of the day her mother and father were sealed for eternity. :-)

It was Friday morning at 10:00a.m. and Brandon had just left the house with the kids to pick up some things at the store. I was putting away some games we had played the night before. As I climbed on a chair to put the games on the top shelf of the closet I felt a trickle, then a huge gush. It took me by surprise but I knew exactly what was happening.....my water had broken! I quickly called Brandon, who had only made it down the street, and told him to come home! He was as shocked as I was and Brenna and Ethan were ecstatic that Baby Eva would finally "come out of mommy's tummy". Brandon's grandma and sister were so kind to watch the kids while we dashed off to the hospital. We were so excited knowing that our little princess would be born that day. I was having some small contractions but nothing serious. We got set-up at the hospital and just waited. The contractions were getting stronger but after about 2 hours they just stopped completely. Because my water had broke, they wanted the baby to be born within 24 hours so they had to induce me. I was trying to avoid the dreaded Pitocin needed to induce my labor. I've had to be induced with all 3 of my labors and it is not fun! Within an hour of receiving the Pitocin, my contractions began to intensify. I labored (without an epidural) for the next 5 hours. Brandon was by my side the entire time. He is an awesome coach--massaging me and reminding me to relax. I also had my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law in the room and they were massaging and helping me too. This being my 3rd delivery, I was hoping for a quick and easy labor. My wish did not come true....this was my hardest labor! I was not dilating completely because of the position of the baby's head (she was posterior or facing sideways). My labor was intense and I should have been dilated to 10cm but I was stuck at 8cm. The doctor was getting concerned because the baby was in distress (due to the cord around her neck) and I was not progressing. He began talking about a c-section or an epidural to help me relax. I didn't want either but, at that point, I was willing to do anything to get the baby out. I feel so blessed to have an amazing doctor who made smart decisions and helped me through the delivery. He felt that, even though I was only dilated to 8cm, my cervix was soft enough and I could push her through. He stretched my cervix (TMI, I know) and I pushed about 3 times and she was out, although the doctor had to cut the cord from her neck before I pushed her out completely. We were all so nervous when she came out pale and not breathing. It took a while (like an eternity to me) before she finally cried. What a relief! She was absolutely gorgeous! She has been an angel ever since. She hardly cries at all. The kids were beyond excited so they came to the hospital only an hour after she was born to meet her.

We've known for a long time that we wanted to name our daughter Eva Mae. It is a family name on both sides. Brandon's great-grandmother's name is Eva and his grandmother's middle name is Mae. My grandfather's sister is named Eva and my great-grandmother's middle name is Mae. We just love the name! :-)

I'm so grateful for the honor and privilege I have of being a mother. It is the most amazing, wonderful, fun, important, and the hardest thing I've ever done. I feel so blessed to have 3 healthy children. They are my pride and joy!

LABOR OF LOVE


INTRODUCING OUR SWEET EVA MAE


MEETING BIG SISTER & BIG BROTHER


MEETING THE GRANDMAS & GRANDPAS


PROUD BIG SISTER & BROTHER


MOM & DAD WITH EVA

Before.....

.....and after

Welcome baby Eva Mae!

Father's Day 2010

We have the best daddy in the world! I know y'all would scrap with me over this but seriously, in our eyes, our dad rocks! He is so fun, smart, playful, hard-working, helpful, and handsome! We try to show him everyday how much we appreciate him but we sure love Father's Day when we can honor him. We made him breakfast in bed and then grilled up (well he grilled) his favorite steaks for dinner. We also bought him a new electric drill, #1 dad t-shirt (which is a tradition), a scrapbook of him & Ethan, and the Will Ferrel SNL DVD. It was a great day!

Another One Bites the Dust!

Well, the first of many ER visits ended in five stitches. :-( We were swimming in our neighbor's pool and Ethan bumped his head on the edge of the pool and busted it open. He was a tough guy when it first happened and just wanted a band-aid. I knew it needed stitches so he and I headed off to the ER. He was fine until the doctor came at him with the needle. Then they draped a cloth over his face with a hole in the middle where his cut was. Then we had to pin him down. Needless to say, he was not a happy camper! He screamed the entire time, "Get your hands off me!" and "Take the cape off!" I felt awful watching him go through that. I'm sure that won't be the last visit we make to the ER but I'm not sure it gets easier.

Tarzan

Last Monday we took Brenna to see the stage production of Tarzan at the outdoor theater, Tuacahn. It was incredible!!! Tarzan has only been presented on Broadway so this is the first premiere in a local theater. I wish that I was allowed to take pictures of the production because it was awesome. Tarzan and the gorillas were swinging from trees and sliding down zip-lines. All I can say is A-mazing!!!

Getting ready to watch the show.

This is what the outdoor theater looks like....beautiful!

Brenna almost made it through the entire show but fell asleep right at the end. :-)

Back from the dead

Okay, I'm officially back from the dead. After taking a year hiatus from my blog, I'm ready to rock-n-roll. In other words, I'm ready to keep up with the rest of you awesome bloggers. I do, however, have an excuse for my hiatus (good or not). About a year ago our camera died on us. We bought a new one, a Nikon CoolPix, which I don't recommend buying. It took awful, blurry, yellow-ish pictures. I never wanted to post any pictures. I really didn't even want to take any pictures with that camera....and that's saying a lot. I don't go anywhere without a camera. Needless to say, we got a new camera for Christmas--an awesome Canon Rebel T1i (which I'm in love with). It took me a while to figure it out and then I got overwhelmed with the idea of catching up on my blog. But now I'm ready to tackle the task at hand. With our baby girl due to arrive any time now, I knew it was time to update the blog. So, here you go! Be on the lookout for a quick yearly update before I get back into the swing of things.