Easter makes me happy

Easter day was perfection. I sound like a broken record over here saying "perfect" way to much on this blog, but truly, life is sweet.

We woke up to a happy toddler that was thrilled to run into the living room and check for Easter Bunny evidence. He was a little awe struck with what he found.
The loot. And a lot of it. James got a dinosaur umbrella, stickers, sidewalk chalk, bubble and the grand gift of all is a water table for the backyard!
The umbrella was a huge hit. He can't wait for rain and kept asking us when it would rain next.
This little bunny also seemed pretty happy with her basket. She got a teether, a bunny bib, a blue duckling, and her first ever lovey. (Which was special because James got his first lovey from the Easter Bunny on his first Easter. He still LOVES lovey, has him in his hand in the photo above.)
Soon the living room egg hunt began and James was beside himself with joy. I just love this photo from Juliet's big eyes to James eating the treats from the egg with his very green hand (the night before we dyed body parts eggs).
James simple adores his baby sister and was so excited to introduce her to the joy that is lovey. We put Juliet in her bouncer seat and James kept her happy by bouncing her and giving her lovey to snuggle. Notice this little girl adores her big brother as well.
We got dressed and headed to E's family's house for brunch and the egg hunt.
I was hell-bent on getting a family photo or two. No worries that E's eyes are closed and Juliet looks like she's farting. ;) Oh, and I'm the only one actually looking at the camera.
The egg hunt began and it was as spectacular as it is every year. E's dad spends a ton of time doing an egg hunt for his now adult children and each year the clues get more and more tricky. We all love it.
After a relaxing afternoon where E smoked a brie wheel and James checked out his water table, we headed to my aunts for dinner. Is there anything prettier than her light-filled dining room?
Chuck, E and Juliet and Chandler enjoy cocktail hour. I believe it is every one's favorite hour.
My sister is seriously beautiful. I love this shot of she and Juliet almost as much as this one of she and James.
Everyone enjoying the party. Such fun.
I struck gold with this photo. Seriously, my favorite photo to date. LOVE.
My amazing family. We really missed Kendra and Taylor. Sob...
Nana simply adores Juliet. Who can blame her?
At the end of the night, before we headed home, Laura hosted one last fantastic egg hunt. James was in heaven and got tons of goodies. Happy Easter!
And one last photo, taken this morning. The air was warm and sunny and James ran outside to play with the water table. Ahhh, life is amazing.

Juliet is 2 months {and Happy Easter!}

Juliet is two months old today! Last year James turned 17 months on Easter Day, so it is fun that this year's Easter is also on Juliet's month day.

Picking out my daughter's first Easter dress has been such a fun challenge. I looked in all my favorite stores, on Etsy, and on eBay for months. I wanted to find something beautiful. Better than beautiful, it needed to be perfect. I finally found it! After three months of searching I found the dress on eBay. The sweater added just the perfect warmth, and the shoes are vintage from when Melissa (my sister) was a babe.

But enough about the dress. Let's talk about the girl.

Juliet has gone from a needy newborn to an easy baby in the last month! We had our trickiest time about two weeks ago when all she wanted to do was cry, but since then she has been a breeze. Seriously, easy peasy! She no longer needs to be held all the time (no more wearing the baby sling!) and will happily sit in her bouncer for long enough for me to eat a meal or take care of James.

She sleeps on and off through the day (no super long naps but cat naps) with no real schedule. At night however this girl is a rock star. She goes to sleep around 9:00 pm and most nights doesn't wake up until close to 5:00 am for her first feeding!! Holy cow, she is amazing.

Now onto likes and dislikes.

LIKES:

She LOVES her brother and her Daddy, saving most her smiles for the two of them. Mama has to work for smiles, but Daddy and James seem to get them just by being in the room.

She loves being outside in the sunshine. She naps well in the stroller and is generally happy and fuss free if we are out.

She likes her binky (thank the lord!) and this saves me in the car or if I need a few minutes to take care of her big brother.

Likes when you baby talk to her. When she says "ah goo" a sure way to get a smile is to ah goo back to her.

Loves baths with Mama

Adores Mama's boobs (still her favorite)


DISLIKES:

Getting her clothes changed, specifically getting a onsie pulled on or off over her head.

Getting in the car or being strapped into the carseat. Oh she hates that.

Waiting for Mama when she wants milk

Oh I love this snuggle bunny.

More Easter goodness to come!

Outfit details:
Dress - Found on eBay
Sweater - Old Navy
Shoes - Vintage
Headband - Etsy

And from 1 month until now:

Daffodils in the garden

Possibly my favorite day every April is when my family dresses in yellow and we take photos with the daffodils at Red Butte Garden. It is so awesome to see my family grow and evolve with something as simple as taking the same photo year after year.

This year the air was cool and snow dusted the hills and gardens. We found a new spot that we liked more than the bench, and Juliet joined us for her first daffodil photo with our family.
314,000 daffodils are in bloom each year (according to the sign) and it is such a beautiful sight to see.
I was so happy to see we caught a smile from James. It's a little tricky when we ask him to look at a stationary tripod, but the rocks he found brought the smiles.
And looking back at old photos is so fun. Last year (2011) James was happy and active and I had yet to become pregnant.
The year before (2010) James was just a tiny little babe with a very round head and he was full of smiles.
And the year before that I had just found out about a month earlier that I was pregnant. Tiny little James was growing quickly in my tummy.
Juliet was happy as can be to be in the garden (it's already her second trip and she isn't even two months!) and I'm loving catching these early smiles with the camera. Happens more and more often.
I get giddy taking photos of cherry blossoms with my 50mm lens.

This year we wore coats for about half the time but the sun was so brilliant, we all agreed it was a perfect day, weather wise.
Love that James still wants to hold my hand and act goofy. He wanted to run up the hill and E was behind us to catch the moment.
Yellow perfection.
I simply adore this photo. I'm looking at James, as I hope I always do, with a huge smile, and Juliet just looks so dang cute.
My two children. I adore these two more than I ever thought possible. They are my world.


Ahh Salt Lake City. You have my heart.
Little girl enjoying a little nature. ;)
A little boy enjoying his favorite form of nature these days, "big rocks".

Most of the amazing photos in this post are from E. He's amazing like that.

Today I am 31

Today has been fantastic and it's not even over yet. I woke up to the most brilliant sunny day, warm skies and green grass paired with every blooming spring flower and that incredible golden light. It was like the world was celebrating with me.
James suggested Murray Park as a morning activity, and I couldn't agree more. He's become quite fond of throwing rocks in the river and my oh my did it make me happy today.
Lunch was a delicious feast E delivered at lunch time along with fresh tulips. The weather was so splendid we ate on the patio. Gifts and drinks and dessert soon followed. Gah, I'm spoiled.
And I got to spend the entire day with this love bug who has just started to smile. Oh my does she make me happy. Also, good news, really really good news: whatever she was suffering with at week 6 when I thought she had colic has passed. She's back to her happy wonderful self and hardly ever cries. Yippee!
And girl clothes? Oh my word. They are killing me. I can not get over how cute everything is. Juliet's outfit today? A lovely gift from a dear friend.

Outfit details - 

"Hi!" onesie - BabyGap

Undershirt - Carters. 

Coral striped leggings - Old Navy

Socks - BabyGap

Bunny shoes - Old Navy

Headband - Etsy

Blanket - Vintage (it was my mom's!)

And a video from the park. Pretty darn awesome, as James would say.