Henry: 4 months

Jan 20-Feb 20

14 lbs 12oz       23 3/4 in

Henry is the sweetest little angel baby! This month we moved him to his own room...which is a little bittersweet.  I love sleeping through all his little noises and grunts now, but I miss my teeny baby being so close. The essence of motherhood. Henry started rolling from his tummy to his back this month! He actually did it for the first time while we were in Utah. He also just discovered his toes (as you can see in the above pictures.) Now as soon as his pants are off, his hands immediately go for his toes. It's adorable.

I love Sunday mornings when we bring Henry into bed with us for family snuggle time. That is becoming tradition around here. Tim has also been making Henry "fly" lately, and it's our new favorite thing. Henry laughs and laughs. 

^The Jude and Abraham love Henry. 

^Cute hats for chilly walking group mornings, what happens when mommy forgets an extra outfit and you explode out of your diaper, and sneaky toes....

^Milk drunk. 

^Lumber jack party attire 

^Rollin' rollin' rollin'

^Why, hello ladies...

TIM

Yes, yes, I am your master. 

Tim was very busy this month finishing up residency interviews in Salt lake, Denver, and Ohio. Sooo much traveling. We hated having him gone so much, but are so grateful for how he works so hard and diligently to prepare for his career. This month we found some pretty incredible news----Tim passed all three parts of his Optometry Boards!! Hallelujah! We are so grateful! And I am so incredibly proud of him. He sacrificed so much to make that possible. So grateful to be out of the woods and in the clear for graduation. Can't believe it's so close.

NIKKI

This month for bookclub I read, "The life-changing magic of tidying up" by Marie Kondo. I really loved it, and although I don't agree with some of her concepts (I still plan on stocking up on Costco toilet paper), I really learned a lot from her overall concepts of making sure the things you keep in your home bring you joy and you're not just keeping stuff to have stuff. This pile was just the beginning! I donated AN ENTIRE CRV CAR LOAD (like top to bottom, using every space except for my seat and Henry's) to the Battered Women and Children's Shelter. And can I tell you, I have not missed one thing. It's so liberating! I'm hoping to do an even more thorough cleaning out before we move. 

Most days I am fairly busy running errands and taking care of this or that (plus keeping my little human alive and happy), but some days I love just stopping all the running around, to pause and pull my sweet little baby into bed with me. Snuggling days are my favorite and so good for my mama soul. I live for the big, all-encompassing smile Henry gives me when he sees me first thing in the morning. I love being his mom. 

The other week I felt the Spirit inspire me to ask a sweet, elderly lady in our ward if she'd like Henry and I to visit her during the week. (She asked to hold Henry our first Sunday bringing him to church, and I heard her mention something about her "eternal children" before. I just felt like holding a baby for a few hours would make her so happy.) So we went over to her home for a few hours, and it made me so happy to see how delighted she was holding Henry. Her name is Maria Coates, and she is an incredibly faithful woman, and I feel so blessed to partake of her light. We set plans to get together weekly :) 

I also had a really wonderful visiting teaching experience recently...I made a scheduled visit with all five of my sisters this week, and last night, one of my sisters who's been inactive for a long time, asked me when church started. She said, "Thank you for checking up on me. You made me think of how much fen and better my life was when I went to church. :)" I am so grateful I listened to the prompting to continue to reach out to this sister, even though she had stopped responding to me last summer. I know the Lord loves her so much, and wants her to return to Him. No one is ever really lost. I have such a strong testimony that we are truly the Lord's hands here on the earth, and that if we are worthy, He will use us to help His children. I am so grateful I could be a part of his work in a little way. I know that we can help change lives through visiting teaching!