Quick Update

Wow! I can't believe my baby will be a week old tomorrow. This time last week I was anticipating the arrival or our sweet baby boy and now he is here. Life is great. Hectic, but great. Things take a little longer to done, but the adjustment has been a lot easier than I was expecting. I have less time for myself, but more time with my boys and honestly am loving every minute of it.

Tayden loves his brother....sometimes a little too hard. We are still teaching him how to be soft and trying to help him grasp the idea that its okay if baby brother is somewhere else rather than on Taydens lap. That has been the biggest challenge. But, if that's as bad as it gets, than I think we are golden.

Every morning, Tayden insists on laying on the couch with Beckett. He even shares his blanket, and thats a big deal!

Beckett is a dream. He is such a good baby and so relaxed, thus far anyway. He sleeps alot and when he is awake he is perfectly content to lay and look around. He hardly cries and when he does its for a good reason. And still his cry is a whimper compared to our baby Tayden. I haven't had much time to take pictures of our sweet boy with an actual camera (guess I should be thankful for my phone), but I will have some coming soon. Promise.

I didn't know I had the capacity to love my kids like I do. I look at both of them and my heart is full of joy. I still feel like I am living in a fairy tale surrounded by the best boys ever. We have seriously been so blessed!

And, a side note. We dropped our realtor a few weeks back and went back to selling the house on our own. We held an open house yesterday and it went fantastic. Best one yet. We have had several interested people and are hoping to sign an offer at the end of the week. Again, we are blessed.

Welcome Home!

Monday, January 24th at 11:58 am Beckett Sean Packard was born. I was induced at 7:00 am and just 5 short hours later he came into this world. I was already almost dilated to 5 cm when I went in and it didn't take much potosin to get things moving. We were shocked when the doctor told us it was time to start pushing, and five minutes later....we were holding our sweet baby boy. Needless to say the labor was a breeze.


I look at Beckett in complete awe and ever wonder how we lived without him. I was so terrified that I wouldn't be able to love him like I love Tayden. But I am here to testify that love is not divided with children, only multiplied. Not only did my love grow for Beckett, but for Tayden as I have watched him be a big brother.


Tayden loves his "bay-bee brofer". He showers him with hugs and kisses all the time, and is constantly showing us all of his body parts. I can't wait to see them grow up together.


Tonight as Scott and Tayden went to the store to get me some meds, an old N'SYNC song came on as I walked into the boys room. I heard the last half of the song that goes like this:

And I will take (I will take you in my arms)
You in my arms
And hold you right where you belong (right where you belong)
Till the day my life is through
This I promise you baby

Just close your eyes
Each loving day (each loving day)
I know this feeling won't go away (no..)
Every word I say is true
This I promise you

I know its a love song, but I LOVE my little boy. I just listened to those lyrics and cried. I want so much for my boys and see so much in them. I see potential. I see purity. I see love. I see the future. I see every good thing about this world wrapped up in these sweet little spirits. It was a special moment with Beckett I will never forget.


And let me tell you a truth about my husband. He is amazing. He has always been amazing, but now I see it more than ever. When Tayden was born, I wanted Scott to like being a dad SO bad that I never made him do the hard stuff. Never made him get up in the middle of the night. Never made him change a dirty diaper. Never made him hold a crying baby. He did when you needed to, but I never made him do it. That was a big mistake on my part. In no way was it his fault. Anyway, it made somewhat of a mamas boy out of Tayden and I was so nervous to bring Beckett into this world in fear of having to take care of an infant and a needy little toddler. Now, here is the truth about my husband. He has stepped up to the plate like I have never seen before. He has been the biggest help I could ask for. He has put Tayden to bed the past few nights, and that is a HUGE step of progression for us. He has taken little crying Beckett into his arms and soothed him. He has changed the diapers without me asking. He has been the most patient, most understanding, more wonderful husband I could have ever asked for. He has made sure the house is clean and things are orderly. He made sure I was happy and has given me mommy time. He has been truly spectacular. I cannot even express my gratitude towards him, but he truly TRULY is my eternal rock. I love him more and more. And seeing him with the boys only intensifies it.

I am so blessed. I don't know what I did to deserve the boys that I have, but man...I'll take it. I love where I am at in life.


And, Happy Birthday to my favorite 2 year old. Love you more and more each day Tayden Scott!!!

Beckett Sean

Hey everybody. Just a quick post to announce the arrival of our newest addition, Beckett Sean. He weighed 7'11 and is 20 inches long. He looks just like Tayden with the addition of his moms dimples. Labor was a quick 5 hours. Tayden loves his baby brother more than anything and I love seeing them together. We are all doing great. I can't believe how blessed I am. More details and pictures when I get home.

Suit Up

Rockin' his new church suit. Isn't he the most handsome 2 year old you have ever seen?

I think so.
Love him.

A Little Early

I know this post is a few days early, but with all of the upcoming events and the arrival of Beckett, I was afraid I wouldn't have time to dedicate a specific post to a special special event. On Tuesday, January 25th, my little boy will be two! Tayden Scott Packard has been with us two years, and I can honestly say he has brought us more happiness than I ever knew was possible. Its been hard and there have been times I have seriously questioned my sanity, but it is the most rewarding thing on earth to be his mom. At two years old Tayden:

-Loves anything that has to do with sports. His favorite at this time are football and basketball. He will play basketball for hours at a time in his bedroom and is honestly quite good. He runs and dives claiming he is playing football. He can throw a ball really far and is catching one pretty consistently. He is one physical little boy.

-He is talking more and more everyday. He was slow to start, but is catching up quickly. A lot of his words sound the same- but he knows what he is saying and will continue to tell you until you catch on.

-He loves his mommy at night and nobody else. But, during the day....he sure loves his daddy. He and Scott are best friends. I love watching the two of them together. Nothing warms my heart quite like seeing my two boys together.

-Tayden has also started to eat meat and actually enjoy it. A huge step for us.

-One of my favorite things, my little monster is potty trained! He is still a little scared to go poo, but insists on going in the potty. He wakes up to go potty, however he has a hard time going back to sleep. That is our current challenge with potty training, but other than that it was a breeze.

-Maybe this isn't something that I should be super proud of...but he can totally navigate youtube on my iphone. Its the funniest thing. I never realized how much he was taking in as he watched Scott and I play on our phones. He knows the icon to push, how to go to his favorite videos, how to start them over, how to get a different video, and how to turn it up and down. Its pretty funny.

-Knows most of his body parts. Knows some of his colors. He recognizes blue all the time, yellow sometimes and has been working on green.

-Has a mind of his own. He doesn't forget anything, but is getting easier to reason with.

-Hates nursery. Like really hates it. It makes church quite the challenge, especially since church has changed to 1:00 with Sacrament last. Its been pretty rough.

This is all I can think of right now. Hopefully, after Beckett comes my mind will be a little bit clearer and I will be able to convey my thoughts a little better. I feel like this whole post is a little jumbled...but it was really important for me to make sure he got a specific post for him, since I print my blog into a book.

I love my little boy. He is more than I could have ever asked for. I thank the Lord for him everyday. I am excited to see him in the new role as big brother. I think he going to be phenomenal. Because he is phenomenal at everything else.

I love him.

Happy birthday Tayden!

Ready or Not....

... here he comes!

Baby Beckett will be here MONDAY!!! Yes, 4 short SHORT days. I went to the doctor today and had a very unexpected conversation with Dr. L. He checked me and determined I am 2 cm dilated, my cervix is extremely soft, and the Braxton Hicks I had last night (and tonight) were/are in fact contractions. That teamed with the other rather unpleasant symptoms I have been experiencing, Dr. L said he would bet big money that I wouldn't make it until next week, let alone my due date of February 5th. So he said this, "Looks like you are going to have a baby next week. Do you want mother nature to be in control or do you want to be in control?" Taking Tayden into consideration and the fact that Scott has most of next week off from school, we decided to be in control. And really, the timing is so convenient. Scott won't have to miss any school, (very important for his last semester) and my mom will be able to come help when he has to go back to school. So, we set the day and Monday at 6:00 am, I will be at the Hospital preparing for baby #2. At least that's the plan.

And did I mention my big boy turns 2 on Tuesday? Busy Week!

I would tell you how I feel about the whole thing, but honestly....I don't know. Everything is so surreal. As soon as I figure it out all 5000 feelings, I'll let you know.

Until then...wish me luck.

37 Weeks

(I wasn't quite ready for the picture, but Scott took it anyway! haha)

With only 3 weeks left in my pregnancy, I am feeling...
-scared out of my mind
-elated
-HUGE
-inadequate
-excited
-nervous
-ready

There has been so many emotions running through my mind lately, that I am having a hard time figuring them all out. Will Tayden be okay? To nurse or not to nurse? Will I ever have time to sleep? What does this little boy look like? Is it going to be harder than I expect? What if I am not good at having two kids? How to I balance my time? Is Tayden going to be a good big brother? Do I remember how to calm a crying infant? Have I got everything ready? Will we really be able to handle everything that comes our way?

Although my mind is constantly going a mile a minute, I am sure of one thing. More than anything, Beckett is a blessing. These questions will be answered and in the end...we will be a family. An eternal family and everything else will work out. That is all that matters.

And, before I go...can I brag about my oldest son? Tayden has been in underwear for a week and half now and doing amazing. I can pretty much count on him being dry all day and feel confident taking him places. I am so proud of him. He caught on so quick and it has made my life so much easier. I hope there isn't too much regression when the little one comes. I have to tell one little quick story. Last Sunday, Tayden was taking a bath before church and started yelling from the tub, "Mama potty! Mama potty!". Well, last week when he said potty it could mean one of two things: there is a potty or he needs to go potty. I thought he was showing me the toilet. A few minutes later he started screaming....hysterically. Scott and I rush to him to see what was wrong. We found our master of disaster huddled in the corner yelling, "poot (poop) scary!" He had pooed in the tub and was terrified. Like shaking and refusing to get back in the tub. Every time he saw the tub he would retell the story in his own babbling words about his poo. This whole week we have had to convince him that his 'poot' is not scary, its actually nice. So today before he got in the tub, he told me, "Mama...poot nice." And I responded...."Yes, your poop is nice." Its been a little traumatic for him, be we are slowing making progress.

Well, as we speak I have a foot lodged in my ribs. It fairly uncomfortable. Actually really uncomfortable. So I guess you can add that to my list of feelings.

Can't wait to meet my little jungle monkey.

Winter Blues

I have a good friend who has one of the best blogs to read...ever. She writes brilliantly and more often than not she rights exactly how I feel. As I was reading her latest POST about how hard the winter is with a toddler, I completely felt her pain. As I was reading comments from her readers, I realized we are not alone. A lot of stay at home moms are faced with challenging winters keeping their toddlers happy. So, for those of you that are going through the same thing, here are some ideas to keep that little one happy and keep mama sane.

Savvy Source

Buzzle

Family Play and Learn

Thanks Erin for posting! Hope this helps!

Zero

zero.
none.
zilch.
nada.
naught.
null.

No matter how you say it...the fact remains the same. Tayden has not had one accident today. He has been accident free since 11:00 am yesterday...church, nap, night and all.

I am one happy mama.

Day 3 of 3

So here we are. The 'last' day of potty training. Tayden only had two accidents today and went potty on the toilet many times. However, we did have one set back. He got a rash. We are not sure if he is allergic to the new toddler wipes or what is going on...but it seems to be bothering him quite a bit. We put some ointment on it and because I didn't want to get our clean house all oily, we decided on a pull up. (Its much harder for Tayden to get his hands down a pull up than underwear) No good, no good at all. So we had a slight regression, but are determined to work through it. Hopefully it will clear up in a day or two. So, although we aren't 100% done in 3 days, I feel confident we are 90% there. He really is doing well and its encouraging to know we are done with diapers. I am sure there will be accidents to come, but am also sure they will decrease with time.

So, that's the update.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Day 2 of 3

Well, as promised by the book...day two was harder than one. It is quite common for a slight regression on day two. The kiddies realize it is much easier to potty in a diaper and continue to play than to actually have to stop and use the toilet. It also didn't help that I had to deviate from the program due to a few unexpected hiccups in the day. Such as showing our house, which actually never happened due to scheduling conflicts. (I don't really want to talk about it.) So we had to go to my moms for a few hours and I paid less than 100% of attention to him. Anyway, Tayden had five accidents ranging from a major one to a few minor ones. However the set backs, we did see some major progress. He stopped mid stream and finished on the toilet every time but one. He also told me multiple times he had to go potty as he ran to the bathroom yelling...."Potty Potty Potty!" He pooed in the toilet 3 times and understands the concept. I think tomorrow will be fantastic and have high hopes for the last day. It is supposed to be the easiest so we will see if Tayden complies with the statistics. Wish us luck.

Day 1 of 3

Today was an exciting day at the P house.

Tayden started potty training.
We are doing the "3 Day Potty Program".
Its 3 rough days of staying home and doing nothing but potty training.
Its been amazing.

(Fresh out the bath with his baseball unders)


We said bye bye diapers and hello big boy unders. He was shocked after his first accident, which was followed by 2 minor accidents, and then a miracle.....8(ish) pee pees in the potty! And even better....a poo! I didn't change one diaper today. Hallelujah!

Lets just hope tomorrow we have the same luck. And Saturday we will be home free! Literally...home free. I can't wait to leave the house!

And a picture for the road.

Look at the follow through. He might be loving basketball as much as he loves football.

New Years

Today was the perfect start to the year:

Tayden had his ball.
Sitting in his camp chair.
Next to his Dad.
Drinking some juice.
Watching football.


Who could ask for more?

Happy New Year!
Along with everyone else, I have set a new years resolution. In years past, I have set three or four for myself, but this year I am focusing on just one. Family. Home. Evening.
I am going to give it my best to hold weekly FHE.
I think it will be so good for our growing family.
I can't wait.

Something else I can't wait for...to hold my new baby boy. He should be making his arrival in 5 weeks....35 short days. Hooray!!!

Happy 2011!