Spring has SPRUNG!!

The weather has been so nice!! I LOVE spring and summer time!! I love being able to go outside and let the boys explore this BEAUTIFUL world that we all enjoy! The other night when Alofa got off of work, he and Toa went out on the deck and just chilled for a little while. I think this picture is just ADORABLE!!

This was the first time the weather was nice enough to let the boys come outside and play, the first time EVER for Siaosi. They LOVED it!! Siaosi was looking around at EVERYTHING and Toa was running around EVERYWHERE!! This picture cracks me up because Toa looks SOO SILLY! He was staring at the clouds passing by... that's where the glossy eye look is coming from :) Silly boy!! He was FASCINATED by the clouds !!

Sweet baby Siaosi just chilling and being outside for the first time. He LOVED it!!

Toa and Oggie are best friends!! Toa will slap his leg to try to get Oggie to come to him and he will!! It really is soo cute!!I can not believe how big my boys are getting!! They grow sooo fast!! Toa is now 18 months and Siaosi is 11 weeks. Toa is a crazy little man, running around and getting into everything!!! He keeps this momma busy!! At church last week, Alofa got asked to pass the sacrament as well as stand in the circle as our friends, Ben and Maila, blessed their little girl. This left me by myself with two little boys!! Toa did not want to sit still AT all even though I brought tons of snacks and toys to play with!! I found myself holding Siaosi and chasing Toa around the whole church, didn't even get to take the sacrament! Toa was laughing as he ran around and Siaosi was very entertained as well!! I am not gonna lie, I was laughing as well!! I love being the momma of two sweet, little boys!! Siaosi is getting SO much better!! He doesn't cry nearly as much and is really a happy little tiger. He still cries when he spits up and I am not sure if it is because it hurts or because it makes him mad. He has medicine that he takes to make it not hurt so I am not sure what is going on with him. He is so silly and will hold onto my hands and looks right in my eyes when I feed him. I LOVE this so much and have made a very concerted effort to not be watching TV or on my phone when I am feeding him. I tried to do the same thing with Toa as well when he was little!! They grow so fast and deserve all of the time and attention that I can give them while they are little. Siaosi has been working really hard to try to sit up. He LOVES to watch and see what is going on and almost can't stand it if he can't. Toa has been such a big helper with his little brother. He throws his dirty diapers away for momma and just recently started helping burp Siaosi. It is too cute!! He gives Siaosi "knuckles" all of the time and will walk up to Siaosi's bassinet and tippy toe over the side to say "hi" to his little brother in the sweetest little toddler voice!! I love watching them together!! We went to the spring fair this past weekend and both boys were SO GOOD!! I couldn't believe it!! Siaosi stayed in his stroller the whole time and just looked around. He didn't even make a peep! Toa just sat in the wagon and sang to himself, laughing and looking at everything! They were both such good boys!! I honestly never knew that being a mother would bring so much JOY into my life! I love doing even the smallest of things with my boys!! I am so grateful for them and how much better they have made my life!! I LOVE MY BABIES!!!

March 2012

Look at these faces!! How can you not ADORE them!! Toa is starting to actually LIKE his little brother (probably because he isn't crying 24/7 now) :) The other morning, when I was getting ready for my first day back to work after having 2 whole months off with my boys I was feeding Siaosi and Toa walked into the room. I said, " Toa, say hi to your brother" and in the sweetest voice he says, "hi broder" SOOOO CUTE!! It completely melted my heart!! I can't believe how big my boys are getting and how fast they are growing!! I am so in love with them!!

Love my handsome little men!!! (Toa looks grumpy because he is SICK of taking pictures all of the time!! hahahahahaha!!)

Siaosi at tummy time when he was 2 months old

What a handsome little man!!

Nana Howerton and Siaosi

Just Chilling at 9 weeks old my little man is GROWING UP TOO FAST!! :)

He LOVES to suck on his fists!!

I LOVE this picture because you can see his sweet little birthmark on his cheek :)

Just watching daddy and Toa put together the dresser :)

This is Siaosi at 2 months old

12 lbs 4 oz; 23 inches long

and this is Toa at 2 months old :)

12 lbs 8 oz; 24 inches long

I think both of my boys look JUST like each other at this age!! When Siaosi was born he looked A LOT different than Toa but now that he is growing up a little, they look SO ALIKE!!

Siaosi at 2 months old!! We are FINALLY starting to figure out his tummy problems which has made Siaosi such a HAPPIER baby boy which in turns makes a even HAPPIER momma!! What finally started working was the Alimentum formula (SUPER EXPENSIVE BUT SO WORTH IT) the probiotic and the acid reflux medicine. I am SO THANKFUL to Dr. Cole for listening to me, working with me and helping me so much to help my baby! Such a GREAT Dr!! Siaosi's little personality is starting to shine through since he isn't crying 24/7 like before. He LOVES to lay flat on the floor. If he starts getting a little fussy I can just lay him on the floor and he is happy again. He LOVES to suck on his fists so much so that I stopped putting mittens on him since they were ALWAYS soaked and freezing his sweet little hands. He is SO STRONG!! He tries sitting up when I am holding him and getting ready to feed him in order to get to the bottle faster. He will also try to put his fists in his mouth when I am trying to feed him so sometimes it is really hard to get the bottle in his mouth which then just makes him even more mad because he is so hungry and not getting fed fast enough. He loves to be held by the tummy facing out. I think it is because he likes to be able to see what is going on. He LOVES to watch Toa run around the front room!! I love to watch Siaosi's eyes following Toa everywhere, I can already tell they are going to be the best of friends. He has started sleeping 8-10 hours at night, which I am sooo thankful for!! I have been one tired momma and going back to work this week has not helped that matter. Last night Siaosi slept ALL night and it was Toa who kept waking up (he is teething, has 4 of his back molar teeth coming in, bless his heart). When I got Siaosi out of the bassinet this morning he had the BIGGEST smile for me!! Made my WHOLE day at 6am!! :) I love Siaosi's cry now (that sounds mean but it is SOOO cute!!) His cry now sounds kind of like he is giggling where before when his tummy was hurting it sounded like he was screaming his lungs out (I didn't love that nor do I miss it at ALL!!) Siaosi drools like CRAZY, which I am not too thrilled about since his formula smells horrid!! Now that Siaosi's tummy isn't hurting him now, he really is a chill & happy baby!! I am so thankful we made it through those first few weeks, it was really very challenging I hated seeing my baby miserable!!

This is Toa trying to get into the kitchen to play in Oggie's dogie bowls and to throw stuff out the dogie door. He looks like a caged animal, doesn't he!! I CAN NOT even begin to tell you how much STUFF I find outside of the dogie door!! The other day I found 2 binkis, spoons, toys, and a pen. Bless his heart!! He keeps me busy and LAUGHING!! I honestly laugh every single day at him!! He makes my heart melt. He loves to just sit and talk to himself as well as laugh at the same time. He is fascinated with turning the lights on and off, on and off, on and off. There is one light switch that he can reach from the floor and he will stand there entertaining himself for the longest time, it keeps him busy I guess :) He loves to play with Oggie, even though I have to remind him to be soft and gentle A LOT! Poor puppy!! He loves the attention he gets from Toa though!! Toa is always putting things in Oggie's water bowl, the other day I found 2 potatoes in it. I just laughed :) I have come to realize that I am not so good at chasing Toa while holding Siaosi (Toa has realised this as well and takes FULL advantage of it!!) He often times runs away from me, squealing and laughing his head off!! I love him so much!! He is going to be 18 months old in a week and a half and I CAN NOT believe how fast time flies!!

Toa LOVES boxes!! LOVES them and could entertain himself with them for hours!! With two boys in the house and with my obsession and need to make sure they have PLENTY of clothes, it became necessary to get another dresser for all of their clothes. Alofa was such a good daddy and let Toa "help" him put it together!! :) It was really TOO CUTE!!

What a good helper!! We ended up waiting till Toa was asleep to finish the project!!

I have LOVED and CHERISHED the time I got to stay home with my sweet boys!! I am not going to lie, there were days that I would count down the hours till Alofa came home so that I could get a little break and he could help me BUT most of the time I was in heaven!! I have never felt so blessed in my whole life as I did when I was holding both of my boys on my lap a the same time. My heart just overflowed with love and gratitude and still does. I have had a very hard time going back to work this week. I can't even tell you the tears that I have shed and the times that Alofa would just hold me and let me cry. He knows that I have had a hard time with it and that the desire of my heart is to be a stay at home mom. However this is not in the cards for our sweet family at this time, I understand that and accept that. I think about my boys all day and call my baby sitter MULTIPLE times a day to check on them. I love them, very much and want the very best for them! I want to be the very best mother I can be for my boys and seek guidance and inspiration on a daily basis! What a wonderful blessing it is to be a mother!! I LOVE being a mother so much! :)

February 2012

This year I really wanted to surprise Alofa for his birthday which is February 6th. So I called a babysitter and had them come over during the day to watch Toa and Siaosi so that I could clean the whole house and go to the store to get food for the surprise birthday party that I had planned. I called Maila to see if she could help me and she was more than willing to! I was so grateful!! We made fried chicken, which I hate to admit but I started the stove on fire while we were cooking it. That was the first time that had ever happened to me!! Scary!! :) we also made shrimp in coconut milk, oka, egg salad, chop suey, pani popo, there was a TON of food and Alofa was shocked!! It turned out to be a great surprise birthday party and we invited over a bunch of his friends!!

Kalolo, Ife, Tala, Alofa & Toa

Sam and Ben at Alofa's surprise birthday partyThe next day, February 7th, was my birthday. Alofa had some tricks up his sleeve and sent the most beautiful roses to the house for me! I was SHOCKED!! Alofa had never done that for me before and I felt so special!! Later that night we took the boys over to the baby sitter and he took me out to dinner. At first he was teasing me saying that we were going to McDonald's for dinner. He even pulled into the McDonald's parking lot. I was perfectly fine with it, as long as I got to spend time with my man!! He told me he was just teasing and we ended up going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner... YUMMY!!
My hot date at my birthday dinner!!
My BEAUTIFUL birthday roses!!

Siaosi turned 1 month old on February 13th, I took these pictures on the 14th :)

Toa giving his little brother, Siaosi, a kiss!! Love them!!

For Valentines day this year the boys got these sweet stuffed animals!! Lucky boys!! Toa couldn't decide which one he wanted... He later picked the biker pig :)

1 month old most eligible bachelor :)

Siaosi has been such a hard baby. He started crying really hard at 3 weeks old and having terrible tummy problems :'( It seriously has broken my heart to see him in pain and so sad. He wants to be held ALL of the time, which I LOVE to cuddle him. It's been really hard to see his personality because he has been so fussy but I am sure that as he gets older it will start to manifest itself more. Toa still isn't sure of him at this point and likes him some days and wants nothing to do with him other days. Siaosi is really STRONG and has been able to hold his head up really well ever since he was born. He HATES to be swaddled and just wants to be free to move around however he wants. I have been working very closely with the Dr to try to figure out what is going on with his little tummy in order to see if we can help him be a happier baby. He has the sweetest spirit about him. He also has a temper and can get really mad REALLY quick!! Sure do love my little man!! I love being a mommy to my sweet boys!! :)

Tummy time with the biker pig :)

Silly boys!! Both of them pulling faces!! Happy Valentines day boys!! Mommy and daddy love you SOOOOO MUCH!! :)

Big Stretch

Both of the boys with their stuffed animals!!

For Valentines Day I surprised Alofa for when he came home and had steak and shrimp ready for dinner and pani popo for dessert. We had a great Valentines day!! :) Love my husband and boys SOOOO much!! :)

Siaosi at 6 weeks old

Sticking out his tongue during tummy time at 6 weeks old. At Six weeks old Siaosi was still having really bad tummy issues and I had stop nursing at this point to try to figure out what was going on. He would scream 24/7 and would turn blue from not being able to catch his breath, we had tried 4 different formulas at this point and nothing was working. I was EXHAUSTED between taking care of a screaming baby and Toa all day every day, I never got any rest!! The Dr put him on an acid reflux medicine, Alimentum formula and a probiotic to see if that would help him feel better and be happier.

Over all February was a GREAT month!! 2 birthdays and Valentines day. I LOVE staying home with my boys!! Toa has seriously been so funny the past little while! What a personality he has for a 16 month old!! He always looks at me and smiles when he is about to do something that he KNOWS he is not supposed to do, little tiger!!! He is obsessed with cords and is always trying to unplug and plug stuff back in, it stresses me out and I have to keep a eye on him ALL of the time!! He is and always has been a great sleeper. He goes to bed every night at 7pm and when I ask him if he is ready for bed he will run to the gate if we are downstairs or run to his room if we are upstairs. It cracks me up!! I have been very blessed and am so thankful!!

Siaosi Fuaofe Laulu 1-13-12

I am so far behind on posting on my blog!! Having 2 little boys has been CHALLENGING but so rewarding at the same time!! I haven't had much time for anything but I really wanted to make sure that this wonderful experience was recorded.

On Thursday, January 12th 2012, I had an appointment with Dr. Cole. I had had no signs of starting labor but was dilated to a 4 and 50% effaced and so we were discussing possible courses of action that we could take. We finally decided on striping my membranes at the appointment to see if that would get the ball rolling since the due date was the very next day. I left the office feeling super tired and experiencing a little bit of cramping. I decided to go home early from work to rest and so I left Toa at the babysitters and went home to take a little nap. I was super nervous about going into labor on my own since with Toa I was induced and knew exactly when the baby was coming (Alofa was frustrated with me this time because I couldn't tell him when Siaosi was going to be here, I didn't know :))

Alofa went and picked Toa up from the babysitter after work and brought him home. I cooked dinner and my mom showed up at the house. She was planning on waiting till the next day but then decided to come a day early just in case. We weren't sure if striping the membranes would actually start labor since my membranes were striped with Toa as well on a Monday and I didn't end up having him till that Friday. At 5pm I started having pretty consistent contractions but I still was sure if they meant anything since they were no where near as painful as when I was induced with Toa. At 9pm they started coming every 3 mins or so and that is when we decided to head to the hospital. When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a 5 so they admitted me and then I knew that it was baby time :) The contractions continued but they were not as consistent as they needed to be in order to help me progress in dilation so at around 1am they gave me some pitocin to help move along the delivery. At 2:30am I got an epidural (which DIDN'T even work except for making my right foot go numb and therefore I felt EVERYTHING with the delivery). Alofa starting getting a little impatient at this point and kept asking when the baby was going to be born. I, in a little bit of pain, was pretty irritable but didn't say anything except just kept telling him to be patient. Dr. Cole was wonderful and kept coming in to check on me and make sure that I was ok. At 6:30am I felt very strongly that I needed to push but when they checked me they said that I was only dilated to a 9 and that the baby was at station -3 which I understand to mean that he was still really far up in the birth canal so they thought that I would be pushing for quite a while before he would be born and they gave me the go ahead to start pushing to try to move him down the birth canal. Dr. Cole is a 1st year resident so they needed to have an attending physician there when the baby was born to make sure everything went ok so they called him and told him that the baby would probably be born in about an hour, they also called the nurses for the baby and told them the same thing. I started pushing at 6:30am and Siaosi Fuaofe Laulu was born at 6:43am!! That is right, 13 mins of pushing (a HUGE difference from 2 hrs of pushing with Toa) The attending physician and the nurses for the baby missed it!! Dr. Cole told me to stop pushing right before he was born but since I could feel EVERYTHING, I couldn't and so he gave me the go ahead to push and my sweet Siaosi Fuaofe Laulu was born!! The attending physician and the nurses made it just a few mins after Siaosi was born and everything turned out perfect. I ended up only needing 1 stitch (which was also very different from when I had Toa and needed a few stitches)

7 lbs 13 oz ; 23Inches long. Born at 6:43am January 13th, 2012

My sweet Siaosi, a healthy baby boy!!
Daddy holding Siaosi for the very first time. I love seeing Alofa with his baby boys, he is such a wonderful daddy and he just beams with pride and joy when he is interacting with them. Every time I see Alofa with our boys and see how good of a daddy he is, I fall even more madly and deeply in love with him!! He has given me two of the sweetest, most precious and handsome baby boys!! I will forever be grateful!!

Dr. Cole with Alofa, Siaosi and I. Such a great Dr!!

I CAN NOT explain the emotions that accompany having a baby, seeing and holding that sweet baby for the first time. When I first saw Siaosi after he was born and they laid him on my tummy, I broke into tears and once again my heart overflowed with pure love that that little angel. I have only experienced that feeling one other time, when I had Toa. It is an experience and feeling I will never forget and will cherish forever, the very most spiritual experience of my life. I love this picture of Siaosi and I. I love the way he is looking at me. So pure, innocent and sweet.

Toa meeting his little brother, Siaosi, for the first time at the hospital.

Siaosi loves to have his hands up by his face :)

Ready to go home!!

This picture was a few days after we came home. Toa wasn't too fond of Siaosi and tried pushing him off his lap right after this picture was taken. The night we came home from the hospital, Saturday, Toa was really sick and throwing up. What a stressful time!! Alofa stayed downstairs with Toa and I stayed upstairs with Siaosi to make sure that Siaosi didn't catch whatever Toa had. The next day, which was a Sunday, Toa was running around and playing. He didn't have a fever, I had checked him multiple times just to make sure that he was ok, so Alofa decided to take Toa over to Ben and Miala's for lunch so that Siaosi and I could rest. I took Toa's temperature right before they left and it was 97.8* He was fine. About an hour later I got a panicked phone call from Alofa. I could hardly understand anything he was saying. I heard him say that he was going to the emergency room with Toa and I THOUGHT I heard him say it was because Toa had a fever. I FREAKED out!! I handed Siaosi to my mom and aunt Carrie, who were over visiting, started running around the house getting dresses so that I could go to the E.R. to be with Toa. My mom was really worried about me driving but I left anyway and on my way to the hospital I called Alofa's phone to try to figure out what was going on. Tasi, the daughter of a friend of ours, answered the phone and when I asked what had happened she said that Toa had a seizure and wasn't breathing. I don't remember the rest of the drive to the E.R. I don't remember anything. I started crying hysterically and when I got to the hospital I ran into the E.R. to be with my baby. When I got in the room there were nurses and Doctors everywhere. He had tubes everywhere and Alofa was trying to keep me out of the room because he didn't want me to see my baby like that. Alofa was crying and so was Toa as he faded in and out of consciousness. He was shivering and his lips were blue. There was NO way Alofa was going to keep me out of that room. I was going to be with my baby no matter what. They took x-rays, blood and ran a bunch of tests. His temperature was 103.8* They gave him Tylenol and let me hold him. I cried. I sobbed. Alofa cried and sobbed with me, holding me and our baby Toa in our arms. We weren't sure what was wrong. Toa cried as I held him and finally fell asleep in my arms. The Dr. came back and said that he had a febrile seizure and that he would be fine. I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and started crying again. I was so grateful that he was going to be fine. After that Alofa and I were super paranoid about making sure that Toa and Siaosi were fever free and took their temperature MULTIPLE times a day just to make sure neither of them were sick. I love my boys and am so thankful to Heavenly Father for giving me healthy, happy baby boys, hearing our prayers and protecting them when they need it.

Siaosi at 1 week old

Toa LOVES to poke Siaosi. He will try to poke his eyes, nose or mouth. I love this picture of both of my boys.

Toa giving little brother, Siaosi, a kiss :)
Momma and her sweet little man

What a handsome little guy!

Our sweet family!!

Great grandpa Howerton and Siaosi

Great grandma Howerton and Siaosi

We are so thankful that Siaosi joined our family on January 13th, 2012 and that he arrived a healthy, happy baby. We are so in love with him. I love my little family so much! I am grateful that I get to be the mother to 2 very sweet boys who have completely captured my heart.