January
January was a hard month for us. I was feeling miserable (morning sickness), so we just survived, somehow. January is my least favorite month anyways, but to be feeling so miserable while trying to get settled in our new house and trying to take care of Parker and Ashtyn made it worse. Luckily, by the end of January, my morning sickness was beginning to pass.
February
Feeling better, I had a surge of motivation and began working on my YouTube channel more (I had started a BookTube channel in October, where I talked about books). My channel was a really fun, big part of the year for me and this was the month where I felt like I started to figure it out. I gained about 150 subscribers and uploaded just under 100 videos. It was great for me to learn to plan, film, edit, and upload the videos and I made a lot of friends on BookTube.
March
The weather started warming up and we really enjoyed spring. We walked to the park a bunch (walking is good for pregnancy), with the weather being warm enough to enjoy it but not hot enough to wear me out. It was like the sun came out, in my life, with the warmer weather. I also loved living so close to the park!
April
In April, Ben and I celebrated our five year anniversary. We had Hannah and Caleb stay with Ashtyn and Parker while we went to Provo for the weekend. We had so much fun, eating out, going to a dance performance, and just hanging out together. Five (and a half, now) years later, marrying Ben was the best decision I've ever made.
May
May was another harder month for me. I was getting really burnt out from the pregnancy program I was on, but still had a long ways to go before being done with it. The highlight of the month for me was Mother's Day. My new computer just happened to come that day, which was really fun, and I got $20 as a gift, which I used on a newly discovered website thriftbooks.com. I love that website because I can buy five books instead of one when I get gifted money!
June
I was so excited for June because that meant I got to start preparing for the baby! I prerecorded, edited, and uploaded privately all my August videos for BookTube, did a major deep cleaning of our house, and started on freezer meals (my favorite part of being pregnant!).
We also got to celebrate Parker turning two! I still can't believe how big she is! We always do a special mom-dad date with them during the day before their party and we took her to the pet store to see all the animals. Then we went to get candy and popcorn chicken for lunch. She had a blast, but asked where Ashtyn was, which melted my heart. For her party, she was all into bears and bear hunts at the time, so we made her bear shaped cookies and put together a "bear cave". She loved it!
July
We made our last trip to West Jordan before Rylee was born for the fourth of July. It was a fun, but very long, trip. It was more tiring than I expected to be away from home while so pregnant. We also finished up preparations for Rylee this month, adding more to my freezer meals and keeping the house clean. I got worn out pretty fast in the heat, so we stayed inside more than we would normally would, but we still took a lot of lake trips (it's about ten minutes from our house) and sent the kids outside with cousins almost everyday.
August
We had Rylee! Her due date was the 6th, but I was honestly hoping she'd come earlier (what pregnant woman doesn't??). Ashtyn came two days late, Parker two days early, and with them, I felt I was trying to prepare up to the last minute so I was never anxiously waiting for them. With Rylee, I felt like I was waiting for forever--until the 11th, then we had her. It was a beautiful labor and delivery and we were in love with her from the moment she was born.
The first two days after she was born, Ashtyn and Parker stayed at their grandparents, giving Ben and I the chance to bond with Rylee. It was so nice to snuggle her and enjoy the treats I'd prepared beforehand, despite the afterpains and recovery. By the end of the second day, I was feeling really good and starting to feel like myself again.
A few weeks after she was born, we all got colds (including Rylee) and were stuck at home without many visitors. That was a really hard period of time for me, especially since postpartum emotions hit hard then. We got through it and Rylee started sleeping really well at night (sleeping 12 hours three or four nights a week, and only waking once or twice the other nights at three weeks). I was feeling spoiled and it really helped me enjoy the newborn phase more.
September
September was a blur of trying to get Rylee to nap, finishing our fence, and playing with cousins outside (or getting into mischief with cousins). I've found the more kids I have, the faster time goes (probably because life just keeps getting busier).
October
October was really busy for us. We blessed Rylee in West Jordan and it was a beautiful day full of family and friends. When we got home, it was a whirlwind to get ready for Ashtyn's birthday. Ashtyn had started watching the Tinkerbell movies and it was all about fairies in her world, so we did a fairy theme for her party. It turned out so cute and she loved it. We also made an ice cream cake (I think she liked the drawn out process and the anticipation that came with it more than actually eating her cake) with sprinkles and cute little Tinkerbell cake toppers. She was totally spoiled and loved every minute of it.
We ended on a high note with Halloween. Ashtyn was Tinkerbell, Parker was a ladybug, and Rylee was a bumblebee. They were totally adorable, loved trick or treating (all day, starting with the library, going to two grandma's houses, and doing a ward trunk or treat with cousins), and got tummy aches from all the candy they ate.
November
We spent Thanksgiving in West Jordan this year and loved seeing everyone. Ashtyn and Parker and I got to go Black Friday shopping with my mom (Rylee stayed home with Ben so she could sleep), one of my favorite holiday traditions. It felt monumental, because it was the first year I felt like I needed to hide the presents I was buying from Ashtyn.
December
We ended the year busy but happy. We did so much for Christmas (having a baby to take care of probably made it feel busier), I'm thinking we might have to simplify next year. Between making cookies, going to parties, and fitting in all our regular traditions, we had something everyday. I felt like I wasn't as on the ball (probably, again, due to taking care of two kids and a baby), I even wrapped some presents on Christmas Eve.
We had some family stress come up, finding out about some troubles Ben's brother was going through and trying to find ways to help him and his mom. We'll have to see how all of that goes this year.
Overall, we had a wonderful time during the holidays and are excited to see what 2019 brings us!
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