"i want all da babies in da whole world!"

just lovin' life snuggled up to three of the cutest newborns alive

savannah, nathan, and vincent

can you believe this is what it would be like having triplets?

i wish they were all mine. really, i do.

it is so great to be home!

on growing up. and heaven.

i’ve had a special soft spot in my heart for this little girl of mine lately. you might wonder why as she has recently developed into what is typically known as a “terrible two” with her trouble seeking, rascal-like behavior, more-often-than-not whining, pouting, demanding, and last but not least- my absolute favorite- every day meltdowns accompanied with high pitched screaming when she doesn’t get what she wants when she wants it.

oh boy.

every day she is talking and learning more and more and as a result, she is becoming less and less of a baby. she now says things like “please mommy?” (peas mommy) “ok lets do it” (ok-ets-doit) “where are you monkey?” (air aaaareoooo monkey??!!) “wake up daddy”(ake up daddy) “bye see you later.” she laughs hysterically at her baby brother, struts around the house in my shoes, dances to any music within ear reach, gets into mischief, loves to check the cracks of her toes and fingers for lint (“see toes?”), knows all the names of the dinosaurs in land before time, can put puzzle pieces together, climbs the jungle gym at the playground, counts to 10, eats food with utensils....

...each stage has brought things that are so exciting and fun- i dare say better than the last. i absolutely LOVE the stage she is in right now (tantrums and all) and look forward to her learning and discovering more about the world around her. but with each new stage i find myself mourning the loss of the previous one; the joy of watching her grow up goes hand in hand with the tragic nostalgia that leaves me wishing i could have enjoyed that last stage a little longer. i was looking at old baby pictures/videos of jayne the other day and started to cry as if i was looking at pictures of a deceased child. it was strange. steve gave me the crazy look (the one that says “should i be worried?”) and it made me realize that i need to face it- my baby is going to grow up whether i like it or not.

i guess what i’m trying to say is, i wish i liked it.

i have often wondered if in heaven we can “re-live” certain favorite moments in our life here on earth.

the first time steve said “i love you.”

our first kiss.

our wedding day.

the day i gave birth to jayne (and vinny).

there are many things i could add to that list, and it would certainly include the fun and tender moments when jayne was a newborn to where she is now and undoubtedly the stages that will come and go with all my children, and just like the others, be cherished and missed.

do you think its possible?

because that would be my kind of heaven.

Project Josh Episode 3

round two of "emily" dates discussed over a "cup of tea." 

(winner to guess what it really is gets a cyber high five!)

i even have my reporter glasses on again; i mean business.

not sure who is having more fun with this, me or josh.

hey, whats a girl to do when there is no bachelor/ette on tv right now, am i right?

a special thank you to steve who watched and entertained both rowdy children while this was shot.

can't wait to hear how this week's dates pan out.

GOOD LUCK JOSHIE!

do you think you or someone you know is the future mrs. pratt?

email me your (or that someone you know) profile and find out!

easter weekend

on saturday, we hit up the easter egg hunt on center street. jayne was mostly interested in the playground.

and was sad when it was time to leave... but we headed over to steve's grandma's for another easter egg hunt (that jayne dominated- video to come)...

this little boy was all smiles all day...

sunday, we went to church with steve's family. there were some wonderful talks given about our Savior and His life, atonement, and resurrection. my heart was full with gratitude for Him.

..when we got home we took more pictures...

we dyed easter eggs and played in colorful streamers..

these boys were cute, as usual...

it was a great weekend.

Hot Mommy

Hey guys,

You don't get too much out of me on this blog but I figured I would recruit your help.  My sister heard about this contest on the radio where you can enter a picture of a beautiful mom.  So I thought I would enter my beautiful wife, Dayna, in this contest.  The contest is based solely on voting.  They take the average score of all the votes.  Currently Dayna is in first place (from what we could tell).  If you have a minute follow this link and vote for Dayna.  Hopefully it will take you right to her page.  If not you have to go one by one through each contestant.  Luckily Dayna isn't too far back, maybe about 15 or so.  It's a picture of her and Jayne.  

Vote

Dayna didn't know about this contest and is a little embarrassed but let's be honest she is the prettiest mommy and deserves some recognition (and an iPad 2). Hopefully you have a minute to cast your vote.  The voting goes until Mother's Day so feel free to pass on the info to anyone.  Thanks for your help.

Steve

Project Josh Episode 2

a couple days late, but its here. get the inside scoop on how josh's first two "emily" dates went.
excuse my blush overload.
there may just be a special guest appearance at second 32.
and i promise it was not planned (but it did add a special something to win the hearts over, don't you think?)

its not too late to email us if you're interested (or know someone who might be).

enjoy!

my little man is 2 months old!

this little boy is the sweetest thing ever. 

he has started smiling and it is awesome.

he still gets up a couple times in the night to eat and i'm usually a little cranky when he does,

but he'll smile up at me when he's done eating as if to say "thanks mom" and i can't help but smother him in kisses and be grateful for the little guy no matter how tired i am.

he is pretty chill and easy going, but sure loves to be held. 

he'll suck on his thumb if he doesn't have his binky in his mouth.

he looks a lot like his daddy as a baby.

he loves to stand on his chicken legs and show off.

he has the most kissable cheeks ever. 

he's stolen our hearts (even jayne's!)

we love you little V!

-------------
if you haven't checked out the video below for Project Josh, do so.
A second video will be posted tomorrow recapping his weekend dates!

meet josh... in person!.... (sort of)

we threw together this vid the other night to get you single ladies even more excited for this Project Find Josh A Wife (or Project Josh for short). i had some vain feelings about putting this up- it was late, i had no make up on, so in an effort to cover the ugly i threw on my denmark glasses.... not sure what i was thinking, and i am a bit embarrassed at my awkwardness in this video. so heres proof of someone who is willing to go above and beyond to make things happen (you owe me josh!).  a video host is definitely not one of my specialties. oh well. true colors coming out all around! 

with that said, enjoy. i hope you laugh as much as i did.

ps. thank you for the great response! we have gotten some lovely emails from some great prospects. we are sorry if we have not yet responded to some of you. we will shortly. thank you!

vincent's blessing day

steve gave the most wonderful blessing from heaven above to our son on sunday.

family and close friends came to support us, including my parents who flew all the way from maryland to be there. 

my heart was full.

it was a perfect day.

we felt especially lucky to have vinny blessed in the very same outfit steve was blessed in as a baby!

project find josh a wife

remember this post a while back?

yeah, one big fat FAIL am i right? unfortunately it was around the time we moved out of the country and got pregnant with another baby so it sadly got neglected and eventually forgotten, that is, until now.

we are once again reintroducing this project "find josh a wife" TODAY and you're all invited.

here's how its going to work.

each weekend josh is going to take a girl out on a date.

we will call these girls "emily" so as to keep them anonymous.

any and all of you will have the opportunity to set josh up on a date with a girl that you think he would hit things off with. all you gotta do is email me and we'll make it happen (with josh's own approval of course).

at the end of every weekend i will interview josh via video about his date with "emily" and post them every tuesday so we can all be included on this lovely quest to find our dear friend a wife
 (plus i just think it will be a whole lot of funny).

sounds fun, right?

so tell me:

do you think YOU know the "emily" josh should marry? if so, speak up!

jayne's first haircut

jayne was a champ and sat perfectly still while watching kung fu panda on her ipod

i will admit, a part of me put off cutting "the mullet" because it meant accepting that my baby is getting to be a true big girl. however, desperate times call for desperate measures and her hair desperately needed a fixing up. and i must say i am loving the new do!

and a special 'thank you!' to steve's cousin Sophie for cutting it! you rock!

i have frankenstein for a husband.

steve's bionic foot at his check up today. the "yes" is so they be sure to cut into the correct foot. kind of funny when you think about it, but apparently mistakes like that really do happen.

that metal rail is drilled into his bone.... gross.

the yellow looking nailpolish is just the lovely iodine they put on before surgery. he wasn't allowed to shower until after his check up which is why its still on there. if you're envisioning a stinky smelly husband, you'd be right.

steve had surgery on his toe last friday. it involved screwing in a metal rail to help separate the joint after surgery to make sure the bones wouldn't rub against each other and cause more problems. it also involved roughly 20 stitches after cutting in his foot to clean out cartilage deposits and bone spurs on the joint. talk about a nasty scar in the making. YUM!

its about a 2 month recovery, but the good thing is he'll be pain free when he plays soccer once he has fully recovered (that toe has been bugging him for years). 

steve thinks its pretty cool which is why this has become a blog post. 

so if you're grossed out by this, blame him, not me. 

happy wednesday!

wishin'

wishin' i could be in maryland snuggling these two babes:

nathan wayne taylor

born wednesday march 23rd

 the stud's mom and dad: shannon & kevin taylor

savannah kate gilliam  "little miss"

born thursday march 24th 

this beauty's mom and dad: crystal and morgan gilliam

YAY FOR BABIES!!!

striking similarity

alright guys. behold the crazed-out-of-control-verging-on-mullet-oh-wait-not-verging-it-is-a-mullet hairstyle.

do i cut her length? do i cut bangs? grow them out and deal with the awkward for a little? 

advice, please.

oh and because i've been so very very behind on my blog, i did double today.
check it out below.

because pictures often speak louder than words