my magical baby

I believe in many things- one of those is that each baby comes with their own special gifts and as we grow, the goal is for our gifts to grow with us.

My favorite youngest baby is magical.

Everywhere we go he makes people smile. Strangers flock to him every time we leave the house and they are greeted with the biggest, two-toothed grin. He can make a grumpy person happy and a sad person smile. I know he was blessed with the gift to make people happy and peaceful. I love that about him because he has the same happy, calming effect on me. When life gets stressful (and let's face it, when isn't it) all I have to do is scoop up my baby and give him a big hug- I can feel a wave of joy wash over me and I feel better instantly.

When he was first born I talked about how he healed our family and brought us so much joy. Over the last 7.5 months I have really watched him closely and the change he can have over those around him. I know you all love him so much from the comments we get here, on IG, and on facebook. Thank you for that :)

I am excited to watch him grow up and use this gift throughout his life. I can see him being such a positive influence on those around him and blessing so many people's lives.

on babies, pandora, and heaven

More often than not my days are crazy, loud, and chaotic. The house gets trashed, my patience is worn thin, multiple tantrums are had- this is one of the many reasons I love bed time. I love it not for the first guess of I am finally rid of the kids for a while but because of moments like this and this. Its a time where we can come together as a family and unwind from the waves of the day.

Tonight I pulled on my bathing suit and hopped in the tub with both boys for a while, then we got all lotion-ed up and in pj's. We read the scriptures, had family prayer, and then we split up. Daddy with Ryan and me with Weston.

If you ever want to know what heaven is like I have a feeling this is as close as it gets...

Its turning on the Priscilla Ahn playlist on pandora that you have carefully crafted to perfection over the last 2 years or so. It's leaving the shades open so the glow of the moon lightly rests on your baby's sweet smelling skin. Its gently curling up in the well worn rocking chair with the babe while the slight creak in the chair and the melodies flowing from your phone lulls you both to sleep. Its your baby's hand laying on your breast and how you can tell how asleep he actually is by how tight or loose his grip is.

Moments like these remind me why I love being a mother more than anything else in the world. It is my calling for sure. I love the newborn stage where times like these are plenty and I also cherish the toddler stage where he can call me by name over to his bed and ask for a "little bit cuddle mom."

If there is anyone out there who questions whether the trials of parenting are worth it I have one word for you-

Absolutely.

a blessing day

Weston, showing off his zoolander-esque face. My mom has picked out both my sons blessing outfits and she has knocked it out of the park both times. I am totally in love with West's and cant wait to have it framed and on the wall next to his big brothers. 

In our church babies are given a formal name and a blessing at some point in the first few weeks of life. They are most of the time done by the babies father or other close male relative. You have the option for your baby to be blessed during church or in your home. We had Ryan blessed at church and decided to mix it up a bit and do it at home. I loved it at home so much, it was more intimate and personal for me. Weston is lucky to have such an amazing and worthy Dad to perform his blessing. It was a lovely prayer, asking our Father in Heaven to provide him with a good life, help him make wise decisions, be a good brother and friend as he grows, and have a wonderful family of his own someday. It made this mama tear up quite a bit. 

 Mimi got him dressed, I melted right away. If I wasnt so scared of him ruining the outfit I would have him wear it every day, so snugly.

 My parents and one of my sisters.

 Hubs parents.

 Hubs grandparents, including Weston Teuscher's namesake- Grandpa Wally.

 My parents with their favorite oldest grandkid ;)

It was a lovely day, completely perfect in every way. We had a lot of our extended family come over as well and enjoyed some good food and good conversation after. My sons are incredibly lucky to be born into such a superb family.

innocence is bliss

Tonight we sat on the couch as a family, ate fresh from the oven oatmeal raisin cookies and watched 9/11- Ten Years Later. We talked to Ryan about the firemen as there were lots of them shown. I told him they were so strong and brave and he agreed. His sweet little soul could not comprehend what was happening in that film and I was grateful at that moment for his innocence.

To him all grown ups are strong, brave, and good. Everything is happy and everyone is safe. He knows not of the darkness and evil that dwells in this world. It will be my daunting task to someday teach him of the events of this day, this 9/11, and try to explain to him how people could chose so poorly and hurt so many. That they could go against all the many things we have been teaching him since he took his first breath.

But there is a glimmer of hope, I also get to teach him that people really can be super heroes. That they can be selfless and push through obstacles no one thought possible before they were looking at it, square in its big ugly face. I get to explain to him that on that day so many people lost their lives to serve and protect others, some they knew but most they didnt. He will learn that there are so many grown ups that really are strong, brave, and good. Then we will have a nice talk about how he can be that great too, that he is already on the road to becoming an everyday super hero. I am sure there will be some presentation of an super hero cape with a giant R on it as well.

But for now we will talk about how firemen and police men are strong and brave and we are so grateful for them and that's it. We will go on to have bedtime stories and sing songs about Elmo and hot dogs til the little two year old eyes are too heavy to keep open any longer and I lay his long lanky body in his crib for a peaceful night of sleep. Peaceful and safe because of all those other brave, selfless souls out there who will stop at nothing to keep it that way for us.

tomorrow

Two years ago today I was sitting at my in laws house watching TV and trying to relax. I was physically prepared to become a mother. We had the diapers, wipes, freshly washed onesies, and bassinet all ready to go. The hospital bags had been packed for 7 weeks. We even took the car seat out for a test run. I had carefully placed his little socks and hats in the drawers of our makeshift Rubbermade dresser and folded a few blankets over the edge of his bassinet. We didnt have a big grand nursery at the time but I wanted every minute of his homecoming to be just as special.

Emotionally, I was a different story...  in the blog entry from 2 years ago right now I shared what was going through my mind.

Tomorrow I will be a Mom. This is how I feel-
anxious
nervous 
joy
excitement
nausea
peace
calmness
love
joy
fear
humble
ready
grateful
shaky
happy
nurturing
elated
and so much more. My feelings are all over the board, I never thought that I could feel this way. I have some amazing mothers in my life and have an incredible mom and mother in law, I hope that I can live up to the greatness I have seen from others!

Looking at that list I can honestly say that I still feel all of them every day. Being Ryan's mom has stretched me to the limits of what I thought possible and then 10 paces beyond that. I have never had more gratitude in my heart for anything before. I am grateful for the good days, the smiles, the dancing, the cuddles. I am also grateful for the bad days, sleepless nights, fevers, and tantrums. Because he is here, healthy and beautiful, snoozing away in his bed as I type this. He is mine forever and I wouldn't have it any other way. 


Looking forward to tomorrow when I sit down to write him a letter on just how amazing these last two years have been. And yes, there will be lots of tears. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Mommy,

Next Thursday will be two years to the day that you finally fulfilled your biggest calling in life....becoming a mother. It has been a long, hard two years with so many sacrifices and trials. You've been through a lot as a mother and have held strong through all of it. Remember how you felt the morning Ryan was born knowing your life would forever change? When Ryan was born you were so excited to finally meet him, I think it was the happiest day of your life. Being a mother is so natural to you; it's crazy how easy and effortless you make it seem. You always put him first and have sacrificed so many things for him over the last two years. There have been countless sleepless nights, nasty diapers, sickness, colic & reflux, vomit, toys strewn about the whole house, screaming temper tantrums, hitting & kicking, toddler mischief, days of watching Toy Story 5 times in a row, and so many other trials. You bear it all so happily and with a smile on your face. The future holds so many incredible things for you as a mother as you raise Ryan and those yet to come...

We are grateful to have the most amazing mother ever, you have been the biggest blessing for Ryan and I. You are his "best bud" and he loves you so much.

Thank you for all your hard work and sacrifice as a mother, nothing ever goes unnoticed. We couldn't ask for a better mommy.

We Love You,

Ryan and Bradley

He is a child of God

and he KNOWS it. 

I am so happy today that I am a part of a church who worships our Father in Heaven with such beautiful and uplifting music. We have a book of hymns that we use during church, on average 5-6 songs per Sunday. And even better, we have a children's song book too. Ryan loves it when we sings songs before bed every night and thanks to our church we have lots to choose from. Some of his favorites are "I love to see the temple" and "I am trying to be like Jesus" Tonight he specifically asked for "I am a child of God" 

I am a child of God

and he has sent me here

has given me an earthly home

with parents kind and dear

lead me guide me, walk beside me

help me find the way

teach me all that I can do to be with Him someday

He knows it! He knows he is a child of God, that he is never alone and has such a special life ahead of him. If I can do nothing more than to teach him that I think I have done an okay job. I wish every child could recognize the love of Heavenly Father in their lives! 

I love how reverent he is, how he loves to pray, and how he loves to help me sign and sing these songs of praise! 

I am willing to mail a childrens hymn book to ANYONE that wants one, 

email me at laurenmariealberts@gmail.com

something sweet

I was feeling a tad blue this morning and decide to drag my sorry behind out of the house to run an errand with hubs and little dude before he had to go to work. I came home to a lovely little something on my door step from a girl friend of mine. Miss A, I love you dearly thank you for helping me kick off my afternoon with a smile, and a sugar fix ;)

little man enjoyed some too

Since it was sunny we decided to move out to the patio. We will most likely spend our days out here from now til September.

this boy blows bubbles like its his high paying job

Its terrifying. she can fit through the railings, thinks she can fly, and fast enough to catch birds.

I caught up on some reading.

I am so grateful for A. for looking out for me and really brightening my day. Ryan and I had the best, most relaxing afternoon doing all things SPRING. We listened to the Priscilla Ahn playlist on my Pandora, played with chalk, and bubbles, ate popsicles, and threw the ball for our doggie. We finished the day with popcorn and Toy Story.