spring break

i had wonderful plans of joining my sister in st. george for spring break... and then life happened and we stayed home. i tried to make the best of it by lunching with friends and hanging with yaya but my heart yearned for a real spring break. trevan saw my pain and needing a break too, took the afternoon off on friday. we loaded the station wagon up and went to our happy place, midway.

after short cat-naps up parley's canyon and lunch at the dairy keen the kids were more than ready to hit up wasatch moutain park to play and fish.

jude... mr. imagination. i love that at 5 he is still as imaginative as ever. today, as he would say , he was in a "mickey mood".

i love first born.

sheer greta joy.

hi!

this is my baby, ezra.

my man and his fishing rod.

do you know i love trevan? he is a great man. turns out, i still would rather be with him over anyone, even my sisters. who would of thought?!?!? he's such a great man. really, i love that he has his hobbies of fishing and cycling but that his favorite hobby is us, most of the time ;) . not all men are like that, but i sure am grateful that mine is. oh, and talk about making my heart swoon.....

i never have loved trev more than when i saw him teaching our jude how to fly fish. i wish i had a video of them practicing casting and chanting "back and forth" together. it was the cutest. i love that fly fishing will be something he and his sons will have forever. ezzie will idolize his daddie just as jude does now.

on his own.

perfect place. perfect family. perfect day.

breathe it in.

a name and a blessing.

last sunday sweet ezra was given a name and a blessing.

baby blessings may be one of the best parts of having a baby in my opinion. seeing your infant dressed in white and being held up by all the worthy and loving men in their life, it only happens once, and it is a guaranteed tear jerker. it is also the time when your baby meets the world in a sense, the blessing seems to makes your baby official. ezra is so lucky to be born into this family. trevan gave ezra a perfect blessing and it was accompanied by a perfect day. i have such an amazing family that supports me and my family in everything. i am so blessed in my life. oh, and ezra? he's not half bad.

the men

in the circle : trevan, grandpa roger, grandpa mike, cameron, brennan, bob, tim, mark, hayden, bishop horton

my sister's and mom.

paigey flew in from san francisco for the blessing and robyn drove from st. george, i have the best sisters.

(brooke will never be forgiven for choosing seaworld over us)

ezra, his father and grandfathers.

the gregory men

(minus jude, who was way to busy with his cousins)

we are all busy laughing at cameron...

... who was making fun of trevan and his glasses. did you know that one of trevan's sorest subject's are his eyes? well, it is... so back off.

me, my man, and my baby.

AND

where were the 13 cousins?

having the time of their lives together.

(minus the part where tucker ran away)

a perfect day.

we interrupt this program.

there are other events i need to be blogging about (i.e. ezra's blessing) but this could not wait...

my 2 month old is rolling.

omg.

go ezzie go!

(he is so not his sister)

changing of the guard.

greta graduated from early intervention

and

moved onto preschool.

it was the most bittersweet thing that has happened with greta. greta first entered the early intervention program when she was 8 weeks old. she has had an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a vision therapist, and 2 speech therapists in her 3 years in the program. all of these women that have worked with greta have shaped who she is today. greta would not be holding her head up, eating properly, rolling, sitting, walking, and talking without their help. i have had someone in my home working with greta and supporting me for 3 years. the early intervention program ends when i child turns 3 and then they are sent to preschools through the school district. greta will still have a physical therapist and speech therapist at school but it will be in a classroom setting. i hate that this part is over but i am glad we are moving forward. i owe the early intervention program so much. you have no idea how amazing this government program is, it is the reason we are where are today.

i have loved them all but i have loved one of them the most. greta's physical therapist, julie, has been with us through it all. she was there when greta could not even hold her head up, she was there when i was told greta would die from a terrible disease, julie was there when greta first sat, she was there when greta first walked with a walker and without it 6 months later, and julie was there when greta graduated from early intervention 2 days before her third birthday. i love this woman. she was more of a friend to me and more like a grandmother to greta (and jude too) than a government funded physical therapist. i will miss her minnesota accent, her catholic charm, her personal mothering stories, and of course our gossip over current fashions. julie is amazing and i hope that when i see her again in the future she won't believe the progress greta has made and the person that she is.... all because julie was their to teach and support her first 3 years. i am FOREVER indebted to miss julie jung.

and now someone else is going to be over greta's development... the public school system.

DEEP BREATH.

my baby girl left my side and when to school, and it broke my heart. greta was so excited to finally go to school and she did not cry as i handed her off to a teacher she didn't know. as i drove away i looked back at her empty car seat, i sobbed knowing that the game had changed. going to school makes her older. i was not ready for her to go to school, she is my side-kick, my best friend. i know its where she is suppose to be and that it too will make a huge difference for her but i don't have to like it. i could of used some more greta time at home. she is my angel girl.... an angel girl who loves school.

celebrating gaga

what do you do when when your favorite girl turns 3?

CELEBRATE!

there is a long standing tradition in the williams family (mi familia) that birthday's last at least 3 days and i have carried that tradition on down to my family. on the eve of gaga's birthday we had little family party at rock creek pizza. somehow, i forgot my camera but my mom documented properly on her blog and it was a great time. the kids (minie, poppy, jude, and greta) loved playing with the ever fun uncle cammy, who also happens to be minie's future husband. they also loved having free reign of the banquet room and the accordion door.

she woke up on her actual birthday to birthday decor, balloons, and presents. she was thrilled. she also woke up to a nasty cold. turns out, she has yet to meet a birthday without being sick... even when she was born. rapunzie was a theme through out her birthday and she loved each present that she got. "wee wook" (gaga's verison of thank you) and "ohmidosh" were heard all day long.

rapunzie!

greta also had her first "friend" party this year as well. i am mean, most of her friends are cousins but since we invited lucy and the dunlavy gals we will call it a friend party. greta told me she wanted a "babess" party and since i know what babess means, we had a princess party. originally she wanted more of a beauty and the beast themed party but since "tangled" came out a few days earlier, we had to switch the theme. even though miss prets was sick for her birthday she still enjoyed her party. she loved the decor, the food, and the company. i mean, 1 knight and 8 girls in princess dresses always makes for a good time.

tamari, mylee, grets, and luce.

the princess crew, their knight, and some lunch.

jude was the only boy invited to the party. being the mean mom that i am, i did not get him a costume. nannie would not hear of that and arrived at the party with a lovely little get-up for mister imagination. jude was thrilled to the gills. no wonder he loves his nannie! he was in character for most of the party and was sure to protect his princesses.

no party is complete without some sort of verison of pin-the-tail and of course, nursing boobs.

the best part of the party? the royal ball. i bought a sing-a-long princess DVD and the girls danced and swayed and sang the afternoon away. it was AMAZING.

ohmidosh!

birthday cupcake cones compliments of yaya.

oh yaya... she is the greatest. here she is in her element (she is a elementary librarian). all kids love terri and want her attention but my kids are the luckiest because they get to call her yaya and she is always there for them.

the birthday crew

(bella, gabi, jude, poppy, tamari, grets, minie, and mylee. where's lucy?)

good morning.

everyone needs a little bit of ezra in the morning.

i like our lazy mornings... they make for much less stressful days.

a greta flashback.

one two 3.

3 years ago this angel girl stole everyone's heart.

i can't believe it's been 3 years.

it seems so much longer.

it seems so much shorter.

she is a miracle, my miracle.

happy

happy

happy

birthday greta.

{but to love her is to need her everywhere}