a very Christmassy break pt.1

Can this blog just be my journal from now on? There is so much I want to write about, but it takes a lot longer to say everything with the old pen and paper! Anyways, that's basically all this post is. One big journal entry of memories for our little family, complete with sub-par phone pics haha, because the last week has been AWESOME.

From January to April, Christian's schedule is pretty insane. We learned that the hard way last year, so we went in to this break knowing that we needed to stock up on family time so that we have a well to draw from for the next 4 months haha. It's the worst, but what can you do? Anyways, we started to festivities last Friday when we went out and celebrated 5 years since getting engaged. Holy cow time flies! And yet when I look at how much has happened since then, we feel like "it's only been 5 years?" haha. We had a lot of fun together that night. We finally went to Current, a great seafood place downtown that Christian has been dying to take me since he went there for work last year. It did not disappoint! We shared a plate of mussels (it sounded horrible but they were INSANE. In the best way), and enjoyed our respective dishes: fish and chips for her, and shrimp and grits for him. It was so awesome to be at a nice restaurant with just Christian. Of course we talked about the kids (we can't help it!), but we also discussed future plans and dreams, the holidays, new family traditions and just life. I'm still just so head over heels for that man. Every time we do things like that together, it just further cements my feelings for him. We finished the night with a Target run and some last minute Christmas shopping haha. I tried so hard to have it all done but alas. Maybe next year :) All in all, it was a super fun way to start a week of having dad all to ourselves!

Gotta have the Christmas Eve jammies shot!

Christmas Eve day is a bit of a blur. I think we just cleaned a ton, did some wrapping, and prepped for our dinner that evening: the first annual Carter family Christmas Eve Fiesta! Christian made and perfected his horchata recipe, I made tacos and coconut rice and of course we had chips and salsa. Nash couldn't even handle how great that was haha. The dinner turned out great! Christian had put together a fun playlist (mostly we just listened to "Donde Esta Santa Claus" by Guster. Give it a listen! It's actually a great song, but I swear I don't think I will ever get that out of my head now haha), and even though we were all pooped by the night's end, it was super fun. After we put the kids to bed, we wrapped presents for each other and finished watching the Grinch and probably like 3 episodes of Suits haha. We can't quit that show, even with all the Christmas movies in the world at our fingertips! Then we went to bed, because next was CHRISTMAS DAAAYYY!

2016

We loved the thought of getting Christmas cards out this year, but with a new baby, family pictures was about as much as we could muster haha. Oh well, maybe next year!
For now, here's an update on things this past year. Obviously the biggest event was the arrival of little sis! But here are some little tid bits about each family member:

Christian: Man I could just gush and gush about our cute dad and my sweet husband! So I think I just might ;) Christian has been a champ this year. Between a rough pregnancy and huge adjustment to a new baby, things haven't been super easy, but he's been our rock through all of it. He's been doing amazing things at work, and receiving lots of great recognition for it. I honestly couldn't be more proud of him. He works in a very high stress, high pressure industry, and he just excels. It's a huge blessing for our family! He's also been serving in the bishopric in our ward for the last 6 months, and while it's added an extra dose of crazy to everything, it's also been a really neat experience for him. Our bishop is one in a million, and it's great to have that influence in our lives. We are feeling very grateful that the church time is changing next year and that he hopefully wont be in meetings all day anymore haha. Christian keeps us all happy and laughing, and the best time of the day is by far the second he walks in the door. Thanks for taking such great care of us dad, we love you a ton!

Brooke: Well, I grew and birthed a human. Haha! But seriously, it was so huge to get Faye here! It's been quite the experience adjusting to having two kids, but I honestly love it so much. This definitely feels like the spot our family needs to be in right now, and while it's difficult, it's so FUN being the mom to our two babies. Not much else is going on for me honestly. Just getting my head above water as we've passed the 6 month mark. Faye can go to the daycare now, so I'm finally making it back to the gym which is breathing new life into my soul :) I'm spending a little free time with my fellow mom friends, and looking forward to next year when there aren't so many huge things going on haha.

Nash: Oh this boy! He's such a sweet, fun blessing to our family. Nash has grown up so much this year. He's in the stage right now where his language is just exploding every single day. He adds "mom" to the end of everything he says: "yes mom", "no mom", "what happened mom" etc. It's the greatest. He's obsessed with Mustangs (I think we own every generation of hotwheels mustang, and then some. This is not a joke), LOVES eating clementines, talks all day long, thinks his baby Faye is the funniest thing ever, loves to be tickled, has the most amazing memory, still only calls dad "Christian", and brings so much peace to our home (usually haha). We feel so lucky to be his mom and Christian dad!

Baby Faye: Our little sissy girl, as we fondly call her. She has the sweetest disposition. She's happiest when she can be close to her mom, dad, and brother. Does NOT like being left with other people haha. Shes quick to smile but keeps her laughs to herself (so far, Nash gets the biggest giggles from her! Usually when they are in the car together). Almost sitting, eating all kinds of baby food, looking like she will have a head of strawberry hair, and making us so so happy. She's the piece to our family we didn't know we were missing,a and we love her so much!

And there you have it. This year has felt totally crazy, and very mellow all at the same time. I think that's just having young kids, right? Haha. As of now, we will be here in Salt Lake for at least another year, just loving this beautiful city we are lucky to call home. If you are ever in town, come visit! We'd love to have you over to babysit...... Er, I mean for dinner.
Yeah.
That's what I meant.
Dinner ;)

Merry Christmas from the Carters!

welcome baby Faye pt. 2

So C-sections. Not my favorite thing in the world, to be honest.
I was really glad the whole laboring process was basically non-existent. And from start to finish (like when they cut me open to when baby was pulled out), it was like, maybe 20 minutes. So that was great! But holy hell (scuse my french, but SERIOUSLY) recovery was so so brutal. Like "why is there always a lit match spanning the width of my abdomen?!" brutal. I thought I was going to die the first couple times I stood up haha. One day, I got a little behind on my pain meds and I tried to go for a walk around the maternity ward. I barely made it out of my room before I got super dizzy, and then I couldn't hear anything and I was losing my vision and my mom and a nurse were practically carrying me back to my bed hahaha. So basically anyone who knocks c-sections has noooo idea.

Anyways, they prepped me for surgery (I will always stand by my opinion that getting an IV is so much worse than a lot of the birthing process. Like, why does that hurt so bad?!), while poor Christian had to wait to be brought in from our hospital room. This part was slightly terrifying. Nothing like being wheeled into a freezing cold operating room, alone, with a ton of strangers, and lying naked on a table while a bunch of machines beep around you to make you excited to give birth! Ha! They gave me the spinal numbing stuff (was that also an epidural? Really not sure...) and then I just layed there waiting for it to take effect. It was at this point that I felt more like a literal beached whale than I had any other time during pregnancy haha. My OB came in and she and the nurses were moving my *still naked* entire lower body around and I was like "I'll just be right here! Sorry I can't move and I'm blubbery mass!" hahahaha. Oh boy. They put up the curtain and got me on oxygen and finally brought Christian in. It was a little claustrophobic to have so much going on right around my head, with him and two anesthesiologists sitting right there and the curtain up, but I was so grateful he could be in there with me. I'm certain he kept an anxiety attack at bay haha.

Then surgery! Lots of pressure and tugging tugging tugging. The crazy thing about C-sections is they have to make like 5 different incisions because of the layers of skin/fat/muscle/organs, but they don't like to cut too wide if they can avoid it. So they end up just kind of literally pulling things apart as they go (yikes. My stomach is churning just thinking about it!). Faye was kind of stuck in my right ribcage, and they actually gave me new stretch marks just pulling her out haha. But once they got her out, it was all smooth sailing! It took her a second to cry, and when she did I can honestly say I've never been more grateful. I struggled with a TON of anxiety my whole pregnancy, so of course I was just imagining worst case scenario for everything. Huge relief to hear a cry and know that she was healthy! Before she even cried she sneezed haha which is still so funny to me because she's a super sneezy baby. They cleaned her all up, got her APGAR score, etc, gave her to Christian and then I was FINALLY able to see her.

Born 2 weeks early, June 14, 2016
Fun facts: Grandparents anniversary June 13, Faye's birthday 14th, Papa Showalter's birthday 15th and uncle Austin's birthday 16th
Also, both babies were born on a Tuesday, and Nash came the week before Mother's Day, and Faye the week before Father's Day.

Heaven, heaven, heaven! Meanwhile they were stitching me back up, which was slightly traumatizing because I could smell the cauterization as they were doing it, blegh! The rest of the day is super hazy to me, because I was like completely blitzed on my pain meds hahaha. Seriously it's hysterical in retrospect. That first day, they let you control the amount you get, and every ten minutes, you can press a button to get another dose. Well I was terrified to start feeling the pain of that surgery so you can bet I had a timer set and was juicing as often as I could and MAN I could feel it hahahaha. I was so freaking tired and out of it, I couldn't talk. I think I scarred Nash for life because he was terrified to come back to the hospital after seeing me that first day. So so funny.

I was in the hospital for 6 days, and it was like a little slice of heaven. Faye brought the sweetest spirit, and every time I looked at her it felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest! So much love with such a tiny little thing! It's so wonderful having two kids. It's insanity, but in the best way. Somehow having another baby has let my heart grow so much that not only do I have room to just adore my little girl, but my love for Nash has grown a thousand percent too. I'm so grateful to be the mother of these precious children!