Bring on 2017

Well as usual, its been a long time since my last post. I started reading the last one and was back when Alex was only 10 months old! A lot has happened since then. She is almost 3 now - crazy how time flies. Last year we went on a pretty amazing trip to Europe withe girls. We were gone for almost a month to Germany visiting my brother Stephen and his family and then also taking time to visit my Grandparents in Munich while they served a mission. They took us all over the Bavarian area of Germany. My brother took us to places within driving distance from their home near Ramstein and Bryan and I took a side trip to Paris for 5 days, just the two of us! It was awesome! We were happy to be home after being gone so long, but I will never forget that trip! We even survived doing it with the girls! They were actually really good going from place to place  - the hardest part was the plane ride there with Alex who I thought might be the death of me. But we survived and the way home was much better.

We just celebrated the new year which was a pretty quiet event for our family. I had to work on New Years Day so we didn't do the whole party thing, but we did make a really nice dinner (Steak, Crab, Mashed Potatoes, fresh green beans, cider). We did a netflix countdown with the girls around 8pm and got them in bed. Watched a movie and I was asleep by 11. Bryan was awake at midnight listening to our neighbors ring in the new year. I'm finding the older I get - doing major celebrations for New Years doesn't seem as important. haha. I still love a good party but I was perfectly happy to be with my little family on New Years.

So lets see - I'm not so good at remembering details anymore - i'm getting old! But i'll try and do a little recount since my last post.

THE FAMILY IN GENERAL
    Our little family grew last year in 2016. We were blessed with a wonderful baby boy, Asher Christian Camuso on April 15. 8 lbs 8 oz. He is a wonderful baby - so happy and loving. He is a BIG boy now at almost 9 months - a real chunker! It makes him that much more lovable. Brooklyn started kindergarten in August at Natoma Station here in Folsom. She absolutely loves it. Bryan and I are still at our respective jobs - no major change there. And Alex has just gotten bigger and more adorable. She is my little "terrorist" in that she can really cause some mischief and may have taken years off my life over her short life span....but I love her oh so much. She is so much like me its ridiculous...personality wise anyway.

ASHER
 Born April 15th, 2016. It was of course love at first sight when he was born. I wasn't sure how I would feel being the mom of a boy, but turns out I love it! He is so sweet and so loving. Other than his not sleeping through the night until 7 months old - he has been such an easy baby! I ended up nursing him the longest - until about 8.5 months. Like his sisters, he started crawling pretty early on - around 6 months but not sure he will beat them on the walking front. He does an army crawl instead of being up on his knees and although he does pull himself up to his knees on things, he doesn't get himself standing. I think he is just too big to be able to get himself all the way up. Even though the girls both did chunk out around 6 months, he is still way bigger....taller too I think. I am fine with him not walking - stay my forever baby please! - but it seems like he should definitely be able to be on the same timeline but he isn't! Funny! Asher has always been a huge eater! I was never able to keep up with him as far as producing milk. He was almost always supplemented with formula. Formula and baby food seem to keep him pretty well fed and his chunkiness helps me know he's getting more than enough.

ALEX
Oh my little Alex. She is my little mini me. She follows me around the house during the day, unless she is able to watch a movie. She wants to do everything everyone else is able to do. When she isn't able to do something I'm doing, she says, "when I'm a big momma, I be able to do that too?" then I answer with, "yes, when you're a big momma, you can  ....." (fill in the blank). Then she seems fine with being told no. Its so funny. She and her sister get along pretty well. There are of course times that they fight which is super frustrating but overall they love each other a lot and like to be together. She loves her little brother too but since he can't really play yet she could "take him or leave him" kinda. When he was first brought home she really loved him a lot, but as with most new things, once the newness wears off - its kinda blah. So even though she thinks he is super cute and loves him a lot- - she doesn't really care one way or another about interacting with him, unless he is getting into something of hers. Ha! She can very the most sweet girl and is very snuggly, but she can also be a beast! She is feisty and spicy as I call it. Quite the little spitfire. She can be very sneaky too....which frequently gets her into trouble...but she does it anyway. She is addicted to sugar. Everyday she wakes up asking for treats or candy....which she is of course told no....but it doesn't stop her asking, or her addiction. She will 3 in a week...which is crazy because she was just my little baby Alex....but not anymore.

BROOKLYN
Brooklyn bear is now 5 1/2. She started kindergarten this year and loves it. She is very smart and loves learning. She has some good teachers and is at a good school so i'm grateful for that. Sometimes she is my little adult. She can be just like every other 5 year and be goofy and just want to have fun....but there are times she can really be serious and talks like an adult. Her ability to articulate, and how much she observes and understands sometimes makes me think she is older than she is and makes me have expectations that sometimes I think might be a bit too much. She is a very good big sister to both Alex and Asher. She loves that boy. She constantly wants to hold and kiss him. She is very helpful most of the time and very capable of doing so many things. Bryan is really the one who encourages her to do work etc, so we have discovered just how capable she is really  - whether that is good or bad, i don't know but it is helpful. She is kinda going through a phase right now that I will be happy to be done with (well I hope its a phase that will one day go away) - and that is her pushing the boundries (again) with Bryan and I. She sometimes will talk or act like a teenager and push to see how far she can take the attitude before it crosses the line and so that has just been super fun...(rolling my eyes here). But overall she is a great kid and we love her very very much. She is still a super talented little artist. She will create art in anyway she can. Drawing, coloring, painting, cutting stuff up and making collages etc etc. Its amazing how talented she is....Messy....but talented. I'm excited to see her develop that over the years.

Well thats it for now. Love my little family! By the time I get back on here - I will probably have another kid!

Family Fun and Sisterly love

We have had quite a fun filled fall! September and October were crazy! We are ready for Winter fun and all the wonderful feeling the Holidays bring. I will update by person starting with the youngest! Some fun pictures will be last.

Alexandria

Much to her Daddy's dismay, Baby Alexandria started walking at about 8 1/2 months and is now a pro at 10 months. Daddy was hoping to put off the walking until as late as possible but she couldn't wait to be on the move. She also experienced her first Halloween, and while she did not do any Trick or Treating, she did get to dress up as Princess Snow White - and boy was she cute! She also finally started getting her two bottom teeth! I was wondering when they were going to come and they have. She is now starting to cut her top two teeth. It definitely doesn't seem like fun, I'm glad we don't remember what it is like to have our teeth come in. :(   Alexandria LOVES her big sister! She has such a great time playing with Brooklyn. Whenever she hears her sissy come into a room she jerks around looking for her and practically jumps out of my arms with excitement. She loves to listen to her sing too. She tries to copy so many things that Brooklyn does which I find adorable. I hope they will be close as they get older. Alex is a pretty easy going baby, she will go to just about anyone as long as she has decided she doesn't have anywhere she wants to go....if she is on a mission somewhere - watch out! She doesn't want anyone to get in her way....very determined little thing. We wondered if our second child would be a little more mild since Brooklyn is so spirited but it doesn't look like that will be the case. She is definitely a snuggle bug....She has loved to be held since she was born. Its funny because you would think that Brooklyn would be the one trying to get attention all the time with a new baby, but most of the time she is fine....it almost seems like the baby is the one worried she won't be given enough love and affection so she makes sure to remind you (as if we need reminding) that she is there and wants attention! We all love our little Alex though - and are so happy she is apart of our family now! I can't believe she is already so big!

Brooklyn

Wow! Brooklyn is sooo big! She is talking a mile a minute! She seriously says some of the funniest things! Just tonight Bryan said she asked, "I wonder what Jesus Christ was for Halloween, maybe a cat or a ghost or something." Haha! What?! Where did that even come from?! She is so beautiful inside and out. We can hardly go anywhere in public without someone commenting on how beautiful her hair is, or her face or whatever....who am I to disagree! For Halloween Brooklyn decided last minute to go as Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony (we are currently obsessed with that show - which is rather good even I do say so). We colored her hair in rainbow colors, tried to be as rainbowy as possible and called it good. She got to Trunk or Treat and Trick or Treat so she had a lot of fun! Grandma Torre even got to be here for Halloween with the kids which was fun. Part of the reason there was a last minute change in costume was because Brooklyn is having a hard time with clothes right now. Everything "goes sideways." What is that you may ask? Well we basically take it to mean that her clothes just don't feel right on her skin. It started with pants - she wouldn't wear them at all....then even skirts were a problem and before you know it - all clothing, even underwear "goes sideways." We had to draw the line somewhere so she always has to wear underwear - even at home. However, I have decided to pick my battles, and unless we are going out or someone is coming over - you will be sure to find a mostly naked girl 3 year old at our house....she is willing to wear daddy's shirts, so we usually do that now. How tough it is to be 3 years old.  As mentioned above, Brooklyn is a GREAT big sister! She LOVES Alex which I am very grateful for. She is rarely jealous and is a great helper. She even sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Alex when she is upset to try and help her calm down (usually in the car), and it actually does work! Another way she helps me is that there are those days when they wake up early and I just can't do it! So I will (or daddy will) put on a little show for Brooklyn and the baby can play with toys and just hang out with Brooklyn so I can sleep just a little longer. She is well versed in what the baby is not allowed to have (small objects she can choke on) and will come get me if there is a problem....many times I am actually sleeping on the couch in the same room - but still she is a huge help. She is also my diaper and wipes runner! I cannot state the love I have for both of my children! I'm so happy to be the mother of two wonderful girls!

Felicia

A lot less to report on my front! My main world is the girls so now you know what I do most days. I basically didn't work for the whole months of August and September because the hospital was soooo slow - but I knew we would get through it financially just fine and work would pick back up and I really enjoyed being with the girls. Work is CRAZY busy now all the time so I am definitely making up for it now! I Love the Fall and am excited for this Holiday season to come. We are hosting the Torre's for Christmas which I'm excited about because it will be my first major holiday to host at my house! I hope it all turns out okay. I can't say enough how much I love having this house to call our own and I just hope that one day we will get to improve upon it before we out grow it. My girls are so wonderful and keep me busy.  On the church front, I am the choir director and finally got things underway in September. My small choir has about 8 regular people (when they are all there) and I am always trying to get more people to join. I have every section represented, and luckily they all sound good and can learn the music super fast, it would just be nice to have a "fullness" to the choir. I've got a YW who is willing to stay after church for 30 min to babysit for families that claim they don't come because of kids - so we will see if that gets anymore participants. We are prepared to sing the Sunday before Thanksgiving and are preparing for the Christmas Sacrament program. Luckily, in this ward, all I have to worry about is Choir - and am not the ward music director as well! I think i'm starting to get the groove of this choir so I hope things go smoother from now on. I have a GREAT pianist which really helps out!

Bryan

Again, there are a lot less changes going on. Bryan is still working for PWC and so far continues to like it. He once again went out of town during the fall for a couple of weeks so got to have a little change of pace which I think was good for him. He is about to enter into busy season for the client he works on, so we are prepared to be without daddy on many a workday. He is still working on his '68 Camaro when time and money allow. He actually got it started a few weeks ago and was able to move it out of the garage so he could work on the Camry, but for some reason it won't stay running anymore - always another challenge, but I'm not sure it bugs him - just helps him learn. Its so awesome being married to someone who is so handy...he seems to know how to fix so much stuff from cars to house stuff - who knows where he learned it all, but its nice for me because all I have to do is tell him - this is broken, and he usually will get it taken care of fairly quickly if possible.  He also is still preparing to take the CPA exams. With work and a family, he is finding it hard to find time to study, so I am going to try and be "better" and pack him a lunch and dinner so he can stay at the office after work and study. We have tried the study at home thing and it is just too distracting. We will both be SO HAPPY when these exams are done and out of the way! Bryan continues to be a great father and husband and has 3 girls who love him to pieces. I love to watch the relationship he has with his daughters. It melts my heart! 

If you can't tell - we are at Dave's Pumpkin Patch

Had a lot of fun there - all sorts of activities including Pig Racing!

Alexandria's first time to Apple Hill! 

Family photo at Apple Hill

Yay for Rainbow Dash and Snow White! Yes Alex's hair is sprayed black.

Camuso Clan update!

Since I don't get on here much to update about our family, it only makes sense to write two posts in one day! Here is what we have been up to in the last few months! We are still really enjoying our new home and neighborhood! We love living in Folsom, and it is nice because Bryan is so close to work. We are really hoping to get our yard in shape the coming fall because right now it is just plain embarrassing! We are hoping that we will be able to do projects around the house slowly but surely every month.

Bryan - he is still working for PWC on a client that is near our house which is nice for us and him. He was also called as the 11 yr old scout leader in our ward so he has been learning about scouts. He didn't spend a lot of time in scouts when he was a kid so I think this is good preparation for any boys we might have in the future. He is loving being a father of two girls, both of whom adore him!

Me - I reached my year mark at Shriners this summer which I really can't believe. Time as just flown by! I am still liking my job and am continuing to learn and be more comfortable in my role as an RN.  I would like to expand my experience by getting another job but so far, nothing has panned out - so we shall see what the Lord has in store for me. In the mean time, when I am not at work I enjoy being home with my girls! They are the best! Being a mom is the best thing I have every done in my life. I have been blessed with two wonderful girls to call my own.

Brooklyn - Brooklyn turned 3 this passed June and had a Frozen party. She is obsessed with all things Disney but especially the princesses! How can I blame her - I am obsessed with Disney too. She is a great big sister to baby Alexandria; she loves to help however she can and she is constantly loving on the baby. I'm very happy that they seem to have a good relationship right now and hope that it will only continue to get better! She is getting better and better at talking all the time - and she loves playing with the neighbor kids as well as from church or my friends kids. She does a pretty good job of playing with others, I am very proud of her. She will go back to pre-school soon, once Emily goes back to school.

Alexandria - Alex probably has the biggest change over the last several months and that is crawling! I am so proud of her but at the same time it makes me sad when they are able to do so many things on their own because they are growing up. She is a crawling machine and gets around pretty fast. She is growing so much. She is my little chunk a monk. She is such a cute and sweet baby, however, she does prefer to be held many a time unless she is playing with some fun toys.

For now I think that covers most of stuff and truth is I'm too tired to think about it more so I am signing off!

Lake Tahoe Family Vacation

Our First Trip as a Family to South Lake Tahoe!

We had a great trip to South Lake Tahoe! We went to the beach, hung out in the spa, Brooklyn got to play with her her friends, and Mom and Dad got to play with ours! Baby had fun watching everyone and playing with the kids! I love my little family so much! I am not very good at documenting things  - blogging, journal etc which makes me afraid I will forget all these fun times we have. The girls are changing so fast and I don't want to forget all the cute little things they do! Here are a couple pictures!

Alexandria and I after our first day at the Beach!

Zephyr Cove! Brooklyn had a blast! First time to Lake Tahoe!

Daddy and Brooklyn made a very cool pool  - before we left there were crawdads in it!

Just looking around the shops! Brooklyn is ready to go!

Dad wishes!

Mommy and Baby Alexandria Selfie! 

First swimming lessons!

Brooklyn started her first week of swimming lessons this week at the Aquatic center near our house! I can't believe it! She is so big. Time with our children flies by so fast- some days it doesn't bother me and sometimes I just wish I could stop time all together. The first lesson was rough- she didn't want to even hardly get in the water but since then she has really opened up to the teacher and loves swimming lessons! I admit that I love watching her. She is so freakin cute! 

My children are definitely my crowning achievement. I hope I can do a good job raising them. I want them to love life and the people in it. I want them to know they are loves unconditionally. I want them to know I will do anything to help them be successful in every aspect of their lives. I want them to grow up and be honest, kind, charitable, knowledgable, moral, loving, with strong faith in God and His gospel. I know they will go through hardships but I hope that together we will get them through those times and they will be better for it. 

The words "I love my children" doesn't describe the depth of feeling I have for them. I know now the meaning of "dying for someone you love" because I would did to save my children. Being a parent really is the best thing in the world. It not only provides me with endless joy but it provides me a Better understanding of my Father in Heaven. If my imperfect love is so strong imagine the love of Christ for us and our Father in Heaven for us. It is just so amazing that they could love us so much. 

Life is Good!

Life is so Good! God is good to us! Two healthy, beautiful girls! I love being their mother. I deal weekly with the desire to stay home with my wonderful girls and the need/duty to work as well! Brooklyn says the most hilarious things at times - I wish could record the things she says! I wish I could remember some of the things she says right now and write them down! But as usual - when I want to remember something, I can't! figures! Anyway, I love my life as a wife and mother. I could not have asked for greater blessings than my husband and children!

Baby Alexandria Rose Camuso

This is the latest addition to our family! Born January 13, 2014 at 6:30pm. She was 7lbs 14 oz and had a ton of hair as you can see! She is a great baby and is loved by her family, especially her big sister Brooklyn! Brooklyn can't get enough of her. The other day we were in the car and Brooklyn say, " Mommy, you are Anna and I'm Queen Elsa and Alecasandra (that is how she says it) is a troll and Daddy is the monster." Poor baby is a troll! haha. I love my babies!

I am currently working as a nurse at Shriners Hospitals for Children! I love my job and am learning a lot. Bryan is working for Price - Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and works on a client close to home which is nice. He is also studying for the CPA exams -Go Honey! 

So far this year we have had a baby, bought a new house and moved! We love our new house and the area which is close to my mom which is nice because she is able to watch the baby while i'll go to work. Brooklyn has started preschool on the days I work and she loves it! We have been very blessed! I love being a mom and a nurse, it is the perfect combo!