Shumway Family

We've been living in Casper for about 6 months now and things have been great for our growing family. We moved here toward the end of summer and it was amazing! Going to the pool at our apartment complex daily, going on walks, going to parks, just everything fun that comes with the end of summer. I feel like no matter where we go in life I will always remember with fondness taking the little guys down to the pool every day. Or waiting for Nathan to get off work to walk the kids down to the pool at 5:30 when it was still 80 degrees outside. It made our transition here so happy and easy. We've also experienced a new pregnancy since moving here! We found out we were pregnant right after Thanksgiving this year and Nathan and I were both super excited about it. To break the news to Nathan we went out to eat at Chili's and I got him a present with a bunch of "mini" candies in it and at the bottom of the bag was a newborn diaper. It was so fun to see his face when he saw the diaper, a mix of disbelief, surprise, and excitement. Calvin has been excited since we told him too, he keeps asking when the baby will come out and wants the baby (jon-jon as he calls him) to be included in any bedtime stories. Cora has no clue, but loves to say "baby" when we talk about it. I've been sick lately for the pregnancy and so Nathan has taken on the super-dad role. Attorney by day, diaper changing, whine stopping, story telling super-dad by night. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing guy that takes care of this family in every way.
Lately I've been really trying to have a greater appreciation for my role as a mother. I try to focus on the little moments and the little things that my kids do that make them special and that make me happy. Last night Calvin wanted me to lay with him in bed before he fell asleep. I went in and laid beside him and he took my face in both hands and just quietly grinned at me. His face was just full of love and joy and it made my heart melt. Cora lately has loved jumping out of the bath, running around naked, and jumping back in. Normally it would make me mad that water was dripping all over the bathroom floor and the carpet, but the last couple times I've just watched her as her short little legs and chubby bum run all over the house while she squeals and laughs and I can't help but laugh. She is having so much fun, maybe it is worth a little water on the floor. I sure love my kids, I hope to continue to focus on the ways they make me happy, not the things that are hard or frustrating about parenting. I especially want to enjoy the time I have with my two littles before this third one comes in just 7 short months.

Warning: pictures from the last 6 months...tons of them.

The pool/hot tub at our apartment complex:

First ever daddy/daughter date:

Hanging out at our new place:

This is how we cool down in mid 90 degree weather here in Casper:

My princess at the library:

I actually tried to decorate this apartment, not too bad if I do say so myself:

Casper mountain with some new friends:

Just waiting for Dad to get home for pool time!

Last 4th of July in Laramie :( Bittersweet. It was an awesome day though. We rode bikes down to the park, got free food and free stuff, enjoyed the heat, found $20 on the ground. Overall an amazing day.

Utah with the Muller fam:

First UW football game as non-students:

Park time:

Library time:

Officially potty trained:

Popsicles all the time:

One of our new favorite places to hang out: Target

Casper College dinosaur museum:

Daddy getting sworn in- big day for this family!

Daddy's Birthday:

This is the face of bitter defeat, at the BYU vs Utah State game in Provo

Just fun:

Pre-Halloween

Calvin's birthday portraits by mom

Well, it has been five months since I made a post... which is like 100 years when you have an 8 month old and a 2 year old... so much changes in that amount of time! I don't even know where to begin.

In October we had Calvin's 2nd birthday. He LOVED it! Nathan's birthday was just a few weeks before and we made a huge deal about it. Then, we reminded him every couple days of his upcoming birthday, so we got him super excited about birthdays leading up to it so he knew it was a big deal. Ever since then he has loved when anyone has a birthday and he sings Happy Birthday really well! He loves to just sing happy birthday to anyone and anything when he is at home, it doesn't surprise me at all when he just busts out the birthday song.
One week after Calvin's birthday we had Halloween. Mary, Stephanie, and I threw a Halloween party at the Connemara clubhouse and it turned out SO cute. Calvin and I dressed up as pirates, Cora was the cutest little witch you've ever seen, and Nathan was a robot of his own invention... Scantron. It was a fun day, we took the kids to the women's clinic (where they decorate the whole building and go around to all the different offices) then we took them to the trunk or treat (which was FREEZING). They had a lot of fun. Nathan Muller came down to visit us that week since he was leaving on his mission soon, so we were able to carve pumpkins with him and have him at the party (also he was instrumental in helping me drag the kids all over for trick or treating).
The next big thing was our trip to Evanston for Nathan's "farewell". Our whole family went down the first weekend in November for our early Thanksgiving and Nathan's talk in church. Then, the week before Nathan left for the MTC the kids and I drove down to surprise everyone. It was really fun! I didn't tell anyone that we were coming; when we got to the house we just walked up to the door, rang the doorbell, and waited. Nathan answered the door and just stood there dumbfounded for a second. Mom yelled out, "who is it" and Nathan said, "ummm... Heather". It was so fun! It was great to spend that last week with Nathan before he left. Calvin just loves Nathan and I really wanted him to spend some quality time with him before he was gone.
The next few big things we had going on were (real) Thanksgiving at the Shumway's, traveling to Evanston, going to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert, and Nathan's and my anniversary. Our anniversary was super fun and kind of not at the same time. It was really exciting because it was my first night away from Cora since she was born. It would be only my second night without kids in over 2 years... so kind of a big deal. We said bye to the kids (who were in great hands with Grandma and Grandpa Muller) and went to Salt Lake. We went to see The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug at the IMAX theater, checked into our hotel, went to Benihana, walked around the mall, and finally went back to the hotel to relax. It was perfect! Except for one thing... I left my breast pump in Evanston. During most of the day I was doing okay.. I was able to hand pump enough to stay comfortable, but as the evening wore on I was getting more uncomfortable and getting less to come out. We went to bed and I thought that I could just sleep through the discomfort. At about 3:30 I woke up in a ton of pain. I tried to hand pump and just couldn't get anything to come out. I was extremely full and also super bruised from hand pumping incorrectly all day. I woke up Nathan and was trying to think of what we should do. Nathan decided we should just drive back to Evanston (after I suggested he nurse the milk out himself haha). So, at 4:00 in the morning we packed up our stuff and had a (very) early end to our amazing anniversary.
Then, we had Christmas! We had such a fun time at my parent's for Christmas. Nathan and I got new pillows and Nathan got a laptop (that he had opened early). All December whenever we asked Calvin what he wanted he would say, "people toys and guns", so that is exactly what he got. We got him the cutest little action heroes (that he LOVES) and a dart gun. He also got a Hungry Caterpillar book and dish set from Grandma. Since then he will only eat off of that dish set. Cora got a few random toys (all of which I picked knowing that Calvin would also love them). Calvin loved Christmas so much that he hasn't stopped talking about it. It is now February and EVERY time we go to the store he asks to see the "big Santa" blow up toy. We went to Evanston for Mom's birthday (a month after Christmas) and as we pulled into the driveway he yelled, "I get to see Santa!!!!" I'm so glad he had a good Christmas!
Well, that sort of brings us up to now...
Calvin and Cora are doing great! Over Christmas Cora learned how to crawl and she is all over the place now. She just follows me and Calvin around the house. She is always trying to see what Calvin is doing and she always gets rewarded with a smack on the head or a kick to the face. There are a few times that Calvin is actually nice to her, but they are very few and far between. He takes away everything she touches and doesn't let her play with any of the toys. I'm hoping it is just the age, I'm sure it has been a huge adjustment for him now that his baby sister is actually able to move around and take "his" toys. In just the last couple weeks Cora has started fighting back. It is actually really cute. When Calvin takes away a toy she will do one of a few things. Either she will crawl as fast as she can and ram him with her head down, jump on him and try to pull his hair, or slap at him furiously. She knows she doesn't stand a chance, but she definitely tries. It always ends with Calvin shutting her down and her crying. We are really working on trying to be nice and it is so frustrating!!! Hopefully things will get easier as they both get older.
Calvin has loved singing lately. He just bursts into song all the time. Mostly nursery songs or songs from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (or happy birthday). We also took him bowling for the first time last week and he was in heaven. Cora also just started to dance a little bit. We noticed that anytime a song would come on she would get all excited and kick her legs or swing her arms, then when the song stopped she would stop moving. It is really cute.
Well, that is a very limited recap of the last 5 months! Hopefully I can be more on the ball, these kids change too much every day!

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