April

April was a fun month.  My parents and brother came to visit over conference weekend, and we got to do some fun things.  We went to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant, an Arizona Diamondbacks game, and to the Arizona Science Center.  Tanner was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa, he cried when they had to leave. Brennen finished his Women's Health rotation and is now moving on to his 12 weeks of ER. We have started the job search and are hoping to find something reasonable close to Mesa/Gilbert or back home in Idaho.  So far we have had one interview and are awaiting hearing from an ER in Prescott, about 2 hours away. PA jobs are far and few between in Idaho, especially if you're as picky as Brennen.

 This little guy is so so smiley!

 It's a hard life after grandma and grandpa leave.

 I have been trying really hard to get into shape and lose all that "baby weight." If you want you can follow my accountability blog here. It's nothing special, just basically a record of how little I exercise and how much I eat :)

 Love seeing these two together. Best buds.

Alright, here's how I get my 6 month old to sleep through the night.  We call it the "baby straight jacket." Brennen doesn't like it, but he doesn't get up with him in the middle of the night either, so he really has no say. :) Start with 2 swaddle blankets. I used a 1-layer flannel blanket at a muslin swaddle blanket.  Lay one blanket flat like normal.  Fold the other blanket in half or thirds (depending on the width of the blanket) and lay it lengthwise across the top of the other blanket.  Put baby in the middle.

Wrap blanket around arm and under back.

Repeat

Swaddle as normal.  Obviously, you don't want your baby to overheat, so we usually swaddle in a onsie or just a diaper, especially since it's getting warmer here.

 He loves to watch himself in the mirror!

 I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens with some friends for the free day.  I didn't get many pictures.  We weren't there very long because the kiddos started getting cranky.

 We love bathtime!

 We got a jumper, and he LOVES it! Sorry you have to see inside my closet.

 We've watched mom do too many sit-ups!

 I don't know if anyone else's kids did this, but he is obsessed with water bottles! He tries to put the whole thing in his mouth.

 We make cute babies.

 Rice Cereal!

 If you look closely, you can see the tan line from my exercise pants (about 1 inch below my knee)

 He knows where the good stuff is!

 Best Friends!

 One day, I decided to try the "cry-it-out" method...and this is what happened :(

We are excited to see what May will bring us! We are starting our ER rotation next week, but that means we have to move to Safford (3 hours away) for 3 days and then back to Mesa for 4 days.  We get to do that for 6 weeks. Not excited at all.  Grandma and Grandpa Larsen are coming to visit, and I get to celebrate my first official Mother's Day!