Awkward Moments with Clover

this should be a new series!
...maybe...

Awkward Moment with Clover #294
going into the Kohl's bathroom with both kids to relieve myself
and Clover says very loudly "mommy, poo poo"

to set the record straight I was not going poo poo
but the other women in the bathroom did not know this


.... awkward ....
=\

I Hate Fevers!

little baby tare bear has a fever

it started yesterday and has refused to leave today

I hate that every time I see a temp over 99 I think of this:

Crimson doesn't have a bladder infection {almost certain} and the chances of her getting one are the same as any normal baby, which is slim
this is the first high fever our family has had, unrelated to a bladder/kidney infection

and my mind always takes me back to what we've been through
and I immediately feel my heart pounding in my head and chest and I get into my crazy, smelling diapers, checking temp every 20 minute, neurotic mommy mode
It's a roller coaster of:
fear, trusting in the Lord, anxiety, prayer/peace, then back to fear, trusting the doctor, not trusting the doctor
.... and on and on!

so what if we had to go to the hospital?! That's okay, God is good and we've done it plenty of times before
and the Lord has always brought us through while teaching me and growing me in so many ways!

but this fever we're fighting now is not going away {yet}
Ah what a spiritual struggle Im going through!

And it draws me to my knees....

Thank you Lord for the continued health of Clover's kidneys
Thank you that it has been almost a year since we've been in a hospital
Thank you that it's been almost 2 years since the last bladder infection
Thank you for 2 healthy baby girls who've never had anything more than a cold, illness-wise
Thank you God for the things you've taught me, to trust in you and your will. And for the reminders that you're sovereign and good. all. the. time.

Babies of 2011

there have been a ton of babies being born lately

and within the last year a lot of my close friends that I've grown up with have had babies

so we documented
first with our pregnancies
{jennie, elizabeth, me, carla, elyse, and meghan}
equal amount of boy's and girl's
although meghan and elyse were like barely pregnant, so they didn't know what they were having at the time

then after they were born
Carla ditched us for the follow up shoot {just kidding she's has 2 older girls and had a hard time getting together with us} and instead we were joined by our friend Emy, who was pregnant at the time of us taking our preggo pics but she hadn't told anyone yet!

{boys}
{girls}
Jennie, I have known for like 20 years! She is pretty much my older sister! And I will always remember the scary story she told me years and years ago which totally freaked me out for a looooong time :)
Elizabeth is the newest friend, but I've been friends with her husband {whether he admits it or not, we were ;) } since I was in high school. And Elizabeth is just the sweetest, easiest person to get along with. So of course, even after knowing each other just a couple years, I already feel like we've known each other forever!
Elyse is not just like a sister, she is biologically my sister. So of course we're close :) And it is so fun to be pregnant and have babies with your sister.
Meghan started out as my sister's friend. But now Im blessed to call her mine. And I've know her probably since high school? Although we didn't become close until like 7 years ago when she let me use her phone to call my boyfriend {brian} while we were at a women's retreat because my phone didn't get service ;)
Carla is my sisters age, and so like Meghan, we didnt start becoming friends until the past few years even though I've known her family forever. The Lord has especially used her to encourage me while struggling to get used to have 2 kids so close in age. She also has 2 little girls very close in age.
And finally, Emy. We've gone to church together since we were little but got to know each other better in high school when we were in the same small group and she witnessed me cry; which is such a big deal because I never cried and was known for never being taken seriously. Our relationship is pretty much summed up in sarcasm and awkward moments, and it is awesome :)

this wasn't even everyone! just a small chunk of the 2011 babies.
this is one of the reasons it was so hard to move away.
I miss you guys, I wish I could watch your kids grow from up close and not a distance
we definitely have to plan some arranged marriages!

cousins, weddings and christmas, oh my!

December was cah-razy this year

lets see, first my sister's family came into town with her little baby
then my parents came into town
then we got sick
then my brother in law got married
then we got on an airplane the next day to fly to california
then we had christmas, disneyland, murder mystery party, new years and lots of baby visits!

phew, are you exhausted yet?

Shiloh and Crimson are 6 weeks apart
it's so fun to see them grow up and do the same things together
{holding hands}


{auntie and shi-o, as clover calls them}
{panka, clover's word for grandpa. he loves to give her cheese and she loves to eat it}
{michael and ray ray's wedding}

{then we flew to Cali for a sunny 80 degree Christmas!}
we brought our colds with us and shared them just in time for the holidays :) we're so considerate
{a fun murder mystery Christmas party, my husband was the killer, the scoundrel}
{some more cousin time}

we also had a drop in new years eve party at my parents, since most of my friends have kids now, we celebrated east coast time so it was only 9pm for us
unfortunately we took pictures on my mom's camera for disneyland and they will probably remain on that camera until the next time I see her ..... annnnd the new years eve pictures are on a friends camera .... oh well

this is just the beginning of my catching up!
the best is yet to come too :)

Crimson: 6 Months & counting

. 15 lbs . 26 in .

. milestones .
almost crawling! ah, she pushes up onto her hands and knees
sleeping through the night
no solids yet ... I'm not ready to cook for four yet! too fast!
only 2 naps a day
attended her first wedding
2nd plane trip
she is my sweet sweet baby and I love her so much!
that's all I have to say for now, I have a lot of posts to catch you all up on our busy busy month.

Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas from the irby's

our christmas card
{if you don't know what it is referring to, go look up Abbey Road on wikipedia, and then repent! [jk]}

our alternate christmas card
{it was a hard decision to make}


other fun photos from our shoot
location: Berry College
{brian went to school here, jealous? I am!}




photographed by: US! and photoshop!

bye!

2 years & counting

I don't even know where to start

to my lucky clover,

. my favorites .

I thank the Lord every day for you and the health he has blessed you with for the past year
you are so much fun, you bring so much joy to my heart
I miss you so much when you go to bed
I wish I could hold you all day long, but you usually only let me hold you for only a couple minutes
you are so busy and adventurous, I wish I was more like that
I love how you love your daddy and get so excited when he comes home from work
and so sad when he leaves
I love when you sing and dance
I love when you get so excited when certain songs come on
I love that you have always slept a minimum of 12 hours a night!
I love your curly hair, I'm sorry that I don't know how to style it :)
I love when you obey and then say "yay clover"
I love how you recite everyone's names that you love, over and over and over and over
{you call grandpa, panka}
I love that you love to play outside and swim, but you can also sit and read or watch a movie too
I love that you love to draw and you want me to draw with you
I love/hate when you jump off the couch, you're so excited but it's terrifying for me!
I love that you make friends with everyone around you, you get that from your daddy
I love that you play the piano and drums
I love that you love your sister
I loved it when you slept talked that one time and said my name
I love that you close your eyes and pray with us
I love your eyebrows and eyes, you are so expressive, which can make people feel uncomfortable because you look at them like you don't like them
you are so fun, funny, adventurous, excited, clumsy, innocent, sweet, crazy
and I wish I was more like you!

. your favorites .

movie:
right now is Nemo
{but it has also been Toy Story, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, Cars, Bug's Life, Incredibles, Charlie Brown}

song:
"Don't Wait" by Dashboard Confessionals
{you always sing "ohhh", and you get so excited when we turn it on}

bible song:
My God is so Big and The B-I-B-L-E

dance music:
Charlie Brown

sleeping buddies:
muno, brobee, big bunny, peep and all your papi's {pacifiers}
{and if you could choose, mommy and daddy}

toys:
your kitchen
{you love making us tea and food, and if we don't really put the fork in our mouth, you make us do it again}

book:
Rhyme Bible, Charlie Brown, your pink number and letter purse books
food:
pb&j, popcorn, cheese

other things you love are stickers!
and bath time!

. funny things you've said/done .

chase us with shark thermometer saying "dun dun dun dun" {jaws theme}
wanting your papi, you'll tell us you want a nap {you only get it during bed times}
one night we found you at the front door trying to get out, looking for us {it was 1 am}
jumping from the couch saying "ready, set, goooooo" {naked}
waving at daddy from window, naked and the cars behind him were laughing at you
{fyi she's been naked a lot because we've been potty training}

. things I {and you} don't like .

you get car sick! all the time! and throw up! every time! yuck! exclamation!


. health update .

we saw new dr. and had an ultrasound. things look the same so we don't have to go back for another 12 months! yippee!
he also clarified that if the kidney did die, even then we wouldn't necessarily have to take it out; only if it started causing problems. so we could possibly be done with surgeries forever! praise the Lord! but we're still praying :)

I love you baby girl!