8 is Great!

The other day I found Noah looking at his baby scrapbook and thought "Oh my little Noah baby...where have the last 8 years gone? When did that chubby little toddler turn into this tall young man?"

Last week we celebrated Noah's 8th birthday. Friday we had an Indiana Jones party with his friends and Sam rigged up a cool obstacle course in the basement while I planned a treasure hunt. I also used my cake-decorating "skills" (NOT!) and made an Indiana Jones cake. I have to admit, every birthday cake I have made since Curtis turned one has been pretty much a disaster. My skills are so non-existent that Sam usually takes over and makes the cake look presentable. But this year, I had an idea in my head and for once was actually able to execute it! It's far from professional but Noah loved it and thought it was so creative. And isn't that what its all about?

Here are a couple of pictures from the party:

Swinging across the pit of doom

The kingdom of the crystal skull with lego Indiana running away from the cake/cookie boulder

Noah with his good friend, Charlie.

On a personal note, Noah is such a wonderful kid. He is a joy to be around. It was tough getting him into this world but all 26 hours of labor were completely worth it. I would do it again if I had to! We are so grateful that Noah is part of our family.

8 things I love about Noah:

1. He strives to be obedient and help others choose the right.

2. He is a wonderful big brother and little brother.

3. He is a great helper.

4. He has the cutest freckles smattered across his face.

5. He is funny!

6. He is thoughtful and cares about other people.

7. He is excited to be baptized in a few weeks!

8. He is very creative and loves to express himself artistically.

Noah, I love you and am so grateful you are mine! I love you more than everything!

Love, Mom

Cute kids

Noah is becoming a pro at quick wit. His teacher relayed this exchange to me: While talking about Charles Lindbergh (?) in class, Noah's friend Charlie said "Hey, I built an airplane?" Without hesitation, Noah replied "So, I built the ark."

Lucy is becoming quite particular in her clothing options. Most days she wants to wear a skirt-totally fine, I love little girls in skirts and they are quick and easy to make! The problem is, like most women, the first outfit is not the best outfit. I will get her dressed and 15 minutes later she will walk out of her room wearing something else, usually a skirt that is inside out with a shirt that doesn't match at all. I've decided to just roll with it. So, next time you see Lucy and she looks like a ragamuffin, just remember, she is a budding fashionista and asserting her independence!

Primary Program

Yesterday was our Primary Program in Church. The theme was "Our Eternal Family". It was a very enjoyable meeting and the boys both did a great job. My mom asked Noah before what he his part was in the program. He promptly replied "Classified". He just was not willing to give any spoilers! Curtis was asked to talk on his baptism. He wrote his part himself. He said "I was really nervous because I was afraid my dad would mess up." He also said some really sweet things but I can't remember because I was laughing too hard at that sentence! Sam and I were asked to speak for a few minutes about how family prayer has strengthened our family. Lucy decided to join us and yanked the microphone towards her every few seconds and uttered a "yah yah yah" into it and then chuckled to herself. I was glad for her comic relief as I was able to get through my part without crying (a curse of mine, for certain). Lucy also decided to make a dash out of Sam's arms towards the stand during the closing prayer and (observed from my one eye while trying to show some semblance of reverence)did her best to elude the grabbing hands of the Primary presidency. She managed to get a little dance in next to the podium before the "amen". My thoughts of putting a child gate on the end of the pew have resurfaced.

Noah is 7!

Seven years ago today this cute kid made his entrance into this world! He wasn't sure he wanted to come and it took a lot of coaxing but we finally convinced him it was time to meet the family! What a fun, crazy, fast 7 years it has been!

Here are 7 reasons why I love him so much:

* He has got the cutest smattering of freckles framing his deep brown eyes.
* He is a smart, smart kid.
* He is a super big brother; he absolutely adores Lucy.
* His best friend is Curtis. His best enemy is also Curtis!
* He is a great artist and wants "all the art kits in the world".
* He loves to run. He ran 79 miles last year at school. He loves to tell people that is like 3 marathons!
* He is so friendly and has no problem carrying on a conversation with any adult.

Noah is such a great addition to our family. We are so glad that he is ours!
Happy Birthday sweet Noah! We love you!

Long time, no post

Life has been crazy lately and I haven't really felt like blogging.
For the past week and a half, everyone in my house has taken a turn being sick (some took 2 turns!) and it has not been fun. But I think we are all feeling better and getting back to some semblance of normal life.

We started the month saying goodbye to my sweet sister Amy. She got a new job in Arizona so made the move. I miss having her stop by or calling her to go to lunch or just seeing her weekly. It has been so great having her a few miles away for the past 2 years. My kids miss their Aunt Amy and Sam just worries that she won't have a "Sam" to call upon with car, plumbing or other fix-it problems. Can't wait for Thanksgiving to see you, Aimes!
I have re-discovered my love for sewing. My mom taught me to sew at a young age and I used to sew a lot but since having kids I've only made a few sets of curtains, a few pair of pjs at Christmas and a few other odds and ends. This last week I decided to make Lucy's Halloween costume. She is going to be Tinkerbell. I found some fabulous green silky material on sale so I've been busy working on the costume. Plus, I bought a pattern online for baby shoes. They are adorable! I'm working on my second pair (for Tinkerbell) right now and can't wait to make more.
We had parent/teacher conferences this week and got good reports on both boys. Curtis, of course, still gets distracted easily and has a hard time sitting still but he is doing really well academically. Noah's teacher said he is capable of more than they are doing so is sending home extra work for him each week because she is afraid that he will get bored. I was happy to get good reports!
Well, that's about all I have for now. If you want a good read, check out my sister Suzanne's blog...she and her husband are in China right now and she is posting daily about their trip. It is pretty interesting. I'm hoping to get better about posting and will post some pictures soon!

I'm in Love

It's official, I am crazy in love with this little girl! Just the fact that she had a bad night (she's teething) and I had intermittent sleep, but I still just want to eat her up proves that I am whooped! And can you blame me? Look at that face!

Last Monday Lucy turned 6 months...6 months!!! I honestly am freaking out a little that she has been with us for that long! It saddens me that the newborn phase is over but at the same time, she is so cute and interactive and learning so much that I can't wish for time to stand still.

Here are her 6 month stats: 17 lbs. 11 oz. , 24.9 inches. That translates to 79th% for weight and 20th% for height. Oh my! Two little sharp baby teeth poked through last week and her top gums are swollen. She is on the fast track for teeth! She is sleeping pretty well (except for last night) and is such a delight! She loves her brothers as they make her giggle; Curtis can actually make her belly laugh which is an almost unbearable sound. She is starting to get a little hesitant about other people, always has to make sure mom is close by. She really is such a happy baby and our whole family is smitten!

Both of the boys have had a stomach bug the last week. Sam and I have both had to clean up barf on more than one occassion. But, I think they are both doing better. Last Friday was Noah's Kindergarten Share. His class sang about 4 or 5 songs for us and then showed us their "portfolio". The songs were hilarious and oh, so cute. I laughed to the point of tears. Here is the video of one of the songs from the Kindergarten Share. Unfortunately, I shake when I laugh so the picture is pretty shaky! I love how they all start to giggle before the "bums out" part. I think Noah was most excited about the portfolio, though. In there was a certificate from the Mileage Club showing that he had run 79 miles this year! He is an amazing little guy! Yesterday I took him to the Dr. and she was checking his lung capacity and said it was well above other kids his age/size and that he is really in shape. I've got to find some good sports programs for him!

Curtis had a busy week with a field trip to the park one day and swimming the next. He also went bowling for Cub Scouts. Noah, Lucy and I were able to go bowling too which was fun. Curtis didn't care about form or style, he just wanted to see how much energy he could get behind that ball! He would practically run up to the line and sling the ball down the lane. It was quite a sight to see.
I took him to the Dr. last month and he has grown 3 inches in 6 months! He is gaining on me quickly! He has been working hard at home trying to earn money so he can buy Legos. He will ask me what chores he can do so he can make the most money! Legos are the hot item in our home. Sam got a Lego catalog in the mail a few weeks ago and at any given time during the day I can find one of the kids just poring over the catalog deciding which Lego set to buy first. Curtis actually slept with it last night! He told me that if he won $1000 he would buy the $499 Millennium Falcon set for Sam. Such a thoughtful kid!

Thursday is the last day of school which brings mixed emotions for me. I'm planning on doing fun activities every week with the kids and making sure they aren't bored at home all the time. The part I'm not looking forward to is the fighting. Those boys have a love/hate relationship. My sis told me about someone she works with that when he was growing up and fighting with his siblings, his mom would send them to the front porch until they resolved their differences. They hated it so they very quickly learned not to fight! I have been using this tactic and it is actually working...hopefully the summer will be fight-free! Am I dreaming thinking this?

OK,OK!

I know, it has been forever since I have updated my blog but it seems like I just haven't been able to catch up with laundry, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. I feels like everytime I sit down to blog, Lucy wakes up from a short nap...have you ever tried to type with a baby in your arms? Not an easy task. So, let's see how far I can get before she wakes up!

So, to wrap up the Disney post...we had 2 more glorious days at Disneyland that were very warm and very crowded. We got very spoiled with the Fast Passes so it was hard for us to wait in lines. But we did and survived. I thought that spending 4 days there would be too much and we would be bored but there was still more that we didn't do! One of our favorite things was in California Adventure, it was Talkin with Crush. It was an interactive movie where the turtle Crush from Finding Nemo talked with the audience. It was so cool! I don't know how they do it...must be magic!

Saturday morning we were in Frontierland and I had run to find a bathroom while Sam, kids and my parents went on the steamboat. When I came back, Mat was standing by the steamboat and said there was a "Dream Maker" right there. I asked what she was doing and Mat said "I don't know but she just made that lady over there really happy." So I followed her over to the lady to see what she was winning and the Dream Maker asked me if I had any questions. I said I just wanted to see what the lady had won. She told me it was VIP seating for Fantasmic! So I congratulated her. Then the Dream Maker asked if I was going to be there that night for Fantasmic, I said "yes", and she said "wait here and I'll give you VIP seating too!" Woo hoo!

So that night, all 16 of the family made our way to front row seating for the show. It was so awesome but poor little Noah was so worn out that right before the show started (10:30pm) he closed his eyes and did not wake up until the next morning!
(When we got home and looked through our pictures, Noah said "Hey! I don't remember riding in Katya's stroller!" That's because you were sound asleep, buddy!)
All in all, we had such a great time and I am so grateful to my parents for making our dreams come true!!!

Two weeks ago, my Dad and I (along with half of Salt Lake) stood in line for 8 hours to audition for Deal or No Deal. It was such a crazy day! At each interview we were given either 15 or 20 seconds to make an impression. I guess I said something interesting because I made it through all 3 interviews. The last interview was with one of the producers of the show and she said "you never know when I might call you!" It was a lot of fun. Hopefully I get a call someday but I'm not expecting it anytime soon...one of the producers said he interviewed a girl 2 years ago and just called her last month to be on the show!

Let's see, what else? We started Lucy on rice cereal...she still isn't too sure about it but she has low iron levels (just like her mama) so the iron (along with a supplement) should help with that. She has also started to roll over. She doesn't do it very often but she has gone both front to back and back to front. She is also trying to scoot a little. She is such a little sweetheart.
Noah celebrated his 6th birthday this month! We had a fun pirate party with 7 little boys. They walked the plank, sword fought and hunted for treasure. Noah had a great time and is already looking forward to next year's birthday party!

OK, that's it. I can't think anymore but I promise (Melissa) that I will blog again sooner rather than later!