Easter

We are still alive and busy. This past week has been filled with unpacking, painting, and Brett finishing schoolwork like crazy. Noah is getting better from his double ear infection and Hyrum is still trying to get two more teeth in. We love our new house and neighborhood. I'll post more once things have settled down, but for now we wanted to wish you all a happy Easter.Hyrum hates getting his hair combed. . . I just had to take a picture to prove that I do comb his hair. 5 minutes after this picture he had messed it up to his liking:)

Noah has been smiling since the ear drugs kicked in.Bubbles make everyone happy.

The crazies

So, a lot has happened in the past week or so. We started moving a few things over about a week and a half ago. . . nothing big, just stuff we had in storage. The plan was to make the big move after Brett graduated. Well, last Saturday at about 10 am Brett was working on homework and I was watching the kids when suddenly Brett said, "What do you think about moving into the new house today?" We had absolutely nothing prepared to move and no idea how we would do it all, but when Brett has an idea there's no turning back. A few phone calls were made and then we were off to craziness. With some help from some friends THANK YOU RYAN, SAM, CHAD, NAOMI, and JASON. We moved everything over to our new home, except for a few things that we picked up on Monday. I couldn't believe we did it. We were in such a hurry to get things over that there wasn't a whole lot of organization. . . so now that we're here we feel the craziness. The house is a mess of bags, boxes, and random stuff all over. I really can't wait until we find homes for everything. With Brett busy with school and work and the boys busy with my time it makes moving slow. The good new is that the bedrooms and bathrooms are almost fully put away. The basement is also pretty put together, but the rest of the house is a bit scary. Over the next few weeks we're going to be pretty swamped, but I'll try and stay ontop of putting updates on here.

This is what you see when you walk in our house:Yay! One empty suitcase!

Hodge Podge

Brett is my Hero

The thesis paper is in!!! It's been a long and "are we there yet?" journey. Now 54 pages of text are through being edited by his advising Professor and off to the committee. Pretty much all that's left to do is defend and pass his classes he's in now. In other big news: Brett was released from being in the Bishopric. He's been serving for about two years and it's been wonderful. It was kind of fun having him home after church, even though he was like a deer in the headlights, not knowing what to do with himself. I'm excited to have the help during Sacrament meeting. Hyrum was only a month old when he moved to the stand, and so he hasn't experienced the escape artist yet. All summed up: We love you, Brett!

Welcome Home

WE HAVE A HOUSE!!! There have been a lot of mishaps and craziness in the purchase process, but all worth holding those keys in our hands on Monday and walking into a house that we can call our own. We've begun moving our stuff over and it's really fun and exhilarating to know our money is going to something we get to keep. Pictures to come in the future.

Don't Judge the Crazy Lady

Hyrum is sick and Noah has been in an "only happy when eating or being held" mood. Added to that Noah hasn't been falling asleep until around 1:30 in the morning and Hyrum hasn't been sleeping well with being sick. So, with all that in mind, I've had about 10 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours. My eyes are blood shot and my hair isn't fixed. I'm wearing glasses because my contacts sting when I'm really tired. My shirt is slobbered on and Hyrum has a permanent stream of snot coming down his face no matter how many times he blows his nose. Anyway, now that I've painted the picture I'll tell you the story:
I've been renting an electric pump since Noah was born. It's been wonderful! It was due today, and so I packed the boys up and drove to the office in Orem. Luckily Noah fell asleep in the car, but Hyrum made up for the two of them in demanding attention. I parked the car and put Noah in my carrier, grabbed the pump(which is a big box), and then took Hyrum out. It was pretty windy and cold outside. Hyrum walked behind me for a while but then just didn't want to walk anymore. He started screaming and threw a tantrum, throwing himself onto the ground. I tried to talk him into following but he was just not having a good day. He threw another tantrum and this time refused to get up. It was cold and I was done with being outside, so I finally just grabbed Hyrum around the waist (potato-bag-style) and walked toward the door. So, with Hyrum in one arm, screaming with snot all over his face and red teary eyes, the pump in the other arm, and Noah in the front I headed inside. People were looking at me and I could just hear their thoughts, "Man, I'm glad I'm not her. . . She should not have two kids. . . some people just can't control their children. . . etc." I put Hyrum down and he continued with his screaming and I just went to the counter, returned the pump, and got out of there as quickly as possible.
Basically it was the worst errand I've ever run, but I wanted to record it so that when I'm in Wal-Mart thinking: "That women needs some serious help with parenting." I want to remember that we all have days when we haven't slept, our kids are cranky, and nothing seems to be right. . . and that's okay. It really makes us appreciate the days and moments when everything goes right.

Seing is believing

Ok, I know that this title is false. However, I just wish I could put into words how cute our little men are, and videos are really the best way to explain. I could only figure out how to put all three videos into one so here they are:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

1. Sunday dance party. He was being a dance machine, but got a little shy when he saw the camera.

2. Hyrum talking and giving Noah a piggy back ride. So, the piggy back ride might seem strange, but for some reason Hyrum LOVES playing this game with Noah. He'll climb up onto the couch and tell me to put Noah on his back. It's funny. We watched the video just afterward and Hyrum said all of the words before his 'video self' said them, and he made the lion noise. . . he always gets camera shy.

3. Dad getting Hyrum ready for bed. . . or something:)

Dates to Remember

Happy Pi Day on March 14th! We celebrated the glorious 3.14 by making an apple pie. The greatest pi day quote from my mathematically inclined sister, Michelle:
Pi is like a pregnant women: Irrational but well rounded.
Thanks Mic! (Can't wait for your little guy to come)

Over the weekend Brett's parents came into town. I was dumb enough to forget to put the memory card back into my camera after blogging last week! Sadly, you'll miss out on Brick Oven pictures and the grandparents. Just know, we had fun and it was great having a breather with them here.

So, I put a handful of chopped dried dates on the table for Hyrums snack the other day. He was munching away happily so I went downstairs to switch the laundry. I came back upstairs to hear a series of 4 or 5 sneezes. When Hyrum finished his sneeze fest he put his finger up his nose and signed for more. I thought he was asking for more sneezes. I asked him if that's what he wanted and he just put his finger up his nose again and signed for more and this time he had a concerned look on his face. I told him that I didn't understand what he wanted. He contemplated for a moment and then put his finger up his nose and this time said "stu" which means stuck. I made the connection and realized that he had put some dates up his nose. I got him to blow one out in a kleenex and then over the next half hour he sneezed out two more!!! Brett didn't see much humor in this event when I was telling him, but I can't help but think of how funny it will be when we tell him about this at his 16th birthday.

Together at last

Noah has an ear infection. . . for anyone who's had a baby with an ear infection you know what it's like. Let's just say it's not fun, and we had a couple of really tough nights. The drugs seem to be doing there job now though. Last night he was back on his 4 hr and 3 hr stretch of sleeping.

I've been trying for the past three weeks to find a good opportunity to take a picture of the boys together. But, in all honesty, we keep them apart as much as possible for the safety of Noah. We got a picture last week of Hyrum lying next to him (with Brett and I ready to pounce if needed). Today Hyrum was being so good that I thought I would try and put them together again. When I would take Noah away, Hyrum would sign for more and it was just so cute. These are the results:Later tonight Hyrum was playing in the room where Noah's pack-n-play is. He was just content playing with his toys and not paying any attention to Noah, so I left for one minute to grab a diaper. I literally walked in the other room and walked back. As soon as I stepped in the room Hyrum had a mischievious grin on his face and he was running to Noah's bed with two balls in hand. After throwing them in he ran off. It was SOOOO funny. It was like he had this premeditated plan and was anxiously awaiting me to leave so he could execute. As soon as Hyrum ran off I grabbed the camera to document what I saw:

Our Teether and our Newborn

Noah is now 2 weeks old and doing great. He finally passed his bilirubin test on Tuesday. He was fighting a little bit of jaundice and had to go to the lab to get 'pricked' every day or two since we left the hospital. It was great news to find out that we wouldn't have to go back again.
Night times are never fun with newborns, but I must say that overall Noah's been a dream (no pun intended). He doesn't cry very often, and so at night we just wake up to grunting noises. It's kind of cute. He has been getting at least one 3 hour stretch in every night, and often does a 4 hour stretch. There was even a fluke night of 6 hours of sleep! Let's just hope he stays on this route. . . or improves.Hyrum is still being a great big brother. He doesn't quite understand his own strength or Noah's fragile little body, but his heart is in the right place. We're still working on it with him, but one upside is that Noah will be one tough little boy. Hyrum has been struggling with his molars coming in and so we've had a couple of nights that were not very fun. Hyrum would wake up in the middle of one of Noah's 'long' stretches of sleep, screaming and needing more drugs. We look forward to a mouth full of teeth. . .If we time it right Hyrum will have all his teeth the same time that Noah sleeps 8+ hours at night. Woudn't that be awesome?!
Anyway, I just love having my two little men. They're so cute together and will only get cuter as they get older.P.S. We'll be closing on our house in a little over a week!!! We're so excited!