One busy week. . . with a happy ending

1. After 5 1/2 years of tough, fun, crazy, and busy school schedules Brett has finally finished! On Friday he graduated with a Masters Degree in Computer Science. I'm so proud of him in accomplishing what sometimes seamed like the impossible with everything else going on. He still has his Thesis to defend, but that's just a matter of waiting from his board to schedule a date. Way to go Brett!!! Here are some pictures:2. Noah was blessed today. We love our little man so much and are amazed at what different personalities we can already tell our boys have. Noah is our starving man. We had a really hard time getting Hyrum to gain weight. You would think by the way Noah acts sometimes that we starve him. He just can't get enough. He seems very patient and mellow (especially with Hyrum as an older brother). Here are some pictures:As I was taking this picture, Hyrum reached in to give Noah a cheeto. . . his facial expression is almost saying "Mom, save me from this crazy man!"
These are the bookcases we got at Ikea a few weeks ago. I love having an Ikea so close, and thanks for all the help placing things and decorating them Partridges.
3. Last but definitely not least, all of Brett's family came into town this weekend for graduation and the blessing. What was most amazing about the visit is that they used this vacation time to all work their tails off for us to get things put together in our house. They patched holes, removed a door, hung pictures, built closet shelves, put together a book case, and . . . I think you get the idea (there is a lot more that I haven't listed). They did so much to help us get a jump on the move-in process. Last week I was feeling like it would be months before we could get all the things done that they accomplished in one weekend. We are so grateful to have such great families. THANK YOU PARTRIDGE/GROVER/FARNSWORTHS!!! With all the organizing, building, decorating, and stuff I forgot to take pictures. Luckily, Brett got this one of his Grandma watching the kids. It takes one strong and patient women to watch all these kids so that we could get more work done upstairs. Thanks again!

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: