Birthday Boy

Noah is FIVE!!!  Noah is such a blessing in our family.  He is caring, kind, compassionate, loving, sensitive, and so smart.  He is the emotional force in our home with mostly boys, which is wonderful (and sometimes drives us crazy too:).  He is a wonderful big brother and younger brother.  Noah is happy and loved by EVERYONE he comes in contact with.  We love him SO much!  

For Noah's birthday he had a few requests: Reeses Puffs for breakfast, video games ALL day, balloons, Chuck E Cheese, corndogs, a chocolate cake with cookie ice cream and oreos AND sprinkles AND a big 5 on top, and last but not least a bubble bath.  This boy knows what he likes and what he wants, so we tried to deliver the best we could.  Brett had to work late, but was able to go into work a little late and come home for cake just before bed time. Since it was a school night and we knew Brett would be working a lot we decided to go to Chuck E Cheese on Presidents Day as a family to fulfill that wish.  We were able to fulfill each of his wishes (so glad he didn't wish for anything to crazy!), although he didn't really play video games all day.  We opened presents after Reeses Puff cereal in the morning and than Noah got to play video games with Brett before he went into work.  After lunch I played video games with him while the baby took his nap.  We had corn dogs for dinner and than cake and bath time.  It was a fun day and Noah was very happy.  Here is some photo documentation:

Valentines Day

We had a lot going on the week of Valentines, but I still wanted to make it a special time for the boys.  Last year the boys picked out the cheep $3 cards from WalMart and they spent several hours over several days writing their names and the kids in the classes names on every single card.  I insist on the boys helping with projects even though it makes things take longer.  This year I knew we wouldn't have time for several hours of writing names so I went online to look for some ideas.  I found a few cute ideas and let the boys pick one out that they could both agree on and be happy with.  Then they picked out the colors of the fonts when I made the tags on the computer.  Hyrum helped me cut them out and than we made an assembly line to fill, fold, and staple the bags shut.  The whole process only took a couple of hours for over 50 valentines, each with their names printed out on the back.  Voila!  Sometimes homemade is so much easier than bought. 

In the morning the boys woke up to pink and sprinkled doughnuts, pink milk, and a few little valentines prizes for them to play with.   

The thing I was most excited aboutwas helping in Hyrum's class. For their Valentines Day party I was in charge of a craft.  I cut out a million felt hearts with two holes in each and we made necklaces.  It was really fun and more importantly Hyrum was so happy to have me in his class.  I haven't been able to help nearly as much in his class as I did last year, so I was ecstatic to be there.  I love seeing him around friends and his amazing teacher.  

The First Tooth!

Hyrum is very aware of everyone that looses their teeth in his class.  He has been wanting to loose a tooth for a over a year now because a lot of his friends have already lost more than a few.  Last Monday after school he told me that his bottom front tooth was loose.  He was so excited about his loose tooth, he kept asking me questions about the Tooth Fairy and how to pull his tooth out.  I wiggled his tooth and tried to calm his excitement because it really wasn't that loose.  It wiggled back and forth a little, but it could easily stay in for another week before it was ready to pull/fall out.  Hyrum asked me to pack an apple for him in his lunch the next day because he REALLY wanted to loose his tooth at school so that he could go to the principals office to get a 'tooth container' the office gives out.  When Tuesday came I completely forgot to put an apple in his lunch.  Just before he left for the bus he pleaded with me to PLEASE punch him in the mouth so his tooth would pop out easier at school.  I declined and sent him off.  He was glowing when he got home as he showed me his tooth container with his tiny tooth inside.  There was a little bit of dried blood on his hand and some on his face that looks like it wasn't wiped off very well.  I asked him how he got it out, because it wasn't ready yet.  He said that he pulled and pulled and wiggled and wiggled a lot until it finally came out.  He also said it kind of hurt to pull it out, but he really wanted to loose the tooth before school got out.  Hyrum inherited his bull-headed determination from his Dad.  When they want something they will do WHATEVER it takes to get it.  This is a great quality to have, most of the time.:)   The Tooth Fairy did pay him a visit.  She gave him a tooth receipt with a map of his teeth and a note detailing the event and condition of his tooth.  The Tooth Fairy, unfortunately was not planning on him loosing his tooth this fast, so she snuck a quarter out of his bank to pay him.  So, he was basically going to be his own Tooth Fairy, but luckily Brett managed to find a quarter just before we went to bed.  I love watching his excitement and joy to experience this new passage of development.  

Random Goodness

I decided to empty out my phone pictures again.  The planned events and fun activities are awesome, but a lot of the smiles in my life come from the little unplanned things that just happen.  The pictures aren't great, but they are memorable.  

Emmett has such chunky legs that he doesn't roll over all that well, but he still manages to get around.  It's pretty funny to watch.  He scoots around all over the floor on his back.  The only problem is because he stares at the ceiling he never knows where he's going and I find him in odd places.  

I love the relationship my boys have with each other.  Sometimes they fight but they really do have a lot of love.  We had quite a few sick days this month and several times I found my boys snuggled up together watching a movie.   

When they were feeling good they would also chase each other around the house in capes.  Capes are always a hit in our house.  Owen is adding more and more words to his vocabulary.  Some of his words are a little harder to understand, but I've learned that "My-a" is what he says when referring to pretty much any superhero.  When he puts on a cape he yells is really loud as he runs around.   

Here's another cute picture of my sleepy boys.  I went to run a quick errand so of course Noah grabbed a container full of cars and Owen grabbed a head-lamp and his sippy cup.  They were out in less than five minutes of being in the car.  I sat in the parking lot of the store for about ten minutes before I had to wake them up to come in with me.  I really wish I could have left them to sleep.  

Here's another cute sick sleeping boy.  I was putting the other boys to bed and when I went downstairs to work on homework with Hyrum he had put himself to sleep next to his heater in the doorway.  I carried him to bed and he slept for over twelve hours.  

Have I mentioned how happy Emmett is?  I've started pureeing our regular foods to give to Emmett and he is loving pretty much everything. 

Once all of the sick bugs were gone I took the boys to Scheels to ride the Ferris Wheel.  They loved it. Hyrum was super excited that he was tall enough to ride all by himself.  

Resolutions 2014

Devour Less  - Savor More

I've spent all week thinking over and over again about my resolutions for the year.  Most years resolutions aren't a big deal for me.  It's more of something I say because that's what you're supposed to do at a new year, rather than a true desire to move forward and make changes.  I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life and I am anxious and excited.  In the past 8 years since Brett and I got married we have moved 3 times, bought a home, given 4 boys life, had 7 different vehicles, and a numerous other moments that we cherish.  We feel like Emmett is our last baby and I cling to his sweet baby smell as much as I can, because he is our last.  As exhausting and physically demanding having four small children is I love it.  Sometimes they drive me absolutely crazy, and most days I feel like I'm out of my mind, but I LOVE IT!  I know some people will negatively judge me for this, but Emmett started to taper off nursing a few weeks ago and I let it happen.  My hormones calm down when I'm not nursing, so my baby blues are gone and I've been feeling amazing.  Emmett is now completely weaned off. I made it six months, which was my goal, and I am happy to be done. With all of these changes it dawned on me that I will never be pregnant again.  I am overwhelmingly grateful for my beautiful miracle pregnancies and births.  I love my children.  I love knowing that someday I can say something like, "one day I sat on the couch and grew your internal organs while I watched TV." or "I was shopping at Walmart when you kicked me in my ribs and I knew that you were a fighter." or "I craved corn dogs and oranges everyday except for the occasional steak when I was growing you."  I think someday I will miss holding a tiny new baby and having him hold my hand and depend on me for his survival.  I love and cherish my experiences, as hard as they were, and am so grateful for those memories.  With all that said, now I can say I am SO happy that I will not have to get up to go to the bathroom three times every night just to climb back in bed and uncomfortably toss and turn while I pretend to kind of sleep (or at least for another fifty years).  I am so happy that I will never have to worry about wetting my pants every time I sneeze - yep that happened a lot (I also realize this worry may come back in 50).  I am so happy that I don't have to be terrified of dying when they cut me open and pull out my organs (I don't like c-sections, but I'm glad all my boys came out safely).   I could go on, but I think you get the point.  A few years down the road, if Heavenly Father has another plan for us, than I will happily go down this path again, but for now I will be happy.  This is not just a new year for me, it's a new start.  It's the start of a great adventure.  There are a lot of things that have been hard to stay motivated about because in the back of my mind a little voice says, "Wait! Don't do that, (or don't plan that) you might be pregnant or nursing at that time."  It feels like every aspect of our marriage plans have revolved around how much I can handle when pregnant or nursing.  Now I feel like we can revolve all our focus and plans around our kids and not just my inabilities.  I see vacations, a dog, road trips, etc. in our horizon and I'm excited.  What does all of this have to do with my resolutions?  I've spent a lot of time devouring things (time, money, food, . . .)in present minded-ness but now I really want to stop and savor the things we have so that we can make more room for the future.  So, here it is:

Devour Less - Savor More :  The plan

    Major diet.  I no longer have the little red suited man in the back of my head telling me there's no use in trying to loose weight or get healthy because I'll just gain it all back, plus some extra, with the next baby.  I know I'm only a week into my new diet, but so far I'm conquering it.

    Budgeting.  Just because you have something doesn't mean you should use it.  We've always kept savings accounts and are pretty good with our finances, but we also know that we can do better.  Devouring less means more put away for more meaningful things.  That's where the savoring comes in.  Stop buying more and start buying smart.  That's our goal.  

   Time.  I like having projects.  I take that back.  I love having projects.  I also love having the house clean, cooking homemade meals, making baby food, crafting, and girls night outs.  I have tried many times in the past to do all of these things. . . all at once.  It doesn't work.  Stop it!  I need to stop devouring everything and stop being spastic.  Cool down.  I'm not giving up on any of these things, but this year I want to spend more time enjoying the moments I'm in before I move on to the next.  

I'm sure the years to come will bring us lots of memories and changes, and I know it will be hard.  But, as hard as it will be I know it will also be equally, or even more, awesome.  I'm so excited for the next stage in our life and moving forward. That's all.  Happy New Year!

6 Months

With the Holidays I missed recognizing our adorable little angel baby, Emmett.  We call him Happy, because that's just what he is.  He rarely cries or fusses. When I put him to bed he goes to sleep, and stays asleep.  He laughs and smiles at his brothers, and is just so snuggly.  He has the fattest little legs I've ever had in a baby.  He's healthy and all around wonderful.  We love him.  

While I was taking some pictures of Emmett's cuteness Noah insisted that I take a picture of what he calls "Two's up".  I explained that it resembled Peace, but he kept calling it Two's Up.  

I think we either enjoy his cuteness a little too much or don't push him enough, but he just started rolling over from front to back and seems very content with his progress. I'm enjoying and loving this stage in his life and don't want it to go too fast.  Happy half year little cutey!

The New Year began cold and icey. . .

at an awesome ICE CASTLE!

After we got back from Arizona we did a lot of 'spring' cleaning and finishing projects.  The boys were good sports and did some hard work around the house, but they also played hard too.  This was the fun activity we planned before they needed to go back to school.  It was really incredible that this maze of ice and tower walls was all man-made on flat ground.