Sleep

I wish I had the ability to fall asleep anywhere and to sleep through anything.

Standing up in his jumperoo...
He too finds church exhausting...Got to love the hand behind his head...
People are often amazed at what he sleeps through. It is such a blessing to have such a sound sleeper.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dan is officially another year older and hopefully wiser too. This birthday was a little more difficult for him as he is that much closer to the big 4-0. He is officially in his mid 30's. We didn't celebrate much this year, too much going on. We did have friends over for dinner and brownie sundaes. The kids had a lot of fun putting a present together for him which consisted of things they already owned and 2-liter bottle of Diet Pepsi. I made him his requested item out of the current issue of Food Network Magazine, Chocolate Dipped Key Lime Pie. Unfortunately, Walmart didn't have a full pie, they only a smaller serving of 2 slices. So, we all couldn't try it.

A happy party goer.....

Another Bird Update

The darn birds are back and have made another nest. Hopefully we can get this taken care of before they decide to lay eggs in it.

Nature vs Nurture

We have this discussion a lot in our household. What skills, traits, or behaviors are you born with, compared to what you learn from those around you.

I had bought these teeny, tiny ice cream cones for Noah's party, but didn't end up using them. Dan decided to get them out the other night and fixed up one for Jack. Both of us were shocked that he knew right away what to do with it. Which makes me wonder, are you born with the knowledge of how an Ice Cream Cone should be eaten?

Here are a few pictures of him going at it:
He really enjoyed it and didn't make that big of a mess with it. I'm surprised the cold didn't bother him.

Sunday Best

My handsome trio...
My two sons...

Happy Birthday Noah!

I can't believe he is already 6 years old.

Noah got to have his first friends party this year. Since he wanted to invite a somewhat large group we decided to reserve the Cultural Hall at the Church.

He decided he wanted a Cars theme since the new movie was coming out. That's all he would give me. I came up with the idea of having the kids decorate cardboard cars and then creating a Drive-in movie. Noah really liked this idea and I was able to get Dan on board as well. He helped me figure out how to make it a reality.

The movie set up was a no brainer. The church had a projector and screen we could set up. The hardest part would be finding enough boxes. It just so happened that we had a new family moving into the ward. The Foists were more than happy to give us their empty boxes. It was so nice to have so many the same exact size. Dan painted them all for me, with left over paint we had in the garage. I went through our craft boxes and found a number of things the kids could use to decorate them.

Noah and I worked together and designed the invitations on the computer.

This party was a fun family project.

Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Welcome to Radiator Springs...
Sally's Cozy cone Gift Shop, aka the gift table...

Ramone's Paint and Body Art shop, where they got to decorate their cars...

We set out markers, glitter glue, contact paper, foam sticker letters and shapes, paper, scissors, glue, and contact paper, and electrical tape. We let the kids go to town. Don't worry there were several adults to supervise.

Some of the other stations we had were:

• Doc Hudson's - the kids picked out their car, they had a choice between yellow, green, or blue.
• Sarge's Surplus - they could pick out patriotic stickers for their vehicle.
• Lizzie's Curio Shop - the kids had to pick up their license plates.
• Luigi's Tire Shop - no car is complete with out tires (black paper plates), headlights (contact paper), or tail lights (red duct tape).
• Flo's V-8 Cafe - the refreshment and cake table.
• Radiator Springs Drive-in - the final destination of the evening.
• Tow Mater's Salvage yard - Jackson's hang out.

All the kids had picked up their car and were waiting for further instructions...

We had a really good turn out: Erik, Kysha, Kambrie, Wyatt, Dayton, Jenna, Kiplan, Dallin, Sam, William, Felicity, Shelbie, Colton, Cameron, Rachael, Joshua, and Sister Egbert. Grandma Sandi and Papa Tim were able to make it too.

Decorating their cars. This was a lot of fun to watch Some kids were more in to it then others. Everyone had fun making their car unique...
Tow Mater's Salvage and Tow Yard, aka Jack's hang out...

Notice his Mater shirt. I had to go to several different Walmarts to find one small enough for him.

The cars are all decorated and everyone is waiting for the movie to begin...

Noah was so embarrassed to have everyone sing Happy Birthday to him...
During the Movie...

We decided to show the Cars Toons Mater's Adventures. This way we could play as many or as few of the shorts as we had time for.

Kambrie really enjoyed all the food available at Flo's V-8 cafe (our refreshment stand)...

We had Cars cupcakes from Sam's Club, red licorice, popcorn, bottled water with Cars labels, and 4 different snack sized chocolate bars to choose from.

I think all the kids who attended had a lot of fun. The only hectic part of the whole evening was while Noah was opening his gifts. All the kids were really anxious to see him open what they brought and to see what else he got.

Set up went smoothly and clean up was a breeze. We had a lot of parents who helped clean up as they were picking up their child. I know I couldn't have done it with out the help of my parents, or Erik and Jalyssa, who helped man the stations. It was also nice to have Colton, Cameron, Rachael, and Sister Egbert there to lend a hand as well.

Not bad for our first attempt at an actual birthday party.

Another Brother

Recently while driving around town, Noah informed his friend Erik that he had two brothers. I quickly corrected him, letting him know he only had Jackson for a brother.

He proceeded to inform all that he had two brothers. Jack was in his car seat and there was another brother in his mom's tummy.

I quickly corrected him again, telling him there is not a brother in my tummy.

Well, he didn't agree. He claims there is another one waiting to come and he is probably in my tummy right now.

I have no clue where he comes up with this stuff.

Noah's Swim Lessons

Noah finally got his turn to take swimming lessons at the local swimming pool. His teachers were Mr. Josh and Miss Kate. I was impressed at how much patience Mr. Josh had with a few of the kids in his class. Noah made great improvement through out the 2 weeks and even stepped out of his comfort zone a time or two. I still wouldn't say that he is an independent swimmer yet, though he would claim differently, but he is getting there. By the end of his class he was jumping in, going underwater, floating on his back unassisted, and pushing off the side of the pool. We need to work at getting his arms, legs, and breathing to work together. I'm hoping to put him in another session this fall, or winter.

Some highlights from the 2 weeks of swimming lessons:

Floating on his back...

Jack hanging out at the pool...

Waiting for his one on one time with Mr. Josh....

Pushing off the side...

Trying to swim...

More of Jack...

Here are some pictures from the last day of class. He was brave enough to jump off the diving blocks. I have never, nor will I ever do that. They terrify me. But he did it several times...

Jackson is 10 Months Old

The past month has sure flown by. I can't believe how big he is getting. I am happy to report that he has remained healthy.

We have focused a lot at introducing finger foods and letting him self feed more often. I am still feeding him the majority of the time, as he is under weight. I am doing my best to make sure he eats enough calories through out the day. I don't have a weight update. He isn't schedule to go back to the doctor until next month.

However, I think our biggest accomplishment is that he is now sleeping through the night. Yes, you heard that right. He sleeps all night in his own bed. My first kid ever to accomplish that at this age. I am loving it. I give him a bottle around 9 pm and he usually sleeps until 8:30 am. He would sleep in longer if Noah and Zoe weren't so anxious to see him every morning.

He has graduated from army crawling and is now up on his hands and knees. He is also starting to walk along furniture. He is becoming more mobile and more curious as the days go by. Noah and Zoe are learning the hard way that they can't leave things down on the ground that they don't want him messing with.

He is still my happy, easy going baby. And his older brother and sister still love him to pieces. In some ways I am glad the newness hasn't worn off, but they are getting a little too confident and try to carry him when I'm not looking.

Here are a few pictures taken this past month:

He loves Cheerios, I think he could eat his weight in them if I'd let him...

He also loves scrambled eggs...

He couldn't get enough pizza the other night...

This is his latest habit. He will take a bite and then use his finger to position it in his mouth...

He loves to empty all the cups, bowls, and plates out of the drawer. I need to fix the child lock...

Noah holding him before church, so I could get Zoe ready...