Happy Birthday Noah!

            Noah turned three years old! He is such an awesome boy and we did all the things he loves on his boirthday.  He chose oatmeal for breakfast because its his favorite and he got to have as much as he wanted (the amount of oatmeal this kid will eat would amaze you!).  He didn't have to take a nap and he got to go to a place called "just kiddin around"  its basically a giant indoor kids playroom. It has everything in it and he asks to go there almost every day. So he finally got to go!  Then we just had a simple party with a chocolate chip/Blondie/brownie bar because he doesn't like cake. He is a pretty simple boy and loves to do simple things so it was a really great day for him. Before his birthday I asked what he wanted to do for his party, and he said he wanted to have a party with all his aunts and uncles.  It just so happened that we were going to be taking a trip with my family so At the end of September we took a trip to Utah and he got to have a big birthday party  (also to celebrate Ben and Danika's birthday which made it even better) with his aunts and uncles (and cousins) just like he wanted.  He really loves his family and is the sweetest funniest boy ever.  I just love this kid and cant get enough of him!

Just another day at the office...

I love my husband!  This is Jon doing something for work, he was all decked out in his gear and I think he looks awesome!  He has gotten to do a lot of cool things with his job and he does really well with all of it. Im proud of him and just wanted to show off how tough he looks!

Sweet Moments

                My two oldest kids are very different.  Ella loves everything purple and sparkly, Noah loves everything superhero and cars.  Makella is super emotional and wants to talk all day long, Noah is pretty even and half the time he tunes everyone out so he can play with his cars.  They are opposite in almost every way and they also share a room, so most days are filled with all kinds of fights and arguments.  “Mom, Noah is ignoring me and that makes me feel bad!” says Ella.  “Mom, Ella took my cars *insert wailing*, says noah.  Those are just the little fights, it goes on and on and back and forth. THEN, every once in awhile, my kids show me that just maybe there is hope for them yet.

             Makella came up to us and said that she wanted to throw a surprise party for Noah.   I told her it wasn’t his birthday and she said, “that’s ok, It will be an I love you party, so he knows that I love him.”  How could anyone say no to that?  So we got what we needed and she put it all together. I even let her make the cake.   Noah doesn’t like frosting, so she decided to only frost half the cake so that he could have some (my health nut two year old still didn’t eat any of it). While he was in the bath, She decorated his chair with his favorite colors and wrapped his favorite candy and a little car up so he could open them.   Then we both hid and jumped out and yelled surprise when he came out.   He really was so excited about it and I can tell that Makella felt really happy about it as well. I am so proud of her for doing such a nice thing for her brother to know that she loves him.  I hope that they can keep that kind of thing going as they grow up.

                            All the decorations and the cake and presents

She did all the wrapping herself and had Jon draw the blue bow on it because she couldnt find one.

In her hiding spot waiting for him to come out.

     Seriously the sweetest moment every! She told him why we were having a party and gave him a big hug. So cute!

Hugs for everyone!!

He had that cute little grin on the whole time. I cant think of a better way of spending an evening

Kindergarten

  How is it possible that I have a kid in kindergarten?  Most of the time I still feel like I Just got out of high school.  I totally should not have a five year old!  When Makella started preschool, I was just really excited for her to go, but kindergarten is different! I have been pretty nervous about it.  I am just sad to see my little girl growing up so much.  But like it or not, today was the day!  Ella has been more than excited to go to school and she was so ready!  She woke up this morning at 6:30 and got dressed right away in the outfit she had chosen last night to wear.  Then the next 2 and 1/2 hours were torture for her.  She could hardly stand the waiting.  It was finally time and we all walked her to school since its not too far from our house.  They lined them all up in their lines and she had to wait for her teacher to come out. She had her eyes locked on the doors waiting for her to come out.  While in line, she made sure to tell me that I couldn't stand in line with her because she wanted to be to do it all by herself...But I was allowed to take pictures.  The bell rang, she blew kisses, waved and then embarked on her kindergarten journey!

I went home and sat on the couch and was not sure what to do, I decided that I don't like not having my girl around every morning.  But now I get to have a little more time to focus on the things that Noah likes to do. It will be good for everyone, I think.

I went back to pick her up and when she ran up to me the first thing she said was, "My day was Awesome!!"  So I think that school is a hit. :)  She had such a good time and already knew a couple of girls in the class which just made it all that much better.

I am so proud of Makella and the little girl that she is. She is so kind to everyone around her and is also such a fun girl who absolutely loves to laugh and have fun. I hope that she can be challenged enough in the classes and enjoy learning and I also hope she can be a good example to the kids around her. I know she will be so great in school and I'm happy to see such a great start to her school days. 

California!

 After I found out I was pregnant,  it was only a few weeks later that I found out my sister was pregnant too!  Our due dates were only about 4 weeks apart.  It was fun to call her all the time and talk/complain/compare everything about our pregnancies.  She has been there for both of my kids' birth and I was there right after she had dixie, but we were due too close to do that again.  Instead I got to go down there after I had Asher to see her new baby.  Asher was born early and Willa was born a little late, so they ended up being about 6 weeks apart.  I left right after Asher's blessing and it was just me and the baby. My mother in law came up from Utah to help Jon take care of the kids while I was gone. I am so grateful that she did that, so I could go see my sister. My mom was also there and it was so great to just hang with them! (And really relaxing to feel like I only had one kid for a few days, it seems so easy without 2 other little kids to chase around.)  Asher did really good on the plane even when I missed my first flight and was held back awhile.  We finally made it and being at Wendy's house was so great!  I feel like I got to know Dixie so much better and she is such a fun little girl.  I loved playing with her and hearing all the cute things she says.

                                   This is the face she made when I told her to do her sad face.

      It was so hot while I was there, but we a chance for some pictures when we went outside one evening when it cooled down. I laid Asher on a blanket and he just passed out.  He loved laying outside.  It was crazy to see the difference 7 weeks can make.  Asher is so much bigger than Willa! But they are just so cute!

                                      
                                            

                                              Willa and Dixie in their matchin headbands.

          A couple more pictures of the two newest little ones. I like the above picture because it really shows how blond Asher's hair it. He has suck shimmery blond hair. Its so cute!  I like the below picture because I managed to get Willa smiling in her sleep.  You can really see it in this picture but when she smiles she has two dimples! She is a beautiful baby!

Asher's Blessing

 We had Asher's blessing day and it turned out perfect!  Jon's family was able to be there for it and my dad was also able to make it. Jon gave him a wonderful and powerful blessing and it was very special!  Im really grateful that Jon has the Priesthood and that we can recieve the blessing that go with that.  He takes these things very seriously and I really appreciate that.  Asher wore his little tuxedo which is the same one that Noah wore.  When Noah got blessed it barely fit him because he was a pretty big baby. Asher is so small that it was almost too big on him. He looked so cute though, it was perfect!  Our church is at 8:30 in the morning, so we went to sacrament meeting and then everyone came over for a little breakfast.  It was fun to have everyone over and chat and enjoy the morning.  Here are the pictures from the day!
  

Makella's new friend

     If you know me at all, its no surprise that I kinda love animals.  We haven't lived anywhere that would allow us get any kind of pet, and Ive learned to live with that.  But lately Ive been really really wanting to get a pet of some sort.  Jon has a lot more sense when it comes to things like that, so Long story short, after much annoyance and pestering, I finally convinced Jon that getting a hamster would be great for Makella. :)  Give her something to do and take care of and be responsible for.  Ive never really had a hamster and was nervous because I thought they all just bite and weren't very nice, but this hamster is so cute and nice and never bites. Even after being manhandled by a five year old. I've grown quite fond of her. Ella decided to name her Emma and noah really wanted to name her too, so we let him pick her last name.  He chose Gamzy (no clue where that came from)  So now we have our Emma Gamzy and life is a little more fun :)  Its fun to see Ella learn how to hold her and take of her and have her own little buddy.  Ella still has a bit of learning to do but Im happy to say that after being given a bath, locked in a very small drawer of a jewelry box(for who knows how long), being dropped a couple times, and squeezed a little too hard....she is still alive :)