Andy's head

I think this is a record for how often I've been blogging. Especially with how much I still have to do for Christmas. This post is in regard to Andy's rather large head (see Santa picture from two posts ago for confirmation). Andy falls a lot and always seems to faceplant on the floor. He has what we call a "permabruise" on his forehead. Yesterday evening Andy fell off of the chair and bumped his head again. This time was the worst. We waited, the swelling went down and we felt he was going to be OK. But the swelling went up again late last night...to twice the size of the original bump. We almost took him to the ER but opted against it after consulting with two nurses (are we bad parents for worrying about the cost of an Emergency Room visit?) This morning he is doing much better. His head is still big, of course, and the falls will keep happening. But at least for this Christmas season we might not have to visit the ER (we were there on Christmas Eve last year for Noah's allergic reaction to cashews).

Christmas Cookies

I made plates of cookies for all of the guys at Ephraim's work. We started out with 20 plates of cookies. Now we're down to 19.

Santa's Pajama Party

We had a great time tonight for Family Home Evening. We went to a local photo studio for a very fun Santa PJ Party. We got to listen to Mrs. Clause tell stories and sing songs about Santa.


We ate delicious treats we made ourselves.


We wrote letters to Santa Clause.


And we had a classic Santa Picture taken that we will treasure forever (well, most of us will treasure, anyway).



On another note, Noah was walking around today with a pad of paper and a pencil in his hand. He was making his Christmas list. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas (pencil and paper in hand, ready to write...what, I'm not sure...he's only 3). I told him I wanted a back massage. He informed me that Santa didn't have enough money for a back massage this year. "I want curtains for my Family Room," I said. "That's a good one, mom. Santa has enough money for curtains this year." Thanks, son.

Noah's surgery

So Noah was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 3 months ago. It's not so much a life and death situation but he does hold his breath in his sleep and his oxygen levels dip way down. He has been on oxygen at night for the last little while and we've been waiting to have his tonsils and adenoids taken out to prevent any extra blockage in his airways. This all goes along with the muscle condition that he has had since birth.

Yesterday Noah had his surgery. It went slendidly...so far. We were in and out of the hospital in about 3 1/2 hours and Noah's doing great. He's been enjoying the plethora of popsicles and sugary drinks to keep up his calorie intake...not that calorie intake has ever been a problem with Noah, as many of you know. The doctors and nurses were heroes and took such great care of him. He came out of the anesthesia well. When he got to us, he was in and out of sleep. At one point, he must have been dreaming, because he opened his eyes and said "If Santa doesn't come, then I'm going to have to go to the North Pole and get him."

I'm glad to have my son back to his old self this morning. He has been running around playing with and tackling Anderson. I'm grateful for the health of my family.

My parents

My parents came to visit a few weeks ago and I still haven't blogged about it. We LOVE it when my parents come. Its not about the free food and entertainment (yeah, right). It's about the fact that my parents love every minute they spend with our kids. Anyone who knows my parents knows they are a delightful, funny, very generous couple. Everyone who spends time with them just loves them.

Discovering Facebook

OK, so sometimes it takes me longer than the average person to get on the bandwagon and do what everyone else has been doing for some time. I joined Facebook yesterday. Within one day, I was connecting with friends that I haven't talked with in 12 years. Amazing! My only problem is that I don't know how I'm going to keep up with a blog, facebook, and all of the hundreds of things I have to do each day (ok, so some days I just sit around). There are just not enough hours in each day. My kids have been neglected today. I think this is what Elder Dallin H. Oaks was talking about when he gave the Conference address "Good, Better, Best." I love Facebook and the blog (and I will keep them up) but sometimes they have to give way to the best.

Happy Halloween!

What a Happy Halloween it was. We had a great time with all of the festivities leading up to Halloween and with the great pumpkin holiday itself. My mother makes the kids costumes each year and this year the Cowboy and the Indian were a big hit. Thank you grandma!

The costumes weren't a hit with the kids so much as they were with all adults involved...
these were the comments from my children as we were putting on the costumes:
Noah: I want to wear the moccassins
Andy: Mine boots, mine boots
This is significant because Noah was supposed to be the cowboy and Andy the Indian.
But it all worked out in the end.

The promise of lots of sweet candy kept the children excited. We had a great time with all of our friends. Cameo and Steph, thanks for coming! Your kids were adorable!

Mothers of Little Boys...

I recently heard the saying, "Mothers of little boys work from son up to son down." We just found out we are having our third boy at the end of March. I had thought all along that there would be some disapointment with this announcement (we knew it was coming). But even though I will soon be outnumbered 4 to 1, as soon as I saw that little guy squirming around on the sonogram I couldn't help but fall in love with him.

I do blame Ephraim for all of this. Before we ever had children he said he didn't think he could deal with having a girl...the dating, dressing, drama,... Eph is also trying to put together a basketball team. We are really very excited.

The Lord knows what should happen in our lives and I am confident in that. We will be raising future missionaries, husbands, and fathers.

Our new little guy is already measuring about two weeks ahead of schedule. This is a worry to us because I have big babies. Noah weighed 9'15 and Anderson 8'15 (Anderson was early). This could be the biggest one yet. I will be begging my doctor to induce me as early as possible!

This is Noah on his birthday, at his whopping 10 pounds. I didn't realize how big he was until I saw that no other baby in the nursery took up the whole bassinet.

The Pumpkin Patch

I think about every family visits a pumpkin patch during the Halloween Season and I've probably already read 4 posts from other families titled this exact same thing. We went to Staheli Farm in the Washington Fields with the Endsleys and the Steeles on Monday for Family Home Evening. We had a great time and the kids loved it. For some reason, we never seem to make it until dusk each year, so the kids end up trying to pick out pumpkins in the dark. They don't seem to mind.

This is Noah with his "girl" friend, Tippy.














Andy was trying to figure out which pumpkin he liked best.


















Noah and Andy were loving the animals.



























I love this picture of Andy. The face he's making is just perfect.















And the cow train is always a hit (even though it looks like they're not having fun!)

Andy's scooter

Andy received birthday money from his Grandma Nona so we went shopping! Andy got his very own scooter for his birthday! He loves it and the kids fight over who's going to ride it every day. Thank you, Grandma Nona for the great gift!

Andy, You're Two!

This weekend was Anderson's birthday! He turned 2, which he will gladly tell anyone. We don't have birthday parties for our kids until they turn 3...I don't believe in spending tons of money and time on something that my child is not going to remember or even understand. But that didn't stop us from having tons of fun!

We went to Jumpin' Jacks with some friends on Saturday night and then for pizza afterwards. A great time was had by all. The kids jumped, jumped, and jumped some more.








































After jumping all night, the next day (today) we had cake and ice cream with a few cousins and a couple of friends. Thank you, Aunt Summer and Grandma Sue for the birthday present. Andy loves it!



























We are worn out, even though we didn't put on a party! Wait, maybe we did put on a party. Happy Birthday Anderson! We hope there are many more warm memories to come.

Smiles

I am constantly thinking about all of the things I should be teaching Noah....his letters, numbers, manners,... I never thought that I would have to teach my son how to smile! It used to drive me crazy that Noah didn't smile the way I thought he should but now I love it because its just part of who he is. Some of these pictures are a little older, but I couldn't resist.




































































Anderson, on the other hand, smiles the biggest, full mouth, all teeth smile every time he sees the camera (accompanied by a loud "cheese!")

Noah

So, this is my conversation with Noah yesterday on the way up to Provo for a quick two day trip.

Noah: Why do we have to pack bags for our trip?
Mom: So we can have clothes to wear for tomorrow.
Noah: What happens if we don't have clothes to wear?
Mom: We would have to run around naked.
Noah: What happens if we run around naked?
Mom: We would get really cold.
Noah: What happens if we get really cold?
Mom: We could freeze to death.
Noah: What happens if we freeze to death?

This is where I usually cut off the conversation. I honestly think it would go on forever. My little Noah is great at asking questions. So many, in fact, that I tell Ephraim that every day I can only answer about half of them...or I think I might go crazy. I try to save my energy for the questions where I think he's learning a bit more.

Zion National Park

Sometimes I still can't believe Zion National Park is our back yard!

We love Conference Weekend every year and this year the weather was beautiful. We went up Sunday to the park to ride the shuttle on the scenic loop. Noah and Andy love anything where they get to spend time with Ephraim's sister and her family. We take this beautiful park for granted too often and need to use our annual pass more! What a great world we live in!