My Budding Scientist

I couldn't be more proud. When Noah, my Kindergartener, showed some interest in doing a Science Fair project, I jumped on it...and it was amazing! (I might be a little biased...)

His project was on whether or not food coloring changes the taste of food. And he won 3rd place in the Science Fair (among the kindergartners, at least)! Perfect...good enough to place but not enough that we have to put more work into moving on to District (is that bad of me to say?)

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Here he is with his friend, Mazie, who placed second (isn't she adorable?) And isn't he tall? He definitely has the Hanks genes for height.

For those of you interested, his conclusion was that food coloring does not change the taste of food. Although it did trick some people into thinking it does...

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Some pictures of the process...

Around Here (aka, Picture Overload)

We've had some exciting news around here lately. The MOST exciting being the birth of our beautiful baby girl, Katherine Grace. We like to call her Kate.

She is an amazing addition to our little family, which seems "not so little" anymore.

The labor and delivery was my hardest, by a stretch (I will remind Kate of this during the tough teenage years). I passed out, bled (a lot, like 3 liters a lot) and the labor and pushing was longer than the others. But it was all worth it in the end. 8 lb 3 oz, 21 inch baby Kate made her entrance into this world at 4:03pm on a cloudy January 23rd. And we can't get enough of her.

Welcome to the world, little cheesy vernix baby.

We all assumed she would have blonde hair and blue eyes like her brothers. But we were surprised with dark hair (a long tuft of it at the crown of her head) and dark blue eyes.

Her brothers love her. A lot.

Andy, waiting to hold her...

I'm loving the pink. and the flowers. and the bows.

Other news headlines include...

Lucas Kimball is potty-trained! He decided about 2 weeks before the arrival of baby Kate that he wanted to wear big boy underwear. And we are all as pleased as punch!

Noah got a "Student of the Month" award at his school in the area of Science/Social Studies

Andy...well, Andy is just as cute as ever...

and Ephraim, oh Ephraim. He is battling a kidney stone for the 9th day in a row. Any suggestions? I feel like we've tried everything...from 2 ER visits, to a CAT scan, to home remedies, to drugs (legal, of course).

But we go on. and our family feels complete. This time for sure.

The tooth

So I've always had this fear of having to pull out a child's tooth when it becomes loose. I don't like to watch it being done and I certainly don't ever want to do it myself. Thank you, Noah, for making the process of losing a tooth a lot easier on all of us.

We took the kids over to a fun babysitting night at the Community Center last night. We sent 3 kids, each with a full set of teeth, and came home with all 3 kids and one less tooth. We didn't even know that Noah's tooth was loose, but it must have been, because it only took an animal cracker to knock it free.

The tooth is still somewhere at the Community Center, which is the only sad part of this whole experience. We hadn't even talked to Noah in detail about the Tooth Fairy (since he's not even in Kindergarten and we didn't know the tooth was loose), so he didn't bring the tooth home with him (nor did he tell anyone that it fell out).

The funniest part is that when we got home, Noah said "Dad, my tooth feels weird. Will you look at it?" Dad's response after looking at the tooth: "Noah, your tooth feels weird because you don't have one."

But, luckily, the Tooth Fairy comes whether you have the evidence or not.



Noah, you are so dang cute with a missing tooth! I can't get enough of seeing you smile!

Back to School

It's that time of year again...and we love it. Not the driving and time-management so much. But the excitement and anticipation of what a school day holds...that we love. (and mom loves a few hours of freedom each week).

Both of the older boys are attending preschool just down the street from us. Different schools...we just thought it would be better that way.

Andy was quite excited his first day.


How we got to school...


And Noah would stay all day if he could. (these pictures weren't forced or anything)



Noah just turned 5 at the end of July. We struggled over whether to send to Kindergarten this year or not. In the end, we decided that another year of preschool wouldn't hurt. I hope we made the right decision.

Noah's preschool graduation

We love Noah around here for so many reasons. He's cute, fun, smart, informative, and compassionate.

Another reason we love Noah is that sometimes he is unpredictable (which adds a little entertainment to our otherwise boring lives)...

Noah's preschool graduation video (click here)
(bear with us for the first uneventful part of this video)

Highlights of this video...

1. Of course Noah's attitude towards this sweet, innocent boy sitting next to him.
2. Noah joining in on the last letter of the song
3. And Noah's comment at the end..."He distracts me."

Noah, we love you so much. Quirks and all.

Just in Case...

I put on my shoes this morning only to find that Noah had autographed one of them. So just in case I lose my shoes, they can be returned to us. Maybe we should write our phone number as well.

The culprit (who is in desperate need of a haircut)...


When I asked Noah about the shoes, he walked directly to the kitchen table and said "I'll put myself on time-out."

At least something is sinking in.

Next Stop...American Idol

I think it's pretty safe to say
he didn't get his dad's singing voice...
which means he must have mine

Shout Out

This is a shout out to my graphic designer brother-in-law who volunteered to take our pictures last weekend while we were up in Provo. Or his wife volunteered him. But either way, we are grateful for his patience, willingness, and photoshopping skills.

This small version of the shot doesn't do it much justice. But I love the background and the warmth of the picture. Thanks, Chris and Heidi. You guys are the best!

And here are a couple more for your viewing pleasure.


And...who else could take this sweet-looking innocent picture (which I love)...


and turn it into this...

(who else except my 80s rock-loving brother-in-law. And who else would print out an 8x10 for his office...only his 80s rock-loving brother).

Preschool

Firsts seem to come so quickly as children exit the toddler years. Today was Noah's first day of preschool. He hit the ground running. Literally. He couldn't get to his classroom fast enough. I love it.

Really, I love it.

Five hours a week of freedom. For about two seconds, I thought about putting him into two different preschools. Ephraim wasn't a fan.

And I know most parents think they have the smartest kid. I'm no different. Today, after preschool, I asked Noah if he also wanted to be on a soccer team with his friend, Hunter. Noah smiled and said "Yeah. And I'll bring my bat so I can hit the ball."

He's a genius.

Sharing Time

Noah is a Sunbeam this year in Primary. Ephraim and I are lucky enough to teach the Sunbeam class. But not Noah's class. He is in the other Sunbeam class. Which can be good and bad.

The Good: I love serving in Primary where I am able to watch Noah learn and grow from this wonderful program in our Church.

The Bad: I always want to get up and discipline my little angel during Sharing Time and have a hard time leaving it all up to his teacher (who is great, btw). Some Sundays Ephraim has to hold me down in my seat.


Sometimes Noah takes Sharing Time literally. We have been talking about temples this month in Primary. Last week the counselor in charge of Sharing Time was talking about ways we can prepare to go to the temple. She mentioned potty talk not being acceptable and how we should apologize if we use it. Noah "shared" that his dad uses potty talk at our house and apologizes afterwards. Which is funny, because Ephraim has the cleanest mouth I know.

Yesterday was my turn. The Primary President was talking about temple recommends. Noah informed the Primary that my temple recommend was expired...which was true. But after the laughter ceased, I replied..."And that's why I got it renewed."

I wonder what he's going to share next week.

Our Firstborn

My firstborn (in the wilderness, as Ephraim likes to add...well, he WAS born in Kentucky surrounded by lots of trees) has just turned four. Boy does time fly. Having children has changed our lives in so many ways. Gone are the days of last-minute movies at the theater, quiet, romantic dinners, and a clean house. Now we embrace Diego cartoons, cleaning up food from under the table, and lego injuries (have you ever stepped on one of those things?...ouch!). Eph and I were married for four years before we had kids and I can barely remember how easy we had it.

We no longer sleep in (Andy likes to run to our bedside at 6:30am shouting "It's the morning time...I want some chocolate milk"), we eat cheeseburgers at McDonalds instead of steak at Outback, and we find ourselves reading Llama Llama Red Pajama more frequently than the scriptures.

I remember fondly the day Eph and I welcomed this 9 lb 15 oz butterball into our lives.

I have loved watching him grow from a cherubic infant


To a fun and curious toddler


...and now into such a handsome, obedient little boy. I wouldn't have our lives any other way.

I don't put on birthday parties every year...so yesterday we grabbed a couple of neighborhood kids and took them to Jumpin' Jacks for a couple of hours. And then returned home for some cake and ice cream. Noah had the time of his life.

And thanks to Gma Nona and Gpa Randy for the Birthday Bikes. We now spend our days outside in 105 degree Southern Utah sunshine teaching our boys how to ride.


Happy Birthday Noah!...and bring on the next four years

I think we can handle it.

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.