9.10.13

Summer is ending, and I think we played hard enough that I am ready for Fall. I am grateful for the fun memories we were able to create. I took Jason and Noah on a hike almost every week. Kyle and I even managed to squeeze in a hike without kids up at Alta. Jason got easier and easier to hike with as he got stronger and more used to walking, while Noah got harder and harder as he became more and more independent, wanting to be carried less and less.

The boys spent a lot of time in their swim suits. Noah can spot a swim suit from a mile away; he picks it up and brings it over for me to put on him, no matter the size. We got some good laughs at him wandering around with size 5 trunks barely hanging on around his diaper. Noah also loves his life jacket, and he wants to walk around with it on whenever he sees it, even if that means walking around with it on in our garage.

Jason is a lot braver in the water. He loved his swimming lessons. After a whole summer of the three amigos (me, Jason, and Noah) doing all sorts of activities together, I am finding that Jason is having some separation anxiety now that is time to go back to school. Hopefully the anxiety will be over soon.
Jason and I had this conversation yesterday:

Jason: When are we going to have another baby?

Me: I don't know. Not now.

Jason: Will it be a boy or a girl?

Me: I don't know. What do you want it to be?

Jason: A girl. We already have a boy.

Me: Well, we don't really get to choose. Heavenly Father chooses for us and sends the babies down from heaven.

Jason: Did Noah cry when he was in heaven?

Me: Why would he cry?

Jason: Because he missed you. (Separation anxiety)

Me: No. Heavenly Father is the father for all of us, and he loves us, and we love him.

Jason: Does he have holes in his hands?

Me: No, that is Jesus.

Jason: When we die, will we get holes in our hands?

Me: No, just Jesus.


Jason also learned how to pump himself on the swing and ride his bike with training wheels this summer. He has graciously given Noah his scooter, which Jason now refers to as "Noah's scooter." Those boys get along pretty well. Jason is great at helping Noah on the playground, whether it be pushing him in a swing or catching him at the bottom of a slide.

Noah still doesn't say much, but he has started saying "kitty" and "doggy" more often. What else is there worth saying? He also uses the sign for "more," which he uses when he wants anything, even if we haven't even given it to him in the first place.

Random pictures:

The boys having a blast at Airborne.

Enjoying our newly inherited croquet set.

Natural History Museum of Utah

Half Marathon

I have been wanting to run a half marathon with Kyle since we got married, and this year we finally did it. We ran Deseret News Classic on Pioneer Day. We had fun training together and getting in shape. We trained separately during the week, but on Saturday mornings I hired the neighbor girls to come over bright and early so we could run the long runs together. Kyle stayed with me during the race until mile nine, at which point I could feel myself slowing considerably, so I sent him on ahead. We were both pleased to finish under two hours.

Showing off our new shirts:

Thanks, Heather, for babysitting the boys for us during the race.
Thanks for running with me Kyle! I love you!

St. George Getaway

Kyle planned a getaway to St. George for my birthday. A big thanks to Curtis and Linda for watching our boys for us!

We got to see two plays at Tuacahn: Thoroughly Modern Millie and Mary Poppins. We also went to the St. George temple for the first time. We had so much fun getting away together. Thanks for the awesome birthday present, Kyle.

July Activities

 Some of July's activities included:

Children's Bike Parade. We made it through the parade fine, but at the finish the rains came pouring down. We tried to wait it out, but we finally ran to our car. We were totally drenched and the boys were crying.

We've continued our weekly hikes. One week we went with Melissa and her kids to hike at Snowbird. We packed a picnic dinner, but who can eat when a pot-gut is around? Not Noah. He was glued to the ground looking for the tame animal who loved cheetoes, as were all the other kids.

Jason enjoyed some carnival rides with Austin and Grandma Linda at Steel Days. Noah got to hang out with me in the wrap.

Watching the Highland Days parade.

We've also enjoyed more boating with Grandpa Jesse, and Jason has loved going to his swimming lessons.

Noah finally decided to walk everywhere in July-- he was 17 months old. Now I can't get anything done while he is awake, except play :).

Noah's Photo Shoot

Melissa took these pictures of Noah back in May when Noah was 15 months old. I am obviously not very funny or entertaining because I could not get this kid to crack a smile.

This is one of my favorites. I was blowing bubbles to get him to smile, and he started blowing too.

I had a hard time getting a good smile out of Jason, too. He is almost four in this picture.

Austin and Jason

This is my very favorite picture!

Jason is Four!

Jason is four today. He really wanted a friend birthday party this year, so we gave him one. He chose to have an "Angry Birds" themed party. Both sets of grandparents came to the party, and we were grateful for the extra help.

I found this cute idea for angry bird ballon decorations online.

Opening presents.

We had a couple of pigs at the party. We let the little kids knock over the pigs with water balloons. After the balloons were gone, we let them run through sprinklers.

The take-home party bag had "pig food" inside of it" candy, angry birds fruit snacks, angry birds graham crackers, stickers, and a little angry bird toy.

Kyle and I gave Jason a bike for his birthday. Hopefully he'll be up and riding it soon, but it might take us a while since it is so HOT outside.

Dear Jason,

I am so grateful we have had you in our lives for the past four years. You are getting so grown up. These days you still love to play with cars and trains, but your newest love is playing with Angry Birds.  You also have a great imagination and you like to pretend you are various baby animals. We have gotten you to try several new foods by telling you "baby (insert animal name) loves to eat (insert food name)." I am especially excited that you eat fish now. You are a nice big brother to Noah and you look out for his safety. Noah absolutely adores you. Sometimes it is hard to let him play with you because he knocks everything over. You play by yourself for longer periods of time, which lets me do other things, so I have to remind myself to play with you more often.

We just finished a session of swimming lessons for you and you now put your head under the water! Good job! I am so glad that I can stay home to take care of you so that I can take you out to do fun things during the day, like swimming. We like to go to the Aquarium, duck pond, library, park, zoo, and Thanksgiving Point. We also love to have play dates with friends.

You have a kind personality. Kids your age love to play with you because you are nice to them and you don't hit. But you do better playing one-on-one. Larger group settings can get overwhelming. Talking to strangers is hard for you, but I guess that is a good thing.

When you were three you would often say, "I will do that when I am four." So now that you are four, you are ready to learn how to ride a bike, dress yourself all the time, and practice wiping yourself more.

I love you so much,

mom

Happy Golden Birthday to Me

I had an awesome golden birthday! The best present was having healthy kids (last year was so awful with sick kids on my birthday). But everything else was wonderful too. I got to sleep in, go to my exercise class, go out to lunch at "Taste of India" with my friend Shehnaz, boat with family, and eat cake and ice cream with family as well. To top it off, Kyle gave me a surprise present: a future getaway to St. George. Woohoo!

 The boys loved boating. Noah didn't seem to mind his life jacket.