Monday, May 31, 2010

Noah

1. Tonight we went over to our friends' house to celebrate Memorial Day by BBQ-ing and playing on their new swing set. Noah loved it. He was so happy to eat hot dogs, jump down from the table and run around outside in the sprinkling rain in his bathing suit with their daughter Naomi. He swung on the swings, watched movies downstairs, ate homemade ice cream, played with Naomi, talked to Naomi, asked her questions ... it was pure Noah bliss. We didn't hear one peep from him for about 6 hours. I love that he loves to hang out with people and can keep himself busy.

2. He doesn't ever just give hugs ... it's always a hug AND kiss. Tonight when we left Jamieson's house he hugged and kissed Bobby's leg before he left (Bobby is Daniel's age - the daddy). It was awesome.

3. He is always entertaining to watch when he speaks. He uses his hands a LOT, his face is incredibly animated and his inflection is varied and exciting. I love to watch and listen to him speak - it's beautiful.

Liam

1. He was soooooo happy this morning. Everyone got up around the same time and stayed up - Gammie, me, Daniel, Noah and Liam. He was excited about everything! I suggested that everyone should go on a walk while I made waffles for breakfast and Liam's enthusiastic response was, "o-K!". He ran (from earlier posts you have to know this is one of my favorite past times - watching Liam run) into his room, then out again and said "eee cocs?" (where's my crocs?). I told him to look in his room and he said, "oh ... o-K!" and whipped around made a hard right turn towards his room and came out syaing "eeee cocs! cocs!" with one croc in his hand. Every answer to every question or statement we made was "o-K!" or "uh-HUH!" It was so cute.

2. When I went to get Liam out of his bed after his nap today, I walked in and he was casually lying there in his crib holding his blanket in his hands, with his legs and feet propped up on the bars of his crib. His little fat toes looked like tiny sausages gripping the bars and one foot was crossed over the other. I loved that today. His casual pose in bed ... especially his little feet.

3. Daniel and I were sitting and talking to our friends at their house tonight on their couch. The kids were playing downstairs and watching movies. Liam randomly came upstairs, walked right over to me, leaned over and said "mommy? up", so I dragged  him up onto the couch with me. He settled right in next to me, nestling his little bum in between me and the pillow next to me. I loved it.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Noah

1. Daniel woke up with Liam early this morning ... 6:30 am early ... ugh. So Daniel was awake, sort of napping on the couch, Liam was awake walking around the front room and Gammie (Liz) had just woken up and was sitting in the front room when Noah entered. Noah had just woken up too and he walked into the front room. He looked around the room and with eyes wide kept looking. Liz looked at Noah and asked, "What are you doing with your eyes?" And Noah answered, "I'm awake but this part of my eyes is still sleeping" as he pointed to the lower half of his eyes.

2. In church today there was a beautiful flute solo. Sister Forbush played "Called To Serve", complete with trills during the chorus and at the end for a grand finish. The moments after she ended were completely silent in the chapel. In these quiet few moments as she smiled, put her fluet at her side and walked down from the stand Noah chose to make some noise. Noah did a perfect 5 note echo of the last portion of the song - it sounded exactly like the flute with his litte high pitched voice. And EVERYONE heard it. You know how I know? Because I was sitting on the end of the row and they all looked at me. I was sitting right next to Noah. It was hilarious.

3. So many good quotes today ... but one of my favorite moments today was Noah's conversation about batteries. I filmed it and will have to post it because it is too in depth to explain. But it was so funny. He talked about how everything ran on batteries that Heavenly Father placed in them. He's so smart.

Liam

1. His face after dinner was absolutely priceless. He was wearing a white onesie, shorts and this crocs with church socks .... that alone was too funny. But his little chubby face was smeared with red sauce from the spaghetti we had been eating too. He looked awesome.

2. He fell asleep on the way home from church. He looked so peaceful. He was such a good sport too. He is sooooooo tired and hungry on Sundays because it directly interrupts his lunch and nap schedule in the middle of the day (we have church from 11 to 2pm). But he just smiles at everyone in nursery and then silently slips into unconciousness on the way home. He didn't even cry or make a fuss or have a hard time when Ian transferred him from the car to his crib. He just went right back to sleep. Sweet little Liam.

3. He needs to be consoled. Liam gets sad sometimes (like when he doesn't get food or rest when he needs it) and if somethingbad happens, like he trips or Noah takes something from him or anything he cries the saddest cry you have ever seen. Complete sadness twists his chubby little facial features. His mouth is wide open crying and eyes are squeezed shut. His hands are usually outstretched or limp by his side just looking totally pitiful. Today during Sacrament meeting he was having a little bit of a hard time being sad and he needed consoling. He has specific needs for consoling: 1. you must be holding him in your arms (hands around his shoulder do not help, laughing it off does not help, patting his head, rubbing his "owey", not good enough) 2. He needs direct conact with your cheek. Daniel says that if you put your cheek next to his during a moment of consoling, he will lean into your cheek and stay there. 3. It doesn't have to be long. He recovers ratehr quickly usually.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Noah

1. He is so full of energy. Today we spent a lot of time outside in the backyard - talking, eating, playing - it was fun. Noah was riding around in cicles on his bike. His bike has training wheels and there is a section of uneven cement in our backyard. If Noah gets stuck on this uneven portion, his training wheels touch the ground, but his back wheel doesn't, so he spins in place. It's like riding on a stationary exercise bike. Today Noah got himself stuck there on purpose and rode it like an exercise bike for a long time. It was awesome. He looked so happy to just be literally "spinning his wheels".

2. We got a babysitter tonight. She's only babysat for us once before, so I reinroduced her to Noah and when I did, I told her if she ever wanted to know where soemthing was, to ask Noah. So as I showed her around the house and took her into the boys' room to show where diapers, jammies and et wipes were, we passed by the bathroom an Noah said, "Ashley, this is the bathroom. I know where it is and you can go potty here and bruch your teeth too".

3. He loves to play. He yearns for attention and interaction. I know how he feels and I love him for it. It is so cute when he asks in the sweetest voice, "Do you want to play with me now?"

Liam

1. He is beautiful. He smiles a lot and his face looks so serene most of the time.

2. He randomly crawls into my lap and sits there contented for a little while. Today after his nap, he came outside where we were and was eating some pasta on a chair. The chair tipped backwards because he was leaning on the back of it and he fell over. He was scared and startled the most, I think, but it was cute tha he just wanted me to hold him and then sit with him after his fall for a while. I love that he needs me and likes to sit with me.

3. We went outside this morning, just me and Liam and I pushed him on the swing. We came up with a little game. He'd say "high" and I'd stop the swing, pull it as high as my shoulders, then let it go and he'd swing super high. He giggled. It was fun. He looked happy, sounded happy and it brought me joy.

Friday, May 28, 2010

update on the experiment ...

So I've been doing this for almost 3 weeks now. I have noticed a few changes in my daily thoughts. I look for things to write in this blog during the day. Like quotes, or looks. It feels like I'm taking a snapshot in my brain so that I will remember it for later that night to write down as one of the 3 things. And, I laugh a little more.
Noah


1. He was standing at the bathroom sink tonight after brushing his teeth, and he lifted his right leg up, and rested his right anxle on top of his left knee. He said, "Look, a number 4!" He was right, it did look like a four.

2. We took him to the spinkler park and he loved it. He would run through the sprinklers for a couple minutes, then come sit down for a minute, wrapped in a towel. He went back and forth a bunch of times. The thing that amazed me was how fast he would shed the towel and be at top running speed towards the sprinklers. Less than 2 seconds.

3. While at the sprinkler park, Noah accidentay knocked over a smaller girl. He helped her up and said sorry, then he came to tell us what he had done and that he had said sorry. He's good sometimes.

Liam

1. His eyes. Liz is here with Ian, visiting and she has mentioned several times about his "sweetie pie face" ... really, I think she means his eyes. They say it all. But it has been hilarious to see him do is little shy act around Liz and Ian. He gives them "come hither" looks with his eyes and his closed lip "Mona Lisa" grin. He has been doing it a lot. It's his fall back when he doesn't know the person very well or when he's in public and it melts hearts. I should have a fall back like that. I'd probably get way more free stuff or something.

2. His reaction to the sprinkler park was glaringly different than Noah's. Liam walked through the spraying water with Daddy leading him around only for about 2 minutes and when Daniel took him through some spraying water, he almost cried, sputtered and they came immediately back to me on the grass and he sat wrapped in a towel for the rest of the time Noah ran around the sprinkler park. He relaxed, drank his strawberry limeade from Sonic, climbed on the fence a little, then came back and sat in my lap. It was so cute and so decidely Liam's style.

3. His run. Absolutely hilarious. He only runs when he's excited about something. He doesn't even run away from Noah, he just stands there usually and takes the brunt of whatever is coming at him. But when he's excited about something - he runs! And when he does .... oh ... my ... gosh - pray that you are behind him and can watch. It is a thing of beauty. His arms flail and his wrists are relaxed so that his hands bounce with each bounding step. His feet are a little turned out (like a ballerina) and he rounds them like wheels, but the best part is how his feet slam against the ground as he runs. It looks jarring and everything jiggles when each foot lands with a smack to the ground. It's awesome.
(I did it again ... I'm a day late)

Thursday, May 28, 2010

Noah

1. He was going potty and called me in to help him wipe after doing number two. When I came in he said, "Look! I went poopies and my poopies made animals! There's a dead turtle with no legs. See? You can't see his legs and so he's dead. Right there!" He was pointing only inches above the toilet water to a pile of little individual poops. He was right, I guess. I looked and it DID look like a legless turtle.

2. He plays well with Alonzo Ordaz and I love that. You never have to direct them or entertain them, you just let them loose on a play date and they take it from there.

3. He asks if we can "grill" almost everyday now. He will even wheel it out of the garage and run into the house and with his hands raised in the air and with amazing enthusiasm say, "I know!I have a great idea! We can .... GRILL".

Liam

1. He's predictable. I knew he would start getting tired around 11 am, but I left him a little later at Ordaz's house so I could finish up some Costco shopping. When I got there, Mandee said he kind of lost it around 11:15 am and she was able to console him, but he was so tired when she put him up to the table to eat some lunch right afterwards, he just fell backwards right off the bench. He kind of gets drunk with sleepiness. Poor guy ... but so predictable and I love it.

2. He repeats everything Noah says now. It's good because his English is starting to get better. All of his "s"'s sound like "sh" and he sounds kind of like he pronouncing things through cotton balls in his mouth. He mumbles a lot too. But it is so endearing when Noah blurts something out or asks for something and in the exact same tone and inflection Liam says it too. Sometimes it's a very clear repeat, sometimes not. This is how he says Christ (like at the end of a prayer) - "C-eye-st". And "food" sounds like "bood".

3. When he tries to say banana he uses his tongue to annunciate the "n"'s ... you'd have to see it. It's gorgeous.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Noah

1. Today was preschool graduation. Noah looked awesome. He wore some cut off corduroys, a t-shirt that said "surf beat" on it, his red wristband (like those sweat ones used for tennis in the 80's) and his red flip flops. I love that this is the way he dresses himself.

2. I love that Noah is a social butterfly. He loves play dates and all he did all day was play dates. Infact, he told his favorite high school student teacher (Miss Britney), "I really want to have a play date with you. Can we do a play date?" ... he is so awesome sometimes. After preschool graduation he played at his girlfriend Haley's house while I went to Costco. (By the way, everytime he gives Haley a hug goodbye he always does a hug and kiss. She expects it now and today Noah went skipping off toward the car and Haley whined, "hey!" and Noah ran over and gave a hug and kiss, then Haley seemed content to let him go ... so funny). After Haley's house, he and Liam went to the Jamieson's house while I had a dentist appointment and we ended up eating pizza for dinner there, then running off to swim lessons. Noah loved it! A day on the go was soooooo his style. And yet I felt so bad for Liam because it is sooooo not Liam's style. It really wore him out, but when Daniel asked Noah how his day went today he said, "it was a great day!"

3. Today in the car he was trying to describe something to me. This is what he said, "what is the planet called that has moons all over it?" I didn't know what he was talking about, so he clarified, "you know, the planet in my room, in the solar system with the green moons and it's blue??" I asked about the green moons, he said, "moons are like half crescents mommy". Crescents?? How does he know that? I love him. He is like a sponge, soaking up every bit of info he hears. This morning he was asking if bees sniffed pollen through their noses, I said I didn't know and when I asked where he learned about bees he said, "Sesame Street. Mommy, maybe you should watch Sesame Street and then you could know about bees".

Liam

1. He says, "wha eeee doing?" and he means - where are we going? He asked this after we dropped Noah off at Haley's house. I told him the plan - shopping at Randazzos, picking up Noah and going to Jamiesons. He said, "oh". It sounds like he knows what's going on and understands everything I explain to him, but I'm not sure. It's cute that he asks and responds though.

2. So much is not spoken outloud with Liam. It's his eyes that speak to me. I can tell if he's angry, scared, being silly, tired ... it's all in his eyes. I love that about him. It's beautiful and a bit of a challenge because sometimes I really don't know what he needs, but his little soul is so tender and he has been sick lately too so he's been more clingy and somehow it makes me feel special. I'm the only one he really trusts. At least that's what it seems like and I like that.

3. He was such a good sport today. He felt awful and I knew this day of running around was tiring for him (because he whined a lot today) but he endured it and went along. He didn't make a huge fuss or throw any tantrums, he just let me take him around, drop him off and pick him up and spent most of the day in the car. Poor little guy. His face just looked tired, worried and slightly sad. I promise that tomorrow will be a Liam day and you can take a 4 hour nap, eat at home, stay at home and play with Noah. Thanks for being such a sweetheart even though you were sick.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Noah

1. All week he has been drawing pictures and taping them up on his walls, the hallway walls, the doors of each room and the front room walls. It has been driving me crazy. I finally took them all down and showed him a special drawer where he could put lal of his artwork. We designated a spot. I felt good about it. And today, he has spent all afternoon putting pictures back up around the house. There are 3 on the front room walls, one in the office and one on his door and currently, he is drawing more right next to me and asking for more tape. I should be mad but I'm not. It's the way he describes each picture - he's so animated and uses his hands and his eyes are huge while he explains about the aliens. The latest picture in the office that he just put up is a picture of a "fire pumpkin" ... you'd have to see it.

2. He wears this red, plastic fire fighter hat everywhere. He puts it on when he knows friends are coming over and when he goes in the backyard and sometimes wears it coupled with his superman cape. I love his sense of style. Today he wanted to wear it to preschool, but I said he couldn't. He said, "ok, then can I bring it in the car and wear it to Haley's house after preschool?" I said no. So I saw him go into his room and come out with his red fire fighter hat underneath his Detroit Tigers baseball cap. Who did he think he was fooling? I had him take it off, but it was cute that he loves that red fire fighter hat so much.

3. My friend Debbie stopped by today to drop something off. She brought in her two little kids. Her youngest boy is 4 months old. His name is Jonah. Noah loved Jonah. He sat and stared at him and hovered over the carseat and then I left the room to get something, came back in and saw Noah leaning into the carseat giving hugs and kisses to Jonah. It was hilarious ... and a little dangerous (you'd know what I meant if you ever saw Noah hug someone. It's a full body sport). Then he started singing, "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" and lurching Jonah's hands up in the air on the word "beam" ... it was cute and yet again, dangerous. But mostly cute. I made him stop, but I love that he loved Jonah so much.

*bonus* - Noah has been in his room "going to bed" (I use this term loosely) for about 3 minutes. He just came out and said, "Mommy! I just dreamed about something funny. I dreamed about a ..... ice gun!" He laughed then went back in his room to bed. First of all, who has a dream when they're not asleep and in 3 minutes? Second, you had to see his hands and face when he said it too - priceless.

Liam

1. He has been sick with a fever for 3 days now, so I went to the pediatrician today, Dr. Lacy (I like her). While we waited in the room for the doctor to show up Liam sat in my lap. He didn't move. I could feel his hot, feverish body against my chest and I looked down at his hands grasping mine as we just sat there silently. It was so beautiful. It made me think about Emma Smith. I did some research on her a few years ago. She lost one of her babies to a fever. The way she described the hurt she felt from losing her sweet little boy brought me to tears at the time - in her words she seemed desperate as she watched sickness take over his body and he died in her arms. What would I do if I couldn't bring my sweet little Liam to the doctor and give him Ibuprofen to get his fever down. As it was, I felt awful that the medicine was wearing off and he just sat in my arms, spent. His breathing was heavy and raspy, his voice was hoarse. I love him and I'm glad I can take care of him when he's sick.

2. We had hot dogs for dinner tonight. Liam LOVES hot dogs. He was so giddy about dinner that he got himself buckled into his seat at the table before we were ready to eat and sat there and kicked his legs in anticipation as I squirted mustard and ketchup on his hot dog. It was cute.

3. Liam woke up at 5:45 am, crying. Daniel brought him in bed with us and we gave him water and some more Ibuprofen because his fever had spiked again. He never went back to sleep. He just bumped around in bed with us and leaned over Daniel and said, "daddy?". At 8 am, after Daniel left for work, Liam had a little breakdown in the front room. Some argument with Noah. Anyway, I brought him in my bed with his favorite blanket and he fell asleep with me from 8 to 9:30 am. I didn't sleep well because Liam was snoring like an adult male with a serious sinus problem, but I loved looking over and seeing his completely relaxed body flopped over 3/4 of my side of the bed and his chubby thighs were nicely exposed. It was gorgeous.
Monday, May 24, 2010

**I got a message on my phone this morning (Tuesday, May 25th) from Aria. She said she checks this blog every night and was very disappointed to see that I had not done an entry and I'd better get on it before I forgot all about what happened yesterday. I love it.**

Noah

1. We had friends over today to play. It was the perfect afternoon: kids running around in swimsuits, the plastic pool, orange julius popsicles and a friend to chat with. Noah was so cute. He LOVES friends almost as much as I do. I watched him play a game with Naomi today in the pool. She would stand outside of the pool about 2 or 3 yards away and Noah would try and get her wet by scooping out water with his hand shovel. They were laughing so hard and it looked so fun.

2. He smiles for pictures.

3. He's old enough to know that little kids sometimes have to go first or play with things first because they are just little and that's enough of an excuse for him. He is nice and lets Liam and Stella play with things before him sometimes and I love that. What a good boy.

Liam

1. He was so crabby today because he was sick. I had to put him on time out in his bed twice because he was being so unreasonable and totally inconsolable. But my favorite thing was going into his room after the time out was over. His little face would light up as I entered the room and with tear stained cheeks he was beaming. He always looked so excited to see me and was happy and his little tantrum was over. He doesn't stay mad long.

2. He just sat in my lap for a good 5 minutes while we were outside. I just got to talk to my friend Leslie with my sweet little man lounging on my lap and holding my hands. I love his chubby little hands, they're always either sweaty or sticky these summer days and I love it.

3. Watching him chillax on the chair that Leslie had been sitting in. It was later in the afternoon and everyone was gone and I was just outside with both boys. I was sitting in one chair and Liam scrambled up into the other chair and there was an outside pillow on it. He took full advantage of the pillow, leaning into it and putting both hands on the arm rests of the chair. Little chubby ankles were hanging off the edge of the chair and he just stared ahead - no expression. Just relaxin'.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Noah

1. He knows how to bathe himself now .. basically.

2. He drew the most awesome pictures of aliens over the past two days. He has been taping them up all over the house, but especially in his room. I started taking them down off his wall today and thought I got them all until he said, "wait mommy, you forgot these two aliens - aliens on the sun and aliens in a space car" ... yep, I guess he named all the pictures too.

3. He just kisses me, Liam and Daniel randomly on the hand or arm or something for no apparent reason.

Liam

1. He is so pleasantly calm usually. We had stake onference today and Liam was starting to get restless in the row, so I got up and walked with him around the building. We just walked around, hand in hand. He didn't say anything and we just walked and it was quiet and he didn't jump or run or try and kick anything or anyone. He just walked by my side. It was nice.

2. He was sooooooo tired on the way home from stake conference - he just looked comotose, it was adorable.

3. Even when he doesn't go to sleep immediately in his room, he'll stay pretty quiet in his room. Sometimes he'll be in there for 30 minutes or an hour and then I'll hear him start singing or something and I realize he never went to sleep. It's crazy. He is just so quiet sometimes and I like that.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Noah

1. So we're sitting at the dinner table and talking about a couple that got married in a ceremony outside of the temple. Noah asked if they were going t get married in the temple later sometimes, I said, "I hope so". Noah answered with, "yeah because then she could marry a daddy and ..." he went straight into song at this point singing, "Families can be together forever". It was glorious.

2. After dinner, Daniel was washing Liam's hands and face at the sink. When he was done washing his hands, he used one of my nice dish towels to wipe the rest of the food and debris off Liam's face and hands (the debris was the hurricane of red spaghetti sauce all over him). I cringed and made a whimpering noise as Daniel wiped him off and said, "oh, really?! You're using my nce hand towels for that? .... uh ... oh no". I trailed off and just sighed heavily and Noah came out of his seat, put his little hands on my shoulder and leaned his head against my arm and said, "I know how you feel". I burst out laughing and asked, "how do I feel?" He said, "sad, because Daddy used your towels to wipe of Liam and got them all dirty". Noah is so insightful.

3. I loved how heasked for a cheese and mustard sandwich for lunch, then sat and ate it just the same way as he did on Thursday - feet swinging under thpatio table as he gobbled his food.

Liam

1. This kid is gorgeous. Tonight I enjoyed squeezing his chubby, soft thighs.

2. His tired eyes as we drove home from Old Navy. He didn't go down for a nap today and was very tired by 3 pm. I saw his droopy eyes and told Daniel to look and we both just stared at him and he had absolutely no response. It was like he couldn't muster the energy to care that we were both staring at him. He simply stared back with eyes half closed and no expresson at all on his face.

3. He loves playing outside. Whether or not anyone is out there, he just loves being outside. We got out of the car after running an errand today and he just ran toward the backyard.

Friday, May 21, 2010

**side note: I have a few favs from today, but I thought I'd let Daniel do today's top 3 things for the boys ... just to change it up a little:

Noah

1.  He ran up to the car when I pulled in from work and had a cute little happy face - like he was really expecting something awesome.  As soon as I got out he grabbed my hand and walked inside with me.

2.  After we watched Planet 51 tonight, he curled up next to me on the couch and said, "Daddy, I want you to tell me all about the aliens in the movie".  Whenever he sees something new, I think it swirls around in his brain for a while until he can really comprehend it.

3.  Yesterday I went to preschool with Noah for Dad's Day.  As we left preschool I told him that I had to go back to work and he said, "Daddy, did you have to put work on pause to come to preschool?"  I think maybe he has watched too many videos.

Liam

1.  Liam was having a rough time when I got home today because he was starving, and Francesca was working on the homemade pizza.  I started popping pineapple chunks in his mouth and all of the sudden he was happy as a clam - as long as I kept them coming.

2.  Liam was excited to watch a movie with Noah and the Ordaz boys a little later than he usually stays up.  He grabbed his blanket and climbed onto the couch and squeezed himself between the other boys and looked happy to be a part of something.

3.  While the boys were all playing outside eating ice cream cones (they live the life), Liam climbed into the red wagon and sat there with his cone.  I got a good photo of him in the red wagon with the green grass behind him, chomping on his cone.  He's pretty photogenic.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Noah

1. Tonight after we put Liam to bed and after we read Noah his bedtime stories, we just sat on the couch and talked for about ten minutes. I loved it. Noah told me about his day. He said he played with whipped cream at preschool (he meant shaving cream). He told me that at Emma's house tonight for dinner he did NOT go in the back where the wood with nails was because that was dangerous, even though he said he would be very careful, he still didn't go back there. I asked him about "Dads Day" at preschool today and if he liked having Daddy there. Noah said he liked it and that he didn't get to show daddy all of his centers at the beginning but he showed him later. It was a good chat, then he went to bed.

2. He was accomodating to Liam while we were playing at Butler's house tonight. He let Liam ride the toy car first even though he really wanted to.

3. I got some real joy out of feeding Noah lunch today. Daniel went to preschool with Noah today because it was "Dads Day", so he dropped Noah off at home before going back to work. I was prepped for Noah by the time he got home. I had the pool all set up, so he ran inside, put on his swim trunks and started playing in the pool. Then I brought him a cheese and mustard sandwich (by request) and watched him from inside the house as he sat at the patio set and ate his sandwich and drank his water. He seemed so happy and carefree. He swung his little legs while eating and looked around. He even sung a little to himself. When he was done I brought out some orange julius to drink down for a treat. He loved it. I loved it.

Liam

1. After we dropped Noah off at school, we came home, ate lunch and then I told him it was time for a nap. Liam did not fight it. He really liked his little routine I think. He said "OK" and we took off his sandals, walked into his room, he got his blanket out and I closed the blinds and said goodnight and that was it. He said, "bye mommy" as I left, with a huge grin on his face. It was awesome.

2. He doesn't like messes. He had made a huge mess with his Rice Crispies the day before and this morning he ran over to his chair to eat and exclaimed, "Mommy! eeee mossy. ook! eeee mossy" (Mommy, it's messy, look! It's messy). I grabbed a distinfecting wipe to clean it and he said, "I hope! I hope!" (I help!). So he got a disinfecting wipe too.

3. He loves being outside. Tonight after dinner at a friend's house all the kids were playing inside in Emma's room, but not Liam. He had me help him get his shoes on, then he found his way outside. I kept checking on him, but he was just talking to himself and playing with measuring cups out on their deck. It was really cute. He knows what he wants and just does it.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Noah

1. Tonight at swim lessons the teacher asked all the kids if they wanted to try and jump off the diving board. Everyone said no. I asked Noah if he would go if I walked with him and he said he would, so I walked next to the diving board and held his hand as far as I could, but as soon as I let go, he turned around and wouldn't jump. I didn't push it and told him, "maybe next time, huh?" He got off the diving board, rushed over to me and just grabbed my hand, held on and kissed it several times. It was a strange response, but so cute and so tender. My little Noah.

2. I enjoyed watching a conversation unfold before me between Noah and his neighbor friend, Adam (our next door neighbor's grandson).It went something like this:

Noah: Adam! The huge meatball is in the sky and we need to get it before it explodes!
Adam: Yeah - we need to fly into the blue sky and get it!
Noah: OK! (then he makes airplane noises, sticks his hand straight into the air and pretends to fly. Then he makes a clicking noise as he uses his hands to do what looks like turning a switch and then flys back down to earth) I did it! Now the meatball is in California and can't hurt us!
Adam: Yeah, and in Michigan
Noah: Yeah but the cherry tree is going to destroy us in Michigan, so we need to protect mommy.
Adam: OK, let's put duck tape on Gram and Pops (his grandma and grandpa - our neighbors).
Noah: yeah, but do mommy first.
Adam: OK (then he walks straight over to me and walks around me in a circle) she's safe. Let's get Gram and Pops now.

None of it made sense. It was awesome. The part I cannot describe were the pauses in between while they thought through their responses.

3. After swim lessons Noah said, "Did you see me put my head in the water when I was on the wall and no one was looking?" I just thought it was funny. He seemed overjoyed at his sneakiness.

Liam

1. The way he ran over to me after I went in the locker room with Noah to change his clothes ... it was like Liam hadn't seen me in days. I came out and he saw me and ran his crazy little run over to me with a huge smile on his face and yelling, "mommy!!". So delightful.

2. Afetr his nap, I went in to get Liam up. He was lying in his bed with his blanket gripped tightly in his chubby fist and rubbing it close to his mouth. I asked him if he wanted to get out of bed and he said, "uh uh" (no). I asked him if he needed a little time in bed still and he said, "uh HUH". I left the room and went into the front room. About 4 minutes later I heard him cry out, "mommy", not in an anxious voice, just calling out like, "I'm ready now". So cute that he needs extra time to wake up. He loves his bed.

3. Sometimes he just gets so excited he doesn't know what to do, so he screams, flaps his arms and stomps in place with a big grin on his face. It's like a mini attack of some sort and it's funny and cute. He did it today when I got to the Ordaz's house to pick him up.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Noah

1. Tonight I read Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree". In the front of the book, there is an inscription written to Mark, so we must've gotten this book from the Forsyths. It is such a good book. It makes me cry reading it to Noah, everytime. I remember my mom crying when reading "Love You Forever" to me. I thought it was weird that she would cry when reading a children's book to me. Now I know why. At the end of  "The Giving Tree", the tree says, "but I have nothing left to give you - My apples are gone ... my branches are gone ... you cannot swing on them .... my trunk is gone ... you cannot climb ... I am sorry, I wish that I could give you something ... but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry ....", sometimes I feel that way. I give everything I've got and it doesn't feel like nearly enough, but I love my boys so much, I would give them all I have - my mind, body and spirit and just pray to Father in heaven that my meager offering was enough for these little men that are mine. I loved reading to Noah tonight.

2. Today we were in the car and the radio was on. The radio station was advertising what would be playing over the next hour and told us to stayed tuned. One of the song clips they played was "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. That is Noah's favorite song lately. I turned and looked at Noah and said, "hey, do you hear that?" I thought Noah would say something like, "yeah! That's my favorite song!" but instead he said, "mommy, that's not really the song. That's a commercial". I totally laughed and said, "how do you know about commercials?" He said, "it's just in my brain. Commercials are just short and quick, not the real song, mommy". He had a tone of voice like "c'mon mom". It was awesome. He surprises me all the time.

3. Tonight I gave the boys a bath. I let Noah get out on his own and pull out the plug while I got Liam dressed in the boys' room. I herad the plug come out and the bath start draining and 3 seconds later Noah comes rushing into the bedroom and says, "Mommy! Look! Feel my hair - it's all spiky!" He went on to explain how he whipped his head up from out the of the water and he realized it made his hair stand up on end and he wanted me to let him keep it that way. I said he could and you should ee it now, after it has dried ... totally fluffy, just like Daniel's hair. So cute.

Liam

1. It's the looks he gives me. I cannot explain them all. You just have to see his face. He looks at me with such love no matter what. It's mostly in his eyes. Even when he's crying he looks at me like, "Why would you punish me? I just need love!" He watches me with those sweet little eyes and looks at me with them with such adoration too. It's beautiful.

2. He seems to feel compelled to say the name of everything he knows how to say. From the moment he is concious, he will start blurting out words he knows and pointing to things he knows. Today when I woke him from his nap he stretched out in bed and then I picked him up and he said, "eee Noah? (where's Noah?) ... bee-kink (blanket)? ... shoes on? ... set-shut (sweatshirt)? ...", then he said a few things that were completely incomprehensible, then, "cah (car) ... seat! ... boots (there was one in the car)" -  it went on like this for a while.

3. It's how he says "uh HUH!"

Monday, May 17, 2010

Noah

1. I told Noah tonight after dinner that we were going to have the Ordaz boys over for a sleepover on Friday night. He looked up from the ice cream cone he was eating for dessert and with his mouth full said, "I always said I wanted that one day!" We circled Friday on the calendar.

2. I love that Noah can take care of himself every morning and every evening. He has a routine. In the morning, he comes in and lets Daniel know he's up, then he goes potty, takes off his Pull-Ups, gets dressed and tells Daniel to turn on cartoons and get him his juice. At night he goes potty, puts on his Pull-Ups, gets his PJ's on, brushes his teeth and picks out a book for us to read to him. I love it.

3. I love his drawings. I haven't really seen many 4 year old drawings, but I really think he's good for his age!! Tonight for Family Home Evening we made birthday cards for Gammie. Noah drew a picture of Gammie and it was awesome! All of Noah's "people" have a circle head, stick arms and legs that come straight off the head, circle eyes with dot pupils and smiles. Sometimes he adds "teeth" to the mouth and that is basically a million little lines coming off the smile - the mouth with teeth looks like a centipede. It's awesome.

Liam

1. He loves it when I sing to him. Tonight I picked him up and rocked him in the office chair, twirling around and singing "boo-la, boo-la" and he loved it. When I stopped, he said, "mommy, sing!"

2. He does everything that Noah does. Today in the car Aunt Steena wanted to hear Noah count to ten, of course, Liam wanted to count to ten for Aunt Steena on the phone too, so I held the phone to Liam and you just had to be there, but let me try and spell it out - he said, "un, fee, aye ... tan!"

3. His "come hither" look ...


I know it's blurry, I wish it were in focus, but it's the best I've got.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Noah

1. Sweet little guy was coughing so bad he had to stay home from church - this is not a treat for Noah. He LOVES church and today I realized I LOVE having him in the front row in Junior Primary and he was sorely missed (by me). He seems so interested in what we're teaching him and he seems to already know the right answers too. He is also the clearest speaker in his CTR 4 class. It is so cute to hear him talk up at the pulpit and to see him eagerly waiting to sing with me during singing time and to see him raise his hand and say stuff like he did last Sunday, which was, "well, you could maybe pick up your toys without your mommy asking you to!"

2. I woke up after Daniel and Noah and Liam. As I sat on the toilet, Noah and Liam saw me from the front room and both ran over to me, gave me hugs and had huge grins on their faces as they exclaimed, "mommy!! you're awake!"

3. I washed Noah's feet tonight. They were very dirty and we were going to rub some ointment on them so I needed to wash them. I immediately thought of how the Savior washed the feet of his disciples before he went to the Garden of Gethsemane. There was something so personal and moving to be so close to Noah's little body. I could hear his labored and raspy air moving in and out in his chest as I held on to him so he could sit on the edge of the tub. I held his dirty little feet in my hands and rubbed them with soap and caressed his little toes and scrubbed his soles. He was calm and the water was warm and I felt so close to him as I knelt beside him and cleaned his feet. I don't think I am explaining it well enough. It was just a feeling. A feeling of complete servitude and love and today I love my Noah and I washed his feet.

Liam

1. It's the way he says, "Up, peesh" (up, please). I cannot resist him. He looks at me with those huge, dark brown eyes and moppy hairdo and leans against my legs and smiles with his cute little teethy grin ... it's too much for me. And although Liam is nearing 40 lbs, I break my back and pick him up.

2. I went to church today and Daniel stayed home with both boys. As I pulled out of the driveway, I could see through the backyard gate and there was Liam - in jeans and a sweatshirt and a toy chainsaw in his hands. He didn't see me wave to him, but he was gorgeous.

3. I love how he says "OK!" with such gusto when we ask if he wants to eat or swing on the swings or do something we already know he wants. He has a real personality that little Liam.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Noah

1. He wore his superman cape for a majority of the day. He was inspired to find it and put it on when the Jamieson girls came over to play. He came running in the house and said, "mommy! Where's my cape?" He was breathless. I told him and next thing I knew he was whizzing past me and out the backdoor, cape flying.

2. He loves bike rides with Daddy. Daniel fixed the tire on one of our bikes and we had to wiat until Liam woke up before they could all go on a bike ride. Noah kept asking, "Can we wake up Liam now and go on a bike ride?" Noah has a Spiderman bike. Noah looked amazing riding his Spiderman bike up and down the driveway while waiting for the bike ride, in his Superman cape.

3. When I came home from picking up the babysitter for tonight, we got out of the car and started walking up to the house. Daniel was on the porch reading something and Liam was running around the lawn, but Noah was nowhere to be found. Suddenly we heard a familiar voice say, "Do you know where Noah is?" from behind the tree at the corner of the house. All I could see was his little legs and red flip flops sticking out from under the boughs of our little tree. It was so cute. I totally laughed.

Liam

1. Looked sooooooo happy to see me when I got home from running errands. I walked in the door and he saw me and ran to me and said "mommy!"

2. Whenever I mention food, he runs to his seat at the table and scrambles up and buckles in. No questions asked and you don't have to say "food" twice - he bee-lines for his seat. It's super cute.

3. He seems more content to be near me than to be playing with or around anyone else. The Jamieson girls were over at our house playing and Noah would follow Naomi around wherever she went and would ask her to do what he was doing, but not Liam. I asked Liam if he wanted to swing on the swings with the girls and Noah and he said, "no" and just walked inside with me. He's my little man for a while longer :)

Friday, May 14, 2010

Noah

1. He was sooooo excited for Liam's birthday today. He wanted to be a part of everything (which was good and bad). I love how excited he gets, even though it's borderline dangerous. He jumped in place and paced around Liam the whole time he was opening gifts. He stepped in a blew out the candles for Liam, he kept trying to open the gifts for Liam too. He was just so excited.

2. He was talking to me aout Dracula today at lunch. He referenced one of his books and said, "that's just like Dracu-bug mommy .... what is Dracu-bug?" I told himit was named after Dracula - a dangerous and kinda scary guy. Noah was immediately intrigued and wanted to know everything about Dracula. I told him I didn't want to tell him because it was scary (especially the whole suck your blood thing ... 4 is too young for blood thirsty discussions I think). Noah insisted, "But mommy, I am a four year old and four year olds need to know everythign about Dracula. Four year olds are not scared. Only 1 and 2 and 3 year olds get scared, but not four year olds" ... I told him I never saw the movie and forgot all the details.

3. Check out the pictures below ...



Liam

1. My baby is two. The first thing I loved about him today was that he spent 4 1/2 hours on his birthday taking a nap .... that's just awesome.

2. He was so accomodating, even though he doesn't like to perform, he always said "thank you" to the camera when we asked him to and he looked when we asked him to. It was so cute. He even seemed genuinely excited about each gift he received. What a sweetheart.

3. He loves his brother Noah. He says and does everything that Noah does. When he can't find Noah he says, "eeeee Noah?" and I tell him and he says, "oh" and runs to find him. Liam is sweet and beautiful and calm and happy. I love him today on his second birthday. Yeah for Liam!!


opening jammies from Gammie

listening to the Clarks sing "hapy birthday" to him.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Noah

1. I got out of the shower this morning and found both boys on Noah's bed under his quilt giggling. I asked what they were doing and Noah said, "you're a monster, we're hiding from you!" and Liam echoed, "hiding!" I found their halloween lantern and gave it to them under the blanket and told them to have fun. They just kept giggling. I love that they are friends.

2. We made a circle banner for Liam's birthday (which is tomorrow. Liam will be two) and Noah was such a huge help. He wrote all of the letters on the banner - which made it cuter. He used a glue stick and put the white circles on the colored circles. He loved it. Noah loves art projects in general. I told him once that I thought coloring was one of his talents. Later (maybe that night or the next day) Daniel told me that he complimented Noah on something he was doing and Noah responded, "Yeah, that's one of my talents".



3. We got home from preschool and Liam was pretty upset because he's sick and his nap was severely truncated. I walked in and was putting away something in my room when I heard Liam yelp. I rolled my eyes and thought, "what now?". I walked into the front room to find Noah with a chocolate chip cookie (he'd gotten it from preschool) and he was feeding a piece to Liam and then a piece for himself. Liam was sitting on the ottoman with  the hugest grin on his face. My guess is that Liam saw the cookie and yelped because he wanted it and Noah solved the problem by sharing. Good for Noah. Whatever happened, it was a beautiful sight.

Liam

1. He's been kinda miserable all day and a little cranky because he's sick. He has a bad runny nose and a hoarse cough still. He slept while Noah was at preschool (a short hour and 15 minutes, poor Liam, he usually sleeps for like 3 hours). When I went in to his room to wake him so I could go pick up Noah, Liam looked sound asleep. I picked him up and carried him into the front room to get his shoes on. He just sat there in the leather chair letting me put his shoes on and whimpering, "deep .....deep" (sleep). It was so sad, and yet so sweet that he was just sitting there letting me stick him in a cold car and take him out in the rainy weather ... what a trooper and super cute too.

2. He sings to himself when he can't sleep. It's kind of loud and sounds like yoddeling.

3. This morning Liam was cranky and had a bit of a breakdown. He was just crying and standing alone at one point. I leaned over and picked him up, sat him in my lap in the leather chair and sang, "my little buttercup".  He loved it and stopped crying immediately. Liam is my little music lover. I stopped singing to answer a call from Daniel and Liam turned to me and said, "sing!" The other night at Family Home Evening he was requesting songs too. He said, "sing beam - peesh, sing beam!" (sing "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam", please, sing).

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Noah

1. At swim lessons tonight Noah looked so happy. He is so fearless and he loves swim lessons. He just beams, grinning so hard that it looks like a grimace sometimes. I loved watching him kicking as hard as he could and laughing outloud as his teacher tried desperately to get him to keep his feet pointed, legs straight and arms rotating. He didn't care one bit whether he was doing it right or not, he just loves being in the water and moving. I hope he stays fearless, happy and that he doesn't care what others think or do - I hope my Noah stays this way forever - it's beautiful to watch.

2. He has pouty lips that are so red and his skin is so white (thank you Daniel) - he looks like a boyish Snow White to me.

3. He wanted to help me with the laundry, but I told him I needed to fold the pile first, then he could help me put the clothes away. Evidently I wasn't folding fast enough because he came to the door of my bedroom twice asking if he could help me yet. I told him, "not yet" and he went away dejected twice. On the third time back he just stayed at my doorway and talked to me incessantly until I told him it was time to help. He is my little helper. Whenever I leave instructions for a babysitter I always end with, "and if you're not sure where something is or goes, just ask Noah. He knows where everything is".

Liam

1. He woke up with a hoarse voice. Is it sadistic of me to LOVE his little hoarse voice?? He was coughing all morning and got better as the day went on, but I just loved how his sweet, tiny voice sounded a little raspy all day - adorable. I think I unknowingly gave him more kisses today because of it.

2. We have a hat that used to be Daniel's dad's - and Liam loves it. All day Liam walked around with this straw hat of Papa's and he looked amazing. The inside lining of the hat has a stretchy elastic to help keep it in place and it's perfect for the boys because their heads are small, but the hat stays on their heads. Today I thought of Mark and Liam and it made me smile.

3. While I was at swim lessons in the bleachers, I noticed that I wasn't watching Liam very closely, but instead focusing on Noah in the pool. I whipped my gaze around to see Liam quietly sitting on the bottom step of the bleachers leaning his fat cheek against the handrail, just watching. Every once in a while he would turn to me and say "eeeeee Noah?" and I would tell him and point to where Noah was and he'd say, "k". He is such an easy going kid. I love him for that. He is calming and sweet like his daddy and I'm reminded of that a lot. I was reminded today.

*side note - today was awful. I felt awful, the weather was cold and wet and I was very busy with the boys and tired, but here I sit and come up with 3 positive things about my boys in no time flat. I think that's amazing.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Noah

1. His laugh. It is infectious sometimes. It is bubbly, loud and high. Today while we were driving to IKEA Noah was asking me, "Why don't dinosaurs wear any clothes?" I was stumped, seriously, for a second, then I answered, "because animals don't wear clothes. Have you ever seen a pig in pants?" He laughed is laugh. I was egged on, "Have you ever seen a chicken wearing shoes? Or a horse in a dress?" More bubbles of laughter, then he joined in, "Have you ever seen a hot dog on a car? .... was that funny mommy?" I said, "yes".

2.  How he didn't seem to mind at all, actually, he seemed to enjoy the fact that we were having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner tonight. Daniel is gone to school tonight and won't be home until 9:30 pm and I just finished painting the office and didn't feel like cooking .... and Noah didn't care, he thought it was awesome.

3. He comes up to me randomly throughout the day and kisses me somewhere on my person (usually on my hip cuz that's how tall he is right now and that's what is in front of his face) and says, "I love you mommy", then walks off.

Liam

1. He loves animals and gets very excited whenever he sees one. He sees and hears them before me most times. Today when I got him in the car to go pick up Noah from preschool he pointed with his chubby finger and said "beesh!! .... beesh!" (that means "birds"). I really had to stop the car and struggle to see what he saw, then I did and he was right, there were birds.

2. When we got back from dropping Noah off from preschool I was planning on walking right in the house and putting Liam down for his nap ASAP, because I had to paint the office and also because he'd been carrying his "bee-kink" (blanket) around for an hour now and I knew he was tired. But as soon as we walked in the house, Liam ran over to his chair at the table and climbed up and said "eat? eat?!". I love that he can tell me what he needs and that he knows it so positively too. That is so much like Daniel and I love it.

3. I gave Noah and Liam a lollipop this afternoon to keep them happy while I was painting. About 5 minutes later, Liam comes to the door of the office and says "bokin .... mommy! eeee bokin" and I turned and saw his lollipop stick was bent in half. He was telling me it was "broken". The look on his scrunched up baby face was so beautiful, it made me laugh and grab the camera. I don't think any of the pictures really captured it, but here's what I got:

Here are a few shots we've taken over the past few days and I loved ...

Noah swinging:

And this is what he looks like when he doesn't think anyone is looking:

The rest are from Monday night, the boys were obsessed with the Mother's Day flowers they gave me. They gave me so many I had to start filling mason jars and old jelly jars with flowers and I love how it looks and how my boys look while looking at them :)



are you seeing both of their faces??

Something about this photo is beautiful to me. Something about the blocks of color - yellow, green and the flowers. Plus the fact that it is completely unscripted and candid.

And that's all I've got for today. It was actually kind of a rough day, but you wouldn't know it by the things I remembered and wrote down. That's good.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Noah

1. Today we had lunch together. Noah ate leftover pizza and I ate leftover soup and bread. The whole time Noah and I talked about fruit. Which ones you could bite right into and which ones you had to peel first. He laughed when I pretended to bite the fruits we were talking about - he has a cute, crooked smile.

2. I love how he loves Family Home Evening and starts asking about it by Thursday or Friday every week.

3. He is really into spelling right now. He saw the word "Michigan" on my sweatshirt and ran up and down the stairs to stare at my sweatshirt, then run down and add a letter to his word on his blackboard downstairs. Noah is full of excitement for learning and I love that about him today.

Liam

1. He is going on hour number 4 for his nap today ... awesome. I love my little sleeper. He says "deep" for sleep.

2. He says airplane like this "up-ane" it's adorable. He also seems compelled to say motorcycle everytime he sees or hears one. He says "gogo-gygle" for motorcycle. He could be talking about anything and stop mid-babble to say "mommy!! ook! gogo-gygle, gogo-gygle" and I have to repeat "motorcycle" so he knows that I know what he's saying. It's like that dog in "Up" that had a translator on his collar. He'd be talking and all of the sudden stop and say "squirrel!" ... same as Liam - "gogo-gygle!"

3. His chubby feet.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

let it begin

Today is Mother's Day. I have been thinking a lot about motherhood this week and posted about it here on my family blog.

I have felt very inadequate and unhappy in my role as a mom. I have talked to and read blogs about other women who feel quite the opposite. They LOVE their role as a mom, they adore their children and their children can do no wrong in their eyes! That is not how I feel. I don't hate my kids by any means, but I do not enjoy them or my daily life like I want to and feel like I should.  I want to really enjoy this time while my boys are young and stop waiting for them to be potty trained or in grade school. I want my daily life NOW to be enjoyable. I thought it was my boys at first - that they were soooooo crazy and so active and so difficult, but I don't think so anymore ... I think it's me. I think the only difference bewteen me and a happy mom is my own darn attitude. So, I aim to fix that.

I was sitting in a church meeting today (I don't usually get a chance to sit there, alone, without teaching a class) and I was thinking about this perdicament I have found myself in lately and I came up with a plan.

To enable me to think more positively about my boys, I am starting this blog. I will be dedicated to write at least 3 things about each boy that is uplifting, funny, cute or insightful EVERYDAY. I can use only one of the 3 things as a picture I took that day, if I'd like :)

Yeah, that's it. I'm curious to see if this changes anything - but it's worth a try! Here are my things for today:

Noah

1. Tonight at dinner Noah shared his special peach soda, that he got on a bike ride with daddy yesterday, with Liam after Liam woke up and was in a bad mood at the dinner table. He also shared his new car with Liam (also in an effort to shake Liam of his bad mood).

2. How he looked so excited when I woke up this morning and immediately ran into the office, found his Mother's Day card he had been hiding and working on for a week and delivered it to me with the biggest smile on his face and said, "Mommy, this is for you! Happy Birthday!" as I was still sitting on the toilet. :)

3. When I heard Noah, after church, walking into the kitchen and singing "I often go walking in meadows of clover", unabashedly, so clearly, so lovely.

Liam

1. When he put his feet up on the breakfast table and laid back in relaxation as he finished horking down his toast this morning.

2. It's the face he makes when he's questioning you or disturbed about something. His little, fat lips hang open and he furrows his brow and whatever he says ends in an upturn of his voice ... can you picture it? I can.

3. How sometimes, like last night and today for his nap, he reaches for me and says "mommy!" when Daniel tries to put him down to sleep. He still needs me.