Family Update

My poor blog must be feeling pretty neglected these days.  A lot of things have been going on and life goes and on and then the blog gets left behind. I have been keeping my Instagram updated so I can keep a record of all those little things I like to remember. But I do want to give my blog some love again.

Sometimes when I have writers block, the only way to get out of it is to just write my way out of it. I really have no idea what to write at the moment, but I am writing.

My life right now is revolving mostly around Zach.  A few months ago, we decided to have him do a program called Brain Balance. It is a lot of work and time and money and has really thrown our family into a different kind of rhythm.  He goes to the South Jordan center three days a week and has to do home exercises three times a day, six days per week.  We have also put school on hold. No school for the past two months for him.

Ever since I put him in public school last year, it became apparent very quickly that something needed to be done. School exposed all of his weaknesses and I just couldn't ignore it anymore. The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me that Zach probably has Asperger's. He has never been diagnosed or anything, but when I looked up all of the characteristics of someone with Asperger's, he fit it perfectly. I could think of a specific example for every characteristic. So what was I supposed to do for him? He was really struggling. He knew he was and didn't like it either. But he just couldn't help some of the stuff he was doing that was driving all of us crazy and really causing him to clash socially with people at church and in the neighborhood.

I then heard a commercial for a place called Brain Balance. When I looked into with Rinar, it just all made perfect sense. It was applicable to him in every way. I knew I was at the right place. He does exercises to strengthen his right brain and isolate his left brain as much as possible. Zach's left brain is very strong and his right brain is holding him back. We have been working on developing his right brain. He is on a special diet (no gluten, sugar, dairy, soy, peanuts) and is doing things to get him physically stronger. We now go to the Treehouse Athletic Club as much as possible, he plays basketball, racquetball, lifts weights, and the like. I also have him working on a needlepoint project to  help him develop better fine motor skills. He plays the piano a lot, as well and has restricted screen time. I also try to have him go outside as much as possible.

So, you can see I have been sucked into a Zach vortex a bit. But it does seem to be helping and I am seeing changes in him. It is a lot of little things, but I know that those add up to big things.

Raef continues to go to the middle school and really seems to enjoy it. He seems to have figured out the system and his grades have improved a bit. Raef is fascinated with figuring out what makes a person popular. I get almost daily reports on his observations. I think he may have a future in sociology. One night I was diligently working on a puzzle that Harry had left undone on the dining room table. Raef plopped down next to me and just started talking and talking and talking about every thing that was happening at his school. I think he talked for about an hour without barely taking a breath. When he got it all out of his system, he thanked me for listening and then went to bed. It was so cute.

Eli is such a smart boy. He amazes me daily with the things he learns and retains. He is now working on Perpetual Motion, which is song 9 in the first Suzuki book. It is mostly done. His teacher Trina C. switched his thumb to the grown up hold, and he does not like it at all. He has really been fighting me on it. I have now resorted to threatening an allowance deduction if he doesn't hold his bow correctly. That seems to help keep him moving forward. He is reading well and his speed is increasing nicely. We are reading the Magic Tree House series. We are almost finished with book 7, "Sunset of the Sabertooth". Eli's math skills are phenomenal. We are now going to start learning multiplication. I already did a lesson and it is clear that he has a good grasp of it already. I have a feeling we will be out of multiplication by the end of April. I know I learned multiplication in 3rd grade. That kid. Holy smokes.

Harry is chomping at the bit to do school. I usually run out of time before we can do anything, but I know he is learning stuff all the time. He is halfway through the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and seems to remember everything, even when I go a long time between each lesson. I am not worried about it, since he technically does not start Kindergarten until the fall. He is also a voracious puzzle solver and can get on some serious puzzle kicks. And he is really good at them.

Julia just loves having friends and going to play anywhere. She also loves to watch this show called "Monster High". I am sure it is trashy and she probably shouldn't watch it and I am gonna have to stop it, but I admit that I am being a lazy parent. But I do make her play outside as much as possible, which does cut down on TV time. Yesterday Julia and Harry went over to Amanda B.'s house to play with her kids. Her kids weren't home and they played there anyway. I didn't know this until they came home. It made me laugh so hard just thinking about it. Amanda is a saint. Sheesh.

Noelle is my heaven sent little girl. She is growing so fast and is hitting the cutest age of all. She walks and climbs and explores and is pretty mischievous, in the cutest way possible. When I pick her up she will give me the most meltiest, cuddliest hug ever and tap my back. She gives kisses and so full of love it makes my heart burst. She absolutely loves to take baths and showers, ride her wiggle board in the kitchen, and go bye-bye. If she could live outside, she would.

Life just keeps marching on around here. We have been really busy and I am hopeful about the things that we are working on and the way my kids are growing up.  Things are good.

She's Got Gumption

It was a long day today. I took the kids to the Tracy Aviary. The weather has been more like late spring than winter. It was time to get some fresh air. They all seemed to enjoy themselves a lot. The aviary is really nice and has a wide variety of birds. Noelle especially liked looking at the birds, I think.

Then we had to race home because I forgot my wallet. And then pack up again to take Zach to his Brain Balance appointment. After we dropped him off, I took the little kids to Riverton Music to pick up Eli's violin. It had to be repaired after he dropped it and obliterated the bridge. Ugh. Noelle fell asleep. She must have been really tired because she rarely falls asleep in the car. But she was conked out.

We finally made it home and soon I started to try to put together some kind of dinner. Noelle has this skill of being able to open the refrigerator. It is a little more than slightly annoying. Dinner was taking a lot longer than I had anticipated. No worries. She opened up the fridge and found an extra peanut butter and honey sandwich. Noelle took it out of the bag and proceeded to eat the entire thing. Then it was time for dinner. I put her in her highchair and then she proceeded to eat an entire helping of dinner.

The girl can eat.

The girl can climb.

The girl can be the most cuddly, sweet, adorable little stinker you have ever seen. I don't think I would have it any other way.

A Little Kid Update

Life keeps marching on in our household. Holidays are done and vacation is done.  I guess now we are just living. I have been consistently doing homeschool with Eli. He is such a bright boy. He astounds me. He reads, computes, and comprehends so well. I am grateful that he is a willing learning who remembers what is taught. Of course, lately he does give me a bit a push back. Eli will get interested in something else in the morning, like Lego creations or a puzzle and doesn't want to stop. It can get a bit dicey, but once I throw down the hammer and he cracks the books open, he does really well. Someday it is going to sink in that school will be done everyday, no matter what. But that realization has not happened to him yet.

Harry is such a neat kid. And he is a puzzle savant. I recently went to the thrift store and picked up a slew of puzzles in the 100-200 piece range. I think I bought 6 or 7. In one morning, he did every single one.  Then I went back to the thrift store and got some more. This time I was looking solely for 300 piece puzzles. I bought 5 of them. Sure enough, he has solved all of them. You can comfortably say that he really, really likes puzzles.

Puzzles have never really been Julia's thing. However, if the puzzle has an interesting subject matter like Barbie or Power Puff Girls, Julia is more than willing to give it a try. Her mind definitely does not work in the same way as Harry's. It is much more of a challenge to complete a puzzle and a year ago she couldn't do it. But I am happy to say that she has made a ton of progress in this area. 

A nice homeschool mom in Draper has graciously started a Lego club at the Draper library. For the longest time, we couldn't make it. But I have been trying to get them there on a more regular basis. The first week, I got a lot of resistance from Harry. But once he put his foot in the door the first time, he was hooked!

Eli loves it, too!

 As for Noelle, she is an unmitigated stinker at this point in her life. She climbs into, onto, over, and under everything. In this instance, she pulled out this drawer in the kitchen and climbed right in. I also found her dancing in the toilet! I put a picture of that on Instagram.  After the toilet incident, I went to Walmart and bought a bunch safety gates to keep her out of stuff.  But really, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday Noelle

My precious, gentle, squishy, rambunctious baby girl is one today. Has it really been one year? It has been a blur. Time moves so quickly. I was so anxious to be done being pregnant and I was thrilled when the doctor announced that it was a girl! Rinar and I were ecstatic. 

Noelle, you have been a blessing for our family in so many ways. We love you so much. In the beginning, you were a darling spectator as the daily circus passed before your eyes. You soaked it all in. I would just hold you in my arms for hours and hours.

But then, the spectating was done and you were ready to take the world head on. You have come so far. You walk and explore and destroy with perfect innocence. You give so much love to all of us: Dad, Raef, Zach, Eli, Harry, Julia, and me. You make us laugh and bring smiles to us all.

You are a pro at climbing up and down stairs, up and down the stroller, and love, love, love the toilet and all of its possibilities. You are now starting to talk and the words are forming and sorting themselves out. Today, you loved to say football. Maybe that is because you play in the front yard and watch your brothers practice their punting skills. You also love the wiggle board and have an obsession with my yellow iPhone, at least almost as much as I do.

You love it when I sing you to sleep and tuck you in and we always play a good game of peek-a-boo. You are a master peek-a-booer. Sometimes, you let me cradle you and sing to you and you will just stare at me, perfectly still. It is heavenly.

It is a privilege to be your mother. Thank you for choosing our family. You are my heart.

The Highlights

 Here is a highlight of some of my kids amazing accomplishments this past week or so...

Stylist super-hero.

Fine diner.

Culinary explorer.

Future farmer of America.

Reader.

Fashionista.

A Hot and Sleepless Fourth

Once again for the Fourth of July, we found ourselves down in St. George. I have no idea why we go to St. George in July. It is freaking hot and really not the best time ago, but whatever, I guess. Rinar was in Las Vegas for work, so he just drove up on Wednesday night and spent time with his mom. I met him on Thursday at the water park next to the Tabernacle. After a four hour drive, my kids really needed to get out and play and fortunately the city has a wonderful splash pad and mini-river that is perfect for a wide age range of kids, which is what I have.

In the evening we headed out to Lyf's house because that is where we were going to stay for the weekend. It was a rough night for Noelle. She just could not fall asleep. She was a little bit sick from getting her shots and it didn't help that we were not home and that she was over-tired from only taking a 30 minute nap for the whole day. I had to hold her to sleep from about 1:30 am to 2:00 am before she finally gave it up. 

Rinar took the kids to the parade in Hurricane while I got some sleep Friday morning. And I thought that Noelle would sleep a little longer, but alas, she was awake bright and early. It is tough to find things for the kids to do in St. George when it is so wretchedly hot outside. After hanging out at Lyf's house in the morning, we then went over to Nordel's house and hung out there and tried to get Noelle to take a nap while the kids played. But she was not cooperative at all. Grrrr! By about 5 pm we were a bit desperate for somewhere to go, and ended up at McDonald's because of the indoor playground. I swear I would never go there if it weren't for the playground.

After killing an hour or so at McDonald's, we went to my Grandma N.'s house to get ready for the fireworks. I once again tried to get my little baby to go to sleep. She had only slept for a few really good hours for the past few days. How was she functioning? I thought I was successful at getting her to bed and left her on my grandma's bed to sleep until it was time to leave late that night. However, it was not to be. After about 45 minutes, she was awake again! Holy smokes!!

So I took her outside with everyone else.  Here is Grandma all ready to enjoy the festivities with Eli, Julia, and Harry.

We did sparklers this year. It was a big hit!

And we had ice cream cones. Nordel and Brooke's family came along with Brooke's brother and mom and all of their families. It was a nice crowd. Karey, Eric, Dallin, and Ian came like always and it is nice to be able to see them and catch up.

There is that stubborn little baby with Grandma and Auntie Margaret. She did really enjoy the fireworks and was mesmerized by them.

 Eli is hanging out with his cousin Brielle.

And Harry, with his cousin Tru, really loved the fireworks. He made sound effects as he watched them explode and was trying to freeze them in the air. It was darling.

On Saturday, we played at Lyf's house for a while and finally hit the road at about 4 pm. On our way out of town, we paid a visit to Lynn. His headstone is in place and it looks beautiful.

This was a precious moment I captured of Noelle with Grandpa.

Fortunately, with a little help from a night-time cough medicine, we were able to get Noelle back on her sleeping schedule and all is right with the world again. And we made it back to cooler weather...thank goodness.

Nine and Half Months

Noelle is now 9 and a half months old. Time is whizzing by. She is just a darling little baby girl. She loves to explore and touch everything with her hands and feet. Everything must go in her mouth. That is probably because she needs to try out all of the new teeth she has. There are two on the bottom a few coming in on the top. That means that she has had a runny nose for the past month. And this girl absolutely hates getting her nose cleaned. It is an all out war.

Noelle had her 9 month check up a few weeks ago and she is about average on her height and weight. She loves to eat and will eat just about anything. This sure makes life easier for me. She is also very ticklish and when I am changing her clothes, I tickle her tummy and she just loves it. 

She also went swimming for the first time this past month. It was a hit. She is a natural in the water. She doesn't cling to me and feels comfortable as I move her through the pool. This is her first swimming suit and I think it is absolutely darling.

She is starting to "talk" more. And I have to admit that yesterday she saw Rinar on FaceTime and clearly said Da Da. I think that was her first word. She is a bit reluctant to say Ma Ma. Boo hoo for me.  But she sure loves me and I can still cuddle with her when I give her a bottle. I am in love with her.

Sunday Fun

While we were away on our epic field trip, my mom held down the fort. When Catye and Mike picked us up from the airport, they brought this little morsel with them. Unfortunately, she was sleeping. But about 10 minutes from pulling up to the front door, she opened her eyes. Raef, Zach and I were ecstatic to see those blue eyes. It took her a minute to register our faces in her sleepy brain. Man, I missed her so much.

Eli has developed an obsession for coins, which started right before we left on the trip. Every night, that is all he wanted to talk about: coins, coins, coins. Oy! Naturally, his unabated enthusiasm spilled over to his little brother. This did make it exceptionally easy to know what to bring them back from our trip. Rinar even found some gigantic coins. This was Eli's face when he saw the gigantic ones for the first time.  Priceless!

Now any time there is a visitor to the house, they get treated to a perusal of his cool coin collection.

And Noelle just loves grandma!

On Sunday, Jamie and Leah came over for dinner after church. Mike and Catye stayed the night. Right before dinner, Catye and Mike went to get in some showers. They were pretty exhausted because their son Paul kept them up all night.  As I was finishing up dinner prep and taking a phone call, Rinar comes running in to tell me that the shower door exploded. When I got down there, I witnessed a scene of glass carnage. And poor Catye and Mike were bleeding. Luckily, no stitches were needed, but it was pretty bad. Both Rinar and I were vacuuming and vacuuming and then Catye and Mike had to get glass pulled out of hands and feet. I am just very grateful it was them, and not a baby in that bath. They are okay. But now that this is the second time a sliding glass shower door has exploded on us, may I recommend never getting one in your house? They are horrible!

Noelle is 8 Months...Almost

Guess who got their first tooth this week? (bottom left)

Noelle is now approaching 8 months and man is she a busy little girl. She is starting to stand up on stuff, has attempted to climb the stairs and is super grabby. She doesn't like to be left alone too much and really likes to be in the middle of stuff. She shakes her head no occasionally and loves to smile. And you will probably never see another baby that is kissed and hugged as much as she is. And she loves every minute of it. 

I have also been more consistent with feeding her solid food and the girl can throw it down! She will eat anything and lots of it. 

Noelle is Seven Months Old

Noelle has now passed the seven month mark.  She is really coming out of her shell now. First of all, she has filled in a lot and is quite a little chubber now. And man is she busy. She loves to grab stuff with her hands and even feels everything out with her feet, if she can. Noelle is sitting like a pro now and rolls everywhere. In the past few weeks she has started to semi-crawl. But with each passing day, it gets better and farther. She also likes to stand on her head and can get to a sitting position from her stomach. She watches everything and takes it all in. 

I feed her just about anything and she seems receptive to everything so far. Noelle has lost interest in binkies. I don't give them to her anymore. She naps well and definitely does a great job sleeping through the night. This is a fun little baby.

Ice Cream, Camping, Walks, Moments

I was going to blog a bunch of stuff last week and then I got derailed with computer stuff, cleaning things out, plugging things in, excavating office space. And then what do you know? Another 5 days has passed. Whatever!

Harry loves his little sister, and so does Julia.

And this was a funny moment. Zach just came into our room and was trying to tell us something and apparently it really cracked him up. He could barely get out what he was trying to say, he was laughing so hard. Yes, Zach is generally a pretty hilarious kid.

And then sometimes it is just really nice to slow down and get down. I was able to do that this past week as well. Rinar took all the other kids out somewhere and I stayed home with my little sweetie. I just watched her wiggle, squirm, grab, roll, and just move non-stop. This was my favorite move. She was working on her yoga form and really had the downward dog looking pretty darn good.

Raef and Zach went on their second Scout overnighter and it was at Spanish Fork Canyon. They have hot springs up there and it seemed like it would be a perfect camping weekend, until the rain and snow hit. I don't think they brought enough warm stuff. I was a little worried for them. But they came back the next day all in one piece. That was a relief. And they still like scouts and camping.

But while they were gone, we took the littles to the newest restaurant in Draper, Leatherby's. I have to say, I highly approve of this joint.  The ice cream looked amazing and Rinar and I shared a fish and chips entree, which was really good. Noelle had her first little bite of ice cream and the first time it went into her mouth, her eyes popped wide open. She was pretty darn happy.

And so was everyone else. Julia was a meticulous connoisseur, keeping it neat and even all the way around. She also was pretty speedy and had hers polished off in no time.

As for the boys, it was a melty mess by the end. But they loved it all the same.

And this was my view on the way home from church on Sunday. I am really committed to walking every week, as long as the weather is not wretched. Looks were very deceiving, as it looked beautiful but was freezing cold. I think it was actually colder at noon when we went home. And then I checked the temperature when I got home and it was 40 degrees, with a wind chill. Whoosh. But my kids were troopers and didn't even complain. 

Noelle is 6 Months

Noelle is really starting to become a little person. She has passed the 6 month mark. She laughs, rolls, grabs her feet, grabs my hair, grabs my phone, grabs my jewelry. Noelle is starting to get super wiggly and now gets bored. She gets sad if people leave the room and is alone. And she even has a little sense of humor. Just yesterday, Zach was playing with her and she would spit out her binkie and then laugh hysterically. He would do this repeatedly with her, and she would keep spitting and laughing.

She also is starting to eat solid foods and can even sit up for spells. Yes, time marches on and she will soon be marching, too.

Noelle is Filling Out

Oh, my. Look how much Noelle has grown. She is approaching six months-old now and she has really filled out.  She is rolling over from her back to her stomach lickety-split and sometimes rolls to her back again. She is starting to eat lots of different solids and takes a bottle a couple of times a day. Noelle loves to be tickled, gets kissed incessantly, and grabs for anything she can get her hands on. She especially loves my face and hair. She also uses her feet to explore stuff and has started grabbing her little toes. 

Noelle is still not very wiggly, so we can cuddle with her a lot. She is calm and many times I can hold her to sleep.  But let me tell you, she really does not like to have her nose cleaned and she will tell you in dretful tones.

School School School

This past week was all about education. I did an audit of Raef and Zach's progress and realized that they were lagging behind in a few things. Therefore, I counted everything out and divvied it up based on the number of weeks we have left.  All of their schoolwork must get completed before May 28. And this is the first year these kids have to take an end of year state exam. The pressure is on. They worked hard to complete all of their assignments, plus a little bit more. We were pretty much hermits, working hard to get the momentum rolling.

I also am going to start doing more "school" with my little ones. Harry begs me all the time to do school. He just loves it. He loves workbooks and assignments and attacks it all with gusto.  We did a bunch of different stuff on Wednesday and in this picture, they wrote their names at the top of the sheet they did. I was pretty impressed.

I also broke down and got a tablet with the express intent of using it to supplement their education. Instead of plunking them in front of the television to keep them quiet while I help Raef and Zach, I am going to plunk them in front of the tablet where they can practice letters, sounds, reading, and math. Might as well take advantage of technology, right?

And Eli was very proud of this cargo plane he built. He insisted on the picture.

Rinar had a long week of work again, gone to the nether regions of the western United States. But we were really glad to see him again. Noelle was especially happy to see her daddy.

And man, oh man. Noelle has really entered phase two of babyhood. She is starting to "get" places some way or another. I don't even know how. She is also started to grab things and puts everything in her mouth. Now the pressure is on to keep the floor clear of all potentially deadly items.  

As if I didn't have enough to do...

Noelle at 5 Months

My darling little Noelle is now 5 months old. Holy cow. And she is growing and learning quickly. Just a few days ago, this little girl started rolling over. She is a pro going from her back to her stomach.  I didn't even realize she was doing it. I guess this is what happens when you have 6 kids. 

I put her on her back, on the ground in the living room. Then I went into the kitchen to get something. When I came back, she was on her stomach facing the kitchen. I then sat back down on the couch and was working on updating my new iPhone. A few minutes go by, and Noelle was still on her stomach, but now she was facing me. Somehow, she had turned all the way around so that she could face me.

She is such an amiable, loving, smiling little girl. Most of the time, she doesn't make a peep, but just watches everyone and takes it all in. She especially looks at me and is constantly studying my face. And now she is starting to grab at stuff. I find her little hand on my face most of the time that I hold her. 

Noelle is also starting to eat solid foods, when I get around to formally feeding her. She really likes peaches mixed with rice cereal and bananas aren't too shabby either.

I guess we will keep her.

4 Months Old

Noelle is now 4 months old. She is a serene, joyful, happy little girl. She loves to smile and watches everyone with great interest.  She is also very cuddly and is now getting on a pretty consistent schedule. My baby sleeps through the night and always wakes up in the morning with a pleasant countenance.

Everyone loves this little girl. And she still has a head full of hair.



Are there any cheeks that get kissed more than hers? I seriously doubt it.

Noelle at 3 Months Old

Oh, this little one makes my heart sing. She is so incredibly precious. Noelle is sleeping through the night. She is calm. She smiles. She loves her binkie. And she is starting to discover her hands. It is fun to make a new friend from the very beginning. I am really going to enjoy watching her grow up and to be a part of it.

Blessed.