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.

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.

Christmas Letter

This was a big year of change for our family. Let me summarize:

January: Skiing in Tahoe, advancing to Boy Scouts, a $ignificant dental vi$it

February: House hunting in Utah, telling Rinar that I was pregnant

March: Emergency Preparedness Fair, saying farewell to Reno, trip to Monterrey, being pregnant

April: Moving to Draper, boxes and more boxes, still pregnant

May: Ditching Facebook, park outings, being pregnant and hating it, learning to ride a bike

June: Music in the park, yard sales, hikes, swings, violin camp, still pregnant and still hating it

July: Reupholstering project, carnival, Payson Lakes, parades, rodeo, staycation, Boy Scout camp, even more pregnant

August: Heartburn, Danny, football, soccer, Strawberry Reservoir, swimming in the Great Salt Lake (yuck!), pregnant, pregnant, pregnant, whiny, whiny, whiny

September: Paul, Kokopelli Triathlon, fishing trip, and NOELLE!!!

October: Grandma, Cornbelly's, Uncle John, LEGOS, Halloween

November: Michael Buble, the Robertson's, soccer trophy, orchestra, Thanksgiving, Sewell's, baby blessings galore, 18 years!!

December: Violin recital, Jr. Jazz, Temple Square, caroling, Christmas music, enjoying not being pregnant, and slobbering over the most perfect little baby a Mom could ever hope to have.

**********

Raef: I think this kid has grown at least a foot this last year. He is now 11 and an exuberant kid. He loves LEGOs, shoveling snow, football, basketball, and history. He is starting to really enjoy reading, finally. Raef loves to hold Noelle, change her diapers, and cuddle with her. He continues to excel in the viola and even got to perform a solo with his orchestra. He still loves camo and likes to hide and build stuff, like igloos. He loves to earn money and is pretty darn frugal. 

Zach: I recently bought him a Super Mario Bros. piano book and now I am living in a video game. But I love the fact that he is playing the piano again, non-stop. He is constantly sneaking into the pantry, although I don't know where it goes because he is still a skinny bean pole, though a much taller bean pole. Zach loves to read, memorize jokes, perform for anyone on his violin or piano. Zach also competed in a triathlon this year as well as a 5k.  He really enjoyed it. He does a great job making lunches, especially macaroni and cheese and putting the kids to bed. He is an incessant kisser of babies, especially Noelle. 

Eli: I think he must be just about the cutest kid ever. He will randomly come up to me to tell me how much he loves me and how much he loves our family. Eli is obsessed with LEGOs these days and gets books from the library to get new ideas on construction projects. He is also playing the violin, though some days the playing comes with a lot of 'tude. He also loves Skylanders. This year he also taught himself how to ride a bicycle. Everyone should have an Eli, but sorry. He is ours.

Harry: This kid always walks into a room with a big smile on his face. He also has amazing eyebrow action. He is a whiz at puzzles, loves to play with magnet figures on the refrigerator. He loves LEGOs and watching his brother play Skylanders. Harry is a big helper and forces me to put his laundry away expeditiously because he loves to hang up the shirts. He loves "Nephi's Courage" and any song I sing to him when he goes to bed. And "Go Dog, Go" is classic literature to this kid.

Julia:  She is an artist: on the walls, the furniture, her brother. She loves lipstick, nail polish, and pretty hairdos. If only those hairdos could be done without a brush!  Julia is a loving little girl. She loves chewing gum, mini dolls, dress up, and she has the most amazing imagination. You put a wand in her hand and watch out. Magic happens. And I recently discovered that she really has a passion for painting. Maybe more painting will mean less graffiti for the coming year.

Noelle: The best baby ever! She is so calm, serene, and just precious. All of the kids slobber over her and she just loves it. Plus, she really loves me because she sleeps through the night consistently, 8-10 hours. Yes, the best baby ever. Pregnancy was totally worth it.

6

I am really still struggling to decide if I like the number 6 better than the number 5.  Five seemed like such a nice, complete, well-rounded digit. It seemed so final. Not like...5, but more like 5!

But I guess I am just going to have to start liking the number 6.  I am trying hard to like that number, but it has really been difficult.  Just when I think I have everything figured out and life seems to be getting into some type of groove, life steers me into a completely new direction.  Well, really it is not a new direction.  It is just the same direction, the direction I thought I was getting away from.  Now it will be just more of the same for about the next 4 years or so.

For many years, Rinar and I prayed and hoped to have a few children.  We really did a lot of praying and hoping. It got hard as the months would come and go, and still nothing. Then finally after a long wait, we were blessed with two little boys and we have adored them ever since.  But it was a long time before #3 came along and he only came to our family with major medical help. It was hard. I said I would never do IVF again, such was my misery. But for some strange, uncanny reason, I decided to do it again. It was definitely a prompting from the spirit, because I would have never gone through IVF of my own choice.  And then before we knew what hit us, Rinar and I had really done our part to multiply and replenish the earth.

Holy crap! Five kids. I have five kids.

The end...  Okay, I guess not.

I figured it out pretty early on, but waited a while to tell Rinar. Then I finally took a test to confirm my suspicions.  But I waited another day before I dropped into his office unannounced and slammed the test down in front of him.  Yes, he was incredulous. So was I. I still am.

Life is changing again for our family.  Six.  But let me be really clear...6!!!

The end.

Chugging Along

I checked here on my blog and then was like, holy crap! I haven't blogged anything in a week.  I guess I have been a bit busy.  It has been a good week for me.  First of all, I get to taper on my running, because the marathon is next week. It is great to look at the schedule and see that you only have to run 3 miles. It is a nice change. I need to get an 8-miler in tomorrow and then I really just have 26.2 next Saturday. I am ready and glad to be done with it.

 

And mark my words, this will be my last marathon!!  Tie me up and send me to the looney bin if I even flirt with the idea of doing this again.

 

As for the rest of this week, it has just been school, school, school; a whirlwind of a week.  The boys continue to progress nicely in their studies. They also are plugging away at football. There are four games left on their schedule.  They probably have one of the toughest schedules. in the league.  Regardless, we are  thrilled they got a 'W' last week.  I hope they play well tomorrow. The game is in Fallon.

 

Playing with some masks we got from our travels. The left one is from Nicaragua and the right one comes from Hawaii.

 

 

Harry and Julia continue to grow and I can feel a certain level of maturity starting to settle into our lives. And let me insert a heavy exhale right here.  Thank goodness.  It still is craziness in these parts, but I feel that I have definitely gotten over the worst of it.

 

When we do homeschool co-op on Thursday, Julia and Harry go to a preschool class and they are doing great in there. Eli has been bumped up to real classes. He takes Music in Motion and a manners class.  I am still teaching a history class for boys called Horrible History: Tudors, Explorers, and Pirates.

 

I also realize it is about time to start teaching Eli how to read.  I am not that concerned about it right now, but the time is fast approaching and I think he is ready to start.

 

 

Julia still loves it when I take her picture. She is also obsessed right now with a Disney Princess sing-along DVD.  She watches it all the time and then asks me to sing a specific princess song, like Pocahontas or Ariel. And she still gets wistful when she thinks about the color pink.  Just the other night we saw pink clouds in the sky, and she tucked her hands under her chin in a demure pose and smiled so happily at the pretty pink clouds.  And she still loves to pick flowers, especially pink ones, from the neighbors yard.

 

 

Harry is really growing up. His obsession with cars is fading a little, but he always finds something to fill the void. Right now, he really loves coloring. I am surprised at how good he is at it.  He will sit at the table for long periods of time to color.  It is even better when he does it with Eli. The two of them are light years ahead of where Raef and Zach were back then, when it comes to coloring.

 

And just the other day, Harry was talking to me about hair. I asked him where all of his hair went, since he just got a haircut a week ago or so.  He told me that it went into the garbage.  What a smart boy.

I guess we will just keep chugging along.