Pump it up!

Bradley hit a HUGE milestone this week!! We were totally thrilled and it's been the topic of the week for Brad. He has finally mastered the art of PUMPING HIMSELF ON THE SWINGS!!!! Well, and not only this, but he's taught himself how to jump out as well!! It was perfect timing as I am now getting some pretty crazy contractions when I push the boys on the swings. So that helps me out a ton. Plus he feels SO COOL!!! We've spent lots of time at the red park this week to practice and get better :) ANyway, just wanted to share the good news :) I thought I had a picture of him.... guess we'll have to take the camera with us today....

Thith-ter Maynes

On Sunday Charity pulled yet another tooth :) This one was different from the rest. She wouldn't even let me near it, so she just worked on it really hard, all Saturday night(we even let her stay up a little to loosen it up), and Sunday morning. She had it so that it was barely hanging on by a thread and then finally pulled it all by herself. It was in the middle of all the getting ready for church chaos, but it was still pretty exciting for all of us :) She was happy to be able to show it to her primary class. She talks funny now.... she thinks she has to say "th" for her "s"'s.... it's funny.

Timpanogos Cave

Saturday, we finally made it up to the Timpanogos Cave with Grandpa Hatch and Pam. We have been planning this hike for about a month and things kept getting in the way. But we did it!! I think the kids did awesome! I was amazed at how steep the hike was compared to how I remembered it. I was totally winded, and having contractions and needing to stop like every two minutes, all the way up there. It was really hard for me!!! I think we were a little slow for Pam, she went on ahead of us, and luckily we got there a little early to head on up for our tour, but we really made good time for having a walking 3 year old, and a baby on the shoulders. Nate was amazing by the way.... he carried Noah pretty much the whole time. There's no way I could do that. It was a good time with Grandpa though.





We parked by this little river to eat our sandwiches while we waited for grandpa.



Nate took a lot of these with his phone!




I just love these pictures with all my cute kids all together. Too bad Noah's not more into having arms around him :)

(I cannot believe people think I "don't look pregnant"!!!!! I'm like a big blob!!!) Cute kids though... look how happy Noah is! All smiles. Love this one.

Nate took this one.... love it!

Noah practiced his jumping skills on this step while we waited. Funny the things that will entertain these little people.

Nate took this one too.... we need to get him a camera.... he takes some pretty cool shots! Not that his phone doesn't take good pictures, I just think this would be even more amazing with a real camera!

I love this one too.... my kids are so adorable.

About 3/4 of the way up there Charity announced that she doesn't like hiking. At least she's honest. And actually, she refrained from complaining the whole rest of the hike once she got those feelings out. She did good though. Kelly held Grandpa's hand the whole time. No complaining at all.... They made up some songs and she taught him all of her school songs. It was fun. Bradley was INCREDIBLE!!! The kid is AWESOME on hikes. He was totally gungho the whole time, running up ahead and then running back. Climbing up on rocks everytime we had to stop for a break. He really didn't stop the whole time. It was neat to watch him get so into it all. He really didn't seem tired at all which is funny since on little walks up the street, his legs will get tired when we're 100 feet away from our house! I loved watching him have fun though. Luke did really good too. Not too much to complain about. He kept reminding us that the rules were, "no falling off the mountain!" and "no getting hit with the rocks". So adorable. I love how he is. He held my hand most of the time, but ran up ahead a little bit too. He was so funny when we got to the top... "Mommy, we made it to the top and we didn't fall off the mountain!!" Very cool. Noah rode on Nate's shoulders about 98% of the time. He walked a little, but not really enough to speak of. He was pretty tired when we got to the cave and took a lot of finagling to get him to keep quiet while we were in there. I felt bad for everyone else that was with us, but it was just so unlike him.... we weren't sure what to do. He fell asleep shortly after we got out of the cave and my Dad so generously carried him most of the way down. Nate got him the rest of the way down.

Not sure if I like this picture of me, but I love how Charity is putting bunny ears on herself :)

Inside the cave. I totally didn't remember how tight this cave is. I'm glad I'm not any bigger, I may not have fit through some of the really tight spots!

We sat down at the end of the hike and it took us all about an hour to finally get back up. I think overall it was a good hike. I'm really impressed with how well the kids did, and that my baby didn't fall out (as Luke puts it) while we were up there. Fun times, we'll have to do this one again.

Friday's Fabulous Five

1. Sunday was just all around fabulous this week. I loved the topic in RS lesson. I also got to hear Bradley do the prayer in Primary.... that's always fun. I really enjoyed the relaxing evening as well.... just fabulous.

2. Tuesday, I am happy to say, I did my visiting teaching!!! (I probably shouldn't make it sounds like such a big deal because then you will assume it's been a long time since I did it last, but since it has.....) It felt really good though and I love the sister that I visit. She's sweet.

3. A cute little nice old couple at the park told me they thought I was the "High School Babysitter" and that there was no way I was old enough to have my own kids :) LOVE IT!!! This has been happening a lot lately and can I just say how much it boosts my self esteem :) (strange since I'm 7 months pregnant, but apparently I am "not really showing yet" go figure)

4. Nate mopped the kitchen floor for me while I was at the Service Auction Enrichment Night Activity. He's so my hero.

5. Last but certainly not least, I got to meet up with my good ol' friend Wendy today, at Murray Park. I LOVE hanging out with Wendy. We've known each other since 2 grade, and did many many things together all through Primary and Young Women's. She was one of my bride's maids too..... just a good ol' friend. Had an awesome time, I hope she didn't mind the chaotic boys!! They really were on one today!

Friday's Fabulous Five

1. I'm going to use one from last week because I totally spaced it! On Thursday, Charity received a Blue Slip at school!!! (blue slips are good) She became a member of the Principal's 200 Club which, once "the line is filled up with kids getting blue slips" she will begin to receive all kinds of benefits.... most of which I know nothing about yet, but I have heard the words "Chuck E. Cheese" mentioned several times. So it's, you know, PRETTY EXCITING!!! On her blue slip it says that she received it for "always having good quality work, and being a great peacebuilder"! I asked her why she got it before I had seen it and she told me that she got it for being "reliable". She was so proud. Then I asked her if she knew what reliable meant and she said "no." I explained it and she TOTALLY agreed that she is definitely reliable. So it was fun and very cool for Charity. She showed it off a ton. It was a nice little piece of fun in the middle of all the crazy stuff that happened last week. Grandpa took us out to ice cream to celebrate.


2. That brings me to my next one. It happened on Friday while we were out for ice cream with everyone. We were sitting outside at Baskin Robins, and I guess because it was September 11th, they were having fireworks a few streets over and what sounded like a big program. So we watched the fireworks. The funnest thing for me was when Bradley carried Noah over (he's a lot bigger than Noah, but it still looks really awkward when he holds him. Fortunately Noah trusts him more than most would and doesn't look to worried) but he carried him over to where he could see the fireworks really well, set him down and then Brad sat down and motioned for Noah to sit next to him. He of course did and they looked like the two cutest little boys ever!! I loved it! If only I'd had my camera.



3. Saturday we took Noah's crib and replaced it with a toddler bed. We didn't make too big a deal about it to him, we've been preparing ourselves for it to be an ordeal (just based on how some of our other kids did with the switch), but we thought now would be a better time to deal with it than after the new baby. So we're giving ourselves 2 months basically to get him all used to it. Well, good news! this was his first night, and he loved it! Well, he went right to sleep anyway! He and Luke have been really naughty for the last like month or so (ever since moving all the kids in the same room together), playing with each other and goofing around all night, so we thought for sure they would be up and down at least a little before going to sleep, but I'm happy to say we were wrong! He laid down, pulled his "ee-oh" (that's the name for his satin pillowcase) up to his face, and went right to sleep. Luke too, he was out right away as well. Kind of nice, I must say!! Hopefully it was more than just a one night thing :)



4. Tuesday night we were invited to a couple in our ward's home for a bbq. He used to be in the bishopric, but was recently released. They are the sweetest people. So nice to have our family over. We're the ages of their kids, so it's not like they have little kids running around their house all the time, so it was very nice of them. I was glad to get to know them a little better. And the most fabulous part of all..... the kids did AWESOME!!! Good manners. I couldn't believe how quickly they cleared their places when they were done. They said thank you. They were quietly outgoing. Played in the backyard most of the time..... just overall, really well behaved, and very nice for me :)


5. I loved all the rain this week, and I loved being able to sleep in this morning!! My Dad let Nate take Nana's car to work today.... and that means an extra half hour of sleep for me! Funny what a difference it's made today. I feel good.



These pictures don't really have anything to do with anything, Noah just fell asleep laying over the top of an upsidedown laundry basket yesterday and I totally had to get a picture of him.... it was so adorable to watch him get sleepy and doze off. Funny how he can do this sometimes in just any old place. Must have been pretty tired!

"more than anything in the world"

After I dropped the girls off at school and had played outside for a few minutes with the boys, we came inside and when I sat down at the computer to update my blog I found this sweet little note on the keyboard. Charity is a sweetheart. So thoughtful. I want to do this more often for her. I know how much it means and how much it can make my day, I would like to do the same for her. Isn't she a doll.

Goodbye

Well, it's over. Nana's funeral was yesterday. It was a nice day, although I don't think I could handle too many more like it. The funeral went well. It was nice to see so many people there to show support and say goodbye to Nana. I had a really hard time keepig it together pretty much the entire day. Any little thought of her brought me to tears. That's okay though. Normal I guess. I had the privilege of saying a few things to Nana (technically we were supposed to share a memory, but I couldn't. I wrote a letter to Nana instead. Which I plan to post on here when I find it), that was some nice closure for me. It was really tough to look at her in the casket, she didn't look anything like herself. Besides her Spirit wasn't there anyway. Michael and Susan did such a good job on all the pictures of her, all over the room, and the video. I loved seeing all the pictures of her the whole time. Nana HATED having her picture taken, so it's funny that there were so many. My Dad and I decided that she probably wouldn't be there since it would have driven her crazy to be surrounded in pictures of herself :). Most of the earlier ones she had her tongue out, or her hand blocking her face.... so funny! Noah spent the entire day saying "Na-na" like over and over. I can't help but wonder if he saw her or felt her presence, but it made me cry everytime. I picked him up to show him her in the casket and he said, "Bye!" to her. Then I told him to say, "I love you" (which I've never heard him say before) and he paused and then said, "Bye!" again. It was sweet. I really think that Noah was a huge blessing in Nana's life. He was always so sweet to her. He wasn't shy at all with her. Na-na was one of his first words, and he would start chanting it the minute we got on her street and in front of her house. He loved her. It was so fun to watch her be spoiled by him. He really made her feel special, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of that with them. He kept saying her name again as we were leaving the Mortuary, and so I handed him the program with her picture on the front, and he loved that. Pointing to her and saying Nana, and pointing out her eyes and nose :) I think I want to blow up some of the pictures I have of the kids with her and let them hang them in their room. Charity was tough. She said it was hard to not cry, and that she was sad. I am sure they will feel it more as time goes, but they all did really well. Kelly mostly just stayed by Grandpa which I think was nice for him. He was really sad. It's weird to see my dad choked up and so sad. I know he loved her. She was an amazing woman and taught us all so much. Bradley kept telling me that "Nana is dead. Are you sad?" He is a boy. I think it's cute when he asks me "who are we going to go to Carl's Jr. with now?" And all day today (Thursday) he has been asking if we are going to visit someone. Luke was confused with why we kept going to Nana's when she "alwedy died", but he has also been asking if we can go to Nana's today. I don't think it's hit everyone yet. I loved the funeral though. It was so Nana's. She would have loved it I think. the perfect mix of laughter and tears. And unless you can get embarrassed after you die, I think she would have really happy with how it all went. Nate said the closing prayer and did such a good job. I love how he blessed her to be comforted as she continues on the journey that she is on right now. I love to think of what she might be doing right now. I think she is being taught. More about the Gospel, and more of all the things she missed in this life. I hope she is receptive. I hope she is just loving it and takig it all in. I know she felt ready to go. I know she felt like it was her time. I know that she had a chance to feel closer to Heavenly Father during those few days before she left us. I realized that in a year I will be able to go and do some of her temple work for her and that just makes me so thrilled!!! I guess I assume that it's okay if I do it. I want to :) So hopefully that can be a reality in a year. It's just been a very bittersweet experience, this whole thing. I really had no idea it would be so hard for me. I do want to mention the awesome ladies from Nana's ward... I should mention Nana never went to church in that ward, but they still gave her visiting teachers who were generally quite faithful in their calling, and they also brought food and support when Nana came home, just a really great ward obviously..... anyway, we had 3 very awesome ladies come and run a nursery for us during the funeral. I think it was mostly just my kids in there, but HOW AWESOME are they!! And they were so sweet about doing it as well..... I couldn't be more grateful. It meant a lot to me to be able to listen to everything and not be distracted. I think that it was nice for the kids to not have to be there for all the tears as well. When we got to the cemetary I realized it was teh first time I had ever been there without "her" there. We always went to the graves on Memorial day with her. Her headstone has been there for a while in fact, right next to her parents', and one year we jokingly asked, "do you think you'll fit?" So being the funny lady that she was, she said, "I don't know should we check?" And laid down next to her headstone. SO FUNNY!!! Usually she just said taht she she died she wanted us to just sharpen her feet and pound her into the ground. But she always had a good joke. It was fun to think about those times when we were there. I decided that I will be sure to go and visit at least her grave every year. She deserves that. She always was so thoughtful of everyone else who had passed on. Good example. So after the cemetary, I dropped Nate off at the Wake at Nana's house and took Charity to the doctor. She had woke up that morning with blood in her urine (And can I just say, whether you want to hear it or not, it was a LOT of blood!! I honestly wondered if my little 7 year old was starting her period!! I've never seen that much blood from a uti). I assumed it was just a UTI, but when I called the doc they said I should hurry and bring her in. So amidst all the funeral mumbo jumbo, we went to the doctor. Of course it was the one time I've had to sit there way longer than I wanted to, but we did the pee sample, and of course it was a UTI, and she got some antibiotics. She's been so tough about it. Having to run to the bathroom in strange places all day. She is a good girl. I'm glad it's just a UTI and not her period, and I"m glad that she is getting better. And I"m glad that everyone was still at Nana's and having a good time for us to enjoy as well. Bambi's friend catered the whole thing. It was so nice to get together one last time for Nana. HOpefully that isn't the last time we all get together. I know Nana was the main reason for the get togethers, but I hope that we can continue. Family was a huge emphasis to Nana, and at the funeral, and it made me really grateful to be part of such an awesome family. The Ferguson Family is amazing. My Nana had 9 kids in her family. They all had lots of kids and then their kids had lots, so it's HUGE. And it really is a strong family. Everyone loves and shows so much support to each other. It's neat. I really felt grateful. I know Family was important to Nana too. She would do anythign for family. Okay, so I know I totally have gone on and on about my Nana. Liek I always say though, if you don't want to read it, don't :) but I wanted to thank all of you for your sweet comments and support and love. I know I"m not the only person who has ever lost a loved one, so I appreciate the concern and love. I hope that I haven't annoyed anyone with my wimpyness in dealing with her death. She's been such a good friend of mine that it is really hard to just let her go. Hopefully I don't, and hopefully she can just be in my heart all the time. I really hope that she can be one of my angels that I hear about so often :) I do love her so much.

Brad and Luke had a total blast at the Wake (the girls ran around like horses the whole time and had fun as well), but it was really fun to watch the boys playing with my cousin Nickole's son Coleman. They haven't stopped talking about him since last week. Brad wants to invite him to his birthday party and Luke says, "Coman is SO funny, Mom". It's fun to see them play together. Back when we were pregnant at the same time I thought they would be buds, but then they had to move to Idaho, so it's been a long time since we really saw them and hung out. HOpefully it's not the last, but I wanted to get pictures of them wrestling and running around. You'll have to excuse the pictures, it was dark.





Here is the letter I read for Nana at her funeral. It might be cheesy, but I really wanted it to come from my heart. It was difficult to know what to say even though I wasn't sure anyone would be able to hear it over my blubbering.

Dear Nana,

Thank you first of all for all the laughs. I love how freely you joked and took our teasing. Thank you for being the old lady that didn't drive slow. I remember bragging to my friends about how UN-old my Nana was. Thank you for teaching me how to give and the love of family. For teaching me that I can try and develop new skills. You always figured thigns out without being taught and I always thought that was cool. I'm sorry for all the times I was late. I promise to try to be more punctual and follow your example. Thank you for always letting me be myself. Complaining or goofing off- I never felt like you were judging me or would think less of me. Thanks for lettin gmy kids be themselves- eating all your candy and getting toys all over the place. You never made us feel uncomfortable or in the way. Thank you for all the gifts. I know how much you saved and sacrificed to make birthdays and holdiays special. I will think about you every Christmas Eve and miss the tradition of spending it with you. Thank you for holding my babies. For getting all excited with each one. I love that no matter how forgetful you got- you always remembered that I was expecting and when I was due. my heart aches at the thought of not being able to show off this next baby to you. I will miss seeing your face light up as you would have seen her for the first time. But thank you for the blanket you started for her. I will finish it and as Steve said, she will be with you when she is in it. I love the thought that the two of you may have already met and hope that if not that she does get the pleasure someday. I'm so glad we got to hang out so much lately. You've been my good friend when there haven't been many around. I will miss our Thursdays and I already miss all the times we would have been able to drop by. I will miss playing with Noah with you over lunch. And how much you enjoyed his attention and love. Nana, thank you for teaching me that no matter how hard it gets it could be worse and to just tough it out. I admire the strength that you showed in yoru own life- I can't even imagine going through half of what you did. Thank you for letting me feel like an important part of your life. You certainly will always be an important part of mine. I love you, Nana. I will miss you and think about you often. There will always be a special place for you in my heart.

Love forever,

Christa

My Three Sons

I've been trying to work on our blog book for last year (late, I know), but I keep coming across all my lame little posts where we went to the park or just did the usual, same old stuff that we always do. And I am finding that I enjoy reading about all the cute little things my kids do in those situations than I do the really big exciting stuff... go figure. So I decided we needed some more of that :) and took my camera with me to the park with the boys. We had a fun time, and I am pretty sure this is the first video of Brad on the monkey bars!!! Pretty exciting if you want to see it, it's at the end of the millions of pictures ;)


Luke LOVES having his picture taken right now. It's funny to have him do these weird poses and say, "take a pichur uh me dooween dis, Mommy!" He's a goof.



I thought this would look better, but I love when my boys are together.




My big boy Brad is growing up WAY too fast!! When I look at his pictures lately, I can't help but notice how old he is getting!! He has fun doing "scary" things for Mom.

And my sweet little Noah is just cute as ever still.... can't resist a picture of him..... and he still moves slow, so it's easy :) Love his double chin.

He totally carried his "ee-oh" all through the playground. He had just woken up from his nap. I'm trying REALLY hard to not let him have it as often though. I still think it's cute to let him have it though. Nothing wrong with a little comfort.

more cool poses to take pictures of.

HA! didn't even have to tell him to do this :)

too bad that plastic looks so contaminated.... I think I know where the boogers came from!

Luke stole Noah's ee-oh, and was trying to throw it up to him.... it was totally stressing Noah out to see his ee-oh go up and down..... brothers.

babystepping down the stairs

Awwwwww

not sure why I like this one, but it's real :)

Luke's very proud of this one for some reason, he asked that I "pick dat one!"

what mom doesn't love watching their kids interact with each other! I totally can't get enough of it.

"Mom, take a pichur wis my hands wike dis!"

went down the slide all by himself! Not normal for him. He usually gets to the top of the slide and then chickens out :) Well, unless Luke is there to push him down unexpectedly, which unfortunately happens too often.

I kept trying to get a picture of all three of them, but they would NOT have it. Here's the only one that has all three of them showing and not crying.

"no, no, no, no, no" before turning around and crawling back down the stairs :)

And last but not least, the video of Brad on the monkey bars!! He's been watching this all morning.... he loves it!