It's like we live in a wild life observatory

These were our latest visitors.  Nate got some really nice pictures of them, and since they were "boy ones" I thought I'd post them :)  We have deer in our yard daily and take pictures of them almost EVERY TIME, so even though it seems like I post these a lot.... it's really not as often as it could be :)  Just so you know.  Pretty cool though huh!

I have to say that I am still not sick of them.  It's still fun to see them everytime we do.  The kids haven't even lost interest yet! 

The other night when I was bringing in my groceries, there was this HUGE buck coming across the street.  It totally creeped me out at first, since it was dark and he kind of startled me.  He just walked up a little further, walking a little faster, and I walked a little faster and hurried into the house.... we were both fine :)  Pretty cool.

Party Day

My kids don't usually have as many expectations for their birthdays/parties as I do.  There.  I said it.  And frankly it takes a lot to focus ONLY on the things that really matter TO THE KID.  Well, Noah had about a handful of things he had been obsessing over and would mention anytime his birthday brought up.  The Happy Nato Cake.  Charlie.  Jarom.  And Charlie and Jarom coming over.  He was very excited about his two most favorite cousins coming over.  SO when we found out it might be difficult for Jarom's family to come out for the party we decided to take matters into our own hands and go pick him up!  And as long as we're driving out to West Jordan, we might as well stop at the Gateway on our way back right?  And stop at the Discovery Museum?!  Just make a day of it!  Of course.  So that's what we (last minute) planned to do.  And since Charlie was invited to his party that night as well, we decided we just had to have him come to Discovery with us. 

Things went a little differently than we had planned, we accidentally took a few detours.... I like pointing that out because it was as a result of Nate and I getting carried away in a conversation we were having and losing track of what we were doing.  I like that we can still have that much fun together :)  So yeah, we were a little behind schedule and didn't get to spend as much time as we had wanted at Discovery after stopping for lunch for some hungry little boys :).  We really only had about an hour there.... so that was a bummer.  But they still seemed to have fun.  We had to get home for the big kids to get home from school.

We got home and got all ready for the party.  I made another Happy Nato cake.  Much simpler than the first one.  No sink AND no computer.  And a Triple Chocolate Cake because I wanted some chocolate cake :) but NOah had picked Strawberry.

I'm not sure what happened with this party.  I normally have a set routine that I like to follow for the order of things at a party.  You eat.  Play games.  Dish up the Cake and Ice cream.  Then open presents.  Well, we pretty much did the opposite.  And simply because Noah wanted to.  Yeah, he's spoiled.  I tell ya, he's just like his Dad.  There's just something about him that makes you just want to do it his way.  And you don't even question it at first!  Weird stuff.  But whatever.  I don't think anyone else cares.  Just me. 

He was way cute opening his presents.  I ended up just using the video camera because I was so happy with how much he was doing on his own.  Plus I'm sick of the opening presents pictures not turning out.  I can never capture the right face.  He sure has improved even since his first few gifts on Christmas morning!  January is a good birthday month for that I guess.

He got lots of fun presents.  Thanks everyone for that.  And thanks to everyone who came to the party!

Kelly made the Pin The Nose On Larry for us.  She did such a cute job.  Noah didn't want to have anything to do with this.... mainly because he had brand new toys to play with instead.  A good reason to wait to open presents.

We even got Grandma Hatch and Simon to play that game and Charity won.

We played a game called Pass The Larry/Cucumber (we couldn't settle on a name).... Noah actually played and I think most of the kids liked it.  Just like musical chairs, but passing a cucumber.

Then we had the pinata.  Noah had picked out the helicopter one since they (sadly) didn't have a Happy Nato one.  I'm still kicking myself for not making one.  Would have been so simple with a long balloon and then a round one.... oh well.

I'm pretty sure this was the most exciting moment of the evening.  When Grandpa Hatch took a few swings at the pinata.  That sounds like an understatement for some reason.  Grandma and Simon took cover.  It was really hilarious. 

And the picture of Brent swimming around on the floor making all the kids cry because they thought he was stealing all the candy didn't turn out, so we're just left with this boring one.  Yeah, I'm still wondering why we put so much candy in these things when it's mostly our kids doing it.  I don't even see Charlie there.... hmmmm..... all in the name of fun I guess.

And then the cake and ice cream. 

And then of course Noah had had enough and konked out on Grandpa.  So cute. 

This is about the time that all of my kids started showing signs that they were not feeling well.  Including Charity throwing up and Luke's fever.... how nice for all of our party guests.  Sorry everyone.  We had no idea.  And that was that.  I thought it was a good night.  Good food, good fun..... And a Happy Noah :)

Noah's 3rd Birthday

Noah's birthday had finally arrived and we all woke up to the sound of his screaming vomit.  Such a bummer.  We tried hard to make the day fun even though he wasn't feeling so great.  This is his 3rd birthday to not be feeling well.... better luck next year I guess.  We called and texted all the party guests and rescheduled for Friday.

He got his birthday sign and streamers (courtesy of the girls and Nate- and me I guess, I feel silly taking credit, but I also don't like it to sound like I didn't do anything for it :) ).   

We blew up the balloons and just before noon Noah was feeling really well again.  This is about the time that we started figuring he could have been allergic to something he ate.  It just seemed so strange that he had been sick 5 or 6 days before, with the same quick stomach thing and had no lasting effects. 

He fell asleep to his favorite show Word World, and slept for most of the afternoon. 

We decided that his birthday was dull and needed something fun and new, so for his present we decided we would take him to Build-A-Bear.  I had been showing him some of the things on the website to kind of get him excited about it beforehand.  We used to have the tradition of making a build-a-bear for each kid around the time that they are born and giving it to them for the first big holiday.  Somehow (possibly because they didn't have any in AK) we stopped doing it.  So Luke, Noah and Erika have all missed out.  So maybe this is our attempt to redeem ourselves.  We got everyone all bundled up and left for the Gateway.  Noah was pretty much himself at this time.... a little quiet, but maybe because of everyone's hyperness.... he tends to let them be excited and just sits back to watch, even when it's something for himself.

We had a cute girl that helped us out through the "building" process.  Noah was a little bummed that they didn't have the elephant he had wanted, but he got over that quickly and chose the monkey instead.  He was happy to be able to put a monkey sound in it's paw.  The older kids were really bombarding him with suggestions and such at this time and he slowly crept into his little shell.  I'm pretty sure that even though it's a lot of fun for a family activity, I don't think we will ever take everyone there at once again.  They were just too overwhelming for the little guy.  They did have fun though.... all of us.  Noah was so shy he didn't answer most of the girl's questions and let me do all the talking.  He's like that anyway, but like I said, he was slowly going back into his shell.  He braved it and picked out his own heart, I kissed it, he pushed the pedal to pump in the fluff, that was cute :), and then he was more than happy to take the monkey over to the "tub" for a "bath".  This was the point at which he finally seemed like he was enjoying himself :)  The older kids had backed off a little.

He sure was cute bathing the little thing.  And then my favorite part was watching him pick out the clothes.  I of course knew what I thought would look cute and as always suggested that first :)  But nope, he was set on what he wanted!  I didn't try to persuade him too much, but I don't think I could have.  He's just like his Dad.  There's no changing his mind.  So he picked out a blue shirt and some black jeans, and then really searched for accessories that would best fit his monkey.  He settled on an army tent (we'd seen that earlier online and he was set on it of course), a guitar that plays music (and actually went with the shirt pretty well), and a brush (he'd wanted the pink hair styling kit that one of the girls had gotten with theirs a while back, but we convinced him that the yellow paw one was better :) all things considered.... especially money).  He was pretty content with it and quickly spouted out "Four" as his name when we were filling out the birth certificate.  He was so cute with his monkey!!  I love how cuddly Noah is with cuddly things like that.  It sure was fun to spoil him like that too.  He deserves it. 

We came home and had the cake that I had started on the day before and then just quickly thrown together at the last minute when we decided that we didn't want to save it til Friday when we had scheduled the party for.  Plus he had talked about this cake for months!  We couldn't very well have his birthday without his Happy Nato cake now could we.  This cake was a compilation of ideas we had found online.  Noah's favorite part of his favorite Veggie Tales episode is when Larry falls into the sink with an oven mitt on his head.  This is what we were going for and in the interest of time didn't quite pull it off the way I had wanted, but it still looked cute enough to take a picture of (I thought).  The funny thing was when I showed Noah the finished product (thinking I'd gone all out doing the sink and all) he looked at it and said, "where's the computer?"  HA!  Well, we didn't get every single detail.  And as you can see from the picture, it was only for us and didn't get the nice finished look because I was way too tired.  This was my first time making fondant and using it on a cake.  I thought it went well.  I was happy with how it turned out overall.  Next time I will definitely not expect him to leave out any of the details that I considered supurfluous.

you can see he was satisfied with it at least :)

He blew out all of the candles all by himself.  How cool.

We hurried and ate the cake and then went to bed!  It was a fun day.  I think Noah had a good time and I'm happy that he wasn't sick ALL day.  I do have to say that having his day just to ourselves reminded me a lot of our birthdays in Alaska and makes me wonder if I wouldn't rather doing them all like this.... with the family party on a separate day.... I don't know though, making two cakes seemed a little excessive to me.....

Here's Noah and Four at the end of the day! 

Happy Birthday, Noah!!!  We love our little 3 year old!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Noah!

My Handsome Noah

3 years ago, Noah was the sweetest, most peaceful baby ever.  From Day 1

1st Birthday.... that cake still looks disgusting.

Turning 2!  Such a cute big boy.

My cute little Noah is turning 3 today.  This is his 3rd birthday in a row (yep, all of them) that he's been sick.   He woke up to his throw up this morning instead of everyone singing to him.  Kind of a bummer.   And I know he doesn't remember, but I do.  Yep, even their birtdays have become something of a selfish spot for me.  Either way,  I wanted to write about my sweet little man.  Noah is one of the most calm, laid back little people I know.  His attention span is incredible!!  Especially for his age!!  His totally outlasted mine the other day when we were doing puzzles and then playing Go Fish.  He just keeps at things SO WELL!!  Really, I've had to stop myself from wondering if this could possibly be normal :)  (not really, I'm kidding)  He can do anything he sits down to do.  He's always been very mellow, but a new little side of him has been developing lately.  He is very imaginative.  He LOVES to play with his toys.  It's so fun to have a kid that actually plays with toys :).  He can turn any toy into something really amazing too though.  And most of his toys have families and Moms ( :) ), he creates different voices and personalities for everything.  It's so cute.  He drives things and flies things EVERYWHERE.  He likes to run around a lot more lately too.  His latest craze has been his  "Charlie Friend" and his "Jarom Buddy".  His two cousins that are his age.  He talks about them nonstop.  And he ALWAYS wants to call Charlie and invite him to come over.  I have to stop him 60% of the time, simply because it's not a good time.  It's really cute to see him get into the "friend" aspect of life.  I think that's what he was looking forward to most with his birthday.  And having people over, he loves that too.  He likes to talk on the phone, and if you are on my list of contacts, he's probably called you or texted you a couple times.  He likes to cuddle. still. which I love!  But most things that he loves, he loves on his own schedule and in his own time.  I think one of his best talents is being able to get what he wants and make you feel like you're giving him what YOU want.  His way of asking is just impecable.  And I"m not sure how he does it, but he just gets his way :)  He has a sweet calming voice, just like his Daddy, that makes it all seem okay :)  He's really patient wtih life.  He's not quite caught up to his brothers and doesn't really have much in common with them, but he still manages to enjoy their company, and be okay with them being above him.  Overall, he's really just content with who he is, and I like that.  What 3 year old isn't I guess... I hope he keeps that.  He LOVES to help out.  He ALWAYS helps me load the dishwasher and usually ends up washing the big stuff for me!  The other day he had me sit down and eat some breakfast while he finished the dishes.  Still makes me laugh thinking about it.  He LOVES to cook, watch me cook, and taste test it all.  He asks SO many questions when he's helping me prepare a meal :)  It's HILARIOUS!  And he gets really frustrated if I don't let him do some hands-on stuff too.  He likes to help with the laundry as well.  Anywhere that he needs a chair to watch, he is THERE.  He's working on using the potty.  He's pooped in it once, but I think he's starting to feel this pressure to get older and it's making him push away from it a little.  He's been like that forever too :)  He likes being little.  His favorite color (I just learned last night after holding out the huge pack of markers to him) is Black.  He loves his ee-oh still and sucking on his two fingers.  We're working on the finger sucking, but the ee-oh is here to stay I think :)  He likes stuffed animals and Kelly told me the other day that even when she goes to bed with "Biscuit" and "Pumpkin" they are always in Noah's bed when she wakes up!  He's funny about stuff like that.  He loves babies and still plays with Erika's and Kelly's baby dolls.  He was tucking one in bed with him the other night and made sure Nate said, "Goodnight" and "Love ya" to his baby.... so adorable!  He likes to use the pretend kitchen and cooking toys too.  he makes a mean invisible soup!  Noah doesn't love going to bed at night.  He is a PRO at stalling!!!  He can come up with some of the most amazing excuses why he can't go to bed!  Usually the Monsters in his room are looking at him.  And he says this with a completely straight face.  Almost like he's just annoyed at said monsters than scared.  He always needs a drink, doll, stuffed animal, 50 ee-ohs, pillows galore.... you name it.  Then he usually ends it with, "can I sweep in yo bed dad?"  To which Nate gives in.... softy.  And who wouldn't be to Noah.... he's so adorable.  He really is just like a cute cuddly little teddybear.  I love his angry face (not the pouty one, that one's just funny) and his "I'm happy now! Mom!" faces the best.  I love that he is so relaxed and easygoing.  Helps me to be more like that.  He doesn't like sandwiches.  Loves cheese, chips, crackers, popcorn, cereal.... anything you can bag up and take with you!  He doesn't eat real well at mealtime though.  We're still working on that.  Probably the reason he's so small.  Although he has been growing lately.... I think he's almost out of some of his 24 month stuff finally!!!  Amazing!  Noah adds a special, sweet, little element to our family.  We all love him so much and get a kick out of the new things he is learning and doing everyday.  I don't think we could be the family we are without him.  Happy Birthday my sick little Noah!!

Future Memories

- Monday night (1-3-11) after a really good day, Luke started feeling sick.  He sat there as still as a log through scriptures, and hardly said a word going to bed.  I knew he wasn't feeling well, but I've stopped assuming the worst around here (not sure why, but I guess I'm just so used to us not being sick) so I had no idea how bad it was.  Well, about a half hour after I got all the kids in bed, I hear someone walking around upstairs and it sounds like they're spitting.  It still didn't occur to me what was going on, I just turned my ears up.  Well, it only took a few more seconds for me to realize it was Luke and he was not just spitting, but throwing up and THEN spitting the leftover stuff.... just..... out.  Kind of all over the place.  I walked up the stairs where he was standing, sputtering, and saw two big piles of..... chunks.  Then turned the corner and saw about 6 more piles, evenly spaced, all the way through the kitchen.  A couple of small piles here and there.... I assume that was the spitting.  Then as I walked through the doorway to the hall I saw some more going through the hallway, one path led to the living room, which I now assume was him looking for me in there first, then the other path led to his room.  His bedroom floor, bed, bean bag, pillow, were all covered.  It was SO GROSS!!!!  In case you weren't feeling that already.  I really am not sure why I didn't throw up right then and there.  It was pretty new food though, not all acidy and stuff, so the smell wasn't too bad.  Sorry, I'll stop.  I helped him get to the bathroom to finish up, then I started on the clean up.  It took a while to get things under control and to where I wasn't worried that someone would walk through it all.  Then I went to help him clean himself up.  He was so dang cute.  Kids are just so sweet when they're sick.  It's almost good sometimes, and I think Heavenly Father made them that way on purpose to help us moms out.  And this is the whole reason I told this disgusting story, he says to me, "I was so brave.... throwing up by myself..... huh mom."  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever!!  He knew how brave he was. 

- some funny things that Luke said recently-  "Mom!!!  Brad called me a ca...ca...cu....... a name!"
 and----- the other day when I told the boys I was going to get rid of Mario if they couldn't stop fighting while they were playing it and Luke said, "No!!  This is my special game from..... someone!"  He totally forgot that Grandpa got it for him, but he sure felt it was special :)

- Bradley got yet another blue slip!!  This is his second one and he's not even halfway through the school year!!  Pretty cool stuff.  The slip says, "Bradley helped pick up after a cutting project and volunteered to  do more." And it was from Mrs. Savage.  I'm so proud of him!!  He's been super helpful at home lately too.... sure makes a momma proud!

- Preparing for Noah's birthday got really stressful for Noah I guess.  I was asking him what he wanted to have for breakfast on his birthday and he said, "HAPPY NATO CAKE!!!"  almost in an angry voice.  Then I said, "no, not your cake, what do you want for BREAKFAST?!"  and he says, very much annoyed, "Stop asking me that!"  I think he's a little confused what a birthday is.  He has it mixed up with party and cake.  He's not sure what I'm talking about so he just doesn't want to talk about it :)  Just him :)  I think it's adorable.  I will make him a Happy Nato cake and he will be happy :).