He GIGGLED!!!

Jack totally made my day last night!  He was laying on the floor on his blankie and after a few little tickles on his shoulder/pectoral area (I'm depressed that I can't think of the correct Anatomy terms for this... guess I'll be retaking Anatomy before I become a Nurse when I grow up) HE GIGGLED!!!!  The cutest, sweetest sound!!  I L O V E baby giggles!  Especially the first ones!!  I told Nate that was a little like my pay check :)  It's what makes all my hard work- worth it!  Definitely one of the perks of having the coolest job on the planet!

Some Funny Stuff

One of my favorite things about being a parent is the funny stuff I get to hear my kids say.  Even when they're totally serious, it can make my day and make me smile for days to come.

The other day, Nate and I were having a quiet conversation in our room (which RARELY happens), with little interruption since the big kids were at school and Noah and Erika were seemingly content to just entertain themselves.  Erika came in and very seriously said this:
 "Mom, Noah said that I could be his kitty and den... den he just changed into duh Hulk!"
 Nate and I, almost in unison said, "Well, you can be the Hulk's kitty!  The Hulk can have a kitty!"
and her quick rebutle, "No, because he will just be saving peopoh!" in complete disappointment!
SO funny.

And my conversation with Noah the other day in his attempt to "trick" me:
Noah: Mom, what's your name?
Me: Mom (Erika of course corrected me with a cute "Nooooo!  Yo name Cwista!!"  but that's beside the point :) )
Noah: How do you spell it?
Me: M-O-M
Noah: What's the opposite of up?
Me: Down
Noah: What's the color of the sky?
Me: Blue
Noah: HA HA!  MOM KNOWS POO!!!

I think he has been listening to the big kids and got all their little tricks mixed up :) Made me laugh.

Journaling

- Tuesday was Noah's big day!  He went two whole weeks without sucking on his fingers and Tuesday was the day to go buy his Dragon!!  It was really funny because he had picked the Dragon as his prize at the very beginning and then every few days he would change his mind, he went through several avengers accessories, Thor Hammer, Captain America shield, Hulk hands, then went through a few really strange ones, handcuffs, etc.  I for one enjoyed the changes because it seemed to get cheaper with each one.  But the funny little guy went right back to the extremely pricey Dragon that last day.  Lucky for us it was almost 50% off when we went to get it on Tuesday!  Talk about tender mercies!  He did SUCH an awesome job!  I know he still slips up every now and then, and at night, but really, this was HUGE for him!  We learned a lot about Noah's willpower.  11-13-12

- Tuesday was our big SEP day as well.  I STILL L O V E SEP's.  That's Parent Teacher Conferences for all you who don' tknow.  My kids are SO fun to talk about with their teachers.  All four of them are such good students, they all read at if not above their grade level, they're all doing great with Math and with making friends.  It's SO fun to hear that they are liked and appreciated by their teachers.  I wish I could take some of the credit for this, I'm sure I could take some, but seriously, we were SO blessed with good kids :).  It's as simple as that.  And I can't express how grateful I am to have this blessing.  Bradley's teacher mentioned that he is always the one adding extra details when they're talking about science things.  He knows SO MUCH about science.  She also made a point to talk about what a good friend he is and that he is a leader in the class.  I love that.  One thing Charity's teacher said was how whenever she has to get after her (which "isn't often at ALL!") Charity will write her a lengthy apology.  I think that's really cool. She tries so hard to make things right.  She was also VERY surprised that Charity has never been put in Spectrum with all of her testing.  So she recommended she test again this year.  Luke's teacher told us what a good kid he is and how nice he is to everyone in his class.  She said he was right up there where he should be with reading and that was awesome!  She seemed to really like Luke and said that several times.  Kelly's teacher LOVES Kelly.  She's very impressed with what an all around good student she is!  She always tells me how organized and how responsible she is too.  I am SO proud of these kids!!  It's so nice to walk in the school and see so many teachers who have all had my kids and think highly of them and feel like a respected person and that's all because of how well-behaved and smart my kiddos are :)  If I can be so bold as to say that :).  I just love it!!  There I'm done ;)

- Wednesday we took Erika in for her 3 year check-up.  I can't believe my baby girl is three!  She was in the upper percentiles for both weight and height, so that's good.  Growing like she's supposed to.  Her little bump on her hand is supposedly a ganglion cyst, hopefully it goes away on it's own, but if it doesn't we're supposed to call a specialist.    11-14-12

- Nate had to work Friday evening so that meant no going to the Ward Adult Social, but it was also Don and Sherise's wedding.  I fought the urge to go all evening, not wanting to take a bunch of kids with me, and then finally gave in about 15 minutes before the reception was over.  Dragged all seven kids (Luke was at Carter's but we had an extra, Clara Thomas, Kelly's friend with us as well), in our street clothes, nothing even remotely formal, Jack was even in his jammies!  But we made a presence and I think they were glad we did.  I hope so.  It was fun to see them married.  I hope things go well for them.

- Saturday night was busy.  First we fed the missionaries.  Elder Grow and Elder Owen.  From Grantsville, Utah and Anchorage, Alaska respectively.  They were good boys.  Very polite.  Not super outgoing, but it was a lot of fun to hear their thoughts on the new missionary ages.  They confirmed my theory about the Sisters being more of a temptation to the Elders now that they will be closer in age. Then we all rushed off to Don and Sherise's baptism!  That was really neat to attend that.  I was glad we had the whole family there to witness that.  I don' tknow if the kids have seen a baptism of anyone that old :).  It's good for them I think.  It was really neat to see how many people from their new ward were there.  They were really fellowshipped so much better in that ward.  I really think that them moving across the street was meant to be.  Heavenly Father knows what he's doing.  It was perfect timing.

- Sunday morning we slept in so Nate had to rush off to Don and Sherise's ward to confirm them by himself.  I was so bummed!  And then I was even more bummed when Nate came home and said that Margo and Gentry Cole had been visiting the same ward!!  I missed them!!  Bumbs me out!

Luke's Teeth

Thursday was Lukey's big day!  We finally took him to the dentist and after a teeth cleaning, finding out that his little bump on his gums is possibly left over infection from a root canal, and lots of tears, he had his first tooth pulled!!  And his second!  All at once!  He was very happy to join the tooth losing club, and couldn't complain about the $5 bill under his pillow the next morning!  He was pretty tough, only cried during the numbing part, I was proud of the cute little guy.  It was so sweet when he asked me to hold his hand while he was being looked at.  He is so sensitive and sweet.  Sometimes it's hard to tell.  But I love those times when it's not.  He looks so cute with his teeth missing!  You can totally see the adult ones coming in from behind, but he just looks like such a big boy!  We had to go celebrate with our Yogurtland coupons that we got from SEP's.  IT was a lot of fun and Lukey felt so special!  11-15-12

THREE!

Erika is our little Princess.  Everyone loves her and looks up to her even though she's almost the shortest!  She's got a VERY strong personality.  She will tell you how she feels about just about everything.  She is very perceptive and can tell you what other people are feeling and thinking as well.  She's VERY observant.  She knows what's happening everywhere.  I think this is why she gets overwhelmed so easily.  Over stimulation.  She is very serious most of the time, but she has so much fun laughing and playing and just being goofy.  She has found a best friend in Noah.  She seems to run the show, but she cares so much about him and will do anything to please him as well.  She LOVES her baby brother and will do anything in the name of helping Jack.  She's thrown away MOST of his diapers for me, and retrieved the supplies for most of said diaper changes!  She loves to cuddle with him, hold him, sing to him, play peek-a-boo... she just loves him.  It's adorable.  She loves her baby dolls too.  She is such a good little pretend Mommy!  She loves to play outside, she loves to play pretend, and even likes playing Superheroes every once in a while.  She doesn't have a lot of favorite foods, but she eats her meatballs really well.  And we just found out she likes Salmon too!  She would choose sweets and candy over anything else though.  And she eats enough of them for all of us!  She's a total Momma's girl.  She would never leave my side if she didn't have to.  I'll admit it's pretty cute and very flattering.  She loves to rub my arms most.  She's a sweet girl.  Very caring and compassionate.  She is sensitive and will feel sad for people which I think is impressive at her age.  She is also very grateful!  She still remembers who gave her what for her SECOND birthday.  A whole year later!  It's amazing.  She has a good memory too as you can tell.  She loves to be out and about, going to the candy store, park, pretty much anywhere, but she's always anxious to go home once she's out :).  Not really sure what she wants :)  We love Erika!  We would sure be missing a special part of our family if it weren't for her.  She really fills a sweet spot.  Happy Birthday, Erika, we LOVE YOU!!!

Looking back:

Love this baby girl!

My bald little one year old on her first birthday

The little Mommy herself :)  2 years old and a little more hair :)