Favorite Sayings

Nolan is such a funny boy!  He says some of the funniest things.  Here is a list of some of my favorite phrases:

1.  "Okay, but not today"

2.  "Umm...I guess so"

3.  "Baby brother, you're so gooey, gooey, gooey."

4.  "This looks pretty nice".

5.  "Just one more minute".

6.  "Daddy says I can...".

7.  "The clock says..."

8.  "Umm..how 'bout no".

9.  "I don't love you, I love Daddy".

10.  "Baby brother I just love you".

I Don't Want To Go To School

Nolan is getting ready to start preschool at the TreeHouse so in order to get him used to going to school I've been taking him once a week for a couple of hours.  If you know Nolan you know he is pretty shy and new things are not always his favorite.  So this has been a big step for him.  Of course he cries when I drop him off, but once he's there he does fine.  Since he's been going he insists that I read Llama Llama Misses Mama.  In the book the little llama is shy and misses his mama.  Whenever I read the part about being shy Nolan says "I'm shy too".  I think he can really relate to the llama.  At the end of course the mama comes back and the llama loves school.  After we finish he always tells me "You always come back for me, Kitty".  He's doing really good at the TreeHouse and I know he's starting to feel more comfortable.  Luckily the people there are really great and have REALLY helped Nolan feel welcome.  I do love the TreeHouse!(I hope I can receive a promotional discount:))  But seriously, it has been a great experience for us.  

Happy Birthday Nolan

Nolan is now a 4 year old! This last year has been a really great one for Nolan. He has grown and changed so much and I'm so proud of him! He's a wonderful boy who remembers everything! He's a great brother to Eli and has been so much fun. We started the day by going swimming at Aunt Vivian's house. We had lots of fun and then headed to watch Ice Age 3-which he has been waiting to watch since he saw the cardboard cut out at the movies last year! After the movie we headed back for pizza and Ice Age cake. Nolan was so excited and had so much fun opening his presents. We then headed off to the fairgrounds to watch fireworks.  We happened to show up just as the demolition derby was starting which was very interesting.  Once the derby was finished they had some pretty good fireworks.  After all was said and done Nolan came over to me, gave me a big hug and said "Thanks for my birthday". What a good boy. I love you Nolan!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I love my boys!  They are so funny especially when they are together.  Nolan always tells me "I love my baby brother.  He's so gooey!".  Eli has really been getting into rough housing with Nolan.  It's so hilarious to see Eli tackle Nolan and if I tell Eli to stop Nolan always assures me that it's okay.  I love watching them become friends.

Bear Foot

The other day I asked Nolan to put on his shoes and the conversation went as follows:

Me: Nolan can you please put on your shoes?

N: No.  I want to keep my feet open.

Me:  Oh, you mean barefoot.

N:  I don't have bear feet!  I have boy feet!

All I could do was laugh:)

Time is Flying!

Eli loved watching the chickens.
Shadow the wolf
Madison and Eli

ready to go

Eli's ready too
Nolan's favorite
Before the rides
Had to get the hat!

It seems like time has been flying by!  I just can't believe it.  We went to Disneyland and it was one of the best trips ever!  We had a great time.  Danny and Kathy came with us which was great to have some extra help.  Nolan's mission the entire time was spend as much time with Goofy as possible.  We got to see him before we got into Disneyland at our hotel.  Nolan was so happy he could hardly contain himself.  It was so much fun to watch him!

We enjoyed lots of rides and Nolan even got to participate in the parade.  It was so cute!  One night Bobby and Danny went to ESPN Zone and the other night I forced Kathy to go on the "big kid" rides.  It was hilarious.  I laughed so hard I could hardly concentrate on the ride.  On the last day we were there we also had breakfast with Goofy.  It was so worth it.  Nolan had so much fun-but I don't think he ate very much.  Then we headed off to California adventure.  I had never been there before so that was a lot of fun.  The kids loved the Playhouse Disney play and my favorite was Monsters Inc.  So cute.  I was sad that we didn't make it over to Toy Story, but we did see the Brother Bear show so that was fun.  Nolan was so tired at that point he could hardly make his way back to the car.  Now every time someone says California he immediately responds by letting me know that he wants to go back to Goofy's house and see Mickey Mouse too.  We are definitely going back next year!

My sister Ashley came to visit with her little girl, Madison.  Nolan was so excited that his cousin got to sleep and play at our house!  He told me repeatedly how cute she is.  It was really funny.  Whenever I say goodbye to my family I always shed a tear or two-but as she drove away I felt a little homesick.  So the following day I packed up my kids and drove up to Snowflake.  This trip up was SO much better than the last time we went up, so I was grateful for that. When we got up there it was so fun to see my family's face.  They had no idea we were coming.  We had a great time just being with them.  I think it's a great place for my kids.  There are animals, fruit trees, vegetables growing, a pond where you can feed the fish and tons of space to run and play.  Not to mention a wolf lives there-also known as Shadow, my parents' Queensland heeler.  Nolan loved it up there.

Things were going great until Thursday when Eli started throwing up in the car on our way to feed some mini horses.  He didn't stop and I had to take him into the hospital.  When I told Nolan that we were going to have to take Eli to the doctor he said, "Oh no Kitty.  I'm so sad.  What can we do to make him better?".  This was my first time going to the emergency room.  It was a little scary at first but as the night wore on Eli started to get a little better.  Of course Nolan came with me and I was surprised at how determined he was to not fall asleep in the hospital.  He was pretty good while we waited.  Finally at 3:00 we were able to go home.  On Friday Eli didn't throw up anymore but he had a terrible fever.  Finally I was able to get it down, but that night Nolan told me he had a stomach ache too.  I had a hard time believing him at first because he often tells me that when he doesn't want to do something-like brush his teeth.  So I told him to come and get in bed with me.  10 minutes later he was throwing up.  I was pretty much up all night with both of the kids trying to get them through this terrible flu.  The next morning Nolan seemed to be through the worst of it, but Eli still looked a little under the weather.  I decided to drive home figuring that Eli would sleep the majority of the way and prayed his fever wouldn't come back.  So we made our journey home.  The kids are good travelers and did very well, until we got about an hour from home.  Eli had thrown up again.  I couldn't believe it.  After we got cleaned up we finished the drive home.

We were happy to get home, but that night Eli started again with a fever and throwing up.  He just couldn't get over the illness.  So on Sunday I took him back to Urgent Care.  The doctor opened his mouth and saw that his tonsils were swollen and his throat was also swollen and red.  He diagnosed him with a sinus, tonsil and nose infection.  So after getting some antibiotics Eli is finally on the mend.  Yeah!

So now we are on our way to some more great summer adventures.  Swimming lessons (hilarious), cooking class, going back to Snowflake, San Diego and Nolan's birthday...It should be lots of fun!

Gpa

Bobby's grandpa passed away last month.  We went to see him a week before he passed away and looked better than ever.  It was good because he got to see our kids one more time.  He was a funny guy with nine lives.  He lived through so many things and managed to keep going-it amazed me.  He lived through WWII and had some sort of bomb explode which required his stomach to be lined with sheep lining, several strokes, a broken neck (which he had to wear a halo) and an amputated leg.  He lived through a lot and was still able to keep a smile.  We have so many fun memories of Grandpa.  He will be missed.

A Little Behind

Well, I must say I'm a little behind on my posts....Maybe someday I'll be a little more on top of things.  It's been a crazy few weeks.  Bobby and I went up to Phoenix so he could run in a race.  It was the first time we had left town in almost a year.  I know-we're so sad.  Hopefully I can catch up in the next few posts...

Just Grow!

In Sunbeams-which Nolan really enjoys now, yeah!-his teachers gave him a little box and planted a seed.  For the past week or so Nolan has been watering it and we've been sure to keep it in the sun.  Unfortunately, our seed hasn't sprouted so the other day I asked Nolan, "Nolan, what does our plant need?".  I'm waiting for the response of sun or water, but he says, "it needs to grow".  I laughed so hard.  How true is that?  

On a side note of funny things Nolan has said...Eli kept getting into the DVDs, which normally isn't a problem but he was opening them and trying to take out the disc.  I had repeatedly caught Eli and would tell him no and try to give him something that was more interesting.  About the fourth time of me moving Eli away from the cabinet Nolan tells me, "Kitty, just put Eli in his cage".  So hilarious.  I don't really put Eli in a cage, but that's what Nolan calls the play pen.  It's so funny how simple solutions are for kids.  Oh to be a kid again.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Learning how to walk-Yeah!
Getting into the wipes.
First Birthday Cake!
He loves to wear hats.
He also loves the toilet water.  Thanks Nolan for keeping him out:)
He loves to get into cupboards.
A little rough housing with his brother-yes Eli started it.

Eli turned one this month!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.  It seems like time goes by so fast.  Eli has definitely brought fun and happiness to our home.  I remember a couple of hours after I had Eli I just had an overwhelming feeling of joy.  I wondered if that was normal, or just the epidural wearing off, but now that I've gotten to know Eli I know it was because I was so happy to have him a part of my life.  He is so much fun and laughs all the time-I can relate!  He's a good little boy who can really hold his own with his brother.  I am so thankful for Eli.  I know that having a brother has been the best thing for Nolan.  When I went to the hospital I was so sad because I was convinced I was ruining Nolan's life.  Nolan wasn't going to be the only one I loved and I felt so guilty, but now that Eli is here I wouldn't have it any other way.  Eli has brought so much fun to our house.  He thinks Nolan is so funny-even when I'm sure Eli will cry because Nolan wants to wrestle him, he laughs.  I love every second of it.  It makes me so happy to see them together and I pray they will always be friends.

Eli is a lot of fun, but also very curious and HUNGRY!  If you have something-he wants it.  If you're eating something, he wants a bite-I take that back, he wants the whole thing!  The only thing I've ever seen him turn down is ice cream (that is not my gene).  He's so much fun to watch when he finds something he's interested.  My favorite thing is to watch him study a page on a book-he's so intent.  As my mom says, "you can tell the lights are on".  He's very smart and of course so handsome!  I love the look on his face when I pick him up from behind and he looks back to see who it is and smiles.  When he looks at me like that it's almost like he's saying "Oh it's you.  I'm so glad it's you."  I love his hair, his dark eyes (Nolan says they're black), his sweet smile and laugh, and his ability to make everyone feel so happy to be around him.  I love him so much and I'm so excited to see what life holds for him.

Update

Nolan and Bobby playing baseball
Eli and Grandpa

Time just seems to fly by for me lately.  It seems that there is always something going on...We had a great YWIE/New Beginnings which I was happy to do, but also glad it's done.  We finally took Turner to the vet and got him fixed.  Sorry Turner.  I knew it was a procedure, but I didn't know that part of him wouldn't be coming back.  What a surprise!  The recovery instructions said that it would take about 7-10 days for Turner to get better and start running around.  Well, two days later he's pretty much back to his old self.  I was looking forward to a longer break, but I'm glad he's better-I think.

Nolan is doing so great.  There were a couple of days where Nolan wasn't feeling very good so we didn't make it to Karate.  I really wanted to go because this was going to be Nolan's first class, but he had a low grade fever so we didn't make it...We'll see what happens next week.  I can hardly wait:)  On Saturday Nolan did make it to his sports class.  This week was all about baseball.  Nolan was really excited about it.  It's so fun because Bobby gets to go with him and help teach him how to play.  Bobby is the best dad!  Sunbeams was so great this week.  He even sat on his teacher's lap!  I almost fell over right there.  It made me laugh because a cute little girl came up to the front during singing time and Nolan said, "Look, a princess".  Every Sunday gets a little better and I'm so grateful that he has good teachers.  He needs them!

Eli is great too!  He'll be a year next week!  I can hardly believe it.  He's taken a few steps here and there.  I'm so glad we're almost through the crawling phase.  He was filthy after church.  His hands and knees were almost black, and that was only after sacrament!

 

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam

This year Nolan has moved up from Nursery to Sunbeams, and it has been quite an interesting transition.  Toward the end of last year I started to tell Nolan that he was going to be a big boy and wouldn't be going to Nursery anymore.  He was going to be a Sunbeam!  Well, try as I might, it just didn't sound like a good idea to Nolan.  His first response was "I go to my Daddy's class".  I responded by telling him that he couldn't go to Daddy's class anymore because he wasn't going to be in his class (he had his calling changed to Elder's Quorum instead of Primary).  Nolan didn't particularly like that idea and told me, "I stay home, Mommy".  

So, my attempt to prep Nolan for this change didn't go as I had planned, but the first Sunday of the year quickly approached.  The morning that Nolan was supposed to go to Sunbeams for the first time I felt terrible.  I had a bad cold and realized I wasn't going to make it to church that morning.  I was disappointed because I really wanted to be there when Nolan went to Sunbeams.  As I was laying in bed thinking about how I was going to get Nolan to go to Sunbeams he came and laid in bed next to me..."Mommy, my tummy hurt".  Okay.  I thought maybe this was a momentary thing, possibly hunger.  Bobby made him some breakfast, but he just wasn't interested.  So as Bobby and Eli got ready for church Nolan laid in bed with me and took some deep breaths; I realized that Nolan wouldn't be going to church either.  So Bobby and Eli left for church and Nolan stayed in bed with me.  About 10 minutes after they left Nolan threw up.  Great, he had the flu.  So I got him all cleaned up and we got back in bed.  About 20 minutes later he wanted something to drink and about 30 minutes later he was eating his breakfast and playing with his trains.  I guess I was happy it wasn't the flu.

My mother-in-law is really great and agreed to come and help me with Nolan going to Sunbeams.  Since I have to be in YW and Bobby was teaching that Sunday it was nice to know that Nolan wouldn't feel scared going to class for the first time.  So Kathy and I took him to singing/sharing time.  Nolan did not want to be there, and getting him to sit with his class just wasn't happening.  Kathy and I did our best to keep him in there and we managed to make it through.  Kathy took him to class and he did very well!  I was happily surprised.  He was still a little timid, but the teachers did a good job of catching his interest and getting him to participate in some activities.  We made it!

Well, this Sunday singing/sharing time got a little better and he actually started singing some songs.  His class time was much better too.  The class was split because it was very large so now he has different teachers.  His new teachers are an engaged couple Sister Kirkham and Brother Lines, but Nolan heard Brother Lions and was interested as to how he was a lion.  All in all, he's becoming more adjusted.  He's a good boy.  

 

Where Did The Time Go?

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while.  Time has gone by so fast I can't believe it's already 2009!  Well, we had a great Christmas!  We could have gotten by with only getting Nolan 2 things for Christmas.  His wish was fulfilled and he got his prized purple race car.  He sleeps with it every night.  It's so funny.  He also got the Gordon Express Cars which are a big hit around here.  For days after Christmas Nolan had the hardest time going to sleep.  In fact, 2 days after Christmas I went to the laundry room to switch the laundry at midnight and noticed that Nolan's bedroom light was still on.  Hmm...so I walked in and caught him playing with his trains.  He had been playing for about 3 hours in his room and hadn't made a sound.  He was having too much fun to sleep.  When I walked in he knew he was not supposed to be up and jumped right into bed.  I had to laugh and told him he wasn't in trouble, but it was time to sleep.  He was pretty tired for the next few days.  Oh to be a little kid again.

Eli is really starting to move now.  He crawls so fast and is starting to get into stuff.  I've caught him eating dog food, spilling dog water, and unrolling a roll of toilet paper.  His personality is really starting to come out.  He's getting very determined about what he wants out of this life.  I laugh when he's crawling around and something is in his way.  He just picks it up and throws it behind him.  He also loves Nolan.  He laughs at him all the time.  I love those moments.  I wish I could put it in a bottle and save it.  Eli also loves Nolan's toys, and not just any toys, but the ones Nolan is playing with.  Ahh, brothers:)  Eli had fun at Christmas, but it was just another day for him.

My sisters Bridgett and Ashley came to visit me since Bridgett was on leave from the Navy-I still can't believe she joined and likes it.  It was great having them here.  Bobby's grandparents also moved down from Pima.  We've had family coming and going and more family coming soon.  What a busy couple of months.