Noah's Video

Noah's video finally made it to the top of the "to do" list. It only took a year to get it done.

The goal was to get it done before he was no longer the baby. Mission accomplished.

And yay for Noah!

The Boy's Room

This weekend we decided to get babygirl's room ready since we have no good idea when she's coming and we decided we don't want to be finishing her room when she's actually here. We're not sure, but we think it will be easier to paint without a newborn in the house.

In order to get her room ready we had to kick Caleb out of it. So, this weekend, Caleb moved in with Noah and the Boy's Room was born. Since Caleb hasn't figured out how to climb out of his crib yet and Noah is, obviously, still in a crib that means we have two cribs in the boys room right now. When you add the crib in the girl's room that makes for 3 cribs in our house right now. I'm pretty sure we're not insane.

Anyway, back to the Boy's Room....

We were pretty nervous, but curious, to find out how the boys would sleep in the same room. They've only slept in the same room once before, up at my parent's cabin. Let's just say, it wasn't very fun.

We started painting on Saturday so that afternoon Caleb was officially "moved" and we got to see if they would take an afternoon nap together. We put the boys in their cribs and then went back to work on our painting. What followed was roughly 1 1/2 hours of the sounds of two boys having a very good time: Funny noises from Caleb followed by chuckling from Noah, yelling, banging, etc. We'd check in on them and find Caleb walking around his crib and Noah doing his best to poke his head over the bumper to watch him. They seemed to be having fun and we were getting lots of painting done. Naps, however, were definitely not happening.

Luckily, that hasn't been the norm.

They've been in the same room for almost 4 days now and they seem to love it. For the most part, they've been able to take their naps together, they've been able to go to bed at the same time, and if one of them wakes the other up in the middle of the night they are able to go back to sleep without too much trouble.

I actually really like having them in the same room. It seems to have made them better friends (they play more with each other during the day) and there's nothing I'd want more for them. So when I put them down for a nap and for over an hour all I hear is the sound of playing and laughing, I don't mind....that much.

Noah's Sealing

Noah was sealed to us on my birthday, April 20, 2011.
Honestly, this is a day I looked forward to from the moment we found out he was coming. It is such a fun, special day.
The sealing was set for 5:00 PM so Zack went to work for part of the day. He came home at lunchtime to help us get everything ready. We wanted the boys to be rested and fed before we left for the temple so the afternoon was a big juggling match between how long of a nap they could have and how much time we needed to feed them and dress them once they woke up. It was tight, but we managed to leave the house only 10 minutes late.
We picked up my mom on our way up to the temple. There's a new policy that lets you have a female family member accompany your children in the youth center, if you so choose. (I'm guessing it was created because of the numerous crying children they've had to deal with in the past.) Zack and I went out of town to visit Zack's dad the weekend before and left the kids with my mom. They'd been acting pretty clingy ever since we got back, so we thought it would be a good idea if my mom went to the youth center with them just in case they got upset.

One last family picture before the sealing.

Once my mom and the boys were in the youth center, Zack and I went to go take care of paperwork and such. When that was done they let us go get dressed. It's kind of fun because they have a special locker with your name on it, just like when you are getting married. I didn't get to be in the bride's room this time, but that was okay. When we were all ready, Zack and I got to spend some time together in the Celestial Room before they came and got us for the sealing.
We got to meet with the sealer beforehand and chat for a bit before going in. He was really nice. He and his wife had adopted two children themselves, so he knew how we felt.
When we walked into the sealing room we saw so many family and friends waiting for us. It was so neat to have them share this special day with us. I wanted to get a good look at all of them, but I knew I'd start crying if I did, so I made sure to just take little glances every now and then.
The sealer talked with us for a bit before the boys were brought in. He went over the covenants we make during the temple ceremony. He told us to remember that we are kings and queens in our homes and we should treat each other as such. He also told us to find kingly and queenly solutions to the problems and situations that arise with our children. I won't go into the whole marionberry story here, but he mentioned a situation where we might find Noah covered in jam and asked us to find a royal solution to that problem. Would a king yell and threaten his child or would he treat him with love and understanding?
After the sealer talked to us the boys were brought in. They looked so angelic all dressed in white. Noah, as predicted, looked very alert and aware of everything going on. He didn't crack a smile, but you could tell he was just taking everything in with his big blue eyes.
My dad held Noah during the sealing ceremony. It's such a short little ceremony, but it means so much. He is connected to us forever now. More importantly, he is bound by the sealing covenant and as such has many blessings and protections that will help him through this life and help him return to his Heavenly Father. He is now part of a chain of ancestors and future posterity that stretches on forever. And his place in that chain is as our son. How lucky we are to be blessed with him in our family.

After the sealing we got to be congratulated by everyone in the room. Caleb was soaking all the attention in and I think held his hands out to everyone to hold him. We went and changed and then got the boys from the youth center. The ladies who were watching them had nothing but praise and love for our little boys. They had been in good hands that evening.

We took pictures outside the temple with everyone who stayed. That would be my parents, Rachel and Mike. Thanks guys! Noah and Grandpa

Ours forever!

Me and my little man.

Yea for eternal families! (Noah was not very happy about having his picture taken. Caleb on the other hand...)Then we headed home for a big family shindig complete with sandwiches, salads and cake. It was a really special day. Our family finally felt whole. No more loose ends.

This boys is ours!

Noah is Official!

April 13th was Noah's day. That was the day his adoption was finalized and he legally became ours!

Noah's adoption was finalized in Utah and therefore the finalization took place at the county courthouse. No Skype for us this time. We got to meet the judge in person!

We invited family to come if they were able and were excited to have my parents, Zack's Step-Dad, Ray, and Danny and Rachel there with us. A representative from our attorney was there as was also a representative from our adoption agency. (Technically Noah has been under their custody for the past six months.) We arrived about 15 minutes early so Zack and boys had some fun killing time outside the courtroom:

I'd never been in a courtroom before, so it was a new experience for me. The judge sat up on the stand and we all rose as he came in. Everything was very official. They even called our agency rep up to the stand and asked her questions. We didn't have to go sit up on the stand, but our attorney did ask us questions about Noah, like, "Do you understand that he will have a right to your inheritance if you should die?" and "Do you understand that you are responsible to take care of all of his needs?" and things like that. Then he asked me, not Zack, how I felt about having him in our home. I managed not to cry, though it was hard, as I talked about how wonderful it is to be his parents. He is such a special little spirit and it just feels so perfect having him in our family.

The judge said his legal shpill, signed the decree of adoption and Noah was ours!

The judge was nice enough to let us take pictures.

We went home and put the boys down for a nap. And when I say boys, I mean ALL the boys. Zack took a nap, too. Noah woke up before the others so he and I had some one-on-one time for awhile. I saw the outfit at the store the night before and HAD to buy it for Noah. Little brothers are AWESOME!

After the naps were over we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate. We had planned to stop at a park before dinner because we played at a park the day Caleb's adoption was finalized and so we thought it would be a fun tradition. The weather, however, was too cold to let us. So we took a picture and left. At the restaurant, Caleb enjoyed eating Dad's steak.

And the guest of honor fell asleep halfway through the meal.

It had been a long, but very fun, day.

We are so happy that Noah is in our family. For your viewing pleasure, here's a short clip of Noah laughing at Caleb's antics. There's also a longer version, if you feel so inclined. I think I'll call these clips "Legal Brothers".

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lest you think we aren't doing anything to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at our house.

Behold! The wearing of the green!

My Favorite Things

It's almost midnight. Zack is on a campout. Yes, that's right. A campout. It's February. It's freezing AND windy outside. And he's on a campout. But it's the Klondike Derby, so it's worth it, right? ...right?

When Zack's gone I usually end up sitting on my bed with the TV on while I surf the internets watching shows or reading about things that make me cry late at night. Tonight it was the Scrubs episode where Dr. Cox's brother-in-law dies of Leukemia. I hate cancer. In the episode they play this song, which I think is kind of cool. Go ahead, listen to it, think of someone you love who has died, and then cry with me. Go on.

Okay, now that we have that over with....

My main reason for posting tonight is because, well, I'm awake and I don't feel like sleeping right now, and because I wanted to show you pictures of some of my most favorite people in the whole world. In no particular theme or order...

Here's Noah looking pensive.

Now here he is looking how he usually looks: worried and/or frightened.

And here is looking absolutely adorable. How can you not kiss that face? How?!

Lest you think Noah is the only cute one at our house, here's Caleb helping Dad with a project. Yes, it was early morning. And yes, his hair is awesome.

This is a face Caleb has been doing a lot lately.

Now back to Noah! This is a face that he does most of the time. Doesn't he look so cuddly?

Here are my boys sporting the two teams we like to cheer for in this house.

Does this one really need any caption besides "Ahhh! He's killing me with his cuteness!"

Caleb likes sledding!

A totem pole of fun! Yes, Caleb is just wearing socks, Yes, Noah is asleep and No, they didn't go down the hill as a totem pole.

Caleb and Dad making Stromboli.

Life is good.

Thanksgiving Eve: What I'm Thankful For

First Smiles!

Noah's first smile was on Saturday, November 20th. He just keeps getting cuter and cuter.

The Boys

I thought I'd write a quick blog update just to prove to people that I'm alive and to show you how cute my boys are.

I tend to gloss over people's blog posts when they brag about their kids stats. You know what I'm talking about: "Junior is getting to be SUCH a BIG BOY! Even though he's only 2 months old he is already sleeping through the night, rolling over, crawling, eating with a spoon and using sign language to tell us when he needs to go potty!"

I try not to do that with my posts. But, unfortunately, my kids are so cute and smart and great, that anytime I write about them it always sounds like bragging. What's a girl to do?

Actually, I kind of understand why people would want to post stuff like that. First of all, some relatives (namely grandparents and such) actually want to read about it. And secondly, your blog is kind of a family journal and it's important to write this stuff down so it'll be there for your kids to read when they're older.

So, that being said, I'm still not going to give you a list of stats. But if, at times, it sounds like I'm bragging, just gloss over it and recognize that it's for the children. The children!!

Caleb is 15 months old now. He started walking as soon as we got Noah. He literally took his first steps in our hotel rooms. He also started signing more then, too. His first real sign was "book". He was already signing "please", but not consistently enough for me to believe he actually knew what he was doing. He also signs "more", "all done", "milk" (though now he just says "Muk" when he wants milk), "eat", "thank you" and "nap". He just recently made up his own sign for "Hey, Mom, let's sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"". I cannot resist that sign. I just can't. As far as speaking goes, he can say "mama" and "dada", but he doesn't really use them on us. His first real word, in my opinion, is "book".

Since he learned to walk he has explored pretty much everything in the house. He's pretty good about leaving stuff alone when we ask him to, but he's also pretty good about making us ask him to leave stuff alone. His current loves are Grandma, Dad, books, music and dancing, and pretty much anything made out of cloth: blankets, stuffed animals, shirts, socks, etc. He is old enough now for Zack to throw him around and it is awesome to watch them play together. He seriously gets more fun every single day.

15 months old!

Noah is almost 7 weeks old. He still loves to sleep and eat. When he's awake he pretty much just stares at us. I think I caught a smile yesterday, but I'm not sure. We bought a swing that swings from side to side which he really doesn't like. I pulled out our old swing that basically just swings (you know, the old-school kind) and he likes that. Go figure. I think I'll sell the new one on ksl or something. It just takes up space. Noah's real claim to fame right now is the fact that, starting this week, he's been sleeping for 6 to 7 hours a night before he wakes up and needs to be fed. This, combined with the fact that Caleb is now over his cold and is now sleeping through the night again, has caused my sanity to come back.

6 1/2 weeks old!

This week I started baby-sitting a friends baby 3 days a week. He's 3 months old. That's right. 3 kids under 1. I call my house "Baby City". It's been a challenge figuring out everyone's eating and napping schedules and trying to keep everyone happy all day. But, on the plus side, I don't have any problem getting to sleep at night and I'm never bored. It's hard to go anywhere with three babies, but I did manage to get a walk in. I carried Noah in the SleepyWrap and pushed the other two in the stroller. I might have looked like a crazy person, but at least I was a crazy person who wasn't cooped up in her house all day. The only down side is that I couldn't take the dogs. One woman, 3 kids and 2 dogs? Even III start to question my sanity at that point.

So, that's what I've been up to. These kids may be a lot of work, but I love it. Waiting 7 years for something really changes your perspective when things get challenging. When I start to get frustrated because there's a crying baby, or a toddler is trying to pull the blinds down, or there's clutter everywhere, I step back and think how lucky we are to have these kids. And when the clutter consists of baby books on the floor, tiny shoes, a couple boxes of diapers, burp cloths, and a bunch of bottles in the sink, I remember when the house was super clean and there were no baby items anywhere. And then I don't mind the clutter so much.

And I'm so grateful for these two boys.

Even when one is grumpy.... and the other won't look at the camera.