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.

Random Thoughts Thursday

Caleb has decided that his new morning wake-up time is 4:30 AM. This cannot continue. If he wasn't so happy about it, it'd be easier to be mad at him.

Zack gets to play basketball today. He broke or bruised his rib 7 weeks ago and hasn't been able to play until now. He is very excited. I'm excited for him.

I really like September and October. I like it infinitely more now that I don't have the worries of school to keep me from noticing the cool air and the fall colors.

This week I started using the playpen as part of the daily routine. I put Caleb in there with a few select toys for about 45 minutes. I. Love. It. He seems to love it, too. He focuses more on those toys and doesn't seem as distracted by other things. (BabyWise, why did I ever doubt your second book?)

On our morning walk I noticed someone had a broken sprinkler. I felt like knocking on their door to tell them, but didn't. What's protocol for something like that? Assume they already know and ignore it? Leave a note? (And say something about how having a broken sprinkler and wasting gallons of water is going against the church... I kid! I kid!)

I took Maxwell to get his rabies vaccination today. When I got to the vet's, I realized I forgot to put his collar on. (We take it off because the tags on it make so much noise when Maxwell moves around at night.) So, like a redneck, I tied a rope around his neck and took him in. No one said anything, but I'm pretty sure they were thinking something.

10 Years Ago

Ten years ago today...

I was sitting at home wondering why Nate hadn't called me to do something that night. He said he would!

Ten years ago today...

Zack was at home deciding whether or not he wanted to branch out of his comfort zone and go to a West High game with Nate...in the rain.

Ten years ago today...

Nate called at 9:30 PM wondering if I wanted to come play games with him and a couple of friends.

Ten years ago today...

Zack decided to listen to his Mission President's advice to look for opportunities to meet new people and accepted Nate's invitation to come play games. "You never know when you might meet your future wife," he begrudgingly thought. :)

Ten years ago today...

I walked into the Burgess's home and saw a cute, skinny guy sitting on their couch.

Ten years ago today...

Zack saw a girl with long blond hair, wearing a red fleece jacket that was too big for her, walk into the Burgess home.

Ten years ago today...

I said, "You look familiar."

Ten years ago today...

He said, "I have a familiar face."

Ten years ago today...

Sitting around a table, playing games and quoting "Tommy Boy", I realized this new Zack fellow was really fun to talk to and he laughed at all the right times.

Ten years ago today...

Sitting around a table, playing games and also quoting "Tommy Boy", Zack realized this new Carrie girl was incredibly funny. ;)

Ten years ago today...

It took me 2 years to realize it, but my best friend had just entered my life and it would never be the same again.

Ten years ago today...

Zack decided he should start hanging out with Nate more often.

Happy Ten Years of Us!

Random Thoughts Thursday

I can finally do a random post! I successfully posted about other things and have thus avoided a string of randomness.

Caleb's sleep and nap schedule was so on track the past, oh, nine months or so. Then suddenly, without warning, it derailed a few weeks ago. Thank goodness for BabyWise and The SleepEasy Solution. I am happy to report that he is once again sleeping through the night and is currently taking his afternoon nap.

We got rid of our coffee table. We just realized we don't drink coffee.

I got to sleep in until 7:30 this morning thanks to an awesome husband who, when I tried to get up at 6:30, told me to go back to sleep while he got our boy up, fed him breakfast and got him ready for the day. Thanks, Sweetie!

This morning I knew Caleb was awake from his nap when I could hear faint clapping coming from his room. I guess he's as happy as I am that he's back to getting enough sleep.

Why are most baby toys made out of colored plastic? My boy is tired of that texture. He wants variety! Why don't they make a baby toy made out of handles and straps and remote control buttons?

I've started organizing my books. We only have so much bookshelf space in our house so some of the books have to be boxed up. :( Does anyone have a good solution for storing books?

I gave Caleb tofu yesterday. I knew Zack and I weren't tofu people, and now I know he isn't either.

Wyoming Again in 2010

I know we just visited Wyoming in March, but we decided to go again in June because Zack's cousin and his family were going to be there. They live in Ohio and we've only seen them once in the past 10 years or so. They have a boy who is about a month older than Caleb. Zack's Uncle Jim was also in town to see his son so it was almost a family reunion! We did a lot of the same things we did in March so I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about it. I'll let the pictures and their captions tell the stories.

Caleb and his second cousin.

Not quite sure about his face in this one.

Zack's grandpa has a big garden next to the house.

Here's more of the garden. And Grandpa!

More of the garden and a shot of the side of the house.

Zack's uncles, his mom and his grandparents. Just one uncle is missing.

What Grandpa Ray was doing a lot of the time. (There's a TV in the corner of the room you can't see.)

Can't go on vacation without a favorite book! I am now among the thousands of mothers who have this entire book memorized.

Zack's cousin, Joe, wanted to celebrate Grandpa Dike's birthday because he had missed it. Not quite sure why there's a 21 on the cake.

A nice shot of Wyoming sky.

Wyoming 2010

Zack is fortunate enough to have both sets of grandparents still living. (Which makes up for me who now has no grandparents still living.) After we got Caleb we wanted to introduce him to his great-grandparents. So, in March we headed up to Casper, Wyoming to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Dike.

Visits to Casper are always fun because of a number of reasons. Here are a few:

#1: Zack's Grandma always makes pies. And she expects you to eat them. Sometimes by force if you refuse.

#2: Zack's Grandma has a never-ending cookie jar.

#3: Zack's grandparents like to play cards.

#4: Did I mention the pies? And did I mention that one is always banana cream?

#5: Zack's grandparents are the kind of people you can just sit at the kitchen table with, eat your pie or cookie, and just enjoy sitting. Talking is optional, but always enjoyable.

#6: Zack's grandma is the perfect doting grandma. Taking care of you is her job, and you'd better not keep her from doing it.

We were excited to have Caleb meet these fabulous people. It appears the feeling was mutual.

Wondering if Grandma is going to let anyone else have a chance to hold the boy.

Grandpa finally has a chance to meet him. :)

It was about 10:30 at night when we got there, and Caleb had been sleeping in the car, so he wasn't so sure about things right away.

By the end of the trip he had warmed up a bit. In Zack's grandparent's kitchen, high up on the wall, there is a mirror set into a piece of wood. The mirror is kind of set far back in the wood so you can't tell it's a mirror unless you get up really close to it. From a distance it looks like an opening to a cave or something. For as long as Zack can remember his grandpa would ask him or his brother (or any of the grandkids) if they wanted to see the monkey who lived up there. Then he would lift them up until they could see their own face in the mirror. Caleb, of course, had to be part of that tradition. He looks a little surprised.

Here's a shot of everyone just sitting around talking. And here's one of the many times we played cards. Ah, vacation at it's best. I know it may sound funny, but I'm always nervous when other family members meet or interact with Caleb. Some part of me wonders if they're really going to accept him as family or if they're going to treat him differently because he's black or adopted or both. Well, I never should have doubted these people. They treat him like one of their own. They understand that family isn't all about blood and genetics. It's just about love.