Naomi Christine

1. Not only that she is here- but that she is healthy and whole. We'd had concerns early on due to soft markers for Down Syndrome and a large-measuring abdomen. Though blood work came back "normal" for DS risks, and further ultra sounds showed no signs for problems that would cause a larger abdomen- there still sat that little worry in the back of our minds. We were more aware that one can NEVER know for CERTAIN that their little one will be okay until delivery day. Naomi's birth and health are extra special because of the trials we went through.

2. My rocking chair/recliner. We're still going through adjustments. I always seem to have breastfeeding issues at first. Naomi sleeps wonderfually in the days- but struggles from about 10pm to 2am. Luckily- I love my rocker and boppy and can be comfy as we work through these minor issues.

3. A father's love. I love seeing Jake's adoration for his little girl. He says that the biggest difference is that he just wants to hold and protect her, while with the boys he just couldn't wait to throw a ball at them! He can't wait till he gets home each day to see her and "oohs" ad "ahhs" over her all the time. It's so dang cute!

Too much.

It's midway into November- a month that should easily lend itself to giving thanks- and I haven't posted here in quite some time! If anything, its really just that I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude lately I don't even know where to start. But whenever I go back and read from this blog the little random things are the ones that are the most fun- so today I'll start with a few of those.

1. A little brother sticking up for big brother. Today the boys were doing pretty dang good through all of sacrament meeting, but right at the end they got a little antsy. Josh leaned over and wiped his nose on Jake's suitcoat, which made Jake pretty upset, and then Josh was upset because he knew he'd made his dad mad- but for some reason he responded by throwing a fit- Well, Dekker saw that Josh was "sad" and so smacked Jake! It kinda came out of no where though, and so at first we weren't sure why he'd done it. Jake asked, "Dekker- why did you just HIT me?" to which he responded, "You made Josh sad!" I had to hide my laughs- because in our home hitting is NEVER okay- but I still thought it was cute that Dekker was coming to Josh's defence.

2. Dekker is learning his colors. We've been working on Dekker with all of his colors a lot more lately. He does really well. He's always pointing out different colors to me- today he was using the black crayon and was very careful to make sure and pronounce the "L". And then, after the sacrament I gave each of the boys a halloween size bag of skittles for being reverent. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Dekker line his all up by colors and then start naming each color as he ate them.

3. My primary kids. Today is very likely to be my last time with my primary class. They've been so fun to teach! I've really grown to love each one of them. I have some funny moments from teaching them that I wish I'd have taken the time to document. Today our class was in charge of doing the scripture, talk, and prayer in the combined hour of primary. I usually call and remind the parents of the talk assignment during the week- but forgot until late last night. Taeya was assigned, and her family is usually really good about remembering- but just in case I looked at the topic for the week and then grabed this months' issue of the friend and found an article she could use as a back up. When we got to church I found Taeya all upset because she had indeed forgotten to tell her mom about the assignment, and could now not find her mom to help her pull one together. I told her that I'd thought that might be the case, and apologized for not giving her a reminder call during the week, but explained that I'd been thinking about her the night before and had found a Friend article she could use. I thought it was so sweet when, instead of acknowledging my fault in forgetting the reminder she looked up at me with the biggest grin and said, "YOU were thinking of ME?!" Kids really do just want to be loved.

Weekends

1. Friday November 2nd. Jake took me to the BYU football game. We were really only there for the 2nd half- which was perfect for this pregnant belly in the stands. I love going to the games- just the smell of the stadium and it was a crisp night- but not too cold- and we got yummy hot cocoa. It was a fun date.

2. This last Friday (the 9th). Kari came and watched the boys. Jake was supposed to have a study group- but it only a few from his group were planning to meet- so he went to help Jesus install some flooring in his house and I went to go get a MUCH needed pedicure!!! It felt awesome! Then Jesus, Trish, Jake and I all went to catch a late night showing of 9. It was good- but not fantastic- but fun regardless.

3. This next weekend! This Saturday Natalie is throwing me a baby shower and I'm so excited to gather a bunch of girls around me and celebrate a girl coming to join our family!

Freaking Awesome

1. Killers concert. I was excited for a date night- but not uber excited for the concert- I didn't think I knew the Killers well enough. However, I was surprised at how many hits they've had and how fun and great their performance. The group that opened for them was pretty lame- Mariache band??!?! But besides that it was a lot of fun and I've been loving the Killers tons these days- kinda cool that the lead singer grew up in Nephi and has a kid named Ammon too...

2. Cheesecake factory. This is the first time we've been. We did the classic "share, share, share" where we order one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert and share all three. The "appetizer" was huge though- come to think of it- so was the entree and dessert- so though it was all SUPER YUMMY, we ended up bringing some of th eappetizer and dessert home with us. We got the red velvet, white chocolate cheesecake- Can you say TO DIE FOR?!?!

3. Home improvement and painting is coming along. So Jake has been a saint about getting the basement done in the little free time he has, and I've been doing TONS of painting and helping where I can. Josh's room was way more work than I had expected- but turned out pretty cool. This last week I finally got the boys into their new rooms- and they both really like them (I was a little worried about Dekker, but the new CARS sheets really helped). I still need to put one more shelf, hanger rod, and red curtains in Josh's room- but it came together well. The toy room and laundry/sewing room are looking great too. I still need to go back and calk and touch up the baseboards, but we got the desks and "file baskets" in. Friday I went and got the rest of the wall cabinets and shelves that we need to set up and then I can post picture of it all. The space is already getting tons of use though- the kids play TONS more with their blocks and train tracks because now they have a hard-surface floor that works well with them.

4. New hairdo. Thursday I went and got my haircut and colored so that'd it'd be looking nice for maternity pics (which Brea shot Thursday afternoon) and though it ended up taking almost 3 hours- it finally turned out pretty much perfect. You'll have to wait for the maternity pics which Brea says she should have done and edited by the end of this next week.

5. Brea's photography. Because my hair took so long, and Brea had plans to leave her work/studio a little early and head out of town- we only had about a 1/2 hour to shoot. From what I could tell though she got some good shots though- and even managed to take a few portraits of the boys. She's so sweet to do it for me- and I've never done "maternity" pics before - because I'm never excited about how I look while I'm big and prego- but I always regret it later- because it really is an amazing thing that should be documented.

6. Aunt Trish. I love Becca to peices! She watched the boys last weekend so Jake and I could go to the concert- and last night so we could go to the BYU game. And my boys adore their Aunt Trish. Who wouldn't though when she takes them up to "Cornbelly's" up at Thanksgiving Point and pops popcorn and watches movies, and all that other fun stuff?!?! She is such a good friend and really does deserve the title "Aunt".

7. Spiritual leaders. Last night we ended up parking at President Christensen's house for the game- and so of course said Hi to him and the family. They're such great people- and I love them lots. And the first half of General Conference was today- and its been just what I needed so far. I need a spiritual recharge- I love primary- but its good to get fed at an adult level again too!

Few! And that's just covering the highlights... a clear sign that I have not been keeping up with this blog like I should be!

Dekkerman

1. Potty trained. I'm dedicating this post to Dekker in large part because I'm so proud of him being potty trained! After just one week of prep talk and one week of training the kid is staying "clean and dry" day and nights- that's right- he even wears "big boy pants" to bed at nights and nap time. He even tells me when we're in public places if he needs to go. He hates public toilets and usually has to be taken 2-3 times before he can actually feel comfortable enough to actually go. I still have to help him pull down and up his pants most of the time, and he's not the best at getting his stuff from the little potty to the big potty without spilling, but really- those are all little things. The kid hasn't had an accident for three whole days! Even the few days before that they were just little ones right in front of the potty. So yeah, I'm very proud of him- even if it does also kinda make me sad to realize how grown up he is! I think the big motivator was just that he thinks his CARS underware are SO COOL. He loves picking out which ones he wants to wear and then turns around in front of the mirror in his room so he can see the character on his little bum- its so cute.

2. My clean, messy one. Dekker is funny in that he is always such a mess. He is always spilling stuff and coloring on himself, or has a runny nose or anything else you can think of that would cause a mess on, near, or around him- but he hates being messy, and always exclaims, "Oh no! A mess, a mess!" until I help him clean it up. And you know how most kids HATE having their noses/faces wiped- not Dekker. If I go to wipe his face he jutts out his chin and holds real still- and when I'm done he'll ask, "Messy face?", and when I say, "Yes." he responds, "Oh, thanks Mom!"

3. Josh's fan. He and Josh are the best and worst of friends. They can play so well together one moment, and be screaming at each other the next. But when it comes down to it I think most of the screaming is just to get my attention anyway. The sweetest is though, that now that Josh is back in preschool, Dekker misses him SO MUCH while he's gone. He always begs to go to preschool too- and as soon as we drop Josh off he's asking, "Go get Josh, Mom?". It's pretty sweet.

4. Knows his cars. I remember I was shocked when at six months old Dekker would find one of Josh's toy cars and start making the "vroom, vroom" noise. The car obsession has only gotten worse. CARS is his favorite Disney movie by far- but he always loves to point out "cool cars" (usually ones with an interesting paint job, or with loud mufflers) to me- and trucks too. But he also associates cars with their drivers- for instance he is constantly pointing out black Audis to me and telling me they're "Dad's car", he also points out big red SUVs and says they're "Paig's car" (our neighbors have a red Tahoe), he points out VW Passats and and Jettas for "Trish" (she has a green Passat), etc etc etc. We'll have to find a good occupation that encorporates this passion (No- I'm not to fond of him becoming a mechanic, and a race car driver is far too dangerous for this mom.... maybe he'll engineer more efficient, yet "cool" cars for the future).

5. SUPER strong. He also loves super-heros, and his capes and is always showing me how "super strong" he is by lifting things up, or running really fast with his elbows pulled up and out. And while Josh likes playing "Piece of this" because its with Dad and its kinda SCARY-fun- for Dekker its ALL FUN. Even Josh will sometimes send Dekker to "get Dad" or call out "Dekker, come save me".

6. Sweet guy. Yet despite his "super strength" he also knows how to be sweet and kind. He HATES being in trouble and always needs sincere hugs and kisses to make things better. He'll say sorry without being asked and will gives hugs and kisses "just because" all the time. I always ask for "BIG HUGS/Kisses", but he even made up his own "little hugs/kisses" which he comes and gives me as softly and quickly as he can. Man I love my Dekkerman.

9/17/09

1. Keisha's baby shower. Saturday was my cousin Darren's wife's baby shower. It was fun to see her, my Aunt Karen (flew down from WA), and my cousin Jenna (who flew in from California) and to be reminded of ALL the excitement that surrounds a first baby, and first grandson for a family!

2. Cousin night. My cousin Candy was is in town this week- and so Monday her sister Natalie invited everyone over to her house for dinner. She made a YUMMY dinner and we played DDR (okay- I just watched everyone else play). Dixons and Knights ended up not being able to come- but Garrett, Kari, and Evan went and it was good to see Candy.

3. Potty training. Okay- really not a great thing- it's exhausting really, messy, gross, ties me to the house and all the rest- but honestly for not having attempted it at all before now- Dekker is doing pretty dang well. Today he finally pooped on the potty and went pee by himself several times. Still a lot of accidents- but he's liking big boy pants and is getting better every day.

1. Labor Day at Jordanelle. It was windy- but we still had lots of fun. We found a good beach area, had a picnic, and did lots of tubing. Garrett, Kari, Evan, Trish, and Tio all came. We met up with my Aunt Deb, Uncle Rog, and Kate and her gang (they also had a boat), and even saw the Bushes.

2. Jake's my hero. Josh's toilet stopped up this week. After a lot of snaking, and eventually unhooking and taking the toilet to the front lawn for revers flushing and inspection we found that a plastic toy red and blue boat was the culprit! Thanks to Jake his toilet is now fully functional again. Not a fun job- but somebody had to do it.

3. Laughing it off. Josh and a couple neighbor kids decided to "make sand" by turning on our hose and stirring it in to buckets of potting soil and gravel- the activity turned bad when they found a rag and decided to dip it in the sand and then wash Jake's Audi with it. Was it upsetting? Yes. Do we have to pay a deductible and file and insurance claim to cover the new paint job now required? Yes. But did we make it through without strangling any kids and actually laugh a little? Yes!!!