A Day at the Fair

The Saturday before Halloween the kids and I went with my mom and step dad Bob to the Arizona State Fair.  It was a lot of fun.  Eating junky fair food and having Noah go on a few rides.  Noah went on a Carousal with Papa, a little Roller Coaster (which he loved and was grinning from ear to ear on), and he went through a Jungle Gym Maze thing.  Also they had a free petting zoo which the kids liked! While there we went and walked though the Body Image Exhibit where there are pretty much every inside part of the human body on display.  It was very interesting, but a little gross too!

It was a blast and here are some pictures from our day of fun!

Halloween and Thanksgiving

This Halloween was pretty fun with two kids.  We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat the day before Halloween.  The kids had a lot of fun there because they not only had people passing out candy, but the youth in our ward also created little booths/games for the kids to play too.  They had fun.  Then we went and trick or treated for a little bit on actual Halloween night.  Of course Noah had to be Lightning Mcqueen! And then I made Makenna's pumpkin tutu and she was a Pumpkin Princess! :)  They both had fun and were super cute.  When we got home we passed out candy but when our bowl was gone we decided to turn off our light.  Noah felt bad if other kids wanted to come to our house for candy and said, "It's okay, I can give them some of my candy."  Tom and I both thought that was super sweet!  But since we had turned off the light we did not have any other trick or treaters. ;)

Tommy's carved Lightning Mcqueen Pumpkin

The Pumpkin that I carved

Here is Noah's preschool class on Halloween.  They are just missing one of the boy students in this picture.

Not much to report on our Thanksgiving!  Not even any pictures! We ended up just staying in and cooking ourselves...just the kids and Tommy and I.  My mom went to Colorado and we did not feel like making the drive to Tucson.  So Tom and I just cooked and we enjoyed a nice day with the kids.  We played a few games.  Noah and I colored a turkey by number.  Then we made a turkey and wrote what we were thankful for on the turkey's feathers.  We ended up taking the kids and our dog Roxy to the park and had a great day.  We definitely have so much to be thankful for.  We are truly a blessed family! :)

Noah-isms and Sweet Makenna

So I haven't done a kid update in a while and thought I'd take a minute or two to write some of the odds and ends of my two sweet kids the last few months.  Noah is doing the same.  Still infatuated with Cars and is super smart.  He loves going to the at home preschool and he has suddenly turned into quite the show off whenever we run into any of the girls from his preschool class.  He see's two of them at church on Sunday and always has to show off when we walk by them!  He is a sweet kid and is a good boy!

Some funny things he's said recently:

First a conversation between Noah and Mommy not too long ago.

Noah: "Mom you're my best friend."
Me: "Aww, that is so sweet. Can I be your best friend forever and when you are 16?
"Noah: "Umm no...only when I'm just a little kid."

Ha ha...I couldn't help but think to myself...well at least I know! :)

Then one time Noah and I were talking and he figured that he would probably have his own kids when he was big.  And he told me, "I will have my own kids and I will try to teach them to be good."  I don't know it was just kind of heartwarming to me.  That he somehow figured out in his short three years of life that me and Tommy are really just trying to help him be a good person. :) 

Also, he has a nickname for me right now and it cracks me up.  He calls me it ALL the time.  I have been nicknamed by my son....Mama Goose. :)  He calls me Mama Goose all the time and I just let him because it's kind of cute.  Not sure where in the world it came from or where he heard it, or if he just made it up himself! But that's my nickname. :)  I sure love Noah and he is the best 3 year old boy I know!

Then there is my sweet Makenna.  She is starting to talk a lot more!  In fact it was SOO cute.  Today she purposely went and hit Noah on the back (well that part wasn't the cute part) :) But after I scolded her she turned to Noah and said, "Sorry (sawee)," and then went and gave him a hug.  It was SOOO cool.  I didn't even tell her to say sorry.  But I guess her big brother apologizes enough to her that she figured it out and when she is supposed to do it.  And she kept saying sorry and giving him hugs.  I loved it!  She is so much fun.  She can say mom...but insists on calling me daddy. Not sure why! ha ha.  But she says mom, daddy, no, yes, food, cold, ball, cracker, shut, book, and a few more.  She understands pretty much everything you tell her and when she is not using selective hearing she will gladly give you hugs and kisses.  She is notorious for coming and giving you kisses when she is being bad.  For example, we have our Christmas tree up and she will go and try and touch the bulbs.  We will tell her, "No Makenna."  She will smile, walk over to us, and give us a kiss.  Then she will go back and touch a bulb again.  ha ha.  She's funny that way!  She is very easy going...but the things she chooses to be stubborn about she will fight tooth and nail for! :)  She just had her 15 month check up and weighed a little over 20 pounds.  She was just below average in height and weight.  She is healthy and happy and we love her!

I just love when these two get along.  Surprisingly...and at such young ages they already fight!  I really didn't expect that to happen for many more years!  But they do love each other and do have a lot of fun together too.  It cracks me up though because if Noah tells Makenna not to do something she gets SOO mad.  She will yell right back at him and give him a dirty look.  But if me or Tom tell her no, she either listens (or smiles at us and does it again). :)  But man does it really tick her off if her brother tries to tell her what to do.  It's wrong...but it cracks me up!  I sure love these kids!

Family Pictures

Back in August we were able to get some family pictures taken.  It was perfect because it coincided with Makenna turning one year's old.  Of course it was super hot in Arizona to take pictures, but the photographer is awesome and she picked a great spot and you can't even see the beads of sweat on our faces.  I am sure that next time I will pick a cooler day though! A highlight from that day...Makenna would not smile at ALL for the camera.  The photographer sat her down first and she just would not smile.  Very serious!  At this time Tommy was in the truck changing out of his work clothes.  Well I was trying and trying to get her to smile...but as soon as she saw her daddy walking up to us she smiled so big and was happy to see him.  It was awesome! I actually think she did not recognize me! Ha ha My hair was done, my make up was on and since I usually sport a pony tail and minimal make up I think she was a little scared because she recognized my voice, but not me.  Ha ha...isn't that horrible?  But for sure at the time she knew her daddy! ;)  Also my dad was visiting that day so it was nice to go out to dinner with him and my two brothers and sister in law Jen.  It was a good day!
Here are a few of my favorites!

 Look how big my three year old boy is getting!  I love these pictures.  I love the first one especially because he is sporting a " Dennis the Menace" type of expression and that is just like Noah! Such a handsome little guy!

 Look we are still so in love after almost 10 years together!

 Here is my baby girl.  Officially one years old.  The first and last picture is her very serious face!! The ones in the middle are smiles for daddy! :)

I sure love my family of four and love these pictures.  :)

Bye Uncle Jeff!!

My little brother Jeff recently left for his two year mission to Mexico!  My family and I decided to go with my  my mom, Bob, and Jessica to take Jeff to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.  We were excited to go to Salt Lake City and visit all of the tourist attractions there and of course the temples!  It was such a FUN trip.  I loved Salt Lake City.  I went on a youth trip there when I was younger, but my hubby had never been and he loved all of the cool church things they had there.  I did not realize what a tourist attraction it was!!  There were sister missionaries everywhere showing people from all over the country/world and of different faiths the cool buildings and historical sites of the LDS church.  It was awesome!  We really had a great time.  It was sad to take Jeff to Provo and drop him off, but we were also very proud of him and excited for him to begin the life changing experience of a mission.  :)  

On the roof of the beautiful Conference Center

In one of the Salt Lake City Temple Visitor Centers

In front of the Provo Temple

I'm going to miss you little brother!

Beautiful!

Noah!

Noah is our little man.  He is such a little talker!  He still loves to play with cars, loves to color, put together puzzles, and play with his friends!  He asks if he can go play with his friends everyday.  He loves playdates!  He is a good big brother for the most part and him and Makenna have a good time together.  I wanted to post a picture of his first day of "school."  I am doing a preschool coop with some friends of mine.  There are six moms/kids.  We each take a turn teaching at our own house every Wednesday from 10:00 - 11:30.  There is a cute little curriculum, calendar time, etc.  He loves it!  He is a good boy and tries hard to make good choices.  :)  He is very smart and can tell me when he's made a bad choice or a good one. ha ha.  He is a lot of fun and we love him a lot.

Noah has begun to dress himself every morning.  For the most part he is very good about matching.  Some days are better than others. :)  Often times his shorts and underwear are on backwards.  If we are not going anywhere...I usually let him stay that way.  He is so excited and proud of himself I feel bad telling him his clothes are on backwards! ha ha  He can also put his sandals on by himself...and just recently on the right foot every time.  Such a big boy!

Fell asleep reading books.

Sooo excited for school!

Of course I have a Cars backpack! :)

Makenna! One year's old! ;)

 

My baby girl turned one year's old!  It was definitely a very fast year.  I feel that Makenna's first year actually flew by much faster than Noah's.  I am not sure if it was being more busy with the two kids or not...I don't know!  At her doctor's appointment she weighed 19 pounds.  She was just under average for height and weight.  I am SOO bad about remembering their height at appointments.  I need to start writing it down when I am there!

Her birthday was a lot of fun.   She was very distracted by her cousin Morgan playing with one of her toys and so had no interest in opening her presents.  lol  I kept trying to get her interested but with no such luck.  Good thing her big brother was there to help her open the presents.  She also was not very interested in her cake.  It took a lot of coaxing to get her to try it!  However she looked super cute and had a good time.

Getting ready for the party.  She refused to keep her cute shoes on. ;)

Opening Presents

I don't want to eat this.  Get me out of here.

Makenna is quite the baby!  She is super cute and has her mom and dad wrapped around her little finger.  She likes to sing songs, she LOVES Barney and dances and smiles whenever we put it on for her.  She will bring the controller to me and point to the TV and says, "Uhhh," when she wants to watch it.  When you ask her questions that she understands like, "Do you want a banana?"  She will nod her head "yes" in answer.  It really is the cutest thing.  Also, she will shake her head "no" in response to things she doesn't want or doesn't want to do.  For example when she stands up in her high chair while I try to feed her and I tell her to, "Sit down!"  She smiles and shakes her head no at me while remaining standing up.  ha ha  So that is kind of fun...sometimes! She took her first steps at 11 months, but did not officially start walking all over the place until a few weeks after her birthday.  She is a stubborn one!  She refuses..to try new foods, to drink from certain sippy cups, to get her diaper changed, and the list goes one.  Breaking her of the bottle was a battle of will...that mommy barely won! ha ha  I would have to say Noah was a lot easier and less stubborn when it came to those sorts of things!  She tries to be like her brother...for example she sees him carry around his blanky, so she has started to do the same.  She imitates him when she plays with toys and many other cute things.  She wants to be like her big brother.  She loves to try and feed herself and loves to play wrestle with Noah and Daddy.  She gives slobbery open mouth kisses, but will not give hugs. :)  One thing I loved that Noah used to do.  He would wrap his little arms around your neck...no such luck with this one.  She gets VERY grouchy when she is tired and is a very good sleeper! She is the perfect little girl for this family and we love her!

Colorado

We were able to get down to Colorado although on different circumstances than we had originally planned.  We were going to go down for the Pioneer Celebrations and to visit and have fun with family, but plans changed.  My grandpa Morgan ended up having to go in for serious surgery and we were worried he might not be strong enough to endure the surgery so we all headed to Colorado to see him before he went under.  We had a scare and with heavy hearts and tears thought that he was not going to make it....but he did!  He is a strong man for sure!  So we spent much of the trip in the hospital visiting him.  So even though plans changed, we did get to visit a lot with family still and that was fun!  We were able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents Medina and my dad as well and that was nice too.  All in all it was a good trip!

Noah and his cousin Ryan! Ryan is my first cousin and I think we figured that these two were 1st cousins, once removed! lol

My mom, me, Noah, Makenna and Grandpa Morgan

My Handsome Boy

Noah is getting bigger, older, and talking more.  The other day Tommy stood up from the table and he said, "Daddy, you need to sit down.  Sometimes you irritate mommy and sometimes you irritate me."  ha ha It was funny.  Also he will apologize for being "ornery."  He says, "Mom, I am sorry I was being ornery."  Cracks me up to hear him talk like that.  He is a super big "blankey" boy and we should give him the new nickname of "Linus" because he carries the thing around everywhere.  He loves milk and would be happy to live off just that.  He does not enjoy eating food and every meal is a battle...even for his favorite foods!  Although if you hand him a chocolate chip cookie he never seems to have any problem with that. :)  He is a good boy.  He loves his sister and is for the most part EXTREMELY good with her.  He is turning into mister independent.  He loves dressing himself and even though his clothes end up backwards or inside out half the time, I let him walk around proudly.  :)  He also insists on trying to comb his own hair now, as pictured below.  He still loves to play with cars and he loves to play with his friends and get out of the house.  He is just our big boy, happy three year old! :)