Behind!

Little sweet Seth turned one more than a month ago! He had been sick for a week with no appetite but on his birthday he scarfed down the cake. He was happy and cheerful all day and it was a fun birthday.

Here are his one year stats!
Weight: 19.8 lb (about 10%) 
Length: 29.5 inches (about 43%)
Head: 46 cm (about 48%)

He is such a happy kid. He does NOT like strangers and just wants to be with me all the time. He loves to smile at people, though, and hides his head in my shoulder with a big shy grin on his face whenever people talk to him.
He doesn't say many words yet .He has said a few but then he doesn't repeat it... the only one he says consistently is "dad dad." Yesterday he kept saying "uh-oh" when an ornament kept falling off the tree but he won't say it today.
He likes to play with his toys and attack his brothers. It's a favorite game to chase them down then tackle them. Brennen likes it. Dean does not.
He gives big kisses voluntarily and I love it!
He doesn't sleep through the night yet. He has only gone a whole night without waking 3 times and those were all late nights. I might try some more "crying it out" on the weekends when Matt is gone wrestling (he can't sleep through the crying and has really early mornings so I always just get up as soon as Seth starts crying).

We had a great Thanksgiving! We went to Laramie and spent it with Matt's family. We had a lot of fun playing with everyone and eating great food. Then I took off with the boys to go to Lyman for a few days and then up to Rexburg to spend a few days with my sister and to go to my twin nieces baptisms. Matt had to work of course so he had a different car to take back to Newcastle on his own.

However, on the way to Lyman the car died on me! So me and my three little ones were stuck off the interstate in a dark and cold van until my parents arrived a couple hours later. Needless to say, I panicked a bit and still get anxiety just thinking about it. BUT we were alive and so many family members helped in so many ways and we really were blessed!

I have to report a few things that Brennen said while we were waiting to be rescued. He's so funny. I wrote all this stuff down as soon as we were settled at my mom's. I didn't want to forget it. :)
"Mom, why were you mauling Dad?" (said right after we left after I hugged and kissed Matt bye)
"We're gonna die out here!!"
"You know, we really should be thankful for this, that our car broke now and not on our really long trip."
"Jesus and Heavenly Father created the world but they sure didn't do a very good job at making our car." (Dean echoed that quote a few days later)
"You know, we can't die twice."
"We must be in BIG trouble!" (when the HP pulled up behind us to check on us)
"Carly won't even remember me when we finally get back home." (his "girlfriend" at school)
"If we die out here will they just take us to be fixed with the van?" (I repeatedly told him we were NOT going to die!)
"Geez, I picked a bad spot to go pee. No one even drives on this stupid road." (that's why we were on an exit, he needed to go to the bathroom and THEN the car died)
"What if a pack of deer comes and tries to eat our car just like they ate our pumpkins? Seems like they eat everything!"

So I got good practice taking care of the boys without Matt since I was away from him for a week (although I had a LOT of help from my family members) because now he's gone from 5:00am-6:30pm every day for seminary, school, then wrestling practice. This weekend he's in Rapid City and almost every weekend until the end of Feb. he'll be gone overnight on tournaments. I miss him and the boys never get to see him (they last saw him on Wed night and won't see him again until tomorrow night).

I was going to post more pictures but blogger won't upload anymore! I hope you enjoyed this little update from our family!

The Good Life

We are loving the beautiful fall weather! The boys really like Halloween and have decorated the house quite a bit for that so we're feeling very festive.

Matt is teaching seminary every morning from 6:40-7:30. I think he enjoys it but doesn't really say (in typical Matt fashion). I have been following along with the lessons so that I can brush up on the Old Testament, too, and I've really been liking it!
He seems to be having an easier time this second year of teaching. He is still modifying things quite a bit from last year so there is still a LOT of out of school time planning but not quite as much as last year. 
He has also been coaching Brennen's soccer team. They have practices after school twice a week and a few games. I think Matt's glad that this is the last week, though!

I am staying busy taking kids to school, maintaining the house, studying the Old Testament, learning new piano pieces, teaching piano lessons to 9 students, and being a wife and mother! I love taking care of all of these boys. 
I have also started practicing every week with the local hand bell choir and it's a lot of fun! I don't have a permanent spot yet but I get to float around and play different bells each week so it's fun. Matt and I are also singing in a community Christmas cantata and just started rehearsals. 
My much loved hobby of running has been put on hold because my treadmill is broken. I'm actually SO bummed about that!! It's just too hard to find time to run outside when I have the kids at home and Matt is so busy! I try to do other things to work out at home but it's not the same and I keep praying I don't get too fat!!

Brennen is doing well at school and just loves it! He brings books home to read that are harder than what most of the other kids read. He really can read very well, can figure out really almost any word on his own and is starting to get faster and have better flow. Matt has him working on multiplication, just 0,1 and 2 (as well as his usual addition and subtraction). He's really pretty good at it! His handwriting is getting better, too, and he's a great speller. I have him in piano and he picks up on things SO quickly and he seems to enjoy it! He has really liked soccer, too, and is very competitive.

Reading to his little brother

Reading scriptures

Dean is really loving preschool! His teachers love him, they think he is so sweet and cute and smart. At first they thought he couldn't talk or count or anything but that's because he just chose not to! He's breaking out of his shell and they're figuring out that he knows most letters and some of their sounds as well as a whole lot of other academic stuff. I also do preschool with him at home on the 3 days he doesn't go and we have a lot of fun with that. I think he kind of likes it that Brennen is gone during the day because that means he rules the roost. But he loves playing with him when he gets home. He's learning piano, too, and is a master of "Hot Cross Buns" and "Joy to the World." He is also really great at note values and loves clapping and counting.

Fun on a hike

Letter N!

Letter W and fall theme

Seth is almost 1 and is walking! He still prefers to crawl but he'll walk places a lot, especially if we don't try to "make" him. He just experiments on his own and usually cracks up at himself while doing it. We call him our little mountain goat because he climbs everywhere! He has 6 teeth and is just happy and funny. He dances to music and still hates stories and books. He has crazy hair but I'm waiting until he turns 1 to cut it. He LOVES Matt more than anyone else. He says "Dad" all the time and loves to look at Matt's picture. He'll gravitate to him and always lays nice and still on him whenever he lays down. It's adorable.

Climbing out of his favorite spot, the windowsill.

Crazy hair standing on his favorite spot, the end table

Well, that's us! Until next time.

Realizations

We sure have been happy lately but yet last week I was a little mopey. My family had just left after visiting for a few days and I don't know when I'll see them again, maybe not even until Christmas time. I also had heard about a couple of fun get-togethers in Laramie, reminding me that we are the only ones who aren't there. I also couldn't find a babysitter when I needed to go to the dentist and I missed being near family sooo much. I've felt a little lonely and "cheated" that my kids don't get to spend as much time with their grandparents and cousins as the other kids do. 

I was also feeling a little bummed that I am not teaching school like so many of my friends. I had a combined piano recital with the elementary music teacher here (who had guitar students perform) and she was so nice to allow me to share her music room for the event and it made me wish I had her job. :)

But then on Saturday instead of having some sort of "end of summer bash"  we just stayed home. We helped clean the church and the boys were actually quite helpful and I loved that they knew it was an important thing to do. Then Matt took the older boys one on one and helped them learn to ride their bikes. Later that evening we played bocce (which Brennen is getting pretty good at) then went to the elementary school to play on the playground and let the boys ride on the bike path while we walked along with them in the chilly fall-like air. 

Brennen still has training wheels but he's getting really good at riding and he can go pretty fast! I felt like it was a metaphor for how life is going to be now that he won't be home with me during the day. He rode so far ahead that I couldn't see him and I felt a bit of panic until I remembered that he knows to stay on the path. He knows where he is going and I don't really need to keep him under my watchful eye every second of every day anymore.

The school is just east of town, right at the start of the black hills, and it was just so beautiful. Dean was singing to himself the whole time, Seth was so happy and smiling and Matt and I held hands and talked about the upcoming school year and about how happy we are with the life we have made together so far.

Side note: He was super sick a couple weeks ago, feverish and delirious for days. It made me realize just how much I love him and how I would be sunk if anything ever happened to him. Not only would my kids not have an amazing father around but no other man would ever want me (or be able to put up with me) and there's no way I would ever want to be with anyone else. He really is my perfect half and I love that I can feel comfort and peace in the fact that he is mine forever. (end of cheesy lovey dovey side note)

I just felt so much joy that night (and the feeling has stayed with me) and I know that even though sometimes it's hard to be far from family and to feel a little lonely that I am truly happy here with my little family and with my life. 

Lately I feel like I'm seeing myself through different eyes. I looked at myself and realized that I AM my mother. I am what I see when I think of her. I am what I remember her being when I was just starting school. She was 29 when I went into kindergarten and I am 30 now when my first baby is going. (I was her 3rd baby but whatever). :) When in the world did that happen??

I just realized that so many things that I think are a big deal or that I think matter a lot just don't and I need to be able to let certain things go. I need to remember to be thankful for my blessings because I have more than I can count. To be SO thankful for the beautiful life I have and be at peace with the choices I have made.

another side note: I didn't read through this before posting so I apologize if it doesn't make sense or sounds rambling. :)

Seth is 9 months old

Time flies! Again!

My baby is 9 months old. He is seriously the happiest, smiliest, sweetest baby ever. He is so much fun. We were able to see a ton of family at a family reunion this past weekend and the poor little guy was not feeling well at all. It made me sad because no one (especially his grandparents) got to see his true personality. 

He went to the doc yesterday. He is still so skinny but the doctor isn't worried. He just said I could give him whole milk once a day if I want. No doc has ever given that go-ahead before a year. Sweet. He only cried for about 5 seconds after his shots. Brennen cried for longer and kept hugging him. What a sweet brother. 

Here are the stats:

Weight: 17 pounds (9%)

Length: 28 1/2 inches (53%)

Head: 45 cm (48%)

• He smiles at everything!
• He LOVES to climb.
• He chases his brothers everywhere. 
• He loves being outside. If he's fussy for no apparent reason I just take him outside and it is a quick fix.
• He decided he no longer wants to nurse. I think it's because he was sick and the bottle was just so much faster. I always have mixed feelings when this time comes.
• His favorite food is bread. He scarfs it and I have to only give him one little piece at a time or he tries to shove too much into his mouth.
• I cannot keep him away from the piano. Especially if anyone is playing it. He loves to play it and to push down the pedals.
• He snuggles into me whenever a stranger talks to him. 
• He gives the best hugs after he wakes up. 
• He babbles "da da da da" all the time but is starting to say "mum mum" and I'm getting him to try to say "bite." It sounds like "buh."
• He has two teeth!

We love our little Seth!

Fantastic Summer

I'm going to go backwards. :)

We bought a house this week! It's great. Just a cute, little thing here in Newcastle and it needs a little bit of work but it's ours and it was a steal (at least I think so). No pictures just yet but we're in the process of moving and I will hopefully post some soon. YAY! The boys are loving it so far and have been helping me pack and load/unload today. Seth is not too happy about the process, I think he feels lost in the house because he just wanders around and cries. Poor kid! We hope to be settled in by the end of the week.

We went on a 4 mile hike the other day. Brennen walked the whole way! Dean mostly rode Matt's shoulders and Seth was very content in the back pack.

A couple cuties after church last week. Dean made a mask in nursery and Seth is wearing his cute white shirt and tie given to us by our friend Kathleen!

A couple weeks ago I ran a half marathon! I had been training for a few months and it felt great to accomplish such a thing. I doubt if I'll ever do one again but I'm so glad (and can't believe) I did one! I beat my goal time by nearly 15 minutes, finishing in 2 hours and 16 minutes.

The first week of July my sister and her family came this way! They stayed with us on Monday night then we went to Devil's Tower with them then they were off to see the other sights. It was great to have visitors from such a great distance!

For the 4th of July we went camping the night before then just had fun shooting our own little fireworks and watching the big ones on Saturday. Seth was ticked camping and finally had to sleep in the car with Matt (after a long drive). He decided to start teething that night... but the other boys had a blast! We found a beautiful spot and had good food and went on a nice little hike.

In June Matt's brother Lane and his family came to visit, too! We went with them to Bear Country (I didn't get any pictures...) then they went and saw a bunch of stuff in the beautiful black hills. We had a little picnic at the park and the guys had a chance to go fishing. It was a great weekend!

Over Father's Day weekend we had a family reunion at Bear Lake. It was such a blast! The boys absolutely loved the tent, and playing on the boat and in the water with their cousins.

We loved seeing everyone!

 It was just perfect and nice.

We were away for about a week, we spent time in Lyman before and after the reunion and even got to go to the temple thanks to my dad and sister for watching the kids! On the way back we made a detour to see Ayer's Natural Bridge. 






On June 15th my little baby turned 5! He is such a good boy. He is SO smart, he's getting better every day at reading and math, he helps with his brothers, helps me around the house, loves to play outside and run around, is getting quite good at piano, and is excited to start kindergarten this fall!

At the very beginning of June we had even more visitors! My mom, dad, and brother Kasey came. We went to Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, through Custer Stake Park on the Needles highway and had a great dinner in Rapid City. They even got to see Brennen play a t-ball game. It was wonderful to have them and they'll have to come back so we can see even more!

We love exploring the outdoors, going on hikes, fishing, camping and picnics. Here are a few more pictures of such things we've done so far this summer!

Happy Summer! :)