Grandma's Birthday

Shauna's had one of those 'milestone'/decade birthdays in January.  But since all of the family was going to be here at Christmastime, we decided to surprise her a little early.

Preparing for the party alone was fun, so I think all of us were filled with anticipation and excitement when it was finally time for the big surprise.   After a fantastic dinner we gathered around to really celebrate Shauna.

The grandkids sang.

 We shared a long, sweet list of things we love about her.

By the way, we could have doubled what was on that list and still come up with more.

 

She's one special lady.

And then we each gave her a charm that was significant to our relationship with her to put on a new bracelet.

 

 She thanked us for not putting the actual number of candles on her cake, but blew out the ones on there without any trouble.

 I remember meeting Shauna when Nate and I were dating and feeling instantly at ease.  She just radiates peace and goodness and love.  I knew that being a part of this family, and being around her, would shape my adult years in positive, meaningful ways, and it has.  She has given her all to mothering, and it shows in these five kids. 

Shauna is also a top notch grandma.  The grandkids love spending time with her and doing fun things.  She is so quick to help, serve and love each one of them.

Christmas Day

At 7:15 on Christmas morning, two very excited parents couldn't take the waiting any longer and we woke up Noah and Luke.  They certainly didn't mind being awoken to, "Merry Christmas Buddy!  Santa came!"  The stockings were opened up, and present unwrapping began. 

 

Luke was surprised and incredibly happy that Santa brought him his very own box of orange Tic Tacs.

Santa had to get a little creative for Noah because most of his Christmas list items ended up being birthday gifts. 

 

But Santa pulled through with a remote control car, some of the boys' most favorite books we've found at the library, and a big boy bike. 

Noah figured out how to use the controls in no time.  Luke still pretty much drives his backwards, but at least it goes somewhere, right?

 

Noah is amazing on his balance bike, so it seemed like a good idea to upgrade to the next size.  

In no time at all he was cruising down the sidewalk yelling, "Mom, it feels like I'm flying just like Dusty!"  

We're hoping to take off those training wheels in a couple of weeks since he's pretty much already got the balance thing down.  I'm crossing my fingers that he'll be a quick learner.

We were also super happy that Gram was here with Nana for Christmas.  She especially loved watching Luke and hearing all of the big boy things he has to say.

Nate gave me the best gift ever (in addition to a really great present): two weeks off of work to just be with the boys and me.  He was sure we'd be tired of him by the end of it, but boy was he wrong.  I joked with him that it felt like we were a 'real' family: working together, parenting our kids together, completing projects together, pretty much doing everything together.  It was the best two weeks EVER, and the most time he's ever taken off since we've had kids.  'Real' life, with a busy job and church responsibilities just doesn't allow for much always together time, and oh, I loved it. 

Gearing up for Christmas

Christmas came with a whole new level of excitement this year.  It started with decorating our Christmas tree a few days after Thanksgiving.  Noah was suddenly bursting with Christmas cheer and saying things like, "Mom, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!" and "I just LOVE putting ornaments on the tree with you Mom! Let's do some more!"  Luke followed Noah's lead and became excited about all of the good things the Christmas season brings.

We LOVE, thanks to our city police and fire departments, that Santa comes down our street.  He and Mrs. Claus bring candy canes for all of the kids and are escorted by police cars and fire trucks, all with their sirens wailing.  It really is a little bit magical.

The boys loved looking at Christmas lights again this year. 

Clearly they were too busy to pay any attention to their photographer.

Noah said his favorite was the Snoopy house, but he really did love running from house to house checking out all of the different decorations.

 Grandma invited us over again this year to make gingerbread houses. 

 Luke was equally interested in decorating his house and eating as much frosting as possible.

Just a few days before Christmas we gathered at Nana's house to frost sugar cookies, including the ones we'd be leaving out for Santa.

Once again, Luke was a champion frosting eater.

 Nate and I attended his annual Christmas party for work at the Sutter Club. 

It's always a lovely, fun party.  But, it's also so perfect to have a nice evening before that wicked busy season is upon us.  And, oh, it is so close to being upon us!

Now that Christmas has passed, I can report that there's some major post Christmas sadness going on from our boys.  I can't blame them.  This Christmas was one to be remembered: so many fun memories, the music (Luke sings a ridiculously cute 'Mary Did You Know'), events, and presents.  It's been fantastic, largely because of two little boys who have been over the top excited about everything.  They both literally cried as I packed up our decorations.  Noah proclaimed, "Mom, you're ruining Christmas!" and Luke screamed, "No, Mommy! Don't take dat twee down!"   That was two days ago, and they're still talking about how they want the decorations back up.

My Big Boy

Noah got a chance to share his favorites in the interview, and before too much more time slips away I have to share some of my loves about this fantastic four year old. 

Let's start with self control.  Almost a year ago when Noah saw the dentist for the first time she talked to Noah about biting his nails.  Six months later they talked about it again, and he promised Dr. Ryan he'd try hard to stop.  Just a month after that second visit he did it.  It seems like such a little thing, biting your nails, but for my three year old to take on a challenge, exercise self control, change a daily habit and stick to it is quite amazing to me.  He's super excited to visit Dr. Ryan next month and report his good choice, which will be rewarded with a visit to her promised treasure box.  Oh, and on another self control note, this kid has never wet the bed.  Not even once.

 

Noah loves individual time with Mom or Dad, especially if it involves reading or snuggling.  I truly think that's one reason he's an early riser.  It's a sure way to get some one on one time with one of us. But 5:45 a.m. is a little ridiculous.  I'm not sure he needs THAT much time. :-)   Noah loves to 'get cozy' in a blanket with me.  I'm learning that he really needs that individual time each day, and I certainly have no complaints about making sure it happens. 

Our Disneyland trip in September opened a new world of things to love for Noah.  He talks about that trip almost daily, is saving his money to go back again, and spends a lot of time looking at the maps of the parks that we brought home.  He still remembers how many times he went on certain rides and what he talked to the various characters about when they met.  Disneyland and the movie Planes: Fire and Rescue play a big part in Noah's creative play and just daily conversation.  He's also a big fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates and still loves Thomas the Train.  

Noah has more books memorized than I can count.  He's starting to notice the beginning sounds of words.  Berenstain Bears and reading Geronimo Stilton chapter books with Dad are just two favorites.  He really doesn't discriminate though and loves turning the pages of almost any book he can get his hands on. 

Growing up and being four are suiting Noah just fine.  He's particularly excited to use his new (backless) booster seat that we keep in Nate's car.  Anytime Nate is running an errand Noah is eager to go.  That is especially true if it's to Lowe's.  They especially like to stop, look and touch all of the hammers. 

I hear the words, "I love you Mom," more times than I can count in a day.  Noah is such a love bug. The other day Noah asked a handful of questions as we were driving, paused, and then stated, "Mom, you know EVERYTHING!"  That's a kid who knows how to say the right thing to his mama.  Noah regularly says things are his 'favorite,' instead of just saying that he happens to like it.  The other day as we were driving and he pointed out a beautiful sunset he said, "Mom, it looks just like artwork!" 

Being a big brother is teaching Noah how to use his words to communicate what he wants and what he's feeling.  Just grabbing a toy and running away with it doesn't make anybody around here happy.  He gets a lot of practice with that spicy little brother, and Noah really handles it so well.  Oh sure, it's not perfect and there are quarrels to be had, but I love that these brothers are really LEARNING how to play together and how to love and look out for each other.  It's a gift that only a sibling can give, and it's awesome.  There's a reason that one of the first things Luke says every morning is "Where's Noah?"  That big brother is so good at helping Luke with the things he can't quite do as well yet. 

Oh, I love him and love being his mom.  I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully put into words how blessed I feel that he's a part of our eternal family.

Merry Christmas!

Noah's Birthday Interview

(Thanks Heather Wigginton for doing such a great job on your boys' birthday interviews.  I stole your questions, and it was perfect!)

What is your favorite...
Color: Um, blue
Food: Orange chicken
Game: Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
Book: Um, um, I think it's Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site 

Toy: Transformers
Treat: Snowman (That's the treat we made for Joy School)
Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (Really?)

Thing to learn about: Making good choices
Animal: A lizard.  No, actually a chameleon.
TV show: Halloween George
Thing to wear: My Transformers shirt Grandma gave me
Holiday: Halloween

What do you want to be when you grow up? Mario.  What kind of a job do you want to have? I want to be a missionary.

Who is your best friend? Liam. It starts with an "L."

What is something you want to learn to do this year? Mario Kart

What is something that you are really good at? Candyland

If you had a million dollars, what would you buy? A Mario Kart game

If you were an animal, what would you be? A snake Why? Actually I want to be a chameleon because then I can change colors.

If you could have a magic power, what would it be? It would be to transform.

How many kids do you want to have when you grow up and get married? I wanna have um, six kids.

What kind of house would you like to live in? I know, I want to live in a brick house.  (I was about to give him options like tree house, igloo, etc., but was then pleasantly interrupted.)

Who is the prettiest girl in the whole world? YOU! (Pointing at me.)

Where do you want to go on your mission? Disneyland

What's your favorite scripture story? Samuel the Lamanite

Doing this was fun, because some of Noah's answers were so random.  The unexpected obsession with Mario Kart comes from having video games on the big kids side at the gym.  I didn't realize how excited he was about that.  I have some thoughts about Noah being four and what I like about him that I'll save for another post.

Noah's Birthday

Noah has been so patient for his birthday to finally arrive.  It was hard for him to understand how he was the big brother, but Luke's birthday came first.  Oh my, we've been counting down.  His birthday excitement was certainly contagious, because by the time it was time to celebrate we were all about to burst with happiness.

The fun started four days before his actual birthday, when we had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory with Kristina, Jason, Kate and Nana.  They were off to cruise the Caribbean the next day, and wanted to have some birthday fun with the big boy.  Noah was completely willing to accommodate that request.

The night before Noah's birthday we gathered the rest of the family, and some friends, at our house to continue celebrating.

Noah literally has a fleet of construction trucks, so it seemed to be a perfect theme for year four.  He loved it, and he was reasonably impressed by his cake too. 

I can still hear him saying, "Mom, this looks aaaaamazing!"  Thanks buddy.

It was a simple night of family, good food, perfect presents and birthday joy.

I realized that this kind of innocent, little kid excitement that I love is going to slip away far sooner than I'm ready for.  It sounded ridiculously dramatic later in the evening when I said to Nate, "You know, we only have 14 more birthdays with him."  Nate raised an eyebrow, thought, and then said, "That doesn't seem like nearly enough."  It's so true.

 Oh, I'd give anything to keep him little!

The next morning, on Noah's actual birthday he started off with pancakes and one last present.

Noah is a huge Planes: Fire and Rescue fan.  When cousin Brennan got Cabbie for his birthday in August, Noah worked really hard to keep his jealousy in check.  Since then he's talked about it almost every day.  It was the first thing mentioned in his letter to Santa this year.  Cabbie is a big deal.  I bought it in September, and, oh, it was hard keeping it hidden under our bed all that time!  We were all excited for Noah to have Cabbie.

At Noah's request we went to the gym after breakfast.  Four year-olds get to go to the 'big kids side,' and Noah has been anxious to get over there.  I was more than happy to accommodate that request.

After lunch and while Luke was napping Noah helped me create these little beauties:

He was taking them to Joy School the next day for his birthday treat.

I gave him the option in the afternoon of riding Light Rail for a while or getting hair cuts, and he surprised me by choosing the latter.  Thank goodness, though, because my boys were in desperate need.

The evening included a great dinner with just the four of us, family home evening, and lots of time spent playing with new toys.  It was a perfect, perfect day!