Conversations with Noah

I had the sweetest conversation with Noah tonight. He was upstairs with Daddy and Emma getting ready for bed, I was downstairs with Adam and Leah cleaning up from FHE.  When Noah started crying out for me I made my way upstairs and found him crying on the bed while Jason buttoned him into his jammies.  He kept crying at Jason, then I walked over and said, "I don't think you're really sad, I just think you want your mama."

He immediately flipped his head my direction, stopped crying and said, "Eeh-yeah!"

I got a big gummy smile, too.

It was a great reminder that those tears and cries aren't always for sadness.  Sometimes it's just a cry from someone who needs you.

Exhausting though it might be, it always feels great to be needed.

Thoughtful

Adam is so considerate.  On my birthday he took extra special good care of me- he was insistent upon being the one to select and fill up my water glass.  When he is in charge of setting the table, he takes the time to ask everyone what color of plate they would like, taking care to match the cup and fork.  He made me Perler bead rainbow earrings today.  He looks into my eyes and gives me big hugs and asks me about the things that I am doing when he's not around.

He is growing up. 

And he's certainly not two anymore.  Being my first to take me through the 'terrible twos' (Leah was still rather mellow through the twos) I thought that his outbursts and stubbornness and inability to be reasoned with were character traits of his that I would be working with forever.  But no.  He's quite agreeable these days.  Sure, he still has selective hearing, but he understands choices and consequences for good and bad behavior.  He's thoughtful.  He jumps at the chance to help with the laundry.  He offers to read to me.  He loves me more than anyone in the whole wide world (although that was also true when he was two, he is just better able to express it now).   He's a delightful friend to spend my days with.  We have conversations about important things like Legos and who he plays with in his preschool class and what color of Perler beads we are running low on.

He told me he had a secret for me- "Mommy!  I have a secret for you... I love you one hundred million google thousand infinity... percent."

And I couldn't be more grateful, because we've got a new two-year-old in the house.  And boy oh boy is she a good one.  Today we dealt with wet pants, stomping feet and exploding applesauce- all in the same 20 minutes I was trying make lunch and comfort crying Noah and have a real live adult conversation with my friend who was over for a visit.  (And in a moment of keeping it real, today was a miserable mommy day.  I am feeling sick in multiple ways and have been getting very little sleep due to a sick Mr. Noah.  My friend kindly listened to my plight then took my kids to her house for the entire afternoon.  It was fantastic- I took a nap and listened to silence and cuddled with Noah on my new bed and just felt so grateful- and so guilty- for the chance to take the afternoon off.  Moms need that once in a while.) 

A classic two-year-old moment came at dinner when Leah realized that Emma had chewed on her color changing spoon- a prize from the library reading program.  Leah was already having a miserable day, so the offense of the chewed spoon was pretty significant.  When she asked why, oh why did Emma chew on her spoon, Emma responded, "Because I love spoons!  Spoons taste great to me!  So I chew on them!  Yum, yum!"

We have one toe in the door with potty training- Emma can stay dry all night and we are working on keeping her panties dry all day.  Today she peed all over the floor, then ran to the potty.  She sat there for a minute then declared, "Now I get one M&M for trying!"  And she did.

Emma came into Noah's room one night while I was nursing him to sleep.  Fresh out is the tub, she was beaming and showing off her polka dot pajamas.  Her most favorite princess nightgown was in the dirty clothes basket.

Me- Ooh!  You look like a polka dot princess!  

Her, still smiling her huge smile- I don't like dis.  

You don't like it? 

Nope! And exits to change.

Ah, I love my two year old.  Just when she is pushing me to my limit, she takes my face in her chubbly little hands and pats my cheeks and says, "Mommy, I love you.  You my best mommy."  And that's all it takes to melt my heart all over again.

Fun with Daddy

Jason is keeping plenty busy at work, but he always makes it a priority to have happy, helpful, and fun moments with us at home.  He comes home early on Thursday evenings to help with Leah's violin lessons and Adam's gymnastic class.  He took Adam to a high school basketball game a few weeks back- Adam loved learning about the game and how to keep score.

He took the kids to an indoor wildlife preserve, where they got to pet Flower the skunk and hold shark teeth and such.   Adventures with Daddy are always so fun.

FHE Check In

Boy, I haven't done one of these in a while.  Family Home Evening continues to be a highlight of our week.  Every Monday night we gather together and sing songs and pray and read scriptures and talk about  upcoming events.  We have a lesson and treats and an activity and mostly just love being together.

We are focusing on scripture stories this year.  (This month?  This week?  For now.)  We've talked about Noah and the Ark, Samuel the Lamanite, and more.  

Emma taught the lesson this week- she did a great job telling everyone about Moses and the 10 Commandments.  Leah and I had a discussion about them the night before and we used the pictures she drew to remind us what each of the commandments are.  Emma and I gathered a pillowcase full of items and she gave everyone a turn to draw something out of the bag and guess which commandment it represents.  Then we made commandment cookies.

Separate from Family Home Evening, we recently held our first official Morales Family Council (by the kids recollection anyway).  Jason led the meeting with a speaking stick.  Whoever had 'the tickler' (a bright blue basting brush from the kitchen drawer) could speak while the rest of us tried to listen.  We discussed possibilities for a family motto and a family song- I quickly came up with this one, sung to the tune of "Camptown Horses"

M-O-R-A-L-E-S (doo dah, doo dah)
Morales family is the best!  (oh the doo dah day) 
We know how to WORK! 
We know how to PLAY!
M-O-R-A-L-E-S
Morales all the way- HEY!

The kids love it and have been singing it around the house ever since.

We had a few matters of business to discuss, including plans for our upcoming trip to Utah and Colorado (the kids are all so excited about going to Goblin Valley, and Jason and I can't wait to remind them what real mountains look like) and whether or not we should replace our Chrysler Pacifica.  We talked about the importance of counseling together as a family and making decisions together.  I told the kids about the Kid Councils my siblings and I held when I was a little girl and suggested they could do the same.  I'm guessing it won't be long before they start meeting together to discuss things like how to avoid eating vegetables or how to convince Mommy to stop buying yucky toothpaste.

Spring Break

Last week was spring break, and it was fabulous.  We've got our vacations planned for the year and an exotic spring break trip did not make the list, but we all loved the lazy mornings, occasional adventures and days of playing and fun.  We went to the Des Moines Botanical Gardens with friends and loved every second of the 75 degree weather (indoors, that is).

 We had a picnic lunch at this Chinese pagoda thingy- it was 31 degrees outside and we- along with our 20 or so friends- lasted for about 17 minutes before we all gave up and left.  Spring break was mostly gray and cold, but that didn't stop us from enjoying it!

We picked out a new friend for Norman- Lady is a feisty fish that is about twice the size of Norman.  He hid from her for most of their first day together.

We grew crystals at home and spent an entire day crafting with Perler beads.  Adam still dedicates at least half of every day to making various "melty bead" creations.

 We enjoyed treats from NYC's Serendipity, sent from my mom.

 We braved the park on a super windy but otherwise lovely day.  

And Jason and I went on a date!  We even baby-swapped with some friends, which was entirely reminiscent of our date night swaps in Indiana.  It was wonderful to go out and nice to know that the kids were having fun with friends, too.  And it just makes me happy that we have friends in Iowa to do such things with.

We talked about the highlights of spring break on our last night together- some of our favorite moments were watching Frozen together, going to Applebee's, sleeping in and playing with the new laundry door (an exciting hole in the wall between our master closet and laundry room).  It doesn't take much to keep this family happy.  

My absolute favorite moment of the week came on Sunday afternoon- we were all happy and together- we sang songs around the piano and played "Little Red Caboose"- with Mommy and the front and Daddy at the back we all held hands and snaked all around the house like a train.  It was a simple, quick, and magical moment.

None of us were ready for the week off to be over, but all to soon it was time to get back to business as ususal.  I tried to make the first day back to school special, but this has still been a hard week.  We are all extra excited for summer to get here now!

First Haircut

It's finally time!  Emma's hair is beautiful and growing in nicely, but it has turned into a bit of an uneven mess in the back.  Still super cute when curly, though!

We went to a friend's house for Emma's first haircut and she was not sure what to think of it.  She wanted to hold my hand the whole time.

She sat so still, never taking her eyes off the mirror.

And when it was done, she was just as cute as ever!  And now, a few days later, she is still so proud of the fact that she "held so still the whole time!"

Father and Son

"There is no other relationship quite like that which can and should exist between a boy and his dad."

- M. Russell Ballard

The Wearin' O' The Green

I checked the blog for a reminder of what we did for St. Patrick's Day last year, and there is no record of it.  No pictures on my computer, either.  And the memories I have from what I thought was St. Patrick's Day last year are actually from 2012.  Granted, we were two weeks away from moving last St. Patrick's Day, but surely we did something?  I don't know.  I can't remember.  And that is just another testament to why I blog- I have a terrible memory.  I can easily recall the things that I've taken the time to write about over the years, but if it's not recorded, it's history.  As in, the memories fade pretty quickly.

So!  This one's for my future forgetful self.

St. Patrick's Day kicked off our spring break this year, and it was great!  The kids have started remembering small holiday traditions, and they were all really excited about the gold and the Lucky Charms that they knew were coming.  Leah even took it upon herself to wake her sleeping siblings up first thing in the morning to start the treasure hunt.

It wasn't even light outside yet.

Still, they were thrilled to find the treats.  Emma kept saying, "Dis is so awesome.  Dis is so much fun."  I love experiencing holidays and such for the first time again and again through the eyes of my children.
A very naughty little leprechaun delivered our annual box of Lucky Charms (a cereal I refuse to buy- I'd rather just buy a bag of marshmallows and call it good).

Adam was the first to discover this footprint mess and spent a solid 7 seconds taking it all in before calling out to his sisters to "Come look!"  The kids were equal parts excited and creeped out at the though of a leprechaun making mischief in our house while they slept.  (Which reminds me, Leah is still completely terrified of Cupid, just as she was 3 or 4 years ago.  That was the first thing she told me on Valentines Day morning this year.  Understandably- a lot of the holiday characters we teach our kids about are creepy- a bunny that lays eggs?  An old man that squeezes down your chimney?  A baby that flies and shoots people with arrows?  I get it.)  They all kept saying, "Wait till Daddy sees this!  He's going to be so mad!" which is just silly because everyone around here knows that Mommy is the one that would get mad about a mess like that.

And we made a fruit rainbow and and played "rescue the sea creatures" in the sink and danced around like leprechauns and colored noodles for necklaces and the kids were just so darn happy all day long.  It was a really fun day.  We had dinner with friends and all decided that corned beef is actually quite tasty.

Noah was around, too, but spent most of his day looking like this-

because he's got a cold that keeps him looking like this-

Poor little guy. Still, it was a fantastically fun St. Patrick's Day.

It's baaaack!

Darnit- I thought I had avoided it this time around, but it's back.  Baby brain.  How you love to sneak in and muddle up my thoughts.  You kind of make me look like an idiot, you know.  I went to a Relief Society dinner at church and tried to make conversation with lovely friends- many of whom I haven't had a chance to talk to in months (we'll blame that on equal parts new baby and cold weather). I know I conversed with people about fundraisers, elementary school boundaries, recipes... I think there was a conversation about socks... I tried to talk but mostly I listened.  I wanted to have conversations but not actually have them.  I started talking and then forgot what I was talking about.  I kept thinking about the baby I left behind and whether he was screaming or sleeping or just happily being with his daddy (spoiler alert- answer number 1!).  I left the house without him to give my tired arms a break and then immediately wanted him in my arms again.  I wanted to think about something besides life at home but found myself unable to remember what else there is.  Baby brain has a way of putting a fuzzy cloud over my head like that.  I notice in conversations that the other person is often looking at me expectantly.  I'm sorry, other person.  I know it's my turn to talk.  I want to talk to you, really I do.  Just not as badly as I want to leave so I can take care of my baby's every need.  Mother Nature is incredibly overpowering in that way.  But thanks for sticking with me and my efforts at conversation anyway, other person.  Even if we are just talking about socks.  I promise the old me will be back soon!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Never sounded so lovely.  

Catch!

Adam and I love to blow kisses at each other, catch them and stick them to our cheeks.  

Sometimes those kisses get really high before they get caught!

Five Months

Noah loves-

His hands- best toy ever! 

Drooling 

Accidentally grabbing at anything within reach and holding on tight!

Napping 4 times a day

Waking twice a night (just twice!  Such a thoughtful boy)

Sitting up, assisted

Rolling over on his own 

Making intense eye contact with strangers until he can crack a smile out of them

His mama!

I love- 

His dimpled chubby fists

The way he beams at me when I come into his room

The way his long eyelashes tickle his pudgy cheeks in his sleep

His baby snorts

The tender ways his siblings love him

They way he slows us all down.  

Life can't be hurried when there is a sweet baby Noah nearby. 

 Of course, a screaming baby Noah nearby is another story altogether! 

I Don't Know About You...

But I'm feeling thirty-twoooooo!

Not really, but it fits, so hey!  

I had a birthday, and boy was it a great one.  All I really wanted a day off, and I got it.  I traded in diapers, dishes and discipline for breakfast in bed, snuggles galore, a quiet morning, a lunch date in East Village with my friend Jami, so many hugs and "Happy Birthdays!" from my kids (or, in Emma's case- "Your... your... birthday!  Can we put da fire on da cake?"), Milky Way cake, presents, a dinner date with two of my handsome boys, the best baby-sitter ever (my kids love her, and she cleaned my house!  I got the day off and didn't have to spend the next two days catching back up!), a trip to Target and Home Depot, and a day full of thoughtful birthday wishes from so many family and friends.   

As I always do on my birthday, I stayed up all the way until midnight just so I could fully enjoy every minute of it.  And I thanked Jason over and over again for taking over at home so I could have a day off.  He looked pretty tired by the end of the day.

So, to everyone that hasn't been thirty-two yet, I probably sound pretty darn old.  But for those who thirty-two has come and gone (including myself as I read this in the future), thirty-two probably sounds like a spring chicken.  I'm not that old or that young.  But here are a few of the ways I'm feeling a bit of both.

Ways I'm Feeling Old

1. My wallet is full of coupons.

2. I daydream about what features I want in a minivan.

3. My shoulder hurts a lot, and I wonder if I'll need surgery on it in some distant day. 

4. I get a ridiculous amount of satisfaction in cleaning out a closet, diaper bag, or car.

5. Sometimes I'm happy just to sit and watch, not join in. 

6. I have loads of advice I've gained from personal experiences, but I don't readily share my gems because I am still young enough to know what it's like to receive loads of unsolicited advice. 

7. I have personal friends that are dealing with major life heartbreaks.  The fun days of falling in love! getting married! having babies! are slowly coming to a close.  Real life is setting in and it can hit pretty hard.  Of course, I'm still so grateful for the many, many other ways we get to experience joy.

8. Stretch marks, dark circles under my eyes, general lumpiness- I've got the marks of motherhood. 

9. I really look forward to General Conference, and not just for the naps. 

10.  I really appreciate a good nights sleep and the value of a good mattress.  I feel old because I asked for a new bed for my birthday. 

11. I told my kids 'If you're not wearing your seatbelt, you're wrong!' Got that one from my dad.  

12. I spend time, money and effort taking care of responsible things like saving for retirement and my kids college, weddings and missions.  

13. I long for the carefree days of childhood. 

14. I often ask my kids to turn down their music.  

15. I am referred to as 'Leah's/Adam's/Emma's mom' (and I love it!) 

16. I volunteer in my children's classrooms... Not often, but I could.  I have kids in classrooms. 

17. I make pb&js by the loaf, them cut them into cute shapes and freeze them for convenience. That seems like a very mom-like thing to do.

18. I understand and appreciate the value of a true friend. 

19. I know why it's important to turn off the lights, and I do it. 

20. I have been lots of things- a student, a "construction worker", a newlywed, a new mom, a piano teacher.

21. I know the importance of eating my vegetables and eating more fiber, and now I do it! 

22. My daughter and I read the same books and then discuss them together. 

23. I am learning the meaning of the phrase 'this hurts me more than it hurts you'. 

24. I don't use #hashtags to label my life, nor do I have any desire to start. Fine for those that do, it's just not my thing. 

25. I have my favorites and I'm not usually interested in trying something new.  I make a Milky Way cake every year for my birthday and I am perfectly content with a box full of milk buttercream chocolates from Sees.  No need to try something new when I've already got a favorite I love.

26. I really love peace and quiet.  It's pretty rare, so I relish it when I get it. 

27. My teeth hurt.  I had some rather traumatizing dental work done not long after Noah was born (a horrible time to do such a thing!) and one tooth has never really been the same since.  I hate eating in front of other people because I have to eat slowly and carefully so as to not upset that tooth.  Talk about old lady! 

28. I am learning the value of a dollar- "a penny saved is a penny earned", "a stitch in time saves nine"- all of those phrases make sense to me now, and I use them to teach my kids.

29. I love work!  I mean, I LOVE play, but I understand the value of work, too.  During Saturday chores a few weeks back I reminisced with Leah about how my mom used to take our whole family into the bathroom and teach us how to clean it and how much I didn't really care back then.  Her response was, "Kind of like how I feel now."  Fair enough.
30. I feed the missionaries.  And I think they look so young!
31. I feed my kids the same foods that I turned my nose up to as a child.  
32. I embarrass my children by honking and waving at them at school. 

Make a wish!

Ways I still feel so young...

1. I can still have more babies.  Time is still on my side, for a few more years anyway. 

2. I know candy is bad for my teeth but I still eat it. 

3. I love sticking my hand out the car window to catch a wave on the wind. 

4. I would rather eat dessert first. 

5. I spend my days coloring, painting, making pillow piles and reading picture books.  

6. I don't worry about losing the last 10 (or 15) pounds- I have confidence that they'll come off soon enough. 

7. I run for fun a few times each week. 

8. My heart still skips a beat when I see my handsome husband. 

9. My babies are still babies- I have the most adoring fan club that follows me around most of the day.  We move through the house like a small flock of birds. 

10. I jump on the bounce house and the trampoline with my kids. 

11.  I look forward to adventurous days to come- the day that I get to zip line though a rainforest or raft down a river.  

12. I know I shouldn't eat candy before bedtime, but I do anyway.

13. I give my kids piggyback rides up the stairs. 

14. I still ask for lots of advice- I haven't figured it all out, or even most of it!- and I love learning from people that have more life experience than me. 

15. I don't have teenagers.  I'm guessing I'll feel a WHOLE lot older once that phase of life comes.  

16. The to-do list for my life is still so long.  
17. I spend a lot of time thinking about and looking forward to the long life and all the adventures I have ahead of me.
18. I don't always plan ahead.  Sometimes my level of procrastination is ridiculously child-like.  
19. I can take the stairs two at a time. 
20. I can do a headstand.
21. I still catch myself thinking that life is shaping up to be one pretty fantastic happily ever after. 

That's all I can think of right now, but that's okay.  I'm perfectly happy with the balance of old and young that I'm experiencing in this phase of my life.

And blow it out!

Oh, What Do You Do In the Wintertime?

Everyone is so over this long and freezing cold winter, and we are no exception.  It is so hard to want to go anywhere lately when the high is -2 degrees.  Weather like that means we haven't had many chances to play outside.  But we are grateful that we have still managed to keep quite busy and healthy this winter.

We've been playing lots of games and reading lots and lots of books.  The privilege of screen time has been all but revoked in our house this week, and that time has been replaced with loads of imagination play, crafting, and silly stunts like couch handstands and endless rounds of chase and hide and seek.  I generally dislike screen time, but this never-ending winter combined with my need for the kids to be extra quiet while sick baby Noah is sleeping has made for some days that have been filled with far too much screen time.  I just can't wait for spring time when "go play outside" is an option again!

We spend lots of time in front of the fireplace.  We've been eating like bears going into hibernation- I love cooking just for the sake of turning on the oven and heating up the house, and can always find time to make cookies or bread or pretzels, even if I just can't find the time to make an elaborate dinner.

Adam started a low-key gymnastics class last week.  He was extremely hesitant to join the class at first- I often forget that he is capable of being shy about anything, but he hid behind my leg at first and was ready to go home.  I was proud of him for joining the class after a few minutes, and as soon as he recognized an old friend from preschool (who also happened to be the cutest girl in the class), he was ready for some fun.  His bear crawls, log rolls and somersaults were awesome, and, now that he knows what to expect, he loves it. 

His reading is taking off, too.  I am often unsure if he is actually reading something or just has it memorized, but he is really trying to figure reading out!

Noah and I got to attend Leah's music class last week.  It was fun to see a bit of how Leah spends her days at school.  She has some great teachers this year and especially loves music and library class.  She is always sharing facts about wild animals and is known in her class as the girl who never has to turn a card.

 Leah is losing teeth like a shark.  Number 6 came out this week, and she was devastated that it didn't come out at school, despite her careful efforts to not wiggle it at home.  She was not at all interested in putting her tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy, and instead decided to write a note to her (check yes or no style) asking if she could please leave her a tooth locket like the ones they hand out at school for safe keeping of lost teeth .  She was thrilled to see the response the next morning stating that the tooth fairy had left a tooth locket in her desk at school!

This was her teacher's account of the discovery-
 Leah came in quickly today with a friend.  They were both whispering “ok let’s go look quick”.  They opened the desk and a big smile and gasp came out of both their mouths. “ Look she put it in there like she said”.  They were so excited.  Leah told me that she lost a tooth last night and the tooth fairy left her a tooth box in her desk.  Kids kept asking her what she had and she was so excited to tell them.  We put her name on a tooth under March on our tooth graph. Leah was very excited! 

She and I got haircuts this week.  I think she would like to have curly hair like this every day.  And violin lessons are going very well- her teacher often comments on Leah's natural ability for the violin and music concepts in general.  Leah has told me that she is determined to succeed and that she will not give up.  "If I get stuck," she said, "I know I can just ask Mommy for help and I'll be okay."

Emma is just getting too big too fast.  Our little Fraggle Rock (nicknamed as such because her long wispy caramel-colored hair fluffs and flies around like one of Jim Hanson's puppets of our youth) seems to have a personal mission lately to be as LOUD as possible at all times.  I am constantly amazed at how quickly she can get a rise out of her big brother, as well as how tender she can be with her baby brother.  She is slightly obsessed with Mulan and likes to pretend to cut and hit and kill.  She has to spend a lot of time in the car with me taking Adam to and from his new preschool (about 13 minutes one way, making a total of nearly an hour in the car each preschool day) so she's watched that movie a LOT lately.  I tried to switch it out for 101 Dalmatians in hopes of calming down her soldier-like persona, but she was completely terrified by Cruella DeVille.  "I don't like dat woman!  Hers too skeeery!"  She also has a hilarious vocabulary and says things with complete enthusiasm. "Dat's AWE-some" or ""So SPARKLY!" (after cleaning a toilet).  She is totally two.

 And Mr. Noah is just so sweet.  He still commands most of my attention, but he has small spurts each day where he is content to sit and watch the craziness swirling around him.  He caught his first cold this week, and it has been miserable for both of us.  But his intense eye contact, huge smiles and occasional "coos" and "goos" keep us all happy.

Jason and I are still around, too.  Jason has finally- finally!- wrapped up his winter of traveling and is getting ready for a busy spring at work.  He's been at Dow for nearly a year and he has received very good reviews about the work that he's been doing.

And tomorrow is my birthday!  So I'll be back with more about me soon.  In the meantime, given the amount of smiley mommy paraphernalia I am finding around the house, I'd say I'm pleasing my bosses, too.