T-Ball

Noah had the opportunity to play t-ball this year, and he had a blast!  He loved being able to get out, run around, learn how to play t-ball and make new friends, and we really enjoyed being able to get out and watch him play.  He said his favorite position to play this year was catcher.

For his last game of the season, he wanted me to make cupcakes to share with his team, this is what we brought:

A Letter to My Children

To Noah, Ammon, McKenna and Madison:

I don't know if you will ever truly understand the depth of my love for you until you one day have children of your own, but I do want you to understand that I do, and will ALWAYS love you more than words could ever express.  Do not ever let the world, or any person in it make you believe you are not loved, because that is absolutely, unequivocally a lie.  I loved you from the moment I first knew you were coming to join our family, even more when I first saw you on the ultrasound screen, even more when I first felt you move inside of me, and even more when I first held you in my arms and saw your beautiful face.  My love for you grows stronger with each day, and there is absolutely nothing you could possibly do to make my love for you lessen.

I want you to know how absolutely beautiful you are.  Beauty comes in all sizes, shapes and colors, and everyone is beautiful in their own way.  Do not define yourself through the world's idea of beauty, or let others define your self-worth.  Learn to love yourself for who you are and embrace your imperfections; beauty is not defined by perfection. Nobody is perfect!

I do not labor under the delusion that I will be able to shelter you forever from those who would wish to hurt you or cause you harm, but I do hope that I can build you up to be strong enough not to let those hurtful people affect you.

I want more than anything for you to be happy, to be successful in what ever endeavours you choose to pursue in your life.  I want you to dream big, to hold fast to your dreams, and never let anyone tear them from you.  If you work hard, and put your sincerest best effort into becoming what you want to be, you can do anything!!

I hope that you always have a positive attitude, that you will look for the good in everything.  I hope that you can focus on the good qualities in people, and never allow yourself to be judgmental and unkind.  I hope you can find positives in ever situation and realize that your trials can be learning experiences that will help you grow if you allow them to.  I hope that you can look for, and appreciate the beauty that is all around you.  Remember there is always a rainbow after the storm, and stars in the darkest of nights.

I want you to learn the value of hard work, integrity, honesty, and respect.  The world is quickly devaluing these principles, and I want you to know how important they are, whether the world believes so or not.  I hope that you learn not to lower your standards, or jeopardize your integrity to follow what is popular or trendy.

I think it is very important for you to know that you WILL make mistakes.  Learn from them, learn to forgive yourself and move past them.  I hope that no matter what situation you may get yourself into, you always feel comfortable with coming to me, and your father, to talk about it.  We are not perfect parents, but we love you, and we are here to help you the best that we can.  Please remember that no matter what you do, we will always love you, and there is nothing you can do to lessen that love.  I hope that we can always have an open and forgiving relationship with each other.

I have greatly enjoyed watching you grow, learn, master milestones, and develop your personalities, and I very much look forward to watch you continue in these things.  Every day I get to hold you, watch you, and call you mine is the most glorious blessing.  You are my little miracles, and I thank God everyday that he let me be your Mother.

Love you always and Forever,

Mom

Noah is Six!

I tell Mike all the time that as an adult and a parent time seems to fly by unreasonably fast.  I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my oldest baby is 6 years old!! I don't know how it is possible when it seems only yesterday he was the same size as McKenna.

At six years old Noah is about half way through Kindergarten.  He LOVES school, and is doing AWESOME!!  He seems to make friends very easily, and as much as he likes to hang out with the boys, he has lots of girl friends too.  He is the top sight word reader in his class and is getting better at reading and writing every day.  He is a BIG helper to mom, and an awesome big brother!!  He loves everything about being outdoors, and even wants to be a bow hunter one day!  He still is not embarrassed to hug and kiss his mom (and siblings) when he goes to school, and still is a BIG snuggler.  He has a big heart! He is kind to the other kids at school, and is always empathetic and helpful to those who are sad or hurt.  We are so blessed to have him as a part of our family, and it has been so much fun watching him grow up into the big boy he is today!!

Here are some pictures from his birthday:

 

Minion cupcakes for school :)

 

His Lego cake :)

 

His big birthday surprise! :)

Spirit Week

It was Spirit Week at school for Noah this week, and he was super excited to dress up on all the different days for school.

 

His favorite day was probably Monday, he was very happy he got to wear his PJs to school for Pajama day:

 

 

Tuesday was Hippie Day and we made tie-dye shirts for him and Ammon using an idea from pinterest:

 

Wednesday was Ugly Shirt and Tie Day:

 

And today (Thursday) was Fashion Disaster Day!

Noah Looses His First Tooth!

A couple weeks ago, Noah got up on Monday morning to get ready for school and showed me one of his bottom teeth was loose:

We had a talk about how our baby teeth have to fall out so our adult teeth can grow in, and its part of growing up and getting bigger.  Noah seemed a little scared and apprehensive, until I explained that after it fell out, he could put it under his pillow and the Tooth Fairy would take it and leave him money, then he was excited.

Nana (who is also known as the "Tooth Flicker" at school) tried to convince him to let her "help" get it out, but Noah didn't want any one's help.  He kept insisting that it would "fall out by itself."

Last night before we went to bed, I checked on Noah's tooth because he had knocked it a little more loose earlier in the day, and we had eaten corn on the cob for dinner...it was hanging by a thread.  I was a little worried it would fall out in his sleep and he would swallow it.  So with a lot of wiggling from me, and Mike, and a lot of coaching and cheering, Noah pulled his own tooth out!

This morning Noah got up at 6:15 (and mind you, he gets up at 7am for school and I usually have to DRAG him out of bed) to show me the dollar that the Tooth Fairy left under his pillow last night. :)  Guess he was a little excited...he has been carrying that dollar around all day.

Noah's First Play

Noah had the great opportunity this year to audition for, and be a part of a production put on at his school by the Missoula Children's Theater from Missoula Montana.  This year they did King Arthur's Quest, and Noah was a knight in the "mini cast" which was literally a "mini-er" version of the older kid cast in the play.  The had auditions that Monday, rehearsals everyday that week, then 2 performances on Saturday.  Noah had a blast! He couldn't wait to go to rehearsal on the days he had it, and he did an awesome job!  Here are some pictures from the play, and hopefully one day soon I will be able to figure out how to get the HD videos of it off my camera and onto the computer to share.

Noah's Fifth Birthday

Noah Andrew turned 5 years old on January 17 this year!  I cannot believe it has already been FIVE years since I first became a mom!  Every year he grows up more and more, and it seems like time is just flying by.  At five years old Noah is enjoying going to preschool.  He loves drawing, reading simple books, pointing out words he knows how to read on signs and packages, etc. He LOVES going to primary and he amazes me with how much he retains from church.  I love hearing him singing new songs they have learned or telling me what he learned in class.  He is an awesome big brother!  He loves playing with Ammon, and helping cheer him on with potty training.  He can always make McKenna smile and laugh by being his goofy little self.  He is very smart, and very loving.  He still is not embarrassed to give me, and Ammon, and McKenna hugs and kisses goodbye in front of all his friends at school, every single day.  He is a very special part of our family, and we love having him here with us!!

These are the cupcakes I made him to take to school :

Noah's first day of Preschool 2011