Noah LOVES his Baby food!

Noah generally likes his baby food, especially squash. But, he really dislikes any of the meats we have given him. Maybe this is mean, but it's such a funny reaction. Needless to say, I'm not going to try feeding them to him again, at least for a while. It's ok for him to be a vegetarian, right?

In other news, I registered Myra for Kindergarten today. What a pain in the butt! I couldn't believe the amount of paperwork they had me fill out and it was so redundant. The same things over and over again! I don't understand why they couldn't have sent out the paperwork ahead of time. Then they also do an assessment. I think if they are wanting to "quiz" your child on all these different things, they should let you know ahead of time so you can work on it with them. Myra did pretty good, although she really struggled with the syllable clapping. Which really frustrated me because I knew they were going to do it and we had been working on it. I think what threw her off was that the practice words and the first 2 non-practice words were all 2 syllable words and after that she tried to make all of the words in 2 syllables. It was so frustrating to sit back and listen to her get so many wrong when I knew that she could have gotten them right. Anyway, I'm proud of her. I think she will love Kindergarten and she will do great with it.

Chad's Thesis Defense

On Friday, the 12th, Chad defended his thesis. This has been a day long in the coming! I am so proud of Chad and all that he has accomplished and we are so excited that he is done with school now! His defense went great! I've read all of Chad's thesis and almost all of it was really over my head. But, his defense presentation really helped me to understand better all that he has been doing. I was very impressed!

After that, he had to talk to his committee members for over 2 hours! Chad said it was more of a discussion than a quiz, so I guess it was really laid back. And he passed with flying colors! Chad came home early and to celebrate we went bowling. It was a lot of fun! For the first time ever, I was beating Chad the entire game. But then he came back in the 10th frame with 3 strikes to beat me by 1 point! Lucky! Anyway, Good job Chad with finishing up you schooling, we are all so proud of you!

Bre's Baby Shower & Myra's sickness

This is a little late coming, but I'm finally getting around to blogging about it. At the end of February, we had a baby shower for Bre's baby, McKenzie. We had to wait until after she was born since Bre was on bed rest for so long. The night before, Noah came down with a high temperature and the next morning Myra wasn't feeling very well either. So, I debated whether I should even go. I had to take Noah with me since we are "attached." But, I didn't want him around everyone, so Chad had to go so he could watch Noah, which meant we had to bring Myra as well. Anyway, they hung out in my Grandma's basement. I felt bad because Myra had been so excited for the shower and was so disappointed when she couldn't go. The shower turned out really well, even though I was so distressed with Noah. He couldn't breathe through his nose, so he would have a really hard time eating. But, he was hungry and I couldn't feed him very well. Ugh! Bre got a lot of fun stuff for her little girl. It was a lot of fun to visit with family members and everyone enjoyed seeing her adorable little girl. I made BBQ beef sandwiches that turned out really yummy!
Oh, I almost forgot. We got to Salt lake really early, so we decided to go over to Temple Square with the kids. We just walked around for a few minutes. We wish we had been able to stay longer. We'll have to go back again soon.
Well, the fun began after that. We headed home and you could tell Myra really wasn't feeling well. She threw up on the way, which I'm still not sure if it's because of her sickness or the fact that she gets carsick. When we got home, her temperature was up to 104.8! Whoa! She had also developed a rash all over her stomach and chest and was complaining about a sore throat. So, I called the doctor. He told me I could probably wait to bring her in the next morning, unless other symptoms popped up. So, I gave her tylenol, put her to bed and we went to the doctor the next morning. By this time, her rash had spread all over her back and up onto her face. As soon as the doctor saw the rash and her throat he said that he thought she had Scarlet Fever. What?!? Isn't that what all those Jane Austen-era characters in different books I've read died from? I guess it was really serious back then, but now it's basically Strep Throat with a rash. Easily cured with an antibiotic. She felt much better the next day and was soon after back to normal. She still has a little bit of a rash on her checks and stomach. You can't really see it, you can just feel it. We were so glad that no one else came down with it since the doctor said it was so contagious. Crazy!

Doctor's Check-Ups

Today I had Lexi's 3-year check-up and Noah's 6-month check-up. We thought we were also getting Myra's Kindergarten shots done, but apparently I had them done last year and didn't remember about it. She was a little disappointed because I told them we would get ice cream after their shots and she was worried she wouldn't get any. I asked her if she wanted to get a shot so she could get ice cream and after a moments hesitation, she shook her head yes! Silly girl. Needless to say, she was pretty excited that she got away with ice cream AND no shots!
Lexi was so nervous about the visit. She was all of a sudden super shy around the doctor and really tensed up when he was examining her. Then when it came time for the shots, she was so nervous. She got her hand away from me while I was holding her and barely missed grabbing the shot. Anyway, she cried for less than a minute and then was totally fine.
I was so shocked with Noah though. They had me lay him down and they gave him one shot in his leg. He just kept looking at me, his expression barely changing. Then they did 2 shots in his other leg. He let out 1 little whimper and that was it! The nurse was even surprised. She kept calling him a tough little guy! And he was! Anyway, here are the kids stats. It's so fun to see the change!

Alexys - 3 years

Weight - 26lbs - 8%
Height - 35 1/2 in. - 14%

Noah - 6 months

Weight - 16.14lbs - 32%
Height - 27in. - 65% !!
Head Circumference - 42 1/2 in. - 14%

Looking back at Lexi's weight/height chart, she only weighed 16 pounds at 1 year! She has sure grown though! She was never even on the charts for weight until 9 months, then it was at 1% until 2 years. Now she's in the 8th percentile! I'm so glad to see that she's growing so well!

Cute Kids

I know you think your kids are the cutest, but really, mine, are the cutest! =)

The World through Myra's Eyes

One of Myra's favorite pastimes lately is getting a hold of our camera and taking pictures. She got a camera of her own last year, but the batteries are always dying and you have to find a screwdriver to open up the panel to replace them. Needless to say, it doesn't get a battery change very often. So, Myra gets a hold of our camera and madness ensues! Every time I go to load the pictures off the camera on to the computer, it's always a surprise what might be on there. Usually there is a plethora of close-up shots of Myra's face, a few of Noah and Lexi, sometimes the dog, but mostly, they are pictures of the computer screen, tv screen and different areas around the house. Many of the pictures have her little fingers visible in the shot and most are blurry or something. But, I always find a few to get a good laugh out of. So, for your viewing enjoyment, here are a few recent pictures a la Myra. I also found a video she had taken. What a silly girl!

Noah - 6 Months

I CAN NOT believe that Noah is already 6 months old!!!! Where has that time gone? It has been such a blur! He has been such a wonderful addition to our family. We all love him so much! How could you not just adore those chubby cheeks? Every day I feel more and more grateful for him (and for the girls, as well!). I find so much enjoyment in taking care of him, comforting him, feeding him, loving him, etc.... He is definitely a mommy's boy! If I'm in the room, he wants me to be holding him. He's still not sleeping through the night, which I really attribute to teething. He's starting to grow hair already and it looks like it's going to be very red. I think Lexi was about 2 years old before she had this much hair. He loves bathtime, is getting close to sitting on his own and dislikes being on his tummy. Happy 6 month birthday Noah!

Catch Up

I've been such a blogging slacker lately. There just isn't much exciting going on this time of year. So, I guess I'll just do a little update and add some pictures. Noah is approaching 6 months now! I can't believe how quickly it's gone by. We are still working on feeding him solids. It's been really hard on his digestion, so we've been taking it really slow. He is still not moving too much, although last month he started rolling over from front to back.

He doesn't seem to have any desire to do much else. I've been trying to get him to sit up on his own, but he'd rather just lay down. I think he'll get the hang of it soon enough. He's also cutting his first tooth. It popped through last week and it has been a bit rough for all of us. When Myra and Lexi got their teeth, I barely knew it. But, poor Noah, it must really hurt him or he's just a big baby. =) We've had some pretty rough nights lately. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of his tooth though. It looks really weird to me. Luckily his doctor's appointment is in a couple of weeks, so he can check it out better.

Lexi has been quite the silly girl lately. I always have felt that the terrible two's are misnamed. The "terrible" part doesn't really start until closer to three. Lexi has always been a fairly passive, laid back type of kid. But, wow, she can sure throw a tantrum now. Usually it's about something silly, like not having a pink hair clip in or not being able to wear her favorite nightgown. It's so funny how she can go from being very happy, to super grumpy, then back to very happy again. She loves to sing lately and will just walk around for hours making up her own little songs. She also has taken to wearing a pink tutu around her head. She says it's her hair. We have also been working on potty-training her. It's been much more difficult than it was with Myra. Lexi just doesn't care as much. It doesn't matter to her if her pants are wet and she's just sitting there in it. Or, she'll have an accident, then run up to her bedroom and change her clothes before I even know it. I keep finding wet clothes stuffed into the corners of her room. Yuck! We are making progress though and I think she'll be doing really well at it shortly.

Myra continues to amaze me with her loving and tenderhearted temperament. She is such a sweet girl and constantly makes me think that I need to be a better mom so I can deserve having such an amazing child! She is such a big help around the house and is always helping me with Lexi and Noah. She loves to be cuddled with and it's the end of the world if I drop her off at preschool without giving her a kiss and a hug good-bye. She absolutely loves preschool and hanging out with her friends. We are having it at our house this week and she's been so excited to have it here so that Lexi can participate with us. We will be registering her from Kindergarten this next month. Yikes, how has she grown up so fast?

As for Chad and I... I get to spend my days having fun with the kids and trying to get through the potty-training. It just brings out the worst in me! I just can't believe how blessed I've been to have such a wonderful husband and three great kids! I love every day because of that! I've also gotten really involved into exercising, for me anyway. I go to the gym at least twice a week, then exercise here at home every morning the rest of the week. I've actually lost about 8 pounds, so I've been pretty excited about that!

Chad has continued staying exceptionally busy with work. He just turned in his thesis to be reviewed and will defend on March 12th! We are SOOOOO excited to be at this point. His committee members were pretty shocked with how big his thesis ended up being and how much work he's put into it. I'm so proud of him! Funny story, every day when Chad gets home from work since he turned in the thesis, Myra asks why he keeps going to work. I guess we've been so hyped up about getting the thesis done that she thought once it was turned in, Chad wouldn't have to go to work any more. =) Now's the hard part, finding a job! Chad has also kept busy with ward basketball. We've really enjoyed watching him play.

Well, that about sums up our life right now! We can't wait for the weather to get warm so we can go outside to play. Hopefully soon! Maybe then I'll have some more exciting things to blog about!

Goodbye Grandpa

My Grandpa Newman passed away last Wednesday. He had been sick for a while, first with Alzheimers, and more recently was diagnosed with Cancer. He had been living in an assisted living center and it was so nice that until the end he remembered his family. It was hard to see him, compared with how I remember him from when I was younger. It is sad that he has passed on, but I am grateful that he is no longer in pain and is in a better place. We went down to Salt Lake this past weekend to attend the funeral. It was very nice. My sister-Breanne, my cousin-Jeremy, my uncles - Hal and Jon and my Dad all spoke. It was so nice to listen to stories about grandpa and different memories from his life. I played the piano for all of the music. Chad was asked to be a pallbearer. It was nice to be able to participate in celebrating my Grandpa's life. We had a wonderful time visiting with all of my family. Almost the entire family was there, including many that I haven't seen for quite a while. Grandpa will be missed, but I am so thankful that we will be able to be reunited once again in the future. Here is his obituary:

Joseph B. Newman "Loving Husband and Father" Joseph Burton Newman, born Sept. 2, 1924 passed from this earth peacefully on February 10, 2010. He was born in Salt Lake City to Wendell Allen and Hilda Marie Fowler Newman the youngest of five children. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a radio operator. (He still knew his Morse Code!) Upon returning home, he married the love of his life Margaret Kathryn Moesser on May 1, 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple. Margaret was his everything. In his last days he ended all of his conversations with family by telling them to tell Margaret he loved her. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; five children: J. Gregg (Diane), Kim, Hal (Carlos), Ann (Gary) Pedroza, Jon (Lory), 10 grandchildren, 11.75 great-grandchildren, his beloved Yorkshire Terrier Madie, and by his Subaru. Joe worked in the insurance industry for over 40 years. He worked at Heber J. Grant, American National General Agencies, and later the Leavitt Group. He served in many church callings from Scouting to High Council. He and Margaret participated in a life long study group with many close friends. Joe taught his children the importance of hard work. They worked together on many projects to beautify their yard and home. No one ever slept in on a Saturday! He enjoyed recreation and outdoors with family. He especially loved the time together fishing, hunting, or exploring in the west desert. Joe and Margaret loved nothing more than to gather all the family, whether it was a game of croquet, volleyball, or chatting by the waterfall after a barbecue. Joe stayed active exercising, bike riding, gardening, golfing and cheering for the Utes! He was preceded in death by his parents and all of his siblings, Dorothy (Lance) Linton, Glen (Ruby), Margaret (Jack) Elton, and Don (Maureen). The family would like to thank the staff at Legacy House of Taylorsville, Haven Hospice, and Dr. Roy Gandolfi. Funeral services will be held at McDougal Funeral Home on 4330 South Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, Utah 84123 on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. Friends and family may call from 10:30- 1:45.

The Newest Cousin

Last Friday my sister had her baby, McKenzie Grace. She weighed 6lbs. 7oz. and has a full head of hair! We went down on Monday to see her. Myra was very excited to hold her and both girls liked rubbing the hair on her head. We are very glad to have this new addition to our family! Bre and Danny had been trying for a while to have a baby and it was so exciting when they were able to get pregnant. Then, at around 31 weeks, Bre started into pre-term labor. That was a bit scary, but we are so glad she made it to the end and that everything went well! I'm so jealous of her hair though! She has more than Lexi does and Lexi is almost 3! Oh well...



Myra and Lexi loved having Aunt Bre fix their hair!