Birthday Boys

Late Spring is birthday time for our family--in a big way. Andrew's birthday is on May 24th. Taylor's birthday is on June 2nd, just nine days after Andrew's.

When Russell was born on May 23rd last year, I knew that I had something big on my hands!

For their first year as the three birthday musketeers, my men celebrated their big days all on one day-- the 23rd--which happened to be Russell's day.

Plans for the big birthday party was nearing completion when I received a surprise phone call from my mom in Utah asking if she could come visit for a week and join the celebration. Awesome! For me, it doesn't get much better than that.

So the week before the boys' birthdays my brave mother faced her post-stroke struggles with airports and flew into the oh-so-enormous Denver Airport to visit us. Her love knows no bounds.

Mom stayed with my grandparents at night while she was here and drove over to my place every morning to visit with me and the little boys. She spoiled us with fun meals and new groceries, and plenty of one-on-one conversation. My mom is one of my best friends. It was so nice to have her here and to hog so much of her time to myself!

Well, I'm sure the pictures have made it pretty obvious--when party day finally arrived, we gave it a pirate theme, inspired by the new cute Disney TV show called "Jake and the Neverland Pirates," one of Taylor's favorite things these days. I bought pirate masks for the occasion, and my friend Jennifer, who is an amazingly talented cake decorator, made a spectacularly cute pirate cake for the birthday boys.

My Uncle Jeff and Aunt Donna and their family joined us, as did my Mercer grandparents and my Mom at Grandma's fun neighborhood park in Bow Mar South where there's everything fun for families: a swimming pool, lake and beach, playground, picnic area with charcoal grills and tables, a fire pit, yummy food, and presents (for the birthdays of course!). Even though it was a chilly mid-60 degree day, we did it all, and we had a blast.

Taylor- 1 Year Old

On Taylor's first birthday, we stripped him down to just a diaper, put him in an inflatable swimming pool, and let him go crazy with his first piece of birthday cake. It was a blast to watch him make a huge mess and thoroughly enjoy the massive amounts of sugar he had been given.

This being Russell's big number one, I was excited to let him have the same chance at his first piece of cake. This time, the scene played out a little differently. First off, it was way too chilly to not wear any clothes. Russell was much happier in his jacket. Second, baby Russell is much more mellow than Taylor was at his age. Russell was delighted to have cake, yes, but didn't have the urge to show outward approval like his brother had. Look at how clean he was in comparison! Although it was less entertaining to watch this time, it was nice that I didn't have to overhaul clean a baby and a swimming pool when at the conclusion of cake eating. Nice job, Russell!

So now my babies are 3 and 1. What happened to me having a 2 year-old and an infant?? They are growing up so quickly. Here are their birthday growth stats:

Russell- 1 Year

Height: 29 1/4 inches (35th percentile)

Weight: 20 lbs. 14 oz. (20th percentile)

Head Circumference: 47 cm (70th percentile)

Taylor- 3 Years

Height: 37 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 29 lbs. 2 oz. (25th percentile)

Head Circumference: 52 cm (95th percentile)

And now my hubby, like me, has turned the dreaded 27. :) (Although he doesn't loathe the sound of that number like I do).

I love him tons! He was such a champ to share his birthday for the second year in a row (last year I was in the hospital with new little Russell and he didn't receive the attention he deserved on his birthday). I also don't know many adult men who'd ask for pirate themed birthday parties--Andrew included--this year's party was definitely planned with the kids in-mind. Andrew has always been a selflesss and thoughtful, fun father. Even on his birthday.

We were sure to recognize him appropriately the following night over dinner at Mellow Mushroom, at my sweet mom's invitation.

So here I honor the three men in my life. They make mine three times more busy, three times less predictable, three times more exciting, give me three times more laughter, and three times the blessings. Aren't I the lucky one??

Easter in Utah

It's June, but let me tell you a little about what happened in April...

Easter.

In April, Russell, Taylor and I flew to Utah for a week to celebrate this, one of my favorite holidays, with my family.

This was the first time that I had flown alone with two small children. It was an adventure to be sure--made possible with help from a double umbrella stroller, my husband and dad who checked my luggage and helped handle the kids up to security check, an infant carseat and entire row to myself while onboard the airplanes (so fabulous!), an iPad loaded with Disney flicks, lots of kiddie snacks, and several good samaritans in Salt Lake and at DIA who offered to lend a hand. And we all made it there and back without a scratch! Whew.

Having the chance to visit individually with each of my family members while there--Dad, Mom, Larz, Devin--was special treat I received during this visit. They all have such great insights and positive outlooks on life that leave me wishing that I were more like them.

Of course, I missed my missionary brother, Kyle who's serving in Sao Paulo, Brazil for another year, and Andrew, who stayed in Denver for work (but was great at keeping tabs with us via Face Time on my iPad). It will be great when we can all be together again.

Mom planned the fun holiday events--egg dying for Taylor with my Uncle Mitch and Aunt Megan's kids, an egg hunt in my parents' yard on Easter morning, Easter baskets filled with holiday goodies for my family and my brothers, and special meals with family. Since getting married and having Easters on our own for the most part, I'd forgotten a little how much I missed those things.

An awesome bonus while we were there was that BYU's graduation fell on Easter weekend this year, and Andrew's little sister Christy was graduating! I was able to celebrate with she and my mother and father in-law over dinner at Mimi's Cafe and later at her convocation on campus. She looked so beautiful and so happy. It was also so strange and exciting to see my Alabama family and my Utah family all on the same trip! Utah sure brings people together, doesn't it? Love it.

My favorite part of this Easter vacation was on the Saturday morning before Easter, when my parents, my brother Larry, and I went to the Provo Temple together and performed sealings for some of our Danish and Scottish ancestors.

Larz, who is quickly becoming our family genealogist, had found our ancestors' names on his own and prepared them to take to the temple. Until he had done this, I had thought that we were at a bit of a dead-end with our family's history and honestly never imagined that I would have the priveledge of serving my ancestors by doing their temple work. I was so happy to be wrong! I was also deeply honored to help Larry with the work, as I prepared some of the sisters' names for the sealing room by working in the Denver Temple a little the week before I went to Utah.

Going to the temple, for my ancestors, with my parents and younger brother there with me, was sweet and tender time. Thank you Larry, for making that possible.

May and June were filled with family visits too! I have been so blessed this year. Stay tuned...

Five Years

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind.

Since my last post, I've attempted potty training (so NOT recommended!), taken a graduate course (working to maintain my teaching certification), made an offer on a house, began working on a BYU Independent Study course, along with my usual wife/mother/homemaking/church calling responsibilities. I can now feel it slowing down a little; I'm completely content to leave Taylor in diapers for a while, I have only 3 credits of certification renewal left to go, and the house deal fell through, so no stress there. I can breathe again.

During that time of hustle and bustle, I celebrated my FIFTH wedding anniversary to the world's sweetest, hottest, funniest, most dedicated, clever, thoughtful man ever. (Feeling jealous?) Sometimes it's hard to believe that I'm a not the bride anymore--that five years have really passed since our perfect wedding day:

March 25, 2006

I am still SO in-love with this man! He is perfect for me and makes marriage such a happy, fulfilling experience. I thank my Father in Heaven every day for giving me my sweetheart Andrew...

...and these two sweet little boys who call me "Mommy." My blessings are great and my heart is so full!

Monday again!

Before moving on from "The Creation" lesson and teaching Taylor about Adam and Eve, I wanted him to have a better understanding of how Jesus was chosen to be our savior and exactly what that means for him. When I teach him about Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden in lessons to come, I think it will help a lot to remind Taylor that they were able to repent and still live with Heavenly Father, because Jesus Christ would redeem them. So it almost goes without saying--our lesson last week was entitled, "Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Savior." Here's the PDF:

Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Savior FHE

Going Green

Having a 2 year-old sure makes celebrating holidays more fun...the kid in me and the elementary teacher in me both come out in a big way when given the chance!

We celebrated St. Patty's this year with GREEN breakfast.

Yes, that's GREEN french toast.

And no, that's not Kool-Aid, that's GREEN apple juice, coming through a GREEN striped straw.

And my GREEN little boys enjoyed it all to the fullest. I loved doing that for them. :)

We also chose to continue a tradition that began back in Spring 2008, when I was teaching 2nd grade in Rexburg:

Setting leprechaun traps. In Rexburg, my smart students used all of their growing brains to create the most elaborate, sure-to-catch-a-leprechaun traps I've ever seen.

"Food Inside." I love it.

Despite their efforts, the clever little St. Patrick's Day leprechauns could not be outsmarted that year. They did leave their marks, though...we saw green footprints leading from my students' traps toward the classroom window (where the leprechauns must've made their escape), a note from the leprechauns written in green on the chalkboard, and little bits of leprechaun gold on every student's desk.

Even though the leprechauns weren't caught that day, my second graders LOVED that they tried.

This year, Andrew spent quality "Daddy/Taylor" time in "The Boys' Room" (aka, Andrew's workbench in the garage) to help Taylor make his own leprechaun trap.

What may look like an old diaper box to you, is actually a very sophisticated trap for leprechauns, complete with packaging tape window on the reverse side. In Taylor's words, it's made to "look like a tunnel." (Tunnels are pretty cool these days). He figured that the sure-fire way to catch a leprechaun would be to create a cool tunnel--cool enough that a passing leprechaun would get so excited just at the sight of it that he wouldn't be able to resist to playing in there. He'd then run into the tunnel and never see what was coming to him!

Clever idea. But, again, even my bright little boy could not outsmart those little leprechauns! Taylor unfortunately did not catch one, but he was happy that he did discover two small pots of gold outside his trap the next morning--one left for him, and one for his little brother, Russell, we guessed.

Since then, it has been mandatory that a little pot of gold go with us every time we leave the house. :)

I love being a mom.

The Creation

For FHE this week, I continued on to what seemed like the next appropriate subject after learning about the Plan of Salvation--to The Creation, as recorded in Genesis chapter 1 and Moses chapter 2.

It went a little like this:

We used our well-loved magnetic whiteboard and color images of the creation from "The Friend" magazine to talk with Taylor and give him a visual of the concept.

Then, we reviewed as one-by-one, Andrew and I gave Taylor LARGE print-outs of numbers to color and glue/tape various props to illustrate what Christ created on each day of The Creation:

Day one: Taylor colored half of the number "1" he was given black, to illustrate that on that day, Christ made darkness and light.

Day two: Taylor colored blue scibbles for water, and taped cotton balls to represent heaven. This illustrated that Christ separated Heaven and firmament.

Day three: Plants were created. We taped various dead plants to the number "3."

Day four: Sun, moon, and stars were created. We drew pictures of them on the number "4."

Day five: Birds and fish. We drew pictures of birds, and taped Goldfish crackers to the number "5." Taping perfectly good food to a piece of paper was almost more temptation than Taylor could stand! Should I be suprised that they didn't last through the next morning before mysteriously disappearing?!

Day six: Remaining animals, and man/woman. We drew stick figures of a man and a woman, and taped favorite animal pictures to the number "6."

Day seven: With help from his dad, Taylor drew pictures of some things that he does on Sundays: read his "Book O' Mornin'," go to church, take a nap.

We then displayed the newly created visuals on the whiteboard in Taylor's room as a reminder of what we learned for the remainder of the week.

This lesson was educational not just for my little guy, but for me too--I think I've contemplated more about the creation in this week alone than I have in many years combined. Having a visual to refer to all week long definitely got those rusty wheels in my brain a-turning more...and made a Wednesday trip to the temple with Andrew more meaningful too.

I had such a positive response after posting last week's lesson that I decided to create a downloadable file of this week's FHE again for you all:

The Creation FHE Lesson

If you're liking this, please let me know and I'll do my best to keep delivering the goods. :)

FHE

One of my resolutions for 2011 has been to be more consistent in my FHE planning and to make Family Home Evening more meaningful for my family.

In the process I've found myself going back to my teaching roots and creating formal lesson plans-- themed on a scripture story or gospel topic each week. It's a little work right now, but I've been enjoying it. And it'll sure be great next year when I can just go to my established "FHE files" and quickly reuse those same lessons. Easy as pie!

If you're interested, a PDF copy of my lesson can be downloaded here:

Plan of Salvation FHE Lesson

This Monday I invited my grandparents over to join us for dinner and FHE. This week's lesson: The Plan of Salvation. I knew that Taylor was completely unfamiliar with this especially important topic, so I wanted to make his first experience extra special.

After explaining an illustration of the Plan on a magnetic whiteboard to Taylor, we took a "room to room" walking experience of the Plan of Salvation--first going to a space in our home that represented the premortal existence, then on to a room that represented life on earth, and so on. He totally dug it. Although the Plan of Salvation is relatively complex, I think my little guy took it in-stride and seemed to understand--as well as a 2 1/2 year-old can, anyway.

Beginnings of Plan of Salvation diagram

Beginning our room-to-room journey, with premortal life.

Pictures of Heavenly Father, Christ, and family are on the walls to show who was there.

Moving to the next room: Earth life.

Next: the spirit world.

Judgement and resurrection. On the door that leads to three heavenly kingdoms.

Telestial Kingdom.

A few of Taylor's favorite books were there. He really wanted to read them, until he saw...

The Terrestrial Kingdom.

Better books were there, and a few toys (i.e. a "grown-ups only" board game) that he's rarely allowed to play with.

And behind door number three...

The Celestial Kingdom!

Complete with favorite stuffed dog, Max, Blankie (usually only allowed to be held at bed time), favorite fire fighter boots, fav books, and other toys. Pictures representing Christ, Heavenly Father, and family were there again and to top it off--a plate of fresh cookies.

Here's Taylor, after playing in the "Celestial Kingdom" until well after the lesson was over. I love the boots, the loveys, and the chocolate smears all over his face.

For the rest of the evening clear until when Andrew and I tucked him in bed for the night, Taylor asked if he "could PLEEEASE go to Celestial Kingdom" again. Ha ha.

I think he got the point. :)

Angels

I am a woman. I'm sure any married man could confidently attest that my gender in general is a much more moody and emotional one than they. I know, we're hard to deal with, and I am no exception--I've had to cope with this pain-in-the-rear hormone thing since puberty!

(27 doesn't seem so terrible after looking at this! Yes that's me, back in yester-year...in all my metal-mouthed glory. )

But somehow since having my baby last May (or really, since getting pregnant for that matter!), I feel like it's been an especially wild rollercoaster. And since December, as I've wrestled to tame my new weeping/fuming/flustered inner beast on steriods, I've wondered why on earth each day seems like such a massive trial and what, for heaven's sake, is wrong with me!

Well, I've recognized for a while that I've needed to address this, but I should've been humble enough to actually ask for help too. I didn't. I guess I figure that I'll get over the hard times on my own, or if I just ignore them, eventually they'll disappear. Thankfully over the past several weeks, a loving Heavenly Father who knows better than I sent angels to help me heal.

Russell, who's gone through this with me from the beginning, was my first angel.

As I mentioned a few days ago, mid-February he decided to stop nursing (much to my dismay). At first I felt this was a small tragedy, but now I can clearly see the benefits that came from his choice. I feel like I can do SO much more than I've been able to do since he was born! Some blessings come in interesting ways.

Aubree was next.

Typical me--I procrastinated my visiting teaching responsibilities for February until the last minute. I called my companion, Aubree, on the phone on the last Sunday of the month. "Let's quickly deliver a treat and some written thoughts to each of the girls," I suggested. She agreed.

At 7:00 that night, we left together to deliver our goodies, imagining that our visits would take a total of 30-45 minutes. They really took three hours.

As we visited with three different women that evening, I felt so grateful for those three unexpected hours. It was such a big boost just to visit those gals. When I drove Aubree back to her home that night, I was surprized again as she talked with me in my car for a while to ask how I was doing (it was 10:30 by then!). From day one in my new ward, she has always been the gal who has reached out and been interested in my well-being. It has made all the difference to me over-and-over again. And I may have needed my sweet friend on that night most of all.

A few days later came Brooke.

Life got busy and she and I hadn't contacted each other in over six months. Two weeks ago, she surprized me with a phone call and asked if she could come visit and share a belated birthday treat with me. When she arrived, I told her what a fun surprize her visit was and she responded, "I had to come over. I just kept thinking about you!" At first our conversation was casual, but it deepened over time and soon we discovered that she had recently overcome trials similar to what I'm going through. It felt so good to talk to someone whom I felt understood and who could give me some suggestions on how to get feeling better.

In the past two weeks alone, a small army of friends and family checked up on me more than in the usual way: Eric and Alison. MariLouise. Grandma. The Andersons. Bonnie. Larz. Mom.

After these amazing weeks, some things are the same. I can tell that my body is still healing. I'm sure that will take time, patience and discipline and probably a chat or two with a doctor.

A lot is different though! I now have a will to keep-a-chugging along that is super-fueled! I feel purpose and love and am humbled beyond words at how much I've been given. Life can be so bitter-sweet.

My Little Ruh-russ

I feel like I just wrote about my baby turning six months old. Somehow, three more months flew by and I now have a NINE month-old!

New stats as of February 23rd, 2011:

Height: 27 3/4 in. (30th percentile)

Weight: 19 lbs. 11 oz. (35th percentile)

Head Cir.: 46 cm (70th percentile)

So, to my surprise, my little Norris baby is now slightly under height and weight (I'm sure it all balances out with that big noggin' of his)!

Russell is still a super cheerful little people-lover who would rather just hang with the gang and see what's going on than keep-up with the Joneses. He's only been sitting up on his own for a month, and he loathes being on his tummy (imagine how he's taken to the idea of scooting or crawling). His love of being on his back and also being upside-down has helped him to invent a creative way of moving a little:

Step 1: Arching his back so that only his head and his toes are touching the ground.

Step 2: Looking ahead with his little upside-down eyes to his destination of choice.

Step 3: Pushing with his feet with all his might to move toward the goal.

He's so funny, and so different from his brother! I wonder if he'll be one of those babies who progresses in mobility from sitting, to standing, and finally walking--skipping the crawling thing altogether. It's a hoot to watch him grow.

At his nine month check-up with his pediatrician, the doc encouraged me to feed him meat every day, so I've concocted some new baby food inventions (I make my own), like shredded chicken/puréed sweet potatoes and shredded chicken/puréed carrots--which he inhales every time. He is also a big fan of saltines and graham crackers now.

I'm also enjoying watching Russell learn to express the super intense feelings he has for life's experiences. When presented with something exciting or dissapointing, he displays what he thinks in a huge way--by moving his arms and legs around like a crazy maniac! This reaction comes all the time. i.e.: when he's about to be fed, when he's being strapped into his carseat, when a visitor walks into the room, when I leave the room, or when when his big brother plays with him.

But I get the biggest kick out of this when he wakes up after nap time (which currently takes place on our bathroom floor--don't tell!). I'm usually downstairs and can hear that he's awake, not from the sound of his cries, but from his funny kicking that sounds like hammering on the floor above.

I'm going to miss that when he becomes fully moblie.Russell loves to dance, like his brother. When peppy music gets going, so does he.

If he could, I think he would spend much of his day hanging upside-down. (Maybe the world looks better to him that way ?!)

He laughes hard when he's tickled and tossed into the air, and he can't resist grinning when someone sends smiles in his direction.

He is one of my greatest sources of joy and I just love him to pieces. Oh, I am so blessed to have this sweet little boy, who is growing at light speed!