Change is in the Air

With all the leaves changing colors, the weather cooling off, and our upcoming change at home with a baby girl, I thought I'd add just one more change to our lives by changing the length of my hair. Right before moving to Albuquerque I cut my hair and donated it to locks of love. That was a bold step for me since I've had long hair almost my entire life. Four and a half years later my hair has grown back...and then some (this is the longest it has ever been). I was going to just trim 3-5 inches off, but couldn't bear the thought of wasting those inches so I got brave and cut the 10 inches required to donate it to locks of love again. Dave, my wonderful husband, was actually the one who cut it. I felt a little sick inside all of yesterday, wondering if I had made a mistake in cutting off so much (it ended up being about 13 inches), but I know it's just hair and it will grow back eventually. I just hope that those 13 inches will make someone else's life a little more enjoyable.

Before...

Almost 13 inches later...

the end result...

The International Space Station

At school Hyrum has been learning all about space. Part of his learning process has involved doing his own research, project and presentation. Hyrum picked to learn about the international space station. After doing all his research Hyrum decided he wanted to make a model of the ISS to use for his project presentation. It's been fun (and time consuming) to work on this project with him. I tried to let him come up with the ideas and do most of the construction by himself. The morning of his presentation I had him practice on camera. Enjoy the video...you might even learn something you never knew before (I sure did).

Balloon Fiesta

Balloon Fiesta was spectacular this year....what more need I say!

Here's the reason Dave goes to balloon fiesta (he's been talking about these doughnuts all year)

In honor of Uncle Jordan who came to visit for a week

We almost got a good family photo

Boy or Girl?

Can you guess what we're having....watch this little video and you'll soon find out.

Waving "hello"

Profile

4D technology

Yep, it's true, we are having a BABY GIRL! As you can tell from the video the boys aren't too excited at the news of a baby sister. I was hoping that the candy would help distract them and keep them happy, but they had their minds already set on a boy. At the end of the video Hyrum even says, "I hate girls." Yikes! I think we've got our work cut out for us. A few nights ago before bed we were talking to the boys about whether our baby was a boy or girl and here's what they said:

Hyrum- "If it's a girl I'm going to smack myself in the face."

William- "It's a boy because we only have boy toys."

Thomas- "Babee"

I guess since boys is all they're used to (besides all the friends and cousins they have which are girls) it's going to take a little bit to convince them that a sister will be just as fun.

As for Dave and I, we're just tickled to be having a girl. I absolutely love my boys and would have loved a 4th, yet I have to admit that I've been giddy and smiling all day just thinking about our precious little one. I suppose a whole new world of adventures lies ahead for us, but for now I'm just going to soak in all the joy of the moment!

Trip to Taos

On Labor Day we spent the day in Taos, enjoying the sights. We've lived in New Mexico for 4 years now and haven't ventured out of Albuquerque much. It was fun to see a new place. As part of our trip we drove up to Taos Ski Valley and for a brief moment I felt like we were back home in Utah amongst the aspens. It was beautiful and the air was so crisp and fresh....oh I wish we lived closer to the mountains! At the end of the day we were tired and the boys were sick of riding in the car; however, I found myself so full of happiness. It is always rewarding to spend quality time together as a family. There truly is no greater joy that I find than watching my children delight in the simple things of life (like the pictures below of them riding on a mechanical horse).

Kindergarten

Today was the BIG day...my boy went off to kindergarten. I'm still having a hard time believing that I have a child old enough to go to school. Luckily the transition went really well because Hyrum was soooo excited to go to school. He woke up this morning bright eyed and grinning as big as his little grin could stretch. As we drove to his school (which is a charter school 20 minutes away) he kept asking if I'd just drop him off so he could play on the playground before school started. Since it was only his first day I insisted that I walk him in to his classroom. The thought of him all alone on the playground, not knowing what to do or where to go almost made me cry (...but I didn't). Once in his classroom he got his backpack and lunch bag put away and then sat down at his table and worked on the project his teacher had for the students to do. He wrote his name on a piece of paper and then drew a picture of something he likes to do. Hyrum drew a picture of a house and told me it was because he likes to build. At that point I could see that Hyrum was comfortable so I left. It was a little bit harder than I had anticipated, but knowing that Hyrum wasn't worried made it a lot easier. It was weird leaving, knowing that he would be gone all day in someone else's care. As we walked to the van Thomas kept saying, "Hy? Hy? Hy?" He missed his brother already. When it was time to pick Hyrum up we walked to the playground and found him sitting on the ground by his teacher. I was so happy to see him sitting there. When he heard me call his name he turned around immediately and gave me a huge smile. He took my hand and held it the whole walk back to the van. I asked him how he liked his first day of school, to which he replied, "I LOVED IT." He then told me all about the things he did and the people in his class. He even thanked me for the surprise juice I put in his lunch to let him know how much I loved him. What a relief is was to know that he had enjoyed school and that it was a positive experience for him. I am excited for the growth he will experience as he begins this new learning adventure.

Meeting Ms. Kelsey

Notice the CTR ring on his finger...he's excited to be a little missionary at school

Sitting at his table all ready to start the first day of kindergarten

Happy Birthday Thomas

Out little Tommy turned 2 years old today. It's amazing how much he's grown up in just the last few months. He is truly a delight to have in our home. He is so full of love, always quick to forgive his brothers. His eyes are constantly lit up as he finds joy in such simple things. He loves to snuggle and give kisses. He brightens our home and fills us with great happiness.


Here are some things about him at this stage.


Thomas....

• says "Oh....yea!" in response to almost everything



• is becoming very independent- walking down stairs by himself, getting out his own diapers, unwrapping his own candy and insisting on walking everywhere rather than being held



• has learned to count to three, but he gets confused since he hears his brother's "counting down" quite often. When I prompt him by saying, "one," he follows with, "too, tee, too" (two, three, two).



• has found that his finger fits quite nicely in his nose (unfortunately he learned this from his brothers and loves the reaction he gets from them)



• chases his brothers around, wrestling and playing with them



• loves to play baseball by pretending to hit the ball, then yelling, "home run," as he runs around the living room



• sings along with me at night as I sing him "I Love to see the Temple"



• can put shapes in the shape box all my himself



• loves cars, trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, helicopters, garbage trucks and basically anything else that makes a loud noise as it moves



• has a sweet tooth just like his daddy



• is fascinated with babies, calling out "beebee" whenever he sees anyone younger than him



• finally goes to nursery without crying
  

Here are some pictures of the birthday festivities, as well as the video of his second year.

We love you Thomas. Happy Birthday!