whatever happened to that baby . . .

some of you may be wondering what ever happened to that cute baby we had about six months ago??? this blog has been sadly lacking in updated pictures, cute tid-bits, etc. of said baby for which i apologize, especially to long-distance grandmas. so i offer up the following pics & tid-bits, which in no way correspond to each other. grandma lounsbury & grandma doris, these are for you. and for anyone else who would like to comment on what a cute, sweet baby we have :)

tidbit #1: weighs 17 pounds & is 26 1/4 inches

tidbit #2: is the king of slobber/spit up.
i'm sorry enoch, but it's true

tidbit #3: can sit in his high chair & pick up cheerios.
from the amount of slobbery, gummed up cheerios that i pick up
off his bib & high chair, i'm pretty sure
he's never actually digested one!

tidbit #4: LOVES to watch caleb, isaac & noah jump up and down.
laughs his little head off. thinks they're hysterical

tidbit #5: also LOVES to watch zack dance.
also thinks this is hysterical.

tidbit #6: not sleeping through the night yet, but that's ok :)

tidbit #7: rolls over, enjoys playing with toys on his blanket, and
will soon be sitting up without help

tidbit #8: like every other baby i've ever known,
LOVES to be outside.
we go walking about three times a week
and he sits perfectly contently in the baby bjorn
while i push noah in the jogging stroller. he doesn't make a peep!

tidbit #9: he recently started making his first consonant sound.
"da da da da da" (of course)

tidbit #10: the upside to #9 is that he can answer
perfectly clearly when i ask,
"who do you want to change that stinky diaper?" hahaha

he's 3

noah turned 3.

we seem to have two very different perspectives on the big event.

me: "I can't believe my little baby's growing up so fast" (sniff sniff)
noah: "this CAN NOT happen fast enough!!!" now I confess he's never actually said those words, but he is quite determined to be a grown up. I guess that's what happens when you have 5 older siblings. I offer up the following evidence:

1. top on his birthday list was a wallet, keys, and a "purse." (we went with a backpack instead)

2. he carries around & has frequent conversations on his "cell phone" (old calculator)

3. for fun, he "practices the piano" and "does homework"

4. this morning he made his own sandwich (peanut butter and . . . yogurt) to carry in backpack

5. frequently announces--with keys and cell phone in hand, of course--that he's leaving for work ("ok honey, have a good day at work!")

6. and finally, he recently came to me, took my hand pulling me toward the back door, and said "you gotta show me how to work your car." he was TOTALLY SERIOUS.

of course, there are other times when he bonks his head or stubs his toe and with tears streaming down his face insists that I kiss it "right there." and then I know he's still my little baby for a little longer.

AWESOME 3000

so the awesome 3000 was last saturday and it was . . . well, AWESOME! this is the 26th year of the event which has become one of the largest, timed, children-only races in the nation. it started off in 1983 with 350 runners and has grown to around 3000 participants! caleb & isaac donned their official shirts & fastest running shoes and they were off. caleb finished 4th in the 3rd grade boys & isaac finished 2nd for 1st grade boys! WOW! and to top it all off we had beautiful weather. not bad.

the little speedsters

with their biggest fans

"i'll hold those for you . . ."

of course, we had to walk up to the bush park playground

all in all, it was a great day & we were especially glad grandma "papwuff" (as noah lovingly calls her) could join us. we love having her around!

my baby's growing up

well, my baby girl turned 14 this month. what fun :) she is still the fun, creative, curious, happy, independent, and sometimes feisty little girl she's always been except, well, not so little anymore and a little more into boys and shopping than she used to be! I thought I'd let her tell us herself what she's into these days:

favorite food: Chinese sweet & sour chicken
favorite dessert: brownie sundae
favorite thing to do: "probably shopping" (this was said with slight one-eyed eyebrow raise and voice inflection = duh)
favorite song: break your bones by kill paradise
dream vacation: cruise to Europe w/ cute guys w/ English accents
favorite hymn: sunshine in my soul
favorite scripture: D&C 18:10 "remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God"
favorite tv show: mentalist or heroes
favorite thing about our family: "the fact that I always have someone to chill out with"
what I want to be someday: mother (of course) and designer of some sort

if ya gotta go . . .

imagine emma's surprise when she returned from soccer practice to find . . . a dozen roses in her toilet???

teagan's unusual prom invite gave us a good laugh!

emma has such wonderful friends & their group had a ton of fun celebrating prom!

teagan & emma

the big kids' beach trip

I just love watching my kids enjoy each other . . . especially knowing there's so little time they have together before Zack is off to school. This warm, spring day they loaded up their blankets, makings for s'mores, and a little ben & jerry's for the road, and took off for Lincoln City.

madeline, paige, & emma

hip hip hooray

for the Oregon coast

he's alright

happy 18th birthday zack!

it's hard to believe we've had this guy around for 18 years! and we still can't get enough of him. we've laughed at his childhood antics/ mishaps like the time we caught him skinny-dipping in the pond with emma, or the time he gave himself a pretty good shock trying to disassemble a blow dryer. (yea, gotta unplug it first.) we've seen him through his first day of kindergarten all the way through early graduation this january. (and acceptance to byu. yeah!) we loved the enthusiasm of our 8-year-old cub scout (he offered to sew on his own patches when mom just wasn't doing it fast enough) and now bask in the relief that his journey to eagle is finally over! and we've definitely enjoyed watching him play a little basketball, a little t-ball, a little flag football, and a WHOLE LOT OF SOCCER.

we couldn't ask for a better first-born. zack's been very patient with his first-time parents because we've certainly made our share of mistakes. he is truly a peacemaker in our home. don't get me wrong. he's not perfect. we've had to shake our heads during the 14 - 15-year-old bad hair years (very long & very bushy); at his very strong aversion to stake dances; and his not-so-discreet attempts to text during dinner, family night, and even sacrament meeting (YIKES). but all in all . . .

we think he's alright

make me laugh

the other day I was feeding the baby when Noah started entertaining himself by decorating my toes with q-tips. when he was finished he proudly sang "happy birthday to you." I guess in that alter universe that is Noah's imagination, candles look a lot like q-tips. which would make my feet . . . cake?

guess who's driving?

happy day! Emma got her driver's license! Afterwards her tester came up to me and said, "I usually don't talk to the parents, but your daughter just did an excellent job! She was so observant at every intersection." of course, I still need a text every time she arrives somewhere safely, but when I'm anxiously waiting, I can remember those kind words and I feel a little better :)

7 things I love about Isaac

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY ISAAC!

In honor of Isaac's 7th birthday, I'd like to share 7 things I love about Isaac:

1. He is resourceful. One thing you'll probably never hear come out of his mouth is "I can't do that." He is a can-do man. From making strawberry smoothies to learning to ride his bike, he will figure it out himself, thank you very much!

2. He is smart. He has turned into quite the reader, speller, and mathematician. Mrs. Benton, his first grade teacher says, "If only I could have a whole classroom of little Isaac's . . ."

3. He is best buddies with Caleb. When I asked Caleb what his favorite thing about being in 3rd grade he said, "Now I can play soccer with Isaac at recess." And Isaac sure feels the same. More often than not when I look in on them at night, they're sharing one twin bed because they've been reading together or just don't want to be apart. It makes my heart melt.

4. He is full of faith. Isaac says the sweetest prayers, and frequently remembers those who are sick or need special blessings. When we're looking for keys, or a backpack, or whatever is lost that day, he is often the first to say, "we should have a prayer." He well remembers the time he and his buddy Colby got lost after going through the fence to the neighbor's property. After some time, Isaac knelt down and said a prayer and soon after got a glimpse of the soccer field and found his way home. He knows Heavenly Father answers our prayers!

5. He is funny. He loves to make people laugh with his funny faces, smart remarks, & first-grade antics. And we do laugh . . . and sometimes roll our eyes :)

6. He is a lover of the outdoors. Whether he is snow camping with Dad, climbing rocks in the backyard, fishing, kicking a soccer ball, playing by the pond, or even working in the garden, the kid loves being outside. And I love seeing him out there!

7. He is ours forever! We love you, Isaac. Our family wouldn't be complete without you!

not your mama's dance team

Last weekend I got to see Madeline perform with her dance team for the first time. I was so proud I could hardly stand it! Boy, did it bring back memories. The energy, excitement, and screaming girls were all the same. But the look, as you can see here, was all new:








Like I said, not your mama's dance team. And as further evidence I offer up these gems:

AWESOME

christmas 2008

Top 10 Christmas memories of 2008:

#10 SNOW!!!

a beautiful white Christmas

#9 Dan as Bob Cratchit

not to mention Grandma P as narrator

#8 Cutting our Christmas tree in the pitch black and pouring rain. Picture flashlights, chainsaw, and very muddy boots in my clean suburban. And hurry, because the ward party starts in 1 hour. Now there's a little Christmas chaos for you!

this isn't actually ours. it is shauna/wayne/grandma's. ours was very unlit sitting in a very dark, cold, empty house. see #6.

#7 Decorating Christmas cookies

this one, in particular, was done eyes closed by Patti & Madeline. lovely girls.

#6 SURPRISE! No electricity. (for 4 days, but who was counting?) (no picture available)


#5 Christmas caroling to the neighbors through the previously mentioned SNOW!!!



#4 Loading all the little boys onto Dad & Mom's bed for the classic Christmas TV specials. Nothing says Christmas like Rudolph + popcorn.

(prior to the electricity going out, of course)

#3 Christmas jammies


#2 isaac's night vision goggles, noah's guitar, & what came to be known as Caleb's "Heidi hat." enough said.




#1 most memorable thing about Christmas 2008: 18 grandkids, 13 siblings/spouses, and one awesome grandma at a Papworth reunion. We love you guys!

here's just a sampling of our gang. the official family picture is to follow at a later date.