Noah J turns 11!

We finally got to a have a belated birthday dinner to celebrate our Noah J turning 11!  We were on vacation for his actual birthday and he was so, so sad to miss our normal celebration routine.  So now that things settled down and we were available we finally got to have some fun!

Of course the morning started with name pancakes and his favorite Orange Julius.  Even Owen ate a pancake which is not his fave.  He was super excited about all the decorations!

And then we had everybody over to eat dinner and open gifts.  You know I let them choose the birthday dinner without any interference.  So this year his choice was buttered macaroni noodles with cut up sausage in it!!  Yup.  His idea of gourmet!!  Homemade cornmeal crescent rolls, fresh fruit with dip and some Mist Twist topped it off and he was one happy boy!

Of course he had already gotten his gifts from us and from my parents on the trip so he only had a little bit but he was still thrilled.  He was super tickled with the stash of Star Wars themed origami Joseph made for him!  And then the big daddy of a new PS4 remote topped it off!  I think you can tell how darn tickled Owen was with that remote!  We had quite a time keeping him away from it cause he did not want to give it up after he got his hands on it!

We rounded out the night with some gaming, balloons, and of course some Star Wars masks.  Grandma makes the best wookie!!

Oh, and chocolate cake! He insisted he did not get an awful store bought cake, but a scratch made double decker chocolate cake.  So that is what he got! 11 years in and I know how to make this boy happy!

I adore him so much!  I constantly want to run my hands through his shiny hair and smoosh his little freckled face.  I'm so thankful he is mine to love!  I never dreamed that such a difficult little toddler would grow into such an understanding and precious young man.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this boy!

Signor sleepy head!

So I really pride myself on making sure my kids get enough sleep.  I never have babies that just conk out in the middle of doing something.  Until baby #4 evidently!  Poor kid gets dragged around all over the place and never gets a good nap in.  He was snuggled up with Noah J eating his snack and just couldn't keep his eyes open.  His head kept bobbing back and forth till he just finally gave it up.

Cutest baby ever!

Big and Tiny!

Noah is absolutely head over heels for his littlest brother!  He adores spending time with him on the floor when he's awake.  He lays there and has tons of conversations with him and Owen just soaks it up!  Noah J has been such a tremendous help to me these last few weeks - fetching stuff, helping with the other kids, doing housework, and keeping this little guy calm when I can't tend to him right away.  So, so thankful for both my precious boys!

Math boys!

"Mom, come take a picture of how cute we are!!"  How can I say no to that?  Of course they are cute!  Evidently Wyatt thought it was photo worthy so here they are making an appearance on the blog now!  In our prep for Owen we moved a ton of furniture around and created a little game/puzzle nook behind the couch.  Today the boys decided to do math here together.  They were pretty tickled with it and then had the brilliant idea to share a blanket.  Cause you know, when it is pushing 100 degrees you really need a blanket. :) Although this baby is making me so hot I've got the air cranked pretty low!

I made them take another pic looking like they were actually doing work.  I love how Wyatt put his hand on his head like he was super duper concentrating.  These guys crack me up!  They were actually pretty cute helping each other on their stuff.  Trying to get as much school accomplished as we can in these last weeks before Owen joins us!

My secret obsession!

So I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with me.  I don't know why I do this.  I don't know why it makes me happier than almost anything.  But it does!  It is very rare for a kid to get to sleep in our bed.  If you are sick and Josh is at work then it is allowed.  OR if you catch me in a super sleepy state in the middle of the night when Josh is at work I might tell you to climb on in.  BUT there is a catch.  They have to let me photograph them!!  You can see that I started with just Wyatt cause I knew he wouldn't freak out about the flash, but I've gotten braver about angering the others!  Ha!  Feast your eyes on these little nuggets of hilarity from the past year!

My birthday boy!

I know I say this every year but I just cannot believe this big old kid is my first little baby! He is growing up so quickly it is really hard to comprehend.  And of course now that he is 9 he keeps reminding me he is "halfway to adult!!"  Ack!  It is really just beyond belief that half my time with him as my own is already gone.  OK, before I get super sappy and cry I just wanted to share his shiny little face on his birthday at the library.  I love that he begged to get to go to the library for his birthday.  This boy LOVES books! 

The rest of the gang was there too.  This is how Wyatt likes to behave at the library.

And this is how Miss Priss likes to sit and wait on her bubbas.  Isn't she hysterical with her legs and arms crossed so casually?  She is just so over the top girly all the time.  Love it!