Uppidy Date

Adam: Has a new calling as of this past August as Elder's Quorum Secretary. He was a Sunday School teacher for 16/17 years olds.  Ever since he got released from his 6 year stint in the YM's they have really been moving him around.
He has been working from for the past couple of months.  t is nice to have him home and catch glimpses of him throughout the day.  I even get to leave the kids at home when I do school pickups.  Its been nice.

Erin: Just recovering from pushing a watermelon out...well, you know.  Getting used to having 4 kiddies but really loving it and enjoying it.

Kyle: Has become a book worm.  He is reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid and reads it in bed, walking around the house, in the car...everywhere!  He is also loving Calvin and Hobbs.  Adam has a bunch from when he was a kid and gave them to Kyle, much to his delight.
We went to SEP's last week where we got a glowing report from his teacher.  He is doing very well and his teacher wants to test him for the gifted program for next year. That's my boy!

Noah: He also got a glowing report from his teacher at SEP's.  He is a good boy that likes to take his time... When his teacher told us that we just nodded and Mmmmhmmmm'ed. That's our Noah.
We are discovering that Noah is our musical boy.  He loves music in the car and is constantly asking us to "turn it UP!" We love hearing his voice from the very back seat.  Some of his favorites right now are "Dynomite" by Taio Cruz, "Some Nights" by Fun, "Kung Fu Fighting" from Kung Fu Panda, "Animal" by Neon Trees, just to name a few.

Megan: Has become quite the girly girl.  She wants to wear a dress EVERY day and the more sparkly and poofy the better.  She loves dolls but she is also happy playing Legos with the boys.

Ella: What a sweet baby.  She is smiling more and more every day.  She is also sleeping fairly well. I think she's my best so far.  She has been sleeping from about 10:30 or 11 to 4ish for the past three nights. And last night she slept from 11:00pm-7:00am. Wooooooo! I won't hold my breath but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.  She is also happy to sleep with out her car-seat unlike my other kids.

Tommy: Has enjoyed going on runs with Master Adam but during the run likes to put on the breaks to keep things exciting.

Uppidy Date

...Despite the yucky weather, Mother's Day was lovely this year. I got my favorite breakfast in bed {bacon, egg and cheese sandwich}, new porch furniture from the hubby {still waiting for some nice weather to enjoy it}, Noah and Kyle sang to me in sacrament meeting {my favorite}, and felt how truly blessed I am. {Oh and Adam did the pots and pans. WOW!!}

...I ran in the "Race For the Cure" 5K race on Saturday with some good friends. My friend's mom has been battling breast cancer for years so it felt good to do something to support her and this cause.

...Still no walking for the Meggie but she LOVES to walk around while holding on to your hands.  Hopefully she'll get a clue and realize how much better it would be on her own.  She's also been doing some standing on her own.  I hope she's not trying to beat Kyle as my oldest walker. :/

...Record wet Spring in Utah. Ugh. Me no happy.

...I have a new niece!! Its been since Megan was born that we had a baby in the family. I'm not sure it has really registered to me that my baby brother is now a father. Crazy! Adelaide Jane is beautiful and looks just like her mommy.

 ...Adam took the boys to the Father and Son's outing. It was the first camping trip of the year so the boys were of course super excited AND it was beautiful weather this year. Lucky!

Uppidy Date

...Megan is now the proud new owner of {FIVE} teeth. 2 gappy top and two on the bottom with a loner off to the side. Thankfully she hasn't started biting me yet. The boys, however, aren't faring as well. When they are bugging her she'll try to bite them. She doesn't take crap from them. (It's kinda funny :) However, we better nip this in the bud now.

...Noah has been recently diagnosed with asthma. I'm still not sure to what degree. That last few years has found him coughing his brains out during the winter and totally cough free during the summer. He also seemed to be in kind of a funk and not himself. After a particularly bad week of coughing in January I finally decided to get him checked by his doctor who confirmed my suspicions. A few steroid treatments and a nightly dose of Singulair and he is completely cough free. Now he has no more nightly cough and he is sleeping (and so am I!). He is also back to normal sweet Noah.

...The stomach bug swept through our house this past weekend all on the same day. Kyle, Noah and I stayed close to the toilets for about a day but are now doing well. I HATE that bug.

...Kyle has been off track for the past 2 weeks and enjoying it. I can't say that we've done much but it has been nice to get out of the school routine. The boys did go to Gma and Gpa's house for a sleepover which they love.

...Adam got his hippie hair cut and as a reward got to go skiing to Snowbird with Von. He's a good boy.

...I just finished doing New Beginnings. I only had a month to organize it but I think it turned out really nice. We did stations including a personal progress, Young Women basics stations with a stations to make Valentines for the missionaries in our ward. (We had a Valentine/Charity theme) I did tissue paper pom poms for decorations and I must say, they were adorable. We also had pink mint brownies, mint ice cream and sprite with pink heart shaped ice cubes. It was all very cutsie. :) It was fun but I'm glad its done!!

My girls.

The ones with the pink corsages are the

"New'Bees'"

coming in this year.

Uppidy Date

...Megan is a full on crawler and has been for a couple of weeks. She loves to get around on her own. I like it too.

...I excitedly went to Kyle's first parent/teacher conference. He is doing very well in school and is in the ABC club for knowing all his letters and sounds. He enjoys school but would rather be, alas, home with his family. Who could blame him?

...Megan likes to hold the phone up to her ear which we find ADORABLE. In fact, she is becoming quite the copy cat. She likes to clap along with the audience on TV. If you say "Yay, Megsie!" she will start clapping. Love it.

...My New Year's resolutions are to spend less time on my iPhone and finally finish Personal Progress.

...I have a new calling! Young Women's 2nd counselor. Apparently, I'm not learning what I need to because in this ward I have tried out all the YW callings except President. No thank you.

I'm about to hit my 5th year in YW's!

...I have a niece (EP and Amy), nephew (Mary and Von) and an ..."it" (Crispy and Nicky) due in the next 7 months. I am so excited to snuggle these baby bundles especially since mine will be 15 months old and giant by these time these little ones come along.

Uppidy date

New Hoover Dam bridge. This picture doesn't do it justice. It is scary big.

Crazy cousins. They had a blast together.

...We spent a fun 4 days in Vegas a few weeks ago with the Schroeder's. Adam always has a trade show around this time of year which, for me, means a visit to see my sister's family. Yay! Shopping, eating out, playing at some really fun parks, singing with Cyd in sacrament {When we got done singing Noah said in a loud voice "Mommy that was beauiful. That was beauiful, Mommy!" The people sitting around us loved it more than our song, I think.}, letting the kids get caught up, movie watching, seeing the volcano at the Mirage {Kyle LOVED this, Noah not so much} and just plain chillackin' were all on the docket.

Just like her brothers, Megan's eyes get red when she eats something she particularly enjoys.

...Megan is growing like a weed and is almost 9 months old. She sleeps through the night pretty well, is still her Mommy's biggest fan and yes, still dislikes strangers holding her or really anyone that is not Adam or I. She'll give you sweetest smile but no touchy!

She has run fevers twice this month but with nothing else happening. I hope this doesn't become habitual.

She is really getting smart. She likes to wave, push buttons, smile, suck her thumb and eat...anything. Although, fruit makes her gag. ???

...Kyle is enjoying school and doing really well. He went off track for the first time last month. His teacher gave him a big packet to take home and do during the off time. He had it finished in an hour. Yay for a kid that likes school and doesn't take after his Kindergarten sluffing Mama. It's been really fun to watch him learn to read and write. He's also been improving his art skills. Lately he can sit and draw or color for a couple of hours. He NEVER did this before. Now he finds great satisfaction in creating art with paper and crayon. He's into mazes and dot to dot as well.

...Noah is making us laugh all the time. He has a laugh that can only be described as a "yuk, yuk" kind of laugh. He loves to make others laugh and tries hard at it with his non-sensical knock, knock jokes. He misses Kyle everyday he goes and school and is anxious to go pick him up. {What is going to happen next year when Kyle is in school ALL day?} He loves his pajamas. He always wants to eat. And is just a sweet boy.

*The pics of the boys above are from our October Arches trip. Here's a few more:

Uppidy date

We have had quite an eventful past couple of weeks so I thought I'd share.

...Noah, in Kyle's words, is now a certified member of the "Big Boy Club".

We really worried he would be a hard one to potty train since he has a bladder of steal and would hold pee all night and most of the day. I always said we just needed to get him to go pee pee once in the toilet. I was right. One day I put him on the toilet and just sat with him for about 45 minutes and until he couldn't hold it for another second. When he went he was SO proud of himself. His prize was popcorn, chocolate milk and watch Toy Story (His idea) and we also bought Zurg from Toy Story. This started about 3 weeks ago and he is going by himself and getting better everyday! Hallelujah!

...My sweet little, big man started Kindergarten last week. Adam and I both took him on the first day. I was thinking I was doing really well until the bell rang. Then true Pavlovic form, the tears burst out. And because Kyle was all gungho, when I looked up from my little pity party, he was already half way through the door and on to his new little life sans Mommy. I always dreaded this as to me it meant the beginning of letting go- cutting the apron strings. Next year he will be in school all day and spend it most of it WITHOUT me.

I am happy though because he was and is excited to go every day and is already doing us proud by earning an award for being {basically} nice boy of the month. Kyle is such a smart kid. Despite my anxieties I am so looking forward to watching him on this journey.

...Megan is enjoying a life of "solids". We started her on baby food this month and although she enjoys her outmeal and squash she would much rather have pizza, cake or anything Mommy and Daddy are eating. She is also beginning to sit up a little on her own.

We took her in for her 6 month check up only to find out that she had her first ear infection. Oh joy.

Uppidy date

...Megan is finally using her little mitts for something other than slurping on. She is a grabber. NOT good when eating soup or using an iPhone.

{This yellow bear has has been a favorite with all my kids.}

...I went to Heber Valley Girls Camp for my Mom's mother/daughter campout. It was really fun and I loved being with my sisters {Dawn and Amy}, mom and nieces {Morgan, Anna, Rachel, Olivia, Julia and Ellie}.

Anna really IS beautiful. :)

...Whilst I was off bonding with the womenfolk of my family, Adam took advantage and took his boys to Wasatch State Park overnight (what a sweet daddy). Ethan and Papa came along too. Kyle got to break in his new hydration pack and get in some much adored hiking.

...Speaking of hiking, we also went to City Creek Canyon and enjoyed the beauty there. Ahhhh, I am so enjoying summer.

...So is Noah...

...Megan's first swimming experience was a great success...NOT.

...Adam and I went to "The Wedding Singer at Hale Center Theater. It was good but the movie is better.

....Father's Day cupcakes.

Uppidy date

...My honey and I had a romantic time dancing the night away... at the region dance. It made me think that I need to dance with my Honey more often. Oh and did I mention that my Honey is

H O T?!

...For some reason I have been fearful of yeast breads and therefore have never attempted to bake any...until this week. I made three loaves of bread for dinner and even had company (my parents) coming over. Other than the fact that the bread didn't fill the pans I used, it was pretty darn good for a first attempt.

... I LOVE these "shocks". They have got to be my favorite girly thing since having my own girly.

...We went with Gma and Gpa to a show at Clark Planetarium (It was Cheryl's Mother's Day present). We saw "Attack of the Space Pirates". It was lame (sorry, Cheryl) but at least the boys liked it.

...This is what we've been watching for entertainment lately. I'm totally sicked out by it (I can barely even look at it when I water it) but I had to try it at least once, right?

Uppidy date

...We got our first giggles out of Megan this past week. Unfortunately one thing never makes her giggle twice. So you never know whats going to do it. One time it was wiping puke off her chest and the next was taking off her shirt!

...I literally crippled myself playing my first game of Futsal (indoor soccer) with the ladies of my ward. It was fun but also kicked my butt.

...Megan's blessing (see post).

...Noah has decided he wants "nuffing" for his birthday and in fact doesn't want a birthday. He's content with his Scooby head and Batman. Strange child.

...Kyle and Noah say "Look Ma, no cavities!" Yay! Noah still struggles to let the dentist do anything but then again that also goes for getting his hair cut or seeing the doctor. And unfortunately, the kid cannot be bribed.

Weekly Update

...Experienced my first Wal-mart temper tantrum scene, compliments of Noah. Now that I have three kids my control has dwindled. No more Mister Nice Guy! You run and hide from me? No more fruit snacks for you! Now every time we go by the baby dept. at Wal-mart (which is where the trouble began and fruit snacks discarded), Noah tells me "Let's go and get my fruit snacks."

...Counting calories for the first in my life... Gotta fit into my summer clothes again.

...Noah has decided he wants to be "little" because little boys don't have to be potty trained.

...Went up to Rock Springs this last weekend to see my brothers two little girls, Emma and Holly, perform in the colleges production of "Music Man". It was SO nice to get out of town and even nicer to see those two cute girls on stage.

Staying in the hotel was the highlight of Kyle and Noah's trip. They decided it would be cool live there. Who doesn't want to live in a teeny room with no kitchen or play space? Oh and don't forget the Disney Channel!

The only pic I got of the whole trip...

This week...

...after enjoying a night at the movies (we saw 'Planet 51') we discovered that Adam had left the drivers side door open the entire time. We were at Valley. Fair. Mall. HELLO! We were blessed that nothing happened.

...Noah has decided that church isn't some form of cruel punishment. A couple of weeks ago we couldn't even mention church with him getting all anxious and declaring that he NEVER wanted to go church. Getting him ready Sunday morning was always torture for both of us. After the closing prayer for Sacrament, Noah would immediately start begging to go home. Just last week, however, he decided that nursery was not so bad and actually got upset at the prospect of GOING home. Yay! Let's hope it sticks.

...Some of my sweet, sweet friends surprised me at our GNO with a baby shower. I am so appreciative and LOVE all the teeny, tiny, baby girl stuff. Thanks again, Jess, Kerri, Brianna, Kristen, Keri and Candys!!

...Girls night for me always means "Boy Night" for my boys. This included dinner at McDonald's (a boy fav) with Gma and Gpa. Then it was off to Hollywood Connection for over-priced kid rides. The boys loved it so I guess it was worth it. Kyle was his usual self as a ride lover but Noah wasn't so sure about the Dragon ride (not sure what that was). He did okay otherwise.

If you want to see Kyle thoroughly enjoying himself at Circus Circus a little over a year ago, check out this link.

...Adam got to indulge in his passion of skiing. He's pretty proud that although he was sore it wasn't too bad. He works out, ya know.

My cute ski bunny...

35 weeks! Yep, I've resorted to wearing the hubby's shirts.

WhAt'S uP?

...Kyle and Daddy made a snow tunnel in the front yard. Kyle LOVED it. They were outside for over an hour but Kyle could have stayed out there all day.

...Noah has been waking up with dry diapers which in turn has wakened some hope in me. It's never as easy as you HOPE though. He DID go pee-pee in the toilet once but has since lost interest. Ah well. There's always next month...

...We went on an exciting out of town trip...for a few hours...down to Richfield... Really though, we didn't go far but it felt good to just GO somewhere. It was also good to see Adam's grandparents (Martin's) and family. Adam's grandpa had to show off his thumping sound system that included a record player and lots of Frank Sinatra. Good times. SO glad the weather cooperated and we had beautiful sunshine to drive down in.

...We started 9am church *groan*. It actually isn't so bad now but come baby number three I think we will be lucky to make it sacrament!!

...We celebrated the New Year hanging out with the Wall's, eating lots of food and playing (or cheating on) Disney Trivial Pursuit. Yep, hard core party-ers, right here.

...Decided that I have started the pregnant waddle.

...No cavities for me! Yay!

...Baby girl is measuring right on. But I decided it would be fun to be anemic. Go me.

WhAt'S uP wItH tHe ShIfLeTt'S

...Last week I hit 30 weeks. "Only" 10 more weeks to go. It feels like forever away but I know its going to cruise. We still have a lot to do in preparation for our baby girl's arrival.

...Wishing the mucky skies would go away and give us some sunshine and breathable air! The upside to this nastiness is the "rime" (frost) that covers the bare trees and shrubbery. Its beautiful!

.

...Temple Square with Grandma and Grandpa (for Grandpa's birthday). And a Christmas party with Cheryl's side of the family. It's always good to see everyone since it only happens once or twice a year.

...Kyle sang in his first Christmas performance of many more to come, I hope. His preschool class sang at Legacy Retirement Home. He did a really good job and sang out so we could hear him above others. He's his Daddy's boy. :) His favorite song, not surprisingly, was "We FISH you a HARRY Christ-MOOSE and a HIPPO New Year."

Kyle and his buddy rubbing Rudolph noses...hmmmmmm....

...Adam and I got ALL the Christmas presents wrapped BEFORE Christmas Eve! This is quite the feat!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

WhAt'S uP wItH tHe ShIfLeTt'S

...Halloween activities galore these past few weeks. We went to our ward party, "Great-Grandmothers Halloween Party" (mine), and Gma and Gpa Shiflett's ward party AND Great-grandma Martin's birthday party. Whew! It's great because the boys got some really good use out of their costumes. Not so great because we have WAY too much candy and we still haven't gone trick or treating. So hopefully Halloween night won't be too anti-climactic. We aren't even done with the parties yet!

...I had my 22 week ultrasound and am happy to announce that nothing extra has sprouted between the baby's legs. We're still buying pink. Not that I ever doubted. :)

...Kyle had another field trip for preschool. We went to Engh's Gardens. Kyle LOVED the haystack maze while Noah, of course, LOVED the tractor. I hope to get a chance to take Kyle to an actual corn maze. He'd be in heaven.

...Kyle had his very first Primary program this past Sunday. Both sets of Grandparents came as well. It was so fun to watch him sing the songs he'd learned if sporadically, get stage fright when he couldn't recite his well memorized line, and cover his face with his tie half the time. He is such a bright, beautiful boy.

...I went with friends and saw "Thriller" by Odyssey Dance. I've always thought it looked cool and it was. Maybe a little morbid at times but cool.

...Saw my beautiful niece, Anna, in West Jordan Youth Theater's production "Crown of Lomeria". She was one of the glittering mermaids, "Aqua". It was so fun to see her on stage and I can't wait to do so again.

WhAt'S uP wItH tHe ShIfLeTt'S

...We bought the boys a new bunk bed so that Noah could retire the old crib and become a big boy. He really struggled the first few nights but is doing much better. Now we need to work on the naps. I'm not ready to give those up yet! (No pics due to the fact that our camera is BROKEN. Whaaa.)

...We went to my cousin, Lani's beautiful wedding reception.

...I attended the annual Girl's Day Out with my Mom and sisters. We went to Tai Pan and Gardner Village where I finally decided on nursery colors. Dawn is making me a quilt for the crib that I am way excited about! I'll post pics when the nursery is done.

...Kyle went to Coleman's (RaeLynn's little boy) birthday party and had a great time. He won at the game "pin the astronaut on the rocket". He literally nailed it!

...I was 20 weeks this past week and half way done!

What's Up With the Shiflett's

...I have seriously just popped this week. One day I was wishing I looked pregnant and literally the next day I did. I'm having fun showing off my new tummy. Megan is getting more and more active too. Adam has finally started to enjoy her somersaults as well.

...We went to Yellowstone last weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Shiflett. We has a really good time. More on that to come.

...Much to Adam's chagrin, we are new members of the not so exclusive minivan club. Also more on this later.

...Kyle got to go to the WVC fire station for preschool. Both he and Noah really enjoyed themselves. This is right up Noah's ally since he loves any kind of vehicle. The first thing he said when he saw the fire truck was, "I gotta get in!" Sadly, he never got his wish.

...Adam and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. We went to "The Scarlet Pimpernel", which was wonderful, and out to Noodles since we both feel like a couple of old noodles...

...I had TWO GNO's this past week and never heard one complaint from my wonderful husband. See? LU-CKY.

Bringing It Back

So as Adam and I were getting our blog ready to print, I read a lot of old posts while correcting typos etc. I realized that I had let my weekly post "What's Up With the Shiflett's" fall by the wayside which is sad because they were some of my best posts. Sometimes it's the little things that really matter... or are easy to forget. It was fun to read over them and recall how long it took Noah to crawl AND walk or that Kyle used to call his sandals- "puzzles".

For my memories sake, I am recommiting myself to begin again. No time like the present, right?

...I have finally started feeling little movements in my belly. I am only 14 weeks so it has been a welcome surprise.

...I've been hearing about Bunco parties for years but had never been invited to join one. *sniff* Finally someone deemed me cool enough to join theirs. So I went to my first Bunco party last week and won...well, won along with 4 others. I'm looking forward to next month already.

...I also went to a GNO the night after Bunco. I'm so spoiled but greatful! I have such a fearful...er... I mean, understanding husband. :)

...We went to Rock Springs to see my sweet little neice, Holly, baptized. The WHOLE fam damily was there too. It was great. The quote of the trip comes from a none too pleased 4 year-old after having to leave, "I want to play at Samuel's house FOREVER!!!" repeated 1000 times. Luckily Adam and I were able to have a good laugh over this.

...Noah and Kyle got Superman and Batman jammies which they more or less want to live in. As you can see by the picture below, Kyle is proud....Since my energy and motivation have made some sort of comeback, the boys and I took advantage of $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgving Point. This is a great deal since we got into both the Children's Gardens AND the big garden for a mere four bucks (normally it would be over $25!!) It is absolutely beautiful but once a year is definately plenty. I'll try to get the pics off my phone to post later.