November

Cuties after church

Nolan's favorite part about going to the eye doctor is the coin they give him for the machine in the lobby. He's been collecting these little diamonds and hopes every time he'll get a color he doesn't already have.

My old manager, Ojae, made the boys these wooden lightsabers. How sweet and cool is that?!

The boys love working on puzzles! They've been loving the little 12 piece scripture ones from Deseret Book (although N is ready to upgrade to bigger ones).

Sooo...dad found a BYU stadium and animals of America 100 piece puzzles at Costco and Nolan has been doing so well with them! I'm thrilled with how long he'll sit and work on them. The only thing we need to work on is he keeps asking us for help when we know he can do it. Plus we want him to know that he can do hard things and get better if he just keeps trying. Same for Branson too!

DONE!

Our cute ward friend and babysitter, Lauren Osborne, was the lead in Jordan High Schools production of Guys and Dolls so I took a cute date to go see her! They had $1 snacks so I let Nolan pick out two things so he was pretty excited (he chose Pringles and Red Vines in case you're wondering). I thought for sure he'd only last maybe half the show, but at intermission he insisted he wanted to stay! I'm not sure if it was the play or just getting some one on one time with mom, but either way (and especially the latter) I was happy. He is such a cute and fun date! At one point in the show Lauren kissed the male lead and Nolan looked at me and went, "blech!!" haha.

Sometimes I can't get over how handsome this boy is, bed head and all.

I picked up a copy of the game Sleeping Queens because I saw it on a list of awesome games. It says it's for ages 8+ but Nolan plays it like a pro and LOVES it! He's hilarious with his smack talk. He always says things like, "ohhh, my cards are awwwweeesome!", "We have to beat grandpa!" (or whoever has the most queens), "I don't think so!" or "Nice try!" (whenever he blocks an attempt to steal one of his queens). He's not the best loser and insists on playing until he can end on a winning note. We're working on that.

Branson loves playing with this guys in the pantry. Not sure why, but it's pretty cute (until he swipes snacks before dinner that is).

I'm SO excited for Christmas in our new neighborhood! The previous owners of our house left up their Christmas lights and technically, per the HOA, we were supposed to take them down by May, but we didn't and it was pretty awesome to just have to plug them in and walla!

Giving our sitter Elli her birthday presents! Her birthday is Nov 29, one day after Branson's so that was fun.

My friend/coworker Dan got the boys these lightsaber popsicle makers and the boys love them (although we've never actually made popsicles with them haha, they just like to use them to fight). So kind of Dan!

We love having Aunt Mallory here in Utah for a few months!

Thanksgiving and Branson's Birthday

Branson is 3!!

What can I say about Branson? He is such a sweet boy. Really. He's always saying kind and encouraging things to every member of the family. He tells me I'm a good mom and that I'm pretty (heart melter). He is all boy and is so physical and athletic. I mean, the kid jumps 4 stairs from the bottom and doesn't even bat an eye! His favorite thing in the world right now is Darth Maul fights. Whenever he gets upset he'll often say through tears, "the only thing that will make me feel better is a Darth Maul fight." He craves one on one time and loves it when one of us will go play in the loft with him. Probably the most frustrating thing about him right now is that he's so physically capable, but so darn clumsy! He's constantly tripping over things or (super annoying) stepping/standing on everything he shouldn't (shoes, lightsabers, toys, books, etc) and then is surprised when it slides out from under him and he falls. He also seems to like to live life on the edge because he is always sitting on the edge of chairs and barstools. He's fallen off way too many times for comfort. Annnd, we can't trust him using a regular cup because it will more often than not get spilled. I love his big brown eyes and his absolutely adorable gesticulations and facial expressions when he talks. Speaking of talking, just like they used to (and still do) with his brother, people often comment on how well he speaks for his age. When he slows down he is an amazing snuggler. Oh and his feet are always cold! Maybe it's because he doesn't like wearing socks for too long. He makes friends so easily and is a natural leader. We sure love our Raisin Nut Bran!!

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Soaking in my adorable boy on his last night as a 2 year old. Crying!

Looking at his "I love you because..." notes and find his birthday cereal on the table.

I remember when we were deciding on an induction date for Branson we were super worried about his birthday being on Thanksgiving sometimes (if we could have picked an earlier date we would have). This year was the first that his birthday actually fell on Thanksgiving and it was a little strange, but kind of fun! I hope in the future he enjoys having a birthday with so many family members around. Hey, he might even get extra presents!

Even though it was our year to go to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving we decided to stay in town since we're only about 2 weeks out from meeting Baby #3. Gm and Gp Bailey were amazing and did all the cooking so I didn't have to do anything. So sweet! What a spread!

My favorite picture of the birthday boy!!

The only thing Branson asked for was a little Qui-Gon Jinn guy. We found one on eBay and prayed it would get here in time. We were worried, but it made it a few days before his birthday! He was soooo excited!

Gm Bailey getting snuggles from the birthday boy.

B requested a Cougar cake. Done.

Nolan picked out this Kylo Ren mask for B. I love letting the boys pick something to give each other.

Sleeping Queens!

Looking adorable in his new bathrobe.

Nolan's 5th Birthday

Nolan is 5!

Whhhaaaatttt?! I really can't believe it. And 5 seems just so big! How did that happen? He loves all things Star Wars and Transformers. He'll do pretty much anything if you promise him some Transformers 'battles' on our phone. He is still an incredible reader, but is still working on coloring in the lines. He's been getting a little more confident with physical things like somersaults and jumping, but still prefers TV, games, reading, piano, etc. Speaking of piano, I started teaching him a little bit and we got him playing some Star Wars songs using colored stickers and he has memorized the songs pretty quickly! He also loves to perform and wants to show anyone that comes over. He loves puzzles and games and is a master at Sleeping Queens! He uses pretty big words for his age and can get pretty sassy at times. He loves preschool and pretty much every day he reports that his favorite part is snack time. When he gets shy he doesn't speak in a clear, confident voice. Instead he does this thing where he talks in a funny voice that sounds like it's coming from the back of his throat and also alternates which foot he's standing on. I've noticed that he's actually more shy around kids his own age rather than older kids. He seems to play better with older kids because they'll go along with his pretending to be an evil bad guy and will fall whenever he "kills" them, etc. We keep trying to tell him that he has to 'die' sometimes too! Sometimes I worry because he doesn't seem to have a lot of empathy when he hurts Branson and he can get so angry before saying sorry for doing something naughty, BUT then when I'm really having a hard time and start crying he is the first one to come up and give me a big hug and tell me I'm a good mom (even if I've just been yelling at him). He'll sit with me and rub my back or get me his special blankets to make me feel better. Or when Branson gets really hurt Nolan gets SO upset and won't calm down until he knows Branson is ok. It's times like these that reassure me that he'll be alright. He's just a kid trying to figure things out, but deep down he's such a sweet, sweet boy.

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We've started a tradition of writing "reasons we love Nolan" or whoever the birthday person is and putting them all over to the house for them to find. It's a small thing, but one I hope will always remind them how much they are loved. We text the extended family the week of their birthday to get some from them too :)

Nolan woke up the day of his birthday and loved finding all of the notes. He and Branson were absolutely adorable holding hands and walking through the upstairs to find and read them all.

So excited to bring treats to his preschool class!

Ohhh presents. Do you think he's excited?!

I just want to note how proud I was of Branson. I don't even remember prepping him that these were Nolan's presents and to let him open them, but he didn't even try to get his hands on any presents. He just patiently and excitedly sat next to his big brother and watched him open each one! Nolan on the other hand, when it was Branson's birthday, had to be reminded several times who's presents they were haha.

The main thing Nolan asked for for his birthday was a pinata! Not sure how he knows about pinatas, but he has been dead set for a couple of months now. Of course we had to get him a DV one!

I thought we possibly had too many gifts for Nolan, but Gm and Gp Bailey got him the same amount as us times two haha! I think it's safe to say they like spoiling their grandsons.

I can't believe my first born is a five year old!

Branson snuck the first bite of cake when no one was looking #smh

Transformer car from Gm and Gp Mathews

Nolan doing the puzzle he got from Aunt Brianna and Uncle Brady.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday my sweet, smart Nolan! Mom and Dad love you!!