Some Fun Filled Days

So, some exciting things have happened in the last month or so.  First of all, my brother Brent came to visit us for a few days.  That was so much fun.  We took the train into Chicago and wanted to go up to the Skydeck in Willis Tower to get a good look at all of Chicago.  We got there and were told that there was no visibility up there due to the rain clouds.  Crazy!  So we skipped on that and just walked around the city a little in the rain.  I held Gideon, Brent held Heber, and Eliza walked.  She was a trooper.  The next day we went to Starved Rock State Park.  That was beautiful!  We had fun on our hikes and Eliza liked playing as a troll who wanted a password each time we went over a bridge of any kind.  It was a blast!

Eliza, Brent, Scott and Heber

Uncle Brent with Heber, Gideon, and Eliza

Heber celebrated his second birthday and I made a train cake for him. It was a lot of fun and he absolutely loved it. Every morning after his birthday he would see his cake and get all excited. And he really enjoyed eating cake for breakfast. So did Eliza. Heber really enjoyed his birthday.

We also had a good thanksgiving and both Scott and Heber had a hair cut. Yes, that means that Heber's hair is much shorter, more like a buzz cut. It looks pretty cute. I still miss those curls, but I guess my little guy has to grow up.

Heber's new hair cut

Finally, I have been working on Gideon's Christmas stocking. I have made one for each of the kids and I just finished Gideon's and I really like how it turned out. Each stocking has a theme around an elf. Eliza's stocking is an elf crashing into a candy cane, Heber's is an elf looking into his sock stocking, and now Gideon's is and elf climbing up the chimney. Scott helped me come up with the ideas for each stocking and then it was up to me to figure out how to put them together, without any kind of pattern.  I'm pretty proud of them so I thought I would share.

Eliza's stocking

Heber's stocking

Gideon's stocking

We are excited for the holiday season and we hope you are, too.  Here are a few pics of Gideon.  He has started sleeping through the night, has begun sucking his thumb, and is doing better at sitting up on your lap.  Such a handsome little dude!

This is how he likes to sleep sometimes

Fall Crafts

Here are some crafts that I have been working on recently.  They have been a ton of fun and I'll give credit where credit is due to the original creators.

 Tin Can Lanterns

I made these by first freezing water into cleaned out tin cans.  Then I cut a piece of paper the size of the can and drew a picture on the paper.  I taped it to the can and poked holes along the drawing so that when you take the paper off and place a tea light inside, it glows through showing the picture.

Jack 'o Lantern Jars 

This was a really cute idea and a lot of fun to put together.  For directions, click on the name above to take you to the site for the tutorial at the site http://www.u-createcrafts.com/.  All it takes are mason jars, mod podge, tissue paper, black paper, and tea lights.  Sweet!

 2x4 Turkey

Here is another cute and fun craft created by the same author as above.  These take a 2x4 block, paint stick, ribbon, paper, paint, feathers, decorative paper, craft sticks, and mod podge.

"Fall" Blocks

This fun craft is found on the site http://www.makeit-loveit.com/.  I like her blocks a lot better than how mine turned out.  Still, it was fun and I was just going crazy with it, if you couldn't tell.  And yup, some of the little balls have fallen off.  Oops.

 Fireflies

These fireflies are thanks to the site http://www.ohdeedoh.com/.  The kids had fun playing with these little light up bugs once we had them put together.  Supplies...Easter Egg, flameless tea light, pipe cleaner, silver duct tape, marker for eyes and mouth, and sharp scissors to poke holes for the legs and antennae.

Turkey Hair Bow

This idea came from LiliBugBoutique who is selling a much cuter version on etsy.com.  Follow the link above to find her beautiful creation.

I know there are a lot more crafts out there that I can't wait to do.  More to come in the future!

First Haircut

I finally did it.  I cut Heber's hair.  It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done.  Okay, maybe not, but it was like Heber went from being the baby to being the older brother.  I suppose it had to happen since he is not the baby anymore.  Still, it was hard to make that first cut and after that I knew I had to finish.  I know my cutting job is not the greatest and I will probably try and clean it up some more, but I think I did okay. 

Here are the before pictures...

...and here are the after pictures.

I'm all grown up!

Here are some pictures of Gideon and Eliza, just for fun.

Two Weeks Old

So, I was sitting and thinking today and realized that it was September 12.  Nothing really fancy or special about today, except for one thing.  Today is Gideon's due date!  Today was the scheduled day that he was supposed to come, the day that I would find out if we were having a boy or a girl.  Instead, we got to find out two weeks ago and have loved having Gideon with us.  He is such a sweet little guy and I love him to death.  So do Eliza and Heber, which means I have to keep an eye on them, for Gideon's sake.  Gideon is sleeping well, starting to stay awake more during the day, and is on a consistant four hour eating schedule.  The one thing I look forward to at this point, when Gideon decides to start sleeping through the night.  That would be heavenly!  Until then, I will dream of that day and continue the crossword puzzles to keep me somewhat alert while I feed him at night.  Wish me luck!

Gideon at five days old

Grandma Hall with her newest grandson!

Gideon is sleeping on Scott's chest.
Scott's foot...yeah, really bad sprain playing volleyball.

And just for fun, here are some pictures of all three kids when they were about two weeks old.  Take your guess as to which picture is which kid.  Then I'll give the answer at the bottom.  Good luck.  I find it amazing how closely they all look alike.

Baby #1

Baby #2

Baby #3

Answers:
Baby #1 - Gideon
Baby #2 - Heber
Baby #3 - Eliza - face paint was done by Scott.  Such a daddy thing to do.

It's a Boy!

So, I woke up Friday morning feeling some contractions going on.  I wondered if they were intense Braxton Hick's contractions, but after feeling their intensity and having a consistant frequency and duration that I could track, I called my doctor to see what was up.  She had me come in, checked me and said that I was definitely in the early stages of labor.

Long story short, she sent me to the hospital, I called Scott to come and join me, luckily I had already dropped the kids off, and at 2:10pm I had our little baby boy.  He is 2 1/2 weeks early, 6 lb 5 oz and 19 inches long.  His hair is on the darker side, so we aren't sure what color it will be.  I still can't believe he is here, but we are blessed and he is wonderful!  Eliza and Heber have been very excited, too.

Proud Papa

Happy Mommy

Eliza, Heber, me and Gideon

Big sister Eliza and Gideon

"I have a baby"  Heber and Gideon

Daddy and kids

The siblings!

Blessings in Disguise

So, today is the first time I have been in a car accident.  Before you worry too much, yes, I am okay and so are the kids.  And yes, the other driver is okay too.  Long story short, I was making a left hand turn and wanted to get to the median before entering the other side of traffic.  I saw that there was one car who had their blinker on to turn right and assumed everything was clear.  Somehow I missed the other car that was in the inner lane so as I started to turn into the median, I saw the car coming at me.  He slammed his breaks, I pushed the gas to try and get out of the way without throwing myself into the other traffic.  I thought we were in the clear, but I was wrong.  I felt the tap as he hit my back left bumper and I saw that his front left bumper was crunched.  After filling out and accident report and me getting my first ticket (yeah, lots of firsts) we parted ways.  Luckily we were both okay and he was very friendly and helpful at the same time.  I, of course, apologized constantly, and in my head I was grateful that we were all okay.

So, I got to thinking and realized that I had a prompting to bypass this section of the road and instead of taking this shortcut, to head out to the main intersection.  If I had listened, accident avoided.  But, because I didn't listen, well, let's just say I learned my lesson.  Despite the bit of damage and the accident and the ticket, we are all okay and I have most definitely learned my lesson.

We came home for lunch and I said the prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for keeping us safe.  Eliza asked why I did that and so I explained to her that we should give thanks for everything.  This crazy situation turned out to be a good teaching lesson for my kids as well as a lesson on heeding the promptings of the Spirit.  My blessing in disguise.

More from the Natter Family Reunion

I am so sad that we had to come home already, but we had a wonderful time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and the whole family.  The kids absolutely had a blast and of course, they were not happy to leave either.  Who ever is happy to leave Grandma and Grandpa's?  So, here are some remaining pictures from our trip.  We got to go to Northwest Trek, which is a wildlife preserve and ride a tram through the park.  We rode right through a herd of American Bison.  Pretty sweet!  We also got to enjoy a scenic train ride near Mt. Rainier.  Beautiful!  Also, there was a day where us adults go to take a break from the kids and go mini golfing.  Sadly, I don't have any pictures of that.  Either way, enjoy the pics!

Caribou

Big Horned Sheep

American Bison

Gooo  Cougars!  Yeah, I miss BYU

Fisher

Scott, Heber, Grandpa and Eliza watching the beaver swim

Heber and Scott with a cross section of a tree.
The center plaque says it's life began in the 1300's, before the Renaissance.

The Cousins: Aliyah, Rylie, Eliza, Heber and Jackson

Riding the train.  The kids loved being able to run around.

Our Family

Mt. Rainier

Eliza, Jackson, Heber, Aliyah, and Rylie