Christmas Card 2010

The Nadauld Family 2010

Mary Elizabeth is our happy four-year-old. The excitement that she feels with each new morning is inspiring. Mary tried preschool for about two weeks and then decided it was much better to be home with mommy, of course mommy didn’t complain. Mary is a wonderful big sister and a great helper. She loves to play with friends, spend time with Grandma, create song lyrics, attend her church class, and make crafts. She has a very vivid imagination and loves to play house and organize her toys. She is happy, smart, and loving.

Noah Stephen is our fun little superhero boy. He turned three in October. Noah enjoys cooking with mommy, “helping” Nicole, and folding laundry. Noah loves riding with daddy on the four-wheeler, using tools, helping daddy “build”, playing cars, riding bikes, and drinking milk. He loves to sing at church and home and hates getting his haircut! Noah’s biggest accomplishment this year is getting potty trained just before the baby arrived. He is his little brother’s biggest fan and anxious to teach him all he knows. Noah is loving, helpful, and a real joy.

Nicole Christine is a simply adorable one-year-old. She always has a big smile to share. Nicole learned to walk just after her birthday and thinks it is fun to explore the drawers, cabinets, and pantry. She enjoys swinging in the backyard and being outside. She can say mamma, dada, wave goodbye, and babbles all day. She is curious, observant, and has a radar for touching off limit items. She is cuddly, funny, and an absolute delight.

Cameron Dyreng is just a few days old. He is handsome, sweet, and mild (so far). We couldn’t be happier he is a part of our family.

Allison is keeping busy with four children four and under at home. Her days are spent changing diapers, reading books, preparing meals, making bottles, cleaning house, paying bills, washing clothes, grocery shopping, playing superheroes, tractors, Barbies, changing diapers, preparing meals, bathing children, doing laundry, changing diapers, and preparing meals. She takes a little break each Wednesday to work with the young women in church and go to dinner with Aaron on the weekends. Allison is living her lifelong dream of being a mother.

Aaron is working at the Idiart Law Group and thinks working with family is great! He spent the summer building a playhouse for the kids with the help of Mary and Noah. He finds joy teaching the 14-15 years old at church and riding his motorcycle when the weather allows. As a family we have spent many relaxing summer evenings on the boat at the lake. We find we are happiest when we are all together. Our fondest memories are laughing at the fun things our children do and poking each other at night to say, “It’s your turn to get the baby”.

As a family we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS as we rejoice together at the birth of our Savior. May the Lord continue to pour His choicest blessings upon you as He has so graciously done for us.

More of Cameron

Tomorrow my Cameron turns two weeks old. I had a darling friend take some pictures of him the other day and I think they are beautiful. I had to post some of my favorite pictures.

{The photographer, Jessica, is only a Senior in high school and plans on majoring in photography. I think she did an amazing job and if you're interested in using her for some of your family shots I'm including a link to her blog: smallprintsphotos.blogspot.com}

{Jessica grabbed a couple of shots of Mary and Noah during the photo shoot. They were a very interested audience.}

The last two shots are really special because Cameron is swaddled in a beautiful blanket that my mother-in-law made. Margaret came out last week to help with all the lifting, cleaning, cooking, playing, loving, and spoiling. It was really hard to see her go, especially since we won't be headed to Utah this Christmas.

{Thank you, Margaret, for all your help and love; we miss you like crazy!}

Introducing...

Cameron Dyreng Nadauld

Monday, December 6, 2010
7 pounds 1 ounce
20 inches


{some details from cameron's birth...}


Here I am in all my glory, minutes away from our scheduled c-section. I'm looking so happy because the nurse got the IV in on the first try. Beautiful. Let's just say, I'm not the best with needles. All the prep went so smoothly. I had quite the pit in my stomach the night before thinking about everything that would take place in the upcoming hours. Nicole's birth was so fresh in my mind I could replay every step.


Here is Cameron's first father son picture. So sweet. The surgery went great. Our bundle of joy was finally here.


Here is our Cameron Dyreng. During this picture we still hadn't finalized his name. Dominic, Michael...Cameron seemed to fit him best.


Here are my wonderful parents who held down the fort while we were gone at the hospital. Last year, the kids couldn't come see Nicole at the hospital due to the swine flu, so this was a real treat for me since I hate being away from the kids.

Noah was the most excited to see his new little brother and Nicole didn't know what to think. She has spent the last week just trying to figure him out. It's been pretty hard keeping her quick hands off of him. Of course, Mary has been a great big sister and helper.

We are so happy to welcome Cameron into our home and family forever.

One is Fun!

I have to say, I love the stage when babies start to become a little more independent and you get to see their personalities shine through. There is no doubt in my mind that we came to this earth as individual spirits with strengths and gifts of our own. This picture says it all.

Our little Nicole Christine turned one yesterday and is growing fast. She is almost walking and can maneuver up and down the stairs with ease. Nicole knows what she wants and will let you know it too. She is loving, cuddly, happy, strong, and a serious riot.

Her favorite thing to do is go outside. If I leave the back door open, she crawls with warp speed out the door and gets all messy, eating everything in sight--grass, mud, bugs, you name it. She loves every minute of it. She also loves to hang out in the pantry and get into everything. I can't close doors fast enough around here. She called the cops the other day while Grandma was watching her. I think she has a radar for phones, remotes, and lollipops. When she sees something she wants she can grab it faster than you can stop her.

Her favorite food is probably rice, veggies, or some kind of dinner food she can get all covered in. We have been blessed with really good eaters. She also loves to hang upside down and her laugh tickles me silly. She loves being with Noah and Mary and gets so excited when they play with her. Nicole is getting better at sleeping, and when she feels good, sleeps through most of the night. I am very happy about her most recent sleeping pattern since there are only four more weeks until the next little guy will keep us awake.

I wonder what she will think of her brother and how she will react? I wonder if she will be as close as I was to my 13 month younger brother? No doubt she will love him and want to be all over him. I can't wait!

Happy Birthday Nicole! We LOVE you!

What do ladybugs, skunks, and Batman have in common?

...absolutely nothing!

{Actually, they all have a way too pregnant mommy
to make any Halloween costumes coordinate.}

Super Noah's Three!

It's up, up, up and away with TWO!

Noah turned three last week. We had a superhero family party to celebrate. Noah is so helpful, tender, and fun! He is an incredible brother and spends his days picking flowers for his mom, helping with chores, playing with all things boyish, singing, jumping, exploring, mowing the lawn with his daddy, and even thinks to place crackers on his mommy's belly to feed his almost new baby brother a snack.

WE love our SUPER Super Noah!!

It's a...

BOY!

{I harvested this picture off the internet since someone forgot to eat her breakfast this morning,
making for a very sleepy and still baby...not many good positions for pictures. Oops!}

4-7-29-6-16

4

years old

{mary is growing so fast. talking with her is like talking to my best girlfriend. she is so interesting to listen to and fun to be around. mary is such an incredible big sister and an absolute blessing in every way.}

7
months old{nicole is now sitting up and reaching for everything within her grasp.
she lights up the room with her beautiful blues and sweet smiles.}


29
years old{only one more year and our ages will be in the same decade.
this picture says it all. so glad he was born.}


6
years of wedded bliss{this year we took a little anniversary trip to LA. it was the perfect weekend. we stayed in a little beach house and spent our time relaxing on the warm sand, seeing movies, reading books, eating good food, riding bikes, and enjoying our time alone together. it felt like our honeymoon all over again. simply wonderful. only thing we forgot was to bring a camera!}


16
weeks along{for april fool's this year i thought it would be so funny to trick my husband into thinking i was pregnant. nicole's arrival was a little earlier than we had planned. and another unexpected pregnancy would really blow his socks off. early that morning i sent him an email of a positive pregnancy test i got off the internet. he rushed home in complete shock. it was a great joke. i later reassured him that our birth control wouldn't fail us again.
but, as it turns out, the joke was really on me! because one week later i realized something was different when nursing. did you know being pregnant changes the the taste of breast milk? that sweet little nicole was letting me know that something was coming our way. so after a real pregnancy test we learned that i was expecting another winter baby (which i swore i'd avoid at all costs-poor little holiday babies).
we are truly happy to welcome this new spirit into our home.}

Awake

I'm not wanting to go to bed yet. I've been at the computer for four hours now, just doing this and that...pictures, emails, reading, internet searches, Mary's birthday party planning, thinking... simply enjoying the creativity of it all. The house is so quiet. No darling children crowded around my ankles. No thoughts of what I still have to do around the house. No phone calls. No interruptions. Just silence. But, it's a trade off. It also means less sleep. So, it doesn't happen too often. Sleep, I've discovered, is just as important to being a decent mom. I'm sitting here thinking about my sweet little family...they're almost all in our room right now. From the study I can hear their sleeping sounds and reflect on my favorite parts of the day, like Noah's excited frog finding face. What joy! I think I'll dream on that a little.

{So cute, even with his outdoor induced runny nose}

{Snips and snails and puppy dog tails
and all that's GOOD in the world}

Feel Good Song

I found this video on Aaron's cousin's wife's blog. It really brings a smile to your face.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Easter

{my little easter bunnies}

{my girls}

{yes, these are halloween buckets}
{i couldn't find last year's baskets and i already filled the new ones with their easter gifts}

It was a marvelous Easter with egg hunts, coordinating clothes, yummy dinners, easter baskets, and family gatherings. But what made it so wonderful was listening to general conference and feeling resolved to be a better mother, wife, and disciple of Christ. I'm so grateful for our Savior's life, atonement, resurrection and this special time of year when we can contemplate it all.

Bobs, Bangs and Leprachauns

For most of my life I have had long hair. I am one of those emotionally attached hair people. You know the kind--the ones that cry for a few days after a drastic hair chopping? Well, ever since I've become a mom, my willingness to try new things has improved. Perhaps it's that little extra excitement added to the mundane chores of cooking, cleaning, and laundry? Because now I'm cooking that spaghetti with fun cute bangs across my forehead! It also helps that I have an amazing hair dresser whom I trust and consistently go to. And after seeing my hair dresser, Jaime's, bangs I decided copy catting was the only choice.
So here they are...bangs!

And to help with Mary's finally-getting-long-fine hair I decided a bob would push it towards the long thick hair I know will one day grace that cute noggin. While I think the cut is super darling, I really miss her long wispy waves and morning bed head.
I think I'm becoming emotionally attached to her hair now.

And by the way, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Werewolf Baby

Mary: Does Nicole look like a werewolf Mommy? (her eyes perplexed, studying Nicole's head)
Me: No, why do you think that?
Mary: Because her ears kind of look like werewolf ears.
Me: Interesting.

Maybe it's the pockets of hair that fluff over Nicole's ears?
Maybe it's that she inherited my Basque ear shape?
Oh, that Mary.
She makes me laugh...just like her Daddy.

Four Months

Our Nicole Christine turns four months today. I really can't believe how quickly time has passed, yet at the same time I feel like she's been a part of our family forever.
She is growing and changing each day, and thanks to Aaron, she is now mostly sleeping through the night. It's heavenly.

I love Nicole's many smiles, coos, and snuggles.
She is so very special~what a blessing.

a woman's touch

Mary's e-mail

A couple of days ago Mary emailed a few family members while Nicole and Noah napped. It was so fun for her to get responses instantaneously, and since then has been asking me to check the computer for replies. I told her the letters to type and she had a great time telling jokes and sending her love to her missionary grandparents, Uncle Jared, and cousins Marcus and Annie.

One conversation was particularly funny. Mary is constantly teased by her wonderful next door neighbor and uncle, Damian, and she eats up every second of it. Since Christmas he comes to our house and pretends to look for her "special" toys to steal. Usually she laughs and runs around trying to stop him from swiping them. This was their exact conversation.

Mary: hi damian. this is mary. i hid all of my toys. you will never find them. you are silly.

Damian: I snuck into your house early this morning and found two of them. I took them with me to work. They are sitting on my desk.

As to the rest of your toys...I will find them because I am going to buy a dog that can smell all toys no matter where they are hidden. His name is Rex. I will bring him home to hunt for your toys.

I love you. But I love to steal toys more. Just call me the toys monster.

Mary: damian, there are no dogs in the grocery store...none of them. you are a funny toys monster stealing my toys.

Damian: I got the dog from the dog catcher. Rex is a special dog that was in jail for stealing other toys and burying them. He is also an expert at hiding bones and doggie treats. That is why the dog catcher took him off the street. I liked him when I saw him so I went and bought him. I did not know that you were going to hide your toys from me so now I have the perfect excuse to bring him home and have him try to find your toys. He has magic eyes that let him see through boxes and stuff. He does not bite. He does stink though so I do not think that your mom will like him too much. Maybe I cna sneak in the house when she is asleep.

Mary: she will never sleep. damian, you are a silly man taking my toys. dogs are not allowed to come in our house. I am going to write a dog on our door and x it (see picture above).

Damian: He will come through the fireplace or through the hole above the oven. He is very sneaky. Your mom has to sleep sometime or she will get sick. I will find a way to get your toys. I love to play with toys. I need to have toys or I will die.

Mary: DAMIAN, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!!! That's all. I'm making my signs.

Damian: I have to work. But I will make my own signs too for my house.

Love...Hate

SO many things I loved about Valentine's this year....

all the fun parties, Aaron, Valentine cards, Aaron, treats, Aaron, kid crafts, Aaron, games, date nights with Aaron, gifts from Aaron, movies with Aaron--to name a few.

Here's our Valentine's card we attached to a lolliPOP:



One thing I HATED about Valentine's...

woke up Monday morning to strep throat. Ouch! Luckily my Valentine rescued me this week. Well, Aaron, and my other Valentine...Penicillin.

Maryisms

Mary makes me laugh every day. She says such funny and clever things all the time.
This one today was especially sweet:

Mary: I wish I could be a bird.
Me: Why?
Mary: Because I love birds.
Me: That would be neat.
Mary: And I could fly up in the sky and meet Jesus.

That a boy

Noah was playing with his Christmas toys for hours today, a.k.a. "Daddies", his name for anything tool related. In this house Daddy fixes it all. So cute.



I walked by Nicole and saw her playing with something too. Noah often places toys in her swing so she doesn't get too bored. What a darling big brother.

Guess Who

"Who does Nicole look like?"


I think Nicole looks like Mary with bigger cheeks, smaller eyes, and a lot more hair.
This may not be the best picture selection for comparing, especially since Mary and Noah are about four months and Nicole is only two. Nicole just seemed to jump right out of the really infant stage so fast.

When Daddy Gets Them Dressed

Noah:
Nike silky sport shirt + red striped sport pants
What are you supposed to put with those shirts anyway? Does it have to be a matching silky set? Sweat bottoms? Silky shorts?
Seriously. Help me.

Mary:
Swim suit cover up (rainbow--to get her so excited she doesn't want to take it off)+ white tights + white t-shirt
Note: Today is rainy and very wintery

Nicole:
Safe in pretty pink florals and protected under her mother's eye


Aaron was so sweet to get the kids dressed today.
I usually know it's going to be good when he walks down the stairs with a funny smile and says, "I got the kids dressed".
If I wasn't in the bathroom getting ready myself Mary would have had a matching hair-do like this one a while back:



In my former teacher life, I used to have my class dress up goofy on a random day of year...always a Wednesday. We called it Wacky Wednesday (from a book) and would do backwards and bizarre things all day. It always comes to my mind when he tries to "mix it up a little". What a fun husband.


It is Wednesday.
Go ahead. Wear something a little zany, a little out of the ordinary, a little mismatchy.
A little WACKY!

Two Months Old

I took Nicole to her two month check-up yesterday and something wonderful happened. Nicole jumped UP the charts, way up. She now weighs a whopping 12.9 pounds!

We are so used to dropping below the curves and doing special tests with Noah that this is a welcomed change. I had to feed Noah ice cream everyday for a few months just to bulk him up.

Nicole managed to move from the 50th percentile to the 90th. Incredible. I have to say that considering her heart murmur, she sure seems to be thriving, healthy and strong. Plus, I haven't had to worry one bit if she'd survive the winter.

What a blessing big babies are.

December 2009

To make a long story short....

decorating

shopping
chopping
spending
driving
sledding
slipping
playing
freezing
warming
singing
acting
cleaning
cooking
gathering
smelling
eating
sleeping
dreaming
wrapping
opening
listening
learning
thinking
thanking
loving...


this time of year