A Quarter of a Century

I really have accomplished a lot in my life (yes I am bragging). In the past 3 years, however, I really feel like I know who I am and what I am supposed to be doing. I moved to Utah, found my eternal companion, landed a job that I love at a school that I love (how often does that happen?), and now I have such a beautiful little family. We have purchased our first house and first car together, and I really couldn't be a happier almost 25 year old right now! To have done so much by age 25, I can honestly say that I am a very accomplished person.

Megan and Tyler

Right now I am loving life. My birthday is tomorrow. I had such a fun weekend with my family. My parents and oldest niece came in to town. My Dad said that they either wanted to do something like go on a hike or a picnic or they would help us on a project on our house for my birthday, and I quickly without hesitation asked if they would help with a project on our house because neither Tyler nor I are very handy, and we would gladly appreciate the all around amazing handy man that my father is. They arrived on Friday around 5 oclock and we decided to go to Lowe's and see if we could get some ideas. The project we decided we wanted help on is our front porch. When we first purchased our home, the people who owned the home before had done some nice remodeling. They put tile on the porch and some nice rock. The tile however is very slick in the winter time and many people either slipped and fell on our porch or were very close to falling whenever the porch got wet. We decided that we wanted to resurface the porch for safety reasons. Lowe's was going to help us with this project. We spent a lot of Friday night at Lowe's getting ideas, and then left the men to oogle how large Lowe's is, and the girls went out shopping for a prom dress for Peighton (my almost 18 year old and graduated niece). We went to the mall in Orem. Nothing. Did you know that there was not a single dress at the mall. Shocking. After searching for hours, the men texted and said they were locked out of the house, so we decided to head home anyways. I was also starving. We went home and made chicken fajitas, always a winner at our house. Saturday we got a slow start, but Peighton was bound and deteremined that we were going to find her prom dress. We went to the Provo mall, nothing. We went to Allyse's bridal. Nothing. We finally went to the store that we wanted to go to first, and found the winner!! We could have saved hours of time if we would have just gone their first. Then we went home to see the progress on the porch. Still not finished, but they had remodeled the front flower bed, which I will have to post some pictures of at a later time, because I haven't actually taken any pictures yet. We made biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning, another winner breakfast in our home, went to church, went and visited the new Provo temple that is being supported by metal beams right now, and then said our farewells.

School is going really well for me. My 3rd graders are super hyperactive this year and don't really have much of an attention span. It makes it very difficult to teach sometimes. I have been so patient this year though. I feel like my motherly instincts kick into gear a lot now though. I used to not have that "they are with me a majority of the day so I should try and teach them values and nurture them because they probably don't get it at home" attitude, but after becoming a mother, I really look at some of my students differently. A lot of my students live with Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, or a single parent. They really need some extra love this year. I hope that they have felt safe in my classroom. This week has been teacher appreciation week, which always happens to land on my birthday, which I love. I can use double the excuse for them to be nice and behave. Our PTA have gone overboard this year. There is a Dr. Seuss theme and so parents decorated our door, Monday we got lunch, today we got "Hop on Popcorn" in the faculty room with lots of yummy kinds of popcorn, tomorrow is breakfast in the morning, Thursday is more treats in the faculty room, and Friday is another lunch. I love this week. One more month and then I will have completely my third year of teaching. I don't have to reapply this year, I don't have to update my resume (even though that's a good thing to do), I don't have to interview!! I probably won't have to change classrooms for the fourth time. I just get to be Mrs. Keil third grade teacher again next year! How exciting!

We bought a new car! We have been looking for awhile just because Noah's carseat is kind of difficult to fit into either of our cars. Plus, we are planning for the future. :) Our thought was that we could sell Tyler's car for the amount that we still owed on my car ($6,880) and then hopefully get a more spacious car with a similar payment to mine so that we would still only have one car payments but it wouldn't change our budget very much. We went to Low Book Sales in Orem because they wanted to appraise Tyler's car. After some really dishonest things that they did, we ended up not purchasing anything from them. The very next day, we went to Ken Garff in Orem because Tyler was going to test drive a car. We liked it, but it wasn't anything too special. Just in case, I asked if they had anything similar to that one. Apparently an older couple has just brought in a car that the other dealership had lent to Tyler while they were appraising his car that was way out of our price range there, but this couples' car was right in our price range. So we ended up buying it that very day. We love our new 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe and couldn't be more happy with the purchase of our first car together!

Tyler is still working (hard?) on school. He still isn't quite sure what he wants to do other than continue working at the credit union. He originally wanted to be a teacher when we returned home from his mission. He couldn't decide what he wanted to focus on as far as subject that he wanted to teach. He kept saying, "Well I could do History or English." He couldn't decide so he switched his major to Business Finance after he started working for the credit union. Accounting came next but he wasn't passing his accounting class because it is a really different kind of math that he doesn't really love, but again, thought that he could do it. He has moved on to Elementary Education which he finally said that he is excited to do. However, he is not loving the school part of it. He has a really hard time focusing on his homework and remembering to take tests. Which is where my next advice comes from...before you get married or have a baby, FINISH SCHOOL!! It is so much easier when you only have yourself to worry about. There are just so many distractions now, and all he really wants to do is spend time with his family (which how can I say no to that?). I hope he figures it out because I don't really want my husband to be in school forever. That would be awful.

Noah

My sweet Noah is growing up SO FAST!! He will be 8 months old on Thursday! Where has the time gone seriously?? Noah is such a happy boy. I love the different stages that he has gone through and has been so fun watching him grow and develop. His personality is one that is addictive to be around. I love spending time with him and playing with him on the floor. One of my favorite games is putting blocks on the top of his head and watching him look for the block. Actually I like putting anything on his head because he will just look with his eyes to the top of his head, and it is just the cutest little face that he makes and it makes me laugh really hard. Here are some things about my sweet boy that I would love to remember always:

1. He loves his mommy and daddy the most

2. He gives mom the best kisses, but won't kiss dad because of his facial hair

3. He pulls himself up on the furniture so fast now and has such strong legs (We even had to lower his crib because every time we go in his room now to get him he is standing up in his crib)

4. He loves eating at the table with us

5. He loves zucchini, green beans, squash, peaches, pears, prunes, bananas, chicken, sweet potatoes, bread, cinnamon rolls, french fries, blueberry puffs, and peas, as long as all of those things are warm
(He makes a really funny squish face and shakes his head when he eats something that he doesn't like)

6. He has the happiest face in the morning when we come to get him out of his crib

7. He makes this noise like a grandpa when he talks, especially at other babies in church (it kind of sounds like he is grunting)

8. He has 2 top teeth and 2.5 bottom teeth with more coming in

9. He still loves to be swaddled when he goes to bed, even though he breaks out of the swaddle and usually ends up sleeping on his stomach with his head up against the bars of his crib
(we finally bought some bumpers to go around the outside so that he doesn't hit his head on the bars)

10. He doesn't like the grass, but loves being outside on a blanket

11. He is always clapping his hands on the table or pounding on the table or with blocks

12. He loves to rest his outside leg on my chest when he is nursing

13. He loves to snuggle with dad on the couch at night

14. He likes to look at books and turn the pages

15. He loves to hold our hands and walk around the house bringing his right leg up really high out in front of himself

16. He loves his baths and especially loves to chew on the washcloth that I try washing him with

17. He sleeps for about 11 hours usually with eating only once during that time

18. He loves to jump and move around; not sit

19. He smiles all the time, sometimes with his top lip over his bottom lip

20. He doesn't even mind his car seat very much anymore
21. He makes a very quiet puh puh puh sound and loves it when we copy him
22. He loves to squeal loudly
23. He huffs and puffs when he is frustrated
24. He rubs his eyes when he is tired
25. He now turns over after I take his clothes and diaper off and crawls quickly away so that he can be naked

I could come up with about a million more, but I love love love my baby, and I can't believe he is growing up so quickly.

When Tyler got home from work tonight, he asked if I wanted my birthday present from my mom and his mom. He can't keep a surprise a secret for more than a few minutes I don't think. I could tell he was excited so I said he could show me. They got me a jogging stroller which I was totally surprised by because I don't jog. But I am willing to try it out for sure! I have always said that I want to enjoy running, so I guess now here is my chance. I just hope it warms up soon so that I can take this baby out for a spin!

Today also marks the 2 year anniversary of when Tyler proposed to me on the "Y" mountain. He actually suggested that we do that for our activity tonight, and I don't think he could pay me right now to hike it because I am so out of shape. Happy two years of love Ty!

Sleep? What's that?

Noah has definitely helped Tyler and I learn the importance of sleep. Sometimes from good experiences, and sometimes from not so good experiences. Last week, a friend suggested that if Noah is not sleeping through the night, that he is probably old enough to cry it out, where you just let the baby cry until they fall back to sleep because they finally realize that they are fine. I have never really been a fan of this method, one because I dont like hearing my baby cry, and two because I can't sleep through the crying, so I might as well wake up with him anyways. However, I was finally to the point where I didn't really want to wake up at 2:30 anymore, and last Friday, I took the plunge. I let him cry. Tyler even asked before Noah even woke up if we should switch sides of the bed so that I wouldn't be tempted to go get him out of his crib if he woke up. We were really going to go through with this. I of course said no, that I could handle it. So he, of course, woke up at 2:30, and we let him cry. I tried to ignore it, and it was hard. But he only cried for about 30 minutes off and on, and then we fell back to sleep until 7! From then on, he slept through the night Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...and then Wednesday came. He woke up at 2:30. Ty said, let him cry. 30 minutes later, he was asleep. And then
last night. My poor boy. He woke up at 2:30. 30 minutes later, he was still crying. Hard. He was not going to go to sleep. But we let him cry. And cry. And cry. Finally I said, Ty, he is not going back to sleep. So I got up and fed him, and that seemed to do the trick. I wrapped him back up, put him in his crib, went back to bed hoping to fall asleep quickly. Then the crying started again. I thought, I fed you, loved you, what else do you need. Then we realized that the night before, we had noticed that his top two teeth were starting to kind of sprout through, and it clicked his gums must be sore, and he is crying because he is in pain. We gave him some Tylenol, snuggled on the couch with him, and he quickly fell into a comfortable sleep....finally. Again, my poor little boy. I feel so sad that he has to go through things that put him in pain. So the story continues... My alarm was set for 6:55 so that I could be to work by 8:00. With 4 hours of sleep, waking up at 6:55 was not what I wanted to do, so I naturally turned the thing off, crawled back in bed, and fell right back into my deep sleep. The next thing I know, Tyler's alarm clock is going off, and I feel much better. Until I realize what time it must be. 8:05!!! I am 5 minutes late for work already and I just woke up!!! I quickly call my boss in a panic and he doesn't answer, so here is my message for him. "Boyce! I heard my alarm go off, but I was tired, so I turned it off and went back to sleep! I just woke up and am 5 minutes late, I will try calling you on the school phone!" I called the school and Deanna, one of the secretaries who saves me all the time, answers, I tell her the same thing and she tells me to just get ready and she will go cover for me. My aide was supposed to be there, so I tell Deanna that she knows what to do so just go make sure that she can get in and I will be there soon. I get a call back saying that my aide called and said she was throwing up and really sick. How comical. Thank goodness it is Friday!! That is all I have to say! Needless to say, everything ended up working out in the end, my boss was totally understanding, and now it's the weekend.

Time flies when you are having fun!

I can hardly even believe that we are already into April! My favorite month actually! It's the month I was born, so obviously that is why! I feel like April is also such a refreshing month. It is the beginning of when it is finally starting to feel warm outside, like I don't have to stay cooped up in my house all day anymore. It makes me even more excited to be able to play outside with my 7 MONTH OLD!! Yes, my sweet little baby Noah boy is already 7 months old. I can hardly even believe that the time has flown by so quickly since the day he was born. He is just such a natural part of my life now, it just seems like he has always been here with us. Just like I feel like Tyler and I have been married forever, even though it will be only 2 years in July. I love having these boys in my life, and I love that we all just fit together.

Even though it seems like the time has flown by so quickly, these last 3 months that I haven't blogged have been a little tricky. With the yucky winter months, my sweet boy has gotten two colds, and those have been probably some of the the most challenging weeks of being a mother. I feel so helpless when all I can do is snuggle him, suck out all the gunk, spray some nasal spray, and hope that he gets a few hours of sleep while not being able to breath very well. He was definitely not my sweet Noah while he was not feeling very well. It's crazy how much a simple thing like the common cold can change a baby. I almost think it's inhuman for babies to get colds when they can't even do anything about it.

Noah has grown up so much the past few months as well. Over Christmas break, my mom kept saying that Noah was going to be mobile so soon because he was already trying to scoot around the living room. Now I have to watch him like a hawk because he is scooting all over the place. He does a little worm like scoot and it's so funny to watch his little tushy scoot up and down while he glides across the room. A few weeks ago, he even started getting up on his hands and knees like he wants to actually crawl, but he doesn't know how to coordinate his arms with his legs, so he ends up just falling on his belly and scoots. He also has started to get up on just his hands and feet in push up position. I don't really think he wants to crawl. I think he just wants to walk. One thing I know for sure is that he doesn't want to sit. He arches his back every time we try to sit him down. He doesn't like to be stationery. This baby likes to move!

When he turned 6 months old on February 25th, we tried to start him eating solid foods right away. People suggested starting with rice cereal mixed with a little bit of formula or breast milk. He didn't want anything to do with that. So we tried mixing it with baby applesauce to make it a little sweeter. He hated that too. It just seemed like he wasn't interested at all. We tried green beans, peas, squash. He just would take a few bites, and just make the most hilarious faces, like, "What in the world is this stuff?" We finally tried peaches, he ate more of that than he did with the vegetables. He likes to eat little bites of what we are actually eating than his baby food. So I give him little pieces of bread. He really is his mothers' son. I couldn't live on this Earth without carbs. Bananas are another thing he will sample. French fries probably shouldn't make it on this list, but unfortunately for Noah, those are something his mommy really loves, so of course he has had a french fry or two. The little baby puffs are another snack he enjoys every once in a while. He also really loves to chew everything with his two bottom teeth, so he will keep the food at the front of his mouth and he looks like a little old grandpa when he chews...I think it is possibly one of the cutest things ever! Yes, I know, he has two bottom teeth. They came in so smoothly, without any teething issues. I didn't even know that they were coming in it was such a smooth transition. Nursing has been a little bit more painful, because sometimes he will bite me. He has stopped biting as much though, because I think my scream has scared him enough that he doesn't want me to scream anymore. His little teeth are so sharp. And as far as I can tell, no other little teeth are making their way through his smiley little gums.

Noah loves to jump, stand, and climb (all with support of course) and I think he is just going to be such a curious little boy. He doesn't really love his carseat still when he has to get in it, but when we are just at home and his carseat is in its' spot, he loves to climb all over it and in it. He loves to talk, and is constantly telling us stories. It has been so fun this week being on Spring Break from school, because Noah is happiest in the morning right when he wakes up, which is a time that I don't usually get to spend with him. I love love spending time with my baby boy, and what a dream it would be to be able to stay home with him all the time. My students really love him too though. And my coworkers love him too. I also really feel like it has been great for him to be able to spend Mondays with just Daddy, and certain days with just Grandma and Grandpa Keil. He loves spending time with them now, and Noah is really not a shy baby. He will basically go to anyone, but secretly I think he loves his mommy the most. However, Tyler can get him to calm down better than anybody, so Daddy also has a special little touch that Mommy doesn't have sometimes.

We are still trying to figure out his sleeping schedule. I think that might be another one of the trickiest things about parenting. We feel like we made the right choice to put him in his crib from the very beginning. We haven't had to transition him from our bed to his crib or anything. But he has started fighting sleep a little bit more lately. It's hard to be patient when I know he is tired, but he doesn't want to go to sleep. That is where Tyler usually steps in to help me out. He is kind of on a predictable napping schedule. He usually goes to bed for good between 10 and 11. He has been sleeping until about 4:30, then he wakes up and I go in and feed him, he will go right back to sleep until like 8:00 ish. Throughout the day I feel like he takes pretty consistent naps. He will play for a couple hours, sleep for a couple hours, and then eat. I have been trying to not let him take a nap after 6:00 so that he will start getting tired around 9:00 and that's when we can attempt to do our (not consistent) bedtime routine. He overall is a really good baby, and we can usually put him down in his crib and he will fall right to sleep without much trouble. Sometimes he has those days though where he just will not go to sleep. We are still working through the kinks though. We will figure it out.

Some fun things we have done lately:
-We went bowling a few weeks ago, and Noah loved trying on the shoes.
-We went to the park for the first time and we don't know if know really enjoyed the swings or the slide, but he didn't cry, so we will take it
-We went to Great Grandma and Grandpa Keils' funerals, and Noah was so good
-We went to a BYU basketball game and Noah and baby Landon got to hang out
-We went to the spring BYU football scrimmage and Noah got a cute new hat
-We went to the Hogle Zoo with the Durtschi's and really enjoyed our day with them (Noah concentrated alot on the carousel
-We went and played at the park at the school by our house and Noah loved watching his daddy play basketball tonight while mommy got to visit with Brooke! (too bad baby Emerson slept the entire time)

Picture Time!!

(Just a Few...I might have gotten carried away)

This was a month before I was due. I just love this picture.

This is his girlfriend Clara. She is a month older than him. They play together every Wednesday.

This is how he feels about every kind of food he eats. Unless it is milk. Then he gets way excited.

His good friend Landon!

He loves to eat the wall in Sunday School at church.

Easter! He loved his easter eggs! He even got a new swimming suit!

His new sippy cup! We put a little bit of water in it and he loves it!

My strong baby!