I feel like I’m expending a fair amount of mental energy these days, and really just loving a day to decompress with my wife and children without interruption or concern. Today was one of those days. I woke up and read some of Steve Jobs biography and then did some pumpkin carving research. I read up on techniques and downloaded some templates I knew the kids would love—Angry Birds, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, Yugi Oh. Daria bought pumpkins and carving instruments earlier in the week so we set up and carved away. Dylan carved a Legend of Zelda Triforce pumpkin design and Daria and I helped Brigs and Noah. It was funny coaxing them into pulling the seeds and goo out as they really don’t get their hands dirty all too often. But they dug right in and did a great job. The designs the kids wanted were fairly demanding so we did most of the carving. I’ve decided that pumpkin carving is a total blast and I’m going to do this every year now. Later on I played some basketball and raked some leaves and just enjoyed the sunny day looking out at all the sailboats. Daria and I went into the office to cement an onlay, and then she came home and cooked a fabulous meal of wings, scalloped potatoes and garden salad. It was delicious. We read from Moroni 7:43-49 and had a good family discussion about charity, what it really is, characteristics of a charitable person and applied it. It’s really the ultimate goal, requirement, happiness and meaning. I love those last few verses. I’m excited that we have almost read the entire Book of Mormon as a family and now trying to think of a way to mark the occasion. It was a good day.
Category Archives: Noah
Overheard
Noah: “Mom, you make my heart feel so happy!”
Painting
The past couple of nights I’ve stolen an hour or so to paint a room with my four boys. I love the feeling of working alongside my family on a project. The boys are all quite proud of their handiwork and the paint job turned out great. It was quite adorable when Brigs and Joshua painted their names on the wall. A classic moment.
Pretty Good Looking. Pretty Quiet. And Pretty Deadly
That cute little boy, Noah, in addition to being unusually beautiful is also unusually quiet for our brood. So quiet in fact that he sneaks right under our “parent-radar” that over time has become more sensitive to sound then the lack of sound. For instance, this past week he has left the house on three occasions and made no announcement of his exit. He plays quiet and he escapes quiet. Seriously this is a baby you’d like to have with you on your prison break. He also loves to make messes quietly.
Tonight’s featured dish/capers? Completely smashed ceramic cookware followed by Sesame Ginger Teriyaki marinade (absolutely delicious by the way, Safeway Select brand) dumped all over the carpet. All without a peep. The kid’s as quiet as a 9mm silencer, incredibly good looking, charming with all the ladies—I tell you he’s the next James Bond.
Pretty Good Looking for a Boy
This week I’m enjoying full-time Daddy status. No more pencils. No more books. No more teachers. Dirty looks. As I said to Daria this week, I think I could enjoy being independently wealthy (all character development, work ethic etc. being equal). At the same time, the minute I’m not occupied with reading, organizing/packing our home or playing on the playground with the kids, I find myself lost looking for something to do. The pace at school is fairly brisk with no shortage of tasks to complete. The playground is a nice change. Occasionally I get in a brief chat with a nearby adult. Today, while I held Noah, a friendly old man with suspender-held shorts started in.
“I remember when my kids were that young”
“Oh how many children do you have”
“I had three.” I assumed he still had three and didn’t follow up on his use of tense. “Three boys.”
“That’s great I have four boys.” He didn’t hear the boy part.
“Four! Well she’s a nice little girl”
“Yeah, actually this is Noah, he’s a boy”
“Pretty good looking for a boy”
“Yep, he’s a looker alright,” I said non-offended, almost proud really. But it made me wonder. I started thinking about my pyschology textbook with it’s pictures of babies without gender cues. Always fun to play that guessing game. Noah was wearing a forest green shirt with stripes and jeans, pretty good cues if you ask me.
But gender cues aside, I have to agree, he’s pretty good looking for a boy. Must be from his mother’s side 
