Spontaneous Disneyland Trip and More

Cade aren't usually very spontaneous but we decided our family had been under quite the stress with moving and adding a baby to the family. So we said, "let's go to Disneyland next week!" And that we did :). It was so cute to see how in love Taft was with Baby Nora. Whoever was holding her, he was RIGHT there beside them :). He couldn't get enough of her! Good thing he's going to be a big brother come fall!

Nora had a rough time sleeping during the day on vacation...she always slept in a swing during the day...

We first drove to Las Vegas and spent conference weekend with the Close side. It was a relaxing weekend and fun to let all the kiddos play! Then we drove the rest of the way to Anaheim Sunday night. Monday and Tuesday we spent all day at Disneyland and California Adventure and had a blast! Every time we have gone to Disneyland it has been wonderful and different in their own ways. This time we didn't have another family to trade off with on the "bigger" rides, but this time made it all about the girls. We did whatever rides they wanted and tried to get some good one on one time with them. Their favorite parts were meeting Elsa and Anna and the other princesses. Their favorite rides were Peter Pan, Dumbo, the rockets and Winnie the Pooh (we went on that one 4 times in a row!). This time we did character dining in Ariel's Grotto and got to meet the princesses while the characters came around to greet us- definitely worth it! We had so much fun with our own little family and the girls had a blast. It was quick planning but was so much fun.

Emma and I went on Racers in CarsLand and it was NOT her favorite :). I was laughing the whole time and she was on the verge of crying...this pic taken BEFORE the fast racing part ;).

Our only "Family" pic taken this time. We kinda forgot so we have all three in strollers for memories :).

After Disneyland, we drove to Santa Barbara and spent 3 days with Sisten and Andrew. We got to see their new house they live in now and see how much Jaxon is growing up! Our favorite things were Padero Grill that we ate at (beautiful and a huge sand area that the kids could play in), playing at the beach and walking along the pier, and just hanging out at the house. It was so funny to watch Reese and Jax play together. Lets just say that they both have VERY strong, independent personalities and neither one wanted the other one to tell them what to do :). Just about what we expected. Cade is so good to me. He never wants me to leave sad from a vacation because I didn't get enough time to spend with Kristen (or any other family member) so he makes sure we get plenty of time to talk and hang out. Kristen is doing SO SO good. She has had a lot of health problems after being pregnant and its great to see so much improvement after almost three years! She is so wonderful and I love her so much.

Nora is not a cuddler, but when we got to Santa Barbara, she was so tired. Aunt Sisten got a lot of cuddle time with her!!

Padero Grill. It's so beautiful!

Beach Day! Chilly, but the kids had fun. Well,, almost all. Reese hated the sand in between hers toes so much that she wouldn't even get off her chair :). It was actually pretty funny.

Because Sisten has to watch what she eats, we got treated to some very healthy delicious meals!!

 Snuggle time and time to say "goodbye".

Overall our trip was almost perfect. The only thing that I would have traded was our 13 hour drive that turned to 15 because of random protestors that completely SHUT down I-15. Not my favorite drive home, but I guess the vacation coulnd't be absolutely perfect. Opposition in all things?

To make the parting bearable, Elmo Facetimed with us after we got home from Cali :). We love Uncle Elmo (Andrew).

OH, and some great news! Just a few days after we got home from visiting the, Kristen and Andrew got to welcome little Julian into their home to foster for some time. Sweet little boy is so blessed to be in their home. He will be completely loved and well taken care of!

Jor-Jor's Mission Call and State Bball Championship

Uncle Jordan Paul Bleak recieved his mission call! He had almost the entire school at the house to hear it :). He got called to the Argentina, Mendoza mission and will report to the MTC July 2nd. With the move and new baby we decided to do Face Time. So that's why this pic isn't the greatest. We are so excited for him!! He is seriously one of the most amazing teenagers every to step foot on this planet. He is going to be SO amazing and he has prepared himself his entire life to be able to go teach the people in Argentina. I am grateful for his amazing example to us all of how we should live our lives.

Jordan also was on the winning state championship basketball team for 4A high schools. It was so much fun to be there and be a part of it. Congrats, Bud!

Nora's Two Month Update!

Well, we didn't know if it would ever happen but we have a chunky baby! She checked out very healthy and good at her two month doctor's check-up. Nora's percentiles are:

Weight: 79th%
Height: 89th%
Head: 56th%

She is doing so well. This time around nursing is going great as well and I feel very blessed. The first two times were a struggle and very stressful. But blessings this time around and I am very grateful. It is also wonderful to not have to worry or lose sleep over a small baby who isn't growing very fast. With both Emma and Reese we carried them around in their infant car seat well over 1 year old. Nora's a heavy little thing.

I don't know if I ever reported on her two week check-up or not. Nora left the hospital at 7 lbs even. Less than two weeks later and she weighed 8 lbs 13 oz. The doctor was very impressed.

Some other things about Nora:
She loves to lay down on her back and kick and kick and kick.
Started really smiling lots around 6 weeks.
Started sleeping really well at 4 weeks old. Only waking up once in the night to nurse.
She is so content and happy and just seems to love life no matter what goes on.
So far is a dream baby and allows Mommy to give the attention to her to older sisters that they need.
Sweet sweet temperment and hardly EVER cries.

Still with three babies, we are always busy and often are tired. But we wouldn't trade it for the world!

Obviously Nora's Stork bite gives her away, but our girls all looked pretty similar as infants. Different, but definitely sisters.

 Nora at two days and 6 weeks old.

Our New Home!

Well, I haven't updated the blog in far too long. We've had SO much going on lately and I just haven't gotten around to it, but it's far too important to not catch up. So here's my attempt :).

On February 13th, we sold our home in cute Apple Grove and "rented" it out for 2 weeks until we got into our other home. February 19th we closed on our new home (still in Pleasant Grove) and had the next week to get some things ready before moving in. Grandpa Close was not working during the tim eof the move and turned out to be a HUGE HUGE blessing for our family. He came up from Arizona for 9 days. The first few days, he and Cade primed and painted the entire 3 car garage and put an epoxy coating on the floor. Then the next several days, he stayed and pretty much packed us up and moved us over to our new house. With having a brand new baby, I honestly don't know how we would have done it. Of course Cade was really sick that week of moving, so it was definitely needed to have him here with us. We are so grateful for all he does for us.

We had many co-workers and people from our old ward helping us move. I also had many friends who helped watch the girls and do anything I needed to help with the move. We are blessed with great people in our lives. From our Bishopbric's and visiting and home teachers and neighbors...there are a lot of people we are sad not to see on a daily or weekly basis. Such great people that we got to serve or be served by and really get to know well. That Apple Grove area was so much fun to be in and our neighbors and ward members were truly blessings in our lives.

So we've been here over two months now. It really seems a lot longer than that to me. We have moved from one amazing ward and area to another amazing ward and area. Our new neighbors and ward members have been extremely warm and welcoming. We feel so blessed. There have been many notes and gifts given, many visits and lots of people introducing themselves. Our next door neighbors are the Skoy's and Lawrence's and are both so great. I am excited to get to know these people really well as we plan to be here for a very long time.

Loading up the last big items from our old house:

Welcome to our new home where we will have many family memories to come!

Grandpa Close showing the great process of finishing the garage. No small feat.

Well, life was pretty insane for a couple months. This was one day during the moving week were we didn't have beds for them to take naps in and I was going a little crazy. So I took them on a drive to get all three asleep at the same time (mission accomplished) and didn't know where I was going. Somehow I ended up in the In N Out drive-through and then sat in the parking lot and had a whole 5 minutes to myself. Good times.

Nora's Blessing Day!

On February 16, 2014, Nora Lee Close received a name and blessing in Sacrament meeting. We did it a little sooner than we normally would have because we wanted to bless her in the 12th ward before we moved a few weeks later. We were blessed to have so many family members there to support us and our Miss Nora.

Nora's is named after couple different people. We wanted her middle name to be after her Grandma Close and Aunt Tara who both have the middle name of Lee. Nora also has a great great Grandma named Leanora on her Grandma Bleak's side of the family. We love her name and I'm glad Emma pushed so hard to name her Nora :).

It was a beautiful blessing. Some of the things she was blessed with are:

She was blessed to be a healthy child free of complications.
Also to be a "doer" of the word of God and serve those around her.
It was mentioned that her name means "honor" and she should always remember that. She should remember to honor her covenants she makes in the temple, to honor her family and parents. Also to honor herself and be confident in who she is. To remain pure and virtuous.
Nora was also blessed to honor and respect the priesthood and the men who stood in the circle that day.
She was blessed to be kind and nonjudgmental and to love all people around her.
Blessed to have a special relationship with her sisters and that is where happiness comes from.
The last thing was to always remember that her Savior loves her.

It was a wonderful blessing, wonderful day filled with wonderful people. We love our Nora!

Unfortunately I didn't get any great pictures of just Nora on her special day :(. My plan was to take some with my good camera in a good setting, but that didn't happen so we'll have to settle for this pic :)!