Our Little Valentines

2012-01-27T18:27:00.003-07:00

Yesterday Chloe said one word that brought tears to my eyes. "Noah." She's been calling her big brother "Wawa" since she first started talking. We think it's cute, so while I never call Noah "Wawa," I also never try to get her to stop. All the sudden yesterday, she just started calling him by his proper name...and she did it all day. She even corrected Matt when he asked her if she had had fun with Wawa, "No Daddy, No-ah!" I'm not completely sure where the tears came from. There are so many new things she says or does these days. This particular one just blind-sided me. My Chloe is a little girl. Not a baby. Uh-oh, the tears are a-comin again.

I guess Noah couldn't be outdone by his sister. Yesterday he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I think you need to take me to preschool."

This growing up thing is just happening way too fast for my taste.

Here's a few semi-recent pics of the kiddos...since they make the blog so much prettier:) We had a picnic outside at a nearby playground earlier this month (yes, it was warm enough even in Wyoming in January to have a picnic outside...at least for one day). I took a ton of pics but I didn't have the settings right to get good shots in the bright sun. These were the ones that turned out the best.

Ten Weeks in...Wyoming

2012-01-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Today is cold and yucky. Wind chill is supposed to get in the -30s tonight and the roads are already slippery. BUT...I'm home with my babies and I don't have to leave (ever) if I don't want to. So I love it. From the warmth of the living room, I can see the snow blowing around and it's a nice picture (only because I don't have to go out in it). We had some new friends come over this morning for a playdate which was so fun. N and C play so well together, but there's something really sweet about seeing them get to know new little ones. Noah asked immediately after they left for another playdate soon:). So here are some more quick takes on our new state.

-When Wyoming applied for statehood, they had to count cattle since the state wasn't populated with enough people to gain statehood. At the time there was more cattle than people.

-We received a phone book the other day for "Northeastern Wyoming and the surrounding area" and it's half the size that our Hburg/Rockingham county one was.

-People talk about places that are 2-3 hours away as if they're just up the street. I'll have to live here a long time to get used to that...

-We paid our babysitter what we would have paid in VA...and the next day her mom (who works with Matt) returned half the money and laughed at how much babysitters must charge in VA. Works for me:)

-This has supposedly been a "mild winter." Thank you God for easing me in...

-Most people here are Broncos fans. It's rubbed off...I just can't help liking Tebow. (No worries, my loyalty remains with the Giants. I can't help but wonder if Matt will be upset if Noah ends up a Broncos fan??)

Another Girl...

2012-01-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

We had our first ultrasound yesterday and found out that Baby 3 is most likely a girl. The cord was between her legs the entire time, so it's possible that in four weeks at the next ultrasound we'll have a little surprise. In the meantime the hardest thing for me will be to NOT buy anything yet...just in case. The reason we had to have this ultrasound was mostly because Matt and I didn't have a firm grasp on how pregnant I might be. You know the typical questions...
"When was the first day of your last period?"
"8.31.11...I think."
"How sure are you?"
"Not at all..."
So according to the date I gave them, they thought I could be at about 19 weeks, but after the US, they bumped me back to 17.5 weeks putting my due date at 6.16.12. I'm really glad about the date change since they won't let me go past 39 weeks anyway. The date bump also means that Baby wasn't big enough yet for the typical full anatomy ultrasound...so I have to have another one in 4 weeks. Those of you that know me know how much I hate having any type of extra medical anything done to me...but I am glad that we'll get a more definitive look so we can be sure that she is in fact a girl.
The only concern the doctor had was that the placenta was covering my cervix. I'm praying and believing that it will move up out of the way as Baby grows. Specifically, that it's implanted in the endometrial lining and NOT in my uterus. For now, please pray with me that that is the case. There could be other complications down the road if it's not...but I don't want to talk about worst case scenarios right now. Either way, Baby was looking great and this won't effect her. God is the author of life and is in control of this situation - thanks so much for your prayers.
On a lighter note, Chloe and Noah are very excited to have a little sister. They both love babies so much - I'm so excited to see their little faces when they finally get to meet her for the first time. Here are some names they've suggested since yesterday (in parenthesis, the kid that suggested it):
Matthew (Noah)
Chloe (Noah)
Anya (Noah)
Atti (Noah)
Like (Chloe)
Watch (Chloe)
Eden (Chloe)

And here's Chloe changing her baby's diaper.

Another First...Christmas

2012-01-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Our first Christmas in Wyoming has already come and gone. Matt had to work six days a week almost all of December, and until after 7 for the week leading up to the 25th. We're all so glad that his schedule will only be like that one time a year...and now we have him back!

We spent a lot of time leading up to Christmas talking about Jesus's Birthday...and the main question that Noah kept coming up with was, "How are we going to give Jesus his presents?" It gave us lots of opportunities to explain and demonstrate to Noah how we can give Him gifts (I just love seeing things click in his little head). I think that it did confuse him a little that he received gifts on Christmas, (and not just Jesus), but I think by next year he'll be able to understand more clearly. Chloe has become a big prayer warrior in the family, she loves talking to Jesus and reminds us to pray daily. I did intend to make a "Happy Birthday Jesus" birthday cake, but just ran out of time (good thing the kids were too young to notice).

It was a very different Christmas for us, but it was nice to have a low key day and enjoy time together. We were able to have a relaxing morning (if that's possible with a 2 and 3 year old surrounded by presents) and go to church. We let Noah stay up through his nap so he could have "big boy" time to play with some of his more time consuming and Chloe-unfriendly toys. We got to skype with a lot of family, but missed being able to actually spend time with them. I guess in a way we've been spoiled by all the holidays we have spent with family. It's hard to believe that it was 7 years ago that we had our first Christmas with a Micah as a baby. Since then we've watched him, Riley and Uriah grow up with Noah and Chloe through holidays, birthdays, and many family nights. They adore each other and it's so sad to be so far away from them.

Here are some pictures from our much quieter than usual Christmas Day.

2 years with Coco

2011-12-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Chloe turned 2 on December 10th. I was in a little bit of denial at first, but this girl is definitely a 2 year old, and sometimes more like a 13 year old...so I guess I've had to let it sink in. Sometimes when she's in the right mood, she'll snuggle up with me or Matt and it seems like just yesterday she was this sweet little newborn...

Now look at her. Two years later and she's definitely not a baby anymore. She picks out her own clothes, and usually asks to change outfits 2-3 times a day. She picks out hair clips and says "thank you" more than most adults I know. I confess, it's so hard to say no to that sweet little face when she wants something.
Truly, could you resist this face?

Obviously we tell her no plenty, but she really does make it difficult. She's so super sweet, especially when she wants something. She absolutely adores her brother, and if he's not giving her the attention she wants she provokes otherwise even-tempered Noah into hysterics (but then she gets attention...smart girl). She's quick to say "sah-wy" and give hugs and kisses (which happens a lot). She talks practically non-stop, most of which Matt and I understand, but much of which others couldn't. She loves to spin...and she can spin for a long time without falling down, it's kind of amazing really. She is very stubborn (no clue where she got that from) - when she gets her mind set on something it will take an act of God to change it. She thinks that she's Noah's age and gets very upset when we treat her any differently than her brother. She is very expressive, so much so that she leaves you in no doubt of what she's thinking. It makes for some pretty funny, and sometimes downright mean looks she shoots at people. When she's happy and laughing, you have to laugh with her...there's no way you'd be able to keep a smile off your face when Chloe's smiling at you.

I just love this girl. The past two years with her have been such a gift...and I know that the year ahead will be full of lots of laughter, and probably lots of time-outs too.

Oh, and for those of you wondering (stop reading if you don't want to hear about breastfeeding)..Chloe is FINALLY fully weaned. And yes, it did happen before her 2nd birthday. My goal was to have her weaned at 18 months, and she was except for the occasional middle of the night sick baby nursing and the right before bed (nightly) nursing. But she held on to that last one for a long time. I'm really glad that I didn't force her to stop sooner, cause with all the transition we've had going on, I know that it was a big comfort to her to have that time. It was also nice for me to have those peaceful moments with her. So we had been talking about how Chloe is a big girl and nursing is for babies for several weeks and I finally decided to cut her off about a week before her birthday. She cried (the screaming in agony kind) for about 35 minutes and then settled down. She only fussed about it one other time, and has only asked to nurse a handful of times after that. So the first day was rough, but it needed to be done. I wanted to make sure she had a good break before she saw me nursing Baby 3 (and hello...it'll be nice for me to have a break too).

Here are some photos from her birthday. I ran out of space on the memory card about half way through and did get some good video...but can't figure out how to get the video off the camcorder...so for now, just pictures.

Over 6 Weeks Now...

2011-12-21T15:42:00.001-07:00

...so what do we really think of our new home? Well, Matt and I are determined to love it here. We're committed to at least 3 years, and they will be three great years. Of course we miss our friends and family, but are so grateful for skype, and for relationships that that will last regardless of any distance between us. Now some quick takes on our new life/house/city.

- It's cold. It's a dry cold, and it's often sunny, which really does make a difference. What we didn't really know before the move, is that it's also often suite windy here. Could be 20 degrees and sunny, great for playing outside with the kids. But if the wind starts blowing it's just bone chilling. We're adapting slowly. (Matt still loves the cold)

- We have much more family time. Not just me with the kids, but all of us together. Matt's actually had to work almost every Saturday since we moved cause it's their busy season...and I still feel that way. He'll only have to work Saturdays around Christmas and probably close to Valentines Day and possibly Mother's Day. YAY:)

- We have a garage - so minimal snow shoveling and very nice for loading and unloading the kids on cold days. Also, the kids LOVE pushing the button.

- Only have 1 garage door opener which is in my car. So I have to remember to close the garage door after Matt leaves for work. I've forgotten many times (Matt would want to make sure you all know that). I also left the kitchen window open once when it dropped to 20 degrees. Again, telling you for Matt's satisfaction.

- We have a fenced in yard. LOVE it! And big glass doors overlooking it so I can watch the kids from inside. Of course Chloe won't go out without me...and Noah doesn't want to be out for more than 10 minutes by himself cause he wants someone to play with. Still, LOVE it!

- We now have a basement, aka: playroom. I still end up cleaning up toys from the living room each day, but it's SO nice to just throw them down the stairs into the playroom. The kids love it too and it's big enough for them to actually run around in when it's too yucky to go outside.

- Yes, that means we have 3 floors, so I get more of a work out that I did at our old house. Also means a lot more to clean. And the vacuum isn't really working (though I think I can fix that). So grateful for the blessing that this house is. Matt works with the owner (her husband is an OBGYN - convenient!) and we were definitely given and amazing deal to get to stay at this house.

-Least favorite thing about the house: the first floor bathroom is a solid 15 - 20 degrees colder than the rest of the house at all times. And the washer and dryer are in that bathroom. Kind of weird no?

-Least favorite thing about the house if I didn't hate being cold so much: The master bedroom is a weird tangerine orange color. Painting is not a priority for us though we have permission...we'll see how long I can stand it.

- We've been to a couple of churches, one of them several times. We like it but want to visit at least two others as well. This past Sunday I almost started crying in the middle of church cause I just missed Covenant so much.

- I discovered downtown Gillette on Friday and I love it. Lots of cute locally owned stores. Probably wont go down there too often until it gets warmer.

- Rec Center here is A-Mazing. But pretty pricey for an annual family pass:/ The swim lessons were pretty well priced...so I think there will be a couple of kids learning to swim in the next year...

-There's an Arts Center with kids classes that I'm so excited to take the kids to. Both kids just love doing crafts and anything artistic, so I think they'll really enjoy the class. And I'm sure I will too:)

- MOPS! There have been 2 meetings so far and it was so nice to sit down with some other moms and have some fellowship time. They meet twice a month (though not in Dec) so it'll be a great way for the kids and me to meet people. Noah is still pretty hesitant to large group settings, so he was a little overwhelmed by the
childcare since there were so many kids. Hopefully we'll have some playdates soon and once he makes a couple of friends he'll be more excited to go.

- The hardest thing is definitely hearing Noah saw that he misses his friends and that he wants kids to play with. We've met one of our neighbors, and they're great, but they have a 6 year old girl...so there's a little age discrepancy there. I'm sure once the holidays are over I'll be able to get some playdates set up, but until then please pray for Noah's heart. It just kills me to see him sad and missing his friends. I'm so grateful for the friendship he has with Chloe - he's just the best big brother we could ever hope for and I know he would be just miserable without her.

- Did I say these were going to be quick takes? Here's a couple of pics to make it more worth your time;)

2011 Miles, 11 States and 4 Days...

2011-12-12T22:44:00.001-07:00

Did I say something in my last post about blogging more? And then follow by a blog absence of 2 months? Sounds like me. Well, we're settled in Wyoming now, or mostly settled, so in theory I'll have more time to blog. (I know, I'll believe it when I see it too).
So now, I'm catching up, as usual...

First, a big THANK YOU to everyone that helped us, prayed for us and helped to keep me sane during the time leading up to our departure. Thanks to friends and family who changed plans to come spend time with us in the narrow window you were given. Thanks for the help packing, the time away from packing, and the general shared excitement for our new adventure. Thanks for loving us as a family, and for loving and caring for our precious kids. It's been bittersweet, we are keenly aware of all the good that we've moved away from, but we're in our new home together and are definitely where God wants us.

Before I start crying all over the keyboard, I do have one special shout out to make. I can't imagine how we could have made this trip without the amazingly selfless Julia Gardner. Thank you dear friend for the great company, for loving Noah and Chloe even while trapped in a car with them for 4 days. For driving many more hours than I did, and for being willing to follow my determined husband through a LOT of states on Day 2. For the great conversations and lots of laughter. For listening to way more cartoons than anyone should ever have to listen to in such a short duration. For doing all this and at the end of it unpacking almost my entire kitchen. And for ending the trip with a full day of travel that included 2 layovers. You are such a blessing and I'm so grateful to call you my friend. Lastly, thanks for staring at this with me for 4 days...

I was really hoping to have all the trip details (including how much we spent on gas) but I think I'm avoiding figuring it up cause I just don't really want to know. This is most of the details from the trip:

Day 1: Left Harrisonburg around 2pm after packing up the truck. States: VA, MD, WV, PA, OH. Arrived in Columbus, OH at my brothers house 9 hours later after 3 stops, (1 meal & 2 gas), 4 movies (thanks to Grammie) and 462 miles.

Day 2: Spent the morning playing visiting with Michael (my brother) and his super sweet kids that we love so much. Left Columbus shortly before 2pm. States: OH, IN, IL, WI, MN. Arrived in Winona, MN 12.5 hours later after 3 stops, (1 meal & 2 gas), 2 movies and 729 miles. **We passed into the Central time zone and had daylight savings, so we gained 2 hours this day.

Day 3: Left Winona around 10am after letting the kids run around the hotel lobby for close to 2 hours. States: MN, SD. Arrived in Rapid City, SD 12.5 hours later after 5 stops, (1 meal, 2 gas, 2 "potty"), 2 movies and 615 miles. **We passed into the Mountain time zone and gained another hour.

Day 4: Let the kids run around the hotel lobby for a while and left by 10am. States: SD, WY. Drove slightly out of the way to go see Mt. Rushmore with Julia. Arrived in Gillette at our new house just over 5 hours later after 2 stops, (1 meal, 1 gas), side trek to Mt. Rushmore and 205 miles. **This is the only day that I actually drove more than Julia.

Thanks again friends for all your prayers and support through this big life change of ours. More to come soon...

Wyoming, really? Yes - Wyoming.

2011-09-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

We're moving. To Wyoming. In about 5 weeks. Yes really.

Matt has a new job as a goldsmith and jewelry designer at a jewelry store in Gillette, Wyoming. This isn't something we were looking for or even had any idea would happen a month ago. It's come up that suddenly.

Here are some quick takes that will hopefully answer any questions you may have:

Matt flew out there last week and had a great experience with the store owners and employees. He's signed a contract, so we're definitely going, and we'll definitely be gone for at least two years.

We're still trying to nail down exactly what we want to do with the store here. The plan now is to maintain ownership and have Randy and Sheri Dixon (the former owners) run the store. Our lease is up in November, so we have options and will definitely be moving the store location at minimum.

I'll be staying home with the kids. (Insert cheering and jumping up and down). I'm very sad that I'll finally be doing this in a place where I know no one and have no stay at home mommy support system. I do know that God is good, and He has given us the opportunity that we've wanted for a long time - I'm so grateful for God's provisions thus far and know that He has amazing people and experiences in store for us in WY.

Matt will be leaving in mid-late Oct, will work for 2-3 weeks and then fly back to drive across the country with us.

Yes we've moving ourselves. The new job is helping, but it will still be costly for us. Matt will be driving the moving truck...so I'll be driving the kids in our car. For the approximately 27 hour drive. We're praying that it works out for someone to come with us for the drive. Thinking that we'll split it into 4 days, the first day ending in a visit with my brother's family in Ohio (but for not long enough).

I am in major purge mode. I'm hoping to sell some things to help with the cost of the move...but when it comes down to it, we just have a lot of stuff that we don't need to take across the country with us. Stay tuned on FB for a ghetto-virtual yardsale of sorts.

Thanks for all our friends and family that have been supportive and have offered to help. We'll probably take you up on it, so stay tuned.

Oh, and hey, I'll be able to blog a lot more. Hmm, I meant to sell you more on the idea of Wyoming, but got a little caught up in other details. I guess that's a future post. That's it for now. I have to pack people!!! (while Matt watches football)

Summer - Before the Heat Wave...

2011-07-22T10:59:00.002-07:00

I hate how hot it's been lately. I feel like I can't take the kids outside for longer than 30 minutes...and that's only if I manage to get them out of the house before 10 (or after 6). Boo to being stuck inside when it looks like it's so nice outside...
Here's a few fun things we did before the excessive heat started. (In memory of the nice days, and in hopes of them returning soon.)

Strawberries!

Strawberry picking! This was our first time and we all loved it. The kids ate tons of strawberries and we got plenty to take home too.

Still at the strawberry farm - Noah still loves tractors. (Who doesn't?)

Sprinkler!

This is what we've been doing when we want to play with water at the house. The baby pool got gross over the winter, so it's destined for the trash (though it may still be under our porch at the moment).

Chloe doesn't like to get too wet or stay wet for too long, so this is perfect for her.

Noah on the other hand...could play in the sprinkler for hours it seems.

And more water!
We also fill up a bunch of buckets for water play too. The kids like to water things: the grass, the tree, the plants, and of course, themselves.

Bubbles!

Catch!

Time to Ride!

Chloe loves her car, and she loves bubbles. But when things don't do what she wants them to do she gets mad. And makes this face. And it's hard not to laugh.

(Don't worry - I'm sure that as soon as I took this picture I told Noah that he had to wear shoes to ride his bike. The kid takes them off every chance he gets.)

Construction & Gardening!

We (err, Matt) built a raised bed on the back deck. The kids helped. Noah really loved going to Lowe's with Matt to pick up everything he needed (they had to take 2-3 trips). They helped put in some dirt too. Unfortunately, the back deck doesn't get enough sun throughout the day to grow plants successfully. Lots of work, and no veggies out back to show for it. The plants in the front are still doing great though...

Sandbox!

Noah got the sandbox from Granddaddy for his birthday. The kids love it!

Paint!

I got this idea from Hope - the kids had a ton of fun, and so did Matt and I. (We had blue, yellow, red and green...but Noah mixed them all up)

Baby Birds!

Back in May we had a momma bird with some eggs on the front of out house. Noah loved watching her sit on her eggs, and once they hatched he got to see her feed her babies a few times.

Beans!

2011-07-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

This was actually back in May. Had to get creative with entertaining the kiddos when we had all that rain...
Thank you Scottie for the idea!

Cousins!

2011-07-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

We went to Ohio to visit the cousins (and meet our newest nephew Ryan) over Memorial Day weekend. I really wish we lived closer so we could see them more - the kids had so much fun together. The weekend had a rocky start when we decided to leave at 2 am for the drive instead of right after work (due to a thunderstorm). Would have been fine, except both kids woke up and stayed awake for the entire drive. They were actually amazingly good all weekend considering that they had so little sleep that first night (thank you Jesus!)
Noah obviously understood and remembered his cousins, so he was super excited and had an amazing time. Chloe tried her hardest to keep up with all the big kids too.

Aunt Rachel and Grammie got to come too...

Chloe and Allison - such sweet girls:)

Noah and Luke. Noah really looked up to Luke and had such a great time playing with him. Luke even let Noah play with some of his Legos - it was really sweet.

Swingset in the backyard - Win!

We just love sweet Ryan. Noah doted on him quite a bit...

What a bunch of cuties!

The gorwn-ups had fun playing too...

Noah loves his cousin...

And he had so much fun playing big boy games with Luke and Uncle Michael.

Chloe, Noah, Ryan, Luke and Allison

The drive home - these were some tuckered out kids.

Easter

2011-05-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

First thing Easter morning we gave Noah his new Bible and talked to him about what Easter really means. He'll still tell you that it's about eggs and Easter baskets if you ask him though. We're working on it...

Here are their Easter Baskets. I hid them so we could focus on talking about Easter before the kids started eating chocolate. One of the first things Noah will tell you about this day is that he got a vitamin in an egg. He was so excited even though he gets a gummy vitamin every day - somehow it was just thrilling that he found it in his egg. And yes. I'm that mom. They each got 3 eggs containing 1 M&M and 1 egg with a PB cup (but Matt didn't let Chloe eat hers). Sorry, but more chocolate than that before 8am is just madness in my book. (Plus I knew that Mimi and Papa would make sure they got plenty of sugar later in the day.)

Chloe liked the grass - until she got some in her mouth.

All dressed up. I wonder when Noah will stop freaking out if we try to take a family picture without him holding at least one car or truck...

I just love this picture. Special time with Papa.

Easter Baskets from Mimi and Papa! And yes, there was plenty of chocolate (AND cotton candy which is still hidden away.)

Love this boy! And he loves lollipops.

Quality time with Joanna:)

It's egg hunting time! Noah got A LOT of eggs. He was too busy collecting them for me to get a good picture. This kid is serious about his candy...

Chloe got quite a few eggs too...

...such a sweetie!

Love love love that the kids get to spend holidays with their cousins (some of them anyway). Can you believe how big Micah is getting?!

Noah is 3 - Photo Dump

2011-05-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Monster Truck madness this birthday.

Lightning McQueen Carrot Cake. Decorating cakes like this takes a LOT longer than I thought. But it was worth it to see Noah so excited about his cake.

Party at Hillandale - the weather ended up being wonderful. (Remind me next year to bring a broom - the park wasn't officially open yet and everything was D-I-R-T-Y.

So glad for all Noah's friends that came out. We love you all - thanks for coming!

Noah likes the frosting best...

All pictures were taken before Noah fell off the table and hit his head on the pavement. Praise God he was fine - pretty shaken up, but fine. We pretty much celebrated his birthday for a week leading up to his party...and had leftover cupcakes for another week after that (Noah just had the frosting of course). So fun to celebrate my sweet Noah's first three years - and the many many years to come.

I have plenty Mommy...

2011-04-26T22:21:00.098-07:00

Noah says the funniest things lately. I know that I've forgotten plenty of funny things, but here are a few that I remember.

Noah pretending to sleep.

Just tonight at dinner Noah asked for some juice...
Me: "You can have milk or water."
Noah: "I'll have nilk."
Me: "Milk?"
Noah: "No, Nilk."
Me: "What's nilk?"

Noah: "It's sunshine." then he got a big grin on his face.

*******

On the way to Mimi and Papa's for Easter, Noah was reading his new Bible we gave him. He 'read' us a couple or stories - about Jesus healing the blind man and about the tomb being empty...then every time he turned another page he said (in a preachy voice), "And then God said, 'Build a marshmallow!'". Every page he turned he said the same thing but with different items God was commanding us to build. Build a towtruck, build a road, build an egg...etc. Marshmallows came up several times - apparently God is a big fan.

Me: "Noah are you ready for breakfast?"
Noah comes running into the dining room," yes Mommy...don' take my socks off!"
Me: "Okay Noah, I wasn't going to take your socks off...lets have breakfast."

*******

Noah likes to make up his own verses to "The Wheels on the Bus".
Matt's favorite is "The bottoms on the bus go toot, toot, toot."
My favorite is "The Daddy's on the bus say 'tiiiiiiiiiired'"(you have to hear it - so sweet)
Here are a few more from a recent car ride home (in the rain):
"The giraffes on the bus say 'I love you' - later they said "I love mommy" :)

"The trucks on the bus say "it's raining"
"Chloe on the bus is getting wet."

A couple of months ago Noah started complaining that his bottom hurts after we'd change his diaper. Turns out that he was getting diaper wedgies...
Noah: "Mommy I have a wedgie. It's okay, it's my fault."

*******

Walking down the stairs one morning with Matt:
Noah: "I have a wedgie. I call it a wedge-ahhh."

Too busy playing to even look at the camera.

12/17/10
Noah: "NO - Me no eat amimawls. Me eat food." (After Matt said that a picture of a chicken was like the chicken we ate for dinner).

Apparently making giant piles of toys in the most inconvenient places is really fun.

Still the sweetest...

2011-04-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Chloe is over 16 months now. Insane. She wants to do everything her brother does. And she wants to do it NOW. She loves sitting in the chairs. She also loves climbing up and standing on them, so we've been keeping them on top of the table when they aren't in use...

Chloe also loves the coupe. We are all so grateful for the warmer temperatures...the kids would probably be happy to live outside if they could.

She also likes to help me cook. Rather, to mess around in the fridge.

She's still a picky eater, but she's doing better. She loves tortellini and gets pretty upset when she runs out.

The last Sunday in March we had a little accident. Chloe hit her head on the coffee table. It bled a lot and terrified me. It stopped bleeding after a minute and she was done crying in two...so I knew she woudl be okay. That first minute though...very scary. Praise God she's fine and didn't even need stitches. We took her to the hospital and they were able to use glue to hold the would closed. It just fell off this weekend and looks great! Below was the day after the accident.

Every once in a while Chloe will let me put a ponytail in - so cute. I usually turn on cartoons to distract her...

This is one little sister that can hold her own with her big brother. They just adore eachother...but like all siblings, they have their disagreements.

Again...whatever big brother is doing is what Chloe wants to be doing. And yes, that's a stick in her mouth. Gross.

Three Years...

2011-04-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

I've known this was coming for a while now. But I'm still in a little bit of suspended reality here. Noah is three years old today. THREE! Take a little look back with me. I remember being so tired when Noah was finally born that I was in and out of sleep through the whole surgery. I mostly slept. I remember hearing him cry when he was out, and then when they held him next to my face, (my hands were shaking too much to hold him at that time - stupid epidural!) he stopped crying. He just looked at me, the blurry blob that I probably was, and he was just quiet. He started crying again when they took him to get cleaned up. Since that day there have been many times that I've held my sweet boy and calmed his tears. Many boo-boos kissed, many books read. Many cars raced, many hugs, snuggles and kisses. I wouldn't trade a single one of them - not for anything. I'm so grateful to God for His miraculous creation. For the sweet boy, the tender heart, and the contagious laugh. I loved Noah when he was still in my belly...but it multiplied when I got to hold him in my arms. It multiplies more every day. Thank you thank you sweet Lord, for my sweet boy!

And a quick look back...he was always such a good sleeper. Such an easy baby...

Noah at one - a mischief maker for sure.

And at 2 - already such a loving big brother.

Noah my little man is 3. And he's still such a joy every day!

His party is next weekend, and if it hits me that day - I may cry a little. Time is moving way too fast...

"Going to the store..."

2011-03-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

This was Noah's game last night. He said he was taking all his games to Target. Since he started this at 7pm - we just left it there overnight...

This morning he started moving his "pile," He said he had to take them to the store. He's currently putting everything back on the couch. He won't tell me why...but he has added his books and the shoe basket and all it's contents to his "pile."

Noah is such a crack up lately. He comes up with the craziest things to do sometimes. Remember when I semi-bragged about how he wouldn't get out of his big boy bed in the morning? Well, we finally convinced him (about 2 weeks ago) to get out of bed and come into our room to get us when he wakes up. (He was screaming for us from his room and waking up Chloe previously). So two days ago, Matt and I wake up to Noah turning the light on. We're groggy, not really awake. Suddenly, "Mommy, whas dis? Mommy, is Handy Manny? Mommy..." Matt and I bolt up, "Noah no, get out of the closet!" Uh oh. He's discovered where I had hidden his birthday presents. Sigh. We did end up giving him a couple of pieces out of the box. Manny and 3 tools. I'm just glad he didn't see all the rest of the stuff in the closet as well.

The Battle is RAGING...and the Cuteness keeps winning.

2011-02-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is the cuteness:

She seems so demure...so sweet...

...but there's a stubborn, stubborn girl in there...

A girl who thinks she's as old as her big brother.

She thinks this cute smile will let her get away with anything...

So she strikes as soon as our backs are turned. Food EVERYWHERE. Dishes and utensils on the floor. Food on the floor. The disgusting, impossible to keep clean, floor.

But she's just so sweet.

And before too long she'll be able to eat without making the dining room look like WW3 just happened. And then I'll be sad that she's that big. And I'll look at these pictures and think they're just cute. One day, I will forget the hours I've spent cleaning up after my kids...

Sleep is more important

2011-02-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

Noah and Chloe had done so well sharing a room. They did great with bed times...and mornings, generally waking up around 6:30. Well, wake up time started creeping up earlier and earlier. Finally, we found ourselves typically up between 5:15 and 5:30. Uncool. If you know Matt and me, you know that we are not really morning people. Well, not 5:15 AM people anyway. The kids would end up watching extra cartoons while we sat/lay around in a zombie like state. When I'd finally have enough energy to make coffee, around 7...the livingroom floor would already look like this:

Last weekend, Noah had a fever from Thursday night through Sunday so we put Chloe down in the spare room. Once Noah started feeling better, we had 2 mornings of sleeping till 7!! And then we put them back in the same room. Hello 5 AM wake up call. Chloe tends to whine a little sometimes during her light sleep phases. Now, if she wails in the middle of the night, Noah sleeps through it. But, I guess that maybe they'd just both wail just enough...to wake each other up. And not only are mommy and daddy cranky when woken up at 5...so are the kiddos. So Chloe is back in the spare room, and we've had many more mornings of sleeping in till 7. But I am (again) way behind on blogging since now I really can only do it at work on my lunch. And that's the only time I can do pretty much anything online. Sigh. Thinking about a way to remedy this situation....

In the meantime here are some pictures from January. Noah is very into puzzles these days. He does all of his puzzles (below plus a couple more) at least once a day. He loves it and is so patient with them.

Both kids still love to read. Chloe will have us read her new favorite book, "Brown bear, brown bear..." 3 times in a row before she'll let us put it down.

Noah loves his new memory game...we have yet to play memory with it though.

Chloe wants to be wherever Noah is. So when Noah wants to play with something that Chloe really shouldn't get her hands on...we have table time. Chloe gets to do her puzzles (which mostly entail her throwing the pieces on the floor) while Noah does puzzles or memory or painting etc. Any other moms figure out a way to keep a 1yo away from big bro or sis during those activities? I'll take suggestions cause Chloe is NOT as happy in her chair for as long as Noah is in his. So he practically never gets to do playdoh, paint etc anymore. :( At least not at home. Oh, this is cause they nap at the same time now. And Noah generally takes longer naps than Chloe (definitely my kid).

The Christmas Season...

2011-01-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas. I love the reason we celebrate and the fact that Noah (mostly) gets that it's Jesus's birthday. I love a lot of the more superficial stuff too...I love that it's the season of cookies, peppermint bark, mocha mint coffee, gift buying and wrapping (that's right - I LOVE to wrap presents!) and so much more. I've had to let go of most of the expectations I used to have for myself around the holidays. I just had to so that I could enjoy more than stress over it. I finished most Christmas cards. I baked some. I prioritized family time and gifts for kids (including neices and nephews). Chloe's birthday falling in between Thanksgiving and Christmas definitely added some chaos to the season, but now that it's over, I can only say that it was a really fun time for our family. And now that it's over, I can catch up on the blog!
Here's a glimpse into our holiday season...

Noah got to help me make Christmas cookies this year - SO fun for both of us!

We had a lot of hand-me-down Christmas dresses - and yes, I loved dressing Chloe up. She mostly hates dresses though. Since she's still refusing to walk more than a couple of steps at a time (more on that later), she constantly gets stuck in her dress as she crawls. Then she makes these faces at us - "How dare you put me in a DRESS?! Are you hazing me? It's just cruel Mommy and Daddy, just cruel!" So the dresses typically came off as soon as we got home from church.

The Santa hat on the other hand...she liked:)

So did Noah. This is his new "smile" face. Seriously? Yes, it's cute...and yes, I know it sort of looks like he's trying to poop.

Confession: I love putting dresses on Chloe so she can wear cute tights with them. Seriously people - how cute is this??

And this dress is not torture, it's short enough that she can crawl without getting caught in the skirt.

We made the move to one nap a day (mostly) for Chloe. On Sundays the nap is late because of church, and on this particular day she was so tired she fell asleep in the car on the way home. Noah would never have done this. I know, this is par for the course for some of you...but not for me. She was so tired, she stayed asleep as I took her out of the car, unzipped her coat, changed her diaper...

and transferred her to the pac n' play. She did rub her nose, but she stayed asleep the entire time. And took a good nap, especially considering that she skipped her lunch (another foreign concept with Noah).

Last year Noah loved playing out in the snow. This year we haven't had much, but even when it hasn't snowed its been so COLD...that Noah hasn't wanted to play outside for more than 5 minutes at a time. He NEVER asks to go outside anymore. :(

My handsome men. I love dressing the kids up on Sundays. Matt obviously wasn't dressed yet. And he did give me a hard time for taking yet another picture of him with an undershirt on with the kids. Not my fault that he wears them all the time and only puts on his outer layer after the camera is away.

Chloe's Birthday Party

2011-01-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Yes yes, I know it was almost 2 months ago. But I just can't help it. I can't skip things. So here are some pictures form Chloe's 1st Birthday Party.

She was a big fan of the balloons...

I made carrot cake and did my best to make it look pretty. Think of it as a gerber daisy...a very yummy one.

Chloe was not at all familiar with the idea of blowing out a candle, but luckily Noah helped her out.

She got a very short nap that day, so she was pretty tired...and a little overwhelmed by all the people.

But she liked the cake!

Noah was great about Chloe's party. He understood that the party was for her, but he still struggled a little with the fact that the gifts were all for her also.

Tired girl + lots of sugar = Happy girl. It could have gone either way, but Chloe was pretty hysterical and happy after the cake.

She and Noah were playing and giggling under the dining room table together - so s
weet! It was a great day - thanks to all the friends and family that came to celebrate with us. We had so much fun and it's so great to be reminded of how loved our kids are.

12 Months...

2010-12-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

My precious Chloe turned one this month. ONE! About two weeks ago. It really snuck up on me - and I'm pretty sure it hasn't completely hit me yet. Only a year ago, sweet Chloe was so little...

...and a few months later, she wasn't just a sweet sleepy baby. She was a giggly, grabby, happy baby.

And then half way through this first year she was sitting up. Playing with toys. Cooing and smiling all the time...

By 9 months she was crawling. And into everything. She loved to sit up on her knees and scout out the best place to go play - which was pretty much always wherever Noah was. She talked even more and had gotten good at using some signs to tell us what she wanted.

And now. She's one. 12 entire months have flown by. In some ways I'm so glad she's reached this milestone - but there's a sadness too. I'm so incredibly grateful for the amazing gift she is and that I get to be in her life. Grateful for every day though they pass too quickly. I love that Chloe is one and that I get to see more every day, the little girl, then the teenager and then the woman that she'll become. There are so many sweet moments that I know I'll forget. But at least I have those moments. I hate that so many people lose them. I can't think about Chloe turning one without thinking about Gwen not turning one. I'm so grateful for the moments that I spent with her - that I even got to meet her at all was such an incredible blessing. I trust my God. I trust Him, and I wish things were different. I trust him and I wish I had a picture of Chloe sitting next to sweet Gwen at her party.

Giraffe and Kitty

2010-12-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

I uploaded the pictures for this post over two weeks ago...how ridiculous is that? Noah wasn't feeling very good for Micah's 6th Birthday (I know, I ~~could~~ should do a whole post on my sweet Micah and how crazy it is that he's already 6...) and the Fall Festival (on Halloween). We had a crazy day, Micah's pool party from 2-4 and then the Fall Festival after that. By the time we got home it was really too late to trick or treat...and Noah was SO tired...and I forgot to buy candy to hand out. So it was a candy-less weekend (yay!).
Here's Noah in his giraffe costume. Doesn't he look exhausted?

Chloe was a kitty cat.

Noah loved the petting zoo and he actually touched a calf. (without me holding him!) Those of you that have seen him around animals that he doesn't know understand what a big deal that is...

Chloe's costume may have been a little small...

...but she's still super cute in it! Thanks to Anya for lending us her costume!

Noah got to go on a hayride with Matt - the highlight of the day! He thought it was pretty cool that Dr. Marsh was driving. Apparently he kept yelling at him though, "Don' go in da mud! No go in da mud!" Haha!

Chloe steals Noah's cup every chance she gets. I love that face though. "What? Don't you take this cup away from me mommy!" Haha!

Oodles of Noodles

2010-11-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

One of Matt's newest nicknames for Chloe is "Noodle," AKA: "The Great Noodle." Chloe continues to be an incredible joy every day. She is so sweet and just lights up the room when she smiles. She's gotten really efficient at getting where she wants to go, so we have to be really careful with closing doors etc. If the bathroom door gets left open, she's there in no time and has her hand on the toilet bowl. We keep telling her how gross that is but she just thinks its funny. Noah is usually the culprit with the open door...now that he likes to wash his hands by himself, "No, ME DO IT!"

Chloe is still a great sleeper (most nights). There was a time recently that she started waking up again, but we realized it was because she was still hungry, so we've been filling her up with more table food during the day and that seems to have done the trick. She currently has an ear infection, so she had a couple of rough nights due to that...but last night was silent bliss from 8pm to 7am...so I think we're past that as well (huge sigh of relief).
Unlike Noah, Chloe usually fusses or talks abit before going to sleep. When it's naptime, if I don't time it just right, she'll sit up (I put her down on her back and she usually rolls over to her belly). She gets sort of stuck sitting up and ends up just leaning over on her blanket to sleep. She does it all the time. Amazing how flexible her little body is.

Most of the time Chloe's favorite person is her big brother. She absolutely adores him. Here she is giving him some kisses. Unfortunately, Chloe has a hard time controlling her strength...so she scratches him and even bites him (in an effort to kiss) semi-frequently. Noah takes it like a champ since he adores her right back.

This is so sweet. I was brushing Chloe's hair one night and had just handed her the brush (she loves to brush her own hair). Matt said that he's never even gotten to brush her hair yet (okay, so I hog that job), so he took her, and took the hairbrush out of her hand. You can see how much she likes it when you take something (especially her brush) out of her hand. I just think it's so sweet that Matt wanted to brush her hair...she's got him wrapped around her little finger.

Chloe is very inquisitive. This is her response to me telling her not to play with the albums on that shelf. "Please Mommy, I'll be gentle. Don't you trust this face??" She is actually very good at obeying already. When we tell her no she almost always stops, looks at us and tries again. The second time we say no, she almost always moves away to play with something else. She definitely has a stubborn streak in her though...cause if her heart is really set on something she will not budge.

Poor Chloe. Noah wanted a picture with her but she just wanted to nurse. Also of note in this picture is that little yellow ball in her hand. It's big enough that it doesn't fit in her mouth, but small enough for her to hold in one hand. It's her favorite toy. She'll hold it (or some other similar sized toy that will fit in one hand) all day if you let her. She'll crawl on it like it's a little pegleg...it's hysterical. She plays with it sometimes, but mostly, she just loves to hold it.

Chloe loves Atticus! We really do have to watch her when she's around other little ones cause she will pinch, scratch or bite hard!

I admit it. One of the things I love about having Chloe is dressing her up in cute outfits. I've been excited to put her in this jumper since I saw it (thank you Beth for the hand-me-downs!) She is so cute!
Chloe also loves to laugh, but mostly loves to play with her brother. She just started pulling herself up to standing this past weekend, so I'm sure that cruising and then walking is not far behind. Do you believe she is 11 months today?! In only 1 month she'll be getting her first bite of cake!

"Oh Mayn! What de heck iz dat?!"

2010-11-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

Noah is such a trip these days. He keeps us laughing a lot...and he's still just as sweet as ever too! Don't get me wrong, he does plenty of whining (retribution I'm sure) but we have just been loving watching our little Noah become a little boy.

As is evidenced by the title of this post, he will pick up on everything we say...and repeat it in a super cute voice. he says all kinds of crazy things and we've been trying to write them in FB or somewhere so we remember them. He still loves being outside, especially now that we have some more neighbors with kids close to his age. Sufa (below) is 4 and just moved here with her family from Iraq. Noah has actually tried to speak some Arabic on occasion (which is hysterical).

Noah has also gotten into looking for animals. Especially when he has a flashlight! He frequently finds tigers in corners and bunnies or frogs in his hand. Oh, and speaking of the flashlight, he understands his shadow and thinks it's pretty funny too. He tries to make shadow puppets sometimes (like his daddy does) - it's so sweet!

And he's into picking out his own clothes. He will throw a fit if we try to put clothes on him that he didnt' pick out (shirts anyway). He picked out that hat himself too. And that's his new smile-for-the-camera face by the way.

I think that Noah was dancing in this picture. He still loves to listen to music all the time and dances around like a maniac with it.

We had gotten him a tricycle this summer and finally got a helmet and knee pads for him to use. He didnt' want to take them off when we first got them...so we had to hid them. And now that I think about it I have absolutely no idea where they are. Sigh.

Any time it's nice out and Chloe is napping I try to let Noah have some Chloe-free outside time. It's just easier to play with him when I don't have to keep her from eating grass every 30 seconds...

Did I mention yet that his favorite color is orange? No idea why, but if there's an orange item of clothing clean, that's what Noah wants to wear.

He loves Chloe so much and has really taken to the role of big brother. I came home from work the other day and Matt told me that Noah and Chloe had been wrestling. Wrestling that's gentle (mostly) and that the kids love. Below, Noah is about to gently lay Chloe on her back and then bub his head on her belly while she laughs hysterically and swats at his head with her little hands. It's so cute...I'll work on getting a good video soon...

Noah has done amazingly well with the switch to his big boy bed. He did have one day that he refused to stay in bed for nap. He kept saying, "I'm awake Mommy," (so I made a mental note to next time save the cupcake for after naptime). Anyway, after some disciplining I ended up putting him in his (now Chloe's) crib so he would stay put and sleep. Of course every item on his bed had to come with him. And that cup is water in case you were worried.

He's got big shoes to fill;)

I couldn't do a post about Noah without mentioning that he is still pretty car-obsessed. Even when we play with play-doh he ends up making a road with the play doh to drive trucks and cars on.

This boy brings me so much joy every day. I just wish he would stop growing up so fast!

Virginia Beach!

2010-11-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Columbus Day weekend I took the kids (without Matt) to Virginia Beach to stay with Kate. Beth came with Sarah (without Ted) and we all had a blast. Okay, there's actually kind of a crazy story about this weekend, but I have to first say that no matter what happens, I always love (love, love, love) our mini Girls House reunions. I am so blessed to get to regularly see so many of my former roomies (if only I could convince Donna, Krista and Kristin to move back east...).

I also love that Kate, Beth and I have kids the same ages. This was the second time since Chloe was born that we've gotten all the kids together and it is just so special to see our kids playing together. I love that they'll get to grow up together...and who knows, maybe we'll end up being in-laws together (at this point it would have to be Noah marrying Sarah - cause I just can't think about Chloe being that grown up yet. She won't be allowed to date - EVER.)

The girls! Sarah and Chloe (future roommates)

We went back to Hunt Club again to see the pumpkins and the petting zoo.

Kai and Chloe were sort of trying to hold hands. Such cuties!

Yes, I'm inside with the llamas and goats. Noah wanted to go in but he also wanted me to hold him the entire time. Hence, no pictures of him with any animals.

Sarah is such a good little stander - she's such a sweetie!

Kai! This was later that same day at a playground in Sandbridge. We got to let the kids run loose a little...

...okay, not all of them ran.

This was as close as we got to playing with sand. Noah was disappointed, but his big excitement for the weekend was playing with Hakon, so he got over it.

Hakon and Noah holding hands - isn't this just the best picture ever??

Beth sure looks good with two babies in her lap. Haha!

"Let us in, let us in!"

Noah was quite smitten with "Baby Sarah" - he asked to hold her several times and enjoyed holding her for a while each time. He's so good with babies (I think he wants another one - don't tell Matt).

The babies! Kai, Chloe and Sarah. Remember this picture from the last beach trip? They change so fast at this age...it's CRAZY!

The plan was to try to get a picture of all five kids, but Hakon was busy playing and then Noah decided to tackle Kai...

...so this ended up being the best picture of all 5 kids.

Such a fun (and crazy) weekend:)

Big Boy Bed!

2010-09-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Noah's first night in his big boy bed was actually at the end of August.

He is so proud of his new bed (and his Cars sheets). It's actually a twin bed, so it looks huge with him lying in it. So I'm sure you're wondering how the adjustment has gone. Don't hate me. He slept in his big boy bed without a problem and waits for us to get him out of bed in the morning. It's been almost a month, and he has yet to get out of his bed after nap or in the morning before we come get him. I've even told him numerous times that when he wakes up in the morning he can get out of bed and come tell us he's ready to go downstairs. But to no avail. Now if only I could get Chloe to sleep in a little...

Oh, and he's excited for Chloe to sleep in his old crib...in his room. He already naps with her and sleeps through her fussing herself to sleep. We're just waiting for this phase of teething and waking up in the middle of the night to be over before we move her in with him.

Bring on the tractors!

2010-09-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the County Fair for the first time this year. I was there with the kids (and no Matt) for a couple of hours before he was able to meet us there. I (unfortunately) decided not to bring the stroller in (Noah didn't want to ride in it so I put Chloe in the carrier). Normally that would be no big deal...but it was HOT that day. Chloe was so good though, she just looked around and took everything in. Seriously people...how is it possible that I am SO blessed?! Noah had a great time too...

First stop: Tractors!

If you know Noah, you know that he was having a blast getting to see all these tractors up close. Not to mention getting to actually touch them a bit. It was so great to see his excitement!

I had a hard time tearing him away...

...but I did manage to convince him to come look at the "amimals."

I just love seeing the kids experience new and exciting things for the first time. The joy and awe that Noah had over seeing the animals...and realizing how BIG horses and cows are - it was so fun to see. Such a great reminder for me to see God's creation for the amazing and miraculous thing it is. Big lessons from my little man.

Noah also got to go on his first big kid ride. He is growing up way too fast. Sniff, sniff. Sigh. Okay, I know, I probably say it every day, but it just makes me sad how fast they're growing up.
So, back to the fair. I didn't get a picture of this...but Noah got to see his first giraffe up close. That's right, there was a giraffe at our county fair. Terrified might be too strong a word to use...let's just say that Noah was quite startled by the size of the giraffe and was not interested in getting very close. He was on edge teh whole time we were close (there was a kangaroo, a monkey, and a couple of other animals in the same area that we wanted him to see). He was just too anxious about the giraffe to fully enjoy the fact that he saw those other animals. I wonder what he would think if we took him to the zoo...

Yet another...

2010-09-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Photo dump. I really do want to get back to more regular posting. I just have this need to not skip things. I can't just start posting about something that happened today when I haven't posted a single picture of the entire last month. This will pretty much catch me up, so hopefully I'll be posting more regularly moving forward. August went by so fast. Chloe is so fun...and busy! She started officially crawling this month. It was the week of the 23rd. She would get on all fours and rock, but then sit back down. By the end of the week she could crawl several feet at a time. This has started a new phase in Noah and Chloe's relationship. Noah has always been so great about sharing toys with her (for the most part), but it was pretty much always on his terms. Now that Chloe can actually get over to a toy she wants to play with (which is almost always whatever Noah is playing with), Noah has a harder time sharing.

One day after Noah had said "no, my cars Chloe," I explained to him that she just wants to play with what he's playing with because she loves him so much - she really just wants to play with him. He thought about that for a few seconds, and then took a couple of toys over to her. It was such a sweet moment for him.
He probably says "No, mine" or some form of it over a hundred times a day. He's decided that being bossy is really fun too. "No Mommy, go over there," "No Mommy, go that way," "No Chloe, that's big boy toy." Sometimes Chloe will be 5 feet away, playing with a completely different toy, and Noah will start scolding her, "No Chloe, that's my cars!" (the cars were also 5 feet away from Chloe). You get the idea. Fun new phase for us!! But seriously, we still have the absolute sweetest boy on the planet.


Chloe is now taking baths with Noah - they both love it.

Cheese face!

more sprinkler fun

Crawling!

Chloe likes to stick her tongue out...A LOT. It's so cute!

A recent conversation I had with Noah:
Noah: "Mommy, play cars with me"
Me: "Sure" and I pick up a car...
Noah: "No, that my car mommy" And he grabs the car.
Me: Explain not to grab and not to talk to Mommy like that. I start playing with another car.
Noah: "No, that my car Mommy!" And grabs the car again.
Me: "Noah, if you want Mommy to play cars with you you have to share cars with Mommy.
Noah: thinks for a few seconds, "Nevermind Mommy, Nevermind."

Pretty funny. I had no idea he even knew the word "nevermind."

July Photo Dump

2010-09-11T22:22:00.001-07:00

4th of July

Sprinkler fun!

Sweet, sweet face!

Noah walking down the stairs like a big boy!

Big kisses! They have so much fun together - it warms my heart!

Noah is very into building these days. He frequently asks us to take pictures of the house or garage he builds-he's so proud of himself.

Chloe can reach really far to get something she wants...

..sometimes she ends up on her belly, but she isn't quite crawling yet.

I love how Noah poses for pictures and does this ridiculous (and super cute) smile.

Barrettes!

I just love it when they play together...they're just the sweetest kids!

So fun...it's the best when they laugh together like this!

4th of July

2010-09-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

We celebrated with Matt and Leah on Saturday and went to Mimi and Papa's on Sunday. It was a very funfilled weekend and a rare 3 day weekend for both Matt and me.

Slide! Into a pool!

Leah made popsicles with yogurt, fruit and a little honey. Yummy, healthy and festive!

June Photo Dump

2010-08-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Chloe has become quite a busy girl. She's pretty much done with baby toys...all of Noah's toys are way too enticing to keep away from. This is but a glimpse of what's to come...


Rosetta Stone Picnic - Noah got to play with Lillian...but they were too busy to look at the camera.


Uriah Israel Valentine - June 10, 2010 We were all so excited to meet the newest Valentine. Noah held him for over five minutes and still didn't want to give me a turn the first time we visited.

Rehoboth Beach Trip! There was lots of digging...

lots of playing with cars...

lots of cousin love...

lots of Chloe cuteness...

lots of fun toddler antics...

lots of ice cream sundaes...

and lots of great memories!

Virginia Beach - Memorial Day

2010-07-15T18:13:00.007-07:00

This was Chloe's first trip (of many more to come) to Virginia Beach. We stayed with good friends and got to see several of my old roommates from the Girl's House days.

Chloe is so cute in her little bathing suit!

Hakon is a couple of months younger than Noah - they had a blast playing together!
Noah preferred the sprinkler over the pool. He actually said that the pool was dirty because there was grass in it (grass that he had thrown in it). Crazy kid!

Beth and Ted came as well (we all stayed with Kate and Mark - such great hosts!) and we got to meet Sarah and Kai for the first time. They are so precious - I'm so excited to see them grow up together!
Are these babies cute or what?! That's Kai, Chloe and Sarah. Kai is about a month older than Chloe but look at how tall he is!

Buying cute baby swimsuits at Old Navy is a weakness of mine...
I had to take a picture of them together while they were strapped in cause they didn't stay still long enough to get a good picture of them playing. They sure were good at wearing each other out!

True Love!

We had the best time...I only wish we lived closer and could visit more often...

May- photo dump

2010-07-15T17:39:00.004-07:00

Noah likes to cheese it up for the camera these days.

Mother's Day
Great day. Matt got Noah up and let me sleep in with Chloe. I woke up when Noah ran into the room yelling because he was so excited about the card he made me. Such a great day with my hubby and my precious babies.

There is no cuter baby.

First time I got the pool out for Noah...and he didn't want to get in. He just ran around it and threw things in. Sigh.

Trying so hard to sit up like a big girl. She's almost there!

Thank you Dawn and Barry for my tomato and green pepper plants! So excited...and Noah is a great helper with the watering.

I know, you agree...definitely the cutest baby EVER.

Rice Cereal 04.24.10

2010-07-15T17:33:00.004-07:00

First rice cereal for Chloe. She's growing up way too fast!

Time for a photo shoot (April)

2010-07-15T17:17:00.005-07:00

I frequently put Chloe on the couch to take pictures of her since she can't sit up all by herself quite yet (if you didn't see my last post - I'm catching up, so these are from April). The proceeding pictures illustrate the way these little photo shoots generally go.

If I were to ask Noah to sit on the couch with Chloe to take a picture, he wouldn't want to. He's too busy playing.

But the moment I start taking pictures of her...he wants in.

Apparently he thought she should be wearing her hat.

Yes! A picture that both kids are looking at me and smiling in! But I had to leave that hat on Chloe - drat!

Big brother love

Done with pictures, now it's playtime again:)

It's so fun to watch them play together. They really adore eachother...every parents dream. And yes, I know that can change, but I'm loving it while I have it!

April

2010-07-10T12:35:00.008-07:00

Okay, I'm so behind but a lot has gone on that I feel needs to be noted on the blog...so I'm going to *try* to catch up this week.

Easter & Noah's 2nd Birthday

Chloe was given her Easter basket once we got to Mimi & Papa's house, so her basket above was just for this year. Since Noah's actual birthday was on Easter this year, we spent the majority of the day just celebrating Easter so Noah would understand that it was a separate event.

Matt told Noah the Easter story while Noah ate candy (before breakfast!) and stared at his new toys.

We did have a bday cake for him.

He LOVED the Easter egg hunt...especially once he found out there was candy inside the eggs. Papa put about 7 jelly beans in each egg (he is NOT allowed to fill the eggs next year!)

Noah and Chloe before church...so sweet!

Noah's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a party for Noah a week after his birthday. A lot of friends came to play and we all had a lovely time.

Noah got a new airplane to ride on from his Granddaddy and Aunt Rachel & Uncle Geoff.

Granddaddy with his grandbabies

Notice that Noah has a fist full of grass...which he proceeded to throw up in the air...landing on Chloe's face.

I made him a tractor cake. I rock.

The kitchen was a WRECK after his party. This is just a glimpse...

Finishing up April

Noah still likes to get into things and make big messes.

Thanks to Aunt Cindy and Uncle Paul for the t-ball set! Noah is actually really good at hitting the ball off the T!

Chloe just keeps growing and is interacting a ton. She is such a joy!

Noah loves Chloe and she loves him right back. They are so sweet together...

I had to. She's so cute...but not quite staying upright while sitting on her own (at the time of this picture anyway).

Carpenters

2010-05-21T08:10:00.002-07:00

Friends,
Please keep praying for the Carpenters. I know most of you are up to date on what's happened, but if not you can catch up on their blog here. My heart is breaking for these dear friends - please join me in praying for them.

Stat Updates

2010-04-21T10:35:00.003-07:00

Chloe had her 4 month checkup on Monday...and her first shots. She's 19lbs and 26.25 inches. She did really well with the shots. Monday afternoon she was pretty uncomfortable, but once she got to sleep (6:15ish) she stayed asleep all night and woke up her normal happy self.
Noah had his 2 year visit the same day and weighed in at 33 lbs and almost 36 inches (I was a little preoccupied so I didn't catch the exact height. Noah absolutely loves going to see Dr. Marsh, so he had a good time.

Sorry I've been away for a while. I've had a lot of trouble uploading pictures to blogger so that's most of the reason I haven't posted in a while. Not sure if it's blogger or our computer, but I'm thinking it's most likely our computer...it's getting old. *sigh* More posts soon!

Adam and Sarah's Wedding Weekend

2010-04-05T20:08:00.005-07:00

Adam and Sarah actually got married a few weeks ago. It was the week that Noah got the croup (again). I know, you're wondering how I could have gone to the wedding if Noah had the croup. He was diagnosed on a Wednesday, so we thought that with the medicine, he would be pretty much back to normal by Saturday. Problem is that I was planning on going to this wedding with the kids, but without Matt. The plan was to caravan down with family so that I'd have help (have I mentioned that the wedding was in Asheville, NC?). Once we knew Noah had croup I was on the fence as to whether or not I should go. We love Adam and Sarah and were already so sad that Matt couldn't go. Against my instincts, I agreed to go. Two sets of Chloe's great-grandparents wanted to meet her, and one great-grandmother hadn't even met Noah yet. For those reasons I decided to suck up my concerns and go. So I was on the road with the kids by 6:30 Am Thursday morning. Chloe was wonderful and slept most of the way. Noah talked about trucks on the road for the first hour, and then watched Handy Manny for the remaining 5 hours. I know, that's way too much tv. The alternative was a screaming/whining toddler who would have woken up the baby, so don't judge me. Because Noah had to get up early for the trip, and he refuses to sleep in the car, he got behind on sleep immediately. The sleep loss got worse as the days went on, so between that and the side effects from his medicine, Noah was not his usual sweet self.

Here's Chloe with Grandma McGowan, Aunt Denise and cousin Nick (the former two I hadn't even met yet).

Noah and Riley still had a good time playing together. Unfortunately Noah did get both Micah and Riley sick (I could have prevented this by waiting to drive down by myself on Friday - darn it!)

Noah was so handsome in his suit...but he was obviously not happy.

He did like playing with the piano. Barry, Silas and I all ended up missing the entire ceremony due to our kids that didnt' want to stay quiet, so we played in the reception hall.

I had never seen him look this tired/sick. Poor boy.

Papa has the magic touch with Chloe.

And they both slept in the stroller. Noah slept through almost the entire reception.

The hotel had a pool, so Mimi took Noah swimming.

Out! I felt awful anytime I looked at Noah because by Friday I knew that I should have either come later (if Noah was feeling better) or not come at all. Lesson learned. Trust my instincts. I still feel guilty for making decisions that made Noah feel worse. It was good to see family, but all in all it was a really difficult weekend.

Learning Curve

2010-03-29T18:12:00.002-07:00

Last night I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready as Matt was finishing diaper duty with Chloe.
Matt: "Lauren, is there a certain way you're supposed to put these tights on?"

mutter, mutter..."stupid girls clothes..."

Chloe was a good sport - I think it took Matt a couple of minutes to get her tights on!

Just like Daddy!

2010-03-18T18:50:00.005-07:00

I decided that with Noah's 2nd birthday right around the corner, it was time to introduce him to the clippers. It is so hard to cut his hair using scissors (mostly because he won't stay still), so I thought I'd save myself the trouble. He was pretty sqirmy through it, but it was much easier and faster to cut it this way. He thought it was hysterical when he saw himself in the mirror after. Every once in a while he asks us: "ma heya go?" (meaning: where'd my hair go?). And he laughs again...so sweet.

Join me...

2010-03-16T12:01:00.002-07:00

Praying for Gwenyth and the Carpenters. Here's their story

Photo Dump

2010-03-09T22:20:00.001-07:00

All I've got time for folks.

Cherishing this time...

2010-02-28T14:08:00.010-07:00

I started this post a couple of days ago now and have been waiting for Blogger to cooperate before actually posting it. By that I mean that I wanted to have another video and some pictures...but every time I try to upload something else it won't let me. So here it is folks...it looks long, but there's videos of my super cute kids at the end!

Matthew and I are so incredibly blessed to be the parents of Noah and Chloe. I am overcome when I think about how undeserving we are as individuals, but God in His greatness has redeemed us. Even entrusted these two amazing children to us. Such a gift...I've been busy soaking it all in...

I only have a few days left before I have to go back to work full time. As I'm sure you can imagine this is pretty difficult for me think about, but it's happening soon, so I have to deal with reality. This time I'm trying to focus on all the good stuff rather than wallow in self pity and guilt (although there is some of that - I'm human). I'm looking forward to having a reason to shower daily. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Noah and Chloe appreciate it that I have gotten to shower pretty much every day of my leave...but normally not till Noah's nap time, and even then I didn't really have to do it. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and coworkers again, free coffee, and Bagel Fridays (maybe even the occasional chocolate finding mission). I'm looking forward to seeing my boss with her almost ready to pop belly (she'll be on maternity leave a couple of weeks after I get back). I'm excited for Noah to be excited to see me. Yes, he's excited every day we spend together, we've been having a blast. But...when Matt gets home from work after being gone all day, Noah is just over the moon to see him. I guess I'm glad that Noah will get a chance to miss me again. I'd say that it will be nice to miss him too, but I've been missing both him and Chloe a little prematurely due to the knowledge of what's to come.

For everything I look forward to, there are many more that I'm almost dreading. I know, I can be a little dramatic at times, but that's really how I feel right now. I just want to be home with my kids. I've started crying now so to spare you I'll head in a more lighthearted direction.

In the past few weeks I've gotten into a good routine with the kids. This has become my new norm, and I've been loving it. There's been some crying and fit throwing (talking about the kids now, not me), but over all I have had many moments of true joy with my babies. Chloe is such a happy baby. She loves to smile, coo, and just watch all of us. She doesn't mind being alone for short periods and tolerates Noah's squealing and other loud toddler sounds very well. Noah is such a wonderful doting big brother. He's full of energy and has such a compassionate heart. He understands that I'll be going back to work soon and seems to be handling it pretty well. He does ask me to pick him up a lot (Praise God that I'm completely healed from surgery and can even run around holding him now!) and has been a little extra dependent on Mommy lately. Here's a peek into our day together on Thursday (or was it Friday??) In the first video listen for the noise Noah is making in the background...

The laundry area is Noahs new favorite place to hide. Doesn't really work too well for the purpose of hiding since he bangs on the washing machine while he's there, but he loves it. He is just so fun right now, I'll miss them both so much.

Who do you think she looks like?

2010-02-27T11:04:00.005-07:00

One of the most common questions that all parents get. We decided with Noah that he's a good mix of the two of us...and Chloe is just a girl version of Noah. So here they are in the same outfit at around the same age. Noah on the top and Chloe on the bottom. She definitely looks a lot like him, but she has very girly features. I know, I know, our kids are so good looking!

14 lbs. 24.5 Inches and Croup

2010-02-08T19:48:00.003-07:00

Chloe had her 2 month check up today and weighed in 13oz lighter than Noah at this stage. It is possible that the weight difference is entirely in their head sizes. So the cough that became a bad cough over the weekend is a mild case of croup. It appears to be getting better so we're going to give her another day or two before giving her any medicine. The good news is that she didn't get any shots today because of it. The bad news is that she still needs shots, so I'll have to make another trip to the doctor once she's better. Sigh.

Oh, and remember how excited I was about her taking the bottle? Yes, well, she's currently downstairs screaming her little head off because she doesn't want it. At least she has figured out how to suck on it...that's step one. Now we just have to get her to drink more than 1/2 oz without turning into a "hornet." It's so sad. I have the big headphones on to try to block out the noise, but it's awful. I really want to go rescue my baby but I will not be doing her any favors if I always swoop in to feed her when she decides she doesn't want the bottle. Perseverance. We can do this. Or maybe I'll just take her to work with me every day.

Backseat Mommy

2010-02-04T13:09:00.003-07:00

I took the kids to Target and Costco this morning. Chloe fell asleep at Target and woke up when we were leaving Costco...and she woke up mad. Matt refers to her as a "hornet" when she gets mad.

So she was crying in the car on the way home...

Noah: "Koe-ee, a minit...a minit Koe-ee, a minit!"

Apparently I say "just a minute" pretty often when Noah's whining. And since I expect him to quiet down he thought that telling Chloe "just a minute" would calm her down too. She did fall asleep on the 5 minute drive home:) I loved that he was trying to 'mommy' her...so sweet!

Still loving Chloe...

2010-02-03T11:20:00.003-07:00

Noah loves being a big brother...

More Antics

2010-02-01T15:26:00.002-07:00

Noah loves punching balloons and the most recent one he had been playing with popped recently. Matt got a new one out for him the other day...

Me: "Noah, what color is the ballon?"
Noah: "Red."
Matt: "It's purple Noah."
Me: "Actually Noah it's blue. Your Daddy isn't really the best person to help you learn your colors."

And some new pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Snack time! Not sure what happened to his pants...

Noah is not a morning person, he likes to chill with his "O-s" and watch toons. This morning he was sharing with "Big Mickey".

Noah decided he wanted to wear his puffy vest over his pjs on this particular morning...I should have realized at that point that he'd be getting into mischief before too long. He emptied the entire contents of my purse and most of my wallet before I caught him.

"May-uhls, may-uhls!" When Noah can't reach something we encourage him to go get his stool so he can reach it rather than whining for us to get it for him. This is the downside to us teaching him to problem solve on his own. Guess I ought to take the Christmas cards down soon...

Noah is still liking to snag Chloe's stuff...thankfully this was a clean empty bottle that he got ahold of.

Success!!

2010-02-01T12:48:00.003-07:00

I was starting to picture what my days at work would look like if I had to leave three times a day to nurse Chloe. That's how worried I was about her taking the bottle...or not taking it. It wasn't just that she didn't like the bottle...she couldn't figure out how to suck on it. She won't take pacifiers either. So after 4 different types of bottle, we found one that she takes.

The Medela bottles were what we primarily used with Noah and the Soothie bottles were back ups for him (they're what we first bought to ease his transition since the nipple is the same as the paci the hospital uses). Then we heard about Dr Brown's, but she didn't like that any better. I finally tried the Breastflow bottles (which did not exist when I had Noah) and after some stubbornness on Chloe's part, she figured it out.

You have no idea how happy this makes me. Yes, we spent some extra money on different bottles...and pacifiers too (just to try to get her used to having something other than me in her mouth). But praise the Lord that the stress of that situation is over!

Up and out...

2010-01-25T10:42:00.005-07:00

So you all know that this picture is kind of a smokescreen...Chloe still hasn't gotten the bottle thing down. We bought some Dr. Browns bottles and she got about an ounce out of that bottle...but she did that by chewing on the nipple, not sucking. Sigh.

Most of the 0-3 month clothes have been put away...this girl is growing just as fast as her brother did.

Such a happy baby!

This is my most recent favorite...how cute are they??

This is Noah's whiny face. He didn't want me taking pictures, but I think it's hysterical.

Oh boy...

2010-01-24T13:48:00.005-07:00

I thought I'd let Noah play with the dry erase markers on his table while I got lunch ready.

MISTAKE!

I know, it seems like a rookie mistake...and I'm not really a rookie anymore am I? He is normally so good about obeying things like that...and I was just around the corner for a minute. Funny thing is that I didn't even catch him or discipline him for this. That's right, I saw that he didn't obey the "the markers have to stay on the table" rule when he started drawing on a kitchen cabinet. GASP...discipline, stern talking to...then I go around the corner and see the real mess he made. But we already had our discipline time...(he did have another stern talking to though). Yup, totally my fault. I'm a rookie.

A few of my favorite things...

2010-01-22T23:08:00.007-07:00

Baby things that is. I thought about doing a post like this for Beth, but never got around to it...so now this is mostly for Donna, but also for any mom or expecting mom...

I have to start with the PeaPod. KidCo makes it and if you're going to get one, I highly recommend getting the PeaPod Plus. The added features and larger size are worth it (you'll be able to use it longer). This is fun for kids to play in and easy, safe and much more travel friendly to use as a pack n' play replacement. Noah naps and plays beautifully in it...I'm even planning on buying a second one for Chloe.

We use Munchkin Snack Catchers on a daily basis. They're easy for little ones to hold when they're just starting to eat finger foods and they keep the mess to a minimum. They do not prevent kids from grabbing handfuls of food and throwing it all over the place...but they're the best snack holder I've come across.
Cloth Diapers are the best burp rags you can find. They're absorbent, they come in large quantities, and they cover more surface area. Those little tiny burp rags out there...put one of those on your shoulder to burp your kid and I'd bet money that you get spit up all over yourself. Of course, when they're little you'll get spit up everywhere no matter what...but trust me...BUY SOME OF THESE. (Make sure you get the prefolded!)

These Bumkins Bibs are hands down the best bibs once babies are doing real food. They're big, so they cover more surface area, the velcro works (unlike many bibs after a few washes), they can be hosed down and dry quickly for frequent uses, they can be thrown in the washing machine, they're waterproof - so a wet bib does not mean a wet baby...and they have lots of cute styles. Oh, and they have different sizes to accommodate different stages. They're so easy to clean that you'll need fewer bibs and it will be worth the money. These have become one of my beloved baby items (thanks Leah for the introduction!)
I absolutely LOVE my Ergo Baby Carrier. It is a little pricer than some carriers you can find, but again, it is worth it (if you plan on using a carrier a lot that is). When I was recovering form my surgery after having Noah, my incision was still hurting when I picked him up in his carseat but it did not hurt to carry him in the Ergo (impressive!) It's comfortable, easy to use (even comes with an instructional DVD), can be adjusted to carry on front or back and is also more comfortable for your baby. This carrier supports the baby's entire bottom rather than just supporting the crotch area (is anybody comfortable in that kind of harness?!). Make sure you read the instructions well, newborns up to 4 months need to be placed in the carrier a different way.

This is a necessity for nursing mothers that want to leave the house. Both Udder Covers and Hooter Hiders make covers that enable you to see your baby while she nurses but gives you plenty of privacy as well. They're lightweight so baby won't get too hot, machine washable, and you have lots of cute patterns to choose from (unless you find one on clearance somewhere like me...then you have to decide whether it's worth the extra 50% or so to have the exact pattern you want...of course I went the money saving route;).

There are plenty more things out there that I love and use often, but these were the first few things I thought of when I decided to do this post. With the exception of the cloth diapers, each of these things I discovered after I had already been using some inferior item and I wish someone had just made me buy all this stuff when I first had Noah.

Antics

2010-01-20T07:42:00.003-07:00

Okay, so I've been thinking lately about how easy it is to forget all the little things that are such sweet blessings when they're first witnessed, so I'm documenting them. This is pretty much all about Noah since Chloe doesnt' do a whole lot more than sleep, eat and poop yet. She does coo and loves to watch her brother. She loved the vacuum the other day too (yes, I actually vacuumed when I was at home with the kids and Matt was gone). The fact that Noah LOVES the vacuum helps. He actually gets upset with me when I turn it off. Hmm, anything else about Chloe?? Oh, she is being very un-Noah-like when it comes to the bottle. Remember this? Yes, well, Noah took the the bottle quickly and easily (you don't get to be a 30 lb 18 month old by snubbing your nose at any kind of food). Chloe hasn't taken to it at all. She chews on the bottle nipple, and then gets mad. She gets more mad as time goes on. She knows there's milk in there...it dribbles into her mouth as she chews, but she will not suck on the bottle. Granted, tonight was only the second time we tried. I mean, Matt, Matt tried, and he said she was pissed...and poor Matt. It's so hard to hear your kid unhappy like that when you can't do anything to stop it (cause your wife leaves to go run errands while you try fruitlessly to give your scraming 6 week old a bottle). He tried both of the types of bottles we have, so if both those fail again tomorrow, I'll be buying some new bottles. I suspect that she's just frustrated cause she can't figure out how to suck on a bottle (hasn't figured out her paci either, but I've rarely tried to give it to her cause she's so content without it).

Wow, for a post that's not about Chloe...

Okay, so Noah is incredibly fun right now. This morning I took the kids to Target to pick up a Rx. We got it, then I said something like, "let's go shopping...hmm, what do we need to look for? Clothes for Riley...presents for Anya and Atti..." Noah's response was:
"Ewnie?! Ewnie, ere ah eww?" (Ernie?! Ernie where are you?)
Except he was calling out for Ernie as if he was playing hide and seek with him in Target. So funny. Glad it was early and not many people around...although who wouldn't have thought that was cute?

Noah also likes to make sure we know what's going on with Chloe at all times. When I get him up from his nap, as soon as he hears Chloe downstairs he shouts "Phwhowee!" He tells us when she's crying (when she makes those 'hey here I am, don't forget about me' noises that most parents would not call crying), when she's happy, and when she's sleeping. Actually, he likes to get really close to her face and tell her (loudly...cause he does most everything loudly these days) that she's sleeping...which sometimes wakes her up. But it's still cute.

Tantrums...I've experienced two full blown tantrums so far. He was playing with play doh on his new table after lunch one day (about 20 minutes before naptime). He had some in his hand and I picked up a piece that he was not playing wht to show him how you can pick up the small pieces of play doh with a bigger piece, "Noah, look what you can do with this play d...."
"NO, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" All the sudden the kid was screaming at the top of his lungs and crying hysterically. Throw in a couple of foot stomps and I took the kid straight up to his crib for nap time. Except I couldn't carry him yet (pesky surgery), so I had to get a tantrum throwing kid to climb up the stairs for naptime. Sigh. Hasn't had a tantrum since. Have to go, Chloe just decided to wake up...this post is getting way too long for anyone to want to read anyway;)

More Chloe...

2010-01-04T11:50:00.002-07:00

I know, she's gorgeous. Sorry I've been holding out on you all, things have been a little busy around here. Here are some pictures from the first couple of weeks at home.

Yes that's a smile. She loves to smile (especially for Daddy), but usually stops when the camera light comes on.

She sticks her tongue out A LOT...so cute!

She spends most of her time sleeping...

...but she's really alert when she's awake.

Busier than I thought...

2009-12-30T22:52:00.004-07:00

...I guess since I've never been that great at blogging regularly, no one is too shocked when a couple of weeks go by without any updates. I know, I know...you all want more pictures. It's just been easier to throw pictures up on FaceBook lately. I'll get to it, promise. I have been recovering fairly well. I probably didn't rest quite as much as I should have in the beginning, but I did better than I did the last time. Matt said that I did a lot less this time (since I didn't do laundry, dishes, etc). Of course I did get down on the floor to play with Noah a couple of times a day. I really wanted the transition to be as smooth for him as possible, so I was thankful that Chloe slept practically all the time the first few days. So I'm not fully recovered by any means, but I've pretty much resumed most of my normal activities (as far as chores go at least).
Today was my second full day alone with both kids while Matt worked. I was a little nervous, but we're all fine, so what more can I ask for? Chloe has decided that she wants to be awake when Noah naps, so that means no nap for me, but that's okay. It means that she sleeps more when Noah is up and playing so I can focus on him a good amount. While Noah is doing really well with Chloe, I have had to resort to a couple of interesting tactics to keep him form hurting her. Once I'm healed I think I'll keep Chloe in the Ergo (baby carrier) a lot...but I can't wear that yet...SO I have done the following:

...put Chloe in a laundry basket (empty) and brought her into the bathroom with me when I had to go.
...made Noah come to the bathroom with me every other time I've had to go (DUH, that's definitely easier than getting out the laundry basket).
...strategically placed Noah in front of the TV (on) while going to wash my hands.
...made Noah follow me into the kitchen to watch me wash my hands numerous times.

Seems crazy right? Well as great as Noah is with Chloe, he's not even 21 months yet. One time today when I finished washing my hands I came into the living room to find Chloe in the bouncy seat where I left her. Noah was standing next to her (I said "Noah, do not touch Chloe, NO touching" every 3 seconds while I was out of the room for the 45 seconds that I was gone) and on top of her blanket lay Noah's toy giraffe and his flashlight. So Noah may not have touched her, but he apparently thought she wanted some toys. Such a sweet, sweet boy I have. So aside from the "no touching her face" and "no hitting," choruses, I have now added "Noah, Chloe is too little to play with your toys" into the mix. It really is sweet how he tries to play with her. And hold her.

Okay, so lets see some pictures (and no, they aren't edited, I apologize for the redeye and anything else I should have fixed).

Noah's first time painting! He was pretty fascinated by the concept. Thank you Grammie for the fun (and NON-messy) paint books!

This kid was in desperate need of a haircut. It's need done now, but this is his shaggy look. Still cute though right?

The BIG SNOW! And yes, that is my hubby in shorts and a t-shirt. And yes, he is crazy.

I sent Noah outside with mittens on, According to Matt, "they were driving Noah crazy cause he couldn't play in them...and his hands aren't getting in the snow anyway." The evidence tells a different story.

Cold hands or not, the kid is his father's son. He had a blast and loves the snow as long as he doesnt' have to stand in a foot of it. I think we ended up with over 20 inches by the way. Insane!

Must sleep now. More later.

So how's Noah adjusting to his new sister???

2009-12-19T10:33:00.006-07:00

This is one of the most common questions we've been getting. I thought a video would help to explain how Noah feels about his new little sister.

As you can see he likes to get in Chloe's face a lot. And talk...sometimes very loudly...and he likes to touch her face (we're working on that). But overall Noah loves his little sister.

Chloe Elizabeth

2009-12-15T12:37:00.003-07:00

December 10, 1:13 pm

9lbs, 3.2oz.

Sweetest little girl in the world.

More to come soon...

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T19:36:00.005-07:00

We truly have so much to be thankful for. Praise the Lord for the daily grace he gives us and the blessings which are too numerous to count.
We had a great Thanksgiving (about 21 people this year but a lot more people cooking than last year...yay!) Noah was so excited to be back over at his Mimi and Papa's with his cousins that he decided he'd rather not take a nap. He did really well considering that he needs lots of sleep to be his usual sweet self (he is my kid after all). Anyway that explains the lack of smiles in these pictures.
Here he is with "chi-us" and "aun beff." Ever since he spent the night he has been obsessed with his Aunt Beth. He walks around the house talking about her...it's so sweet. Definitely glad to know that he loves being there so much so I wont' worry about him while I'm in the hospital.
After Noah's dinner he played happily with this tractor for the rest of the evening. It was pretty amazing how devoted he was to it.
So this is the face you get when Noah is playing happily with the above tractor...and his daddy picks him up (and not the tractor) to get a family picture. Obviously we gave the tractor back...but the damage had been done.
Micah missed the family singing "Happy Birthday" to Matt, so he serenaded him all by himself. Is this kid sweet or what?
It's hard for me to believe that Micah is already FIVE. The outfit that Noah wore on Thanksgiving was a hand-me-down from Micah, and I remember Micah wearing it. So to see Noah in it, and to see Micah at 5, knowing that it seems like just yesterday that he was Noah's age...oh gees, I just don't even want to think about it.
One of Noah's favorite things at Mimi and Papa's house is their cd player, which he knows how to turn on. Early in the day, before the missing nap, he turned on the music and danced.

Still all about Noah...

2009-11-29T16:43:00.005-07:00

This may be my last chance in a while to update you all on Noah, so here goes...

Recently Noah has started asking for a book when we change his diaper...it keeps him still, so why not indulge?
Oh, and this was right after bath, so that's why his hair looks like that.
I was doing some reorganizing in the spare bedroom a couple of weeks ago, and Noah wanted to help...he's such a good helper.
Matt turned 32 last Tuesday, and Noah actually said "Happy Birthday" to him! I hadn't even rehearsed it with him, but he'll repeat almost anything at least once. I don't remember exactly how he said it, but it sure was precious. He also helped Matt open his presents.
This is proof that Noah is my kid. One of my favorite things to eat when it starts getting cold out is a good grilled cheese with tomato soup. He's been loving the grilled cheese for a while, but I let him try the tomato soup for the first time recently and he loves it as well. (the hubby doesn't like tomato soup...)

Due...Today!

2009-11-27T11:07:00.002-07:00

Apparently we don't like to be on time in this family. That's really fine by me, cause I wanted to get in some Black Friday shopping and I'd also like to get the Christmas decorations up this weekend. This is probably the 3rd year (I think) that I've done the early morning Black Friday thing...and it was definitely not something I'd recommend for someone else as pregnant as me. The problem was the waiting in line...definitely not comfortable to wait in line for that long. There were definitely some rude people up and about, but for the most part I had some nice interactions with my fellow shoppers (of course I didn't go to WalMart). So while I think that the whole crazy shopping for stuff so that we can have more stuff we don't need (insert anti-materialism rant of my hubby's here) is indeed crazy...I did not finish up my shopping with all hope lost in the human race. There are still nice people out there, and I'm thankful for that. I'm even planning on hitting up a few more stores this evening after Noah is in bed...but we'll see if I'll have any energy left by then (I may not be that crazy). Tomorrow my plan is to have Noah help me decorate for Christmas...I'll let you know how that goes.

Veteran's Day...so thankful.

2009-11-11T22:28:00.002-07:00

Technically Veteran's Day is over in my time zone, but not for most of the country, so I'm going to sneak this in. It's really too late for me to be eloquent myself...but I just read something that I had to pass on. A cousin of mine, (I believe we're something like third cousins but you'd have to confirm that Dad) Ruthanne, (who I've never actually met) posted this on her blog. I don't think I can really add anything to it...just go check it out.

Noah loves Chloe...well, her stuff anyway.

2009-11-10T22:25:00.003-07:00

We've been getting out the baby stuff lately and Noah thinks it's pretty fun to have a bunch of new stuff to play with. The "Bundle Me" was a gift form Aunt Amy and Uncle Michael, and Noah loved snuggling with it when we got it. He never had to use one since he was born in April...so he's making up for lost time.
The bouncy seat has been in his room for a while now. He likes the music that it plays, and he likes to turn the vibrate feature on and off.
The carseat came out this past week. This was while I was washing the padding for it...just look at how big he is! Especially when you compare it to this.
Oh, and aren't his little slippers cute?! No, I do not like to buy kids stuff at Old Navy too much. Seriously I do NOT have a problem. I do however have to buy at least something when they're either having a sale, or I have a coupon (which I did). Just wait till you see what I got for Chloe on that trip...

We also got the double stroller this week. After much research I went with the Combi double stroller that Leah has and had recommended. It just so happened that I hemmed and hawed long enough for it to go on sale on Amazon. While I wouldnt call any double stroller a "steal" I think did alright. Noah has had lots of fun with the stroller itself. He likes to sit in it and he loves riding around it it. Matt made a comment about how he likes the double stroller so he can pick up chicks, and Noah responded with "Anya". So there you have it, he's pretty much in love with Anya. I think he'll like having Chloe sitting next to him too. The real fun so far has actually been with the box that the stroller was shipped in. See for yourself...

Cold again...but we still love it outside!

2009-11-04T18:32:00.003-07:00

I brought home a garbage bag full of balloons from work about a week ago...ended up being roughly 20 balloons that are blown up the perfect amount. Noah can hold them with one hand and throw them all over the place without them popping. If you're wondering how I could have happened upon a bag full of balloons at my work...then you obviously don't work at a place as fun as Rosetta Stone. Every time Noah has come to visit me at work he's found balloons somewhere from someone's birthday or some other celebration. So the only thing better than the 20 balloons to play with in the living room is playing with a balloon outside.

Cutest Tiger Ever!

2009-11-01T21:57:00.005-07:00

It's that time again. Noah was a stinking cute skunk last year (if you don't remember here's the proof) and this year he was a stinking cute tiger. Noah and I were flying solo this weekend since Matt had to work. We stopped by to visit Matt so he could see Noah in his costume before heading over to the Fall Festival. Mental note...never let anyone take my picture from below...it gives me a double chin that I do NOT have in real life.
Noah certainly had a fun afternoon. He started out on the toddler sized moonbounce which I think he would have been happy to stay in all day. I was only able to coax him out by telling him we had to go look for Anya and Atti.
Noah haphazardly followed Anya around the rest of the afternoon. He mostly ran around like a very excited toddler and every couple of minutes he remembered that he wanted to play with Anya. So we would find Anya and then he'd go off running again. It was a pretty exhausting afternoon but I had lots of help from the Ks (thank you!)

Pretty sure Noah thought this was a slide at first...
But Anya set him straight. (Watch out Lillian...you've got some competition!)
We were on our way out when Noah decided he needed to play in the little car. I'm thinking he needs one of these for the coming summer (this or a wagon - what do you moms out there think would be better?) Anyway he was pretty tired at this point, so he was done smiling although he was still having plenty of fun.
After we got home I thought it would be fun to have Noah hand out candy with me. Noah did a fantastic job of sharing candy with all the kids that came by. (We must have had at least a hundred in the 45 minutes or so we were out there - CRAZY!) And seriously...the kid below is super cute, but why does a kid that age need to go trick-or-treating? But that kid was SUPER cute...he wanted to stay and play with Noah - precious!
When we had a lull Noah still wanted to give his candy out so he kept giving it to me and our neighbor. "Here Mommy, have a KitKat."
It was so sweet how happy he was to just sit on the stoop and share his candy. This is the only year it will be like that and I LOVED it...I'm pretty sure next year he'll know what candy is and the evening will be much different.
Hmm, is someone getting a little tired? When Noah started rolling around on the stoop I knew we didn't have much time left.
We headed in a few minutes after Matt got home to get the little tiger into bed. Definitely a long day, but so much fun. Praise God for the extra hour we got last night. (Except Noah decided to sleep the lesser of his 11-12 hours and with the time change that meant he was up at 5:30 this morning...but my most excellent hubby got up and let me stay in bed till 7.) Praying Noah will sleep till at least 7 tonight...PLEASE!

Oh, and who likes Matt's new glasses?!
Oh, and one last thing. Since both year's Noah has been so stinking cute, I'd like to give a shout out to Old Navy for having some super cute kids costumes. Woot!

Happy 2nd Birthday Allison!!

2009-11-01T18:17:00.004-07:00

We wish we could have been at your party - we miss you so much!

And the picture Noah was looking at and kissing is this one...

There's Matt, Noah, Allison, Amy (Noah's Aunt) and Luke. This is the best picture of the three kids that I have from our beach trip. Classic. Don't worry Luke, Noah really only kisses girls and his daddy recently. I'm sure he would have given you a big hug if he could have! We love and miss you all!

Thank you Elisa!

2009-10-27T10:14:00.003-07:00

Check out Elisa's latest post...its "all about Noah!" And yes, that is some purple marker on his lip (still cute thought right?). He actually bit the tip off a marker that day. A couple of days later he did some serious damage to a purple crayon too. I'll take it as him telling me he wants to destroy all things purple...so no Barney EVER! *fingers crossed*

Summer's Final Curtain Call, Part II?

2009-10-26T17:00:00.003-07:00

Can I post a "Part II" of something that I didn't post Part I of? I guess we'll see if my handful of readers get outraged at the idea. Elisa posted some pictures on a particularly beautiful day last week. Happened to be a day that Noah was over playing with Judah and Sofi...check it out. Noah cracks me up. He is clearly thinking, "Why are you wasting time taking pictures when you can be playing with a football or running around being crazy?" He's definitely a daddy's boy when it comes time to take pictures.
One of his new favorite things to do outside is to throw the football into the bush and then wait for mommy or daddy to get it back out. For added glee, the red leaves on this bush are starting to fall off...so every throw provides a little flurry of leaves falling.

Farewell Friends...

2009-10-26T16:44:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I had to say goodbye to my all-time favorite pair of flip-flops. They're Reefs, but as far as I can tell they don't make this exact variety anymore. I must confess...the hole has actually been in the left shoe for about half the summer...but I love these so much I wanted to keep wearing them. So I did. Not if I was going to be going somewhere I thought I may have to use a public restroom of course, but I definitely wore them more days than not. When a hole finally emerged in righty I knew it was time to dispose of these babies. Thank you Anna for giving me such a wonderful birthday gift a couple of years ago. And thank you Reef, for making shoes that my feet love. Sigh.

So Funny!

2009-10-23T09:16:00.003-07:00

I'm at work right now, but I had to take a minute to write this down. Noah is with Tabitha today...so Josh walked over to let me know that Noah had escaped out of his PeaPod during naptime, locked himself in their bedroom and proceeded to go through their drawers and make a big mess. Awesome! Tabitha was able to unlock the door using her McGyver-mama skills, and Noah hadn't done anything to hurt himself, so all I can do at this point is laugh. Okay, yes. I feel really bad that Tabitha now has a big mess to clean up, but it's still really funny. (When did Noah's unzipping skills get so good?) So now Matt and I are going to have to figure out how to get him to stay in his PeaPod for naptime...

30 lbs, 34 Inches!

2009-10-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Noah had his 18 month check up today and is now 30 lbs and 34 inches. I know, I keep telling him to stop growing but he refuses...

Goodbye Curls (sniff, sniff)

2009-10-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

I could have resisted a little longer...but really friends, it was time. Noah's sweet curls were so adorable (I'm almost crying as I write this). The reason Matt has been asking me to cut them for over a month...is that they only look like this...

right after his bath. They smooth themselves out and then it starts to look like he has a mullet. I'm sorry, I loved the curls too, but no child of mine will walk around with a mullet. So Noah had his first (okay, 4th - but first time I cut the back due to the curls) haircut. He was SO good. I snipped away with him in my lap while he ate some Kix and watched Mickey. And yes, this was very hard for me to do. But I did it and I can't undo it and if you give me a hard time about it I may fly into an emotional fit of hysteria (which I will blame on the pregnancy). So do not tell me that I shouldn't have cut his curls.
I go back and forth thinking that the haircut made him look younger and older. Above I think he looks younger. (And thanks for the shirt Aunt Rachel - Noah is definitely too cute to lock up).
Yes, I look crazy in this picture, but Noah looks super adorable and happy, so let's just focus on that.
And here' s another picture from this morning (oops, yes, that's 3 posts in 1 day folks, sorry - one day I will be better about this blogging thing). Noah was telling me about the birds...and he was pretty excited about them.
My sweet boy also likes to help me do the laundry. If throwing clean unfolded laundry on the floor and climbing on top of any remaining garments in the basket can be called helping that is.
Okay, this is a good example of him looking older with his new haircut. He's now 18 months old people! That's insanity! Look at him...oh I just want to go pick him up out of bed and hold him...he's growing up way too fast.

Virginia Beach Trip...only a month later

2009-10-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing time on our latest trip to Virginia Beach over Labor Day. We drove up Friday evening which is the normal routine. Noah decided to only sleep for 1 hour of the trip, so it was a rough night for us all (but we were SO thankful for the portable DVD player we invested in after the Rehobeth trip). Despite the rough night of sleep, Noah was AMAZINGLY good the entire trip (oh, of course he didn't sleep at all on the way home either).

The weekend as a whole was really a reunion...with a double birthday party and a baby shower thrown into the mix. Beth is expecting her first (GIRL!!) at the end of January. And yes, there was a LOT of baby talk that weekend. This was a husbands included trip, so Matt enjoyed filling Ted in on all the fun fatherly things (like poop and spit up) that he likes to talk about. Beth and Ted are going to be such great parents...okay, enough. You want pictures, so here they are...
For some reason we did not take a full group picture. I know, I can't believe it, but between these two pictures here we all are...Krista (award for longest distance traveled for the weekend), Southern, Beth (above), and Kate, me, Beth again, Anna, and Liz. It was so great to see everyone and of course we missed everyone that couldn't come.

Noah and Hakon had fun playing together. Although it looks like Noah is about to beam Hakon in the head, he was actually aiming elsewhere. I definitely think this picture does a good job of capturing boyhood though...

The hotel had a pool...and a water slide too.

On Sunday afternoon we headed over to Hunt Club Farm, a petting zoo close to Kate and Mark. Noah and Hakon still had fun together...

Tackle!! Hakon just wanted to give Noah a hug but Noah was too busy running around. This was hysterical. Major props to Liz for the great pictures! Oh, and for all you who thought Noah was a big boy...Hakon is 3 months younger than Noah.

Still loving the slide. Again, major props to Liz for the great pictures that day. I'm really, really wanting a NICE camera now.

Noah still likes to look rather than touch animals. He just wasnt' sure what to think about this zoo (and there were some scary looking chickens and roosters there, so I don't blame him).

Just love this picture of Beth.

Wow! A family picture...so rare! Enjoy...

A Wide Receiver in the making...

2009-10-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

It was a gorgeous morning out today. Matt and I were actually supposed to take Noah down to stay with Beth and Silas for the night (which would have been his first night away from me). Beth woke up sick, so we ended up having a fun family day instead. I must admit that I'm really not ready to have Noah spend the night away from me...but it's for the best. It would not be good if his first night away was actually 2-3 nights followed directly by a new baby in the house. So next weekend will be his first night. A test-run if you will. Maybe I'll be more ready in a week...

Anyway we did enjoy the beautiful morning. Noah has gotten really good at catching (he's been good at throwing for a while now). He also knows a football from a regular ball. "Bu-bah" instead of just "bah".

Copyright Infringement...again!

2009-09-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Is copying from a librarian extra bad? I hadn't visited Melissa's blog in a while (mostly cause I didn't add a link on my blog so I didn't have the easy access I generally like to have - yes, I'm a lazy blogger and a lazy blog reader too). Anyway saw this video posted that is definitely worth watching. Check it out. Oh, and I did finally add Melissa (who was also my very first follower - woohoo!) to my links, so check out her blog and let her know how much you love librarians!

Final Photo Dump (at least for now)

2009-09-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, just found this saved as a draft...I think I meant to post it a couple of weeks ago...OOPS!

I found this little papasan chair for $5 at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. Noah has a hard time getting into it (he keeps trying to climb in rather than back in), but he loves it. His morning ritual now includes some time in his chair with dry cereal, a cup of milk, and some "toons" (preferably Mickey but it just depends on what time he decides to get up). No worries, he does have an actual nutritional breakfast after his toon-time...this is like his pre-breakfast snack.
Oh the injustice of it all. Noah was pretty upset because we didn't let him play with the blinds. He normally doesn't get so worked up over stuff like that, but he was pretty tired on this particular day. And yes, I'm heartless, cause I took a picture of it...
One of Noah's newest games (er...new at the time of this photo) is to flail and throw himself around on the couch. Very humorous to watch. I think I have a video somewhere...but I'm not promising...

Playground

2009-09-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

Love swinging...

...not so sure about the slide...

...love the slide too!
Not loving this. Wishing the swinging or the sliding was still happening. (Thinking Daddy humored Mommy to pose for this picture...I try not to encourage her to do this).
Yes! Gravel and dirt...loving it!

Rehoboth Photo Dump

2009-09-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, but this is the only way I'm going to catch up. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the beach trip...

"Mommy, mommy, look I found a shell!"

"...love sand, love, love love it!"

"Whoa! Where did Luke go?!"

And yes, this is the best picture of all three kids together...after a long and exhausting week.

We tried to convince Michael and Amy to let us bring Luke and Allison home with us...but they said no. We miss them so much! There's more pics and a video on FB...in the interest of 'catching up' the blog is only getting 5 (although I took almost 200 pictures over the week).

Catching up...photo dump

2009-09-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

This is a slightly messier than normal Noah at breakfast time. Yogurt with some honey, cheerios and raisins...yummmm!

Noah can now climb into what we refer to as the "Big Boy Chair" all by himself. Sometimes we've caught him sitting in it reading to himself...absolutely precious!

We've had lots of pool time this summer. Noah's favorite things to do include: throwing balls out of the pool so we have to run after them, dumping water out of the pool with buckets, dumping water onto himself with buckets, trying to splash us, and trying to drink the water. It's not really a relaxing time for Mommy and Daddy, but Noah loves the pool!

Noah also loves getting this mesh laundry hamper over his head and running around with it on. He laughs at himself hysterically...it's pretty funny!

Finally...we have a grill! Matt got it on July 5th...which turns out to be a fantastic day to buy a grill if you're looking for a deal...and if you don't want to put it together yourself.

4th of July

2009-09-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

I know, so behind its ridiculous. I will catch up, I will catch up...
4th of July weekend with the K's. Noah loved the sparklers, but really loved watching Anya play with her sparkler.

Look at how big this sweet boy is doing! Precious! And Noah thinks he's pretty cool too!

We also went to Mimi and Papa's for the 4th. Noah was pretty busy playing and gave me a little bit of attitude for this picture. Love it!

It may be hard to see, but that is gravelly dirt in his right hand. He was grabbing it and dumping it on himself. This was a Daddy supervised activity followed by a Daddy supervised bath. Such a boy.

Ultrasound!!

2009-08-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've gotten so far behind lately. These pictures were actually from a month ago (oops). In case you hadn't heard, we found out that we're expecting a GIRL! She already knows how to cross her legs at her ankles like a proper lady (below).
Her arms were in front of her face so we didn't get any good face shots, but here are her arms.

Feet...

This is a profile of her face. The arrow is pointing to her nasal bone. Matt says her head doesn't look as big as Noah's did...we'll see!

Here's the "It's a girl!" shot. The ultrasound tech had to work really hard to get this (and to be able to tell us the sex) which is another reason we don't have a lot of face shots.

So now you've all met Chloe for the first time. She's pretty active and has been good to me. (Meaning that she likes my one cup of coffee a day and Mexican food, so mama's happy!) For right now we've pretty much decided to try to go for the VBAC, but we'll have a time reserved around 41 weeks in case she decides to follow in Noah's footsteps. That's the way we're leaning anyway. I just can't schedule a major surgery if it isn't necessary...be praying that it isn't! I promise I'll catch you up more soon (all five of you!)

Another new toy...

2009-06-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

One more thing to thank Elisa for. The PeaPod is amazing. It folds up so small and light. It's made by KidCo, check it out here. When it arrived last week Noah was ecstatic to see it. He takes his naps in a Peapod W-F so he's very familiar with it...of course after nap time on W-F if he gets to play in it he has to share it with Judah and Lillian, so the fact that he had it all to himself was almost too much excitement for him.
In case you didn't catch this part...I HIGHLY recommend this (Elisa and Laura will definitely back me up on this - it's so worth it)!

New toy!

2009-06-01T21:08:00.001-07:00

We finally got a bike trailer! Noah loves it. We've only been out a few times (with Matt pulling the extra weight) and are finally getting to enjoy our bikes too.

Summer!

2009-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Noah has been so happy for all the nice weather lately. He loves being outside just to enjoy God's creation.

I love it when Noah grabs his burpy, sticks his thumb in his mouth and rolls around on the floor. It's so sweet and it reminds me that he is still a baby, though not for too much longer.

Memorial Day

2009-06-01T20:11:00.001-07:00

We went over to Mimi and Papa's for Memorial Day. Noah said "Papa" for the first time - so sweet! He loves going over there because there's so much cool stuff to see.

He was not loving the idea of posing for a cute picture for me. Maybe next time.

There's our happy boy! This was the first time he's been over there since he's been able to walk...he really enjoyed his freedom.

Such a long day, such a tired boy.

Crab cakes with Martha and Per...and FIRST STEPS

2009-05-20T19:21:00.001-07:00

Martha and Per (Noah's Great Great Aunt and Uncle that live in Sweden) were in town over Mother's Day weekend. Noah and I visited with Martha on Friday while Per was fishing and it was love at first site. Noah was really busy entertaining Martha and everyone else that happened to walk through the lobby of the hotel. On Monday we all went to dinner at Cally's (formerly Calhoun's for those of you that haven't been in the burg in a while) which is our regular dinner venue when Martha and Per visit. Aside from the good food, they're also a brewery...Noah loved it (the evening, not the beer). He also loved my crabcakes (yup, he's my kid alright)!

The reason we don't have pictures:
Me: "Matt, the camera should still be in the diaper bag from yesterday unless you took it out"
Matt: "It's not in here."
Me: "Did you take it out?"
Matt: "No, I haven't seen it."
Me: "Then it should be in there, in the case"
Matt: "Well, I don't know what to tell you, it's not in here."
This is not verbatim, but you get the gist. This was our conversation at Cally's when I wanted to take a picture. What did I learn from this? Always look in the diaper bag myself...the camera was there the whole time...but I didn't realize this until we got home.

So on Sunday (Mother's Day) Noah took a couple of steps back and forth between Matt and me - so exciting! While Matt was home with him on Monday he walked across his bedroom FOUR times. I know, he's been ready for SO long, he was just waiting till he could really take off. So he did get to show off for Martha and Per which was really exciting. Now Noah is walking whenever he can, but will still revert to crawling when he loses his balance and lands on his rear. He really loves his new freedom. Yes I have video...but as of yet I have not figured out how to get video from the camcorder to the computer (all posted videos so far are from the camera). I'm working on it.

Haircut and Grilled Cheese

2009-05-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

So this was not Noah's first haircut. I had to trim a little on the sides a couple of months ago since it was getting so long. While that was his first haircut, this is the one that has the good "before" and "after" shots. I cut it during dinner while he was distracted and strapped in place...

BEFORE

AFTER

(Oh, I almost forgot, the above picture also shows Noah's first scab. Noah likes to climb up the 2 1/2 stairs at Elisa's up to the porch. Well, he hasn't really learned that you can't stop midway sand sit down. He didn't even cry...such a tough little boy.

Grilled Cheese! Noah is eating table food now...okay, he has been for a while. Sorry I got so behind. Anyway I thought that his first grilled cheese was worth a picture. He ate over half of a sandwich and loved it (of course)!